In today's throwaway society, it's hard to imagine a time when Christmas cards were revered and collected as miniature works of art, reviewed in national newspapers and extensively advertised in the press. However, this is exactly what happened in the 1870s and 1880s, the heyday of the Victorian Christmas card.

THE WORLD'S FIRST CHRISTMAS CARD

Sending seasonal messages of goodwill to friends and relatives is an ancient tradition, especially at New Year. It dates back to pagan times when the exchange of good luck charms at the winter solstice was common. It wasn't until 1843 that the world's first Christmas card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, later the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He asked John Calcott Horsley, a member of the Royal Academy, to design a card for him to send to his friends.

THE CRAZE FOR CHRISTMAS CARDS

During the 1870s, the sending of Christmas cards increased steadily every year until in the 1880s, sales reached well into the millions. The Victorians were avid collectors of all manner of things, not least Christmas cards, and they especially loved novelties. Cards were produced in every conceivable shape and size from crescent and postbox to enormous 18 inch wide cards.

Designs included everything from sentimental scenes of children and snowy landscapes through to comic capers and religious quotations.

Tableaux, which opened to make a three-dimensional scene, and mechanical cards were perennial favourites although they were more expensive than standard cards. There were even imitation cheques, 'purse' cards, silk-fringed cards and cards with 'squeakers' to make bird sounds. The robin first appeared on a Christmas card in the 1850s and Father Christmas from the 1870s.

Despite the increased use of emails and text messages, Christmas cards are still as popular today as they were in Victorian times, with approximately 744 million cards being sent and received last year.