Search results

Title: "I'm a farder"
Description: Set of four collecting cards depicting racist caricatures of African Americans to satirize fatherhood and the question of paternity. Titles are in the vernacular. Includes "I'm a Farder" showing a dapperly-dressed African American man, attired in a white collared shirt, a red tie, a gray waistcoat, a blue jacket, and blue-and-white striped pants. He talks to his "Aunty," an African American woman, attired in a red and yellow head kerchief, hoop earrings, a green and red shawl, a red dress, and a white apron, and holding her hands to her chest; "Aunty Says Der Am Two" showing the man with a sheepish look and his hands in his pockets while "Aunty" smiles; "And Dat One Am kinder White" showing the man aghast and standing straight up as "Aunty" holds out her hands in a near gesture of comfort; and "If Dat Chile Dont Change Color Der'l Be Trouble in Dis Yer Fam'ly" showing the man forlorn, hands in pockets, and looking down at this two infants being held by "Aunty" in her lap, while she sits in a chair under a placard reading "Bless Our Home." The baby in the left has a dark skin tone, and the baby in the right has a light skin tone., Copyrighted., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Purchase 2012., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Genre [P.2012.23.1-4]

Title: Is yo' sho' lady when I wears dese stockings I won' fin' ma laigs all black
Description: Racist caricature reminiscent of the plate "Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings...?" from E.W. Clay's racist satiric series, Life in Philadelphia, originally published in the late 1820s and early 1830s. Depicts an African American man dressed as a woman attired in a brimmed hat, a long-sleeved dress tied with a bow at the back, a fur shawl, shoes, and with a closed umbrella and a basket at her feet. She sits in front of the counter of a dry goods store and inquires in the vernacular about a pair of dark stockings which she holds. A young white woman sales clerk smiles with her elbows on the counter and displays to the customer a second pair of dark-colored stockings. Bolts of fabric rest on shelves behind the clerk, and socks and hosiery hang above. A white woman customer shops at the other end of the counter, in the right., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1902 by Underwood & Underwood., Printed on mount: Works and Studios. Arlington, N.J. Westwood, N.J. Washington, D.C., Sun sculpture trademark printed on mount., Title printed on verso in six different languages, including French, German, and Spanish., Grey mount with rounded corners., See Life in Philadelphia. "Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings...?" [LCP Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia) P.9701.9], Purchase 2002., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Digitization funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Creator: Underwood & Underwood
Date: 1902
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereos - Underwood & Underwood - Genre [P.2002.31]

Title: Philadelphia fashions, 1837
Description: Racist cartoon depicting middle class African American Philadelphians used to arouse Northern anti-Black fears that well-to-do African Americans threatened the racial status quo. Depicts a physically attractive and elegantly dressed African American man and woman couple who have stopped during a stroll. The woman, attired in a large bonnet, elegant gown, and holding a parasol asks in the vernacular, "What you look at Mr. Frederick Augustus?" The man, attired in a suit, a top hat, and holding a walking cane in one hand and a monocle to his eye with the other answers, "I look at dat White loafer wot looks at me. I guess he from New York." The man and woman also each wear broaches depicting portraits. The couple are possibly prominent African American Philadelphians Frederick Augustus Hinton and Elizabeth Willson Hinton., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1837, by H.R. Robinson in the Clerk's Office of the Dist Court of the U.S. of the Southern District of N. York., Due to the similar content of this caricature to the prints from the series, "Life in Philadelphia," the lithograph has been catalogued as a part of the series., Purchase 1958., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., E.W. Clay (1799-1857), born in Philadelphia, was a prominent caricaturist, engraver, and lithographer who created the "Life in Philadelphia" series which racially lampooned middle-class African American Philadelphians of the late 1820s and early 1830s.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, artist
Date: 1837
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1837 - Phi [6281.F]

Title: Concentrated leaven or bread powders
Description: Advertisement for baking powder depicting an African American woman cook, portrayed as a racist caricature, displaying her oversized bread to a white woman. In the right, the African American woman, attired in a yellow kerchief, hoop earrings, a red dress with the sleeves rolled up, a white apron, white stockings with red stripes, and yellow shoes, holds a shovel in her left hand and points to the bread with her right hand. The gargantuan bread in the pan rests on a table covered in a white tablecloth alongside other pans of baked goods. Behind the table, the brown-haired, white woman, attired in a white dress with blue stripes with lace at the neck and sleeves, holds her hands up in shock over the over-proved bread. Underneath the table, the cook’s young daughter, attired in a short-sleeved yellow dress, sits on a rug and makes bubbles with a bowl and stick to play with a cat. Image also includes an oven and a metal basin., Not in Wainwright, Title from item., Date from content., Philadelphia on Stone, POSP 40, Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of engravings relating to Philadelphia. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [ca. 1860]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department BW - Advertisements [(7)1322.F.441b]

Title: Uncle Tom's Cabin. On the Levee
Description: Racist scene derived from Stowe's popular abolitionist book, probably a theater advertisement for a minstrel production. Depicts enslaved African American men and women, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated facial features, having a hoedown on a levee. In the foreground, two women and two men dance facing the viewer. In the left, the woman, attired in a straw hat with a white ribbon tied over the hat and under her chin, a pink smock, a green skirt, black stockings, and black shoes, puts her right foot on its heel and raises her left arm up. Beside her the man, attired in a yellow collared shirt, red suspenders, gray and yellow checked pants, and brown shoes, steps back on his right leg as he raised his right arm up. Beside him, the woman, attired in a yellow headkerchief, a green collared shirt with red polka dots, a copper colored skirt with black polka dots, black stockings, and black shoes, holds her skirt with her right hand as her left hand touches her mouth. In the right, the man, attired in a yellow collared shirt with red stripes, white overalls, and black shoes, leans to the right with both hands in his pockets. Seated in the right, two men play banjos. More African American men and women, seated and standing, clap, sing, and raise their arms up. In the background are stacks of wooden crates, and the water is visible., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1899. Courier Litho. Co. Buffalo, N.Y., Purchase 1988., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: 1899
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **GC - Entertainment [P.9219]

Title: [Migrating African Americans emancipated from enslavement]
Description: Drawing by Alexander Kitzmiller, a 24-year-old Pennsylvania German, prisoner Number 4780 at Eastern State Penitentiary. Depicts two African American families of freedom seekers emancipated from enslavement, portrayed in racist caricature, migrating on horseback and on foot. In the left, an African American man, barefoot and attired in a yellow hat, a blue collared shirt, and orange and white patterned pants, rides on a mule with his son and daughter. Behind him walking on foot is a boy, attired in a soldier’s cap, a red collared shirt with a red tie, and blue pants with suspenders and the African American mother, attired in a red head kerchief, hoop earrings, a yellow dress, and yellow and black shoes, who holds the arm of her daughter. The young girl, attired in a blue hat and a red and white striped dress, carries a Black doll. In the right, another family walks, including an African American man, attired in a yellow hat, a red and white striped collared shirt with a brown tie, white pants, and black boots, who carries a bundle on a stick; an African American woman, attired in a white head kerchief, hoop earrings, a red dress, and yellow and black shoes, who carries a baby on her shoulder, and a boy, attired in a soldier’s cap, an orange collared shirt, blue pants with suspenders, and brown shoes, who has his hand in his pants pocket. Adaption of Francis B. Schell's illustration, "Arrival at Chicksaw Bayou of the negro slaves of Jefferson Davis, from his plantation on the Mississippi," published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated newspaper on August 8, 1863., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content and tenure dates of S.W. Woodhouse as physician at Eastern State Penitentiary., Manuscript note on verso: Presented to me by a German prisoner in the State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania during my residency there. S.W. Woodhouse, M.D., Woodhouse was a Philadelphia surgeon, naturalist, and pioneer ornithologist who served as resident physician at the Eastern State Penitentiary from 1862 to 1863., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1997, p. 37., Purchase 1997., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Kitzmiller, Alexander, approximately 1839-, artist
Date: [1863]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Drawings & Watercolors - Kitzmiller [P.9547]

Title: A line shot - the recoil
Description: Comic print using racist stereotypes to satirize the gunmanship of African Americans. Shows an older African American couple, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated features and mannerisms, in the aftermath of the husband firing a shot in their backyard. Shows, in the left, the husband, attired in blue coat tails and striped pants, jumping a fence, his gun powder horn flying above his head, and his rifle and hunter's hat lying on the ground behind him. He is accompanied by his dogs, a bony brown dog climbing over the fence with him, and a pit-bull like dog who holds his owner's torn pants seat in his jaws as he prepares to follow him. In the right, his wife, attired in a yellow bonnet, a blue top, a red skirt, and white pantaloons, topples over in a wicker basket of laundry. Her shoes fly off her feet. The clothesline pole lands on her head as her bare-footed legs are knocked into the air. Pieces of clothing, including a gunshot white shirt with clothes pins at the shoulders fly about her. A log house with a chimney and a dog house are visible in the background. The Darktown series of over 100 prints was issued mid 1870s-1890s. Thomas Worth was the artist of several of the prints in the reported popular and profitable series., Title printed below image., Issued as part of the "Darktown" comics series., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1881 By Currier & Ives, N. Y., Gift of David Maxey, 2015., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Currier & Ives
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Genre - Line [P.2015.52.1]

