Details
Title Lautz Bro's and Co.'s soaps Buffalo NY. U.S.A. Beat that if you can. [graphic].
Publisher New York: Chas. Shields' Sons, 20 & 22 Gold St
Publisher N.Y. New York. 1885
Date [ca. 1885]
Physical Description 1 print : chromolithograph ; sheet 11 x 8 cm (4.5 x 3 in.)
Description Racist trade card depicting a well-dressed white man "cleaning" an African American man. The men smile and stand behind a laundry bucket of soapy water marked "Beat That If You Can. Soaps" on a table labeled "U.S.A." The white man holds the top of the African American's head with his left hand and a soapy brush with his right. The African American man looks toward the white man and raises up his left hand. The right half of his face is depicted with a white skin tone. The white man has mutton chops, and wears a brown jacket, a blue bowtie, and a monocle. The black man wears a red button-down shirt with an open collar. Lautz Bros. & Co. was originally founded in 1853 in Buffalo, New York as the Lautz Company by German immigrant Wilhelm Lautz Sr. After his death in 1866, his wife, sons, and grandsons continued to run the firm from Buffalo, New York through the early 20th century.
Notes Title from item.
Advertising text printed on verso: Use Lautz Bros. & Co's. Pure and Healthy Soaps! No so-called Greases used in manufacturing them, but made only from the best material obtainable. Acme Soap, (Cut Full Pounds.) Is the best Bar Soap in the Market. Try it! Nos. 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 Hanover Street, Buffalo, N.Y. Branch Offices. No. 163 Chambers Street, New York. No. 13 South Front Street, Philadelphia. No. 38 River Street, Chicago.
Printer's imprint in upper and lower right margins of print.
Gift of David Doret.
Subject Lautz Bros. & Co.
African American men -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Chemical industry -- New York -- Buffalo.
Cleaning.
Racism in popular culture.
Soaps.
Genre Chromolithographs -- 1880-1890.
Trade cards -- 1880-1890.
Location Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| Goldman Trade Card Collection - Lautz [P.2017.95.102]
Accession number P.2017.95.102

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