Graduation Stationery and Name Cards

If someone in the family is planning to graduate grammar or high school, you may be thinking about throwing them a party. A graduation party is nothing new. People have been celebrating this ceremony in the United States for more than 100 years. Graduation stationery, however, has changed very much throughout the years.

Years ago, whenever a young person graduated from either grammar school or high school, the parents planned a party. At the early part of the last century, a grammar school education was tantamount to a high school graduation today. Young people at the age of 12 or 13 were often sent out to help support the family instead of attending high school.

For those years ago who did attend high school and for whom a party was thrown, graduation stationary consisted of hand written invitations to the party. If the family had money, they might opt for engraved invitations from a stationery store. There were only a few choices when it came to purchasing graduation stationery years ago. You would be able to pick your type of paper and the type of script from a limited series.

Because of the internet and computer technology, graduation stationery has come a long way, even more so in the past 10 years. Graduation stationery today includes invitations and announcements that mirror high-end brochures of years ago.


Up until the time of the computer age, graduation stationery consisted of either an announcement or an invitation to a graduation party. In addition to purchasing engraved invitations at a stationery store, you could also purchase invitations that were mass produced in the local store. This type of graduation stationery invited people to a party and you had to fill in the date, location and time.

Graduation stationery years ago also included cards and money envelopes that could be given to graduates. These were usually mass produced and available at drug stores.

Graduation stationery today includes everything from personalized brochures that announce a party to note cards hand painted by select artists. Graduation stationery can be printed on computers or even written in carefully scripted hand lettering. Although stationery stores still offer engraved graduation stationery, it is becoming obsolete due to computers.

Unlike years ago, when graduation stationery was limited to note cards or announcements that were purchased at the stationery store and were quite costly, anyone can afford graduation stationery today. There is such a vast variety of different types of graduation stationery and it is available for all budgets. Best of all, there is no need to order graduation stationery months in advance any longer so that a metal plate for engraving can be made. Because of computer technology, graduation stationery can usually be printed in much less than the time it used to take and be of a higher quality.

Graduation stationery has come a long way since the humble roots of hand written cards that were made in the early part of the last century.