Visiting Cards – Yesterday and Today

All visiting cards are engraved on white unglazed bristol board, which may be of medium thickness or thin, as one fancies.
Etiquette absolutely demands that one leave a card within a few days after taking a first meal in a lady’s house; or if one has for the first time been invited to lunch or dine with strangers, it is inexcusably rude not to leave a card upon them, whether one accepted the invitation or not.
– Emily Post (1872 or 1873 to1960). Etiquette. 1922 –

These were my grandmother’s visiting cards. Emily Post would have approved.

Fast forward eighty years or so, and internet visitors can leave Visiting Cards too. These ‘cards’ are computer generated graphics and they are generally called Avatars or Gravatars (Globally Recognized Avatar). You don’t have to be a blogger to have a Gravatar. Anyone can associate one to the email address they use when they leave comments on blogs.

Many people use their photograph for their Gravatar. There are good reasons to do this, particularly if you want to build a brand based on your persona. I sometimes chose to use a graphic rather than a photo. I thought this image captured me, but in an exaggerated way – the grey hair is too curly and I would certainly never sit in my comfy chair with a whole box of chocolates at my fingertips. I keep the box in the closet, and I get out of my chair and go get each and every chocolate, one at a time. (This would be a wonderful way to burn calories if the closet was several miles up the road.)

I also encourage all women to abandon hair dye and “Go Grey, Girl!”  (Just think of all the chocolates you can buy with the money you save.)

I’ve seen a few photos of Emily Post, but I can’t determine if she ever let her hair go grey. In her day, was it as appropriate for women to go grey as it was for men? Was grey hair a sign of maturity and stability for both sexes? Why isn’t it that way now?