Title: Clark's mile-end 60 spool cotton
Description: Racist trade card promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting a genre scene of an African American man and woman in conversation on a country road. The man and woman are portrayed with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular. Shows, in the left, the man standing on a dirt road and holding a piece of thread attached to a giant spool labeled "Clark's mile-end 60 spool thread." He is attired in black boots; yellow striped pants with patches on the knees and rolled to his calves; a white shirt; a red vest; and a green jacket. His straw hat is upturned on the ground beside him. In the right, an African American woman sits in a horse-drawn wagon holding the reins to a white horse. She tells the man "luck I got a spool to mend yer clos' with." She is attired in a yellow head kerchief and a red dress with yellow trim at the neck. The George A. Clark & Brother Company, manufactory of embroidery and sewing thread, was founded in 1863 in Newark, N.J. The firm was renamed Clark & Co. in 1879, and in the 1880s created a six-cord, soft finished thread called "Our New Thread" or "O.N.T." The business merged with J. & P. Coats in 1896, which lead to a series of mergers with fourteen other companies. Into the 21st century, the company continues to manufacture thread under the name Coats & Clark., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Text on recto: Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything- lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with., Advertising text printed on verso: Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is the best for hand and machine sewing. Clark's Mile-End Colors are made expressly to match the leading shades of dress goods, and are unsurpassed both in quality and color. Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is six-cord in all numbers to 100 inclusive., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.33]

Title: Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
Description: Trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming copper kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso: Established 1827. Dixon's stove polish; over fifty years in the market. Neat; quick; brilliant, and lasting. No dust. No odor. Nothing will make a stovd (sic) so bright and cheerful for so long a time as the Dixon stove polish. It is by far the cheapest in use, in the long run. Buy it. Try it. Take no other. Pressed into a neat quarter-pound packet, absolutely free of adulteration. Six millions sold in 1881. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J., Gift of David Doret., Library Company holds duplicate copies [1975.F.235; P.9577.14; P.9599].
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Dixon [P.2017.95.44]

Title: Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
Description: Trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso: 57 years in market Dixon's pure carburet of iron. Stove polish. The oldest. The best. The quickest. The neatest. Ask your grocer for it., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Dixon [P.2017.95.45]

Title: Compliments of the Domestic Sewing Machine Co
Description: Racist trade card promoting the Domestic Sewing Machine Company and depicting a comic genre scene of an older African American man peddler mistaken as a suitor. In the center, the older, balding peddler speaks to an African American family at the door of their cottage house. The man is portrayed with exaggerated features, wears spectacles, and is attired in a purple coat; a white shirt; yellow pants; and brown shoes. A goat eats red cloth pulled out from underneath his coat. On the ground in front of him is his top hat turned upside-down. Papers are placed inside of it. He leans forward to speak with the African American woman in the doorway. His hands are out like he is displaying an object. The woman wears mammy-like attire of a beige head kerchief; a yellow shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows; a blue shirt; and a white apron. She holds a broom. Behind her is another woman attired in a green dress and head kerchief. In the left are a young woman and a girl. The young woman is attired in a pink dress with a green ruffle at the bottom and cut-out shoulders, matching pink stockings, and a bow in her hair. She coquettishly holds a fan ornately decorated with pink flowers to the side of her face. The girl to her left is barefoot and attired in a white dress. In the right background are sunflowers behind a fence and the peddler's horse-drawn wagon loaded with boxes out of view of the family. William S. Mack & Co. and N.S. Perkins founded the Domestic Sewing Machine Company in 1864 in Norwalk, Ohio. The White Sewing Machine Company bought the company in 1924., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date inferred from history of the advertised business., Distributor's imprint printed on verso: M.E. Hartzler's "Domestic" & "Royal St John" sewing machine office. In Odd Fellows Hall cor. Geo. & King Sts, (opposite Reevers tavern,) York, PA. Anything pertaining to sewing machines of every kind and make, furnished at this office. Repairing of all kinds of sewing machines a specialty., Gift of David Doret., Library Company holds duplicate copy [P.2017.95.48] and another with variant distributor [P.2017.95.47].
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Domestic [P.2017.95.46]

Title: G.F.H. Guth, dealer in first class pianos, organs, sewing machines and musical merchandise
Description: Racist trade card promoting G.F.H. Guth's musical instruments retail store and depicting a caricature of an African American man on a farm with a plow driven by hogs. Shows an African American man, attired in a hat, an orange shirt with black polka dots, blue plaid pants, and black shoes, behind the plow and guiding it by the handles. In the right a team of three pigs pulls the plow. An African American woman, attired in a white head kerchief, a blue dress, and an apron, watches the scene with alarm. She throws her hands up in the air and opens her mouth in exclamation. In the right background, a white house is visible. Granville Francis Hiram Guth (1860-1939) owned a store in Allentown, Pa. selling pianos, organs, and musical instruments and also worked as a job printer. His store appears in the directories in the late 1880s to 1890s., Title from item., Publication information and date from the copyright statement: Copyright 1884 by J.H. Bufford's Sons., Guth's imprint is stamped on recto: G.F.H. Guth, Music dealer, 830 Hamilton St., Allentown, PA., Distributor’s imprint printed on verso: D.D. Halman, Salesman., Series number printed on the recto: 468., Advertising text printed on verso: G.F.H. Guth, Dealer in first class pianos, organs, sewing machines and musical merchandise. Only first-class makes on hand. No poor ones in stock. Specialties. Behr Bros. Pianos. Farrand & Votey Organs. Standard Rotary Shuttle Sewing Mach’s. 830 Hamilton St. Allentown PA., Gift of David Doret.
Date: 1884
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Guth [P.2017.95.77]

Title: Hoyer & Milnor, great 99¢ store, 29 N. Third St., Harrisburg, PA
Description: Racist trade card promoting Hoyer & Milnor’s retail store and depicting a caricature of an African American man on a farm with a plow driven by hogs. Shows an African American man, attired in a hat, an orange shirt with black polka dots, blue plaid pants, and black shoes, behind the plow and guiding it by the handles. In the right a team of three pigs pulls the plow. An African American woman, attired in a white head kerchief, a blue dress, and an apron, watches the scene with alarm. She throws her hands up in the air and opens her mouth in exclamation. In the right background, a white house is visible. George Hoyer and George W. Milnor (1856-1925) established the firm Hoyer & Milnor in 1884 and opened a store selling furnishings and fancy goods in Harrisburg Pa. The firm dissolved in 1896., Title from item., Publication information and date from copyright statement: Copyright 1884 by J.H. Bufford's Sons., Series number printed on the recto: 468., Gift of David Doret.
Date: 1884
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Hoyer [P.2017.95.87]

Title: [African American woman being courted by an African American man suitor as a dog bites his pants]
Description: Racist, trade card specimen depicting caricatures of an African American woman being courted by an African American man suitor as a dog bites his pants. In the left, the African American woman, attired in a straw hat decorated with a green ribbon and bow; gold hoop earrings; a ruffled, blue-checked dress with white sleeves and blue polka dots; and white shoes, stands with her back to the suitor. She carries a red book in her left hand and places her index finger on her right hand to her lips as she looks pensively down at the suitor. In the right, the barefooted, African American man, attired in a white top hat decorated with a black band, a white shirt with an oversized collar, a red bowtie, and yellow overalls with red stripes and suspenders, kneels as he looks up at the woman with his hands out. A small, white and brown dog with a brown collar bites and pulls at the seat of the man’s pants., Title devised by cataloger., Date deduced from the visual content., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Misc. 1 [P.2017.95.212]

Title: Warner's Safe Yeast. Up with the sun
Description: Racist trade card promoting Warner’s Safe Yeast and depicting a white mother with a sick infant and an African American woman nanny who suggests using Warner’s yeast. Shows the mother with her brown hair tied up in a bun and attired in a long-sleeved, striped pink dress with yellow pleats at the bottom and white lace at the collar and cuffs of the sleeves. She cradles in her arms an infant wrapped in a white blanket with two yellow stripes. She looks down at her son standing in the right. He is attired in an orange, long-sleeved shirt with a white collar, a yellow skirt and leggings, and black shoes. He asks, “Mamma, what’s the matter with baby?” She replies that, “Baby’s very sick.” The boy holds up a cannister labeled “Safe Yeast” and states, “Dinah says Warner’s Safe Yeast is the best thing she knows of, to raise him.” In the right, Dinah stands looking on, attired in a yellow bonnet, red earrings, a yellow, short-sleeved dress with a white collar and red tie, and a white apron. In the bottom right is a large cannister of Warner’s Safe Yeast. Image also includes a blue and green rug, fireplace andirons, and in the background a windowpane with a blue vase with yellow flowers. Outside the window the sun comes up and reads, “up with the sun.” Hulbert Harrington Warner (1842-1923) founded a patent medicine business in Rochester, N.Y. in 1878. He created Warner’s Safe Yeast in 1885. In the Panic of 1893, he was unable to cover the company's debts, and the business failed., Title from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: Precocious Youngster: Mamma, what’s the matter with the baby? Mamma: Ah, Darling, Baby’s very sick, I’m afraid we won’t be able to raise him. Precocious Youngster: Try this Mamma, Dinah says Warner’s Safe Yeast is the best thing she knows of, to raise him., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Warner [P.2017.95.187]

