The History of the Social Invitation Cards
There is a long history to the evolution of the invitation cards as we know it today. Knowing the history and the traditions behind the social invitation card will help you in your selection. You can then take exception to current “standards” and still conform to socially accepted standards. Or if you wish, you can create a new, unique invitation card that will set you apart from the norm yet still be in good taste.
Invitations to social events were used by the aristocracy in England and France probably beginning in the 18th century. It may be possible to go back another hundred or two hundred years to find the foundations which began the tradition of the invitation card.
In those days, society was not in a hurry, and most who could read and write had excellent penmanship. Do you recall what the pen was like as an early writing instrument? It was a quill made of a feather with a carefully cut tip. As one wrote, while holding the pen in one position, the characters that were formed were thin in one direction and broad in the other. For example, a circle or ‘o’ might be thin at the top and bottom and wide on the sides.
High Society would invite their peers to their social events with hand written announcements of the event. These were written by the wife, butler, or secretary. Writing was a mark of education. Even after the printing press, the aristocracy hand wrote invitation cards since mass production would be in bad taste.
When you couple excellent penmanship with the writing instrument of the day, handwriting, by today’s standards, was a work of art.
The Early Postal Service
Without any form of postal service, these invitations had to be hand delivered. This was the task of one of the servants, on horseback, under all weather conditions.
Thus arose the need for an ‘outer’ envelope. This outer envelope served a dual purpose. It was used to protect the inner envelope from water and dirt and to also provide directions to the recipient’s estate, castle, or farm. In addition, there were no ‘addresses’. Thus, the ‘inner envelope’ was again wrapped or placed in an outer envelope. The ‘address’ was often a set of directions.
The Wording on Early Invitation Cards
The actual wording was very similar to the ’socially correct’ wordings used today. The major difference was that the wording, in most cases, included the name of the guest as part of the wording. Everything was spelled out, including the event date and time.
Once written, each invitation card was placed in a protective enclosure (a handmade envelope). That envelope, what is now called the inner envelope, would include the invitee’s names, for example “The Duke and Duchess of Windsor”. When finished, a hot wax seal was affixed to the envelope. Wax seals often indicated the crest of the family.
The Printing Press Evolution
The printing press appeared in Europe in the mid 13th century. Even so, the printing of wedding cards or social invitations did not begin until the start of the 20th century. Some of the elite, fascinated with industrialization, began using ‘mass produced’ invitation cards probably as either a novelty or simply as another expression of wealth.
The real beginning of the commercially printed wedding invitations began in the United States probably after World War II. One or the great features of the combination of democracy with industrialization is to give the common man the ability to mimic the life-styles and materialism of society’s elite. The first appearance of the printed invitation card was probably for large events hosted by wealthy industrialists wishing to exploit new technology. Gradually, these factors coalesce to give you and I, an affordable, commercially printed invitation card.