Get to know with trade and visiting cards. Find out more about their origin and application in the history. Consider how visiting cards turned to common business cards.
Trade and Visiting Cards
Trade and Visiting Cards
Trade Cards

trade_cardTrade cards are known as little cards, have the same purposes and features with the visiting cards which are usually interchanged in public meetings. These cards are commonly handed out to prospect consumers and possible buyers. Trade cards are known to be trendy primarily at the beginning of the 17th century in London. These cards were employed as publicity and in addition as maps, pointing out to traders’ shops to people, because no official street address numbering arrangement was available then.

The trade card is an old sample of the present business card. Some companies started to compose more and more stylish designs, particularly with the growth of color printing. A few firms concentrated on creating stock cards, frequently with a picture on front and clear on the back side for the card recipients to jot some important data concerning the traders. With time the designs grew more eye-catching and vivid; to make collections of trade cards was an accepted hobby in the late 19th century, because bright-colored pictures were not then extensively obtainable.

In its primary meaning, the "trade" in trade card concerns its application by the owner of a firm to publicize his occupation, trade, or branch of industry. As the collecting of trade cards became extremely popular and exciting affair these cards turned to the trading cards, which purport at the present moves to the interchange or trade of cards by aficionados. Some cards, chiefly those made by tobacco corporations demonstrating baseball players, presently grew as collectables and their main purpose of a business announcement was replaced.

Visiting Cards

visiting_cardsVisiting cards also named as calling cards primarily came into viewed in China in the 15th century and in Europe in the 17th century. The lackeys of rich and famous people as well as of members of Royal family would convey these first European visiting cards to the valets of their potential masters ceremonially presenting the coming of their holders.

Visiting cards grew a vital instrument of etiquette, with refined rules managing their application. The indispensable tradition was that one person would not look forward to meet with another person in his own house (if not asked or acquainted) without primary giving out their visiting card to the person at his house. Unless giving out the card, they would not suppose to be accepted in the beginning, but may be handed a card at his house in return. This would function as a sign that a personal visit and gathering at house would not be undesirable. Nevertheless, if no card was appeared in response, or if a card was transmitted in a packet, a personal visit was thus unwelcome. As an acceptance from French and English etiquette, visiting cards grew usual amid the nobility of America and Europe. The whole process relied on there being valets to open the door and accept the cards and it was, consequently, restricted to the public castes which could not maintain lackeys.

Some visiting cards comprised sophisticated carved decorations and unbelievable armorial bearings. On the other hand, the official form visiting card in the 19th century in the United Kingdom was a simple card with nothing more than the holder’s name on it. Now and again the name of a gentlemen's club could be included, but addresses were not or else added.

Nowadays the visiting card is not the widespread attribute of higher middle class and higher class life that it some time ago was in Europe and North America anymore. Much more ordinary is the business card, in which contact information, comprising address and phone number, are crucial. This has caused to the addition of such important data even on contemporary domestic visiting cards.