1888-1889 third supplement to catalogue of electrotypes from A. Blanc, Horticultural Engraver, No. 314 N. Eleventh St. Philada., Pa., U.S.A. [graphic] : Registered Cable Address, "Blanc, Philadelphia."
Title
1888-1889 third supplement to catalogue of electrotypes from A. Blanc, Horticultural Engraver, No. 314 N. Eleventh St. Philada., Pa., U.S.A Registered Cable Address, "Blanc, Philadelphia."
Description
Catalog, including section “New Electros of Vegetables for 1889,” of electrotype specimens for the premier Philadelphia horticultural engraver and lithographer containing images of flowers, plants, fruits, and vegetables. Varieties of flowers, plants, fruits, and vegetables represented include begonias, carnations, chrysanthemums, ferns, pansies, poppies, roses, verbena, corn, melons, lettuces, onions, peppers, pumpkins, squashes, and tomatoes. Illustrations include specimen numbers and prices (ranging from $.50-$10), and most include titles. Images predominantly depict sentimental and genre views of women, children, and animals containing or bordered by flowers; baskets of fruit or flowers; wilderness scenes; insects; single letters and words embellished with floral details; potted plants and flowers; flower bushes; residential views containing flowers; flower and vegetable vignettes; bean pods; single, fields, patches, and bushels of fruits and vegetables; and gardening tools and agricultural implements and equipment., Other specimens depict reproductions of lithographs; female representations of months of the year; “Bulbs grown in Bamboo rod”; a montage, including a crate with packages of bulbs; "Craig’s New Chrysanthemum, Mrs. A. Blanc"; "The Philadelphia Prize Chrysanthemum of 1888"; "Cornfield"; "Insect Destroyers" (i.e., insect destroying insects); and "Odds and Ends" showing bottles of herbs. Also includes a photomechanical studio portrait of an African American boy and girl attired in winter coats and hats, a racist metamorphic montage showing a melon morph into a caricaturized African American figure; and an illustrated advertisement with testimonials promoting W. M. Giradeau’s Seminole Watermelon. Contents also include statements describing the flowers depicted; promoting made to order cuts and the possibility for the addition of text (mortised); noting possible alterations, including “each cut separate” and reductions in price; and indicating "3/4 natural size.", Cover annotated in pencil with date: 1890., Some leaves contain page numbers: 58-134., Cover contains photomechanical illustrations of a studio portrait showing a seated, barefoot girl in simple attire, holding a basket of roses under her arm, and holding a flower to her nose with the other. Attire includes a wide-brimmed hat adorned with several flowers. Grass and flowers rest at her feet. Portrait bordered by a large pictorial detail depicting two stemmed roses. Portrait is specimen 4817 in catalog., Contains promotional text to "Dear Sir" and dated Philadelphia, September 1, 1888 on inside front cover. Text advertises "list of new electrotypes, issued since last year’s supplement … that will enable you to give your catalogue an entirely different appearance" and references how it’s "an important item to the Horticultural trade" and Blanc’s stocks of electros are a “trifling expense” compared to original cuts. Text also explains the deferment of the reprinting of an entirely new catalog due to his addition of a large number of new electros, as well as ordering information including the necessity of a signed order sheet in which purchaser agrees not to sell or loan the electros; ability to make to order any cut for exclusive use; no discounts excepting for orders amounting to over $100; terms strictly cash with order; and cuts ordered to be mailed require a 10% additional fee for postage. Text also advertises "List of My Catalogues," including "Catalogue of Fruit and Tree Cuts"; "Cuts for Catalogue Covers'; "Lawn Views"; and "Sheets of Potato Cuts, Oats, Wheat, Grasses, etc."; their prices of 15 to 20 cents each or $1 for set, which is deductible from orders amounting to $5; and note about "Correspondence en Francais.", Several specimens include Blanc's copyright statement or name., Includes order sheet inscribed with addition equations., Back cover and end pages missing, RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., See the Albert Blanc entry in the Philadelphia on Stone Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers., See the Edward Stern & Co. entry in the Philadelphia on Stone Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers., William M. Giradeau (b. 1852), owner of Girardeau Seed Company in Monticello, Fla., developed the first commercial machine for separating seeds from watermelons, making Jefferson county, the top watermelon seed supplier in the world by 1884.
Creator
Blanc, Albert, 1850-
Date
[1888]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Blanc [P.2013.69.2]
Adams Tampico Chewing gum. Each wrapper has a different Picture and joke, from "The Judge." [graphic] / H Mitchell.
Title
Adams Tampico Chewing gum. Each wrapper has a different Picture and joke, from "The Judge."
Description
Gum wrapper for Adams & Co. depicting a cartoon originally published in the satiric magazine "The Judge" and showing two African American men (Mister Johnson and Brother Snow) portrayed in racist caricature conversing in the vernacular on a dirt path after church services. The man in the left has a beard and is attired in a long overcoat, pants, and a top hat. He holds a "prayer" book and umbrella under his left arm and gestures to the other gentleman with his right arm. The gentleman in the right has a beard, wears glasses, and is attired in an over coat, striped pants, and top hat. He holds an umbrella as a walking stick in his left hand and carries a book under his right arm. He looks toward the gesturing man. Part of a wooden fence and skyscape are also visible. The Brooklyn gum manufacturer Adams & Co. operated circa 1871-1899. In 1899 Adams merged with six other chewing gum companies to form American Chicle Company., Title from item., Date inferred from content reproduced from The Judge., Caption: A Miracle. "What wuz de tex' dis mornin', Mister Johnson? I wuz too late."/"It wuz about de meracles, Brother Snow. Whar de Lor' fed seven people on five t'ousand baskets of fish."/ "I don't see any meracle about dat."/"Oh, de meracle am, dey all didn't bust.", Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera - Packaging - A [113538.D]
Arbuckle's ariosa coffee. Arbuckle Bros. Coffee Company, New York. [graphic].
Title
Arbuckle's ariosa coffee. Arbuckle Bros. Coffee Company, New York
Description
One of a series of "fifty" trade cards, "each one of which shows a correct map (properly bounded) of one State, or Territory" to promote Arbuckle's Ariosa Coffee. Depicts a map of Alabama (left) and a scene with African American men and women picking cotton in a cotton field (right). Scene shows a man in the foreground placing cotton in a basket piled high with it. In the center, right background, a woman stands and holds a large basket piled high with cotton on her head. In the distant background, two men and three women bend over and pick cotton from the plants. A piece of harvesting equipment is visible in the far left background. The men and women wear long sleeve shirts and hats or bonnets. Arbuckle's Coffee was founded by brothers John and Charles Arbuckle following the Civil War. The company was one of the first to sell roasted coffee and to place it in one pound packages. Arbuckle often included trade cards in the packages., Title from item., Image captions: Cotton Picking; Population 1,262,[ ]5; Area in Sq. Miles 52,250., Date inferred from content, dates of activity of lithographer, and reference to Washington which gained statehood in 1889 as a territory., Series number printed on verso: No. 67., Several lines of advertising text printed on verso explicating why Arbuckle's Ariosa Coffee "costs more and is worth more than other brands of coffee," including higher grade green coffee and the "glazing" process. Also includes a "Read This." section describing the series of cards as "interesting, instructive, and artistic," and their purpose as and "object lesson or both young and old." Section ends with the alphabetical list of 50 states and territories depicted. Washington, New Mexico, and Wyoming are listed as territories., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022., Some degradation to image.
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Arbuckle's [P.2017.44]
Atmore's mince meat and genuine English plum pudding.
Title
Atmore's mince meat and genuine English plum pudding
Description
Trade card promoting Atmore & Son’s mince meat and depicting a racist scene of an African American boy street peddler. He stands on a sidewalk and holds a disc-shaped pie in his hands in front of the door to a brick building. The rosy-cheeked boy smiles and looks at the viewer. He is barefoot and attired in a white, collared shirt with orange stripes; yellow suspenders; and blue pants with black stripes that are rolled up to below his knees. In the left, on the ground and behind the peddler, is a handled basket full of pies that is partially wrapped in a white cloth. In the right is a tree with green leaves. Atmore & Son, established in 1842, was located at 141 South Front Street, Philadelphia, Pa. They continued producing mince meat as late as 1948., Various printers printed series of trade cards in the 1870s for Atmore & Son before Ketterlinus, including Clay, Cosask & Co. of Buffalo (1870), Clay & Cosock (1876), and Thos. Hunter (1877)., 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.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Atmore's [1975.F.14]
B.M. Weld, drugs & medicines, also boots, shoes, slippers, etc. Bradford, Vermont.
