Search results

Title: The Dancing Chinaman. An amusing cut-out
Description: Racist caricature of a Chinese man printed as a paper toy marionette. Depicts the man wearing a queue hairstyle, attired in a green tunic with yellow trim, red pants with green trim, yellow socks, and black cloth slip-on shoes, and with long fingernails. He smiles broadly and holds two fingers up on each hand. Printed in segments of head, torso, and separate arms and legs with instructions on how to cut the pieces out and attach them with strings to sticks to make a puppet. In the right, shows a diagram with the constructed toy and two white hands holding the sticks to make him dance., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1909, by the North American Company., Published in the September 12, 1909 Sunday supplement of the North American newspaper., Text printed on recto: Directions: Paste this sheet upon a sheet of heavy cardboard: let it dry thoroughly, and cut out pieces around heavy black lines. Join parts together by knotting a piece of string on either side, as in diagram. (A to A, B to B, C to C, D to D and E to E.) Then take two sticks about eight inches long (two pencils will do), cut two pieces of black thread about twenty-four inches long: fasten them at either side of figure’s head (1 and 2) and at each end of one stick, as in diagram. Cut two pieces of black thread about six inches long, make them fast at bottom of arm and knee (Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6), as in diagram. Cut then at either end of other stick, as in diagram. Hold stick No. 1 in left hand and No. 2 in right hand, let feet of figure touch floor and tilt stick No. 2 up and down in a seesaw manner. With a little practice you will be able to work your marionette in first-class order., RVCDC, Larry Semon (1889-1928) worked as a cartoonist for Philadelphia and New York newspapers before becoming an actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era.
Creator: Semon, Larry, 1889-1928
Date: 1909
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *GC- Paper toys - Dancing [P.2024.71.1

Title: B. Miller, segars, tobacco, stationery, toys &c., 1822 S. Seventh St., Phila
Description: Trade card promoting tobacco merchant B. Miller and showing two boys pulling the hair of a Chinese man depicted in racist caricature. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing an exaggeratedly long queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and black shoes, is pulled on his back onto a wooden box and grasps the sides with his hands. In the left, a white boy, attired in a white hat with a blue ribbon, a pink-striped shirt, blue pants, and black shoes, holds the man's hair and pulls back with his feet lifted off the ground. The white boy, attired in a yellow hat with an orange ribbon, a white shirt, yellow pants, and black shoes, stands facing left and pulls the man's hair over his shoulder with his feet lifted off the ground. Broadsides pasted on the fence in the background read,"Hoodlumism at discount education" and "Soiety [sic] for converting heathen." A building is visible in the right background., Title from text stamped on verso., Date inferred from content., Purchased 2015., See related: Berman Trade Card Collection - Weymann [P.2015.56.939]., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2015.56.591]

Title: Ask for Liebig Company's extract of meat
Description: Trade card promoting the Liebig Company and showing three Japanese boys, depicted in racist caricature, bowing to an oversized container with a label inscribed: "Extractum carnis Liebig manufactured by the Liebig's Extract of Meat Company limited, London..." Shows the boys, attired in yellow pants; colorful tunics of blue, red, or green; and green and red cloth slip-on shoes, kneeling and bowing. The figure in the middle and in the right wear chonmage haircuts with a braid. In the left, a Japanese-style building and archway are visible. Von Liebig, a German-born chemist, who developed a manufacturing process for meat extract in 1840, established the Liebig Extract of Meat Company in 1865. The extract was marketed as an alternative to meat., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of advertising business., Advertising text printed on verso: Ask for Liebig Company’s extract of meat. Being the finest meat-flavouring ingredient. None genuine without the fac-simile of Baron Liebig, the inventor’s signature in blue color across the label. Avoid all imitation extracts. Directions. Beef-tea. Efficient tonic in all cases of weakness and digestive disorder. Dissolve a quarter of a tea-spoonful of Liebig Company’s extract in a breakfast cup of boiling hot water, and plenty of salt, this will make a strong and clear beef-tea. You may add according to taste a tea-spoonful of Madeira, Sherry or Port wine or the yolk of a fresh egg, or a trifle of fresh butter or some bread or a boiled potato. A slight addition of Worcestershire sauce is liked by many. This beef-tea acts as a pleasant tonic especially when taken in the morning, and may well be taken several times a day. Soups. A variety of excellent meat and vegetable soups may be made with the aid of the Liebig Company’s extract and any soup will acquire at once strength and fine flavor by a slight addition of extract. Vegetable soup. Potato, pea, rice soup, etc. Boil the vegetables, etc. sufficiently with a little fat, a few bones or some slices of meat, or some fresh butter, add extract and salt according to taste. Sauces. Both strength and flavor imparted by the extract. Night-cap. This beef-tea soothes and settles the stomach, allays brain excitement and induces sleep. “The most admirable and successful Night-Cap.” Dr. Harry Lobb., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Liebig [1975.F.296]

