Leaving His Mark: Hall’s Company Takes Off

Hall’s postcard company was doing well, but he quickly began to worry about his future. Could sales keep indefinitely? No, he decided. It was time for a change.

Hall’s first order of business was to alter the company’s name to Hallmark, a play on his name as well as a synonym for quality in the 1300s, when gold and silver were “marked” for quality at Goldsmith’s Hall in London. If an item was up to standard, it would receive a “Hall Mark.”

In 1912, Hall decided to branch out and add greeting cards to his company’s shelves. But just as business began taking off, Hall encountered one of the biggest setbacks of his professional career. In 1915, a fire destroyed the entire of Hall’s store, along with his entire inventory.

Hall was devastated but refused to give up. He found the money to purchase a new engraving press, and opened up another office just down the street from where his last one had been burnt down. There, Hall and his brothers began printing their own greeting cards, this time each with their own Hallmark insignia.

In 1916, just one year after his business had been destroyed by fire, Hall launched his first Hallmark greeting card. It read, “I'd like to be the kind of friend you are to me.”

The company continued to grow over the years, and by 1923 the Hall brothers had over 120 employees working for them. They were no longer crowded in a tiny office, but rather spread out in four separate buildings in a newly built six-story plant.

Around the same time, Hall introduced a new innovation to the industry. Instead of having greeting cards stacked at the back of a store and having a clerk choose one they felt was appropriate for the customer, Hall placed his cards on display cases, allowing customers to wander through rows of cards and select their own.

During the Great Depression, Hall’s company continued to thrive, even managing to not lay off a single worker. After World War II, Hallmark officially adopted its well known logo, a five-pointed crown. Soon thereafter, Hall began introducing greeting cards that featured works by such artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and even Winston Churchill. This was followed by the Ambassador brand of cards, Hall’s answer to serving large, mass marketing stores.

In the early 1950s, Hall began sponsoring the Hallmark Hall of Fame, a television show that showcased some of the world’s greatest performers from around the world, and brought his brand to a wider audience. With his greeting cards a roaring success, Hall launched a new line of products, including albums, candles, gifts, party favours, stationery, and more.

By the time Hall died in 1982, he was 91 years old and his company was worth some $1.5 billion. Over 14,000 designs were being printed per year by 450 artists. Today, more than ten million Hallmark cards are sold around the world each year.



Leaving His Mark: Hall’s Company Takes Off

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