to 2-3/4 inches high, but there is no fixed rule. The card of a young girl
is smaller and more nearly square in shape. (About 2 inches high by 2-1/2
or 2-5/8 inches long, depending upon the length of the name.) Young girls
use smaller cards than older ladies. A gentleman's card is long and
narrow, from 2-7/8 to 3-1/4 inches long, and from 1-1/4 to 1-5/8 inches
high. All visiting cards are engraved on white unglazed bristol board,
which may be of medium thickness or thin, as one fancies. A few years ago
there was a fad for cards as thin as writing paper, but one seldom sees
them in America now. The advantage of a thin card is that a greater
quantity may be carried easily.

The engraving most in use to-day is shaded block. Script is seldom seen,
but it is always good form and so is plain block, but with the exception
of old English all ornate lettering should be avoided. All people who live
in cities should have the address in the lower right corner, engraved in
smaller letters than the name. In the country, addresses are not
important, as every one knows where every one else lives. People who have
town and country houses usually have separate cards, though not
necessarily a separate plate.

=ECONOMICAL ENGRAVING=

The economically inclined can have several varieties of cards printed from
one plate. The cards would vary somewhat in size in order to "center" the
wording.

Example:

The plate:

Mr. and Mrs. Gilding
Miss Gilding

00 FIFTH AVENUE
GOLDEN HALL

may be printed.

Miss Gilding's name should never appear on a card with both her mother's
and father's, so her name being out of line under the "Mr. and Mrs."
engraving makes no difference.

or

Mr. and Mrs. Gilding

GOLDEN HALL

or

Mrs. Gilding
Miss Gilding

00 FIFTH AVENUE

or

Mrs. Gilding

GOLDEN HALL

The personal card is in a measure an index of one's character. A fantastic
or garish note in the type effect, in the quality or shape of the card,
betrays a lack of taste in the owner of the card.

It is not customary for a married man to have a club address on his card,
and it would be serviceable only in giving a card of introduction to a
business acquaintance, under social rather than business circumstances, or
in paying a formal call upon a political or business associate. Unmarried
men often