Title
B.M. Weld, drugs & medicines, also boots, shoes, slippers, etc. Bradford, Vermont
Description
Series of three illustrated trade cards promoting druggist B.M. Weld. Depicts a white child raising the American flag on a flag pole; a framed image of two men walking beside a house under the moonlight superimposed onto a spray of flowers; and an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white collared shirt, a green bowtie, and a blue jacket, who leans over the folded signboard containing the title, and dangles a red suit for a monkey, which sits in the lower right corner holding a red cap in its hand., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business., 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., Gift of William H. Helfand, 2000., 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. 1875]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - W [P.9828.7053-7055]
Brother Gardner addresses the Lime Kiln Club on the virtues of Dixon's Stove Polish
Title
Brother Gardner addresses the Lime Kiln Club on the virtues of Dixon's Stove Polish
Description
Racist, satiric trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a caricature of an African American man presenting Dixon’s Stove Polish to the African American men members of the Lime Kiln Club. Shows Brother Gardner, the white-haired, African American man, in the left with spectacles on his forehead and attired in a white collared shirt with a red bowtie, an orange jacket with a sunflower on the lapel, red and white checked pants, and black shoes. He stands holding a blue box of Dixon’s in his left hand and a gavel in his right hand. In the left is a wooden table with a blue pitcher and a top hat on top of it and a sign that reads, “Dixon’s Carburet of Iron Stove Polish.” Brother Gardner addresses the men in the vernacular, who are identified by number with the key of their names on the verso of the card. In the right, the man, attired in a striped white collared shirt, a red tie, a white and blue striped jacket, yellow and red striped pants, and black shoes, sits on a wooden chair and examines a blue box of Dixon’s in his hands. Beside him another man, balding with tufts of white hair on the sides of his head and a white beard and attired in a red jacket and blue striped pants, kneels down and carries a brush in his right hand. Behind them two men sit on chairs and an additional nine men stand and listen to Brother Gardner. In the background, the wall reads, “Lime Kiln Club, Paradise Hall.” A horseshoe and framed prints that read “Beautify your homes” and “Rules of the Lime Kiln Club” hang on the wall. In the center is a large, black stove., The African American "Lime Kiln Club" caricatures originally were devised by Charles Bertrand Lewis (i.e., M. Quad) in the Detroit Free Press. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1886., Advertising text printed on verso: The Lime Kiln Club, Brother Gardner in the Chair. “Dis Club hab ebery reason to be proud of de Stove Committee. We has tried all de other stove polishes. We has been stunk out wid so-called peperahuns and seen de piping rust to pieces, till de stove-pipe wus a tumbled down disgrace to de good name of de Lime Kiln Club. De honah of dis occashun belongs to Brudder Shindig, who has made a name for hisself, by introducing Dixon’s Big cake of Stove Polish, and has covered hisself wid shine. Stand up, Brudder Shindig, and let us gaze upon your countenance. Now, my frens, let us draw a lesson from dis: Seek and find out for yerselves, and when you’s got a good ting stick to it, so dat, like DIXON’S STOVE POLISH, you may not only be a use to de community in which yer libes, but a shining example for de rest of mankind. “De club owes a vote of thanks to de Stove Committee, an’ to Brudder Shindig in particular, an’ extend de heartfelt thanks of de Lime Kiln Club to DIXONS for de valuable addition to de comfits of dis life through their CARBURET OF IRON STOVE POLISH. Wid one drawback, Brudder Shindig—you orer haf found dis outen befo’ for de DIXON’S STOVE POLISH has bin in de market SINCE 1827,--58 YEARS.” (Signed) No. 1. Bro. Gardner, 2. Old Man Jenkins, 3. Bro. Shindig, 4. Give-A-Dam Jones, 6. Sundown Davis, No. 7. Accordingly Davis, 8. Stepoff Johnson, 9. Trustee Pullback, 10. Sickles Smith, 11. Sir Isaac Walpole, 12. Layback Jones, Committee., Advertising text printed on verso: Fifty-eight years in market! The oldest, the best, the neatest, the quickest. Ask your dealer for Dixon's Stove Polish. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J. Illustration showing a box of "Dixon's Prepared Carburet of Iron (Trademark) For Polishing Stoves, Grates, Ranges, and Every Kind of Cast and Sheet Iron work.", Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1886
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *trade card - J [P.2012.54.2]
[Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
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]
Clarence Brooks & Co., manufacturers of fine coach varnishes, cor. West & West 12th Sts., New York.
Title
Clarence Brooks & Co., manufacturers of fine coach varnishes, cor. West & West 12th Sts., New York "ceticism my belobed bredren. It am something beautiful frinstance it am light and airy - like de bean."
Description
Trade card employing an African American Oscar Wilde caricature. Wilde toured the United States in 1882. The Wilde figure, wearing long hair and attired in blue knee breeches with red bows, a red jacket with tails, black socks, and gold slippers lectures to an audience of well-attired African American men and women. He stands at a table adorned with a piece of paper, a candle in a bottle, and a water glass containing a sunflower. To his left, an older frowning man sits with an umbrella between his knees on the stage, while in the first row, two women (one wearing a sunflower on her hat) swoon in front of a lanky man, standing, and looking moonfaced. Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In 1881 the firm issued a calendar illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes., Publication date inferred from image content., Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund.
Date
[ca. 1882]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Brooks [P.2014.35]
Clark's mile-end 60 spool cotton [graphic].
Title
Clark's mile-end 60 spool cotton
Description
Racist trade card promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting a genre scene of an African American man and woman in conversation on a country road. The man and woman are portrayed with exaggerated features and speaking in the vernacular. Shows, in the left, the man standing on a dirt road and holding a piece of thread attached to a giant spool labeled "Clark's mile-end 60 spool thread." He is attired in black boots; yellow striped pants with patches on the knees and rolled to his calves; a white shirt; a red vest; and a green jacket. His straw hat is upturned on the ground beside him. In the right, an African American woman sits in a horse-drawn wagon holding the reins to a white horse. She tells the man, "Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything - lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with." She is attired in a yellow head kerchief and a red dress with yellow trim at the neck. The George A. Clark & Brother Company, manufactory of embroidery and sewing thread, was founded in 1863 in Newark, N.J. The firm was renamed Clark & Co. in 1879, and in the 1880s created a six-cord, soft finished thread called "Our New Thread" or "O.N.T." The business merged with J. & P. Coats in 1896, which lead to a series of mergers with fourteen other companies. Into the 21st century, the company continues to manufacture thread under the name Coats & Clark., Title from item., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Text on recto: Ef dat mile end thread don't hold, dere ain't anything- lucky I got a spool to mend yer old clos' with., Advertising text printed on verso: Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is the best for hand and machine sewing. Clark's Mile-End Colors are made expressly to match the leading shades of dress goods, and are unsurpassed both in quality and color. Clark's Mile-End Spool Cotton is six-cord in all numbers to 100 inclusive., Stamp on the recto is illegible., See related copy: Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.33]., Gift of George Allen, 2022., RVCDC
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade cards - C - Clark's [P.2022.42.7]
Compliments of J.C. Williams & Son, Central Pharmacy, 50 South Salina St., Syracuse, N.Y.
Title
Compliments of J.C. Williams & Son, Central Pharmacy, 50 South Salina St., Syracuse, N.Y
Description
Series of illustrated trade cards promoting pharmacist J.C. Williams & Son and including "Surrender" depicting a white man winking as he puts his arms around a white woman from behind. The woman, attired in a hat with red feathers, a red dress with a white collar, and black, fingerless gloves, puts her head down as the man grasps her chin with his left hand and puts his right hand on her shoulder. They stand behind a picket fence. Also includes "Retribution" showing a dog chasing a cat and knocking a startled African American man off of his feet near a fence in a yard. The man, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white collared shirt with blue stripes and white pants with blue patches, flies into the air while his white hat falls to the ground., Title from item., Date from copyright statment on one print: Copyrighted 1882 by Onondaga Lith. Co., Syracuse, N.Y. [P.9828.7105]., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1882]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - W [P.9828.7105 & 7106]
Creditor of Johnsing & Skinner--"I'll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I'll lick de hul firm."
Title
Creditor of Johnsing & Skinner--"I'll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I'll lick de hul firm." Compliments of J. Harley Compton, druggist, New Egypt, N.J
Description
Racist trade card promoting the druggist J. Harley Compton and depicting a caricature of an older African American man reading a notice on a country grocery store. Shows the man with a white beard and attired in a yellow brimmed hat, a long-sleeved red shirt, yellow pants with patches and held up by suspenders, and black shoes. He bends forward to read the sign on the boarded up, dilapidated store. It states in the vernacular that the Johnsing & Skinner Grocery is out of business and that, “Dem as owes de firm, will settle wid me--dey de firm owes will settle wid Skinner. G.W. Johnsing." The African American man is labeled as a creditor who says in the vernacular, “I’ll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I’ll lick de hul firm.” Another sign on the building states, "10 miles to de post ofice (sic)." In the right, the man’s donkey is tied to an orange post behind him. In the background, fenced in fields and trees are visible. William Carroll purchased J. Harley Compton’s drugstore in New Egypt, New Jersey in 1895., Title from item., Text printed on recto: Johnsing & Skinner Grocery. Notis—De firm of Johnsing & Skinner am resolved. Dem as owes de firm, will settle wid me—dey de firm owes will settle wid Skinner. G.W. Johnsing. Creditor of Johnsing & Skinner—“I’ll hab a hundred and fifty cents on de dollar, or I’ll lick de hul firm.”, Advertising text printed on verso promotes items manufactured by J. Harley Compton, including Compton's concentrated flavoring extracts, liquid rennet, camphor ice with glycerine, cholera and dysentery drops, and Compton's tooth powder. Dated Oct. 9th, 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., Gift of William Helfand., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1883]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - C [P.9828.5679]
"Creme" oat meal toilet soap.
