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Title: Clarence Brooks & Co., manufacturers of fine coach varnishes, cor. West & West 12th Sts., New York "ceticism my belobed bredren. It am something beautiful frinstance it am light and airy - like de bean."
Description: Trade card employing an African American Oscar Wilde caricature. Wilde toured the United States in 1882. The Wilde figure, wearing long hair and attired in blue knee breeches with red bows, a red jacket with tails, black socks, and gold slippers lectures to an audience of well-attired African American men and women. He stands at a table adorned with a piece of paper, a candle in a bottle, and a water glass containing a sunflower. To his left, an older frowning man sits with an umbrella between his knees on the stage, while in the first row, two women (one wearing a sunflower on her hat) swoon in front of a lanky man, standing, and looking moonfaced. Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In 1881 the firm issued a calendar illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes., Publication date inferred from image content., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund.
Date: [ca. 1882]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Brooks [P.2014.35]

Title: [Set of six African American caricature trade cards advertising Franz Aman, wine, liquor, and lager beer saloon, no. 727 North Second Street, Philadelphia]
Description: Set of racist trade cards, some captioned, depicting African American male and female caricatures and stereotypes. Figures portrayed with malproportioned facial features. Captioned cards include "A New Coon in Town" showing an African American dandy, with a cigarette in his mouth, and attired in a grey bowler, purple jacket with flower boutonnière, red stiff-collared shirt, blue checkered pants, and red socks accessorized with yellow gloves, a monocle, and an umbrella; "Bones" showing an African American minstrel performer, attired in a ruffled clown collared shirt and red jacket with tails while playing sticks above his head and side kicking; and "Did you see me" showing a comic African American male figure, holding his bowler in the air and with one foot extended toward the viewer ("Did you see me" written on the sole of his foot). Uncaptioned cards depict an African American minstrel figure, attired in a ruffled collared shirt, seated, and holding a tambourine on his knee (probably originally captioned 'I don't do this for a livin"); an older African American woman, attired in a bonnet, shawl, and apron, resembling a cook and smoking a pipe (probably originally captioned "Just like the old me"); and a curvaceous African American woman attired in a red hat, square neck, knee-length dress, sash, and red stockings while side stepping. Cards advertise the saloon operated by Franz Aman at the address listed 1886-1888, a period when "Coon" songs were a fad. The "Bones" and "Tambourine" figures were often a part of the standard first act of a three-act minstrel performance, Title supplied by cataloger., Two of the six cards contain slightly legible captions printed over with gold ink.
Date: [ca. 1886]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Aman [P.2014.26.1]

Title: Photographing the baby
Description: Trade card after an 1870 Sol Eytinge Harper's Weekly illustration with white figures depicting a racist, caricaturized genre scene to promote the coach varnish firm Clarence Brooks & Co. Scene shows a white photographer taking the portrait of an African American toddler in hi studio. The African American figures are portrayed with caricatured and exagerrated features. In the right, the white photographer stands next to his camera and tripod. He holds a cloth in his right hand, at his side, and a yellow-colored, monkey-like string puppet in his raised left hand. He wears a beard and is attired in a long brown jacket and blue striped pants. Between him and his young sitter is a framed advertisement above maroon paneling on an olive-colored wall. The advertisement reads: "Clarence Brooks & Co., Fine Coach Varnishes, Cor. West & West 12th Sts." In the left, the African American girl sits stiffly on a plush, green arm chair. Her eyes are opened wide in a surprised expression. She wears a sleeveless pink dress with blue bows at the shoulders. Behind her, in the doorway, are two African American women. The younger woman, likely to be perceived as the girl's mother, peers around from the left of the doorway. She wears a stylish hat, white blouse, and red bow at her neck. An older woman, likely to be perceived as the girl's grandmother, stands in the right of the doorway. She wears a brown-colored bonnet with a large bow around her chin and a brown-colored dress and shawl. Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In the early 1880s the firm issued calendars illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes, often after Sol Eytinge Harper's Weekly illustrations., Title from item., Publication date inferred from dates of activity of publisher (1888-1892) as cited in Jay Last, The Color Explosion (Santa Ana: Hillcrest Press, 2005)., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program (Junto 2015)., Housed with the Emily Phillips Advertising Card Collection., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator: National Bank Note Co.
Date: [ca. 1890]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Brooks [P.2016.17.1]

Title: He dreamt dat from away off thar de angels sent him news. He 'woke and found it was Dunbarr dat sent dem bully shoes; 60 N. Fourth St. Philadelphia
Description: Racist, satiric trade card depicting an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt, pants with patches at the knee, and old shoes, sleeping with his back resting against a haystack in a field. A rifle is propped on the haystack beside him. An African American angel with wings flies toward the sleeping man with a pair of boots in his outstretched right hand. In the background is a scarecrow. Text printed on the recto describing the scene is written in the vernacular. Burns & Zeigler succeeded the firm of Geo. S. Clogg & Son in 1875., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business., Contains advertising text printed on verso: E. L. Burns. F. T. Zeigler. Burns & Zeigler, dealers in fashionable boots and shoes, No. 1109 Pennsylvania Avenue, betw. Eleventh and Twelfth Sts., Washington, D.C. F. Lisiewski & Co., prs., 639 Arch St., 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.
Creator: Donaldson Brothers (Firm)
Date: [ca. 1875]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Burns & Zeigler [1975.F.33]

