Lamia Lawless
Posts: 604
9/30/2015
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A calling card can speak volumes about its owner: Tasteful, or tasteless? Quirky, or conventional? Wealthy, or working class? Flamboyant, or subdued? A calling card can make or break a promising new acquaintance. What does your character's card say about them?
Related discussion: How does your character use calling cards? Do they reserve them for friends and family, or spread them freely? Do they shamelessly send mass cards to all People of Importance in an attempt at social climbing, or use them to acquire new business contacts? If they don't use them, why not?
(Here's a web page about calling cards, including pictures of different varieties. Look at the ones with fluffy fringes!)
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The Harmonic Hellfarer
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Kolanowski
Posts: 148
9/30/2015
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I am very liberal with calling cards to be honest (my web of acquaintances is not that robust as of now), but I always, and I do mean always, attach a private message to them; sending one without writing a single word on it seems distasteful and a tad rude, to me.
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Kazimierz Kolanowski, gentleman, scholar, humble servant of the Maw. Chaotic Evil. Open to all social actions & accepting almost all requests. Might sell you to Satan for a single corn chip.
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
10/1/2015
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•Something at the back of my memory's telling me we had a similar calling card discussion some time ago... I can't immediately find it, and of course it's perfectly delightful to have another, but if my answers seem familiar, that might be why!
Sir Frederick's card I imagine to be at once friendly and professional, suitable for social or scholarly contacts. I'm thinking a subtle floral design, his name, his various qualifications, and address listed as the Royal Bethlehem (no room number, to preserve some privacy.)
Hubris' card would be simple, even Spartan. Bare, masculine typeface; his title; Parthenaeum Club. Anyone needs to know more, he'll tell them in person.
Esther's is as sumptuous in design as it is businesslike in content. "ESTHER ELLIS-HALL, GENERAL SECRETARY, FALLEN FABIAN SOCIETY." All on a card thick with lacework and design greebles.
For a long time, all Juniper had for a card was a stash of trade-cards from her late father's locksmithing business, brought from the Surface and rather antique. Now, she can afford trade-cards of her own - engineering and shipping, with premises near the Bazaar.
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Sir Frederick, the Libertarian Esotericist. Lord Hubris, the Bloody Baron.
Juniper Brown, the Ill-Fated Orphan. Esther Ellis-Hall, the Fashionable Fabian.
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Lamia Lawless
Posts: 604
10/1/2015
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Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook wrote:
•Something at the back of my memory's telling me we had a similar calling card discussion some time ago... I can't immediately find it, and of course it's perfectly delightful to have another, but if my answers seem familiar, that might be why!
Sir Frederick's card I imagine to be at once friendly and professional, suitable for social or scholarly contacts. I'm thinking a subtle floral design, his name, his various qualifications, and address listed as the Royal Bethlehem (no room number, to preserve some privacy.)
Hubris' card would be simple, even Spartan. Bare, masculine typeface; his title; Parthenaeum Club. Anyone needs to know more, he'll tell them in person.
Esther's is as sumptuous in design as it is businesslike in content. "ESTHER ELLIS-HALL, GENERAL SECRETARY, FALLEN FABIAN SOCIETY." All on a card thick with lacework and design greebles.
For a long time, all Juniper had for a card was a stash of trade-cards from her late father's locksmithing business, brought from the Surface and rather antique. Now, she can afford trade-cards of her own - engineering and shipping, with premises near the Bazaar.
I am so glad I'm not the only one who put this much thought into the calling cards. I love this sort of thing.
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The Harmonic Hellfarer
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malthaussen
Posts: 1060
10/7/2015
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As befits a gentleman in reduced circumstances, my card is quite simple and plain. On a slightly creamy stock, in brown ink, set in Copperplate Gothic, it reads "Malthaussen" below which (in smaller type) appears the notation "Poet, scholar, soldier-of-fortune" (Which is a blatant rip-off of Robert A. Heinlein's character Stuart Rene LaJoie) Maybe later I can afford more substantial stock and gilt edges.
-- Mal
edited by malthaussen on 10/14/2015
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"Of two choices, I always take the third."
Will do all socials except Loitering or Private Evenings (all my Free Evenings are accounted for), and Affluent Photographer Betrayals only, please. I am not currently accepting calling cards.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/malthaussen
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Cotton Dee
Posts: 76
10/14/2015
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Crisp, white card, cut in a rectangle the size of a matchbook. Debossed in shining green ink, the words "Henry Lamperouge" are printed landscape, symmetrically centered. The handwriting is a flowing cursive, such that the name imprinted seems to be written of one long ribbon of green.
Faintly debossed on the bottommost edge are 7 symbols, although exactly which 7 symbols vary from card to card. At most one symbol of seven may be from The Correspondence. Similarly, at most one other may be Clathermontian. Perhaps also there may be symbols from alchemy, goetia, hieroglyphics, tarot decks, card suits, mahjong, etcetera. At least one has received a card with an apple, and another with a chess piece.
When asked, Mr Lamperouge refuses all questions regarding this eclectic practice, and to date shows almost no discernible pattern as to how he assigns the symbols.
Lastly, inscribed neatly upon the back of the card is a return address, in the same green flowing ink. No embossing shows through from the other side.
Regardless of what one attempts to do with the card, short of drenching it; the ink never smudges or runs, and remains shining as though fresh from the quill. Similarly, short of sanding the card down, the debossing never fades, or wears away. The card is utterly opaque when held to light, thin though it is. Mr Lamperouge has never disclosed the particular shade of green he uses in his ink, but all attempts to replicate it have proven fruitless. Mr Lamperouge's calling card is flammable, and reportedly has the scent of lavender. Cards disposed of this way are not replaced. Scorching or staining the calling card is also possible, with concerted effort.
Modern chemical analysis has reportedly revealed no anomalous properties in the calling card's composition. If there exists any specific interaction with irrigo light, no-one has been prudent enough to write it down.
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Henry Lamperouge may be found here...
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Henry~Lamperouge
Current Grind: 1/42 Presumptious Little Opportunites
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3Squirrels
Posts: 38
11/1/2015
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A calling card arrives; most of the card’s front is taken up by complex renderings of doves in flight and black roses. A centre square of pristine white is surrounded by a black scrollwork border. The border has a pair of black outlined white gloves draped over the lower right corner, and a black top hat at a jaunty angle sitting on the upper left corner.
In the square itself, black inked handwriting proclaims:
EDDY GALE
Master Illusionist
Available for Parties Both Public and Private.
Call at Bazaar Shopfront During Business Hours.
You are about to put it down when you notice an odd sort of Apocyanic tinge to the upper decorative elements. It looks like part of it may have a second message! When held up to the right level of foxfire candlelight, the words EXPERT CRACKSMAN fade into (barely perceptible) view within the black-rosed border. Presumably this person is also hireable for more underhanded things?
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Eddy Gale, The Unburdened Cracksman - Available for all your burglary-related needs.
Brought to you by Three Squirrels Who Game.
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