Contributor |
Detroit Lith. Co., printer. |
Title |
Muzzy's corn starch [graphic]. |
Publisher |
Detroit : Detroit Lith. Co |
Publisher |
MI. Detroit. 1890 |
Date |
[ca. 1890] |
Physical Description |
1 print : chromolithograph ; sheet 8 x 12 cm (3 x 5 in.) |
Description |
Trade card promoting Elkhart Starch Company and depicting a racist genre scene of an African American waiter serving a white
couple in a restaurant. Shows in the center of the image the couple seated at a table. In the left, the brown-haired woman,
attired in a gray hat decorated with flowers and a red dress with white ruffles at the neck, sleeves, and at the bottom rests
her left elbow on the table and holds a white fan. In the right, a man with brown hair and a mustache and attired in a brown
jacket; a white collared shirt with a black bowtie; a cream-colored waistcoat; white pants with blue stripes; and black shoes,
holds a paper labeled "Bill of Fare" in his right hand. He points his index finger at the woman with his left hand. The African
American waiter, attired in a black jacket; a white collared shirt with a white bowtie; and white pants with a gold pocket
watch chain stands behind the table. He carries a silver tray with two dishes, each with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. In
the left background is an entryway with a red curtain. To the right of the doorway is a sideboard and a framed painting hangs
above it. Image also includes, in the right, a hurricane chandelier and checkered flooring. A.L. Muzzy built the Muzzy & Sage
Mill in Elkhart, Indiana in 1870. Albert R. Beardsley (1847-1924) purchased the mill in 1878 and founded the Elkhart Starch
Company. The Company was bought by the National Starch in 1893.
|
Notes |
Title from item. |
|
Date deduced from history of advertised business. |
|
Advertising text printed on verso: "Elkhart Starch Co. Elkhart, Ind. Manufacture Muzzy’s Sun Gloss refined & corn starch.
Of superior quality, by a new process. A thorough test makes it a household necessity. Muzzys corn starch is the purest &
best made. Capacity ten tons of starch per day." Includes an illustration depicting a train running past the Elkhart starch
works manufactory.
|
|
Gift of David Doret. |
Subject |
Elkhart Starch Company. |
|
African American men -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Couples. |
|
Eating & drinking. |
|
Ice cream & ices. |
|
Racism in popular culture. |
|
Restaurants. |
|
Starch industry -- Indiana -- Elkhart. |
|
Waiters. |
Genre |
Chromolithographs -- 1880-1890. |
|
Trade cards -- 1880-1890. |
Printer |
Detroit Lith. Co., printer. |
Location |
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| Goldman Trade Card Collection - Elkhart [P.2017.95.57] |
Accession number |
P.2017.95.57 |