Title: Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms
Description: Trade card advertising celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a caricature of a Japanese woman. Shows the Japanese woman wearing her hair up and adorned with kanzashi hair ornaments and attired in a multi-colored kimono with a celluloid collar and cuffs and geta shoes with celluloid on the bottom. She walks with her right hand holding her kimono up and carries a parasol made of celluloid. She walks through grass with pink flowers in the background., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text printed on verso: Celluloid (Waterproof linen.) Collars, cuffs and shirt bosoms. The following will commend the use of these goods to all who study convenience, neatness and economy. The interior is fine linen. The exterior is Celluloid – the union of which combines the strength of Linen with the Waterproof qualities of Celluloid. The Trouble and expense of washing is saved. When soiled simply rub with soap and water (hot or cold) used freely with a stiff brush. They are perspiration proof and are invaluable to travelers, saving all care of laundrying. Advice. In wearing the turn-down Collar, always slip the Necktie under the roll. Do not attempt to straighten the fold. The goods will give better satisfaction if the Separable Sleeve Button and Collar Button is used. Twist a small rubber elastic or chamois washer around the post of Sleeve Button to prevent possible rattling of Button. To remove Yellow Stains, which may come from long wearing, use Sapolio, Soap or Saleratus water or Celluline, which latter is a new preparation for cleansing Celluloid. Goods for sale by all dealers., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Celluloid [P.2025.35.2]

Title: Geo. F. Woods, druggist and apothecary, dealer in fancy goods, Bellows Falls, Ct Soda and mineral waters on draught and in package
Description: Trade card promoting druggist George F. Woods and depicting a fan with a scene of a woman carrying a watering can and walking down a path. In the top left shows a fan with a ribbon tied around bamboo handle. On the fan is a vignette shows a woman, attired in a brimmed hat, necklace, and dress, walking down a path. She holds skirt in her left hand and carries a watering can in her right hand. Flanking the path are vases full of flowers. In the background is a pagoda and trees., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., See related: P.9828.7149-7150., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Woods [P.9828.7151]

Title: With compliments, Israel Zinser, dealer in drugs, books, stationery, paints, oils, glass, brushes, perfumery, violin strings, and fancy articles, Washington, Illinois
Description: Trade card promoting druggist Israel Zinser and depicting three boys, possibly meant to be Asian, constructing an oversized paper lantern decorated with an image of a flowering branch. In the foreground is a bamboo scaffold on which is a jar full of paintbrushes. In the right, the boy, attired in a green and gold tunic, sits on the scaffold and holds a hammer working on the base of the lantern. In the left, the boy, attired in a hat, yellow shirt with red cuffs, and yellow pants, stands on the scaffold and paints. In the top right, the boy, attired in a green shirt and yellow pants, sits on a swing, holds a paintbrush, and paints the upper part of the lantern. The lantern hangs from a flowering branch., Title from advertising text printed on verso., Date inferred from content., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Z [P.9828.7194]

