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- Title
- “Universal family” Soapine, Kendall Mfg. Co., Providence, R.I
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting Kendall Manufacturing Co.’s Soapine and depicting caricatures and ethnic stereotypes of people helping Liberty wash laundry. Shows Liberty in the center personified as a white woman with blonde hair tied up in a bun attired in a blue cap with a white star and a white sleeveless dress with a red belt that has an American flag crest. She stands behind a wooden wash tub labeled “Kendall MFG Co.” that sits on top of six boxes labeled with the letter K. She spreads both of her arms out to the seven people around her. In the left, a white man with blond hair and mustache (possibly German,) holds a pipe in his mouth and is attired in a blue tunic, brown pants, and black shoes. He bends over as he carries a large box labeled “universal soap” on his back. A white Scottish man with blonde hair, attired in a blue cap with a yellow feather, a green shirt with a red sash, and a red kilt, helps a white man with black hair and mustache (possibly French) attired in a blue uniform with gold epaulettes and black shoes, carry a large straw basket filled with white laundry to the wash tub. In the right, caricatures of an African American man in a white sleeveless top, a Native American man attired with a feather headdress and blue pants with a bundle of arrows on his back, and a Chinese man with his hair styled in a queue attired in a blue tunic, brown pants, and blue, slip-on, cloth shoes, carry an oversize wash board labeled “French Laundry Soap.” In the center foreground, a white man with blonde hair and attired in a blue shirt, brown pants, blue socks, and black shoes, has fallen down on the ground. Beside him is a broken white pipe, and a small black cat runs away. Henry L. Kendall (1805-1883) founded a soap manufactory in Providence, R.I. in 1827. The Kendall Manufacturing Co. was incorporated in 1860. The Company continued to manufacture soap into the mid-20th century., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from place of operation of the advertised business., 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 - Kendall [P.2017.95.96]
- Title
- The Hunters three and O.N.T
- Description
- Circular promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting racist caricatures of African, Asian, and indigenous men. Volume also contains several lines of narrative, promotional text written as a children’s story. The front cover is a color illustration of three white "merry gentlemen" in Cololonial attire and riding on horseback as "they hunt and hunt." The men are attired in tri-corn hats; red jackets; white breeches with riding boots; and white wigs. They ride on a road towards the viewer. The figures are bordered with pictorial details of the Clark’s O.N.T trademark. The rider in the middle raised his hat with his hand. Image is reproduced in black and white on p. [2]. P. [3] shows the horsemen observe three white children standing before them whom they believe "...must be princes. They sew their clothes with O.N.T." P. [4] show the "gentlemen" observe from a distance three African Zulu men. The men drive a lion into a net made of O.N.T. thread. One man is nude except for a feather on his head and bangs a large drum labeled "Clark's O.N.T. spool thread." Another man is attired in a skirt made of palm leaves and carries a shield and arrows. A third man carries arrows and wears a feather on his head. P [5] shows the "hunters" "spy" "three happy Hottentots" who roll down a hill on large spools of Clark's thread in a "chariot race." The three African men have their hair in buns atop their heads and are attired in white shorts and hoop earrings. One man is also attired in a shell necklace, and two men hold spears. P. [6] shows the three men find a Chinese man flying a kite strung with O.N.T. thread thread and to which a Chinese boy is attached. He is seated on a rug with his back to the viewer. To his right is a pipe. His hair is styled in a queue, and he is attired in a white shirt with a vest decorated in a print of dragons and slip-on, cloth shoes., P. [7] shows the white men finding an Inuit man on a sled made from a Clark's spool and pulled over the ice by a team of dogs. The sled driver is attired in a hooded parka and boots. P. [8] the three riders encounter a Native American man reigning in a buffalo with O.N.T. thread. He is attired in knee-high boots; a patterned blanket draped around his chest; hoop earrings; and a feather headdress. P. [9] shows a view of the back of the three riders bordered by pictorial details of the Clark’s O.N.T trademark. The back cover is a color illustration of a white girl with long blonde hair attired in black boots; red stocking; a green dress; and a blue striped apron. She is seated on an oversize spool of O.N.T. thread and playing cat's cradle with a white boy. The boy is attired in a red fez; a green coat; blue stockings; and black boots. 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., Advertising text printed on verso of front cover: Use Clark's trade mark O.N.T. spool cotton on white spools! It is superior to all others for hand and machine use. Garments sewed with O.N.T. fast black will never show white on the seams after being worn or washed., Advertising text printed on verso of back cover: Use Marshall's linen thread on 200 yard spools. Guaranteed full length. Made from the bext flax, and Milward's Helix Needles in patent wrappers. For sale everywhere., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of advertised business., Distributor's name printed on p. [1]: George A. Cole, sole agent., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.31]
- Title
- Li
- Description
- Full-length portrait depicting a racist caricature of Chinese statesmen, diplomat, and military general Li Hongzhang (1823-1901). Shows Hongzhang, wearing a mustache and attired in spectacles, a cap with a peacock feather, a patterned, gray and gold robe, a yellow jacket with buttons down the front, and black, slip-on shoes. He stands with his right hand out, showing long fingernails, and faces slightly right. Li Hongzhang traveled extensively in 1896, visiting Russia, Britain, Europe, the United States, and Canada to promote Chinese diplomatic interests and trade., Title and date from item., Published in Vanity Fair, August 13, 1896., Gift of Linda Kimiko August, 2024.
