Business cards aren't something that most people concern themselves with too much. You meet someone, you trade cards, and you have their details if you ever need to get in touch. What you might not have realised is that business cards have a long and colourful history that dates back as far as 15th century China.

Business cards are descending from visiting cards, which were originally cards that servants gave out to announce the imminent arrival of their master. They acted much like a short letter introducing the visitor, eliminating the need for the visitor to explain who they were before getting down to business.

At the same time, trade cards were also popular. These were a more working-class version of visiting cards, designed to advertise a service - they had a function quite similar to leaflets today. Trade cards would include contact and price details, advertising slogans, and similar things.

Over time, as class barriers broke down, these two functions merged, and we ended up with business cards as we know them today. A business card is essentially a dual-function card, as it can be used to give someone your contact details both in a business and in a social setting.

Today, most business cards are around the size of a credit card, and are printed in colour, often with melted plastic to give that special raised effect. Large numbers of business cards can be had quite cheaply at any given print shop - it is even possible to print your own business cards on a home printer, although they will not be of very high quality. Many people now also use some form of electronic business card, such as ones that can be transmitted over email or with PDAs, or sometimes even in the form of a little CD-ROM - while this practice is still quite rare, sooner or later you're bound to come across one.