Title: Tommy polka Dedicated to Tateish Onogero [or Tommy] of the Japanese Embassy
Description: Sheet music for a polka composed by Charles Grobe and depicting a full-length, seated portrait of Tateishi Onojirô, a member of the Japanese Embassy that traveled to the United States in 1860 to ratify the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, also known as the Harris Treaty. Shows the teenage Onojirô, wearing his hair tied back and attired in a kimono and shoes, sitting in a wooden chair and looking directly at the viewer. He holds a sword in its scabbard tied to his waist with his left hand and holds another sword in his right hand which points down to the floor. In the right is a side table covered in a floral print tablecloth and with a vase of flowers and a Japanese kasa (hat). Tateishi Onojirô, whom the media called “Tommy” was the youngest member of the ambassadorial delegation and served as an interpreter-in-training accompanying his adoptive father, formal interpreter Tateishi Tokujûrô., Composed by Charles Grobe., Copyright statement: Entered according to Act of Congress A.D. 1860 by Lee & Walker at the Clerk’s Office of the Dt. Ct. of the En. Dt. of Pa., Polka dance for piano., Dedication: To Tateish Onogero (or Tommy) of the Japanese Embassy., First line of text: Wives and maids by scores are flocking, Round that charming, little man, Known as Tommy, witty Tommy, Yellow Tommy, from Japan., Number 4 in 5 pointed star on lower right of the title page; Op: 1211; Publisher's Plate # 8085.4., Sold by: James E. Lent, Music Store, 359 Fulton St., Brooklyn, Stoddard Pianofortes for Sale or Rent., Retrospective conversion record: original entry.
Creator: Grobe, Charles, 1817-1880
Date: 1860
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Books Rare Sheet Music Tom 8530.F

Title: Darlington, Runk & Co. Importers and retailers of dry goods
Description: Trade card promoting dry goods store Darlington, Runk & Co. and depicting a white man walking with an Asian, Spanish, and Arab man. Shows a white man, attired in a black top hat, a white collared shirt, black bowtie, black jacket, and white pants, walking and leading three men with his arms out. The three men are in cultural attire, including an Asian man, wearing a conical hat and a pink robe with buttons down the front and a white and gold collar and gold trim; a Spanish man, wearing a green and gold matador Traje de luces; and probably an Arab man, wearing a red and gold turban, gold shawl, and and red pants. In the background are large buildings lining a city street and heavy pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk. Joseph G. Darlington (1842-1908) and William M. Runk founded Darlington, Runk & Co. in 1874. After Runk's death in 1893, the firm changed to Joseph G. Darlington & Co., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the business advertised., Text printed on recto: 1126 and 1128 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia., Purchased 2015., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Darlington, Runk & Co. [P.2015.56.193]

Title: Just a little Chinaman laundry work fine, will cookie, washee, ironie if you'll be his valentine
Description: Racist caricature of a Chinese man laundry worker holding an iron and an ironing board and bending down towards a rat. In the right, the Chinese man wears a queue hairstyle with a red bow tied at the end of his braid and is attired in a blue tunic with gold trim, black pants, red socks, and green cloth slip-on shoes. He holds an iron in his right hand and an ironing board in his left hand. He bends over and looks down at a rat that runs away. In the left are red hearts and a clothespin. The text is written in pidgin English: Just a little Chinaman laundry work fine, will cookie, washee, ironie if you'll be his valentine., Title from item., Date inferred from medium and content., Series no. printed on verso: Series IV., Library Company copy has manuscript message and address written on verso and is postmarked, Blodgett Mills, N.Y., Feb. 12, P.M. 1906; Syracuse Feb. 13, A.M. 1906. Includes one-cent stamp depicting Benjamin Franklin., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1906]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department LCP Postcards - Genre - Just [P.2024.11]

Title: Li
Description: Full-length portrait depicting a racist caricature of Chinese statesmen, diplomat, and military general Li Hongzhang (1823-1901). Shows Hongzhang, wearing a mustache and attired in spectacles, a cap with a peacock feather, a patterned, gray and gold robe, a yellow jacket with buttons down the front, and black, slip-on shoes. He stands with his right hand out, showing long fingernails, and faces slightly right. Li Hongzhang traveled extensively in 1896, visiting Russia, Britain, Europe, the United States, and Canada to promote Chinese diplomatic interests and trade., Title and date from item., Published in Vanity Fair, August 13, 1896., Gift of Linda Kimiko August, 2024.
Creator: Guth, Jean Baptiste, 1855-1922
Date: 1896
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *portrait prints - Hongzhang [P.2024.31.3]

