Tea at Trianon: The Return of Calling Cards

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, January 4, 2009

The Return of Calling Cards

They are practical tools of social interaction, an easy way to pass on one's blog and website information.

In the era of LinkedIn, Facebook, vCards and BlackBerrys, the idea of a calling card may seem quaint, and 12 months into a full-on recession it could seem like an exercise in snobbery. But it shouldn't, says Peter Post, director of the Emily Post Institute and coauthor of "The Etiquette Advantage in Business." "My instant reaction isn't: 'Oh, that's pretentious,' " he said. "It's: 'Oh, that's considerate.' Someone is providing information to you in a way that makes it easy to take in and utilize -- and in a way that's memorable."

(Via Emily Post) Share

3 comments:

Lucy said...: Hello. I went to the link you posted, maybe it's just me, but I'm still not sure I understand the difference between a calling card and a business card. What is the difference?; January 6, 2009 at 9:32:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: A business card has strictly business-related information, whereas a calling card is more personalized, with one's blog, Facebook or Twitter info on it. A calling card is more expressive of the individual, rather than representing a business. Some people say that the calling card is the new business card.; January 6, 2009 at 9:42:00 AM EST
Lucy said...: Hmm, interesting- I guess it sounds more informal and more representative of who the person is rather than what she does. thanks.; January 6, 2009 at 10:36:00 AM EST