Greeting cards on display at retail.

A selection of birthday greetings cards.

Greeting cards up close

A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to express thanks or other care. Hallmarks, usually packaged with an envelope, come in a variety of styles, are manufactured as well as hand-made by hundreds of companies big and small. These days, greeting cards with die-cuts or glued on decorations may cost up to five dollars each. Image File history File links Greetingcardsretaildisplay. ... Image File history File links Greetingcardsretaildisplay. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Greetingscards. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Greetingscards. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 2211 KB)[edit] Summary I took this picture myself. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 2211 KB)[edit] Summary I took this picture myself. ... A childs first birthday party. ... Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ... Bold text This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Front of an envelope mailed in the U.S. in 1906 contains postage stamp and address. ...

Hallmark Cards and American Greetings are the largest producers of greeting cards in the world. In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that one billion pounds are spent on greeting cards every year, with the average person sending 55 cards per year.^[1] This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... American Greetings Corporation, Inc. ...

In the United States, many adults traditionally mail Christmas cards to their friends and relatives in December. Many service businesses also send cards to their customers in this season, usually with a universally acceptable non-religious message such as "happy holidays" or "seasons's greetings".

Types of greeting cards

A standard greeting card is printed on high-quality paper (such as cardstock), and is rectangular and folded, with a picture or decorative motif on the front and a preprinted message appropriate to the occasion on the inside along with a blank space for the sender to add a signature or handwritten message. A matching envelope is sold with the card. It is common for both the card and envelope to feature fancy materials, such as gold leaf, ribbons, glitter, etc. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Metal leaf. ... A ribbon is a thin band of flexible material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. ... Glitter is the word used to describe an assortment of very small (roughly 1 mm²) pieces of paper, glass or plastic painted in metallic, neon and iridescent colors to reflect light in a sparkling spectrum. ...

Some standard types of greeting-card messages are:

• anniversaries: happy birthday, wedding anniversary
• holidays: generic or specific holiday — merry Christmas, happy New Year, Hanukkah, etc.
• life events: congratulations on graduation, baby shower, wedding
• sympathy: get well, condolences for loss of loved one
• personal sentiments: thank you, I'm sorry, thinking of you, friendship, love

Pictures and printed messages in greeting cards come in every style imagineable, from fine-art to humorous to profane. Occasion-nonspecific cards are also available, which feature a picture (or a pocket to paste in a personal photograph) but no preprinted message. Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ... The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. ... Hanukkah (Hebrew: ‎), the Festival of Rededication (also known incorrectly as the Festival of Lights) is an eight-day Jewish holiday beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, which can occur in very late November, or throughout December. ... A baby shower is a party in which expectant parents receive gifts or money for their expected child. ... Nuptial is the adjective of wedding. It is used for example in zoology to denote plumage, coloration, behavior, etc related to or occurring in the mating season. ...

History

The custom of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London Papyrus is an early form of paper produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. ...

By the early 1400s, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year's greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in the early to mid-1400s.

However, by the 1850s, the greeting card had been transformed from a relatively expensive, handmade and hand-delivered gift to a popular and affordable means of personal communication, due largely to advances in printing and mechanization.

This trend continued, followed by new trends like Christmas cards, the first of which appeared in published form in London in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole hired artist John Calcott Horsley to design a holiday card that he could send to his friends and acquaintances. Some christmas cards A Christmas card is a greeting card that is decorated in a manner that celebrates Christmas. ... Sir Henry Cole (15 July 1808, Bath – 18 April 1882, London) was a civil servant who facilitated many innovations in commerce and education in 19th century Britain. ... John Calcott Horsley (1817-1903) invented and designed the first Christmas card in 1843 as a favour for his friend Henry Cole. ...

In the 1860’s companies like Marcus Ward & Co, Goodall and Charles Bennett began mass producing greeting cards. They employed well known artisits such as Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane as illustrators and card designers. Marcus Ward and Co had its beginnings back in 1802 with a partnership between John Ward, James Blow and Robert Greenfield. ... Kate Greenaway (Catherine Greenaway) ( London, March 17, 1846 - November 6, 1901) was a childrens book illustrator and writer. ... Walter Crane (August 15, 1845 - March 14, 1915) was a significant English artist. ...

Technical developments like color lithography in 1930 propelled the manufactured greeting card industry forward. Lithography stone and mirror-image print of a map of Munich. ...

Postcards

Greeting cards derive from postcards which are single sided without the fold. Postcards appeared fairly early on in the history of the Postal Service as a cheaper way of sending messages, especially those of a tourist nature. For the record label, see Postcard Records. ... A British pillar box The postal system is a system by which written documents typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages containing other matter, are delivered to destinations around the world. ...

Industry association

The Greeting Card Association is an international trade organization representing the interests of greeting card and stationery manufacturers. The Greeting Card Association is an international trade organization representing the interests of greeting card and stationery manufacturers. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

John Beeder, former President of the Greeting Card Association, says greeting cards are effective tools to communicate important feelings to people you care about. "Anyone feels great when they receive an unexpected card in the mail. For me, there’s nothing like a greeting card to send a special message. I’m proud to be a part of an industry that not only keeps people connected, but uses both imagery and the power of words to help us express our emotions.”

See also

• Christmas card
• Cardmaking
• e-card

Some christmas cards A Christmas card is a greeting card that is decorated in a manner that celebrates Christmas. ... Cardmaking is the craft of handmaking greeting cards. ... An E-card is an electronic postcard or greeting card, sent by means of the Internet, usually through e-mail. ...

References

• www.studentas.com
• www.e-sveikinimai.lt
• sveikinimai.webnet.lt