[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]
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]
[Scrapbook with periodical illustrations, comic valentines, and patent medicine advertisements]
Title
[Scrapbook with periodical illustrations, comic valentines, and patent medicine advertisements]
Description
Eccentrically-arranged scrapbook predominantly containing newspaper clippings, patent medicine almanac advertisements, and comic valentines. Also contains scraps, trade cards, and labels. Clippings, many published in the sensational periodicals “National Police Gazette” and “Days’ Doings” primarily depict illustrations of murders and violence, crimes and punishments, human curiosities, animal attacks, human peril, women in distress, gender non-conforming people, evocative theatrical performances, acts of daring, and comic scenes in silhouette. Illustrations include H. P. Peer's 1879 jump from the Niagara Falls bridge and a fight between the elephant "Bolivar" and a camel in Van Amburgh's menagerie. Patent medicine advertisements primarily promote the products of Barker’s Horse, Cattle, and Poultry Powder; C. I. Hood’s Sarsaparilla; Dr. Morse’s Indian Root Pill; and E. S. Well's Rough on Rats. Valentines satirize various professions and gender and ethnic stereotypes, including a cook, music teacher, machinist, hatter, seamstress, “French nurse –(from Ireland),” “novel reader,” “prudish young woman,” and “an old bore.”, Also contains some sentimental and genre imagery, including mothers and children, children playing, and pets; landscape and cityscape illustrations; racist caricatures of African Americans; Tobin trade cards depicting comical views of baseball players (p. 21); an advertisement for The Electric Era/ German Electric Belt Agency (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Dalziel Brother illustrations of scenes from popular Charles Dickens novels like “Nicholas Nickleby”; chromoxylograph illustration from Aunt Matilda series “The Little Deserter” (McLoughlin Bros., ca. 1869); illustrated children's book covers; and a finely-designed chromolithographic advertisement depicting allegorical figures, flowers, and produce to promote gardens (Lowell, Mass.)., Title supplied by cataloger., Small number of pages contain hand-coloring., Also originally included tucked-in partial editions of N.Y. newspapers issued in 1890. Issues housed in mylar and with scrapbook., Scrap depicting two racing horses and their jockeys pasted on back cover., Housed in phase box., Purchase 2012., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date
[ca. 1869-ca. 1890, bulk 1880-1890]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *albums (flat) [P.2012.42]
[Robert Swayne collection of Philadelphia photographs] [graphic].
Title
[Robert Swayne collection of Philadelphia photographs]
Description
Collection of photographs documenting Philadelphia cityscapes, neighborhoods, landmarks, churches and benevolent institutions, businesses and factories, street views, and local events. Images depict interiors, exteriors, and alleyways. Many views include storefront signage; utility poles and street clocks; railroads and stations; and street and pedestrian traffic, as well as show the Western, Southern, and Northern sections of the city. Subjects depicted include All Saints Church (Torresdale); Cliveden; views along the Delaware River; Fairmount Park and Waterworks; Wissahickon Creek, Schuylkill River and Boathouse Row; Frankford Arsenal (1948); Philadelphia Gazette Building (924 Arch Street); the WCAU building (Bala Cynwyd) ; Rittenhouse and Logan squares; the “Clothesline Show” at Rittenhouse Square: a ca. 1930 view of a baseball game at the Baker Bowl, i.e. National League Park (2622 North Broad St.); the power house of the Westinghouse Gas Engine Machinery (Manayunk); the attic and basement of the original United State Mint (37-39 N. 7th Street, built 1792) photographed ca. 1890 by Newell & Son; interior of the second Mint Building (Broad and Chestnut);, the construction of the Delaware River, later Benjamin Franklin, Bridge (ca. 1924), Hahnemann Hospital (1928), Philadelphia Municipal, later JFK, Stadium (ca. 1926); the interior of an unidentified bakery (53rd and Vine) photographed ca. 1905 by C.H. Miller; interior and exterior of Geo. W. Einselen, Fine Cake Bakery and Ice Cream Saloon (1372 Somerset St.) photographed 1904 by Joseph Pearce; progress photographs photographed 1926 of the property of “Philadelphia Brick Co. Required for P.R.R. Temporary