Title: Clark's mile-end 60 spool cotton
Description: Racist trade card promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting a genre scene of an African American man and woman in conversation on a country road. The man and woman are portrayed with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular. Shows, in the left, the man standing on a dirt road and holding a piece of thread attached to a giant spool labeled "Clark's mile-end 60 spool thread." He is attired in black boots; yellow striped pants with patches on the knees and rolled to his calves; a white shirt; a red vest; and a green jacket. His straw hat is upturned on the ground beside him. In the right, an African American woman sits in a horse-drawn wagon holding the reins to a white horse. She tells the man, "Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything - lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with." She is attired in a yellow head kerchief and a red dress with yellow trim at the neck. The George A. Clark & Brother Company, manufactory of embroidery and sewing thread, was founded in 1863 in Newark, N.J. The firm was renamed Clark & Co. in 1879, and in the 1880s created a six-cord, soft finished thread called "Our New Thread" or "O.N.T." The business merged with J. & P. Coats in 1896, which lead to a series of mergers with fourteen other companies. Into the 21st century, the company continues to manufacture thread under the name Coats & Clark., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Text on recto: Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything- lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with., Advertising text printed on verso: Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is the best for hand and machine sewing. Clark's Mile-End Colors are made expressly to match the leading shades of dress goods, and are unsurpassed both in quality and color. Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is six-cord in all numbers to 100 inclusive., Stamp on the recto is illegible., See related copy: Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.33]., Gift of George Allen, 2022., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade cards - C - Clark's [P.2022.42.7]

Title: Excelsior metal polish, for polishing and cleaning cutlery, brass, copper, tin ware and all bright steel and metal work
Description: Trade card promoting metal polish manufacturer Walpole Emery Mills and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman domestic polishing cookware. Shows an African American woman portrayed with exaggerated features and attired in a red and yellow striped head kerchief; a blue short-sleeved shirt; a red and yellow shawl; a red skirt; and a white apron with red polka dots, smiling and looking at the viewer. She holds a brush in her right hand and a pot in her left hand. In the left, a brown-haired white woman, attired in a yellow dress with white ruffles at the neck and sleeves and a red bow, bends over a table with a plate in her hands as she looks at the African American woman. In the foreground, two white children look at the reflection of their cat in a polished pan. A boy, attired in a blue Fauntleroy outfit, smiles with his arms apart as he looks down at the pan. A white girl, attired in a white dress decorated with orange bows at the shoulders, sits on the floor and holds the pan up with her right hand. She holds an orange cat with black stripes up to the pan with her left hand. The cat arcs its back with its fur standing up and has its mouth wide open. In the left is an oversized can labeled, "Trademark Excelsior Metal Polish Manufactured by the Walpole Emery Mills 114 Milk Street Boston." On top of the can is another orange cat with black stripes that is arching its back with its mouth open in alarm. In the background is a cupboard with plates and bowls on the shelves. In the right is a table with a large stock pot and lid and a can of metal polish with a skillet hanging from a hook at the front of the table. Walpole Emery Mills, manufacturers of Excelsior metal polish, was founded in 1877 in South Walpole, Massachusetts. The company operated into the 20th century., Title from item., Distributor’s imprint printed on verso: Holway, Wright & Miner, Manufacturers' agents, New York: 167 Chambers Street. Boston: 135 State Street., Advertising text printed on verso: Excelsior metal polish. Acknowledged the cheapest and best article known for cleaning and polishing cutlery, brass, tin ware, and all kitchen utensils, sewing machine plates, nickel plate, bath tubs, copper boilers, bicycles, needles, scissors, carpenter's tools, and all bright metal and steel work. A single trial will prove it to be a household and mechanical necessity. It is neatly put up in tin cans, containing one pound, half-pound and quarter-pound each, with directions for using. Price list. 1/4 lb. cans...10 cents each. 1/2 lb"....15"". 1 lb"...25"". For sale by grocers, druggists, hardware stove and tinware dealers. Illustration of a can of Excelsior metal polish., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Excelsior [P.2017.95.61]

Title: B.F. Gilmore, trunks and traveling bags, 237 Westminster St., Prov., R.I
Description: Racist, satiric trade card promoting B.F. Gilmore's luggage store in Providence, R.I. Depicts a genre scene of an African American woman speaking with an African American man who unknowingly squirts a white man with a hose. The figures are caricaturized and portrayed with exaggerated features. In the right, the African American woman domestic, attired in a red headkerchief and a yellow dress, stands at a waist-high green fence. She crosses her arms and carries a feather duster in her left hand as she speaks with an African American man on the other side of the fence. The man, attired in a white shirt, a blue jacket with gold buttons, and green pants, gestures with his left hand as he talks to the woman. In his right hand, he carries a hose, which he accidently sprays on a white man walking down the sidewalk. The brown-haired white man has a mustache and is attired in black shoes, green striped pants, a white collared shirt with a red tie, a green waistcoat, and a green jacket. He opens his mouth and throws both hands up in alarm as the water knocks the top hat off of his head. In the right background, trees and part of a white house are visible. Benjamin F. Gilmore (1833-1906) established a business manufacturing and selling luggage in Providence, Rhode Island. The business operated until circa 1902., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from place of operation of the advertised business., Date from copyright statement: Copyrighted 1877., Gift of David Doret.
Date: 1877
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Gilmore [P.2017.95.70]

Title: Whoa! Aunty! Compliments of Goodwin brothers, wheel-wrights
Description: Racist trade card promoting wheelwrights the Goodwin Brothers and depicting caricatures of African Americans picking cotton on a plantation. In the left, an African American man, attired in a hat, a blue plaid shirt, blue and white striped pants, and brown shoes, kneels on the ground and picks cotton off of a plant. To his left is a large basket overflowing with cotton. In the right, two barefooted African American boys, attired respectively in beige pants rolled up to the knees and a blue shirt and blue pants rolled up to the knees and a white shirt, each hold the end of a rope (probably a jump rope). They look in alarm and exclaim “Whoa! Aunty!” as an African American woman who has tripped on the rope flies in the air. The woman, attired in a white shirt with blue polka dots, a blue plaid shirt, and black shoes, throws both her hands in front of her with her mouth open as she falls toward the ground. Her basket full of cotton is flung through the air. In the background are four other cotton pickers, one man carries a basket on his right shoulder and a woman raises both her arms up. Brothers James K. Goodwin (1844-1910) and Charles W. Goodwin (1853-1943) were wheelwrights in Manchester, New Hampshire., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Series number printed on the recto: 450., Advertising text printed on the verso: Goodwin Brothers, manufacturers of wheels and carriage wood work of every description. Also dealers in hubs, spokes, rims, shafts, bodies, seats, carriage gear &c. Hubs turned and mortised. Sawing and planing to order. Carriages built to order, complete. Special attention given to repairing. 441 Elm Street, Hodge’s Building, Manchester, N.H. J.K. Goodwin. C.W. Goodwin., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Goodwin [P.2017.95.74]

Title: In the land of cotton
Description: Racist trade card promoting Hart & Smith's steamboat route on the Indian River in Florida. Depicts caricatures of African Americans picking cotton on a plantation. Shows an African American man, attired in a hat, a blue collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and blue pants, bending over and putting cotton into a large basket. To the left of the man, an African American boy, attired in an orange, short-sleeved shirt and orange pants rolled up to the knees, places cotton into the same basket. In the left, an African American woman, attired in a white headkerchief, a blue shirt and apron, and an orange skirt, bends over to pick up a basket overflowing with cotton. Behind her, an African American woman, attired in an orange dress, apron, and a blue checked shawl, stands with her right hand on her hip and her left hand balancing a large basket on top of her head. A man, attired in a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and blue pants, walks and steadies a basket on his left shoulder with both hands. In the center background is a large wooden structure and a person picking cotton. In the right background a man attired in a hat sits on a horse and holds his right arm out to two people, one of whom carries a basket on their left shoulder. Hubbard L. Hart (1827-1895) ran the most prominent steamboat line in Florida, helping to make it a tourist destination. In 1883, the Hart Line began a steamboat route on the Indian River. After Hart's death in 1895, his brother-in-law operated the business into the 1920s, when automobile travel rendered it obsolete., Title from item., Publication information and date from the copyright statement: Copyrighted 1882 by J.H. Bufford's Sons., Advertising text printed on verso: Hart & Smith’s Rockledge Line for Indian River. The Steamer “Astatula” leaves Sanford every Monday and Thursday at 8:30 A.M. Arrives at Lake Poinsett next day at 7 A.M. 3 miles to Rockledge by hack. Connecting with Steamer going North Tuesdays and South Fridays. Returning, leaves Poinsett at 3 PM., Tuesday & Friday, arriving at Sanford on Wednesday & Saturday morning, making connections for all points. In January the Steamer Waunita, thoroughly overhauled & furnished, will be put on the line making tri-weekly trips. Accommodations and table will be first class in all respects. Capt. Joe Smith, Manager. E.B. Van Deman, Agent at Sanford., Gift of David Doret.
Date: 1882
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Hart [P.2017.95.79]

