Before the telephone became the ubiquitous contraption it is today, social communication was conducted in person. People would call (visit) one another by showing up unannounced at a home and handing a calling card to the servant who answered the door. Such cards were different from business cards in that they gave only the name of the caller, not his or her profession or address, and were typically unadorned with decorations or logos. (Business cards were given only when calling for business rather than personal reasons; to do otherwise was seen as a faux pas.)
I’m wondering, does anyone here still use calling cards? If so, where and when do you use them? Has anyone here ever received one from a caller?
As the Wikipedia article noted, the use of visiting cards presupposes the availability of a servant to take it to his or her master. I think the universality of the telephone and the sharp decline in the number of homes with servants has pretty much ended the need for visiting cards.
I’m reminded of the old British joke about the butler who came to the lady of the house to say that four men would like to see her.
“Who is it, Hoskins?” she asked.
“Three reporters, ma’am,” he sniffed, “and a gentleman from The Times.”
The calling card tradition still survives in some pockets of the military - I remember that you could order them thru the Navy Exchange. There’s a bit about that mentioned here.
They are also used, for reasons nobody is really sure about, as enclosures in high school graduation announcements. I’m pretty sure it’s just a ploy by the industry to bilk more money.
I actually use something like this. I had business cards made up with just my name in the middle, nothing else. It is black raised lettering on a white stock. I had them done up because they were cheap. One thousand cards for ten dollars.
I have a business card holder that I carry around with them in it. I use them when I want to give someone my number or get their number. It beats having to rummage through your pockets for scrap paper. I never though of using them as calling cards though, mostly because I never even heard of calling cards.
As well as in movies such as Ocean’s 11. Plus I’ve had one female friend come home absolutely enamored by a gentleman who gave her a card like this and hand wrote his number on the back. I never inquired any further, but she is unattached today so it may have been a clever ploy to get another date or something. I think it’s snazzy and have pondered doing it myself, but I don’t currently.
Cruising boaters (mostly sailors) often have cards printed to hand out to other boaters they meet on their travels. Friendships are forged during relatively short stays in any given anchorage or marina and cruisers tend to keep in touch. These cards more closely resemble business cards than simple calling cards because they include all contact info and generally display the boat’s name in the same manner as a business card displays the business name and logo.
Although even in the South we haven’t used calling corners for ages and ages, when I was a teenager my mother had stationary made up for me - notepaper, folded cards, and calling cards. Why? I dunno, that’s just what you do. I also know all about what the little corner folding things mean, even though I’ve never used them and have no maid to hand me cards.
Also, I use business cards in social situations - but I don’t really like it. I’d prefer to be able to leave a card that was about me, not about the job.
I’ve always had “get calling cards” on my list of things to do - but never done it. I’ll add it to my 2006 resolutions.
I don’t use them personally, and I’m not sure whether any of my visitors do. The doorbell rings and I sit there and wait for the butler to answer the door for me, but he never does and the visitors eventually go away. Damn that butler…come to think of it, I’ve never met the butler…hmmm…strange.
I use my business cards all the time as calling cards. In some occupations, it is an extra added attraction that your personal card has more than just your name. Once I give the card to someone, they know they can call me for real estate questions. It’s a major source of clients.