Track” and photographed 1921 by J.E. Bewley of and near the 3400 block of North 5th Street ; “Stephen Girard's ‘Alleged Slave Dungeons,’ Front & Market Streets uncovered by demolition” photographed 1906-1907 by John Trautwine, likely the civil engineer (P.2017.88.37.1-7); ca. 1880s studio portraits of adult and child mummers photographed by Richter & Co.; workers on scaffolding attached to the Nixon Building (20 S. 52nd St.); an exterior view photographed ca. 1873 by Newell & Son of the carpenter shop of Clarkson Fogg in front of which numerous household implements and furniture are lined, as well as men, women, and children, including a policeman are posed (449 N. 10th St.); ca. 1868 view of the 100 block of North Third Street, including the storefront for Dr. Stoever's Bitters manufactured by Kryder & Co (121 N. Third); Maryland Metal Bldg. Co. Incorporated classroom modules for the Philadelphia School District (ca. 1924); ca. 1920 advertising photos for an unidentified lighting company of examples of their work in Philadelphia manufactories with sewing machines (Greenwald Bros., Inc., 313 Arch St. and Trio Waist Co., 821 Arch St.) and of the moulding room of S.J. Cresswell Iron Works (2250 Cherry St.); the ca. 1905 interior of the cigar store of Ramon Azogue (102 S. 8th St.);, ca. 1930 view of the hairdressing salon at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel; ca. 1895 view of the interior of the Bourse (i.e., Philadelphia Stock Exchange); and a ca. 1930s exterior view of the Roxborough Home for Indigent Women (601 Leverington Avenue). Other images show a WWI benefit parade "to Keep the War Chest Filled" (1419 N. 2nd St.); a ca. 1900 lavish display of elaborately-decorated cakes photographed by William Phillipi; a posed WWI publicity still with release statements on the verso for Eastman Kodak showing Anna B. Graham with a camera and a young girl in a nurse’s uniform photographed by William F. Langrock; the storefront of a women’s owned business (Mrs. R.T. Anderson); a ca. 1920s contact sheet of variant bust-length portraits of a young woman photographed by the Lipp Studio; and the Walter Lippincott family posed on the porch of a residence., Portrait photographs, including of engraver John Sartain (P.2017.88.77.1 & 2), African American Rev. C. M. Tanner (1869-1933)(P.2018.66.4), John McAllister, Jr. and family members, and “physio-psychism” researcher Emil Sutra (P.2018.66.2) by Philadelphia photographers and occupational, school, and organizational group portrait photographs also comprise the collection. Group portraits document the Bellview Wheelmen; a class trip to the Franklin Institute; and performers attired in leotards, including jugglers, titled “Mr. Jonathan Evans, Haines & Cheer St.” Collection also includes William Stuart McFeeters family photograph album; a small number of images depicting African American men (P.2017.88.11, P.2017.88.61, P.2017.88.76.9 & 38); an organizational group portrait with a man with dwarfism (P.2018.66.15); candid snapshots, including ca. 1900 views of women using cameras along the Schuylkill River; and two film negatives depicting the WCAU building., Title supplied by cataloger., Various photographers, including Frank B. Cassel; William Bell; Berry & Homer; J. E. Bewley; Coward & Shannon; Harry A. Derr; Eagle Photo View Co.; Empire Photo Co.; H. Fetters; S.M. Fisher; Frederick Guteknust; Hansbury Studio; Henry C. Howland; Keystone Instantaneous View Company; William J. Kuebler; William F. Langrock; Lipp Studio; Charles Luedecke; F. Mattes; Monarch Photograph & Publishing Co.; Marriott C. Morris; Robert Newell; Newell & Son; Newell Studio; C. H. Miller, C. R. Pancoast; Joseph N. Pearce; William Phillipi; William Rau; Frederick DeBourg Richards; Schreiber; George Sheridan; Alfred Taylor; John Trautwine; Universal Photo Service; and W. D. Weland, Cartes-de-visite portraits of John Sartain (P.2017.88.77.1 & 2) housed separately and with cdv portraits – sitters - S., View by Schreiber of horse cart racing (1903) housed separately and with *photo – Schreiber., Cartes-de-visite portrait photographs of John McAllister, Jr. and family members (P.2017.88.79-102) housed with the McAllister Family Portrait Collection - cartes-de-visite., Electronic inventories of collection available at repository., See Lib. Company. Annual report, 2016, p. 64-65., RVCDC, Access points revised 2022., Robert Swayne (1927-2011) was a West Chester antique dealer, collector of vernacular photographs, and local writer about the Civil War.
