NEW YORK, Nov 29, 2001/ FW/ --- The world's first Christmas card has fetched $28,200 at an auction in the UK.

Made in 1843, the card was reputedly illustrated by John Calcott Horsley for Bath businessman Sir Henry Cole. Cole sent the five-inch-by-three-inch card depicting a Christmas dinner with three generations of his family, to his grandmother.

"We knew it was special, but we didn't realize how special. We thought it would go for 6,000 pounds ($8,400) and secretly hoped it might fetch 12,000 pounds ($17,000), but we never dreamt it would realize as much as 20,000 pounds ($28,200)," said Alan Aldridge, from auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son.

A thousand of the cards were lithographed and sold at one shilling each. Only 12 of the original 1,000 cards are known to remain in existence.

"The Victorians were drawing their own Christmas cards before, but this was the first card to be produced commercially. At a shilling each, an average man's weekly wage, they were only bought by the upper class," Aldridge said.

Sir Henry was reportedly a close friend of Prince Albert and oversaw the inauguration of the Victoria and Albert Museum.