Title
"Creme" oat meal toilet soap
Description
Trade card promoting soap manufacturer J.D. Larkin & Co. and depicting a racist caricature of an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man hunter. He stands in front of a section of tall grass and holds a clutch of birds in his left hand and a rifle under his right arm. He is attired in a hunting cap, red jacket, tan pants, and black high boots. Leather straps are criss-crossed over his chest. J.D. Larkin & Co. was founded in 1875. By 1881 the soap company included over 100 factory workers and sustained specialized departments for advertising and shipping, as well as solicited to door-to-door private residences in addition to shopkeepers. Trade cards with the company logo were included with each box of soap. By 1885 the firm only directly sold their products to residential customers and was known for their premiums. The company was sold in 1941 and continued as a mail-order business until 1962., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright, Clay & Richmond, Buffalo, N.Y., 1881., Printed in upper right corner on recto: J, D, L, & C. monogram (ie. J.D. Larkin & Co.) surmounting "Buffalo, N.Y.", Series no. printed on recto: II., Advertising text printed on verso promotes "Creme" toilet soap sold by A.E. Snow, dealer in drugs, medicines, etc. in Plainfield, Vt. Also promotes "six different designs" of cards by the People's Mfg. Co., Buffalo, N.Y., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1881
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - S [P.9828.6852]
"Creme" oat meal toilet soap. [graphic]
Title
" Creme" oat meal toilet soap
Description
Incomplete series of trade cards, including duplicate and variant imagery with the same series number, to promote "Crème" toilet soap manufactured by J.D. Larkin & Co. Depicts racist, anthropomorphic chimpanzee figures in social situations and leisure and cultural activities., Series no. I (variant 1) depicts a man and woman as well-dressed anthropomorphized chimpanzees greeting each other. In the left, the man attired in a black top hat, blue jacket, and checkered yellow pants, nods his head to the left and holds up his walking stick. In the right, the woman, her back to the viewer, is attired in a yellow bonnet adorned with flowers and a ribbon, and a long-sleeved green dress with a pink belt at the waist and a bow at the bustle. She lifts up her skirt and exposes her slip. Series no. I (variant 2) depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man artist. He rests back on his chair, and holds a palette in one hand, and a paint brush in the other. He sits in front of an easel and canvas. He is attired in a green-colored smock shirt with collar and buttons, yellow pants, and brown laced shoes. His eyelids droop down and his mouth is slightly ajar., Series no. II depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man hunter. He stands in front of a section of tall grass and holds a clutch of birds in his left hand and a shot gun under his right arm. He is attired in a hunting cap, red jacket, tan pants, and black high boots. Leather straps are criss-crossed over his chest. Series no. III depicts an anthropomorphized chimpanzee as a man fishing at a dock. The man hangs his legs over a pier and holds a pole into the water. A basket of fish lays beside him. He wears a wide-brimmed hat, a brown jacket with the collar turned up, and blue checkered pants. The backs of two other anglers are visible in the left background. Series no. IV (2 copies) depicts anthropomorphized chimpanzees as a man and woman couple on promenade. The woman, in the left, is attired in a yellow bonnet, a yellow, three-quarter length sleeved dress with ruffling down the front and ruching on the skirt, and white gloves. She holds a fan by her left cheek, looks to her left, and lifts up the skirt of her dress and shows the edge of her slip. To the right, the man smiles and looks over her shoulder. He is attired in a bowler, red jacket, and grey-striped pants and holds a walking stick up under his arm., Series no. VI depicts anthropomorphized chimpanzees as a man and woman couple getting married by a clergyman. The couple, their backs to the viewer, stand to the left of the clergyman attired in his ceremonial robes. The man wears a suit with a long jacket. The woman wears a white wedding dress with a veil adorned with floral ornaments. The dress is composed with ruched sleeves, and adorned with pink bows and ribbons. The figures all have solemn expressions. J.D. Larkin & Co. was founded in 1875. By 1881 the soap company included over 100 factory workers and sustained specialized departments for advertising and shipping, as well as solicited to door-to-door private residences in addition to shopkeepers. Trade cards with the company logo were included with each box of soap. By 1885 the firm only directly sold their products to residential customers and was known for their premiums. The company was sold in 1941 and continued as a mail-order business until 1962., Title from items., Date, publisher, and manufacturer (printer) from copyright statements on prints: Copyright J.D. Larkin & Co., Buffalo, N.Y. 1881 and Copyright Clay & Richmond, Buffalo, N.Y. 1881., Majority of prints (P.2020.3.1-4&7) distributed by J.D. Larkin & Co., P.2020.3.5&6 distributed by the People’s Manufacturing Co., Prints include the company logo “J.D. L. & Co., Buffalo, N.Y.” in two designs; one in cursive and the other as a monogram with a central block letter., Includes series numbers: I. (2 variant images); II.; III.; V. (2 copies, same image); and VI., Five of the prints contain variant advertising text on verso. All texts include statement: To Card Collectors.- There are six different designs in this set. We will mail the complete set to any address, on receipt of 3 c./three cent stamp., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date
1881
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Larkin [P.2020.3.1-7]
Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish.
Title
Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
Description
Series of trade cards promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming copper kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item, Printers and engravers include Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Co. (New York) and A. Gast & Co. (New York and St. Louis)., Advertising text printed on verso: Advertising text printed on verso: Established 1827. Dixon's stove polish; over fifty years in the market. Neat; quick; brilliant, and lasting. No dust. No odor. Nothing will make a stove so bright and cheerful for so long a time as the Dixon stove polish. It is by far the cheapest in use, in the long run. Buy it. Try it. Take no other. Pressed into a neat quarter-pound packet, absolutely free of adulteration. Six millions sold in 1880. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1998., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Dixon [1975.F.235; P.9577.14; P.9599]
[Domestic Sewing Machine Co. trade cards]
Title
[Domestic Sewing Machine Co. trade cards]
Description
Series of trade cards promoting the Domestic Sewing Machine Co. "Make no mistake you buy a domestic" depicts two white women, one tall and the other of short stature, who carry parasols and converse. "Wes don got de "domestic" we has!" depicts a racist, comic genre scene of an African American couple, portrayed in racist caricature with exaggerated features, who have acquired a sewing machine. In the center is a man and woman in a blue-colored cart being pulled by a galloping brown horse. The man, attired in a top hat; a blue jacket; a white collared shirt; and green checked pants, strains and leans forward as he holds the reins. The woman, attired in a yellow dress with black polka dots and a pink bonnet, leans back and exclaims in the vernacular that "wes don got the Domestic, we has!" She raises her left hand in the air and holds a white handkerchief. A sewing machine is visible inside the cart. In the far right a barefooted boy attired in a straw hat; a white collared shirt; and brown pants rolled up to his calves, possibly their displaced son, runs beside the wagon. In the top right corner is an inset illustration of a Domestic Sewing Machine Co.’s sewing machine. "Yes my father was a great antiquarian; where he studied antiquity" depicts a well-dressed, white man and woman couple standing on a veranda conversing. The next panel depicts an older white man carrying a sack on his back and picking through a barrel filled with straw and scrap metal with garbage strewn around on the ground. William S. Mack & Co. and N.S. Perkins founded the Domestic Sewing Machine Company in 1864 in Norwalk, Ohio. The White Sewing Machine Company bought the company in 1924., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.229] copyrighted by Frank B. Hine., Includes advertising text printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Gift of Helen Beitler, 2001 [P.9983.5]., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Domestic [1975.F.229 & 230; P.9983.5]
Children of all nations. A series of 50. [graphic].
Title
Chil dren of all nations. A series of 50
Description
Series of pop out cigarette cards depicting waist-length portraits of children (boys and girls) of different nationalities attired in their "native" costume. Includes Arabia (boy); Australia (boy); Belgian Congo (boy); Belgium (girl); Bulgaria (boy); Burma (girl); Denmark (girl); Egypt (girl); England (boy); Greece (girl); Holland (girl); Hungary (boy); Italy (girl); Ireland (girl); Mexico (boy); Natal (girl); New Zealand (girl); Norway (girl); Palestine (girl); Patagonia (girl); Poland (girl); Portugal (boy); Rumania (girl); Russia (girl); Scotland (boy); Siam (boy); Spain (girl); Sweden (girl); Tahiti (girl); Tibet (girl); Tunis (girl); Turkey (girl); United States (girl); and Wales (girl). The Ogden Branch was originally founded by Thomas Ogden as the Ogdens Tobacco Company in 1860. In 1901, American Tobacco Company bought Ogden's Tobacco Company and it in turn was bought by Imperial Tobacco Co. in 1902. Ogden started to include cigarette cards in its packaging in 1894., Date inferred from pop out format. Series issued in 1924 as pop outs., Printed above images: Ogden's Cigarettes., Title from series title on items., Versos contain explicative statements describing the depicted children's appearance, social life, and customs., Gift of George Allen., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date
[ca. 1924]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ephemera - Cards [P.2016.56.1-34]
[Eagle Starch Enamel Manufacturing Co., Frankford, Phila., Pa.]
Title
[Eagle Starch Enamel Manufacturing Co., Frankford, Phila., Pa.]