- Creator
- Guth, Jean Baptiste, 1855-1922
- Date
- 1896
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *portrait prints - Hongzhang [P.2024.31.3]
- Title
- The Inasmuch Mission
- Description
- Reproduction of a drawing of a busy street scene with the four-story "Inasmuch Mission Men's Hotel and Restaurant" at 1019 Locust Street, Philadelphia. Completed in 1913, the mission house, the exterior resembling a warehouse, rehabilitated "fallen" men through religious and social services. Scene includes views of the nearby markets adorned with awnings under which men and women shoppers peruse displays, converse, and stand idle. The African American man, attired in a bowler hat, a shirt, a jacket, pants, and shoes, stands leaning against the awning pole with his hands in his pockets. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a tunic, pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, stands against a wall and looks down the street away from the viewer. A horse-drawn wagon and pedestrians traverse the street. In the left, a man organ grinder with a monkey entertains children standing on the sidewalk., Copyrighted., Drawn by artist in 1914., See accompanying pamphlet containing the artist's descriptions of the views, "Ever-Changing Philadelphia" (Philadelphia: Frank H. Taylor), p. 6., Accessioned circa 1916., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
- Creator
- Taylor, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton), 1846-1927, artist
- Date
- [drawn 1914, printed 1915]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Taylor - Case 11-6 [2717.F]
- Title
- B. Miller, segars, tobacco, stationery, toys &c., 1822 S. Seventh St., Phila
- Description
- Trade card promoting tobacco merchant B. Miller and showing two boys pulling the hair of a Chinese man depicted in racist caricature. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing an exaggeratedly long queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and black shoes, is pulled on his back onto a wooden box and grasps the sides with his hands. In the left, a white boy, attired in a white hat with a blue ribbon, a pink-striped shirt, blue pants, and black shoes, holds the man's hair and pulls back with his feet lifted off the ground. The white boy, attired in a yellow hat with an orange ribbon, a white shirt, yellow pants, and black shoes, stands facing left and pulls the man's hair over his shoulder with his feet lifted off the ground. Broadsides pasted on the fence in the background read,"Hoodlumism at discount education" and "Soiety [sic] for converting heathen." A building is visible in the right background., Title from text stamped on verso., Date inferred from content., Purchased 2015., See related: Berman Trade Card Collection - Weymann [P.2015.56.939]., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2015.56.591]
- Title
- The Dancing Chinaman. An amusing cut-out
- Description
- Racist caricature of a Chinese man printed as a paper toy marionette. Depicts the man wearing a queue hairstyle, attired in a green tunic with yellow trim, red pants with green trim, yellow socks, and black cloth slip-on shoes, and with long fingernails. He smiles broadly and holds two fingers up on each hand. Printed in segments of head, torso, and separate arms and legs with instructions on how to cut the pieces out and attach them with strings to sticks to make a puppet. In the right, shows a diagram with the constructed toy and two white hands holding the sticks to make him dance., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1909, by the North American Company., Published in the September 12, 1909 Sunday supplement of the North American newspaper., Text printed on recto: Directions: Paste this sheet upon a sheet of heavy cardboard: let it dry thoroughly, and cut out pieces around heavy black lines. Join parts together by knotting a piece of string on either side, as in diagram. (A to A, B to B, C to C, D to D and E to E.) Then take two sticks about eight inches long (two pencils will do), cut two pieces of black thread about twenty-four inches long: fasten them at either side of figure’s head (1 and 2) and at each end of one stick, as in diagram. Cut two pieces of black thread about six inches long, make them fast at bottom of arm and knee (Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6), as in diagram. Cut then at either end of other stick, as in diagram. Hold stick No. 1 in left hand and No. 2 in right hand, let feet of figure touch floor and tilt stick No. 2 up and down in a seesaw manner. With a little practice you will be able to work your marionette in first-class order., RVCDC, Larry Semon (1889-1928) worked as a cartoonist for Philadelphia and New York newspapers before becoming an actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era.
- Creator
- Semon, Larry, 1889-1928
- Date
- 1909
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC- Paper toys - Dancing [P.2024.71.1
- Title
- A joyous Christmas and a happy New Year Geo. Remsen Jr. & Co., Stationers & engravers, 815 Arch St. Phila
- Description
- Trade card promoting engraver and stationer Geo. Remsen Jr. & Co. and depicting racist caricatures of a Chinese woman and two Chinese men. In the right, a Chinese woman, wearing her hair up with decorative pins and a flower and attired in a blue, off-the-shoulder dress, sits in a red chair and holds a bouquet of pink flowers. In the center, the Chinese man, wearing a beard and a queue hairstyle and attired in a purple tunic and green pants, stands with his arms folded. In the left, the Chinese man, wearing a goatee and queue hairstyle and attired in a red tunic, pink-and-white striped pants, and black cloth slip-on shoes, stands in front of the woman with his hands out. Also in the scene are a small dog and a red dragon., Title from item., Date inferred from calendar printed on verso., Text printed on verso: "Geo. Remsen Jr. & Co., Stationers & engravers, 815 Arch St., Philadelphia" with a monthly calendar for 1880., RVCDC.
- Date
- [1879]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Geo. Remsen Jr. & Co. [P.2015.56.299]
- Title
- With compliments, Israel Zinser, dealer in drugs, books, stationery, paints, oils, glass, brushes, perfumery, violin strings, and fancy articles, Washington, Illinois
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist Israel Zinser and depicting three boys, possibly meant to be Asian, constructing an oversized paper lantern decorated with an image of a flowering branch. In the foreground is a bamboo scaffold on which is a jar full of paintbrushes. In the right, the boy, attired in a green and gold tunic, sits on the scaffold and holds a hammer working on the base of the lantern. In the left, the boy, attired in a hat, yellow shirt with red cuffs, and yellow pants, stands on the scaffold and paints. In the top right, the boy, attired in a green shirt and yellow pants, sits on a swing, holds a paintbrush, and paints the upper part of the lantern. The lantern hangs from a flowering branch., Title from advertising text printed on verso., Date inferred from content., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Z [P.9828.7194]
- Title
- [P. Madeira trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards promoting Pugh Madeira's cutlery and surgical instrument establishment at 115 South Tenth Street, Philadelphia. lllustrations represent world countries by depicting boys attired in styles of clothing native to China, France, Germany, South America, Hungary, United States, Turkey, Spain, Italy, England, Russia, and Mexico. Also shows two boys riding horses. The card labeled, “China,” shows a Chinese boy with a carrying pole across his shoulders, which holds cards on each side. He wears a queue hairstyle and is attired in a red hat with a black brim; a colorful, long-sleeved tunic; yellow pants; and yellow boots. He holds an orange card in his left hand. A piece of wood is yoked across his shoulders and wire or string hangs down on both sides, which balance the weight of the load. The border has decorative Chinese-stylized decorative motifs., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from dates of operation of the advertised business., 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 - Madeira [1975.F.594; 1975.F.599-608; 1975.F.647; P.2002.9.3]
- Title
- [Morgan & Headly trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards promoting jewelers Morgan & Headly in the Mutual Life Building at the northwest corner of Tenth and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. Trade card depicts a large diamond jewel [1975.F.579]. Illustrated trade card depicts a caricaturized Japanese woman and boy playing a horn. The woman, wearing her hair tied up and decorated with kanzashi (decorative hair ornaments) and attired in a floral patterned kimono, stands before a Japanese-style building. She leans her left arm over a wall and looks down at a boy, wearing a shaved head with a small ponytail and attired in a tunic, a belt, pants, and cloth, slip-on shoes, playing a horn next to a bird with its beak open [1975.F.592]. Trade card depicting a Japanese-stylized scene of a crane bending over and cleaning its feathers with its beak. Also includes flowering tree branches [1975.F.593]., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content and history of the advertised business., One print [1975.F.579] contains vignette printed on verso depicting a hand-held fan superimposed onto a ribbon., RVCDC, 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 - Morgan [1975.F.579; 1975.F.592 & 593]
