Saturday, April 13, 2024

Photos of Members and Their Cards

 

 


Misc. Cards

Cards with Aptronyms (a person's name that is regarded as amusingly appropriate to their occupation.)

Cards of The Day

Country Cards (Cards with the outline of a country on them)

Patriotic Cards (Cards with U.S. Flags)

State Cards (Cards with the outline of states on them)

Traders with Large Collections

Drogins (Cards designed by the late Marc Drogin)

Suzanne McCartney's Cards

Traders' Cards

Walter Day Cards

BC Holders

IBCC Get Togethers:

Members and Their Cards 

Indy 2002

Leroy Gensemer (year?)

Leroy 2004

Steve Booker IBCC Get Together

Members' Pets


NOTE: Most of these photos are very old. The original site was put together by previous members. If you're an IBCC member, past or present, please send us updated photos of you, your cards and your pets!

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Meet the Members!

 

"Here's my card..." See what the collectors themselves come up with for their own cards.

Below are just a few....go here to see Many More Photos of Members and Their Cards!

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Business Card Links

 

 

  • General Links

A Brief History of the Business Card

A History of Business Cards

History and Culture of Business Cards

An Ode to the Business Card

The Morning Call: This Collector Really Gets Down to Business

Ten Things I've Learned about Business Cards

The Walter Day Collection

Wikipedia

You can find many more sites about the history of cards on Google

Get your own cards printed
 

  • Collecting Links

ABCC- American Business Card Club

Business Card Collectors Forum

Chris Keuling Business Card Collector

Greg's World of Business Card Collecting

  • Member Links

Jack's Business Card Museum

Jason Freedman

Ryan DeVries

Suzanne's Business Card Page

The Leroy Gensemer Stories

IBCC Facebook Page

Updated 4/14/24

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Find many business cards online!


Hints and Tips for Collecting Cards

 

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- "Where are the best places to find cards?"
- "How can I get celebrity business cards?"
- "How do other collectors store and display their collections?"
- "I need to know how to start trading with others."

Learn all this and more, thanks to collectors who share their knowledge and experiences with others:
 

Ken’s Cues for Collecting Business Cards

Where to Find Business Cards ~ What to Collect ~ Storing of Business Cards ~ All About Trading


Jack’s Business Card Storage Tips

How to keep your cards in great shape, as well as what NOT to do.


Business Card Collecting Hints

Business Card Collecting Etiquette ~ Where to Find Cards ~ Trading Etiquette Helpful Links


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Business Card Collecting Hints

  

Where To Find Cards

Old or Historial Cards
Antique stores or dealers often have cards in their inventories. Just ask them for "calling cards" or " trade cards." Another good source for old cards is flea markets and garage sales, and here you can get a reasonable deal for some old cards. Estate sales are another source. Also, don't overlook your own old boxes of family papers.
Some of the Internet auction sites are great sources for older cards and trade cards, particularly
eBay, but these cards will not necessarily be a bargain. The trick with auctions is to be firm with yourself and set a reasonable maximum bid that is not inflated. Bargains can be found, but the increasing popularity of these sites has also increased bidding competition.
You might want to advertise for old cards in collectors' magazines. Your advertisement should ask people to send cards to you for a quote. When you receive the cards, look them over and give the person a quote. When you both agree on a price, you send the money; if not, you return the cards. It costs money for the advertisement, but the advantages of getting some "mint" old cards at a reasonable price is worth it.
 
Specific Categories of Cards
If you are searching for particular types of cards, the best way to obtain them is to trade with other business card collectors. This is usually done through the mail. For merely the price of postage you can trade a specified number of cards per exchange (usually 20 cards because this number will travel on one first-class stamp, but some traders like to exchange as many as 500 cards at a time). A request for your preferences will help you and the people you trade with build your collections. If you are an IBCC member, post your requests to the mailing list so that traders will be looking for your special subjects. If you are an ABCC member, try putting a free ad in the newsletter, "Card Talk."
 
