'John Sands was the second company to be registered in Australia, just after the Bank of New South Wales. John Sands, son of an English engraver migrated to Australia in1837 with enough stock to set up shop as a stationary supplier in the new colony. In 1865 he registered the now famous 'hourglass' logo and in 1881 he produced the very first Australian Christmas cards (whose designs were the result of a national competition). The company remained in the Sands family until 1978 when it was bought by the Melbourne based Valentine Greeting Card Company and began trading as Valentine-Sands. Along the way, the company merged with Murfett Regency. In 1989 the value of the name John Sands was once again recognised and resumed trading under it along with the return of the 'hourglass' logo in 1993.
John Sands has evolved from a small book publishing company to become a significant business today as a major manufacturer and distributor of greetings cards and related products in Australasia. In 1996 the company became an integral part of the world's largest publicly listed greeting card company, American Greetings.' http://www.johnsands.com.au/htm_careers_choice.asp (Sighted 13/12/04)