Title: Monday. Monday is de wash day, an I neber sulk or mope, becase de close am nice and clean, by using Higgins' soap
Description: Racist trade card promoting Higgins' soap and depicting a caricature of an African American woman domestic carrying a bar of soap and a wash tub. The woman is portrayed with exaggerated features and speaks in the vernacular. Shows the African American woman with her hair in pigtail braids tied at the ends in white bows, attired in an orange and yellow striped head kerchief, a red and white shawl, a blue dress with black stripes, a white apron with red stripes, orange and white striped stockings, and black shoes. She carries a large, wooden wash tub in her right hand and a yellow bar of soap labeled “Higgin” in her left hand. The woman smiles and walks toward the viewer and says, “Monday is de wash day, an I neber sulk or mope, becase de close am nice and clean, by using Higgins' soap.” In the right, a white shirt hangs on a clothes line pinned with wooden clothespins. The Charles S. Higgins Company, established by Higgins’s father W. B. Higgins in Brooklyn in 1846, manufactured "German Laundry soap" beginning around 1860, when Charles assumed the business. The laundry soap was packaged in a wrapper illustrated with an African American woman washing in a tub. By the early 1890s, Charles S. Higgins left the firm still operated under his name and formed Higgins Soap Company. Court proceedings over trademarks and tradenames ensued and Higgins Soap Company became insolvent by the mid 1890s., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Higgins' [P.2017.95.82]

Title: The First lesson An exceptional offer to the users of Knox gelatine
Description: Racist trade card promoting Knox Gelatine and depicting an African American woman domestic making a gelatin molded dessert with a white girl. Shows an African American woman domestic attired in a head kerchief, spectacles, a patterned shawl, and a white, long-sleeved shirt, sitting in a kitchen behind a table. She teaches the white girl, attired in a hair bow and a striped dress with a ruffled collar, how to decorate a molded gelatin dessert and places a berry on top it. The girl has a bowl of berries in front of her and holds a spoon with a berry on it. On the table there is a mold, a glass, a lid, a knife, a pitcher, and a box labeled, “Knox’s Gelatine.” In the background is a brick hearth with pots and an oven in the right. Charles B. Knox (1855-1908) of Johnstown, New York discovered a method of granulating gelatine in 1889, which made it practical and easy to use. Charles died in 1908, and his wife Rose Knox ran the company for the next forty years. The Company continues to operate into the 21st century., Title from item., Place of publication from place of operation of advertised business., Publication information and date from the copyright statment: Copyright 1905 By Chas. B. Knox., Advertising text on verso: We have had reproduced in its original colors Harry Roseland’s famous painting, “The First Lesson.” The other side of this card gives only a faint idea of what the picture really is. The large reproduction has twelve (12) distinct colors in it, is reproduced on heavy plate paper having all the appearance of canvas, and it would take an expert to tell it from the original. The original hangs in Mr. Knox’s home, and there are no reproductions of it except those referred to on this card, and if these were on sale in the art stores they would cost at the very least $5 each. The size of the picture is 20 x 27, and it is ready for framing. We want the users of Knox Gelatin to have a copy of this painting and we will send you one upon receipt of ONE empty Knox Gelatine box and 10c in coin or stamps to cover cost of packing and mailing. The supply of these pictures is limited, so if you want one you must act quickly. After receiving the picture, if you are not entirely satisfied with it, return it, and your 10c will be refunded by next mail. Address, Art Department, Knox Gelatine, Johnstown, N.Y., U.S.A. Knox Gelatine is the best Gelatine in the world. It is made from absolutely pure stock; is granulated and can be measured with a spoon like sugar; dissolves in two minutes and mold in half an hour. Each package makes a half gallon of jelly; is clear and sparkling and needs no clarifying. Pink coloring for fancy desserts in every package. It is guaranteed to comply with the National Pure Food Law, and it is always sold under the broad guarantee of “Your Money Back If For Any Reason You Are Dissatisfied.”, Gift of David Doret.
Date: 1905
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Knox [P.2017.95.100]

Title: Compliments of the Domestic Sewing Machine Co
Description: Racist trade card promoting the Domestic Sewing Machine Company and depicting a comic genre scene of an older African American man peddler mistaken as a suitor. In the center, the older, balding peddler speaks to an African American family at the door of their cottage house. The man is portrayed with exaggerated features, wears spectacles, and is attired in a purple coat; a white shirt; yellow pants; and brown shoes. A goat eats red cloth pulled out from underneath his coat. On the ground in front of him is his top hat turned upside-down. Papers are placed inside of it. He leans forward to speak with the African American woman in the doorway. His hands are out like he is displaying an object. The woman wears mammy-like attire of a beige head kerchief; a yellow shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows; a blue shirt; and a white apron. She holds a broom. Behind her is another woman attired in a green dress and head kerchief. In the left are a young woman and a girl. The young woman is attired in a pink dress with a green ruffle at the bottom and cut-out shoulders, matching pink stockings, and a bow in her hair. She coquettishly holds a fan ornately decorated with pink flowers to the side of her face. The girl to her left is barefoot and attired in a white dress. In the right background are sunflowers behind a fence and the peddler's horse-drawn wagon loaded with boxes out of view of the family. William S. Mack & Co. and N.S. Perkins founded the Domestic Sewing Machine Company in 1864 in Norwalk, Ohio. The White Sewing Machine Company bought the company in 1924., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date inferred from history of the advertised business., Distributor's imprint printed on verso: D.S. Andrus & Co. pianos, organs & sewing machines, 17 West Third Street, Williamsport, PA., Gift of David Doret., Library Company holds duplicate copy [P.2017.95.48] and another with variant distributor [P.2017.95.46].
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Domestic [P.2017.95.47]

Title: Muzzy's sun gloss starch. Elkhart Starch Co
Description: Racist trade card promoting Elkhart Starch Company and depicting a domestic, genre scene of a white family and an African American woman domestic on wash day. The woman is portrayed as a caricaturized figure. Shows in the right, the women domestic, attired in a red and yellow head kerchief; gold earrings; and a blue and white dress with gold buttons and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, standing behind a wooden table with an iron on it. She holds up a stiffly starched and unwrinkled white collared shirt in front of the well-dressed mother and her three children. The reflection of the mother is seen on the shirt. In front of the mother, her brown-haired older son , attired in a white collared shirt and a yellow jacket, points his finger at the shirt. To his right, his younger, brown-haired sister, attired in a yellow dress with white ruffles at the neck and sleeves, reaches both arms toward the shirt. Beside her, a cat sits up at the table and looks at the shirt. Between her and her brother, the older blond- haired sister, attired in a blue dress with white ruffles at the neck and sleeves, a yellow bowtie, and a red sash tied around her waist, hands a box labeled "sun gloss starch" to her mother. In the left, the young mother with long brown hair and attired in earrings; a necklace with a red pendant; and a red dress with white ruffles down the middle and at the sleeves; reaches her right hand out to the box of starch. She cluthches an ornate fan to her chest in her left hand. In the far left, through a doorway, the young father attired in a black jacket with tails; a white collared shirt; and white pants with blue stripes, holds a top hat, stands in a hallway, and looks into the room. 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., Title from item., 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 of a train running past the Elkhart starch works manufactory., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Elkhart [P.2017.95.56]

Title: Enoch Morgan's Sons Sapolio
Description: Racist trade card promoting soap manufacturer Enoch Morgan's Sons Company and depicting African American women domestics cleaning a parlor. Shows an African American woman, attired in a head kerchief; hoop earrings; a polka dotted dress with the sleeves rolled up to her upper arms; and black shoes, on her hands and knees cleaning a floor with a brush in her right hand. There is a wooden bucket beside the woman. In the right, another African American woman, attired in a short-sleeved dress with a bustle and checked skirt, stands cleaning the molding of a doorway with a cloth. In the background is a lit fireplace and mantle with vases on top of it. Enoch Morgan's Sons Company began manufacturing Sapolio soap in 1869 in New York. Peruvian company Intradevco Industrial SA purchased Sapolio in 1997., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Distributor's imprint stamped on recto: Tom S. Culver, Dealer in surplus [?] teas, coffees, [?] and flour. Canned, dried, and [?] vegetables, etc. Choice brands of [?] tobacco. A fine [?] Ithaca, N.Y., Advertising text printed on verso: There is no one article known that will do so many kinds of work in and about the house and do it so well as Enoch Morgan's Sons Sapolio. (Each cake is wrapped in tin foil, and surrounded with Ultramarine Blue Band, and bears the above device.) Always note this. A cake of Sapolio, a bowl of water and a brush, cloth or sponge will make House Cleaning an easy and quick job--Will clean paint and all painted surfaces-- Will clean marble, mantels, tables and statuary-- Will clean oil-cloths, floors, shelves, &c. -- Will clean bath tubs, wash-basins, &c. -- Will clean crockery, glassware, &c. -- Will clean kitchen utensils, of all kinds--Will clean windows without splashing of water -- Will polish tin, brass, and copperwares-- Will polish knives as you wash them-- Will polish all metal surfaces and Will clean all household articles -- and is better and cheaper than soap, emery, rotten stone, &c. Price 10 c. per cake. Illustration of a white man looking at the bottom of a pan that reflects his face as a mirror., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Enoch [P.2017.95.59]

