Tea at Trianon: More on 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

Thursday, January 15, 2009

More on Calling Cards

Some readers have asked me about the difference between calling cards and business cards. Here is an explanation:

Steeped in the ultra-formal Victorian code of social etiquette, calling cards have made a fashionable resurgence in our fast-paced 21st-century lives. They are the perfect personal introduction for those occasions when a business card is too business-like....Typestyles can be contemporary or traditional, with many design layouts to fit one’s personal style. Most calling cards can be ordered with matching envelopes so they can easily double as elegant gift cards, with plenty of room on the back for a quick message. "When it's important to share contact information but the occasion just isn't right for a standard business card, a calling card is the perfect way to share your important contact information while expressing your individual style," explains Crane marketing manager, Megan Kuntze.

Anonymous said...: For a complete understanding of calling cards, tell the persons asking about them to read _Anne of Green Gables_. It has a brilliantly humorous illustration of their use when Anne and her friend go a-calling. :-D; January 15, 2009 at 12:48:00 PM EST