Dance Cards

Today when someone says "pencil me into your dance card" they are asking you to set aside some time for them but in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries women actually used these booklets at formal dances. They came in many different styles, some simple and others more elaborate. 

Dance card from Kansas City’s Priests of Pallas festival, circa 1890.

This one, from the French regency period, has a mother-of-pearl cover. 

You also got to write in your own songs as well as the dance partner.

Shoe-shaped card that listed out the kinds of dances attendees could expect.

Gold and enamel reusable card with an embedded clock.

More: Flavorwire

Thanks Bruce!