- Title
- Darlington, Runk & Co. Importers and retailers of dry goods
- Description
- Trade card promoting dry goods store Darlington, Runk & Co. and depicting a white man walking with an Asian, Spanish, and Arab man. Shows a white man, attired in a black top hat, a white collared shirt, black bowtie, black jacket, and white pants, walking and leading three men with his arms out. The three men are in cultural attire, including an Asian man, wearing a conical hat and a pink robe with buttons down the front and a white and gold collar and gold trim; a Spanish man, wearing a green and gold matador Traje de luces; and probably an Arab man, wearing a red and gold turban, gold shawl, and and red pants. In the background are large buildings lining a city street and heavy pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk. Joseph G. Darlington (1842-1908) and William M. Runk founded Darlington, Runk & Co. in 1874. After Runk's death in 1893, the firm changed to Joseph G. Darlington & Co., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the business advertised., Text printed on recto: 1126 and 1128 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia., Purchased 2015., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Darlington, Runk & Co. [P.2015.56.193]
- Title
- Wanamaker’s ladies’ & gents’ dining rooms, 42 N. 8th St., bel. Arch, Geo. W. Wanamaker
- Description
- Trade card promoting Wanamaker's restaurant and depicting a Chinese man serving tea to a Chinese man and woman on a balcony. In the left, the man, wearing his hair in a queue and attired in a cap, long-sleeved tunic, pants, and black, slip-on shoes, hands a steaming cup and saucer of tea to a seated man. The man, wearing a mustache and attired in a cap and long-sleeved robe, sits holding a paper in his left hand and rests his feet on a footrest. In the right, the Chinese woman, wearing her hair up in a bun and with decorative pins and attired in a long-sleeved dress with a collar, sits and holds a fan in her left hand. A building is visible in the background., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the lithographer and advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso: Wanamaker’s ladies’ and gents’ dining rooms, 823 Market St., & 42 S. Second St., Philadelphia. Geo. W. Wanamaker, Prop’r. [Over.], RVCDC
- Creator
- Craig, Finley & Co.
- Date
- [1875]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Wanamaker's [P.2015.56.919]
- Title
- Use the agate iron ware, as it never rusts or leaks, and loudly are its praises sung by every tongue that speaks
- Description
- Trade card promoting Weber & Bro. and depicting a caricaturized Chinese man sailing in a pot and a duck sailing in a kettle. In the left, the man, wearing his hair in a queue and attired in a red cap and long-sleeved, yellow tunic with red polka dots, holds an oar as he sails in an oversized handled pot with a shirt as the sail. The pot reads, "For China." In the right, a yellow duck, attired in a red cap and shirt, looks through a telescope as it sails in a kettle that reads, "For Europe, Asia, Africa." A ship is visible in the left background. George and William Weber founded Weber & Bro. in 1881. They sold hardware, cutlery, and tools at their store located at 2230 North Front Street., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso: Weber & Bro., 2230 North Front Street, Philadelphia, PA., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Weber & Bro. [P.2015.56.928]
- Title
- Compliments of John Westney, agt. Manufacturer and dealer in baby carriages, velocipedes, bicycles &c, 226 Dock St Phila. Repairing promptly attended to
- Description
- Trade card promoting carriage manufacturer John Westney and showing a fairy depicted as a caricature of an Asian girl. The barefooted girl, with wings, is attired in a hat; a short-sleeved white dress with red trim, a black bow on the bodice, and blue and gold decoration on the skirt; and a multi-colored, patterned sash around the waist. She juts her left foot forward, holds a fan in her right hand, and grasps a flowering branch in her left hand., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Text printed on verso illustrated with image of a boy, attired in a sailor suit and cap, driving a skulky with a toy horse: The Tally Ho Sulky. (Patented) The Tally Ho Sulky is suitable for either boy or girl. The small size from 4 to 10 years, and the large from 8 to 18 years of age. It is the most pleasing, healthful, and practical toy of the motor kind. It has the rowing motion, being driven by the arms and steered by the feet; moves easily and is capable of great speed. It can be used in the street or in an ordinary sized room. It is strongly made and durable. For sale by John Westney, agt. 226 Dock Street, Philadelphia., Purchased 2015.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Westney [P.2015.56.937]
- Title
- H.A. Weymann, dealer in watches, clocks and jewelry, 156 North Second St., Philadelphia
- Description
- Trade card promoting clock and jewelry dealer H.A. Weymann and showing two boys pulling the hair of a Chinese man depicted in racist caricature. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing an exaggeratedly long queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and black shoes, grabs his hair with his hands and pulls back sitting on top a wooden box. In the left, a white boy, attired in a yellow hat with an orange ribbon, a white shirt, yellow pants, and black shoes, stands on the corner of the box, holds the Chinese man's hair and pulls back. The boy, attired in a pink-striped shirt, blue pants, and black shoes, stands below the other boy, holds onto the man's hair, and pulls. His white hat with a blue ribbon falls off of his head. Broadsides pasted on the fence in the background read,"How beautiful are the ways of South" and "Do unto others what others [do un]to you" A building is visible in the right background., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Purchased 2015., See related: Berman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2015.56.591]., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Weymann [P.2015.56.939]
- Title
- Nanki-Poo
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as Nanki-Poo. He stands holding an open fan with his hands up. He wears a blue decoration in his hair and is attired in a blue-striped coat, red shirt, blue and white obi, red tunic, and sandals. A branch of pink flowers is overhead. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the left. 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 from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la. breathe promise of merry sunshine, as we merrily dance and we sing, tra la, we welcome the hope that they bring, tra la, of a summer of roses and wine. And so, Coats' spool cotton is always a thing as welcome as flowers that bloom in the spring., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.2]
- Title
- Pooh-Bah
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as Pooh-Bah. He stands holding a closed fan and frowns. He wears his hair in a chonmage hairstyle and is attired in a blue and white patterned kimono with birds with a red obi and has a sword at his waist. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the right. 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 from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: I'am so proud, if I allowed, my family pride, to be my guide, you'd never hear, within your ear, Coats six cord thread, stand at the head, but family pride, must be denied, and set aside, and mortified, and so you hear, within your ear, Coats six cord thread, stands at the head., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread., Stamped on verso: W. Otis Hall, Retail Fancy Goods, Washington Street. Boston, Mass.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.3]
- Title
- Yum-Yum
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white woman actress in character as Yum-Yum. She sits on an oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," and holds a white spool of thread in her left hand. She wears her hair up and decorated with small red, blue, and yellow fans and is attired in a blue, yellow, and white patterned kimono. A building and some palm trees by the water are in the background. The moon reads, " J & P. Coats best six cord." 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 from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: "We've Coats' spool cotton, that's the reason why we're very wide awake, the moon and I.", Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.4]
- Title
- The tables turned You sabe him! Kealney must go!