Description
Racist trade card promoting Eagle Starch Enamel Manufacturing Co. and depicting three smiling African American children, portrayed in caricature. In the center, the toddler stands attired in a white dress with a large collar and blue sash, white stockings, and tan shoes. Flanking the toddler, the boy, attired white shirt with a large circular collar, a black jacket, black breeches, stockings, and shoes, and the girl, attired in a pink, brimmed hat, a yellow, long-sleeved dress with a pink sash, pink stockings, and white shoes, hold a wreath of leaves over the toddler’s head., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from content., Contains advertising text printed on verso listing five reasons to use eagle satin gloss starch enamel., Purchase 1998., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Eagle [P.9577.16]
Evans, Card & Fancy Printer. Office, Fourth St. below Chestnut, cor. of Library St. Philadelphia
Title
Evans, Card & Fancy Printer. Office, Fourth St. below Chestnut, cor. of Library St. Philadelphia
Description
Business advertisement depicting the commercial building at 402 Library Street containing the establishments of Howell Evans; ship and custom house brokers, E. Headley Bailey & M.S. Alexander; engravers on wood, James W. Louderbach & Gustavus A. Hoffman; and blank book manufacturer, J.R. McMullin. Several men and women pedestrians, including an African American man laborer carrying a bundle, walk the sidewalk. Patrons enter the building's open doorways. A coach travels speedily past the building. Evans, the self-promoted first "fast card press in the city" operated his firm at the address until 1880. In 1860, his press executed the advertisements for the Cohen Philadelphia City Directory. Louderbach & Hoffman, a partnership formed in 1852 remained at the site until dissolving in 1860. J.R. McMullin remained from 1857 until 1859., Title from item., Date from Poulson inscription on recto: Decem. 1858., Signage on building for Evans, Card & Fancy Printer stamped with gilt., Accessioned 1982., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator
Louderbach & Hoffman, engraver
Date
[December 1858]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department PhPr - 11x14 - Business [P.8729.8]
[Evans, Card & Fancy Printer. Office, Fourth St. below Chestnut, Philadelphia]
Title
[Evans, card & fancy printer. Office, Fourth St. below Chestnut, Philadelphia]
Description
Business advertisement depicting the commercial building at 402 Library Street containing the establishments of Howell Evans; the Dime Savings Fund; ship and custom house brokers, E. Headley Bailey & M.S. Alexander; engravers on wood, James W. Louderbach & Gustavus A. Hoffman; lithographer, John Childs; and engravers, stationers and producers of embossed cards, envelopes, labels, etc., Jacob Maas, Henry Percival, and Jacob's son, Charles E. Maas. Several men and women pedestrians, including an African American man laborer carrying a bundle, walk the sidewalk. Patrons enter the building's open doorways. A coach travels speedily past the building. Evans, the self-promoted first "fast card press in the city" operated his firm at the address until 1880. In 1860, his press executed the advertisements for the Philadelphia City Directory. Louderbach & Hoffman, a partnership formed in 1853 resided at the site until dissolving in 1860., Title from duplicate print., Date from Poulson inscription on recto: Fourth Street; s.w. cor.; Library Street; Feby, 26, 1856., Accessioned 1979., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator
Louderbach & Hoffman, engraver
Date
[February 16, 1856]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department PhPr - 11x14 - Business [P.2277.23]
Evans, Card & Fancy Printer. Office, Fourth St. below Chestnut, Philadelphia
Title
Evans, card & fancy printer. Office, Fourth St. below Chestnut, Philadelphia
Description
Business advertisement depicting the commercial building at 402 Library Street containing the establishments of Howell Evans; the Dime Savings Fund; ship and custom house brokers, E. Headley Bailey & M.S. Alexander; engravers on wood, James W. Louderbach & Gustavus A. Hoffman; blank book manufacturer, J.R. McMullin; and engravers, stationers, producers of embossed cards, envelopes, and labels, Jacob Maas, Henry Percival, and Jacob's son, Charles E. Maas. Several men and women pedestrians, including an African American man laborer carrying a bundle, walk the sidewalk. Patrons enter the building's open doorways. A coach travels speedily past the building. Evans, the self-promoted first "fast card press in the city" operated his firm at the site until 1880. In 1860, his press executed the advertisements for the Cohen Philadelphia City Directory. Louderbach & Hoffman, a partnership formed in 1853 remained at the site until dissolving in 1860., Title from item., Date inferred from content and history of the printer., Advertising text printed around border., Advertisements printed on verso: engraver, J.H. Byram - wholesale collar manufacturer, Robert C. Winters - and truss manufacturer and importer, C.W. Van Horn & Co., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of engravings related to Philadelphia. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator
Louderbach & Hoffman, engraver
Date
[ca. 1857]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department PhPr - 11x14 - Business [(7)1322.F.158.1a]
[Frederick A. Rex & Co. trade cards]
Title
[Frederick A. Rex & Co. trade cards]
Description
Series of illustrated trade cards promoting coffee manufacturer Frederick A. Rex & Co. and depicting a fox leaping to grab grapes in its mouth from a vine running along the top of a tall stone wall. Racist trade card titled "An absorbing subject" and depicting a caricature an African American man lying on top of a barrel and drinking from it with a straw. Shows the barefooted man, portrayed with exaggerated features, and attired in a straw hat, a striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and patched and torn pants. He lies straddling on top of a wooden barrel and rests his head in his hands. He closes his eyes as he drinks from a straw through a hole in the barrel. The barrel has a label pasted on it and is marked “XXX.” In the foreground, a painter’s palette leans against the front of the barrel. Frederick A. Rex (1850-1916) founded the Frederick A. Rex Company in the 1880s which manufactured coffee and tea. The firm had an office in Philadelphia and a mill in Camden, N.J., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9651.20] copyrighted 1881 by Geo. M. Hayes., One print [P.9651.20] contains advertising text printed on verso promoting "Peerless Coffee," the finest coffee sold, roasted and packed by Fred'k A. Rex & Co., 39 North Front St., Philadelphia, with mills in Camden, New Jersey., Purchase 1999, 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
[ca. 1881]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Rex [P.9651.20 & P.9984.2]
Gantz, Jones & Co.'s sea foam. [graphic].
Title
Gantz, Jones & Co.'s sea foam
Description
Series of trade cards containing captioned scenes in silhouette and profile, including racist imagery, that promote and portray the use of the New York firm's baking powder in cooking. "The First Lesson in Cooking" shows a matron-like figure (in the right) holding out a can of "Sea Foam" baking powder to three young woman standing in a row (in the left). The older woman is attired in a long-sleeved dress with a tiered skirt and bustle, spectacles, and an adornment in her hair. The young women wear long-sleeved dresses with tiered skirts and bustles and hair ornaments that resemble pointed caps. The woman closest to the matron also holds a parasol in her right hand and the woman in the far left also wears a long braid that runs down her back. The women look at and lean toward the baking powder can with interest. "Mine is the Best" shows a woman home cook and a professional male cook facing off. In the right, the man, holds his right hand in a fist, and points behind himself to a table on which a can of "Sea Foam" and a bowl rest. In the left, the woman points at him with her left hand and with her right hand points behind herself at a table on which a bowl and two canisters rest. The man wears a mustache, baker's hat, long smock, and pants. The woman wears a long-sleeved dress with an apron. "Missus, We'll Nebber Use Any Odder!" shows an African American man, portrayed with exaggerated features, and holding an extra-large "Sea Foam" can, walking toward a stove at which a woman is kneeled and placing something in the oven. A pot and tea kettle rest atop of the stove across from the stove pipe. The woman wears her hair down and is attired in a long-sleeved dress with ruffles at the bodice and a skirt with bustle., Gantz, Jones, & Co. was originally established as a chemical business in 1849 by Thomas Andrews. George W. Gantz joined the firm in 1853. About 1869 Andrews retired and in 1877 Walter H. Gantz and F. B. Jones joined the business as partners. In 1884 the firm's New York warehouse was heavily damaged by fire and in 1890 the partnership dissolved. Following the 1856 patent of the first modern baking powder, several later 19th-century chemical firms, including Gantz, Jones & Co. attempted to capitalize on the new, very profitable baking powder industry. Baking powder significantly lessened leaving times for baking and cooking, and multiple companies began to market either cream of tartar or alum based powders that required no combining at home. The "Baking Powder Wars" mired in propaganda about the pure and safe properties of various firms' products ended in the early 20th century with alum baking powder companies Clabber Girl and Calumet dominating the American industry., Title from items., Date inferred from attire of figures portrayed and format of advertisements., Advertising text printed on verso of P.2018.6.3.1, "The First Lesson in Cooking": It is a first-class article, and will do more than it claims to do, and never fails to do its work well. Good health makes labor of all kinds easier and prolongs life. Sea foam is warranted to make better, lighter, healthier, sweeter, more toothsome and more [in italics] digestive [in italics] and nutritious bread, biscuits, cakes, puddings, etc., than can be made in any other way. Those who use it say: "We prefer it over all others." "It is A No. 1." "Gives universal satisfaction.", Advertising text printed on verso of P.2018.6.3.2,"Mine is the Best": SEA FOAM BAKING POWDER IS PERFECTLY PURE. Those who have used it once will never use any other. The BEST in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. Without an equal. It is the perfection of science in cookery. Your cookery will be always good. You will always have a good cook. It makes every cook a good one. Your bread will never be sour. Light, well-raised bread, biscuits, and cakes digest easily and conduce to good health., Advertising text printed on verso of P.2018.6.3.3, "Missus, We'll Nebber Use any Odder!": Bread is always good. Cannot be beaten. Champion Yeast Powder of America. Every body likes it. Sells like hot cakes. The best customers ask for it. It is A No. 1. The ladies never get tired of telling each other about it. All first-class stores keep it. Gantz's Sea Foam is perfectly pure. Without an equal [in italics]. It is an entirely new invention. Never fails to make light bread. To avoid dyspepsia, use Sea Foam. One can is worth three of any other., Captions printed in all capitals., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Gantz, Jones & Co. [P.2018.6.3.1-3]
[Geo. G. Burbank, druggist and apothecary, 235 Main St., Worcester, Mass.]
Title
[Geo. G. Burbank, druggist and apothecary, 235 Main St., Worcester, Mass.]
