The Museum of East Dorset in Wimborne will be displaying a selection of Christmas and New Year cards from the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, dating from around 1880 to 1914.

They can be found in the Stationer’s Shop – a room in the museum which was a stationer’s and tobacconist’s shop until 1872.

The first ‘commercial’ Christmas card was invented in 1843, when Sir Henry Cole had 1000 greetings cards printed for sale in London. When colour printing became cheaper and postage rates were cut, everyone could afford to buy and send cards to family and friends over the festive season. The Christmas card brought the first high quality, ‘fine art’ images into the homes of the ordinary people.

By 1880, over 11 million cards were produced in Britain.

The director of the Museum of East Dorset, Chezzie Hollow, said: “Some Victorian and Edwardian Christmas cards depicted ‘traditional’ winter or religious scenes but other designs were based on flowers, birds and picturesque landscapes. This may be because they celebrated the anticipated return of spring. However, humorous and sentimental images of children and animals were also very popular.

“Many people collected and cherished the cards they received. Thanks to these collectors, we still have the cards today. Some of the Christmas motifs will be very familiar but you might be surprised by some of the ‘novelty’ cards.”

Other festive activities at the museum include The Great Pudding Stir which will take place in the Victorian kitchen on Saturday 11 December. This is included in the museum admission. For those interested in making their own willow decorations, there will be a craft workshop with festive refreshments on Thursday 9 December.  For further details on these events, please visit https://museumofeastdorset.co.uk/events/