- Description
- Political cartoon depicting racist caricatures of Chinese workers heckling Workingmen's Party of California leader Denis Kearney, who is in prison. In the right, shows Kearney, attired in a black-and-white-striped prison uniform with a ball and chain on his ankle, standing and grasping the bars of his cell, which is labeled, “House of Correction, 181.” In the left, a group of Chinese men workers, wearing queue hairstyles and attired in caps and hats, tunics, pants, and cloth slip-on shoes, sit and stand amongst baskets, including two filled with fish. They hold out to Kearney products associated with their employment, including a laundry worker carrying a washboard and offering socks with holes; a fishmonger holding crabs and a fish labeled, “Black Friday,” on a stick; and a man with a cigar in his mouth holding out a bundle of cigars. They mock him in pidgin English, “you sabe him? Kealney must go!” in reference to Kearney’s slogan that he ended every speech with: “The Chinese must go.” In the top left pinned to the wall is a depiction of a donkey and a cart, possibly alluding to Kearney’s draying business. Denis Kearney (1847-1907) was an Irish immigrant who lead the Workingmen’s Party of California on a platform of anti-Chinese hate, blaming the Chinese immigrants for low wages and job scarcity. He was imprisoned in 1877 for inciting a riot., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text printed on recto: Copyright secured., RVCDC
- Date
- [ [ca. 1877]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1877 - Tables [P.2025.44]
- 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
- R.C. Howe, apothecary, Elm Corner, (successor to E.G. Frothingham and late of Emerson & Howe,) a full stock of medicines, fancy goods, cigars, &c., choice teas a specialty, the original 35 c. tea, Haverhill, Mass
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist Richard Cranch Howe and depicting a caricature of an Asian woman carrying a parasol walking down a path. Shows an Asian woman, attired in a patterned dress and hat or headdress, holding a flower in her left hand and a parasol in her right hand. She walks down a path and looks at a planter full of flowers that hangs from an arch attached to a decorative column., Title from item., Date finferred from active dates of the pharmacist., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Howe [P.9828.6160]
- Title
- Danl. S. Dodge, druggist and apothecary, and dealer in toilet articles, perfumery, &c., 2 Remsen St., one door north of post office, Cohoes, N.Y. Physician’s prescriptions a specialty
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist Daniel S. Dodge and depicting a caricature of an Asian woman carrying a parasol walking down a path. Shows an Asian woman, attired in a patterned dress and hat or headdress, holding a flower in her left hand and a parasol in her right hand. She walks down a path and looks at a planter full of flowers that hangs from an arch attached to a decorative column., Title from item., Date finferred from active dates of the pharmacist., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Howe [P.9828.5782]
- Title
- F.P. Louderbough, graduate in pharmacy, cor. Tenth & Jefferson Sts. Philadelphia
- Description
- Trade card promoting pharmacist F.P. Louderbough and depicting racist caricatures of two Chinese men and a crane. In the left, shows the Chinese man, attired in a yellow robe with a red sash around the waist, standing and holding a pot by the handle in his right hand. To the right, the Chinese man, wearing a mustache and goatee and attired in a black hat, yellow robe, and a pink shirt with long sleeves, holds a bowl towards a crane. Decorative border surrounds the scene., Title from item., Dare inferred from content., Series no. on recto: 1700., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Louderbough [P.9828.6373]
- Title
- " Bixby's Royal Polish." The perfection of blacking for ladies' and children's shoes
- Description
- Trade card promoting S.M. Bixby & Co. and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese woman kneeling before Columbia holding up a woman's shoe. In the center, shows Columbia, depicted as a white woman attired in a blue Phrygian cap, white dress with a blue drape, and sandals, placing her left hand on an American flag crested shield. She holds aloft a black, woman's boot in her right hand, which emanates light. At her feet, a Chinese woman, wearing her hair up with decorative sticks and attired in a red dress decorated with a blue dragon, a white shawl, and red shoes, kneels on the ground with her right hand up as she looks up at the shoe and Columbia. The western-style woman's shoe is displayed as superior to and a critique of Chinese footbinding. In the right, a group of six women look on, many attired in crowns and crests, likely meant to represent European countries. In the left background is an oversized black bottle labeled, "Bixby's Royal Polish." Samuel M. Bixby began manufacturing and selling shoe blacking in 1860 and founded S.M. Bixby & Co. in 1862. F.F. Dailey Corporation acquired the firm in 1920., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised and active dates of the lithographers., Advertising text printed on verso: A new compound, producing a durable polish, elastic, waterproof and harmless to all kinds of leather, one coat of which is equal to two of any other. Bixby’s new bottle and combination stopper for sponge blacking is the most perfect package ever invented for forms of liquid blacking or shoe dressing. The wood top is of such size and shape as to form a convenient and firm handle; and the cork is inserted into the wood top, and fastened by the wire and glue, so that it is very much stronger than the old style. The bottle has a broad base and will not upset easily; the mouth has a wide projecting flange, and an air chamber below to prevent the overflow of the liquid in taking out and putting in the sponge, which perfectly insures cleanliness. “Royal Polish” is strictly a first class dressing, elegant in style, convenient for use, and is designed to retail at 15 cents per bottle, which in larger than the old square bottle. One trial will satisfy the most fastidious, that it is superior in all particulars to any dressing ever offered for ladies’ use. Patent applied for. S.M. Bixby & Co., New York., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - S.M. Bixby & Co. [P.2025.38]
- Title
- F.P. Louderbough, graduate in pharmacy, cor. Tenth & Jefferson Sts. Philadelphia
- Description
- Trade card promoting pharmacist F.P. Louderbough and depicting racist caricatures of Japanese acrobats. Shows four barefooted, Japanese men, attired in red patterned kimonos, balancing, swinging, and flipping on two bamboo beams., Title from item., Dare inferred from content., Series no. on recto: 1700., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Louderbough [P.9828.6374]
- Title
- L.C. Smith, druggist, (successor to A.W. Rice), Rockville, Conn. Drugs, medicines, toilet requisites, etc., etc. prescriptions compounded day or night. Prices the lowest. Goods strictly pure
