CARDS
VISITING-CARDS are of three sizes, which remain practically the same year after year. The largest is that used by matrons, while that of the unmarried woman is a very little smaller, and that of the man much smaller. The present style as to materials favors a polished bristol board that is white and substantial without being too heavy. This should be printed from an engraved plate in black ink. The lettering may be a running script or old English.
Under no circumstances should a woman’s card carry any prefix other than Mrs. or Miss, but one or the other of these invariably appears. This rule does not apply in the case of professional women who may wish a distinctive card for business purposes, with its prefix of Dr. or Rev. Such a card would also carry the address in the lower right-hand corner and perhaps office-hours in the lower left-hand corner. But even the professional woman requires the plainer form of card for social purposes.
There is a tendency at present to give the name in full on the card. For example, Mrs. John James Smith, or Miss Maude MacArthur.
It is permissible for the senior matron of a family to use only the family name on her card with the prefix: for example, Mrs. Fuller. It is more common, however, to omit the Christian name of an eldest daughter who is unmarried: Miss Fuller. The other daughters require the Christian name on their cards: Miss Mary Fuller, Miss Gladys Fuller.
The tendency in this country is strongly against the omission of the name in either of the above cases. Although it is perfectly correct as a social usage, it is opposed to the spirit of our institutions.
There is some variation in the use of the name on the card in the case of a widow. It is within the woman’s choice whether she will continue to use the Christian name of her husband on the card, or will put her own in place of it. In other words, she may use the same cards after the death of her husband as before if she prefers, or she may follow the Mrs. with her own Christian name. A common form to-day gives the woman’s Christian name and the surname to which she was born and finally the surname of her husband. A present vogue permits also the use of only the two surnames, without the Christian name. Thus, Mary Brown marries James Robinson. The husband dies and the widow changes her visiting-cards, which have read, Mrs. James Robinson, so that they now read, Mrs. Mary Robinson. Then presently she grows ambitious socially and has her cards changed to read, Mrs. Mary Brown Robinson. Soon, she seizes on a newer style, and again changes her cards in accordance with it to read, Mrs. Brown Robinson.