First impressions. A brief history of the business card.
While the origin of the business card may go back to a Neanderthal named Grok, a door-to-door cave improvement saleman who left behind small, chiseled stones with his name on it, the documented trail begins in 17th Century France. Visiting cards were playing-card-sized pieces of paper upon which visitors wrote brief messages or promissory notes with their signatures in elegant script. Louis XIV and his inner circle of writers and artists made them fashionable and they began to spread to other countries. These cards later included engraved flourishes like coats of arms, along with the essential contact info. These became standard fare for the upper-middle-class in America during the 19thCentury.
Tradecards are the next evolution towards today’s business card. They became popular in 17thCentury England and included brief descriptions of businesses along with detailed maps to their locations in an age before numbered addresses and QR codes. Tradecards spread geographically, and evolved with printing techniques to include illustrations and color lithography in the 1830s.
Business card use became widespread with the large companies that emerged from the industrial revolution. These cards filled a need during presentations and expositions and quickly expanded into the traveling sales departments. There was still a perceived need for personal visiting cards and the two rarely overlapped, until visiting cards slowly faded away, along with other formalities of the Victorian era, like the whalebone corset.
This brings us to the age of the modern business card. They are available with a nearly infinite selection of papers, inks, die-cutting and textural options — like embossing, debossing, foil stamping and thick UV ink. Digital presses have helped to bring down the price, but have some limitations like more limited paper choices, tricky color matching, and difficulties with fine details and gradients. If you’re concerned about quality (of course you are), then go with offset printing.
A few etiquette tips: International cards should be bilingual with English on one side and the country’s native language on the other. In some countries, it is considered rude to hand your card to someone with your left hand. Regardless of the country you’re in, cards should always be in a pristine state to make the best possible first impression. This can be accomplished by keeping them in a case or a holder — never your billfold. Don’t be a Neanderthal, make your best first impression with a great looking, thoughtfully-designed business card.
Calling card etiquette included the following strict rules:
• On first calls, leave one card for each lady in the household
• Place your card in the servant’s silver tray using your left hand. He/she then delivers it to the lady of the house so she can decide whether or not to see you
• Ladies used card case for presenting cards
• If your card doesn’t require a reply, you must give a reason why.
• Cards stacked on a tray near the entryway should not be peeked at.
• Young women can have their own cards made one year after having been formally introduced to society
• American men should never fold the corner of a card, but this was a common practice in Europe to note that the card had been delivered directly by the gentleman.
• Cards folded in the middle indicated a call on multiple members of a household
• Initial French letters indicated congratulations, thanks, I brought flowers, condolences, or a holiday visit.