Description
Series of illustrated trade cards depicting Japanese boys wearing fanciful, stylized versions of traditional attire and geta shoes and performing a variety of activities, including watching a fly pull toys on the ground, playing a stringed instrument as a dog dances on its hind legs, and holding a piece of paper of an illustration of a man and woman. Also includes "Ole zip coon," depicting a racist scene of an African American man stealing a chicken in the countryside. He hangs suspended on a wooden fence, snagged by the seat of his pants. He holds two squawking chickens by the legs in his right hand as another squawking chicken runs away in the left. The man is portrayed with exaggerated features and a look of fear. His mouth is open and the corners turned down. His wide eyes look to the right. In the background in the right, a white man, holding a rifle, runs with a dog towards the fence. A house is visible in the center background., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9828.5576] numbered 450 and printed by Bufford, Boston., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - B [P.9828.5573-5576]
Hart, Montgomery & Co. Successors to Isaac Pugh & Co. Manufacturers and importers of paper hangings, No. 118 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Manufactory N.E. Cor. Schuyl[kill] Front & Wood Streets [graphic] / On Stone by W.H. Rease, 17 So. 5th St.
Title
Hart, Montgomery & Co. Successors to Isaac Pugh & Co. Manufacturers and importers of paper hangings, No. 118 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Manufactory N.E. Cor. Schuyl[kill] Front & Wood Streets
Description
Exterior view of the manufactory operated from 1849 until 1860 by William Hart and A.J. Montgomery at Schuylkill Front (i.e., Twenty-second) and Wood Streets depicted within a lithographed tromp l'oeil wood frame. A horse-drawn cart stands idle by a side entrance of the multi-storied factory and four goats roam a nearby yard. Smaller factory buildings are visible to the right. Horse-drawn delivery carts, one steered by an African American man, travel pass each other on the adjacent street. Pedestrians and laborers walk the sidewalks and converse near a street lamp. Eastern State Penitentiary is visible in the background. During the mid-nineteenth century, Philadelphia was the premier American city of fine wallpaper production., Title from item., Date of publication supplied by Wainwright., Accessioned 1982., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 344, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Rease, a prominent mid-19th century Philadelphia trade card lithographer known to highlight details of human interest in his advertisements, partnered with Francis H. Schell in the 1850s and eventually operated his own press until around 1872.
Creator
Rease, W. H., artist
Date
[ca. 1852]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W169 [P.2072]
[Hunter's handsome drug stores, cor. Pacific & New Jersey Aves., cor. Atlantic & Indiana Aves., Atlantic City, N.J. and cor. Fifteenth and Wharton Sts., Philadelphia]
Title
[Hunter's handsome drug stores, cor. Pacific & New Jersey Aves., cor. Atlantic & Indiana Aves., Atlantic City, N.J. and cor. Fifteenth and Wharton Sts., Philadelphia]
Description
Series of illustrated trade cards promoting Hunter's Drug Stores, and depicting white boys bowling, a large fish in a pond surrounded by flowers, and men and women laboring outside, including a white man and woman couple fetching water from a well, a white woman standing in a field carrying a staff, and a white woman watering flowers with smiling, human faces in a garden as a cupid figure with wings watches her from the other side of a fence. Two African American men, portrayed in racist caricature, haul large bundles of wheat past a milestone labeled "M. 10." In the left, the barefooted man is attired in a tunic, and in the right, the man is attired in a hat, a tunic, and shoes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [P.9828.6173] contains advertising text printed on verso promoting the purity, quality and accuracy of Hunter's drugs and lists items available for sale at his drugstores., Date from copyright statement on six prints [P.9828.6175-6180]: Copyright 1882 by Ed. Wolf., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1882]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - H [P.9828.6173-6180]
If dat ar fish knowd dis wor Merrick's thread, he wouldnt ha bit.
Title
If dat ar fish knowd dis wor Merrick's thread, he wouldnt ha bit Merrick Thread Co. Best six cord 8
Description
Racist trade card for the Merrick Thread Company at 248 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia and depicting Black men, attired only in loincloths, pulling a captured whale onto a beach. The five men, portrayed in racist caricature, stand on the beach and hold onto the thread coming from an oversized spool labeled, "Merrick Thread Co. Best Six Cord 8," in the right. The whale with an open mouth of sharp teeth is pulled from the ocean onto the beach. In the background, two men run, and palm trees are visible in the right. Merrick Thread Co. was founded in 1865 by Timothy Merrick, Austin Merrick, and Origen Hall in Mansfield, Connecticut. After its founding, the company established mills in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1898, the company merged with thirteen other independent thread and yarn manufacturers to form the American Thread Company., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso promotes Merrick Thread Co.'s best six cord soft finish spool cotton for machine & hand sewing and offers patrons "two lithoed water-color engravings" and "Sunshine for Little Children" on receipt of twenty-five cents., 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.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Merrick [P.2002.30]
[J. & P. Coat's thread trade cards]
Title
[J. & P. Coat's thread trade cards]
Description
Series of trade cards promoting J.&. P. Coats thread and depicting men, women and children performing a variety of activities with the thread, including a white girl swinging on a tree swing; a white man fishing in a stream while a white woman watches; and several white children pretending to be a horse team. Includes a large frog on a riverbank. "So do my sisters and my cousins and my aunts!" depicts an older white woman carrying packages. "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" based on Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" shows an oversized Gulliver being tied down with thread by the Lilliputians. "That's the kind! Bring me some more" depicts an older white woman inspecting different colored spools of thread in a box held up by a white boy. "Ef dis don't fetch you nothing will" depicts an African American man and woman, portrayed in racist caricature, trying to tame a donkey. In the left, the woman, attired in a white bonnet with a red ribbon, a red shirt, a blue scarf, a yellow shirt, a white apron, and gray shoes, uses thread from an enormous J. & P. Coats spool to pull on the bridle on the donkey, who pulls back with its mouth open. Behind the donkey, the man stands, attired in a brown, brimmed hat, a red shirt, blue plaid pants, and blue shoes, who holds a rope in his left hand and scratches his head with his left hand. "We never fade!" depicts an African American boy, portrayed in racist caricature, sitting on an oversized spool of thread in a field. Shows the boy seated and with his legs straddling a giant spool of black thread. He says “we never fade!!” and points his finger at the sun, which has a face and a concerned expression with a downward turned mouth. The boy is barefoot and attired in a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows; a multi-colored tie and belt; and red pants rolled up to the knees. In the foreground, two black crows look at the thread. A house is visible in the right background., Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title supplied by cataloger., Five prints printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Ten prints contain advertising text printed on versos, including promotions for J. & P. Coat's best six cord, soft finish spool cotton; a table of needle and thread numbers; a calendar for 1880; and a description of "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" illustration (on recto of print 1975.F.220)., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1999. Purchase 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Coats [1975.F.123; 1975.F.126; 1975.F.133; 1975.F.150; 1975.F.157; 1975.F.193; 1975.F.195; 1975.F.220; 69211.D; P.9743; P.9984.4]
Joe Michl
Title
Joe Michl's fifty little orphans
Description
Small display card depicting a montage of children's and baby's faces, heads, and busts, including one African American child. Two children, prominently shown in the foreground, hold hands, and a cigar. Some children wear bonnets and ribbons on their heads. A few children wear outfits with lace collars and shoulder straps with bows. Most of the "little orphans" smile, while others cry and frown. Michel established his cigar business as a partnership in Decatur in 1858. He predominantly operated as a sole proprietor from 1863 to 1903. His cigars were known for their standard of excellence., Contains hole for hanging in upper edge., Advertising text on verso: Smoke the "Little Orphan" cigar. Best on Earth for 5 Cents. Manufactured by Jos. Michl., Decatur, Ill., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., George S. Harris started his printing business in 1847, and in 1872, he partnered with his son George T. Harris and renamed the business George Harris & Son.
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *trade card - Michel [P.2013.59]
Liberty Stove Works
Title
Liberty Stove Works, Philadelphia. Iron King Cook improved
Description
Trade card for the Philadelphia stove manufacturer showing an African American house cook showing off the households's new "Iron King" stove to a baker delivering pies. The woman in kerchief, shawl, checkered dress and apron points to the stove and states "No more of your pies. The Missus has one of dem Iron King Stove -Shure Baker" to the baker in a baker's hat, smock, apron, and holding a square basket of pies. A kettle, frying pan, pot, and dutch oven rest on the burners of the stove that is marked "Chas. Noble & Co., Philada." Scene also shows a partial view of the baker's delivery wagon (advertising pastry and bread) outside of the open kitchen door. Founded as Abbott & Lawrence in 1851, later renamed Abbott & Noble in 1858, the stove manufactory was reestablished as Charles Noble & Co. in 1870., Advertising text of distributor on verso: Giersh, Senseman & Co., Manufacturers of Tinware, and Dealers in Stoves, Tinware, &c. An Examination of Our Stock Solicited. Sign: Big Coffee Pot. Agents for sale of the Improved Iron King Cool Salem, N.C., Printed on recto: Centennial Award 1876 Philada., Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program.
Date
[ca. 1876]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Noble [P.2014.16.1]
Mason's challenge blacking. James S. Mason & Co., nos. 138 & 140 North Front Street, Philadelphia.
