Louis Prang, a German immigrant known as the "father of the American Christmas card," immigrated to the United States in 1850.
Prang was born March 12, 1824 in Breslau, Silesia (then in Prussia, now Wroclaw, Poland). As a child, he apprenticed in his father's factory dyeing calico. At the age of 18, he traveled as a journeyman through Europe, studying dyeing and printing. During his travels, Prang became involved in revolutionary activities. With the Prussian government on his tail, he fled to the Boston, Massachusetts via Switzerland.
In 1856, Prang started a lithograph company with partner Julius Mayer. L. Prang & Co. In 1873, Prang created Christmas greeting cards for the popular English market. The following year, he expanded his greeting card offering and began selling the the first Christmas Cards in America.
Prang died in Los Angeles in 1909. In 1975, the United States Postal Service issued a postage stamp commemorating an early Christmas Card by Louis Prang.
Source: Wikipedia, EmotionsCards.com