General Collecting Tips
Modern cards are easy to find. Wherever you see them displayed, take a couple (one to keep and one to trade). The best source is people -- your friends, relatives, and co-workers. Remember to give your card out wherever you go -- the special card that says you are a business card collector. Swap cards, and when you have someone's interest ask him to pick up cards for you. If a friend or relative mentions a planned vacation or special trip, ask for some cards as your souvenir.
Some companies go out of business or change their names, creating an opportunity for us to get a large number of cards. Talk to the owners of these companies and ask for their leftover cards.
Many collectors write to companies and request their cards. It is always a good idea to enclose a SASE, as this seems to increase your chances of receiving a card. One member of the IBCC has a card from the governor of each of the 50 states, received by writing requests!
Other good sources of cards are shopping malls, art shows, auto dealers, craft shows, any type of large shows with dealers, grand openings, fairs, print shops for over-runs or mistakes, and just about any business.
Sometimes other collectors stop collecting certain items, and you can buy an entire business card collection.
Some Chambers of Commerce feature large wall displays of their member businesses' cards. It is a good idea to check the COC in any new towns you happen to visit.
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Trading Etiquette

How to Be a Good Business Card Trader
One way to keep adding to your collection is to make sure you are a good trader to others, and of course everyone wants to get mint cards to enhance their collections. Here are a few suggestions:
Don't send dirty or smudged cards, with ink or pencil marks.
Unless you have an agreement with your trader, do not trade cards with any type of writing on them.
Cards with holes, staples, pin or thumb tack tracks are not tradable.
Paper clip-marked cards are a no-no.
Torn, bent, or worn cards are not fit for trading.
Store your boring black-and-white cards away--most traders do not want them. The exception would be odd towns, humorous names, or some particular aspect of the card that makes it interesting.
IF YOU TRADE MINT, YOU GET MINT !
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Helpful Links

Celebrity Addresses Online

The publishers of the quarterly 1999 Deluxe Celebrity Address List, which contains over 12,000 current and accurate addresses of movie, television, music, and sports stars, as well as politicians, models, authors, directors, artists, world leaders, religious figures, fashion designers, reporters, scientists, adult film stars, Olympians, Nobel Prize Winners, and many more public figures.
They claim to be the ONLY source in the world that offers exclusive Celebrity Address Lists LIVE on the Internet:
 
"Where other sites post addresses that are years old, ours are updated daily, in real time!  We utilize a network of researchers all over the globe who continually update our databases.   Using this vast network, we are able to bring you addresses that WORK!"

Sites for Victorian Trade Cards
Cornell University History
Advertising Antique Association of America
University of Iowa Library
 Etsy Cards to Buy
 
eBay Online Auction Site
Search for keywords such as "business cards," "business card," and "trade cards."

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Ken’s Cues for Collecting Business Cards

 

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 Where to Find Business Cards

  • Friends, neighbors, business associates.  Pass the word.  Many will think of you on trips and will pick some up for you.
  • More expensive, but write for them.  As with anyone, explain the hobby and why you like to collect business cards (variety, color, shapes, etc.).  Compare business card collecting to collecting other items (stamps, coins, etc.).
  • Go to printing shops and ask for overruns, errors, duplicates.
  • Ask janitors to be on the lookout for closing businesses and go get them yourself.  Ask for duplicates.  Explain how you trade with people across the country, so you need extras.
  • Go to area businesses and ask for several.  Again, be prepared to explain your hobby. It could be beneficial to bring along a sampling of your better cards. If requesting by mail, send along a Xerox copy of some of your cards.

What to Collect

Some people collect indiscriminately.  Others, like myself, collect certain categories, e.g. illustrations of sailing ships; horse-drawn vehicles; BC’s from exclusive restaurants, hotels, etc. 

Some collect BC’s by states and have them stored in that manner.

You decide what is fun to collect.  Don’t be in a hurry to pick too many categories.  Collect general subjects at first and then decide what you want to specialize in.  Don’t be afraid to add and delete categories as your interests change.

