Old family photographs passed down the generations sometimes bear hand-written messages, and photographic evidence demonstrates that portraits with personalised greetings from the subject to a recipient were especially popular at Christmas time. The fashion for creating seasonal cards from picturesque photos such as mother and baby, cute children, schoolgirls in fancy dress and family groups emerged in the late 1800s, reflecting wider photographic trends, and, quite likely, improved levels of literacy at that time. The custom advanced with the launch of divided-back postcards in 1902, the new ‘real photo postcards’ (as they were initially called) displaying a portrait photo on the front with designated space overleaf for personal communication. Soon the commercial possibilities of card-mounted photographs began to be realised, some studios offering clients portrait postcards ready printed with the year and Christmas greetings. Similar details also featured on the new folding card photographs and other formats that became popular from the 1920s onwards.

A recent card-mounted likeness of the sender or their children, presented to relatives, household retainers and friends, was not only a convenient vehicle for communicating a festive message, but also made an ideal Christmas gift and lasting sentimental keepsake. Photographic Christmas cards were especially important when the subject(s) and recipient were physically separated, for example through war, playing an important role in strengthening ties and literally substituting for absent loved ones. Christmas-themed family photographs are also particularly useful to today’s researchers: unlike many old photographs, they are firmly dated; senders’ and recipients’ details may also serve to highlight the social networks that connected past generations.

Sentimental images of children, especially little girls wearing picturesque clothing and accessories made suitable affectionate gifts during the festive season. Audley, named here by a parent writing using traditional ink pen, wears her ‘Sunday best’ white smock frock and lace-edged bonnet, girls’ modes typical of the turn of the century.

Divided-back postcards, first authorised for postal communication in 1902, rapidly began to be adopted for presenting portrait photographs, the new format well-established by 1906/07. Being designed essentially for conveying pictures and messages between people, postcards displaying recent family photographs proved ideal for sending personalised seasonal greetings.

Both professional and amateur photographers used postcard mounts and surviving examples like this suggest that scenes posed in the garden earlier in the year might be utilised as Christmas cards later on. The image and accompanying message, sending ‘Compliments of the season, 1906’ to the Whitworths in Manchester ‘from Alf & Nellie’, perhaps suggests a lone parent with her son. The Edwardian postal service was excellent, and we note that this card, like many, was franked on Christmas Eve.

Many early 20th century Christmas photographs were postcards, these being especially popular between the early 1900s and 1940s and available to order in virtually any quantity required. Styles varied over time, Edwardian postcards typically printed with detailed instructions, as seen here. Many early postcards were stamped and mailed directly, others put into an envelope for posting, this example either sent in an addressed envelope or perhaps given personally to the recipients.

The message demonstrates that teenager Emily Taylor from Warrington presented this Christmas card to her aunt and uncle in 1906. From the early 1900s onwards it became increasingly popular to don fancy dress for various occasions and Emily has devised a picturesque fairy or angel costume for her festive Christmas studio portrait in that year.

Some enterprising early 20th century studio photographers began to offer generic photographic card mounts pre-printed with seasonal greetings, with empty space/s provided for inserting an image or images of their client/s. This unusual Christmas postcard pre-printed with the year, 1908, and ‘Xmas Greetings’ was evidently designed with four vacant ‘frames’ for displaying separate portraits.

Here, four individual head and shoulders photographs represent a composite family group image – well-dressed Edwardian parents and their two children. Such a card, no doubt ordered in multiples, would have been perfect for demonstrating a family’s solidarity, their good health and fashionable taste to all those receiving a copy.

Postcards in general remained popular between the wars but by the 1920s another format was also entering fashion: the photographic print presented inside a folding card. This convenient arrangement protected the picture inside and proved ideal for Christmas photographs.

This example typifies a relatively early folding Christmas card, the decorative art deco-style ‘frame’ around the image reflecting the inter-war date. A manuscript note on the back records the child’s name, Dorothy Cutter; age (3); and date: October 1926. Writing ‘With love and Best Wishes for a Happy Christmas… You may keep this’, evidently Dorothy’s proud parents wanted their daughter’s image to be kept for posterity. Dorothy wears her best velvet frock and black patent shoes, her short hemline and bobbed hair key 1920s fashions.

By the 1930s photography was widespread throughout society and most young people were used to posing for the camera. Christmas was also becoming increasingly commercialised and many local studios offered affordable photographic Christmas-themed cards, pre-printed with their details and the year.

This is a clear visual record of a schoolgirl photographed in Veale’s studio, Bristol, her image circulated at Christmas 1935. She wears the short bobbed haircut typical of the decade, her V-necked blouse set off by a neat bow a fashionable style. In some families such photographs portraying minors may have been taken every year and sent to friends and relatives at Christmas, demonstrating their offspring’s progress and development.

Folding Christmas photographic cards in various styles remained popular for several decades. Baby photographs were particularly admired, many infants’ special first birthday portraits being sent during the festive season, like this card, dated 1947.

The hand-written message here (shown on next page) – ‘To my faithful nursemaid with lots of love and a big hug from Sandra’ – is a reminder of how privileged children’s nannies and nurses might be remembered at Christmas with an affectionate photograph of their charge.

Christmas has always been a poignant time for families separated by war. Before today’s modern technology, personalised greetings cards posted across the globe were an important way in which those who could not be together maintained contact. Relatively few photographic portrait-style Christmas cards survive for WW1, but during WW2 many postcard photographs portraying absent servicemen were sent home at Christmas.

Soldiers serving overseas often visited local photographic studios while abroad. Some studios produced pre-printed seasonal Christmas postcards, with an aperture for a recent photograph, as seen here in this card sent home from the Sudan for Christmas/New Year 1941/1942. This now forms part of a large private family photograph collection.