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist Louis C. Smith and depicting racist caricatures of Chinese men being attacked by dogs. In the left foreground, shows a large dog chained to a doghouse. The Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle, a blue tunic and pants, and white, slip-on shoes, looks at the dog in fear. In the right, a Chinese man runs away with his queue flying behind him. In the background, a Chinese man, his back to the viewer, screams and raises both arms up as a white dog bites his bottom. Text written in pidgin English below the image: What d’yer soy? Ha! Ha! John Chinaman he eatie doggie., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Copyright statement printed on recto: Copyrighted, Bufford, Boston., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Smith [P.9828.6842]
- Title
- Laque de Chine
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist John H. Sheehan & Co. and depicting a scene of two Chinese men painting. In the left, show the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a blue cap, blue robe, and blue, slip-on shoes. He sits on a bench in front of an easel and paints. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a green, patterned robe, stands and lacquers a vase. Also in the room are a red lantern, screen, and side table with a blue jar. In the background is a river with boats and a pagoda on the shoreline., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text printed on verso: John H. Sheehan, Dealers in Drugs, Medicines, Pefumery and Toilett (sic) Articles, 167 Genesee Street, Utica, N.Y., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, See related: P.9828.6766.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Sheehan [P.9828.6777]
- Title
- Japon
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist John H. Sheehan & Co. and depicting a scene of a Japanese woman and a samurai holding a flag. In the right, the Japanese woman, wearing her hair up with Kanzashi hair ornaments and attired in a multi-colored kimono and yellow shoes, stands and reaches her right hand out towards the man. In the left, the Japanese samurai, attired in a helmet and armor, stands and holds a Japanese flag on a flagpole. A cherry tree with pink flowers grows in the background. In the top left corner is a crest with a Japanese flag., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text printed on verso: John H. Sheehan, Dealers in Drugs, Medicines, Pefumery and Toilett (sic) Articles, 167 Genesee Street, Utica, N.Y., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, See related: P.9828.6777.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Sheehan [P.9828.6766]
- Title
- Japan
- Description
- Trade card promoting coffee manufacturers Arbuckle Brothers and depicting Japanese men acrobats, jugglers, and dancers in a festival. In the left, shows a Japanese man acrobat wearing a chonmage hairstyle, a white headband, a pink kimono, and pink pants. He balances upside down on a flagpole with a pink banner and holds a fan in his right hand. In the right, a Japanese man, wearing a blue kimono, juggles a bottle and bowls. In the center is a fan with a vignette depicting three barefooted Japanese men, attired in black hats, yellow shirts, and blue pants, dancing holding branches. A Japanese man stands, attired in a black hat and green shirt, and holds a pink banner on a pole. 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., Date from copyright statement: Copyright, 1893, by Arbuckle Bros. N.Y., Series no. on verso: No. 34., Advertising text on verso: Grind your coffee at home…. Japan. The Japanese have the most advance civilization of any nation on Asiatic soil. Indeed in some regards they are even more advanced than the proudest of western countries. But in many ways they are ludicrously far behind. They cling to ancient forms of government and the Mikado is an autocrat, absolute almost over the life and death of his subjects. A country which yields such power to the individual, can never hope to work out its highest possibilities. So even the sports and pastimes of such a nation can never be the spontaneous expression of the animal spirits of the young of that land. Juggling is a fine art in Japan. Beside the Japanese juggler, the man of legerdemain of other countries is a clumsy bungler. The feats performed by the former are beyond all comparison. To achieve such dexterity, it may well be presumed that the wizard has been taught from earliest childhood. In fact the jugglers are sometimes a caste, so that the child often starts with the hereditary traits of forefather in the same line, and of the added experience of these. Of the acrobats of Japan who are also super-eminent much the same can be said. One would scarcely believe that the human body could be so sinuous and might be so contorted at will. The Japanese Festivals or Feasts are frequent. The main celebrations are held after dark; then fireworks are displayed, and lanterns are hung. These latter transform the most commonplace scenes into fairyland. The dancing indulged in on these occasions in most picturesque. As the figures flit from light into dark and back again, they form scenes never to be forgotten. The Japanese wrestlers are world-famed, and their contests are most skillful. This is one of a series of Fifty (50) cards giving a pictorial History of Sports and Pastimes of all Nations., RVCDC
- Date
- 1893
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Arbuckle [P.2025.35.1]
- Title
- Centennial Exhibition Souvenir Fan
- Description
- Souvenir fan commemorating the Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia in 1876. Folding fan with thirty blades including guards. Shows the Main Building at Fairmount Park, designed by Henry Pettit and Joseph M. Wilson. Numerous men and women visitors walk the grounds in front of the building. A Japanese woman, wearing her hair up with Kanzashi hair decorations, and attired in a pink, blue, and red kimono, stands holding a fan. Red roses grow at her feet. In the right, a Japanese woman, wearing her hair up and attired in a blue, red, and pink kimono, holds a red fan in her left hand, and in her right hand she holds the hand of a young Japanese boy, attired in a yellow and red kimono. The verso depicts a bird perched on a branch with pink and red flowers, and the silhouette of two birds against a blue background. Text printed across the top lists the names and addresses of Philadelphia hotels: “Irving House. 817 Walnut St.; Guy’s. Cor. 7th St. and Chestnut; Colonnade. Cor. 15th St. and Chestnut; St. Cloud. 709 Arch St.; La Pierre. Broad St. Below Chestnut; Girard. Corner Ninth and Chestnut; Continental. Corner Ninth & Chestnut; Bingham. Corner 11th St. and Market St.; American. 517 Chestnut St.; Merchant’s. 42 North 4th St.; Washington. 711 Chestnut St.; Markoe. 919 Chestnut St.” Additional text includes, “Main Building, International Exhibition. Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. 1876. Length 1880 feet. Width 464.”, Gift of Linda Kimiko August, 2023.