Title: Nanki-Poo
Description: Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as Nanki-Poo. He stands holding an open fan with his hands up. He wears a blue decoration in his hair and is attired in a blue-striped coat, red shirt, blue and white obi, red tunic, and sandals. A branch of pink flowers is overhead. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the left. Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la. breathe promise of merry sunshine, as we merrily dance and we sing, tra la, we welcome the hope that they bring, tra la, of a summer of roses and wine. And so, Coats' spool cotton is always a thing as welcome as flowers that bloom in the spring., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.2]

Title: Pooh-Bah
Description: Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as Pooh-Bah. He stands holding a closed fan and frowns. He wears his hair in a chonmage hairstyle and is attired in a blue and white patterned kimono with birds with a red obi and has a sword at his waist. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the right. Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: I'am so proud, if I allowed, my family pride, to be my guide, you'd never hear, within your ear, Coats six cord thread, stand at the head, but family pride, must be denied, and set aside, and mortified, and so you hear, within your ear, Coats six cord thread, stands at the head., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread., Stamped on verso: W. Otis Hall, Retail Fancy Goods, Washington Street. Boston, Mass.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.3]

Title: Yum-Yum
Description: Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white woman actress in character as Yum-Yum. She sits on an oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," and holds a white spool of thread in her left hand. She wears her hair up and decorated with small red, blue, and yellow fans and is attired in a blue, yellow, and white patterned kimono. A building and some palm trees by the water are in the background. The moon reads, " J & P. Coats best six cord." Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: "We've Coats' spool cotton, that's the reason why we're very wide awake, the moon and I.", Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.4]

Title: H.A. Weymann, dealer in watches, clocks and jewelry, 156 North Second St., Philadelphia
Description: Trade card promoting clock and jewelry dealer H.A. Weymann and showing two boys pulling the hair of a Chinese man depicted in racist caricature. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing an exaggeratedly long queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and black shoes, grabs his hair with his hands and pulls back sitting on top a wooden box. In the left, a white boy, attired in a yellow hat with an orange ribbon, a white shirt, yellow pants, and black shoes, stands on the corner of the box, holds the Chinese man's hair and pulls back. The boy, attired in a pink-striped shirt, blue pants, and black shoes, stands below the other boy, holds onto the man's hair, and pulls. His white hat with a blue ribbon falls off of his head. Broadsides pasted on the fence in the background read,"How beautiful are the ways of South" and "Do unto others what others [do un]to you" A building is visible in the right background., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Purchased 2015., See related: Berman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2015.56.591]., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Berman Trade Card Collection - Weymann [P.2015.56.939]

Title: R.C. Howe, apothecary, Elm Corner, (successor to E.G. Frothingham and late of Emerson & Howe,) a full stock of medicines, fancy goods, cigars, &c., choice teas a specialty, the original 35 c. tea, Haverhill, Mass
Description: Trade card promoting druggist Richard Cranch Howe and depicting a caricature of an Asian woman carrying a parasol walking down a path. Shows an Asian woman, attired in a patterned dress and hat or headdress, holding a flower in her left hand and a parasol in her right hand. She walks down a path and looks at a planter full of flowers that hangs from an arch attached to a decorative column., Title from item., Date finferred from active dates of the pharmacist., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Howe [P.9828.6160]

Title: Danl. S. Dodge, druggist and apothecary, and dealer in toilet articles, perfumery, &c., 2 Remsen St., one door north of post office, Cohoes, N.Y. Physician’s prescriptions a specialty
Description: Trade card promoting druggist Daniel S. Dodge and depicting a caricature of an Asian woman carrying a parasol walking down a path. Shows an Asian woman, attired in a patterned dress and hat or headdress, holding a flower in her left hand and a parasol in her right hand. She walks down a path and looks at a planter full of flowers that hangs from an arch attached to a decorative column., Title from item., Date finferred from active dates of the pharmacist., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Howe [P.9828.5782]

