visiting card
Sign in to saveAlso known as calling card, visiting cards, calling cards
small paper card with one's name printed on it, and often bearing an artistic design
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, visiting card is referenced by 110 other articles, and connects out to France, London and New York City.
It sits within the topics Business cards and Stationery.
Its subject is documented across 34 Wikipedia language editions.
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Louis Pasteur's visiting card, France, 1888-1896 Wellcome L0057280.jpg
- Has use
- communications media
Show 4 more facts
- described by source
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
- Commons category
- Visiting cards
- short name
- Визитка
- P8168
- 1947 Meistaradeildin
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~7 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Visiting card of Johann van Beethoven, brother of Ludwig van Beethoven A visiting card, also called a calling card, was a small, decorative card that was carried by individuals to present themselves to others. It was a common practice in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly among the upper classes, to leave a visiting card when calling on someone (which means to visit their house or workplace).
Before the 18th century, visitors making social calls left handwritten notes at the home of friends who were not at home. By the 1760s, the upper classes in France and Italy were leaving printed visiting cards decorated with images on one side and a blank space for hand-writing a note on the other. The style quickly spread across Europe and to the United States. As printing technology improved, elaborate color designs became increasingly popular. However, by the late 1800s, simpler styles became more common.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “visiting card” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.