What did hallmark first sell

From those inauspicious beginnings, an iconic brand was born.

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Hall, stepped off the train. Greeting cards date back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of goodwill to celebrate a New Year, and to early Egyptians, who used papyrus scrolls to send greetings. By the early 15th century, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe, including the first Valentine created in In Charles had, at the age of 16, married year-old Bonne of Armagnac in what was an arranged union to solidify the union of two bloodlines.

He went on to serve under his father-in-law during the years-long French civil war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians.

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Five years later, Charles was captured by the British and imprisoned in the Tower of London for 25 years at the age of 21; Bonne was then just God forgives him who has estranged Me from you for the whole year. I am already sick of love, My very gentle Valentine. By the s, the greeting card had been transformed from a relatively expensive, handmade, and hand-delivered gift.

It had become a popular and affordable means of personal communication thanks to advances in printing, mechanization, color lithography, and a reduction in postal rates with the introduction of the postage stamp. These early advances and the establishment of commercial printing presses in America made these special occasion cards both popular and affordable, giving rise to a new industry.

With the outbreak of World War I, greeting cards quickly replaced postcards as supplies dried up just as demand among servicemen and their loved ones was rising. And servicemen themselves not only enjoyed receiving greetings, but sending them as well. Hall was already in business with his two brothers when WWI began in Living in Kansas City, Missouri at the time, he and his brothers were running a stationery store and producing their own greeting cards.

Hall saw the rising trend in mailed greetings as an opportunity to grow his business and went for it.