Swapping business cards is a thing to do when you meet someone you want to keep in touch with it has achieved the status of being a social convention, but where everything starts? What makes us up to the habit of exchanging a small print card to ensure colleagues and other business contacts can keep in touch with each other?
Early days
It all began in Europe in the 16th century, maybe in France, when gentlemen used a playing card to write note each other, and as it was a reception card game as a polite pursuit that they were accepted as documents that bind legally. The note can be IOOU for debt, records promes for money or business agreements, and are known as a carrier card as a recognition of the fact that the card was signed by a contract in his hand.
In the 17th century French card then developed into a visit card, where they used to pass public records and acted as a public calling card when the gentlemen came out of friends and business. This evolved quickly into the form of social etiquette for nobles and was good to do where, rather than just stop by without notice, the card was first served by a waiter to check when it would actually call directly. The convention spreads rapidly throughout Europe and calling cards become strong established as a way to introduce ourselves and arrange meetings.
Trade card
Employers immediately adopt social conventions for their professional needs, and recognize the potential to advertise their goods and services and let people know where they are. At the time of a limited newspaper in their circulation and printing techniques, so there is no form of other available mass ads. By printing a basic map how to find a shop or business on the card, they also become the earliest of the business directory. When printing techniques increased until the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the sophistication of trade cards, with increasing color design and graphics, and trade card production became the main printing industry with its own rights.
But printing repairs, in turn cause trade card deaths. As newspapers and magazines with color and images become cheaper and decent as mass media, they are a much more attractive place for advertising products and services, and at the end of the 19th century trade cards almost disappeared. Telephone development and change of social attitude have the same effect on calling cards with their use also falls from mode.
Name card appears
At the end of the 19th century business cards as we saw today began to appear in the United States, where there was a clear difference between the visit card and business card. Guest cards are social goodness, used by elite and good to do. Name cards also have the name and detail of the person who handed it, but used by shops and businesses far wider to promote themselves. Using a business card for social needs is considered manners, the implications they are touting jobs. So for the first time a typical business card appears.