Title: F.P. Louderbough, graduate in pharmacy, cor. Tenth & Jefferson Sts. Philadelphia
Description: Trade card promoting pharmacist F.P. Louderbough and depicting racist caricatures of two Chinese men and a crane. In the left, shows the Chinese man, attired in a yellow robe with a red sash around the waist, standing and holding a pot by the handle in his right hand. To the right, the Chinese man, wearing a mustache and goatee and attired in a black hat, yellow robe, and a pink shirt with long sleeves, holds a bowl towards a crane. Decorative border surrounds the scene., Title from item., Dare inferred from content., Series no. on recto: 1700., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Louderbough [P.9828.6373]

Title: China. E.F. Keeler, druggist, Groton, Ct
Description: Trade card promoting druggist E.F. Keeler and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese woman, symbolizing China, attired in a dress of the Imperial yellow dragon flag. Shows a Chinese woman, wearing her hair in a long braid and attired in a conical hat, a yellow dress with a green dragon on the front, yellow gloves, and white dress shoes. She stands on her toes with her hands up., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Gift of William H. Helfand.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Keeler [P.9828.6242]

Title: " Bixby's Royal Polish." The perfection of blacking for ladies' and children's shoes
Description: Trade card promoting S.M. Bixby & Co. and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese woman kneeling before Columbia holding up a woman's shoe. In the center, shows Columbia, depicted as a white woman attired in a blue Phrygian cap, white dress with a blue drape, and sandals, placing her left hand on an American flag crested shield. She holds aloft a black, woman's boot in her right hand, which emanates light. At her feet, a Chinese woman, wearing her hair up with decorative sticks and attired in a red dress decorated with a blue dragon, a white shawl, and red shoes, kneels on the ground with her right hand up as she looks up at the shoe and Columbia. The western-style woman's shoe is displayed as superior to and a critique of Chinese footbinding. In the right, a group of six women look on, many attired in crowns and crests, likely meant to represent European countries. In the left background is an oversized black bottle labeled, "Bixby's Royal Polish." Samuel M. Bixby began manufacturing and selling shoe blacking in 1860 and founded S.M. Bixby & Co. in 1862. F.F. Dailey Corporation acquired the firm in 1920., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised and active dates of the lithographers., Advertising text printed on verso: A new compound, producing a durable polish, elastic, waterproof and harmless to all kinds of leather, one coat of which is equal to two of any other. Bixby’s new bottle and combination stopper for sponge blacking is the most perfect package ever invented for forms of liquid blacking or shoe dressing. The wood top is of such size and shape as to form a convenient and firm handle; and the cork is inserted into the wood top, and fastened by the wire and glue, so that it is very much stronger than the old style. The bottle has a broad base and will not upset easily; the mouth has a wide projecting flange, and an air chamber below to prevent the overflow of the liquid in taking out and putting in the sponge, which perfectly insures cleanliness. “Royal Polish” is strictly a first class dressing, elegant in style, convenient for use, and is designed to retail at 15 cents per bottle, which in larger than the old square bottle. One trial will satisfy the most fastidious, that it is superior in all particulars to any dressing ever offered for ladies’ use. Patent applied for. S.M. Bixby & Co., New York., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - S.M. Bixby & Co. [P.2025.38]

Title: F.P. Louderbough, graduate in pharmacy, cor. Tenth & Jefferson Sts. Philadelphia
Description: Trade card promoting pharmacist F.P. Louderbough and depicting racist caricatures of Japanese acrobats. Shows four barefooted, Japanese men, attired in red patterned kimonos, balancing, swinging, and flipping on two bamboo beams., Title from item., Dare inferred from content., Series no. on recto: 1700., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Louderbough [P.9828.6374]

