Sunday, March 6, 2011

Where To Buy Business Card Holders

By Pat Lampert


Business card holders have been around since the invention business cards themselves. The original holders were elegant leather binders with either cut out inserts into which each individual card could be placed for easy viewing, or they contained plastic pages that were sectioned off and each section would hold a business card.

Even though these holders had almost been replaced a few decades ago with the invention of an electronic Rolodex device that was meant to store information from each of the business cards we received, it was cumbersome, difficult to use because everything had to be input directly into the device, and of course as any type of technology ultimately does, it died.

In the late 1980s technology seemed to take away the need for these business card holders, at least temporarily. There was a surge in interest in the newly created electronic Rolodex gizmos that allowed owners to add names, phone numbers, company names, and a host of different types of notes and information. These were of course the forerunners of today's smart phones.

As these electronic Rolodexes were thrown into the trash by the hundreds, business people quickly returned to their previous holders, knowing this was pretty much the only and best way to maintain their business cards and files. But technology didn't stop there!

Depending on how many business cards we had accumulated over years keep handed on how much time and energy it took to manually input the names, phone numbers, fax numbers, and addresses all these business contacts.

And as these users quickly found out, technology can only be so reliable. As these units began to fail and new information was lost, these electronic Rolodexes were quickly forgotten about and the old business holders were taken out of the desk drawers and returned to their previous status.

Some of the early versions of these business card holders were stunning examples of craftsmanship. Holders made of calf skin leather, suede, silk, and even lace can still be found today at estate auctions and antique stores. A recent auction sold one of these original business card holders, holding a business card from Grover Cleveland, allegedly for thousands of dollars! The newer versions today are typically made of either a decent grade of leather, vinyl, or even a type of waterproof plastic where all the business cards are in case with in this particular unit, offering some high-level waterproofing.

For all intents and purposes, these computers and PDAs have become newer versions of business card holders. However, many of us still refuse to give up our leather bound holders!




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