Title
Mason's challenge blacking. James S. Mason & Co., nos. 138 & 140 North Front Street, Philadelphia
Description
Advertisement depicting a "shoe blacking" competition between two African American shoe shiners to promote the manufactory of blacking established in 1832 by James S. Mason. Shows two African American men, portrayed in racist caricature, holding a brush, a canister of "Mason's" blacking, and a boot, while they dance on a table. An African American man fiddler sits on a stool and plays. In the foreground, a white man holds an oversized boot. A white shoe shine boy, his pack on his back, stands behind an older man holding his arm as he points at his reflection in the boot. In the left background, a troop of white Union soldiers marches in behind a parade marshal adorned in "M" insignias. The men carry a banner reading "Mason's (Original) Challenge Blacking (Philadelphia)," as well as boots, and signs spelling "M-A-S-O-N." In the right background, a crowd of spectators, including figures likely representing Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and possibly France, stand and watch the competition attentively. Scene also includes boxes of Mason's Challenge Blacking. Following the death of Mason in 1888, his son Richard assumed the business which was in operation into the 20th century., Title from item., Date inferred from directory listings for the artist and engravers., Attributed by cataloger to Francis H. Schell, but possibly by Frederick B. Schell., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator
Schell, Francis H., 1834-1909, artist
Date
[ca. 1863]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Ph Pr - 11x14 - Advertisements - M [P.2013.51]
Mechanical target and gun. Mutual Novelty Manufacturing Co., 813 Girard Ave., Philadelphia, Pa.
Title
Mechanical target and gun. Mutual Novelty Manufacturing Co., 813 Girard Ave., Philadelphia, Pa
Description
Illustrated flier for "comic head" mechanical target issued by the Mutual Novelty Manufacturing Company. Contains image of target (Patented Aug 28 1877), which includes the racist, comic head of an African American clown, portrayed in caricature with a slack jaw and grotesque features, and pictorial details of the "Target Arrow" (Pat. Sep. 5 1876). Flier also contains vignette of "Toy Target Arrow For Boys and Girls." Shows a child's hand pulling the arrow through an egg-shaped barrel. Vignette surrounded by advertising text reading "Throws the Arrow very accurately, and affords hours of amusement for both young and old. Made of hard wood, finely polished, beautifully colored. Price, per gross, $35.00 nett. Sample, by mail, 50 cts." Mutual Novelty Manufacturing Co. operated until at the least the 1920s., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Several lines of advertising text printed below image explicating the size, construction, price, and shipping of toy, and advertising potential of "Target and Envelope." Text also includes the solicitation that "Agents can earn over $30,000 weekly, and Canvassers from house to house more than $3.00 daily, selling our different Novelties. We would like to make you an Agent, and if you send out Sub Agents you can make upwards of $2,000 yearly.", Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1877]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Ph Pr - 8x10 - Advertisements - M [P.2013.36.4]
Philadelphia, western & southern trade journal. Illustrated supplement
Title
Philadelphia, western & southern trade journal. Illustrated supplement Devoted to the commercial and manufacturing interests of Philadelphia
Description
Advertisement supplement containing 23 titled vignettes depicting and promoting prominent landmarks and businesses within Philadelphia. Landmarks include the State House; Girard College; U.S. Mint at Chestnut and Juniper streets; Merchants' Exchange; Chamber of Commerce at Dock and Walnut streets; Custom House at 420 Chestnut Street; Carpenters' Hall; the Navy Yard at Southwark; and Fairmount Water Works. Businesses include George W. Plumly, paper box manufacturer; Harrison, Havemeyer & Co.'s Franklin Steam Sugar Refinery; R. & G.A. Wright, manufacturers of fine perfumery; F. Gutekunst, photographer; Brooke, Colket & Co., commission merchants; McKeone VanHaagen & Co. Soap Works; Henry Disston's Keystone Saw, Tool & Steel works; Seyfert, McManus & Co.'s Reading Iron Works; Charles Magarge & Co., dealers in paper; Howsons' United States & Foreign Patent Offices; Wilson, Childs & Co., Philadelphia Plantation & Road Wagon Works; Dohan & Taitt, tobacco commission merchants; Lafourcades Brothers & Irwin, importers of cloths, cassimeres & vestings; and Lockwood's Paper Collar Factory. Also contains several passages of text recounting the history of the city and describing the depicted landmarks., Title from item., Various delineators and engravers, including Van Ingen & Snyder, Matthias Reiff Longacre, and Lauderbach & Schell., Accessioned 1992., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1868]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***Ph Pr - Government Buildings [P.9384a-w]
Photographing the Baby
Title
Photographing the baby
Description
Trade card after an 1870 Sol Eytinge Harper's Weekly illustration with white figures depicting a racist, caricaturized genre scene to promote the coach varnish firm Clarence Brooks & Co. Scene shows a white photographer taking the portrait of an African American toddler in hi studio. The African American figures are portrayed with caricatured and exagerrated features. In the right, the white photographer stands next to his camera and tripod. He holds a cloth in his right hand, at his side, and a yellow-colored, monkey-like string puppet in his raised left hand. He wears a beard and is attired in a long brown jacket and blue striped pants. Between him and his young sitter is a framed advertisement above maroon paneling on an olive-colored wall. The advertisement reads: "Clarence Brooks & Co., Fine Coach Varnishes, Cor. West & West 12th Sts." In the left, the African American girl sits stiffly on a plush, green arm chair. Her eyes are opened wide in a surprised expression. She wears a sleeveless pink dress with blue bows at the shoulders. Behind her, in the doorway, are two African American women. The younger woman, likely to be perceived as the girl's mother, peers around from the left of the doorway. She wears a stylish hat, white blouse, and red bow at her neck. An older woman, likely to be perceived as the girl's grandmother, stands in the right of the doorway. She wears a brown-colored bonnet with a large bow around her chin and a brown-colored dress and shawl. Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In the early 1880s the firm issued calendars illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes, often after Sol Eytinge Harper's Weekly illustrations., Title from item., Publication date inferred from dates of activity of publisher (1888-1892) as cited in Jay Last, The Color Explosion (Santa Ana: Hillcrest Press, 2005)., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program (Junto 2015)., Housed with the Emily Phillips Advertising Card Collection., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Creator
National Bank Note Co.
Date
[ca. 1890]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Brooks [P.2016.17.1]
Photography under a cloud.
Title
Photography under a cloud Perry is selling the nicest lot of fine combs, dressing combs, barber combs and misses circle combs, made from rubber, horn or celluloid; from 5 cts. to $1. Remember Perry's Drug Store, Canastota
Description
Racist trade card illustration depicting a group of barefooted African American men and boys, portrayed in caricature, looking on as a photographer takes a photograph of them. In the left, a boy, attired in a blue jacket, and a man, attired in an orange collared shirt and yellow pants, stand and look at the camera. In the center, a man, attired in a yellow shirt and pink pants, stands directly in front of the camera and peers into the lens. In the right, a boy, attired in an orange shirt and blue pants, crawls toward the scene on all fours. The photographer is crouched under a cloak. Visible in the background is a woman standing beside a cabin., Title from item., 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, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - P [P.9828.6598]
[Proof vignette of Southern planter and scenes from the South]
Title
[Proof vignette of Southern planter and scenes from the South]
Description
Proof vignette that was probably to be incorporated into a larger print. Shows a white man plantation owner, seated on a bale of cotton, surrounded by Southern agricultural iconography, including a twig of cotton, a mill building, and Black men laborers, possibly enslaved men, picking in a cotton field near a docked side-wheel paddle steamer. A horse-drawn wagon by a line of people is visible at the dock. Contains registration marks and a color mark., Title supplied by cataloger., Gift of David Doret, 2007., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1860 - ca. 1870]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC-Allegories [P.2007.39.25]
R. & G.A. Wright. Manufacturers of fine perfumery &c. 624 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Title
R. & G.A. Wright. Manufacturers of fine perfumery &c. 624 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa
Description
Exterior view of the storefront of the perfumery established in 1860. Building is adorned with an American flag. Also shows street and pedestrian traffic, including: clusters of men, women, and children pedestrians walking on the sidewalk; a horse-drawn carriage traveling down the street; and an African American paper boy running among the crowds., Vignette in the Philadelphia, western & southern trade journal. Illustrated supplement. (P.9384a-w), Accessioned 1992., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Van Ingen & Snyder, a partnership between William H. Van Ingen and Henry M. Snyder, was active from about 1853 until 1871.
Creator
Van Ingen & Snyder, engraver
Date
[ca. 1868]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***Ph Pr - Government Buildings [P.9384l]
[Series of Clarence E. Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes, cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y. racist 1880 calendar illustrations after the "Blackville" series] [graphic].