Date
[ca. 1860-ca. 1952]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Swayne Collection [P.2017.88 & P.2018.66]
[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]
[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]
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]
Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms. [graphic] : Economical, durable, handsome.
Title
Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms Economical, durable, handsome
Description
Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting racist caricatures of Chinese men laundry workers in shock when a white man holds up a box of celluloid collars and cuffs. In the left, a white man, attired in a black bowler hat, a white collared shirt, a red bowtie and waistcoat, a blue-and-white checked suit, and black shoes, stands holding and pointing his finger to a box labeled, “Wear Celluloid Cuff & Collars.” Four Chinese men laundry workers jump up in surprise on their tiptoes with their mouths open and grimacing and their queue braids flying straight up into the air. The men have long fingernails and are attired in gold hoop earrings, colorful clothes, including yellow, red, or green tunics, and yellow or blue short pants, and cloth, slip-on shoes. In the left, one laundry worker stands behind the white man with his hands in a steaming washtub. Also visible are two baskets full of laundry on the ground, a table with irons on top, and white sheets hanging on a line. The text, “The Last Invention” is printed on the bottom right., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, Gent’s furnishing and over-gaiters, 1032 Chestnut St., S.E. Cor. of 11th., Text printed on verso: Celluloid (Waterproof linen.) Collard, cuffs and shirt bosoms. The following will commend the use of these goods to all who study convenience, neatness and economy. The interior is fine linen. The exterior is Celluloid – the union of which combines the strength of Linen with the Waterproof qualities of Celluloid. The Trouble and expense of washing is saved. When soiled simply rub with soap and water (hot or cold) used freely with a stiff brush. They are perspiration proof and are invaluable to travelers, saving all care of laundrying. Advice. In wearing the turn-down Collar, always slip the Necktie under the roll. Do not attempt to straighten the fold. The goods will give better satisfaction if the Separable Sleeve Button and Collar Button is used. Twist a small rubber elastic or chamois washer around the post of Sleeve Button to prevent possible rattling of Button, To remove Yellow Stains, which may come from long wearing, use Sapolio, Soap or Saleratus water or Celluline, which latter is a new preparation for cleansing Celluloid. Goods for sale by all dealers., RVCDC
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.728]
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]
In commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of American independence
Title
In commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of American independence
Description
Elaborate Centennial Exhibition commemorative print depicting an arched monument containing a central full-length portrait of George Washington surrounded by vignettes; allegorical figures; and religious quotes by the first president. Washington is depicted mounted on his horse. Arch is adorned with the names of the 38 states and is flanked by columns containing views representing the industries of the North, East, South, and West. Views show a white man laborer of the North chopping a tree at a waterfront, white women loom workers of the East, an overseer on horseback watching an enslaved African American man picking cotton in the South, and a white man farmer reaping his harvest with a horse-drawn plow in the West. Columns also contain allegorical figures to represent the years 1776 and 1876. Justice and Independence (depicted as white women and holding the Declaration), and a prostrate British soldier represent the year 1776 and Peace and Liberty (depicted as white woman and holding a "Ballot"), and a seated enslaved African American man free from his shackles represent the year 1876. Monument also contains views of Independence Hall and Memorial Hall (Centennial Exhibition), the scene showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and allegorical figures and emblems symbolizing the classical and industrial arts. Other pictorial elements depict the all-seeing eye; American eagle, shield, and flag; vignettes showing Washington praying, and accepting the sword of surrender from Lord Cornwallis during the American Revolution; and vignette views with dimensions of Centennial Exhibition buildings. Buildings include the Art Gallery, Main Building, Agricultural Hall, Machinery Hall, and Horticultural Hall. The centennial of the United States was celebrated through an international exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia., Not in Wainwright., Improvement copyrighted 1877 The Presbyterian Philadelphia, Pa., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 370, Gift of David Doret, 2007., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date
1876, 1877
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **BW - Centennial [P.2007.28.7]
[Scrapbook with linen pages] [graphic].
