Details
Contributor Rendtorff, Herman, 1843-1918, distributor.
Title H. Rendtorff, wholesale and retail dealer in stoves and hardware, 291 & 293 North Ave., Chicago. [graphic].
Publisher [Chicago] : Miller, Wagner & Umbdenstock
Publisher ILL. Chicago. 1880
Date [ca. 1880]
Physical Description 1 print : chromolithograph ; sheet 7 x 11 cm (3 x 4.5 in.)
Description Racist trade card depicting an interior scene of a set of African American conjoined twin sisters, their mother, their father, and their male suitor. The twins curtsy and their suitor bows his head. The twins are attired in a yellow and red dotted dress with a roffled hem and white collars. Their mother is attired in a blue and red dress with a white apron. The twins' father is attired in a green jacket, a white collared shirt, a yellow bow tie, red pants, and black boots. The twins' suitor is attired in a black jacket, a white collared shirt, a red bow tie, red and blue striped pants, and black shoes. He holds a brown hat in his right hand to his chest. Visible in the background of the scene are framed works of art on the wall, a table, a vase with flowers, a window, and a clock. All of the figures are portrayed with exaggerated features. The illustration is  based on a racist series of African American caricatures originally created for Harper’s Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship, marriage, and the start of families by "The Twins." A Bismarck Range stove is depicted on the verso of the trade card. Herman Rendtorff was a Chicago stove and hardware merchant whose business operated throughout the latter half of the 19th century.
Notes Title from item.
Text printed on recto: Introduction of the Twins.
Advertising text printed on verso: The celebrated Bismark Range. Manufactured by Burdett, Smith & Co., Troy, New York, And 34 River St., Chicago, Ill.
Gift of David Doret.
Subject Burdett, Smith, & Co.
African American families -- Caricatures and cartoons.
Courtship.
Racism in popular culture.
Stove industry -- New York -- Troy.
Genre Chromolithographs. -- 1870-1880.
Trade cards. -- 1870-1880.
Printer Rendtorff, Herman, 1843-1918, distributor.
Location Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| Goldman Trade Card Collection - Rendtorff [P.2017.95.148]
Accession number P.2017.95.148