Exhibit 99

                American Greetings Announces Sale of Magnivision

    CLEVELAND, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Greetings Corp.
(NYSE: AM) today announced it has signed a letter of agreement to sell its
Magnivision nonprescription reading glasses subsidiary to an affiliate of
AAi.FosterGrant in a cash transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

    Zev Weiss, chief executive officer of American Greetings, said the sale of
Magnivision reflects the Corporation's strategy of focusing resources on
businesses that are closely related to its core competence of social
expression. "As we have stated, we are evaluating our entire business
portfolio," Weiss said, "and Magnivision, while a strong and profitable
company, is a better strategic fit for AAi.FosterGrant than it is for us. We
decided that we can generate more value for our shareholders by divesting
Magnivision than by operating it ourselves."

    The Corporation expects the transaction, which is subject to Hart-Scott-
Rodino approval and other applicable conditions, to close in approximately 30
to 60 days. Magnivision will become a part of the AAi.FosterGrant family of
companies once the sale is final.

    AAi.FosterGrant, a designer and marketer of sunglasses, reading glasses,
optical frames and jewelry, is located in Smithfield, R.I. and employs about
1,200 people worldwide.


    About Magnivision

    Magnivision is the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of
nonprescription reading glasses sold over the counter. Located in Miramar,
Fla., Magnivision generates gross sales of approximately $80 million and
employs about 200 full-time associates and about 1,000 part-time
merchandisers.


    About American Greetings Corporation

    American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM) is one of the world's largest
manufacturers of social expression products. Along with greeting cards, its
product lines include gift wrap, party goods, reading glasses, candles,
stationery, calendars, educational products, ornaments and electronic
greetings. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings generates annual net
sales of approximately $2 billion. For more information on the Corporation,
visit http://corporate.americangreetings.com .


    The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally
identified by words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "plans,"
"should," "estimates" and similar expressions. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those stated or implied in our forward-
looking statements, include but are not limited to: retail bankruptcies and
consolidations, successful integration of acquisitions, successful transition
of management, a weak retail environment, consumer acceptance of products as
priced and marketed, the impact of technology on core product sales,
competitive terms of sale offered to customers, successfully implementing
supply chain improvements and achieving projected cost savings from those
improvements, and the Corporation's ability to comply with its debt covenants.
Risks pertaining specifically to the Corporation's interactive business
segment include the viability of online advertising and subscriptions as
revenue generators and the public's acceptance of online greetings and other
social expression products.

    In addition, this release contains time-sensitive information that
reflects management's best analysis as of the date of this release. American
Greetings does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or
circumstances that arise after the date of this release.  Further information
concerning issues that could materially affect financial performance related
to forward-looking statements can be found in the Corporation's periodic
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.



SOURCE  American Greetings Corporation
    -0-                             07/30/2004
    /CONTACT:  David D. Poplar, Investor Relations Manager of American
Greetings, +1-216-252-4864/
    /Web site:  http://corporate.americangreetings.com /
    (AM)

CO:  American Greetings Corporation
ST:  Ohio, Rhode Island, Florida
IN:  REA HOU
SU:  TNM