- Date
- [ca. 1876]
- Location
- OBJ 924
- Title
- W.F. Potteiger, druggist, N.W. corner Fourth and Spruce Streets, Reading, PA
- Description
- Trade card promoting pharmacist William F. Potteiger and depicting a white woman attired in a kimono, probably an actress in character from the opera The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the woman wearing her hair up and decorated with fans and attired in a blue kimono with gold cranes, peach-colored obi, and purple skirt. She holds a peach-colored fan in her right hand and turns her head to the right with her left hand up. She stands on a fur rug., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the advertised business., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1886]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Potteiger [P.9828.6624]
- Title
- Compliments of R.B. Porter, druggist, St. Johnsville, N.Y
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist Reuben B. Porter and depicting a white woman attired in a kimono dressed as a character from the opera The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the woman wearing her hair up and decorated with fans and attired in a red and gold kimono. She sits on the branch of a red flower and holds a blue fan in her left hand. A white butterfly flies in the left., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of advertised business., Series no. on recto: 686., Manuscript written on verso: Nora Enlenmarks., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., See related: P.9828.332; P.9828.1679; P.9828.4244; P.9828.5299; P.9828.5852-5854., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Porter [P.9828.6622]
- Title
- Geo. F. Woods, druggist and apothecary, dealer in fancy goods, Bellows Falls, Ct Soda and mineral waters on draught and in package
- Description
- Trade cards promoting druggist George F. Woods and depicting an Asian man looking at a statue of an Asian woman in a park. Shows an Asian man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a conical hat, patterned tunic and matching pants, and shoes. He stands behind a fence and looks at a statue of a barefooted woman, wearing a headpiece and attired in a sarong with her breasts exposed, on a pedestal. She holds a fan with a long handle in her right hand and gestures with her left hand. Also visible are a palm tree, potted plant, and a path., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., See related: P.9828.7151., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Wood [P.9828.7149-7150]
- Title
- Major E. Newell, with Genl. Tom Thumb's Museum. H.R. Jacobs, manager
- Description
- Die cut trade card in the shape of a painting palette. Promotes General Tom Thumb's Museum, a variety company tour, and depicts Edmund Newell, known as Major E. Newell, attired in four costumes. In the top, shows Newell in yellowface impersonating a Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic and pants and black cloth slip-on shoes. He lifts his left leg up; places his right hand on his hip; and holds a red fan in his left hand. Tom Thumb, born Charles Sherwood Stratton, and Edmund Newell, also known as Major E. Newell and General Grant Jr., were people with dwarfism who toured with P.T. Barnum. Newell married Minnie Warren, whose sister, Lavinia Warren, was married to Tom Thumb., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Advertising text printed on verso: General Tom Thumb and his charming little wife with entire troupe. Horticultural Hall positively two weeks only Sept. 25 to Oct. 7th. Every afternoon & evening. Skatorial champion. Major Newell, the impersonator; Zoe Meleke, and her performing canary birds; Whiston, humorist and great facial artist; marvelous midget; Bingham, ventriloquist & illusionist with a congress of brilliants., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1882]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Horticultural [1975.F.651]
- Title
- The celluloid corset clasps side & dress steels Warranted not to rust. Corsets after washing. With the old style clasps in. With the new celluloid clasps in
- Description
- Trade card advertising celluloid corset clasps and depicting racist caricatures of Chinese men laundry workers comparing celluloid and traditional corsets. In the center, the laundry worker, wearing a queue hairstyle with the braid sticking straight out to the right and attired in gold hoop earrings, a red tunic, white pants, and blue and white cloth, slip-on shoes, smiles as he holds up a clean, white corset with celluloid clasps. In the left, the laundry worker, wearing a mustache and queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and blue and white cloth, slip-on shoes, holds a soiled and dirty corset as he opens his mouth in dismay looking at the clean corset. In the right background, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a yellow tunic, blue pants, and white cloth, slip-on shoes, washes laundry with his hands in a steaming washtub. Also visible are a basket of laundry; a corset hanging on a line; and a table with an iron on top of it., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Contains advertising text printed on verso: Celluloid corset clasps. Side and dress steels. Perspiration proof. Elastic. Durable. In introducing these improved corset clasps, &c., let us call your attention to some of the points of their superiority over all others heretofore in use. 1st.--The inferior is finely tempered clock spring steel. 2d.--The exterior is celluloid. 3d.--The combination of the two unites the strength of the steel with the rust-proof qualities of the celluloid. 4th--The trouble of ripping out and sewing in the steels every time corsets are laundried becomes unnecessary as these steels need not be taken out for that purpose. 5th--They are warranted not to rust and thus stain the corsets or other garments. 6th--They are the best steels in every particular ever offered. Sold by all dry and fancy goods dealers throughout the country., RVCDC, 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 - Celluloid [1975.F.182]
- Title
- Chas. Richardson, dealer in fine groceries, butter, eggs, flour, lard, fruit & poultry in season, s.e. cor. Belgrade & Crease Sts., Philadelphia
- Description
- Trade card promoting grocer Charles Richardson and showing a man clerk helping two women shopping in the grocery store. The man stands behind the counter and holds a scoop to weigh the product on a scale. Two women shoppers stand in the right, one holding a basket. In the left is an advertising statue of a Chinese man wearing a long mustache and attired in a cap; long-sleeved, mandarin collared shirt; balloon pants, and cloth slip-on shoes. The statue is on a pedestal with Chinese characters. Products displayed for sale include a ham, barrel of oil, and brooms., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Purchased 2015., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Richardson [P.2015.56.717]
- Title
- Sharpless & Sons, Philadelphia
- Description
- Trade card promoting dry goods merchant Sharpless & Sons and depicting a Chinese boy sitting on an oversized fan. Shows the boy, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a blue robe with red trim and a green sash around the waist, green stockings, and slip-on shoes, sitting with his back to the viewer on a large fan. The gold hand fan is decorated with a bird and flowers. Chinese characters are written in the left. Sharpless & Sons were importers, jobbers, and retailers of dry goods that operated from 801, 803, 805, & 807 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Purchased 2015., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Sharpless [P.2015.56.774]
- Title
- Compliments of John Wanamaker & Co. Clothiers, Chestnut below Ninth
- Description
- Trade card promoting dry goods merchant and clothier John Wanamaker & Co. and depicting a caricaturized Japanese boy playing a stringed instrument to a small dog. In the center, the boy, attired in a multi-colored, patterned kimono, geta shoes, and a straw conical hat, plays a stringed instument. In the left, a small black-and-white dog stands on his hind legs., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Stamped on recto: Branch House, No. 10 Sixth Street, Pittsburgh., Purchased 2015., John Wanamaker and his brother-in-law Nathan Brown formed Wanamaker & Brown and opened the store Oak Hall at Sixth and Market Streets in 1861. Brown died in 1868. In 1869, the firm became John Wanamaker & Co., and he opened a store at Eighth and Chestnut Streets. John Wanamaker's Grand Depot at Thirteenth and Market Streets, opened in 1876 to cater to Centennial Exhibition crowds.