Title
[Scrapbook with linen pages]
Description
Scrapbook containing scraps, cutouts, periodical illustrations, and trade cards. Contents depict sentimental, genre, and religious scenes; images of children, animals, mothers and mothering; fancy heads; patriotic, historical, and allegorical figures, including George and Martha Washington; advertisements for Philadelphia, Hartford (Conn.), and New York businesses, including promotions for druggists, patent medicines, and soap; imagery documenting the Centennial Exhibition 1876, including portraits of prominent figures; figures in European costumes; scenes of rural life and European scenery; and landscape views. Also includes a small number of views of factories and industrial buildings; a patent medicine advertisement including an African American man servant character opening a door (p. 76); a print depicting a stanza from Robert Burn’s “The Cotter’s Saturday Night” (p. 22); illustrations of Little Red Riding Hood; the periodical cartoon “A Parent’s Vengeance” (p. 53); "La Belle Chocolatiere from the original painting by Leotard now in the Dresden Gallery" (p. 57); a cutout from a women’s fashion plate (p. 77); H.M.S. Pinafore theatrical character illustrations printed by Ledger Job Printing Office (p. 64); and a calling card for Mary S. Bassett (back inside cover)., Businesses represented include B. T. Babbit (soap); Clark’s O.N.T. (thread); C. F. Rump (leather goods); Corning & Tappan (perfumes); Marburg Bros. (tobacco); Devlin & Co. (clothiers); Dundas, Dirk & Co. (pharmacists); [Hiram] Duryea’s Starch Works; Fairbanks scales (E. & T. Fairbanks & Co.); J. Milton Brewer (druggist); C. L. Hauthaway & Sons (shoe polish); Charles S. Higgins (German laundry soap); The New York Bazar (fancy goods, Phillip Isaacs, proprietor); Demorest’s Monthly Magazine (W. J. Demorest, publisher); Edwin C. Burt (shoes); E. P. & Wm. Kellogg; Samuel Gerry & Cos. (patent medicine); Alex. Boost (analytical chemist); Chas. F. Hurd & Co. (chinaware); E. P. & Wm. Kellogg (photographers & art dealers); and Willcox & Gibbs (sewing machines)., Title supplied by cataloger., Front cover stamped: Scrap Book, Various artists, engravers, and printers including F. Beard; Illman Bros.; Ledger Job Print; L. Prang & Co.; Major & Knapp; Thomas Moran; and Shober & Carqueville., Cutouts and calling card pasted to inside front and back covers., Edges of scrapbook leaves contains stitching in different colors, including yellow, green, blue, red, lilac, and purple., Purchased with funds for the Visual Culture Program., Housed in phase box., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
Date
[ca. 1876-ca. 1879]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums - Linen [P.2013.69.1]
[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]
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]
[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]
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]
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]
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]
The celluloid corset clasps side & dress steels.