Title: L.C. Smith, druggist, (successor to A.W. Rice), Rockville, Conn. Drugs, medicines, toilet requisites, etc., etc. prescriptions compounded day or night. Prices the lowest. Goods strictly pure
Description: Trade card promoting druggist Louis C. Smith and depicting racist caricatures of Chinese men being attacked by dogs. In the left foreground, shows a large dog chained to a doghouse. The Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle, a blue tunic and pants, and white, slip-on shoes, looks at the dog in fear. In the right, a Chinese man runs away with his queue flying behind him. In the background, a Chinese man, his back to the viewer, screams and raises both arms up as a white dog bites his bottom. Text written in pidgin English below the image: What d’yer soy? Ha! Ha! John Chinaman he eatie doggie., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Copyright statement printed on recto: Copyrighted, Bufford, Boston., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Smith [P.9828.6842]

Title: Laque de Chine
Description: Trade card promoting druggist John H. Sheehan & Co. and depicting a scene of two Chinese men painting. In the left, show the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a blue cap, blue robe, and blue, slip-on shoes. He sits on a bench in front of an easel and paints. In the right, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a green, patterned robe, stands and lacquers a vase. Also in the room are a red lantern, screen, and side table with a blue jar. In the background is a river with boats and a pagoda on the shoreline., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text printed on verso: John H. Sheehan, Dealers in Drugs, Medicines, Pefumery and Toilett (sic) Articles, 167 Genesee Street, Utica, N.Y., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, See related: P.9828.6766.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Sheehan [P.9828.6777]

Title: Japon
Description: Trade card promoting druggist John H. Sheehan & Co. and depicting a scene of a Japanese woman and a samurai holding a flag. In the right, the Japanese woman, wearing her hair up with Kanzashi hair ornaments and attired in a multi-colored kimono and yellow shoes, stands and reaches her right hand out towards the man. In the left, the Japanese samurai, attired in a helmet and armor, stands and holds a Japanese flag on a flagpole. A cherry tree with pink flowers grows in the background. In the top left corner is a crest with a Japanese flag., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text printed on verso: John H. Sheehan, Dealers in Drugs, Medicines, Pefumery and Toilett (sic) Articles, 167 Genesee Street, Utica, N.Y., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, See related: P.9828.6777.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Sheehan [P.9828.6766]

Title: Japan
Description: Trade card promoting coffee manufacturers Arbuckle Brothers and depicting Japanese men acrobats, jugglers, and dancers in a festival. In the left, shows a Japanese man acrobat wearing a chonmage hairstyle, a white headband, a pink kimono, and pink pants. He balances upside down on a flagpole with a pink banner and holds a fan in his right hand. In the right, a Japanese man, wearing a blue kimono, juggles a bottle and bowls. In the center is a fan with a vignette depicting three barefooted Japanese men, attired in black hats, yellow shirts, and blue pants, dancing holding branches. A Japanese man stands, attired in a black hat and green shirt, and holds a pink banner on a pole. Arbuckle's Coffee was founded by brothers John and Charles Arbuckle following the Civil War. The company was one of the first to sell roasted coffee and to place it in one pound packages. Arbuckle often included trade cards in the packages., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright, 1893, by Arbuckle Bros. N.Y., Series no. on verso: No. 34., Advertising text on verso: Grind your coffee at home…. Japan. The Japanese have the most advance civilization of any nation on Asiatic soil. Indeed in some regards they are even more advanced than the proudest of western countries. But in many ways they are ludicrously far behind. They cling to ancient forms of government and the Mikado is an autocrat, absolute almost over the life and death of his subjects. A country which yields such power to the individual, can never hope to work out its highest possibilities. So even the sports and pastimes of such a nation can never be the spontaneous expression of the animal spirits of the young of that land. Juggling is a fine art in Japan. Beside the Japanese juggler, the man of legerdemain of other countries is a clumsy bungler. The feats performed by the former are beyond all comparison. To achieve such dexterity, it may well be presumed that the wizard has been taught from earliest childhood. In fact the jugglers are sometimes a caste, so that the child often starts with the hereditary traits of forefather in the same line, and of the added experience of these. Of the acrobats of Japan who are also super-eminent much the same can be said. One would scarcely believe that the human body could be so sinuous and might be so contorted at will. The Japanese Festivals or Feasts are frequent. The main celebrations are held after dark; then fireworks are displayed, and lanterns are hung. These latter transform the most commonplace scenes into fairyland. The dancing indulged in on these occasions in most picturesque. As the figures flit from light into dark and back again, they form scenes never to be forgotten. The Japanese wrestlers are world-famed, and their contests are most skillful. This is one of a series of Fifty (50) cards giving a pictorial History of Sports and Pastimes of all Nations., RVCDC
Date: 1893
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Arbuckle [P.2025.35.1]