Title: People's boot and shoe store, 104 Clark Street, corner Washington Street The return from Europe
Description: Racist trade card illustration depicting a group of well-dressed African American men and women strutting past other African American men, women, and children. The two well-dressed men are attired in striped pants, suit jackets, collared shirts, bow ties, and top hats. They both carry canes. The two well-dressed women are attired in frilled patterned long sleeved dresses and caps. One woman carries a parasol in her gloved hand. The other carries a handkerchief. The onlookers are dressed in plain clothing. A dog, a tree, a small wooden house, and a fence are visible in the image. The figures are depicted with exaggerated features. The illustration is based on one of a series of racist cartoons drawn by Sol Eytinge and printed in Harper's Weekly in 1878 which depicts the courtship and marriage of families by "The Twins." C.E. Wiswall & Co. was a boot and shoe company based in Chicago. The company's original building burned down durin gthe Chicago Fire of 1871., Title from item., Advertsising text printed on verso: Try us for your next pair of boots and shoes. We will give you a good article at a low price. C.E. Wiswall & Co., Proprietors., Based on "No. 8 Return from the honeymoon tour," photo - 5 x 7 - Unid. - Events [P.2017.26.7], Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - People [P.2017.95.144]

Title: Smith brothers chemically pure Borax
Description: Racist trade card depicting a well-dressed white woman, two white housekeepers, and one African American housekeeper using Smith Brothers Chemically Pure Borax to complete various household tasks while standing in a kitchen. The white woman in the left of the image sprinkles Borax on to a group of cockroaches on the floor. At the center of the image, one white woman holds a white cloth with ruffles while another white woman applies Borax onto it. The African American woman stands in the right background of the image and looks at the two women. Her left hand is submerged in a tub of water. A stove with pots and pans, a table with an iron, and a clothes line are visible in the background. The African American woman is portrayed with exaggerated features. Githens & Rexsamer was a Philadelphia-based exporter and importer of groceries and canned goods., Title from item., Advertising text printed on verso: Directions. Washing. - Dissolve one heaping tablespoonful of Borax in hot water for every tubful of clothes; soap all of the most soiled places and rub on the board through one water; after rubbing throw the pieces intoa tub containing boiling water and Borax; let them remain there while the second tub of clothes is being washed; rinse in one plain water; do not boil the clothes. Starching. - One teaspoonful Borax to one pint boiling starch, adds greatly to the gloss, afact not generally known. To Prevent Mtohs [sic.] - Sprinkle floor with the powder before laying down the carpets, and put it with the clothes when packed away. Removing Cockroaches. - Sprinkle floor, leaving places open for escape, or to kill them, add one part Borax to two parts powdered sugar. Rough face or chapped hands. - One tablespoonful Pulverized Borax to one quart hot water, apply night and morning with a sponge or cloth. Dressing Ulcers, Wounds, Bruises, Sprains, Chilblains and Removing Inflamation. - One tablespoonful Pulverized Borax to one pint hot water, saturate a piece of lint with same, hanging it up to dry, then use for a dressing. For Bathing. - Always add Pulverized Borax to the Bath, it softens the water. Especially use it for infants and children. Arresting Fermentatoin. [sic.] -One-half thimbleful Pulverized Borax to one quart cream or milk, will preserve them perfectly sweet. Cleaning Clothes. - One tablespoonful to one pint of hot water, when cold, use instead of Ammonia or Benzine., Distributor's imprint printed on verso: For sale by Githens & Rexsamer, 40 & 42 South Front Street, and 39 Letitia Street., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Smith [P.2017.95.161]

Title: Tuesday. Yes my heart is light, for de close iron white, and dat is jist what tickles me, for without Higgins' soap, you have'nt any hope, so please to take pattern by me
Description: Racist trade card promoting Higgins’ soap and depicting a caricature of an African American woman domestic ironing a white sheet. The woman is portrayed with exaggerated features and speaks in the vernacular. Shows the African American woman with her hair in pigtail braids tied at the ends in white bows, attired in an orange and yellow striped head kerchief, a red and white shawl, a blue dress with black stripes, a white apron with red stripes, orange and white striped stockings, and black shoes. She stands behind an ironing board and holds a white sheet in her left hand and an iron in her right hand. The ironing board sits on top of a wooden stool and a red and yellow box labeled “Higgins’ German Laundry Soap.” The woman smiles at the viewer and says, “Yes my heart is light, for de close iron white, and dat is jist what tickles me, for without Higgins' soap, you have'nt any hope, so please to take pattern by me.” In the background is a white sheet hanging over a wooden board. The Charles S. Higgins Company, established by Higgins’s father W. B. Higgins in Brooklyn in 1846, manufactured "German Laundry soap" beginning around 1860, when Charles assumed the business. The laundry soap was packaged in a wrapper illustrated with an African American woman washing in a tub. By the early 1890s, Charles S. Higgins left the firm still operated under his name and formed Higgins Soap Company. Court proceedings over trademarks and tradenames ensued and Higgins Soap Company became insolvent by the mid 1890s., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Higgins' [P.2017.95.83]

Title: Friday. Use Higgins' soap in de mornin, a washin of de winder, for wif good soap and a merry heart, dar's nothin for to hinder
Description: Racist trade card promoting Higgins' soap and depicting a caricature of an African American woman domestic washing a window. The woman is portrayed with exaggerated features and speaks in the vernacular. Shows the African American woman with her hair in pigtail braids tied at the ends in white bows, attired in an orange and yellow striped head kerchief; a red and white shawl; a blue, short-sleeved shirt with black stripes; an orange and yellow checked skirt; yellow, red, and white striped stockings; and black shoes. The woman sits on the window ledge with her legs crossed at the ankles. Her upper body is outside of the house as she washes the exterior of the window with a white cloth. The woman smiles at the viewer and says, “Use Higgins' soap in de mornin, a washin of de winder, for wif good soap and a merry heart, dar's nothin for to hinder.” In the right is a wooden bucket with a bar of soap labeled, “Higgins Soap,” on top of a wooden stool. The Charles S. Higgins Company, established by Higgins’s father W. B. Higgins in Brooklyn in 1846, manufactured "German Laundry soap" beginning around 1860, when Charles assumed the business. The laundry soap was packaged in a wrapper illustrated with an African American woman washing in a tub. By the early 1890s, Charles S. Higgins left the firm still operated under his name and formed Higgins Soap Company. Court proceedings over trademarks and tradenames ensued and Higgins Soap Company became insolvent by the mid 1890s., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Higgins' [P.2017.95.84]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings...?"
Description: Racist caricature of an African American woman shopping for a pair of "flesh coloured silk stockings" in a hosiery store with a white male sales clerk speaking with a French dialect. Depicts, in the center right, the woman standing at the counter in front of the clerk who holds up a pair of gray-colored stockings from out of a rectangular box. She is attired in a pink floral patterned dress, as well as tall, wide-brimmed pink hat adorned with several flowers, greenery, and a veil and long yellow ribbon, and yellow gloves, earrings, and blue button-up boots. She rests her yellow, flower-patterned purse on the counter and holds up a monocle from the end of her neck fob to inspect the stockings that the clerk declares are of "de first qualite!" Her red parasol rests against the counter. Rows of red, blue, and yellow stockings hang on the wall behind the clerk. The clerk is attired in a blue waistcoat with tails, a yellow vest, red cravat, and white pants. In the right, an African American woman attired in a yellow polka dot dress and tall, wide brimmed yellow hat adorned with ribbons is seen in the doorway of the shop in which multi-colored curtains hang and are pushed to the side. The wheel of a carriage is seen behind the woman. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. The women’s skin tone is depicted with brown hand coloring. The man is depicted with rosy cheeks and brown, curled hair., Title from print., Date from print., Inscribed: Plate XI., Inscribed: Copy Right Secured., Contains five lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect above the image: Have you any flesh coloured silk stockings, young man? Oui Madame! here is von pair of de first qualité!, RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, etcher
Date: May 1829
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.2004.39.1]