Title
The celluloid corset clasps side & dress steels Warranted not to rust. Corsets after washing. With the old style clasps in. With the new celluloid clasps in
Description
Trade card advertising celluloid corset clasps and depicting racist caricatures of Chinese men laundry workers comparing celluloid and traditional corsets. In the center, the laundry worker, wearing a queue hairstyle with the braid sticking straight out to the right and attired in gold hoop earrings, a red tunic, white pants, and blue and white cloth, slip-on shoes, smiles as he holds up a clean, white corset with celluloid clasps. In the left, the laundry worker, wearing a mustache and queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and blue and white cloth, slip-on shoes, holds a soiled and dirty corset as he opens his mouth in dismay looking at the clean corset. In the right background, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a yellow tunic, blue pants, and white cloth, slip-on shoes, washes laundry with his hands in a steaming washtub. Also visible are a basket of laundry; a corset hanging on a line; and a table with an iron on top of it., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Contains advertising text printed on verso: Celluloid corset clasps. Side and dress steels. Perspiration proof. Elastic. Durable. In introducing these improved corset clasps, &c., let us call your attention to some of the points of their superiority over all others heretofore in use. 1st.--The inferior is finely tempered clock spring steel. 2d.--The exterior is celluloid. 3d.--The combination of the two unites the strength of the steel with the rust-proof qualities of the celluloid. 4th--The trouble of ripping out and sewing in the steels every time corsets are laundried becomes unnecessary as these steels need not be taken out for that purpose. 5th--They are warranted not to rust and thus stain the corsets or other garments. 6th--They are the best steels in every particular ever offered. Sold by all dry and fancy goods dealers throughout the country., RVCDC, Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
[ca. 1885]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Celluloid [1975.F.182]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
"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]
Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms. [graphic].
Title
Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms
Description
Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese boy smoking a pipe and carrying a cane. Shows the boy, wearing a queue hairstyle with a pink bow tied at the end of his braid and attired in a colorfully patterned Chinese robe with oversized celluloid cuffs, collar, and hat, and red, slip-on, cloth shoes. He holds the smoking pipe to his lips with his left hand and carries a walking cane in his right hand., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, Gent’s furnishing and over-gaiters, 1032 Chestnut St., S.E. Cor. of 11th., Text printed on verso: Celluloid (Waterproof linen.) Collard, cuffs and shirt bosoms. The following will commend the use of these goods to all who study convenience, neatness and economy. The interior is fine linen. The exterior is Celluloid – the union of which combines the strength of Linen with the Waterproof qualities of Celluloid. The Trouble and expense of washing is saved. When soiled simply rub with soap and water (hot or cold) used freely with a stiff brush. They are perspiration proof and are invaluable to travelers, saving all care of laundrying. Advice. In wearing the turn-down Collar, always slip the Necktie under the roll. Do not attempt to straighten the fold. The goods will give better satisfaction if the Separable Sleeve Button and Collar Button is used. Twist a small rubber elastic or chamois washer around the post of Sleeve Button to prevent possible rattling of Button, To remove Yellow Stains, which may come from long wearing, use Sapolio, Soap or Saleratus water or Celluline, which latter is a new preparation for cleansing Celluloid. Goods for sale by all dealers., RVCDC
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.741]
Celluloid cuffs, collars & bosoms, water & perspiration proof [graphic].
