Winter 2007

Carding Home the Profits By Randall Mielke

Did You Know?

Barry Shank, author of A Token of My Affection: Greeting Cards and American Business Culture, and an assistant professor of comparative studies at the College of Humanities at Ohio State University, says the U.S. market for greeting cards really grew from World War I to the 1970s.

It was common during the 20th century for large companies to hire people for management positions in different cities. The managers kept in touch with others via greeting cards, Shank says.

“So cards became an important means of contact with friends and family, and in developing kinships in the new communities,” he adds.

Randall Mielke

Mielke is a freelancer who writes about retail, business and economic development for a variety of publications.