Title: Life in Philadelphia. "How you like de new fashion shirt...?"
Description: Racist caricature ridiculing the 1829 male fashion fad of striped shirts depicting an African American man-woman couple discussing the "new fashion shirt" that he is wearing. In the right, the man stands slightly turned and hands on hips. He is attired in a brown waistcoat with tails, a red vest, a blue-striped shirt, black cravat, tan pants, yellow gloves, black shoes, and a neck fob. He holds a black top hat in his left hand. In the left, "Miss Florinda," stands, forward facing, and holding a fan near the right side of her face. She wears a red and yellow headpiece over her hair that is in a top knot. She is attired in a yellow calf-length, cap sleeved dress with floral details, red and white trim, and décolleté neckline; white opera gloves; ankle-laced slippers; flower-detailed stockings; and jewelry, including earrings, necklace, and bracelets. She holds a handkerchief in her left hand and states that she finds the fashion elegant and how his wearing it within the "Abolition siety" will make him look like "Pluto de God of War!" They stand on a patch of grass. In classical mythology, Pluto is also the god of the underworld and wealth. The figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features. Their skin tone is depicted with brown hand coloring., Title from item., Date inferred from content., After the work of Edward W. Clay., Plate 9 of the original series published in Philadelphia., Contains seven lines of dialogue in the vernacular and dialect above the image: How you like de new fashion shirt, Miss Florinda? I tink dey mighty elegum_ I see you on New year day when you carry de colour in de Abolition ‘siety -You look just like Pluto de God of War!, LCP exhibit catalogue: Made in America p. 29., Nancy Reynolds Davison's E.W. Clay: American Political Caricaturist in Jacksonian America (PhD. diss., The University of Michigan, 1980), p. 88-89. (LCP Print Room Uz, A423.O)., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Creator: Imbert, Anthony, 1794 or 5-1834
Date: [ca. 1830]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (New York Set) [P.2004.39.2]

Title: [Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards for Chas. McKeone & Son Manufacturing Co. at 2518-2550 Callowhill Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a dog biting and pulling the pants of a white boy carrying a basket of fruit while another white boy climbs a stone wall to escape; a white child sitting on a pile of blankets with their pet dog beside an open doorway; a white boy hanging with his shirt caught on a tree branch while another white boy looks on with a basket on fruit at his feet; a white woman cradling a baby on her lap. Racist card depicting white women, an African American woman, and Chinese men working in a laundry room. In the center, a white woman and an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in an orange head kerchief, a red dress, and a white checked apron, stand beside a wash basin and hold up a white cloth. A well-dress white woman comes over to inspect the cloth. In the left, a Chinese man, wearing a queue and mustache and attired in a black cap, a blue shirt, tan pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, holds up and inspects a box of "McKeone's Extract of Soap." Behind him in the background, another Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a yellow shirt, washes a white cloth in a steaming wash basin. In the right, a white woman carries a basket of clothes and another white woman washes laundry in a wash basin and looks on at the scene. Also visible are wooden crates, a basket of laundry, and a drying rack filled with clothes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.620] printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Advertising text promoting McKeone's "Crown Jewel Soap" and "Kalistine concentrated extract of soap" printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., Added to African Americana Digital Collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - McKeone [1975.F.181; 1975.F.183; 1975.F.185; 1975.F.620; 1975.F.622]

Title: [Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards for Chas. McKeone & Son Manufacturing Co. at 2518-2550 Callowhill Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a dog biting and pulling the pants of a white boy carrying a basket of fruit while another white boy climbs a stone wall to escape; a white child sitting on a pile of blankets with their pet dog beside an open doorway; a white boy hanging with his shirt caught on a tree branch while another white boy looks on with a basket on fruit at his feet; a white woman cradling a baby on her lap. Racist card depicting white women, an African American woman, and Chinese men working in a laundry room. In the center, a white woman and an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in an orange head kerchief, a red dress, and a white checked apron, stand beside a wash basin and hold up a white cloth. A well-dress white woman comes over to inspect the cloth. In the left, a Chinese man, wearing a queue and mustache and attired in a black cap, a blue shirt, tan pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, holds up and inspects a box of "McKeone's Extract of Soap." Behind him in the background, another Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a yellow shirt, washes a white cloth in a steaming wash basin. In the right, a white woman carries a basket of clothes and another white woman washes laundry in a wash basin and looks on at the scene. Also visible are wooden crates, a basket of laundry, and a drying rack filled with clothes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.620] printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Advertising text promoting McKeone's "Crown Jewel Soap" and "Kalistine concentrated extract of soap" printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., Added to African Americana Digital Collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - McKeone [1975.F.181; 1975.F.183; 1975.F.185; 1975.F.620; 1975.F.622]

Title: [Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards for Chas. McKeone & Son Manufacturing Co. at 2518-2550 Callowhill Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a dog biting and pulling the pants of a white boy carrying a basket of fruit while another white boy climbs a stone wall to escape; a white child sitting on a pile of blankets with their pet dog beside an open doorway; a white boy hanging with his shirt caught on a tree branch while another white boy looks on with a basket on fruit at his feet; a white woman cradling a baby on her lap. Racist card depicting white women, an African American woman, and Chinese men working in a laundry room. In the center, a white woman and an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in an orange head kerchief, a red dress, and a white checked apron, stand beside a wash basin and hold up a white cloth. A well-dress white woman comes over to inspect the cloth. In the left, a Chinese man, wearing a queue and mustache and attired in a black cap, a blue shirt, tan pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, holds up and inspects a box of "McKeone's Extract of Soap." Behind him in the background, another Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a yellow shirt, washes a white cloth in a steaming wash basin. In the right, a white woman carries a basket of clothes and another white woman washes laundry in a wash basin and looks on at the scene. Also visible are wooden crates, a basket of laundry, and a drying rack filled with clothes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.620] printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Advertising text promoting McKeone's "Crown Jewel Soap" and "Kalistine concentrated extract of soap" printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., Added to African Americana Digital Collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - McKeone [1975.F.181; 1975.F.183; 1975.F.185; 1975.F.620; 1975.F.622]

Title: Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
Description: Series of trade cards promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming copper kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item, Printers and engravers include Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Co. (New York) and A. Gast & Co. (New York and St. Louis)., Advertising text printed on verso: Advertising text printed on verso: Established 1827. Dixon's stove polish; over fifty years in the market. Neat; quick; brilliant, and lasting. No dust. No odor. Nothing will make a stove so bright and cheerful for so long a time as the Dixon stove polish. It is by far the cheapest in use, in the long run. Buy it. Try it. Take no other. Pressed into a neat quarter-pound packet, absolutely free of adulteration. Six millions sold in 1880. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1998., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Dixon [1975.F.235; P.9577.14; P.9599]

Title: [Domestic Sewing Machine Co. trade cards]
Description: Series of trade cards promoting the Domestic Sewing Machine Co. "Make no mistake you buy a domestic" depicts two white women, one tall and the other of short stature, who carry parasols and converse. "Wes don got de "domestic" we has!" depicts a racist, comic genre scene of an African American couple, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated features, who have acquired a sewing machine. In the center is a man and woman in a blue-colored cart being pulled by a galloping brown horse. The man, attired in a top hat; a blue jacket; a white collared shirt; and green checked pants, strains and leans forward as he holds the reins. The woman, attired in a yellow dress with black polka dots and a pink bonnet, leans back and exclaims in the vernacular that "wes don got the Domestic, we has!" She raises her left hand in the air and holds a white handkerchief. A sewing machine is visible inside the cart. In the far right a barefooted boy attired in a straw hat; a white collared shirt; and brown pants rolled up to his calves, possibly their displaced son, runs beside the wagon. In the top right corner is an inset illustration of a Domestic Sewing Machine Co.’s sewing machine. "Yes my father was a great antiquarian; where he studied antiquity" depicts a well-dressed, white man and woman couple standing on a veranda conversing. The next panel depicts an older white man carrying a sack on his back and picking through a barrel filled with straw and scrap metal with garbage strewn around on the ground. William S. Mack & Co. and N.S. Perkins founded the Domestic Sewing Machine Company in 1864 in Norwalk, Ohio. The White Sewing Machine Company bought the company in 1924., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.229] copyrighted by Frank B. Hine., Includes advertising text printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Gift of Helen Beitler, 2001 [P.9983.5]., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Domestic [1975.F.229 & 230; P.9983.5]

Title: [J. & P. Coat's thread trade cards]
Description: Series of trade cards promoting J.&. P. Coats thread and depicting men, women and children performing a variety of activities with the thread, including a white girl swinging on a tree swing; a white man fishing in a stream while a white woman watches; and several white children pretending to be a horse team. Includes a large frog on a riverbank. "So do my sisters and my cousins and my aunts!" depicts an older white woman carrying packages. "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" based on Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" shows an oversized Gulliver being tied down with thread by the Lilliputians. "That's the kind! Bring me some more" depicts an older white woman inspecting different colored spools of thread in a box held up by a white boy. "Ef dis don't fetch you nothing will" depicts an African American man and woman, portrayed in racist caricature, trying to tame a donkey. In the left, the woman, attired in a white bonnet with a red ribbon, a red shirt, a blue scarf, a yellow shirt, a white apron, and gray shoes, uses thread from an enormous J. & P. Coats spool to pull on the bridle on the donkey, who pulls back with its mouth open. Behind the donkey, the man stands, attired in a brown, brimmed hat, a red shirt, blue plaid pants, and blue shoes, who holds a rope in his left hand and scratches his head with his left hand. "We never fade!" depicts an African American boy, portrayed in racist caricature, sitting on an oversized spool of thread in a field. Shows the boy seated and with his legs straddling a giant spool of black thread. He says “we never fade!!” and points his finger at the sun, which has a face and a concerned expression with a downward turned mouth. The boy is barefoot and attired in a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows; a multi-colored tie and belt; and red pants rolled up to the knees. In the foreground, two black crows look at the thread. A house is visible in the right background., Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Five prints printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Ten prints contain advertising text printed on versos, including promotions for J. & P. Coat's best six cord, soft finish spool cotton; a table of needle and thread numbers; a calendar for 1880; and a description of "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" illustration (on recto of print 1975.F.220)., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1999. Purchase 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Coats [1975.F.123; 1975.F.126; 1975.F.133; 1975.F.150; 1975.F.157; 1975.F.193; 1975.F.195; 1975.F.220; 69211.D; P.9743; P.9984.4]

