Paper Trail- The Proper Use of Visiting Cards

The rituals of visiting cards evolved in Victorian society to move beyond one’s social circle and to exclude undesirables from entering yours. To make an introduction, ladies and gentlemen of quality dropped their cards off with the servant at the door of the home belonging to a person they wished to visit. The servant took the card to their employer. If they desired the offered visit, they sent one of their cards in return within a week. If they wanted no part of this acquaintance, they sent no card at all or one of their cards enclosed in an envelope.

The use of visiting cards was restricted to the upper and middle classes because the practice depends on a servant being present at home to open the door and accept the cards on behalf of the household. The upper-class learned it from the French in the 1700s, and the middle-class was quick to follow. Most households collected visiting card on a silver tray or porcelain bowl in their home’s entryway.  Cards belonging to the most prestigious well-wisher always found their way to the top of the pile.

Visiting cards showed their owner’s name in the center in clear type or in neat and professional penmanship. Initially, visiting cards did not include the owner’s address, but as the 1800s moved on more and more people printed that helpful bit of information.  Beyond the ritual of visiting, these cards also worked as a means of identification, could be left with a personal message written on the back, or exchanged at impromptu introductions.

A lady’s card often included her “At Home” day, the day of the week she opened her home to visits in the afternoon. Calling on a day other than the At Home day was very rude, except for Sundays if you were family or a close friend.  Visitors kept their calls less than thirty minutes long to avoid taxing their hostess’s hospitality, although the lady of the house often invited genuinely welcome guests to stay for tea. If another guest arrived during their visit, the visitor made a polite exit unless invited to stay longer.

Next week we’ll look at some of the extra information encoded in a visiting card and some more examples of visiting cards from Paper Trail.