Title
Celluloid cuffs, collars & bosoms, water & perspiration proof
Description
Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man at the beach watching a white man demonstrate the waterproof qualities of his celluloid cuffs, collar, and bosom or bib. In the center, the white man, wearing a mustache and attired in a red robe, red-and-yellow striped shorts, and white celluloid cuffs, collar, and bosom, stands in the ocean with water dripping down his clothes, showing that they are waterproof. In the right, a Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle, a red tunic, blue pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, carries two sacks of laundry and looks over at the man in the water. In the left, a white man, attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt, a red vest, yellow striped pants, and red shoes, sits on the sand holding an umbrella and wipes perspiration from his face with a handkerchief. In the background, a white man swims in the water and a boat is visible., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, 1032 Chestnut St., Phila., Text printed on verso: Waterproof linen, patented. Ladies’ and gent’s cuffs, collars and bosoms, made from celluloid. Waterproof, elastic, durable. These goods are far superior to any Linen Goods yet placed before the public, and in recommending them, we would call attention to some of their remarkable features, which will commend their use to all who study economy, neatness and beauty. 1sr. The interior is fine linen. 2d. The exterior is celluloid. 3d. The unison of above, combines the strength of linen with the waterproof qualities of celluloid, 4th. The expense of washing is saved. If the goods are soiled, simply cleanse with soap and water. 5th. The goods never wilt or fray on edges and are perspiration proof. The best preparation to effectually cleanse them is celluline. For sale by all gent’s furnishing and fancy goods houses throughout the country., RVCDC
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.745]
Cotton is king. Plantation scene, Georgia, U.S.A. [graphic].
Title
Cotton is king. Plantation scene, Georgia, U.S.A
Description
Scene showing an African American girl, women, and men picking cotton in a cotton field. In the foreground, a girl picks cotton near a large basket filled with the fiber. Behind her, a number of women and men, some hunched over and with large cloth bags hung over their shoulders, pick cotton from the rows of plants. One man holds a large basket of cotton with his hands over his head and the basket on his back. The women wear long-sleeve, checkered cotton dresses and kerchiefs. The mean wear long sleeve shirts and pants. Most wear wide-brimmed hats, except the man carrying the basket, who wears no hat. In the background, a white man, attired in a suit and on horseback, oversees the cotton pickers., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1895, by Strohmeyer & Wyman., Title from item., Curved grey mount with rounded corners., Title printed in six different languages, including French, German, and Spanish on verso., Several lines of text printed on verso about the cotton industry, the "world-problem of clothing," the cultivation of cotton, including "picking is usually done by negro laborers, as here, though experiments with harvesting machines are meeting with some success," and suggested further reading, including encyclopedia article subjects and Carrol D. Wright's "Industrial Development of the United States." Text begins: This beautiful field "white unto the harvest," is a sense to delight a painter, and at the same time, it is a condensed cyclopaedia of one of the greatest industries of the whole world., Gift of George Allen., Title variant of P.2018.16.6., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022., In 1912 Keystone View Company purchased rights to some Underwood & Underwood negatives for use in educational sets, and in 1922 purchased the remaining stock of Underwood materials. Keystone remained in business until 1970.
Creator
Underwood & Underwood
Date
1895
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereos - Underwood & Underwood - Work [P.2017.121.2]
[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]
[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]
"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]
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]
[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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Cotton is king. Plantation scene, Georgia, U.S.A. [graphic].
Title
Cotton is king. Plantation scene, Georgia, U.S.A
Description
Scene showing an African American girl, women, and men picking cotton in a cotton field. In the foreground, a girl picks cotton near a large basket filled with the fiber. Behind her, a number of women and men, some hunched over and with large cloth bags hung over their shoulders, pick cotton from the rows of plants. One man holds a large basket of cotton with his hands over his head and the basket on his back. The women wear long-sleeve, checkered cotton dresses and kerchiefs. The mean wear long sleeve shirts and pants. Most wear wide-brimmed hats, except the man carrying the basket, who wears no hat. In the background, a white man, attired in a suit and on horseback, oversees the cotton pickers., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1895, by Strohmeyer & Wyman., Title from item., Curved grey mount with rounded corners., Title printed in six different languages, including French, German, and Spanish on verso., Several lines of text printed on verso about the cotton industry, the "world-problem of clothing," the cultivation of cotton, including "picking is usually done by negro laborers, as here, though experiments with harvesting machines are meeting with some success," and suggested further reading, including encyclopedia article subjects and Carrol D. Wright's "Industrial Development of the United States." Text begins: This beautiful field "white unto the harvest," is a sense to delight a painter, and at the same time, it is a condensed cyclopaedia of one of the greatest industries of the whole world., Gift of David Long., Title variant of P.2017.121.2., RVCDC, Description reviewed 2022., Access points revised 2022., In 1912 Keystone View Company purchased rights to some Underwood & Underwood negatives for use in educational sets, and in 1922 purchased the remaining stock of Underwood materials. Keystone remained in business until 1970.
