<P> The first Christmas cards were commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and illustrated by John Callcott Horsley in London on 1st May 1843 . The central picture showed three generations of a family raising a toast to the card 's recipient : on either side were scenes of charity , with food and clothing being given to the poor . Allegedly the image of the family drinking wine together proved controversial , but the idea was shrewd : Cole had helped introduce the Penny Post three years earlier . Two batches totaling 2,050 cards were printed and sold that year for a shilling each . </P>
who commissioned the first christmas card in 1943
Sir Henry Cole