The Interesting History Of Business Cards

Business cards have been a very common and inexpensive form of advertising for hundreds of years

. The history of business cards stretches all the way back to the 1600s. Back in those times, a business card actually was a visiting card or also called a calling card. This was a social convention of the time and there was a great deal of social etiquette surrounding the exchange of these cards at the time.

Eventually, the calling card stopped being used for social purposes and began to be used for business. At this time, the card was called a trade card. This was when newspapers were not well developed and there was little classified advertising. The trade card purpose was to tell the public where a merchant was located and it would often have both directions and a map. At this time, there was not an organized system of street addresses and street names as exists in every city today. Trade cards were at this time printed by wood cut and by letter press. These cards were mostly 1 color and may have had some types of tint.

In the early 1800s, lithography became the standard in printing, and many more colors and types of paper were used. At this time, business cards and calling cards were still separate. Calling cards were still used to pay a visit to someone's home and leave them a message when that person was not home. If you made a mistake of leaving a business card in this situation, the person might think that you were a bill collector!

Over time, with the development of other forms of communication, the calling card has disappeared, but the business card of course is still a major part of our world today. Today, all sorts of materials are available to be used for business cards. There are plastic and magnetic business cards and all sorts of colors and designs that are available. There are hundreds of outlets on line that allow you to use templates for business cards that make it very inexpensive and easy to print out thousands of business cards. A business card that is very attractive is basically essential for just about any business that will interact with the public today.

One of the great new uses of business cards for marketing in 2012 is a magnetic business card that may be stuck to a refrigerator or on a filing cabinet. This is a fantastic way to keep the name of your business at eye level in front of your customers every day of their lives. You can get a business card magnet will all sorts of colors, high photo quality images and great digital printing. You also can choose to get a magnet business card that may be used outside. This heavier duty magnetic business card will last for years and is unlikely to ever fall off.

As you can see, business cards have come such a long way from hundreds of years ago, but they are more important that ever.

by: Lawrence Reaves

POST COMMENT

Your Business Requires A Mass Appealing Web Design For Attracting More Customers Video Conferencing A Tech Gift To Global Businesses Small Business Marketing Tips That Will Speedily Generate Profits Ecommerce Solutions: Getting Success In Online Business Business Analyst Jobs - The Crack Fillers! Business Analyst Jobs - Uv Eyed Employs!! Oscommerce Modules Available For Your Business Expansion Buy Facebook Fans And Likes For Your Business Success The Uses Of A Logistics Company In Business Take Your Online Retailing Business To The Next Level With Esources Directory Services Finding A Snow Cone Machine And Supplies For Your Concession Stand Business Growing A Small Business With A 0800 Number The Importance Of Written Communication In Business