Racist trade card promoting J.D. Larkin & Co.’s soap and depicting caricatures of four African American boys standing in a line blowing brass horns. Shows the boys attired in straw hats, white shirts with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and yellow shoes. The boy in the left is attired in a pink waistcoat and blue striped pants; the second boy in a purple waistcoat and blue pants; the third boy in a pink waistcoat and blue pants with a floral print; and the fourth boy in a purple waistcoat, blue pants, and gold hoop earrings. They all carry in their right hand a long, brass horn. In the background is a house with a chimney surrounded by a stone wall with a gate. John D. Larkin (1845-1926) began a soap manufactory in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1875. He created a yellow bar of laundry soap called, “Sweet Home Soap.” In 1878, Larkin admitted his brother-in-law Elbert G. Hubbard (1856-1915) and established the firm, J.D. Larkin & Co. The firm grew into a mail-order business. The Company was sold in 1941, liquidated in 1942, and the new owners continued the mail-order business until 1962., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from place of operation of the advertised business., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - J.D. Larkin [P.2017.95.90]
