A Short History of Business Cards

A History of Business Cards

a-short-history-of-business-cards

 

These days we take for granted that business cards are cheap to produce and every second person has one. But before the days of widespread printing business cards were exceptionally expensive. They were reserved for the elite and upper middle classes only.

As far as I can tell they originally came from the French court etiquette of the 19th Century. These visiting cards then made their way to America, Europe, and Australia. Some contained engraved coat of arms, hand-sketched flowers, and even lithographed details. I don’t think they ever got 1,000 business cards for $55.00!

The early business cards were adapted to trading cards when lithography became less expensive. These days we see trading cards all the time for sports teams, with really cheap chewing gum enclosed.

August 10, 2011,

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Rob Jennings

When he found himself in a business conversation with someone talking about their ‘customer-centric core competencies’ he realised it was time to create a digital agency that was less about self-promoting buzz-words and more about the practical endeavour to assist clients in making effective use of the web.