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - John Wanamaker & Co. [P.2015.56.463]
- Title
- McCless 1417 Chestnut St., (above Broad), fine arts! French plate mirrors
- Description
- Trade card promoting fine art dealer and mirror merchant J.E. McCless and depicting a caricaturized Japanese man pointing to a sign with the advertising text. In the center, the man, wearing a chonmage hairstyle and attired in a purple kimono with white and green trim, a black jacket with gold trim, and sandals stands and points to a wooden sign with advetising text., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Purchased 2015.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - McCless [P.2015.56.576]
- Title
- Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms
- Description
- Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese boy smoking a pipe and carrying a cane. Shows the boy, wearing a queue hairstyle with a pink bow tied at the end of his braid and attired in a colorfully patterned Chinese robe with oversized celluloid cuffs, collar, and hat, and red, slip-on, cloth shoes. He holds the smoking pipe to his lips with his left hand and carries a walking cane in his right hand., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, Gent’s furnishing and over-gaiters, 1032 Chestnut St., S.E. Cor. of 11th., Text printed on verso: Celluloid (Waterproof linen.) Collars, cuffs and shirt bosoms. The following will commend the use of these goods to all who study convenience, neatness and economy. The interior is fine linen. The exterior is Celluloid – the union of which combines the strength of Linen with the Waterproof qualities of Celluloid. The Trouble and expense of washing is saved. When soiled simply rub with soap and water (hot or cold) used freely with a stiff brush. They are perspiration proof and are invaluable to travelers, saving all care of laundrying. Advice. In wearing the turn-down Collar, always slip the Necktie under the roll. Do not attempt to straighten the fold. The goods will give better satisfaction if the Separable Sleeve Button and Collar Button is used. Twist a small rubber elastic or chamois washer around the post of Sleeve Button to prevent possible rattling of Button. To remove Yellow Stains, which may come from long wearing, use Sapolio, Soap or Saleratus water or Celluline, which latter is a new preparation for cleansing Celluloid. Goods for sale by all dealers., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.741]
- Title
- Celluloid cuffs, collars & bosoms, water & perspiration proof
- Description
- Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man at the beach watching a white man demonstrate the waterproof qualities of his celluloid cuffs, collar, and bosom or bib. In the center, the white man, wearing a mustache and attired in a red robe, red-and-yellow striped shorts, and white celluloid cuffs, collar, and bosom, stands in the ocean with water dripping down his clothes, showing that they are waterproof. In the right, a Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle, a red tunic, blue pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, carries two sacks of laundry and looks over at the man in the water. In the left, a white man, attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt, a red vest, yellow striped pants, and red shoes, sits on the sand holding an umbrella and wipes perspiration from his face with a handkerchief. In the background, a white man swims in the water and a boat is visible., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, 1032 Chestnut St., Phila., Text printed on verso: Waterproof linen, patented. Ladies’ and gent’s cuffs, collars and bosoms, made from celluloid. Waterproof, elastic, durable. These goods are far superior to any Linen Goods yet placed before the public, and in recommending them, we would call attention to some of their remarkable features, which will commend their use to all who study economy, neatness and beauty. 1sr. The interior is fine linen. 2d. The exterior is celluloid. 3d. The unison of above, combines the strength of linen with the waterproof qualities of celluloid, 4th. The expense of washing is saved. If the goods are soiled, simply cleanse with soap and water. 5th. The goods never wilt or fray on edges and are perspiration proof. The best preparation to effectually cleanse them is celluline. For sale by all gent’s furnishing and fancy goods houses throughout the country., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.745]
- Title
- Use Muzzy's starch
- Description
- Trade card promoting Elkhart Starch Company and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man laundry worker holding up a shirt to a white family. Shows the family standing in the right, including the white man, attired in a brown bowler hat, a white collared shirt, a black bowtie, and a brown-checked suit, holding a walking stick; the white woman attired in a yellow and pink hat and a blue dress with a red bow; and the white girl, attired in a yellow hat and a red and blue dress, holding a small box. In the left, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic and blue pants with yellow accents, stands behind a table with an iron and ironing board on top of it. He holds up a white shirt, which shows the reflection of the white woman. A basket full of laundry is on the ground. In the background is a stove and a clothesline of white shirts and clothes. 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., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Advertising text printed on verso: "Be sure to use Muzzy's Corn Starch." Includes six recipes, including for sponge pudding, creamy pudding sauce, Salem pudding, scolloped oysters, oyster pie, and butter scotch., Gift of Linda Kimiko August., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Muzzy [P.2023.43.3]
- Title
- Boston boot and shoe and gents’ furnishing house, also, a fine line of hats, caps, trunks, valises &c. At no. 253 South Clark St., near Jackson, Chicago. L. F. Shanovski, - proprietor
- Description
- Trade card promoting L.F. Shanovski’s shoe store and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man upset that a cat has taken a rat from his plate. Shows the man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in red pants and brown cloth slip-on shoes, holding a large white plate across his chest and a pair of chopsticks in his right hand. He opens his mouth upset that a cat is taking a dead rat from his plate. Louis F. Shanovski was born in Germany and moved to Chicago in the early 1870s, opening a shoe store in circa 1877. The firm L.F. Shanovski and Bro. dissolved in 1899., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Gift of Linda Kimiko August., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1888]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Shanovski, L.F. [P.2023.43.1]
- Title
- Old processee starchee no goodee. It smellee rots & makee shirts yellee.” "I will never use any other but the New Process Starch." New Process Starch. Manufactured only by the Firmenich Manufacturing Company, Peoria, Ill
- Description
- Trade card promoting Firmenich Manufacturing Company and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man laundry worker contrasted in a split panel with a white women doing laundry. In the left, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a white tunic and pants and blue cloth slip-on shoes, stands and irons a shirt on a table. He speaks in pidgin English, “Old processee starchee no goodee. It smelle rots and make shirts yellee.” On the floor are two boxes of “Old Process Gloss Starch.” On the table is a bowl of steaming water. A teapot heats on the stove behind him, and clothes hang on the clothesline. In the right, the white woman, attired in a pink dress with a white bow around the neck and white cuffs, stands behind the table ironing. She says, “I will never use any other but the new process starch.” A young white boy hands her a box of “New Process” starch, and two additional boxes lie on the floor in the right. On the table is a bowl of water. A tea kettle steams behind her on the stove. Buildings are visible through a window in the background. Dr. Joseph Firmenich (1828-1903) started a starch company with his two sons, George and Frank. The Firmenich Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1884. The Company opened a glucose plant in Marshalltown, Iowa in 1887. The Company operating into the 20th century., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Advertising text printed on verso: New process starch. This starch is manufactured by a new process, with pure spring water. The light starch and gluten usually found in other starches, especially if made from white corn, are entirely removed and manufactured into other articles. The patents of this process are owned solely by this company. We guarantee all our starch perfectly pure and sweet. This starch, having the light starch and gluten removed, one-third less can be used than any other in the market. Ask your grocer for the new process gloss and corn starch and take no other. Manufactured only by the Firmenich Manufacturing Company. Peoria, Ill., Gift of Linda Kimiko August., RVCDC
