The calling card case probably evolved from the eighteenth-century English tablet, or writing, case. Intended for the obligatory cards left when paying social calls, they were particularly popular among American women from the 1850s through the 1920s. One social arbiter advised, “Gentlemen ought simply to put their cards into their pocket, but ladies may carry them in a small elegant portfolio, called a card-case. This they can hold in their hand and it will contribute essentially (with an elegant handkerchief of embroidered cambric,) to give them an air of good taste.’’ The Bayou Bend card case depicts the United States Capitol as it appeared prior to 1851, when Thomas U. Walter began supervision of the addition of two outer wings and its landmark dome.

Technical notes: The design is stamped out, its reverse embossed with a Rococo Revival bouquet. The lid is hinged on one side.

Related examples: An identical case is ascribed to Tifft and Whiting, in Bishop and Coblentz 1982, p. 176, pl. 203.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff.  American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.