Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Birthday Card History is said to be over a hundred years old. Though there is no record to tell us who send or
received the first birthday card but it said the tradition of sending Birthday Cards began in England a century
ago. In those time people used to personally greet a person on a birthday, but when a well-wisher was
unable to do so he send a Birthday Card. Thus Birthday cards were more like an apology at that time.
The advancement in printing technology and mechanization besides introduction of postage stamps in 1850s
helped to make greeting cards more affordable. No wonder, they soon became popular means of personal
communication.
However, credit for the start of Greeting Card industry in US is given to Louis Prang, a German immigrant
who started a small lithographic business near Boston in 1856. Prang perfected printing over a decade and in
early 1870s, he published deluxe editions of Christmas cards that became an instant hit in England. US Card
Industry saw a slump in 1890 and 1906 but soon after 1906, the situation improved and a number of leading
card producers of today were founded. Now the cards played on sentimentality and were quite unlike Prang’s
elaborate creations.
Increased competition during World War I improved printing process. Early 1930s saw the use of color
lithography. The move lead to an unprecedented growth in US Card industry. 1950s saw the entry of humor
in cards with the creation of studio cards that were long cards with a short punch line. During 1980s non-
event cards or the cards not made for any particular occasion began popular and helped card industry reach
a new high.
Birthday E-Cards
Greeting Cards have taken a new avatar in this present age of Internet technology. Today, they are being
increasingly exchanged as electronic or e-greeting cards. Advancement in the technology that began in
1990s has lead to a further growth in card industry. People find it easier to send e-cards, as they are a cost
effective and instantaneous means of exchanging greetings. E-cards are available for Birthdays, anniversary,
Christmas and a host of other occasions. Use of Java and Flash makes them humorous. One can also
personalize E-Cards that is available for Free at most e-cards sites.
Though greeting cards made their advent in India much after they appeared in US, Indian Card Industry has
picked up fast. At present the industry is estimated to be around Rs 250 crore in terms of yearly consumer
spend. Unorganized sector takes 40 % of the market share. The organized 60 % of the market is divided
between Archies, Hallmark and ITC.
To cater to the growing and varied demand card manufacturers make multitude of designer cards to depict
variety of emotions from sentimental to humorous. Success of regional language cards in multi-linguistic
societies such as India point towards the significant role greeting cards play in our lives today.