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Worldwide Collectibles Forum
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Enter the message board here:-
Hallmark Collectibles Message Board
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Hallmark Cards, a privately owned
American company based in Kansas City, Missouri, is the largest
manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. Approximately 50%
of greeting cards sent in the United States every year are manufactured
by Hallmark.
Founded in 1910 by 18-year-old Joyce Clyde Hall selling postcards, by
1915 the company was known as Hall Brothers and sold Valentine's Day and
Christmas cards. In 1917, Hall and his brother Rollie invented modern
wrapping paper when they ran out of traditional colored tissue paper.
In 1928, the company adopted the name "Hallmark", after the hallmark
symbol used by goldsmiths in London in the 14th century, and began
printing the name on the back of every card and promoting it in ad
campaigns, a practice the company continues to the present day. In 1931,
the Canadian William E. Coutts Company, Ltd., a major card maker, became
an affiliate of Hall Brothers, which was Hall Brothers' first
international business venture. In 1944, it adopted its current slogan,
"When you care enough to send the very best." It was created by a
salesman at a meeting. The cocktail napkin on which it was originally
handwritten is on display at the company headquarters. In 1951, Hall
sponsored a television program for NBC that gave rise to the Hallmark
Hall of Fame, which has won 78 Emmy Awards. In 1954, the company name
was changed from Hall Brothers to Hallmark. In 1958, William E. Coutts
Company, Ltd. was acquired by Hallmark; until the 1990s, Hallmark's
Canadian branch was known as "Coutts Hallmark".
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