Creator
Underwood & Underwood
Date
1895
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Underwood & Underwood - Work [P.2018.16.6]
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]
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]
[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]
"We's done all dis s'mornin'." [graphic].
Title
" We's done all dis s'mornin'."
Description
Racist scene showing, in the foreground, a young, African American girl and boy standing behind a large basket of cotton in a cotton field. The girl faces the camera and the boy looks behind him and with his head turned away. The girl wears a bonnet, dark-color, long-sleeved shirt, and a light-color skirt. The boy wears a long-sleeve, light-color, smock-like shirt. In the background, African American men, women, boys, and girls work in the field or are posed to stand and face the camera. One man sits, high up, on bales., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1899, by B. L. Singley., Title from item., Title printed in five different languages, including Italian, French, and German, on verso., Cruved buff mount with rounded corners., Several lines of text printed on verso about the "rich resources" of the state of Arkansas, including fertile soil for a "variety of crops"; "grazing lands"; mountains: "all kinds of building stones"; rivers; "excellent common school system and several higher institutions of learning"; and "Hot Springs." Text concludes: "The cotton fields once the dread of the Virginia slave, have lost nothing of their picturesqueness with the abolition of slavery, and nowhere in the United States can primitive negro life be better studied.", Gift of David Long., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Keystone View Company was founded in 1892 by B.L. Singley, an amateur photographer from Meadville, Pennsylvania. Keystone View Company was the leader in promoting stereographs for educational purposes. In 1912 the company purchased rights to some Underwood & Underwood negatives for use in educational sets, and in 1922 purchased the remaining stock of Underwood materials. The company remained in business until 1970.
Creator
Keystone View Company
Date
1899
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Keystone View Company - Work [P.2018.16.2]
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]
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]
A "corner in cotton." [graphic].
Title
A " corner in cotton."
Description
Racist scene showing a young, African American couple (Ephraim and Dinah) seated next to each other, and flirting, in a small clearing in a cotton field. The couple, their legs outstretched, leans back on two large baskets of picked cotton. The man and woman smile at each other. The woman's head is tilted to her left and she uses the index finger of her right hand to touch the chin of the man. The man is attired in a collarless, long-sleeve, light-color shirt, light-color pants, and worn boots. The pants have frayed edges. The woman wears a light-colored, long sleeve shift dress, and heeled shoes. They each wear wide-brimmed hats. A mass of cotton plants is visible in the background., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1898, by B. L. Singley., Title from item., Title printed in five different languages, including Italian, French, and German, on verso., Text printed on verso: Here it is in black and white. The negro and the cotton are as inseparable as the darky and the 'possum. Colored labor clothes half the world, and half the world never gives it a thought nor a thank-you. But what care Ephraim and Dinah what the world says or doesn't say? "In all ages every human heart is human." A corner in cotton is as palatial as a corner in Windsor Castle or the White House, if love is there. Now, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, you negro writer of sparling verse, here is a subject made to your hand., Curved buff mount with rounded corners., Gift of David Long., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Keystone View Company was founded in 1892 by B.L. Singley, an amateur photographer from Meadville, Pennsylvania. Keystone View Company was the leader in promoting stereographs for educational purposes. In 1912 the company purchased rights to some Underwood & Underwood negatives for use in educational sets, and in 1922 purchased the remaining stock of Underwood materials. The company remained in business until 1970.
Creator
Keystone View Company
Date
1898
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Keystone View Company - Portraits & Genre [P.2018.16.1]
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]