Not that I hang out with apostolic protonotaries -- this was just the best example I could find online of a French carte de visite.
You might think that this kind of thing went out with spats and corsets. Ah ben, you'd be wrong. One was slipped under my door yesterday to apologize for another leak. In the beaux quartiers of Paris, visiting cards are a very convenient way to dash off a note and leave your coordonnées (name, address, and these days, email) at the same time. When someone in our building has a big party, a carte de visite often appears downstairs near the elevator, with a note scribbled on it asking for pardon in advance for the dérangement. When two people meet and like each other, they often exchange cards. A woman I know has a way of leaving her visiting card with all and sundry, I honestly think just so people will know she's a countess. It would not be cool for her to tell them outright.
The best ones are still engraved. When some people receive them, you can see them surreptitiously passing their fingers over the back to feel for the telltale indentation that marks the true gravure.