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards – Firmenich [P.2023.43.2]
- Title
- The Mikado
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as the Mikado, or Emperor. He stands holding a closed fan and smiles at the viewer attired in a headpiece, a blue kimono decorated with gold birds and flowers and red trim, with a sword at his waist. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the right. 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 from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: My object all sublime! Shall attain in time. To let the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime. All people who have to do sewing and don't use Coats' six cord thread, will be punished with cotton that's snarly and rotten and kinks, till they wish they were dead., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.1]
- Title
- A Chinese laundry in Philadelphia
- Description
- Interior view of a Chinese owned and operated laundry in Philadelphia. In the center, shows the owner of the business attired in a top hat, white collared shirt, bowtie, suit jacket, waistcoat, and pants. He sits in a wooden chair with his legs crossed and smoking a cigarette as he supervises the workers. The four Chinese men laundry workers wear queue hairstyles and are attired in tunics, pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes. In the left, two men stand behind the counter and iron, one of whom spits water from his mouth onto the laundry. In the right, the man stands facing the viewer with his hand on top of his head while a man irons from another countertop. Steam rises up from the irons. There is a storage closet with the door partially open revealing shelves with folded laundry. More stacks of folded laundry sit on the countertops. In the right foreground, there are five irons warming on a heater and two baskets of laundry. A clock hangs on the wall., Title from item., Date and publication information from original source., Published in the June 3, 1876 issue of the Graphic, a British weekly illustrated newspaper., Text description of the engraving from the Graphic, p. 542: A Chinese Laundry in Philadelphia. Though not nearly so numerous as in California, where their presence has recently excited extreme hostility among the white working classes, the Chinese are to be found, though few and far between, in the Eastern States. There are several Chinese laundries in Philadelphia, and as they have only been recently introduced from California, they are almost as much objects of interest to Philadelphians as to foreigners. Our artist came across the laundry shown in our engraving unexpectedly. As soon as the Chinamen perceived him sketching it through the window, they rushed out and shouted after him, whereupon he made off, thinking it prudent to avoid a scene. The Celestial in European dress is the "boss," or master, who owns several laundries, and who attends to the customers and business arrangements. The manner of damping the clothes preparatory to ironing is peculiar, the operator fills his mouth with water, and squirts it over the linen., Gift of Linda Kimiko August., RVCDC
- Date
- June 3, 1876
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Ph Pr - 8x10 - Businesses - Chinese Laundry [P.2023.27.1]
- Title
- Day's soap does it Washee, washee, see him rub on his washboard in the tub; see him wash and smile with glee for he's from hard labor free; with Day's soap his work is done when his rivals just begun
- Description
- Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyrighted 1887 by Day & Frick., Racist metamorphic trade card showing a caricaturized Chinese man laundry worker washing a sheet on a wash board in a washtub. Includes a tab that when pulled lifts the washer's arms up and down to reveal the text "Day Soap" on the wash board. The man wears his hair in a queue and is attired in a long-sleeved, blue collared shirt with buttons down the front, blue pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes. He smiles and looks to the right. The tub rests on a table beside a bar of soap, labeled “Day’s Soap.” On the ground behind the table is a basket of laundry. Sheets hang on a drying line. In the background, the wall has Chinese-stylized decorations including a gold wallpaper depicting birds and fish and a purple and gold wall hanging that reads, “Day’s Soap.” Peter Day founded the Day & Frick soap manufactory firm in 1886. He retired as president of the firm in 1917., Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, John D. Avil founded the Avil Printing Company (also known as John D. Avil & Co.) in West Philadelphia and managed it from the early 1860s until his death in 1918.
- Date
- [1887]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Day's [P.2012.62.8]
- Title
- Lloyd O. Woodruff, druggist. Cor. Broadway & Point St., Cape Vincent, N.Y. Don’t read the other side
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting pharmacist Lloyd O. Woodruff and depicting actress Kate Forster dressed in character as Pitti-Sing from the opera, The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows Forster wearing her hair up and attired in a blue kimono with gold decorations and a gold, flower-patterned obi. She holds a fan in both hands behind her head. Kate Forster, whose real name was Kate Jancowski, worked for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and performed as Pitti-Sing and Katisha in the Mikado in 1885-1886, 1889-1902. Lloyd O. Woodruff opened a drugstore in Cape Vincent, New York circa 1870., Title stamped on recto., Date deduced from dates of the performance., Text printed on verso: Lloyd O. Woodruff, druggist, keeps a full line of drugs, patent medicines, paints, oils, window glass, dry goods, boots, shoes and rubbers, fine stationery, school books, fancy groceries, watches, chains, plated ware, crockery, and will not be undersold, if you do not see what you want at his store, ask for it. Don’t forget the place, Cor. Broadway & Point St., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, See related: P.9828.2769-2771; P.9828.2823.
- Date
- [ca. 1886]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists -Woodruff [P.9828.7139]
- Title
- W.T. Hanson & Co., prescription druggists, 195 State Street, Schenectady, N.Y
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist W.T. Hanson & Co. and depicting a caricaturized Japanese boy playing with puppets. In the center, the boy, attired in a multi-colored, patterned kimono, geta shoes, and a cap with a red ribbon, holds a puppet in each hand. The puppet in the left is a Japanese woman, wearing her hair tied up and attired in a multi-colored, patterned kimono. The puppet in the right is a Japanese man attired in a conical hat and a multi-colored, patterned kimono. Willis Tracy Hanson, Sr. (1858-1933) founded W.T. Hanson & Co. in 1879., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the advertised business., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., See related: Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection [P.9828.4586].
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - H [P.9828.6079]
- Title
- C.C. Hughes, druggist & chemist, S.W. cor. 8th & Race Sts., Phila
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist C.C. Hughes in the style of trompe l'oeil depicting a landscape with ships and a vignette portrait of a Japanese woman portrayed in caricature. Shows a landscape view with people standing on a path leading to a pagoda on a cliff. In the right, ships sail on the water. In the background are mountains. In the left, shows the Japanese woman wearing her hair up and decorated with Kanzashi hair ornaments and attired in gold hoop earrings; a yellow, patterned kimono with red trim; and a black obi. A green parrot sits on her left arm. Decorated border surrounds the scene., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1881 by Geo. M. Hayes., Advertising text printed on verso: Alhambra hair restorer. Restores gray hair to its natural color with three or four application, making it soft and beautiful; removes dandruff and itching of the scalp; prevents premature baldness; stops hair from falling out; will not soil the finest linen: an excellent dressing, nicely perfumed. Price, 75 Cts., large bottle. Manufactured by C.C. Hughes, druggist & chemist, S.W. Cor. Eighth and Race Streets, Philadelphia. Hughes’ Corn & Bunion Plasters. Give instant relief and effect a cure. (They are not pads to relieve the pressure.) Each 25 cents per box; 12 corn or 6 bunion in each box. Sent by mail on receipt of price. C.C. Hughes, Druggist, Eighth and Race Streets, Philadelphia, Pa., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., RVCDC
- Creator
- Rosenthal, Albert, 1863-1939
- Date
- 1881
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Hughes [P.9828.6166]

