Business Cards, Then and Now

Business Cards, Then and Now

Why exactly do we distribute little pieces of decorated paper covered with information when we make business connections? Where did the Business Card come from?

History of business cards

While many people believe that business cards originated in Europe, the truth is that business cards, or “Visiting Cards” were used in China as far back as the 15th century.  The upper class used Visiting Cards to admit or exclude newcomers to society. Polite society dictated that strangers would submit their Visiting Card to the staff answering the door. The card would go to the owner of the establishment or household for approval. If it was accepted, the stranger would be admitted and greeted. If rejected, the stranger was simply turned away.

Much later in 17th century Europe, “Visite Biletes” (visit cards) were again used by the upper class to announce the arrival of a guest. As in China, the card was presented at the door and the visitor would await the head of household’s decision to accept or reject the visit. Unlike in China, collecting and displaying Visite Biletes became a sign of status. While callers awaited admittance, they could see all the previous cards displayed on the requisite silver tray by the door. Of course it would be rude to rifle through the cards, but Visite Biletes had become very decorative and even elaborate, so it was impossible not to notice them. The number of cards, and the owner’s names printed on them, signified how socially desirable a person was in “polite society”.

By the 18th and 19th centuries the size of the cards had grown and there was now room to handwrite notes, short messages, and even IOUs on them.  A pencil was always present on the silver tray for the purpose of adding notes.  There was an elaborate system of sorting and organizing the cards which were common knowledge among the elite. For instance, if a card had a corner folded down it meant that the card had been presented in a face-to-face meeting; a fold in the middle meant that the caller had come to see the entire family and not one person in specific. If a caller had made a condolence call, the card was marked with “p.c.”, if the visit was congratulatory in nature, “p.f.” was noted.

At about the same time “Trade Cards” began to appear. These were used by tradesmen and business owners. These forerunners of our modern business cards were originally used as both a means of advertising as well as a map to one’s business.  At that time many streets were nameless and buildings numberless so having a directional map was important.

By the end of the 1800’s the use of Trade Cards became the norm in the United States among the industrial elites.  There was a strong divide between business related Trade Cards and polite society’s personal Calling Cards which were more like Visite Biletes.  It would have been a horrible ‘faux pas to present one’s  Trade Card when making a social call since it would  have been assumed that the caller was there to do business or collect a debt. And using a Calling Card to gain admittance to collect a debt would have been the height of bad taste and would have never been forgiven.   

Business cards today

Today, the modern Business Card usually suffices for all uses. But some things remain as they always were.  In most business environments business cards are exchanged among equals or presented by someone wanting admittance to a new group. The exchange takes place before admittance or at the moment of meeting face-to-face. Creativity of the design of a business card is used to stand out, be remembered, and to reflect the nature of the business or the personality of the card owner.  And to this day most every culture has a ritual for presenting cards. Some rituals are highly stylistic and formal, such as in many Asian countries.  The use of both hands, the respectful bow, the direction of presentation  all are intended to link the respect of the card to that of the card recipient. The rituals of exchanging cards in other cultures may be less formal but each still maintain a respect for the business card as a reflection of the respect one has for its owner.  Having a card printing in multiple languages out of respect for a recipient is always appreciated, even when not necessary; securing your colleague’s card in a respectful manner instead of shoving it in your pocket acknowledges your respect for him or her.  Even in cultures where the niceties are less important, exchanging business cards is part and parcel with whatever greeting ritual takes place.

Make sure your business card accurately reflects your business is and who you are as a person.

Stay tuned for a future blog when we'll explore best practices for business cards in the 21st century.

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