The History of Calling Cards

When visiting a friend (or "making a call"), ladies of the Victorian and Edwardian era would leave a card at the front door, even if the one they were visiting was home. If they were home, the house servant delivered the calling card to them. If they were not at home, the card was left in the "card receiver", a silver tray on the entrance hall table. This way, not only the hostess, but other visitors as well, could see who had been there. Callng careds were used as a reminder of who had visited recently and deserved a visit in return.

If the person the visitor wished to see was not at home, a message could be left by using a system of folds:

** If the top left corner was bent, it was a social call.

** If the top right corner was bent, it was a visit of congratulations, perhaps for a recent engagement, wedding, birth, or other good news.

** If the bottom left corner was bent, it was a visit to say goodbye, as if the visitor were getting ready to go on a trip.

** If the bottom right corner was bent, it was a visit of condolence, usually for a death in the family.

I have created some Victorian/Edwardian themed calling cards for you to use. Just save them to your hard-drive, create your own name on them (or name, address, whatever you wish ... in Victorian times, the card usually just carried a name). You can do this easily through a program such as Photo Impact or Paint Shop Pro. If you do not have these programs, I would be happy to do that for you. Just let me know which card you want, and what you would like it to read. You can email the information to me at whats_cookin@cheddarbay.com ... I will return it to you, and you can print as many as you need.

Cheddar Bay's Calling Cards

Red Rose Border

Red Rose

Lilac Tea

Blue Flowers

Pink Roses

Lily of the Valley

Lavender Seeds

Lavender Ribbon

Tea Service

Victorian Teacup

Tea Bunny

Tea Mice

Victorian Teddy Bear

Black & White Cat

Orchid Cross

Orthodox Cross

Victorian Angel

Little Women

Girl with Roses

Victorian Lady 1

Victorian Lady 2

Victorian Lady 3

Victorian Lady 4

Victorian Lady 5

Victorian Lady 6

Victorian Lady 7

Victorian Lady 8

Victorian Lady 9

Victorian Lady 10

Victorian Lady 11

... MORE WILL BE COMING SOON ...