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.