Storing of Business Cards

You can use business card boxes or other such containers.  Personally, I use plastic sheets  (use only archival-type polypropylene sheets -- NOT vinyl) specifically designed for 20 business cards (10 on each side).  I put them in loose-leaf binders.  In this manner I can look through my collection easily and can add or subtract cards with ease.  I buy these sheets at business supply stores. 

Don’t trade off that oversized business card just because it doesn’t fit in the regular sheet.  If you like it, mount it on heavy bond paper using photo corners.  The transparent ones are the best.  Then, when you have both sides of the page mounted, stick it inside a sheet protector (again, archival quality with no PVCs) which can be bought at an office supply store.

Trading – How To

Join business card collectors’ groups and mailing lists (IBCC and ABCC are the main ones now) to find other traders and their want lists.   Write a potential trader and send a few cards as samples, or post a message to the IBCC mailing list to reach the maximum number of potential traders.    Ask if they want to trade, and specify the number you wish to trade and any other preferences (some only want cards with city and state, others want only logos, etc.).  You can mail 20 business cards with one first-class stamp. Look in Card Talk (ABCC newsletter) for ads in which collectors state their desire to trade.

Trading – What To

  • Make sure that the business cards are clean and undamaged.
  • Business cards should not be plain black and white.  An exception to this would be a black and white from an exclusive establishment or from some famous, influential person (celebrity, chairman of the board, etc.).
  • Try to send as many as you can of the trader’s categories with whom you’re trading.
  • Most traders want business cards with towns and states.  If a business card is in one of my categories, I don’t mind if it has no town/state or if it is somewhat damaged.However, check with your trader for his/her preferences.  Make your preferences known also.

Conduct as a Trader

  • Answer mail within 2-3 weeks, or sooner if possible.
  • Be courteous.  Watch what and how you state something.  An innocent statement can be misconstrued on paper if someone cannot hear your tone of voice or see your body language.
  • State your preferences, but realize that not all of a trade will be in your categories (30-60% isn’t bad).
  • Try to meet the other person’s categories.  If you cannot, at least send business cards which can be traded in turn.
  • Don’t make the assumption that you can send just anything thinking that the other person can always use them for trading with others.  Some traders have enough extras and they do not need “just extras.”
  • If you get a good idea about any aspect of business card collecting, share it with your other traders.
  • Don’t assume that people in large cities are necessarily better traders than those in small cities.
  • If you don’t like what is being sent, let the other person know it and why.
  • Don’t feel obligated to keep trading with someone if the trades aren’t good, even after you’ve complained.  However, you shouldn’t stop if you owe the other person a trade.  You can just say you have run out of the other person’s categories and that you will try someone else, or that you want to try another part of the country.

Storing Business Cards for Trade

I use Zip-loc bags (qt. size).  On them I write the trader’s name and his/her categories with a Marks-A-Lot pen. 

Once I have a pile of cards – either from other traders or from other sources – which I cannot use for my categories, I take all these bags out.  I put them side by side and begin to sort the pile of business cards on the bags of each collector according to his/her categories.  In this manner, I have been able to keep each trader’s bag filled with 50 or more business cards.  When it is time to trade with someone, I simply take out their bag and remove the number I need.

A word of caution is in order.  If you do not sort out your extras immediately, tag those from the different collectors so that you don’t send theirs right back to them.  This tagging can be accomplished by wrapping and taping a small strip of paper around each stack and putting the collector’s name on the paper.  Also, I’ve kept the cards in the envelopes in which they came until I’m ready to sort them. 

Finally, I store the bags of business cards, and the letters I must answer, in separate plastic storage containers.  I use the smaller containers for the letter and the large sweater/shoe plastic boxes for the bags of business cards.

Hint:  This is the most important hint of all.  The above guidelines are simply hints, my style.  Develop your own style and enjoy the hobby.
 

Ken Dupuy


Ken Dupuy is a business card collector in Maurice, Louisiana. His specialized collection of cards (many obtained by written request) is devoted to famous personalities, business tycoons, and others who are well-known in their respective fields.