Title: Arbuckle's ariosa coffee. Arbuckle Bros. Coffee Company, New York
Description: One of a series of "fifty" trade cards, "each one of which shows a correct map (properly bounded) of one State, or Territory" to promote Arbuckle's Ariosa Coffee. Depicts a map of Alabama (left) and a scene with African American men and women picking cotton in a cotton field (right). Scene shows a man in the foreground placing cotton in a basket piled high with it. In the center, right background, a woman stands and holds a large basket piled high with cotton on her head. In the distant background, two men and three women bend over and pick cotton from the plants. A piece of harvesting equipment is visible in the far left background. The men and women wear long sleeve shirts and hats or bonnets. Arbuckle's Coffee was founded by brothers John and Charles Arbuckle following the Civil War. The company was one of the first to sell roasted coffee and to place it in one pound packages. Arbuckle often included trade cards in the packages., Title from item., Image captions: Cotton Picking; Population 1,262,[ ]5; Area in Sq. Miles 52,250., Date inferred from content, dates of activity of lithographer, and reference to Washington which gained statehood in 1889 as a territory., Series number printed on verso: No. 67., Several lines of advertising text printed on verso explicating why Arbuckle's Ariosa Coffee "costs more and is worth more than other brands of coffee," including higher grade green coffee and the "glazing" process. Also includes a "Read This." section describing the series of cards as "interesting, instructive, and artistic," and their purpose as and "object lesson or both young and old." Section ends with the alphabetical list of 50 states and territories depicted. Washington, New Mexico, and Wyoming are listed as territories., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022., Some degradation to image.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Arbuckle's [P.2017.44]

Title: U. S. B. M. Dockstaders. US BM black mail. Charles and Lewis Dockstader, Carncross' Minstrels, Eleventh St. Opera House, Philadelphia, Pa
Description: Racist advertisement designed as a postcard to promote Carncross' Minstrels performers the Dockstaders, and the A. Vogeler & Co. patent medicine St. Jacobs Oil. Includes graphic details and vignettes depicting caricatured African Americans in a cancellation mark, stamp, and as postal workers. The cancellation mark (upper left) depicts the right, bust profile of a black man, possibly an allusion to a man in black face. The stamp (upper right) depicts the left, bust profile of a black man, possibly an allusion to a man in black face. In the lower left corner, an African American mail carrier, a mail bag around his shoulder, empties a "U.S.B.M." mailbox attached to a post. His back is to the viewer. In the lower right, an African American mail carrier, a mail bag filled with mail around his shoulder, and holding letters in his hand is depicted in mid stride. The unrelated Charles Dockstader and Lewis, i.e., Lew Dockstader (George Alfred Clapp) partnered in 1878. They joined John L Carncross' Minstrels in Philadelphia in 1880. The Dockstaders continued to perform with Carncross' until 1883 and the illness of Charles ending the partnership. In 1882, the men also performed with George Thatcher's Minstrel's (Philadelphia)and Haverly's Minstrels (St. Louis, Mo.). Lew remained with Carncross until 1886 and the creation of Dockstader's Minstrels., Blackface minstrelsy is a popular entertainment form, originating in the United States in the mid-19th century and remaining in American life through the 20th century. The form is based around stereotypical and racist portrayals of African Americans, including mocking dialect, parodic lyrics, and the application of Black face paint; all designed to portray African Americans as othered subjects of humor and disrespect. Blackface was a dominant form for theatrical and musical performances for decades, both on stage and in private homes., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Printed on verso: Miss Information:-- Most worthy of estimation: After long and serious consideration on the reputation that you have in the nation. I have taken a serious inclination to remove my habitation, to a close situation, in order that I may pay a visitation for the sake of conversation. If this should meet with your approbation, I remain ever yours, without simulation. Ado Ration. P. S.---I thus give affirmation without qualifications that St. Jacobs Oil is the best application in the wide creation., Description of Blackface minstrelsy from Dorothy Berry, Descriptive Equity and Clarity around Blackface Minstrelsy in H(arvard) T(heater) C(ollection) Collections, 2021., Housed with the Ellen Phillips Advertising Card Collection., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program (Junto 2015)., RVCDC, Access points revised 2022., Description revised 2022.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Dockstader [P.2017.6]

Title: I'se a dude!
Description: Trade card promoting New Jersey grocer H. G. Prall & Sons and depicting an African American man dandy, with a sheepish expression, and posed with his left hand to his lips and his other hand holding a white top hat at his shoulder. He is portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a ruffled white shirt, a white waistcoat adorned with a watch fob, a gold jacket with tails, and blue and white striped pants. He stands in front of a background of fauna details. H. G. Prall primarily appears as the sole proprietor of his grocery in later 19th-century directories, but is listed as H. G. Prall & Son in 1883., Title from item., Date inferred from city directory listing for business., Series no. printed on recto: 58., Advertising text printed on verso: H. G. Prall & Sons, Dealers in fine Groceries. Headquarters for Fish, Provisions, Flour, Feed, &c., 174 and 176 Main Street, Somerville, N. J., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., 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: [ca. 1883]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Prall [113419.D]