Title
[Series of Clarence E. Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes, cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y. racist 1880 calendar illustrations after the "Blackville" series]
Description
Series of twelve captioned illustrations from the Clarence Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes 1880 calendar portraying scenes after the racist “Blackville” series drawn by Sol Eytinge for “Harper’s Weekly” in the 1870s and depicting caricatures satirizing the social mores, customs, and daily lives of African Americans of all classes. The figures are portrayed with exaggerated features and mannerisms. The attire of the figures includes long-sleeved dresses, shirtwaists and skirts, smocks, shirt, pants, jackets, and caps, and hats. Some of the attire depicted, particularly for younger figures, is worn and/or tattered. Includes scenes from the Eytinge Blackville series within a series - “the twins” (March, May, September illustrations). Scenes are titled (sometimes with text in the vernacular) and depict “The First Ulster in Blackville” (January) of a winter scene showing African American children, attired in shirts, pants, or skirts and hats or bonnets, paused from a snowball fight as an African American man in a blue ulster (an overcoat with hood), holding a cane, and smoking walks between them; “Christmas Dinner Done!” (February) showing an older African American man, attired in an overcoat, pants, and hat, and African American boy, attired in a shirt, pants, and a hat with a scarf tied around his head and chin, in a field, and watching a rabbit run away from a trap held by the boy; “Love in Blackville. The Wooing of the Twins” (March) showing African American women twins, each being courted by an African American man within an open room that has a stove and mantle as their older African American parents “watch” from a doorway;, "April-Fools Day-An Aggravated Case (April) showing an older African American woman, with an upset expression, standing in front of a row of cabins and near a basket of cabbages on a town block, and holding a dead rat within a cabbage as she is watched by two snickering African American boys, the practical jokers, standing within the opening to an alley; "The Great Social Event at Blackville. The Wed"ding of the Twins" (May) showing two African American women twin brides and their grooms within a parlor, near a table of food, being married by a reverend in front of friends and family of all ages; "The Coaching Season in Blackville._ The Grand Start" (June) showing an African American driver pulling at the reins of an unruly four-mule team coach of which African American passengers of all ages sit in and on the cab as African American towns folk wave from a line of cabins in the background and an African American boy and dog run past the wheel of the vehicle; "The 'Fourth' in Blackville" (July) showing a fenced paddock in which an African American boy holds an American flag in one hand and a gun in the other by a group of African American children and a woman who run, cover their eyes, jump the fence, and shield each other under the sight of an African American man in the window of an adjacent cabin; “Hi Abe Come Under De Brellar! Does Your Want to Sunstruck Yerself! De Fremoniter’s Gone Up Moren a Foot!” (August) showing a group of African American children of different ages, under a torn umbrella held by the tallest child, a girl, and approaching a young African American boy, “Abe,” within a fenced yard with a pond and patches of greenery and across from a cabin in which an African American man and woman, stand and sit in the doorway;, “After Doing Paris and the Rest of Europe, The Bridal Party Return to Blackville" (September) showing “the twins” on promenade with their husbands and an African American women caregiver holding their two babies as they walk on a dirt path lined by African American townsfolks of all ages who stare and also include an older woman who laughs behind a tree; "Who Struck De Futest?” (October) showing an older African American man, seated outside a cabin, and holding up a switch to two African American boys, in worn clothing, standing within the yard, near a broken object, and across from an African American girl in the cabin doorway and three boys seated and looking over a fence lining the property in the background; The “Small Breeds” Thanksgiving-Return of the First-Born from College 'Bress His Heart! Don’t he look edgecated?' ”(November) showing a young African American man portrayed in disheveled attire and manner as though drunk entering the door to his family, including a grandmother figure and a child in a high chair, at dinner around a cloth-covered table; and “No Small Breed Per Yer Uncle Abe Dis Chris'mas! Ain’t He a Cherub?” (December) showing “Uncle Abe,” an African American man holding a large, plucked turkey (with head and feet) near his chest and on a table surrounded by older women and child-aged family members who stand near a chest of drawers, a stool, and two windows with curtains visible in the background. Exterior scenes also often include a dog or cat, or a cabin or cabins, the latter marked “Clarence Brooks & Co. Fine Coach Varnishes. Cor. West & West 12th St. N.Y.” in the background; as well as fencing, groves of trees, and dirt paths. Interior scenes often include a dining table, chairs, displays of food and household items, such as a candlestick and framed prints advertising Clarence Brooks & Co. April-Fools Day image includes a cobble-stone street., Clarence Brooks established his varnish business in 1859 as Brooks and Fitzgerald, later Clarence Brooks & Co. In the early 1880s the firm issued calendars illustrated with African American caricatures in genre scenes, often after Sol Eytinge Harper’s Weekly illustrations., Title supplied by cataloger., Publication information inferred from image content and similar material issued by Clarence Brooks & Co. during the early 1880s., Two of the series contains ornamented borders (P.2022.8.2 & 4)., All of the prints inscribed in pencil on the verso with the name of a month, some abbreviated, between January and December., Image for “The First Ulster in Blackville” (P.2022.8.1) originally published in Harpers Weekly, March 18, 1876., Image for “Love in Blackville. The Wooing of the Twins” (P.2022.8.3) originally published in Harpers Weekly, May 11, 1878., Image for The Great Social Event at Blackville. The Wedding of the Twins (P.2022.8.5) originally published in Harpers Weekly, July 13, 1878., Image for “The Coaching Season in Blackville._ The Grand Start” (P.2022.8.6) originally published in Harpers Weekly, September 28, 1878., Image for “The ‘Fourth’ in Blackville” (P.2022.8.7) originally published in Harpers Weekly, July 14, 1877., Image for “After Doing Paris and the Rest of Europe, The Bridal Party Return to Blackville” (P.2022.8.9) originally published in Harpers Weekly, October 26, 1878., Image for “Who Struck de Futest” (P.2022.8.10) originally published in Harpers Weekly, June 13, 1874., Image for “No Small Breed fer yer Uncle Abe….” (P.2022.8.12) originally published in Harpers Weekly, January 1, 1876., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC
Date
[1879]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera - calendars - C [P.2022.8.1-12]
Smith Brothers chemically pure Borax.
Title
Smith Brothers chemically pure Borax
Description
Racist trade card advertising soap manufacturers the Smith Brothers and depicting the white woman head of house with three of her women housekeepers while they use Borax to complete various tasks in the kitchen. In the center, the mistress of the house, attired in a red dress with a white collar and cuffs, applies Borax onto a white cloth held by a white housekeeper. In the left, a white housekeeper sprinkles Borax over a group of cockroaches on the floor in front of the stove. In the right, the African American woman housekeeper, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots, a yellow dress with red stripes, white stockings, and tan shoes, stands before a wash basin with her hands in the soapy water. Behind her a clothesline full of white sheets hang. Brothers Frank and Julius Smith established Smith Brothers Borax in 1874. In 1888, Frank Smith incorporated his new company, Pacific Coast Borax., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso provides directions and various uses for Smith Brothers' Borax, including washing, starching, preventing moths, removing cockroaches, dressing ulcers, wounds, bruises, sprains, and chilblains, removing inflammation, bathing, arresting fermentation and cleaning clothes., Distributor's imprint print on verso: Githens & Rexsamer, 40 and 42 South Front Sts., Philadelphia., 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.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Smith Brothers [1975.F.751]
Smoke Day's standard Durham smoking tobacco
Title
Smoke Day's standard of the world Durham smoking tobacco
Description
Racist advertisement for J.R. Day and Brother smoking tobacco depicting a horse race between two African American men jockeys, portrayed in caricature. In the right, the jockey, attired in a blue and yellow cap and long-sleeved shirt, yellow pants, and riding boots, grimaces as he holds the reins to his white horse. The winning jockey, attired in a red and white striped cap and long-sleeved shirt, yellow pants, and riding boots, grasps the reins as his body lifts off of his brown horse. He screams, “Bound to win!” In the background, white men, all smoking pipes with "Day's Standard" tobacco, watch the race from a spectators' box behind a fence inscribed, "They all smoke it?" James R. Day left W.T. Blackwell & Co. in 1878 and applied for a patent for his smokeless tobacco in 1879., Title from item., Date inferred from operation of the advertised business., Text printed below image: Manufactured by Jas. R. Day, Late of the firm of W.T. Blackwell & Co. for J.R. Day & Bro, Durham, N.C., Gift of Carol Baldridge, 1997., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC - Advertisements [P.9525]
Sugar Cane plantation
Title
Sugar cane plantation
Description
Postcard depicting a group portrait of male African American sugarcane workers, including several boys, posed in a sugarcane field. Most of the workers, stand and hold canes, while two boys sit on reaped cane in the foreground. A wooded area is seen in the background., Date inferred from postmark: New Orleans, May 13, 1911, 9AM., Addressed in manuscript to: Mr. John Wilson, 318 N. Jardin St., Shenandoah, Penna. Signed H.F.M., Contains cancelled one-cent stamp printed in green ink and depicting Benjamin Franklin in profile., Gift of George R. Allen., Divided back.
Date
[ca. 1911]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP postcards - Non-Pennsylvania [P.2013.65.19]
The United States Centennial International Exhibition.