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Jack’s Business Card Storage Tips

 Vinyl-free.....the way to be!

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The following messages are taken from the IBCC archives and contain helpful information about safe storage of business cards.


Question: Just wondering...I had some cards stored in a small B/C card holder and over time some of the cards have managed to "stick" to the plastic sheets they are in. How and why does this happen? Is it the plastic or the card? Or both? I have some cards I would like to display in the smaller card books (not the 3-ring kind) but am afraid of damage to the cards over time. How can this be prevented?

Jack: The small business card holders are most all made with vinyl plastic. This type of plastic is really bad for storage of just about anything. It is especially bad for other plastic items.

The reason your cards are sticking to the pages is that the thermography process uses plastic pellets which are dusted onto the wet ink during printing. Heat is applied and the pellets melt which creates the raised print. So, your paper business cards become a combination of paper and plastic.

The two plastics react with one another and cause the sticking you describe. There is no way to prevent it that I know of. The people who make the small holders apparently don't see any reason to use polypropylene type plastic. It may be more expensive, that I don't know for sure.

The only type of storage that is worse for business cards is the "magnetic" style photo albums.


Q: I go to Wal-Mart and buy the special plastic sheets made to hold business cards (similar to sheets to hold sports cards) and notebooks.

Jack: I hope that you are not getting the vinyl pages. Our local Wal-Mart only stocks the vinyl type. They are not only bad for cards, but more expensive than the polypropylene type available at office supply stores.

Many modern cards are made with the thermography raised printing process. Tiny plastic beads are used to make the ink puff up to give the raised effect. This plastic in the ink reacts with the vinyl pages and causes them to change color, stick to the sheets and other odd things!

The reason cards stick to plastic sheets is because the ink used in thermography is dusted with a very fine plastic powder while the ink is wet. The cards are then heat treated which causes the powder to mix with the ink and creates the raised printing effect. Thermography was originally created to look like engraved printing. Now, very few people remember engraving. Some types of plastic react when placed in contact. The plastic in thermography ink reacts with vinyl pages. It will not react with polypropylene (or “poly”) pages. If you have a supply of vinyl pages, you can use them with flat printed cards. Regular printing ink doesn't react (in most cases) with vinyl.

NEVER...ever put cards in "peel-up" type albums. These are the type of albums which have the plastic cover page which peels up from the base. They will ruin photos, cards, clippings, etc.  I have seen them with the words "made with archival plastic" on the wrapper. That may be true; however, the base paper and sticky strips are NOT archival.


Q: I would also like to know if anyone knows where to get the plastic sheets to put the cards in. I don't need the books, just the sheets.

Jack: The type of sheet you want is polypropylene plastic, NOT vinyl. My favorite type is made by C-Line products and the stock number is 61217. I ordered my last batch through an office supply store as they didn't have them in stock. I found their site on the web with this info:

Contact your Office Supply Dealer to purchase C-Line products. Specify the C-Line product and product number when ordering. If you cannot obtain C-Line products through your dealer or retail store, contact DIRECTLY YOURS. DIRECTLY YOURS would be happy to take your order over the phone or fax and ship your products directly to you! All products are shipped within 24 hours provided they are in stock. Call 1-888-666-5773 to order C-Line now! Fax: (203) 385-5701

More from Jack on obtaining storage sheets:

I just received an order from Viking Office Products (800-421-1222) for new biz card pages. These are Avery pages, ten to a pack which hold 20 cards per page. They are a bit heavier than the C-Line pages. However, they are still acid free, archival safe and they "won't lift print" states the package. They are some form of polypropylene and definitely not vinyl.
Their web site is
http://www.vikingop.com

Jack Gurner,
IBCC #4

Jack's Business Card Museum


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Photos of Members and Their Cards

    Misc. Cards Cards with Aptronyms ( a person's name that is regarded as amusingly appropriate to their occupation.) Cards of The ...