Title: Your home is not complete without the Missouri Steam Washer. The best washing machine in the world. Johnston Bro's. St. Louis. Philadelphia There are more Missouri Steam Washers sold than all other washing machines in the world combined
Description: Trade card for the small portable washing machine invented by George D. Ferris and marketed by Johnston Bros., "General Agents for the United States." Depicts two male fairies, one white and one African American, presenting a "Missouri Steam Washer. Pat'd. May 1, 1883" to a white woman who stands over a washboard in a wash tub. Steam rises from the tub filled with clothes. The African American fairy, portrayed in racist caricature with orange wings and attired in blue pants with suspenders, pushes in the metal washing machine on a dolly, while the other fairy points to it. The African American fairy image was often used in newspaper advertisements for the machine that operated through placement on a family cook stove, internal perforated steam tubes, and a crank to keep the clothes in motion during washing., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1884., Contains five testimonials, including one by G. R. Brandt and Harry E. Brandt (Hurricane Laundry, 232 New Street), Philadelphia, Pa., printed on verso., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., 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: 1884
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Johnston [P.2013.35.1]

Title: " Creme" oat meal toilet soap
Description: Incomplete series of trade cards, including duplicate and variant imagery with the same series number, to promote "Crème" toilet soap manufactured by J.D. Larkin & Co. Depicts racist, anthropomorphic chimpanzee figures in social situations and leisure and cultural activities., Series no. I (variant 1) depicts a man and woman as well-dressed anthropomorphized chimpanzees greeting each other. In the left, the man attired in a black top hat, blue jacket, and checkered yellow pants, nods his head to the left and holds up his walking stick. In the right, the woman, her back to the viewer, is attired in a yellow bonnet adorned with flowers and a ribbon, and a long-sleeved green dress with a pink belt at the waist and a bow at the bustle. She lifts up her skirt and exposes her slip. Series no. I (variant 2) depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man artist. He rests back on his chair, and holds a palette in one hand, and a paint brush in the other. He sits in front of an easel and canvas. He is attired in a green-colored smock shirt with collar and buttons, yellow pants, and brown laced shoes. His eyelids droop down and his mouth is slightly ajar., Series no. II depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man hunter. He stands in front of a section of tall grass and holds a clutch of birds in his left hand and a shot gun under his right arm. He is attired in a hunting cap, red jacket, tan pants, and black high boots. Leather straps are criss-crossed over his chest. Series no. III depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man fishing at a dock. The man hangs his legs over a pier and holds a pole into the water. A basket of fish lays beside him. He wears a wide-brimmed hat, a brown jacket with the collar turned up, and blue checkered pants. The backs of two other anglers are visible in the left background. Series no. IV (2 copies) depicts anthropomorphized chimpanzees as a man and woman couple on promenade. The woman, in the left, is attired in a yellow bonnet, a yellow, three-quarter length sleeved dress with ruffling down the front and ruching on the skirt, and white gloves. She holds a fan by her left cheek, looks to her left, and lifts up the skirt of her dress and shows the edge of her slip. To the right, the man smiles and looks over her shoulder. He is attired in a bowler, red jacket, and grey-striped pants and holds a walking stick up under his arm., Series no. VI depicts anthropomorphized chimpanzees as a man and woman couple getting married by a clergyman. The couple, their backs to the viewer, stand to the left of the clergyman attired in his ceremonial robes. The man wears a suit with a long jacket. The woman wears a white wedding dress with a veil adorned with floral ornaments. The dress is composed with ruched sleeves, and adorned with pink bows and ribbons. The figures all have solemn expressions. J.D. Larkin & Co. was founded in 1875. By 1881 the soap company included over 100 factory workers and sustained specialized departments for advertising and shipping, as well as solicited to door-to-door private residences in addition to shopkeepers. Trade cards with the company logo were included with each box of soap. By 1885 the firm only directly sold their products to residential customers and was known for their premiums. The company was sold in 1941 and continued as a mail-order business until 1962., Title from items., Date, publisher, and manufacturer (printer) from copyright statements on prints: Copyright J.D. Larkin & Co., Buffalo, N.Y. 1881 and Copyright Clay & Richmond, Buffalo, N.Y. 1881., Majority of prints (P.2020.3.1-4&7) distributed by J.D. Larkin & Co., P.2020.3.5&6 distributed by the People’s Manufacturing Co., Prints include the company logo “J.D. L. & Co., Buffalo, N.Y.” in two designs; one in cursive and the other as a monogram with a central block letter., Includes series numbers: I. (2 variant images); II.; III.; V. (2 copies, same image); and VI., Five of the prints contain variant advertising text on verso. All texts include statement: To Card Collectors.- There are six different designs in this set. We will mail the complete set to any address, on receipt of 3 c./three cent stamp., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Larkin [P.2020.3.1-7]

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]

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