Title: Sketches of character. Plate 2. At home. Plate 3. Abroad
Description: Racist caricature contrasting two scenes of the same African American couple "At Home" and "Abroad." The "At Home" scene depicts the couple in their kitchen with a wood floor washing dishes together. In the right, the woman, attired in a kerchief, short sleeves, apron, skirt, and slip on shoes, is bent over and washes the dishes in a tub on a stool. In the left, the man, barefoot and attired in a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, vest, bow tie, and pants, sits on the edge of a butcherblock table on top of which a pile of dishes rests, and dries one. The man and woman look at each other. In the background, on the wall, cooking utensils, pots and pans, and a slab of bacon hang from hooks underneath a shelf lined with cook and dishware near a large woven basket, a cupboard, and a small shelf with two bottles. The "Abroad" scene depicts the pair well attired and about to promenade down a city street, possibly Philadelphia and from near Independence Hall. The woman wears a large plumed bonnet with a veil and a ribbon tied under her chin, a blue cape over a dress giving her the appearance of a bell, and gaiter-like shoes. Her husband wears spectacles, a top hat, white shirt, yellow vest, black waist coat, grey pants, and yellow gloves. He holds a walking cane down toward the ground in his left hand and his other arm out to his companion. A guardhouse is seen in the right and the edge of a building (possibly Independence Hall) in the left. Cityscape is visible in the distant background. Figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features and their skin tone is depicted in brown hand coloring., Title and date from item., Copy right secured., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2013, p. 51., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857
Date: January 12, 1830
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.2013.74]

Title: Sketches of character. Plate 2. At home. Plate 3. Abroad
Description: Racist caricature contrasting two scenes of the same African American couple "At Home" and "Abroad." The "At Home" scene depicts the couple in their kitchen with a wood floor washing dishes together. In the right, the woman, attired in a kerchief, short sleeves, apron, skirt, and slip on shoes, is bent over and washes the dishes in a tub on a stool. In the left, the man, barefoot and attired in a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, vest, bow tie, and pants, sits on the edge of a butcherblock table on top of which a pile of dishes rests, and dries one. The man and woman look at each other. In the background, on the wall, cooking utensils, pots and pans, and a slab of bacon hang from hooks underneath a shelf lined with cook and dishware near a large woven basket, a cupboard, and a small shelf with two bottles. The "Abroad" scene depicts the pair well attired and about to promenade down a city street, possibly Philadelphia and from near Independence Hall. The woman wears a large plumed bonnet with a veil and a ribbon tied under her chin, a blue cape over a dress giving her the appearance of a bell, and gaiter-like shoes. Her husband wears spectacles, a top hat, white shirt, yellow vest, black waist coat, grey pants, and yellow gloves. He holds a walking cane down toward the ground in his left hand and his other arm out to his companion. A guardhouse is seen in the right and the edge of a building (possibly Independence Hall) in the left. Cityscape is visible in the distant background. Figures are portrayed with oversized and exaggerated features and their skin tone is depicted in brown hand coloring., Title and date from item., Copy right secured., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2013, p. 51., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857
Date: January 12, 1830
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Life in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Set) [P.2013.74]

Title: Effect of the Fifteenth Amendment Indignant mother, "Cum in out of dat mud right straight! Fust ting you'll know you'll be took for Irish chil'en!"
Description: Photographic reproduction of a drawing after a racist cartoon published in Harper's Bazar in 1871 alluding to the social and political tensions between Irish and African American people following passage of the right to vote amendment. Shows an African American woman, a broom in one hand, her other hand on her hip, at her front porch, watching her two sons playing in the dirt. The woman is portrayed in racist caricature and speaks in the vernacular. She has a rotund figure and is attired in a head kerchief, a button-down shirt, an ankle-length skirt, and an apron. Her children make a mud pie beside the porch and in front of a tall wooden fence. Another African American boy, attired in a broad-rimmed hat and slipper-like shoes too large for his feet, sits and balances himself on the fence. View also includes a dust pan, the edge of a bench, and a tall weed near the mother's feet., Title from item., Date inferred from similar cartoon published in Harper's Bazar, March 4, 1871., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: 1871
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photos - 5 x 7 - unidentified - Events [P.2015.29]

Title: The election a medley, humbly inscribed, to Squire Lilliput Professor of Scurrillity
Description: A pro-Franklin cartoon depicting a crowd gathered to vote at the Philadelphia courthouse during the Pennsylvania Assembly election of October 1764. The print advocates Franklin's appointment as provincial agent to Britain despite his election loss which was a result of his double-sided politics in dealing with the "Paxton Boys," white frontiersmen who murdered peaceful Native Americans. Contains thirty-three verses attributed to Rev. Isaac Hunt to be sung to various tunes. Created as an attack on satirist James Dove, referred to in this title as "Squire Lilliput Professor of Scurrillity," in response to his anti-Franklin print, "The Paxton Expedition." The courthouse crowd includes caricatures of James Dove and five African Americans, including a woman stating in the vernacular, "Mase Lidiput you puchuss a me," a reference to a character pursued sexually by Dove in an earlier anti-Dove cartoon, "A Conference between the Devil and Mr. Dove" (1764)., Place and date of publication provided by Snyder and Murrell., Possibly after the work of Henry Dawkins., Manuscript note: Published for the Election of the 1st of 8th 1764 of Philadelphia., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date: [1764]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - [1764] Ele [959.F.74]

Title: The election a medley, humbly inscribed, to Squire Lilliput Professor of Scurrillity
Description: A pro-Franklin cartoon depicting a crowd gathered to vote at the Philadelphia courthouse during the Pennsylvania Assembly Election of October 1764. The print advocates Franklin's appointment as provincial agent to Britain despite his election loss which was a result of his double-sided politics in dealing with the "Paxton Boys," white frontiersmen who murdered peaceful Native Americans. Contains thirty-three verses attributed to Rev. Isaac Hunt to be sung to various tunes. Created as an attack on satirist James Dove, referred to in this title as "Squire Lilliput Professor of Scurrillity," in response to his anti-Franklin print, "The Paxton Expedition." The courthouse crowd includes caricatures of James Dove and five African Americans, including a woman stating in the vernacular, "Mase Lidiput you puchuss a me," a reference to a character pursued sexually by Dove in an earlier anti-Dove cartoon, "A Conference between the Devil and Mr. Dove" (1764)., Place and date of publication provided by Snyder and Murrell., Possibly after the work of Henry Dawkins., Manuscript note on recto in Watson's hand: Wrote by the Revd. Isaac Hunt at or before 1764 - when Franklin was made agent to London for this "Medley" says "Franklin will be agent." [and] Property of John F. Watson., Manuscript note on verso: Purchased from John F. Watson, Esq. June 14 1860. C.P. [Charles Poulson]., LCP copy lacking fragments along center vertical fold. Backed with laid paper., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [1764]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - [1764] Ele [1885.F.32]

Title: Practical amalgamation
Description: Racist print promoting anti-abolitionists' fears of multiracial personal relationships. Depicts a parlor scene where two inter-racial couples court on a couch. In the left, an attractive white women sits on the lap of an African American man. The man, depicted in racist caricature with grotesque facial features, holds a guitar in his right hand as she engages him in a kiss. In the right, a rotund African American woman holds a fan in her right hand as she is wooed by a slender white man on his knees who kisses her left hand. Portraits of abolitionists Arthur Tappan, Daniel O'Connell (a radical Irish abolitionist), and John Quincy Adams are hung on the wall behind the couch. A white and black dog are in the left corner., Title from item., After E.W. Clay's Practical amalgamation (New York: Published and sold by John Childs, Lithographer, 119 Fulton Street, upstairs, 1839]., Purchase 1970., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: 1839
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1839 - Pra 2 [7897.F]

Title: An affecting scene in Kentucky
Description: A racist cartoon ridiculing Kentucky congressman Richard M. Johnson, the 1836 Democratic vice-presidential candidate, for his common-law marriage to Julia Chinn, a multiracial woman. Depicts Johnson, with the "New York Courier and Enquirer" falling from his hand, as he grieves over the "scurrilous attacks in the newspapers on the mother of my children." His daughters, Adaline and Imogene, attired in evening dresses, comment on his "affected state" and hold a framed portrait of their mother, attired in a turban. Surrounding Johnson are Democrats pledging support, including a postmaster, a well-dressed African American man, who speaks in the vernacular, and a gaunt white man abolitionist holding the Connecticut newspaper the "Emancipator." Another white man supporter comments on Johnson's agitated state., Title from item., Publication information supplied by Reilly., Purchase 1958., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [1836]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1836-15 [6277.F]

