W M Egley Christmas Card

The first commercial Christmas card was designed in 1843 by J C Horsley for his friend Henry Cole. The card, above, designed in 1848 by William Maw Egley is sometimes referred to as the second Christmas card. I have never seen a reproduction of an actual card that had been sold and posted - only what seems to be copies of Egley’s designs that have been published in books.

Q Can anyone confirm that this card design was actually available to purchase at the time and as anyone seen examples with contemporary manuscript annotations.

DG

A While I cannot answer the specific questions visitors might like to find more information about the card on the V&A website.

RM