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- Title
- B.T. Creighton, chemist & pharmacist, N.E. cor. 3rd & Washington Ave., Phila Prescriptions compounded at all hours of day or night, from pure drugs, at reasonable prices and only by graduates in pharmacy
- Description
- Trade card promoting druggist B.T. Creighton and depicting a rectangular paddle fan. In the left, shows the hand-held fan decorated in red, blue, white, and gold with a butterfly. Stems of leaves behind the fan., Title from item., Date inferred from active date of advertised business., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - C [P.9828.5698]
- 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
- 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
- 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
- John Griffeth. Furniture warerooms, 119 N. Second St., Philad'a, PA A full assortment of chamber and parlor suits, mattresses and bedding, &c
- Description
- Trade card promoting John Griffeth's furniture store and depicting Asian decorative motifs and objects, including fans, a parasol, cranes, and mountains. Shows vignettes of: a parasol and two fans in a blue and white porcelain container; two standing cranes, one eating a frog; and two mountain peaks. John Griffeth established his furniture business in 1880., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Purchased 2015.
- Date
- [ca. 1890]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Griffeth [P.2015.56.316]
- 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
- The Gale costume lectures music and myth of old Japan
- Description
- Program for "Music and Myth of Old Japan," performed by Albert Gale and Martha Brockway Gale as a part of their lecture series. On the cover, shows Albert Gale "drawn by a Japanese artist" wearing a chonmage hairstyle and attired in a kimono and holding a fan in his right hand. On pages two and three are photographs of Albert and Martha, attired in kimonos, acting in scenes from the performance. In the left, the image titled "posing" shows Albert kneeling and playing a shamisen as Martha stands on one leg and holds a fan behind her head. "Ready for guests" depicts Martha holding her hands up with a fan in her right hand. "Salutation" shows Albert and Martha facing each other in a deep bow. In the top center, "the stage setting" depicts Albert and Martha kneeling surrounded by Japanese objects, including screens, parasols, and a potted flower. In the right, "magic" shows Albert standing with his left hand out and holding a fan in his right hand as Martha kneels and looks up at him. "Ready for the street" shows Martha standing and holding a parasol. "'Ikebana (flower arrangement)'" shows Martha kneeling and placing flowers into a vase. Drawings in between the photographs include: a Japanese boy, attired in a kimono, with his back to the viewer and holding a kite shaped as a fish as a bird flies; vases filled with flowers; and a bird. On page four are bust-length portraits of Albert and Martha attired in Western dress. There are drawings of a landscape view with ships and a mountain and a Japanese woman, attired in a kimono, carrying a baby on her back., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of the stage production., Manuscript note written on cover: "Given under auspices of Senior class [extras?]. In Town Hall Wed. eve., Dec. 13. 1913. Adm. 50¢ Student 25¢. R.L.M., Text printed on cover: Elaborate stage setting of handsome Japanese draperies, rich costumes of Oriental silks and gold brocade, priceless musical instruments from the Buddhist and Shinto Temples, fascinating fold-tales interwoven with seductive melody, a glimpse of the queer and quaint customs of the "little brown people," the art-life of a strange, poetic race revealed. It takes you away from the commonplace and transports you to a wonderland of fancy - a land of myths and mystics., Contents: Program: Mythological birth of the fairyland of Nippon (Japan) - Kimigayo (the National Anthem of Japan) - The Music of a race the expression of its character - Banzai march - Japanese scales - The Shakuhachi - Oiwaki - Oiwaki (harmonized) - Shen Nen (New Year's song) - The Sono koto - Hime Matsu - Legend of the Koto - Legend of the bells - Costumes - Shin-fa-diu (Chinese melody) - Sumera-Mikuni (patriotic Japanese melody) - The Theater orchestra - Percussive instruments of wood - The Hioshigi - Riu-kiu-bushi (Formosan air) - A Buddhist prayer - Drums - Sakura (cherry tree) - The Hichiriki - Musical frogs and beetles. No intermission. Part II. A short scene from Japanese home-life, given entirely in the Japanese language, introducing home devotions to ancestors, flower arrangement, tea-drinking, posing to music and Japanese magic., Albert Gale (1870-1952) was a musicologist who described himself as a "ethnologist of music." His wife, Martha Brockway Gale, was a vocalist and choral director. Together they toured the country, including Philadelphia, giving lectures and recitals starting around 1906 on Native American, Chinese, and Japanese music and culture. Gale never traveled to Japan. He took lessons on Japanese and Chinese instruments from Japanese musicians in Seattle.