Title
The United States Centennial International Exhibition
Description
Share certificate issued by the Centennial Board of Finance containing a series of historical and allegorical vignettes, scenes, and figures. Vignettes depict a view on a coastline showing a white man, attired in colonial dress, reaping with a sickle beside a white man driving a plow in front of a steer-drawn conestoga wagon, a moving train, and sailing ships; the signing of the Declaration of Independence; and a scene depicting a Native American man, attired in pants and moccasins with a feather in his hair and a quiver of arrows on his back, covering his face from the sight of a dilapidated windmill near rows of industrial buildings spewing smoke. Along the sides figures include: tradesmen; laborers; soldiers; frontiersmen; inventors, including Benjamin Franklin; Native Americans; and an African American man reading. In the top center, allegorical figures of Liberty, Art, and Peace, portrayed as white women, accept offerings from representations of people from across the world, including African women; a woman attired in a turban, a person with a parrot on their shoulder, and an Asian man with a queue. Also contains: busts of George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant; an eagle holding an American flag; views of the State House and Capitol; and the printed seal of the Centennial Board of Finance. The Centennial Exhibition of 1876 celebrated the centennial of the United States through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art., Title from item., P.2002.67.77 issued to Margaret R. Bringhurst for one share on October 20, 1875. Signed by Fred. Fraley, Treasurer; and John Welsh, President., 5788.F.10 issued to Mary Norris Logan for one share on November 10, 1876. Signed by Fred. Fraley, Treasurer; and John Welsh, President., Printed on recto: Shares $10. Each. Capital $10,000,000., P.2002.67.66 poor condition., Gift of Helen Beitler, 2002 [P.2002.67.66]., Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of Centennial and Columbian Exposition views [5758.F.10. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator
United States, Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Date
[ca. 1872]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *Philadelphia certificates - Centennial [P.2002.67.77], Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **Philadelphia certificates - Centennial [5758.F.10]
The Universal clothes wringer. What Dina, six o'clock and not done yet! And look at these torn clothes. Oh mistis de wringing am awful, always tear de clothes 'spect dat I neber get through
Title
The Universal clothes wringer
Description
Metamorphic trade card promoting the American Wringer Company's Universal Wringer. Depicts a racist "before and after" scene with and without the product. The before scene shows an African American laundress "Dinah" wringing clothes by hand over a tub. She states in vernacular speech that "de wringing am awful." A white woman chastises her to "look at these torn clothes." She holds up a square shaped cloth with tears. A clock is visible in the background. The women are shown as bust-length. Dinah wears a kerchief, an open collared shirt, and her sleeves are rolled up. The after scene shows a smiling "Dinah," wringing laundry with a "Universal" clothes wringer under the happy gaze of her employer. The women reach a hand out to one another. Dinah wears a high ruffled collar shirtwaist with a bow at her neck, long sleeves, an apron, and kerchief. A clock rests on a sideboard in the background. The American Wringer Company was established about 1861 and operated until at least the early 20th century. The company often provided a clock as a premium to purchase their laundry equipment., Title from item., Date inferred from attire of figures depicted., Text printed on recto: Oh mistis de wringing am awful, always tear de clothes 'spect dat I neber get through. What Dinah, six o'clock and not done yet! And look at these torn clothes. "What Dinah! Finished washing so soon! Why it's only three o'clock." "Hi golly! Mistis, been done dese two hours dis chile hab no more trouble, since you done got dis wringer. Neber tear de clothes neder., Advertising text on verso: The Universal Wringer Has the Following Points of Superiority. 1. Rolls of Solid White Rubber. 2. Rowell's Double Cog-wheels. 3. Two Independent Pressure Screws. 4. Double cogs at both ends of each Roll. 5. Folding Apron or Clothes Guide. 6. Rocking Springs of wood and rubber. N. P. Baker, Dealer in General Merchandise, Sunapee, N. H., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - American [113420.D]
Use Merrick's thread. "Gully this cotton beats 'em all!" [graphic].
Title
Use Merrick's thread. "Gully this cotton beats 'em all!"
Description
Racist trade card promoting Merrick thread and depicting a domestic scene of an older African American man sewing. Shows the man, in a cabin setting, seated atop a stool, his feet slightly turned in, and mending the seat of a pair of blue pants. The man holds the pants in his left hand and pulls a needle and thread through a patch on the pants in his right. The thread comes from a large spool beside the man which is marked with "Merrick Thread Co. Best Six Cord 8" logo. Behind the man is a window with a sill, which is lined with potted plants. A candle holder rests on a shelf attached to the wall below the window. The man is attired in a red button-down shirt, blue suspenders, brown pants, and brown shoes. Merrick Thread Co. was founded in 1865 by Timothy Merrick, Austin Merrick, and Origen Hall in Mansfield, Connecticut. After its founding, the company established mills in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1898, the company merged with thirteen other independent thread and yarn manufacturers to form the American Thread Company., Title from item., Date inferred from content and genre of print., Advertising text printed on verso: Buy Merrick Thread Co's best six cord soft finish spool cotton for machine & hand sewing warranted 200 yds. also these threads are made from the finest quality of combed sea island cotton, and for strength, evenness, elasticity and smoothness surpass anything in the market. By the use of the "ready wound bobbins" the annoyance of winding the iron bobbin is done away with, and a more perfect stitch obtained. When in want of more thread, don't fail to ask for Merrick's., See related copy: Goldman Trade Card Collection - Merrick [P.2017.95.122], Gift of George Allen, 2022., RVCDC
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade cards - M - Merrick [P.2022.42.10]
[Van Stan's Stratena and Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil trade cards]
Title
[Van Stan's Stratena and Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil trade cards]
Description
Series of illustrated trade cards for products produced by Van Stans Stratena Co. in Philadelphia. One racist card entitled, "Great lecture on Van Stan's Stratena by Julius Augustus Cesar at Ethiopian Hall," after the 1878 Sol Eytinge illustration "Blackville, 1878" depicts an African American man, portrayed in racist caricature, lecturing on a stage in front of an audience of well-dressed African American men. The lecturer, attired in a brown jacket, a tan waistcoat, a white shirt with gold cuff links, a white bowtie, blue pants, and black shoes, leans on a wooden table labeled "Van Stan's Stratena." Rolls of paper stick out of his back pocket, and his upturned top hat is visible underneath the table. A decorative object advertising Stratena and a cup sit on the table. He speaks in the vernacular, "one drop of dis yere Stratena on de conscience of a politician will make him stick to his principles. One drop on de marriage certificate will prevent de divorce court from separating you from de wife of your bosom. Do you heah me! Gentlemen I am a talking." Other illustrations include a double-sided metamorphic trade card showing white women and children upset when their objects and toys are broken and happy after using Van Stans Stratena to repair them and, on the other side, two white men and a white woman cringing while taking a dose of cod liver oil, but smiling after taking Van Stan's Emulsion of Cod Liver Oil. Card shows two white boys' jackets glued together by Stratena after they sat in it. A white boy standing nearby laughs and says, "Ha! ha! ha! No use boys!!! Been sitting in Van Stan's Stratena. Ha! ha! Ha!!", Another series of illustrations entitled, "Marriage a-la-mode. Matter of money," "Marriage a-la-mode. The result," and "The marriage of the future," depicts a white man and woman couple being wed by a white man standing under a sign reading "License marriage fee. $1.00" and a dog standing behind the groom thinking, "I'll be dog-goned if this is anything more than a matter of cur-ency and my privileges are sure to be cur-tailed. Give him a bone." A subsequent scene shows the husband running away from his wife, two children and chaotic household. His wife runs after him with a frying pan as the toddler in the background cries, "Father dear father come home," and the baby, lying on the floor, cries "No one to love me." The final scene shows a wedding ceremony in the "Tabernacle hearts cemented" with the officiator standing before the bride and groom announcing, "with this Stratena I thee wed." The groom replies, "One consolation, if I ever break her heart, I can mend it with Van Stans Stratena." The bride counters, "I'll stick to him through thick and thin.", Title supplied by cataloger., Printers and engravers include Chas. Shields' Sons (New York) and E. Ketterlinus & Co. (Philadelphia)., Advertising text printed on versos promotes Van Stan's Emulsion of Pure Norwegian Cod-Liver Oil and Van Stan's Stratena cement to repair glass, china, marble, iron, bone, jewelry, jet, coral, leather, wood, earthenware, porcelain, ornaments, lamp shades, metals, Meerschaum pipes, billiard cues, and leather belting., 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.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Van Stan's [1975.F.888-890 & 1975.F.892-894]
Waterbury Drug Store, established 1797. Leavenworth & Dikeman, Exchange Place, Waterbury, Conn.
Title
Waterbury Drug Store, established 1797. Leavenworth & Dikeman, Exchange Place, Waterbury, Conn
Description
Series of illustrated trade cards containing "Fishing" showing a white man and woman couple fishing in a rowboat with a pet dog that has its head in their picnic basket; "Caught on the fly" depicting a white man attached to the hook of his own fishing rod as he stands next to a stream; "We met by chance, or waiting for the swell" showing a white man floating on a wave in the ocean and colliding with a white woman as she stands in the ocean near other white women and children; "What are the wild waves saying sister?" depicting a boy, attired in overalls and a wide-brimmed hat, standing next to his sister, attired in a bonnet and long-sleeved dress, looking out at the ocean with their backs to the viewer; "Oh, come and see us" showing a group of white children standing in a pond jeering at an older, white man who stands on dry land in the foreground; and "Scoot, brother scoot!" depicting an African American boy and girl holding hands and scurrying from the approaching waves of the ocean. Leavenworth & Dikeman, the partnership between Elisha Leavenworth and Nathan Dikeman, operated in Waterbury, Connecticut between 1850-1890., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of advertised business., Four prints [P.9828.7033-7036] printed by Phoenix Card Co., N.Y., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - W [P.9828.7031-7036]
Your home is not complete without the Missouri Steam Washer. The best washing machine in the world. Johnston Bro's. St. Louis. Philadelphia.
Title
Your home is not complete without the Missouri Steam Washer. The best washing machine in the world. Johnston Bro's. St. Louis. Philadelphia There are more Missouri Steam Washers sold than all other washing machines in the world combined
Description
Trade card for the small portable washing machine invented by George D. Ferris and marketed by Johnston Bros., "General Agents for the United States." Depicts two male fairies, one white and one African American, presenting a "Missouri Steam Washer. Pat'd. May 1, 1883" to a white woman who stands over a washboard in a wash tub. Steam rises from the tub filled with clothes. The African American fairy, portrayed in racist caricature with orange wings and attired in blue pants with suspenders, pushes in the metal washing machine on a dolly, while the other fairy points to it. The African American fairy image was often used in newspaper advertisements for the machine that operated through placement on a family cook stove, internal perforated steam tubes, and a crank to keep the clothes in motion during washing., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1884., Contains five testimonials, including one by G. R. Brandt and Harry E. Brandt (Hurricane Laundry, 232 New Street), Philadelphia, Pa., printed on verso., Purchased with funds from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date
1884
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Johnston [P.2013.35.1]