Cards are the sign manual of society. Their use and development belongs
only to a high order of civilization. They accompany us, as one writer
has justly remarked, all the way from the cradle to the grave. They
begin with engraved announcements of the birth of a child, then cards
for its christening, and, later on, dainty little cards of invitation
for children’s parties, until, in due time, the girl crosses that line
“Where the brook and river meet
Womanhood and childhood sweet,”
sets up a card of her own, and blossoms forth into a young lady.
They announce the gaieties, the pleasures, the anniversaries of life:
they inquire for us during our illness and sorrow, they return thanks
for our gifts and attentions, and, finally, they commemorate to our
friends the last, sad earthly scene and ring the curtain down.
The stress laid by society upon the correct usage of these magic bits
of pasteboard will not seem unnecessary when it is remembered that the
visiting card, socially defined, means, and is frequently made to take
the place of, one’s self. It will be seen, therefore, that one of the
first requisites for social success is to understand the language, so
to speak, of the visiting card. With this end in view the following
suggestions on the subject have been carefully arranged with due regard
to brevity, accuracy and ease of reference.
Style of the Card.
The card should be perfectly plain, fine in texture, thin, white,
unglazed and engraved in simple script without flourishes. Gilt edges,
rounded or clipped corners, tinted surfaces or any oddity of lettering,
such as German or Old English text, are to be avoided. A photograph
or any ornamentation whatever upon a card savors of ill-breeding or
rusticity. Have the script engraved always, never printed. The engraved
autograph is no longer considered in good taste, neither are written
cards as elegant as those that are engraved.
Size of the Card.
The regulation size, both in this country and England, for a lady’s
visiting card is three and one-half inches in length and two and
one-half inches in width. This oblong form is most generally used, but
there is an almost square shape, two and a half inches by three, also
in favor, and especially used by unmarried ladies where the shortness
of their name would be too much emphasized in the longer card. For
instance: “Miss Ray” would be quite justified in choosing the square
style, while “Miss Ethelinda Crane” or “Mrs. Algernon Spenser” would
find the length of their names displayed to better advantage on the
oblong card.
[Illustration: Card: Mrs J. Howard Ellis]
[Illustration: A NAVAL BALL ON SHIPBOARD]
[Illustration: AN ABSORBING STORY.]
Cards for gentlemen are much smaller than those for ladies. This holds
good in both England and America, where the required size is three
inches one way by one inch and a half the other.
[Illustration: Card: William L. Smith]
The largest card in use is the one sometimes adopted by the
newly-married and engraved with their joint names. Thus: