No more Chinese cheap labor. Celluloid cuffs, collars & bosoms. [graphic].
Title
No more Chinese cheap labor. Celluloid cuffs, collars & bosoms
Description
Trade card containing an illustration depicting a racist scene with the figures of Uncle Sam and America, and a Chinese man laundry worker. In the left, the laundry worker, wearing his hair in a queue and attired in a long-sleeved, orange tunic; long, wide-legged, white pants; and orange slip-on, cloth shoes; sits on an over-turned wooden wash tub. His eyes are closed, and he holds his head down in his left hand. His left leg is crossed over his right, and his right hand is on his left ankle. To his left, the white woman figure of Columbia/America, looks down at the laundry worker and points up with her right hand. In her left hand, she holds up a shield with the pattern of the American flag and marked "Invention." She wears her dark hair pulled back to the nape of her neck and is attired in a gown with the pattern of the American flag, a red and blue cap adorned with a white star, and sandals. An open box of spilled starch lies between her feet and those of the laundry worker. Behind the laundry worker, is a laundry iron on a shelf, Chinese characters written on a wall, and Uncle Sam resting his arms on the ledge of an opening in the wall. Uncle Sam has red hair and a beard and is attired in a top hat, a blue jacket with a white star pattern, a red neck tie, and white shirt with the collar turned up. He looks at America. Above his head is the sign "Gon Up Chinese Laundry." Patented during the 1860s and 70s, separable celluloid collars, unlike separable paper collars, were waterproof and longer lasting, as well as fashionable and affordable. Following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the celluloid collar industry leveraged the racist legislation to promote the use of celluloid collars as patriotic and as a means to make Chinese launderers obsolete and to facilitate the end of Chinese immigration., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Includes advertising text printed on verso: A New Improvement-Patented. Waterproof Linen. Waterproof-Elastic-Durable. Ladies' & Gents' Cuffs Collars, [Bossa]ms, Made From Celluloid. In Introducing this new invention [italicized], we beg to call the attention of the public to some of the remarkable features of this "new departure," [italicized], which will commend the use of these goods to all who study economy, neatness, and beauty [italicized]. 1st. The Interior is Fine Linen. 2d. The Exterior is Celluloid. 3d. The Union of Above, Combines the Strength of Linen With The Waterproof Qualities of Celluloid. 4th. The Expense of Washing Is Saved. If The Goods Are Soiled Simply Wipe Them Off With Soap And Water. 5th. The Goods Never Wilt Or Fray On Edges. 6th. They Are Perspiration Proof. For Sale by All Gents' Furnishing & Fancy Goods Houses throughout the Country., Image caption: "Othello's occupation gone." The Hand Writing on the Wall., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC
Date
[ca. 1882]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Celluloid [P.2021.20.1]
“Universal family” Soapine, Kendall Mfg. Co., Providence, R.I. [graphic].
Title
“Universal family” Soapine, Kendall Mfg. Co., Providence, R.I
Description
Racist trade card promoting Kendall Manufacturing Co.’s Soapine and depicting caricatures and ethnic stereotypes of people helping Liberty wash laundry. Shows Liberty in the center personified as a white woman with blonde hair tied up in a bun attired in a blue cap with a white star and a white sleeveless dress with a red belt that has an American flag crest. She stands behind a wooden wash tub labeled “Kendall MFG Co.” that sits on top of six boxes labeled with the letter K. She spreads both of her arms out to the seven people around her. In the left, a white man with blond hair and mustache (possibly German,) holds a pipe in his mouth and is attired in a blue tunic, brown pants, and black shoes. He bends over as he carries a large box labeled “universal soap” on his back. A white Scottish man with blonde hair, attired in a blue cap with a yellow feather, a green shirt with a red sash, and a red kilt, helps a white man with black hair and mustache (possibly French) attired in a blue uniform with gold epaulettes and black shoes, carry a large straw basket filled with white laundry to the wash tub. In the right, caricatures of an African American man in a white sleeveless top, a Native American man attired with a feather headdress and blue pants with a bundle of arrows on his back, and a Chinese man with his hair styled in a queue attired in a blue tunic, brown pants, and blue, slip-on, cloth shoes, carry an oversize wash board labeled “French Laundry Soap.” In the center foreground, a white man with blonde hair and attired in a blue shirt, brown pants, blue socks, and black shoes, has fallen down on the ground. Beside him is a broken white pipe, and a small black cat runs away. Henry L. Kendall (1805-1883) founded a soap manufactory in Providence, R.I. in 1827. The Kendall Manufacturing Co. was incorporated in 1860. The Company continued to manufacture soap into the mid-20th century., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from place of operation of the advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Kendall [P.2017.95.96]
The Hunters three and O.N.T. [graphic].
Title
The Hunters three and O.N.T
Description
Circular promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting racist caricatures of African, Asian, and indigenous men. Volume also contains several lines of narrative, promotional text written as a children’s story. The front cover is a color illustration of three white "merry gentlemen" in Cololonial attire and riding on horseback as "they hunt and hunt." The men are attired in tri-corn hats; red jackets; white breeches with riding boots; and white wigs. They ride on a road towards the viewer. The figures are bordered with pictorial details of the Clark’s O.N.T trademark. The rider in the middle raised his hat with his hand. Image is reproduced in black and white on p. [2]. P. [3] shows the horsemen observe three white children standing before them whom they believe "...must be princes. They sew their clothes with O.N.T." P. [4] show the "gentlemen" observe from a distance three African Zulu men. The men drive a lion into a net made of O.N.T. thread. One man is nude except for a feather on his head and bangs a large drum labeled "Clark's O.N.T. spool thread." Another man is attired in a skirt made of palm leaves and carries a shield and arrows. A third man carries arrows and wears a feather on his head. P [5] shows the "hunters" "spy" "three happy Hottentots" who roll down a hill on large spools of Clark's thread in a "chariot race." The three African men have their hair in buns atop their heads and are attired in white shorts and hoop earrings. One man is also attired in a shell necklace, and two men hold spears. P. [6] shows the three men find a Chinese man flying a kite strung with O.N.T. thread thread and to which a Chinese boy is attached. He is seated on a rug with his back to the viewer. To his right is a pipe. His hair is styled in a queue, and he is attired in a white shirt with a vest decorated in a print of dragons and slip-on, cloth shoes., P. [7] shows the white men finding an Inuit man on a sled made from a Clark's spool and pulled over the ice by a team of dogs. The sled driver is attired in a hooded parka and boots. P. [8] the three riders encounter a Native American man reigning in a buffalo with O.N.T. thread. He is attired in knee-high boots; a patterned blanket draped around his chest; hoop earrings; and a feather headdress. P. [9] shows a view of the back of the three riders bordered by pictorial details of the Clark’s O.N.T trademark. The back cover is a color illustration of a white girl with long blonde hair attired in black boots; red stocking; a green dress; and a blue striped apron. She is seated on an oversize spool of O.N.T. thread and playing cat's cradle with a white boy. The boy is attired in a red fez; a green coat; blue stockings; and black boots. The George A. Clark & Brother Company, manufactory of embroidery and sewing thread, was founded in 1863 in Newark, N.J. The firm was renamed Clark & Co. in 1879, and in the 1880s created a six-cord, soft finished thread called "Our New Thread" or "O.N.T." The business merged with J. & P. Coats in 1896, which lead to a series of mergers with fourteen other companies. Into the 21st century, the company continues to manufacture thread under the name Coats & Clark., Title from item., Advertising text printed on verso of front cover: Use Clark's trade mark O.N.T. spool cotton on white spools! It is superior to all others for hand and machine use. Garments sewed with O.N.T. fast black will never show white on the seams after being worn or washed., Advertising text printed on verso of back cover: Use Marshall's linen thread on 200 yard spools. Guaranteed full length. Made from the bext flax, and Milward's Helix Needles in patent wrappers. For sale everywhere., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of advertised business., Distributor's name printed on p. [1]: George A. Cole, sole agent., Gift of David Doret.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.31]