old business cards:

May 19, 2010

so i stumbled across these old business cards, uploaded by ink ling on flickr. seriously, i want to go back and live in the time when they passed these out. there is a really beautiful art to them. when letterforms weren't digitized yet, there wasn't a computer to design them for you. this is the legit stuff :)


30 hello's:

  1. wow, those are AWESOME!!

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  2. simple, and beautiful, I love that it's the type that really grabs your eye :)

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  3. oh I just love these. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Love these--I remember seeing them in the Laura Ingalls' books! Such handcrafted detail!

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  5. Lovely indeed. I was thrilled when the "calling card" started a little comeback a few years ago.

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  6. wow, so beautiful, I want business cards like this!! ♥

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  7. so inspiring....been wanting new business cards....
    would love one of these :)

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  8. Some of these look like the calling cards I used to hunt for at antique shops and flea markets as a kid. Yes, I've always been this nerdy. ;)

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  9. So beautiful! I worked in the John John Collection of Printed Ephemera at the Bodleian Library, and spent hours (!!!) cataloguing trade cards from printers - think late 1800s British Printers stuff - these remind me of them!

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  10. So pretty. Thanks for sharing these!

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  11. Amazing! Some of these remind me of some of John Derian's decoupage pieces too... I suppose he used similar finds as inspiration!

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  12. these are so great! love the old graph paper!

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  13. Awesome find! I wish we could go back to those days, but I'm kind of glad we don't have to make tedious calls on people lasting only 15 minutes, and leaving cards at each other's houses when the other wasn't at home. This is a prettier form of phone tag though! :)

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  14. this is awesome, danni! love the handlettering on these... so much personalization!

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  15. They seem so nostalgic and classy (and somewhat feminine...)
    BTW, that reminds me of that whole press series you did... are you planning on getting back to that...?

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  16. Calling cards! There's a chapter in one of the Little House books (Laura Ingalls Wilder) where Laura's parents give her a quarter so that she can go and get calling cards printed. =D I LOVED that chapter as a kid, and always wanted some of my own.

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  17. oh my....these are so awesome!

    what a great post....

    xo

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  18. These were called "Calling Cards". Very popular during the 1800's and early 1900's. They were more simple than a business card, but such a great way to show personality with your name. Not all of us need a business card, but they are kind of handy to have with a phone or email on, to give to acquaintences when you meet them.

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  19. ooh wow, so amazing!
    i love every single one of them, so delicate...

    Mila
    x.

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  20. Hi
    It is really amazing.
    So cute...
    I never saw something like that.
    Olívia (Brazil)

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  21. Love them!! It did inspire me to chance my cards. Thank you for sharing!! I hope you have a lovely weekend!

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  22. I'm in love with every single one of them. Great find!

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  23. wow, these are amazing! I've never even thought about that business cards have existed for so long. Lovely type!

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  24. totally agree with you...gorgeously elegant!!

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Friends, Thank you so much for reading + supporting my blog, and for taking the time to leave me a comment. Your comment support truly means so much to me. Have a lovely day! xo, danni