The History of Business Cards
Today, nearly every business owner or employee of stature carries business cards. They are the primary means of exchanging contact information in the business world in order to maintain networking and customer links. One might wonder, however, how business cards became such an integral element of business culture. A glimpse into their history reveals how, in one form or another, business cards have been a part of society for 400 years or more.
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Visiting Cards
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While some sources claim that business cards originated in China in the 15th century, the earliest recordable instances were "visiting cards," which European elite used in the 17th century. When someone of nobility or aristocratic stature came to visit, his/her footman would bring a visiting card, roughly the size of a playing card, to the servant of the household in order to announce the nobility's arrival. Along with ornate decorations and coats of arms, there was soon an established etiquette adopted by the upper class for visiting cards. Some also used them as stationary for promissory notes or other messages and agreements.
Trade Cards
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Trade cards paved the streets of the early 17th century London business world. In an era void of an established newspaper industry and no numbering system for addresses, business owners had to think of a way to advertise their services and get people to their doors. Trade cards were the answer. They not only had information about the services or products of an establishment, but typically had a map or directions on the back. In the beginning, printers made these miniature advertisements with a letterpress. By the 1830s, and due to the invention of lithography, real artistic work went in to drawing the attention of potential customers.
Calling Cards
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In the 18th and early 19th centuries, visiting cards spread to use among the middle class and became an important element of social etiquette. Among the many rules that accompanied calling cards, society required gentlemen to have a card for each woman of the household. Upon making a first visit, gentlemen were not allowed to enter when "making a call" until a servant took the card to the lady of the household, she examined it and approved the caller's entry into the home. It was socially acceptable for a woman to have a calling card to present, upon being in a society for at least a year.
Westernization
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Upon the rise of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, businessmen in the United States (as well as Europe) saw a need to be able to maintain contact information for one another. As social formalities weakened, so did the use of calling and trade cards. Combining both ideas, entrepreneurs developed a newer, yet effective, means of staying in touch through the first innovation of the business card. The upper class looked down upon this informal use of the calling card and made distinctions to the point that to present a business card at someone's door meant you were a bill collector.
Modern Day
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In Asia. the use of business cards maintain rigid etiquette, but most other nations treat them as a matter of everyday occurrence with few rules for exchange. Typically, business cards today are a means of introduction and maintaining contact. There are, however, expectations as to what information should be on a business card, such as the name of the card holder, a professional title, name of the employer and all viable means of professional contact for that person (typically telephone numbers, e-mail address and/or a Web site. Company logos on business cards help recipients recognize a business through branding.
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