- Creator
- Gale Printing Co., engraver
- Date
- [ca. 1913]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera -- Misc. - Gale [P.2025.26]
- 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
- 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
- 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
- [African man fanning a white woman in a hammock]
- Description
- Racist, trade card specimen depicting a white woman in a hammock being fanned by a caricature of an African man. In the center, shows the blond-haired, white woman attired in a red headband, a blue dress, and yellow shoes, lying in a hammock. In the left, an African woman, attired in a head kerchief, a necklace, a white shirt, and a red skirt, serves a tray of food to the woman. The white woman leans over and grabs a piece of food from the tray with her right hand and has a butterfly on her left hand. In the right, an African man, attired in hoop earrings and a red and white sarong, fans the woman with a feathered fan on a long pole. In the right foreground, another African man attired in a red and white sarong, sits on steps leading to the hammock and fills a basket with coconuts. In the left are a parrot, several stacked boxes with pineapples on top, and two potted plants. In the right, a monkey sits holding a coconut. In the background is a water fountain, a statue of a woman carrying a vase on a pedestal, and palm and coconut trees. Behind the hammock is the roof of a building with a yellow curtain hanging down., Title supplied by cataloger., Date deduced from the visual content., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Misc. 26 [P.2017.95.237]
- Title
- A high caste lady's dainty "lily feet" - as they really are - China
- Description
- Stereograph depicting a Chinese woman's feet on display. Shows the woman from the waist down attired in a tunic and pants with stripes at the bottom. She holds a closed fan in her hands on her lap. Her bare feet are exhibited on a cloth-covered box. The left foot points to the viewer, while the right foot is shown from the side displaying the heel and the toes bent over the arch. A newspaper in English is draped behind her legs., Beige mount with rounded corners., Contains Sun Sculpture trademark on mount., Title printed on mount., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1900 by Underwood & Underwood., Title printed in six different languages, including French, German, and Spanish on verso., Gift of Linda Kimiko August.
- Creator
- Underwood & Underwood
- Date
- 1900
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Underwood & Underwood [P.2023.43.4]
- Title
- Noix de coco for puddings, pies, and pastry. Manufactured by Warner & Merritt. Philadelphia
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting Warner & Merritt’s Noix de Coco and depicting a white woman in a hammock being fanned by a caricature of an African man. In the center, shows the blond-haired, white woman attired in a red headband, a blue dress, and yellow shoes, lying in a hammock. In the left, an African woman, attired in a red head kerchief, a necklace, a white shirt, and a red skirt, serves a tray of food to the woman. The white woman leans over and grabs a piece of food from the tray with her right hand and has a butterfly on her left hand. In the right, an African man, attired in hoop earrings and a red and white sarong, fans the woman with a feathered fan on a long pole. In the right foreground, another African man attired in a blue sarong, sits on steps leading to the hammock and fills a basket with coconuts. In the left are a parrot, several stacked boxes with pineapples on top, and two potted plants. In the right, a monkey sits holding a coconut. In the background is a water fountain, a statue of a woman carrying a vase on a pedestal, and palm and coconut trees. Behind the hammock is the roof of a building with a yellow curtain hanging down. The Philadelphia firm Warner & Merritt imported fruit from the West Indies and Central America from 1878 until 1884. They used 20,000 to 25,000 coconuts weekly to manufacture their desiccated coconut product, Noix de Coco., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of the advertised business., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Distributor's imprint stamped on verso: Levi I. Schreffler, Dealer In Produce, Tobacco, Sugars, Fresh Fish & Truck, New Depot, Tamaqua, PA., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Warner [P.2017.95.188]
- Title
- A Japanese family. A pretty and interesting cut-out
- Description
