Browse these old-fashioned escort cards.
Published 8 Nov 2017, 17:07 GMT, Updated 13 Apr 2019, 19:35 BST
Many cards included a request to return it if the advance was unwelcome.
Photograph by Alan MaysThis card seems to express romantic interest while also making an odd joke about spousal abuse.
Photograph by Alan MaysNot all aquaintance cards were gentlemanly. It’s hard for a modern reader to even know what some of the phrases on this card refer to—except, of course, for “3 Smacks and a Squeeze,” which transcends the decades.
Photograph by Alan MaysA common motif on escort cards was that that if a man couldn’t walk a lady home, he’d just have to sit on a fence and watch her go by.
Photograph by Alan MaysThis card humourously exaggerated what the giver would go through to walk a lady home.
Photograph by Alan MaysNo one could accuse Elmer Miller of being too modest. This “Ragtime Millionaire” acquaintance card was one of the more brazen, braggy types.
Photograph by Alan Mays“I am a millionaire’s only son!” Flaunt if you got it, Harry.
Photograph by Alan MaysCharles M. Krout takes parodying calling cards to a whole new level with lines like “Come and examine my stock before dealing elsewhere.”
Photograph by Alan MaysThis card from Anna “Butch” Engle suggests that men weren’t the only people who made the first move with acquaintance cards.
Photograph by Alan Mays