The History Of Business Cards And Where It Has Evolved To

So many of us believe that the business cards trend emerged in the late 19^th century, but actually the origin of Business cards dates back to the 15^th Century in China. At that time the purpose of the card was to inform the local population of visit from royalty, it was called “meishi” and was distributed among the local population before the visit from royalty.

Visiting Card

Card Holder

The next recorded history of formal cards dates back to the 17^th century where French royalty and aristocrats used to send their footmen to deliver “calling cards” to those they were visiting prior to arrival. In 18^th century these cards became the standard for the upper class, and by the 19^th century they were common among the middle class as well. By then when the cards arrived at the doorstep they were handed to the staff, who would then take them to the lady of the house for inspection. The idea of first impression through the introductory cards became so famous at that time that many used fancy text, elegant casings and even gold engraving to standout from the others.

19th Century Business Card

By the mid 19^th century, the cards started to emerge as a business card in a real sense, when the tradesmen in United Kingdom borrowed this practice for themselves as a way of distributing their contact information to current and potential customers. And as of today Business card has its own etiquette regarding what the card should contain, like name, company logo, job title, phone number, company address, and e-mail address are all standards. Now a day’s people are coming up with more and more ideas and creativity for their business cards to stand out from the rest of the people.

At present in United States alone an estimated 10 Billion business cards are printed each year. Everyone is trying to be as creative then the other to make an impression to their customers. What simply started from paper business cards have also evolved into Plastic business cards, frosted cards, wooden cards etc. there is no limit to the material used as long as it puts them ahead of their rivals.

The introduction of internet has also evolved the ordering process of these cards, now you can simple place an order online. The design can be custom made, or selected from a few standards. The order usually take around 2-3 business days to reach at your office. The market for printing business cards is also very competitive, many great deals for printing in bulks are offered with discounts as well as bonus to the amount of cards you get.