- Print depicting a Japanese man, boy, and two women, which could be cut out and made into a paper toy. In the left, shows a Japanese woman attired in a red kimono with green trim tied with a black and yellow obi and wearing her hair up and adorned with a kanzashi hair ornament. She looks left with her left hand at her waist and holds a fan in her right hand. In the right at her feet are white flowers. The Japanese man wears a chonmage hairstyle, which is shaved in the front with a top knot, and is attired in a blue, green, and white kimono and slip on shoes, and has a sword in a scabbard at his waist. He stands with his face in right profile. In the top right, the boy, attired in a white and red kimono and socks, sits on the ground beside a white flower. In the bottom right, a Japanese woman, attired in a blue kimono with gray trim tied with a black obi and wearing her hair up and adorned with a kanzashi hair ornament, sits on the floor with her left hand resting on her leg and her right hand up. She is surrounded by two vases, a black stand with a teapot on top, and a decorative screen depicting a bird. In the top center, shows a diagram depicting how the figures could be cut out and flaps used to stand them upright., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1910, by the North American Company., Published in the March 6, 1910 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. To make figures stand, bend the flabs backward at the dotted lines, A, B, C, D, E, F, as in the diagram. When ready, stand the figures up and arrange to suit yourself., 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
- 1910
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC- Paper toys - Japanese [P.2024.71.2]
- Title
- [Scene on Atlantic City boardwalk near Lindley's baths]
- Description
- Scene depicting the busy Atlantic City boardwalk with many promenaders. Several businesses line the boardwalk including a photographic studio, Adams Bath Houses, Lindley's Baths, and Shimamura & Company. Through the glass storefront window at Shimamura & Co., numerous vases and framed works are visible. Men, women, and children promenaders include two African American girls attired in white dresses and hats; three women attired in Japanese kimono carry parasols and one carries a fan; members of a band; and a white boy carrying a sign for "Cleveland's Iron Pier." In the left, a large American flag flies. An observation tower with people is seen in the background. Shingo Shimamura, along with several Japanese partners including Y. Mayebara, and Takemura, opened Shimamura and Co. in 1888 at Tennessee Avenue and the Boardwalk, Atlantic City. The store sold Japanese art and decorative arts. In 1906, Shimamura opened another store at 579 Broadway, New York City., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from attire of the people., Purchase 1989., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Date
- [ca. 1895]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - Cities [P.9260.590]
- Title
- The wooing of the twins Universal, perfect and elegant stoves and ranges. Manufactured by Cribben, Sexton & Co., Chicago, Ill
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting stove manufacturer Cribben, Sexton & Co. and depicting a genre scene with African American caricatures originally created for Harper’s Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship and marriage of and the start of families by "The Twins." Figures are portrayed with exaggerated features. Shows the two couples sitting in wooden chairs. The twin sisters are identically attired in yellow dresses with red polka dots and white collars. In the left one sister holds a fan as she coyly looks and smiles to the man seated to her right. He is attired in black shoes; blue and white striped pants; a white collared shirt with red tie; and a green jacket. His hands are on on his knees. In the right the other sister touches her chin with her finger as she leans towards the man seated opposite her. Her suitor is attired in black shoes; red and white striped pants; a white shirt; and a black jacket with tails. In the center behind the couples is a mantel with cups, plates, and bowls placed on top. Inside the mantel is a stove with a kettle on it. In the right background, the parents of the twins are sitting in chairs. The father, attired in a blue jacket and beige pants, reads a newspaper. The mother is attired in a red dress. Henry Cribben and James A. Sexton founded the stove manufactory Cribben, Sexton & Co. in Chicago in 1873. The Company closed in 1965., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Distributor's imprint printed on verso: Sayles & Conover, Dealers in stoves and hardware, A full line of universal, Perfect and elegant stoves and ranges always on hand. Valparaiso, Indiana., Gift of David Doret., Forms part of a series [P.2017.95.37 & P.2017.95.38].
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Cribben, Sexton & Co. [P.2017.95.36]