Title: The smokers
Description: Cartoon concerning smoking as a vice depicting a crowd scene where everyone smokes, including women and children. In the foreground, a white man sits on a wooden chair holding a pipe in hand, refers to his "illustrious predecessor," Andrew Jackson. Two white boys light their cigars together. A finely dressed white woman carrying a parasol is horrified and says, "Oh! The monsters, I'm half blinded and suffocated" as she holds her nose. An elegantly dressed African American woman holds her hand to her nose and exclaims, "What a nasty practice, it's enough to make a dog sick." In the right, a white man street peddler carries a tray of plaster busts, including a pipe smoking Jackson. "Jack Downing," cigar in hand, states he picked up the habit in France and that his lighter was made from Jackson's spectacles but thinks a loco-foco (a faction of the Democrats who were named after a type of match) would go quicker. An African American chimney sweep and an African American shoe shiner shake hands with cigars in their mouths. They are portrayed in racist caricature and speak in the vernacular about smoking. "I say Josh, wot you smoke dem long nines for, why don't you smoke Half Spanish like a gen'leman." "Cause I've called in my Shin Plasters, and suspended Specie payments!!", Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress, in the Year 1837, by H.R. Robinson, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the U.S. of the Southern Dist. of New York., Text printed on recto: Tobacco is a stinking weed, It was the Devil sow'd the seed, It drains the purse & fouls the clothes, And makes a chimney of the nose., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Clay, born in Philadelphia, was a prominent caricaturist, engraver, and lithographer.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, artist
Date: 1837
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1837-25W [5656.F.3]

Title: Practical amalgamation
Description: Racist print promoting anti-abolitionists' fears of multiracial personal relationships. Depicts a parlor scene where two interracial couples court on a couch. In the left, an attractive white women sits on the lap of an African American man. The man, depicted in racist caricature with grotesque facial features, holds a guitar in his right hand as she engages him in a kiss. In the right, a rotund African American woman holds a fan in her right hand as she is wooed by a slender white man on his knees who kisses her left hand. Portraits of abolitionists Arthur Tappan, Daniel O'Connell (a radical Irish abolitionist), and John Quincy Adams are hung on the wall behind the couch. A white and black dog are in the left corner., Title from item., First of a series of five., Lib. Company. Annual Report, 2015, p. 41., Purchase 1957., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Clay, born in Philadelphia, was a prominent caricaturist, engraver, and lithographer who created the "Life in Philadelphia" series which satirized middle-class African-Americans of the late 1820s and early 1830s.
Creator: Clay, Edward Williams, 1799-1857, artist
Date: 1839
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoons - 1839-Pra 1 [6207.F]

Title: Pore lil' Mose sends his Pa a valentine
Description: Racist cartoon containing vignettes about an African American family, portrayed in racist caricature, with the boy prankster Pore Lil' Mose giving valentines to his gal Happy Lil' Sal and his Pa. In the left, shows Miss Sally Sunbeam, portrayed in caricature and wearing her hair in pigtails with yellow bows and attired in a pink dress with a white ruffled collar, yellow stockings, and boots, standing with her dog. She smiles and holds up the valentine while Mose looks on from behind a fence. Below is a vignette depicting Pa angrily holding and reading his “comic” valentine, “Moses Pryor shif’less coon quit his job de first of June never works again till fall hates to ever work at all.” Mose’s mother, attired in a red headkerchief with white polka dots, a yellow shawl, and a blue dress, smiles as she looks over Pa’s shoulder. A younger brother, attired in a red and white sailor shirt with a green bow and green pants, stands behind Pa and scowls with his hands in his pockets. The next vignette, shows Mose fleeing the kitchen with only his legs visible running out the door as a mule looks on. Pa, tripping over the cat, flies through the air head down and legs up and carrying a stick in his hand. Ma leans back with her hand on her head as the plates, cutlery, and coffee pot are thrown from the kitchen table. In the top right is a portrait of Uncle Jack, wearing white hair and attired in a black top hat, a white and red striped shirt, a yellow vest with red polka dots, blue pants, red socks, and brown shoes, standing with his hands in his pockets. The image of Pa’s valentine depicts a racist caricature of an African American man stealing a chicken at night under the moonlight. Contains 21 lines of text written in the vernacular explicating the scenes ending with the line "Pore Lil' Mose.", Title from item., The "Por Lil' Mose" series was published in the New York Herald from 1901 until 1902., Purchase 1978., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Richard Felton Outcault (1868-1928) is renowned as the creator of the first published full page comic. He is also the creator of "Buster Brown."
Creator: Outcault, Richard Felton, 1863-1928, artist
Date: [ca. 1901]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1901 Por [8391.F]

Title: John Brown exhibiting his hangman
Description: Cartoon depicting the imaginary execution of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis with the ghost of John Brown as his executioner. Jefferson, holding a sour apple and attired in a women's dress and bonnet, swings imprisoned in a birdcage which hangs from a gallows. To the left of the cage Brown rises from a hole in the earth and points accusingly at Davis. In actuality Davis had no direct involvement with Brown's execution. Beneath the cage, African American men and women minstrel figures, portrayed in racist caricature, rejoice, dance, clap, and thumb their noses at Davis., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Entered according to act of Congress in 1865 by G. Querner in the Clerk's Office of the Sup. Court D.C., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook related to Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: 1865
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Political Cartoon - 1865-16R [5795.F.b]

Title: The Salt River gazette---extra, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 1867 The Great Negro Party--born, 1856--died Oct. 8, 1867
Description: Cartoon publicizing the death of the "Great Negro Party" (i.e., Republican Party) as a result of the defeat of several Republican candidates to Democrats in the Philadelphia local elections of 1867. Depicts a series of racist captioned vignettes and caricatures. Includes the head of an African American man above a coffin inscribed with the life and death dates of the party (1856-Oct. 8, 1867); “a Scene at the Broad St. League House” depicting a white man minister forced to perform an interracial marriage between a white woman and an African American man; and a scene entitled "The Work of Congress repudiated by the People" showing an African American man lounging and watching white men labor to pay their taxes. Also includes an African American man dandy commenting in the vernacular on his making electors sick "dis time"; and a scene titled "Statue to be erected in front of the Union League House" showing the sculpture of an older African American woman on a ragged horse. The African American dandy caricature originally appeared as an illustration titled "S.S. Sanford in One of his Great Delineations of Ethiopian Character" in "Our Day," an 1860 circular that advertised his Sanford Opera House. The statue caricature originally appeared in the "Original Comicalities" section of the June 1854 edition of "Graham's Magazine" and was titled "Woolly Equestrian Statue of the late Mrs. Joyce Heth." Mrs. Heth, an early attraction of P.T. Barnum from 1835 until 1836, claimed that she was over 100 years old and a nanny to George Washington., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Originally part of McAllister scrapbooks of views of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania views and political miscellany. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [1867]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1867-1W [5759.F; (2)1322.F.77]

Title: [Scraps no. 3 for 1832]
Description: Plate three from the 1832 edition of, "Scraps" Johnston's popular satirical series of societal caricatures published between 1828 and 1840, and in 1849. Depicts a montage of nine scenes lampooning contemporary social issues and everyday life such as fashion, gender relationships, bed bugs, the theater, modesty, materialism, parental relationships, and drunkenness. Includes "A Rain Bow" depicting a white man dandy offering to assist a white woman with her parasol under the judging eye of a fellow unwilling to "wear out" his umbrella in the rain; "Great Cry and Little Wool" depicting white chambermaids mocking the fearfulness of a white man being attacked by gigantic, near sated bed bugs and a mosquito; "Pressure of the Times" depicting a crowd of white men fighting with each other for "Boston Theater" box tickets; "Ne Plus Ultra of Delicacy" depicting white men discussing "decently clothed tables and chairs" while tending to an unconscious white woman driven to faint after viewing a sculpture of barely-clad "Chanting Cherubs"; "Sport of His Satanic Majesty" depicting Satan and his minion fishing for white drunkards to be eaten and used as firewood; "Mother's Hope and Father's Joy" depicting a little, white "gentleman" being bid upon by his mother and a little girl; "The Test of Friendship" depicting a white man drunkard showing true friendship by lying in the gutter with his equally inebriated white man friend; "Steamboat Scene" depicting white individuals and a family reacting to a "man overboard" with gawking looks, a cry for a rope, a criticism of drunkenness, anger at his non-removal of expensive shoes, and a desire to exchange places to forgo seasickness; "Going Off Half Cocked" depicting and an intoxicated white man stuttering "good evening" in front of his snickering African American maid, portrayed in racist caricature., Title supplied by cataloger., Printed in upper left corner: Plate 3., Published in D.C. Johnston's Scraps No. 3 1832 (Boston: D.C. Johnston, 1832), pl. 3., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Accessioned 1979., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Johnston, David Claypoole, 1799-1865
Date: 1832
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1832-Scr (c) [P.2275.27]

Main menu

Pages