Title: W.F. Potteiger, druggist, N.W. corner Fourth and Spruce Streets, Reading, PA
Description: Trade card promoting pharmacist William F. Potteiger and depicting a white woman attired in a kimono, probably an actress in character from the opera The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the woman wearing her hair up and decorated with fans and attired in a blue kimono with gold cranes, peach-colored obi, and purple skirt. She holds a peach-colored fan in her right hand and turns her head to the right with her left hand up. She stands on a fur rug., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the advertised business., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1886]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Potteiger [P.9828.6624]

Title: Compliments of R.B. Porter, druggist, St. Johnsville, N.Y
Description: Trade card promoting druggist Reuben B. Porter and depicting a white woman attired in a kimono dressed as a character from the opera The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the woman wearing her hair up and decorated with fans and attired in a red and gold kimono. She sits on the branch of a red flower and holds a blue fan in her left hand. A white butterfly flies in the left., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of advertised business., Series no. on recto: 686., Manuscript written on verso: Nora Enlenmarks., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., See related: P.9828.332; P.9828.1679; P.9828.4244; P.9828.5299; P.9828.5852-5854., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Porter [P.9828.6622]

Title: Geo. F. Woods, druggist and apothecary, dealer in fancy goods, Bellows Falls, Ct Soda and mineral waters on draught and in package
Description: Trade cards promoting druggist George F. Woods and depicting an Asian man looking at a statue of an Asian woman in a park. Shows an Asian man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a conical hat, patterned tunic and matching pants, and shoes. He stands behind a fence and looks at a statue of a barefooted woman, wearing a headpiece and attired in a sarong with her breasts exposed, on a pedestal. She holds a fan with a long handle in her right hand and gestures with her left hand. Also visible are a palm tree, potted plant, and a path., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William H. Helfand., See related: P.9828.7151., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Wood [P.9828.7149-7150]

Title: Major E. Newell, with Genl. Tom Thumb's Museum. H.R. Jacobs, manager
Description: Die cut trade card in the shape of a painting palette. Promotes General Tom Thumb's Museum, a variety company tour, and depicts Edmund Newell, known as Major E. Newell, attired in four costumes. In the top, shows Newell in yellowface impersonating a Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic and pants and black cloth slip-on shoes. He lifts his left leg up; places his right hand on his hip; and holds a red fan in his left hand. Tom Thumb, born Charles Sherwood Stratton, and Edmund Newell, also known as Major E. Newell and General Grant Jr., were people with dwarfism who toured with P.T. Barnum. Newell married Minnie Warren, whose sister, Lavinia Warren, was married to Tom Thumb., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Advertising text printed on verso: General Tom Thumb and his charming little wife with entire troupe. Horticultural Hall positively two weeks only Sept. 25 to Oct. 7th. Every afternoon & evening. Skatorial champion. Major Newell, the impersonator; Zoe Meleke, and her performing canary birds; Whiston, humorist and great facial artist; marvelous midget; Bingham, ventriloquist & illusionist with a congress of brilliants., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1882]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Horticultural [1975.F.651]

Title: The celluloid corset clasps side & dress steels Warranted not to rust. Corsets after washing. With the old style clasps in. With the new celluloid clasps in
Description: Trade card advertising celluloid corset clasps and depicting racist caricatures of Chinese men laundry workers comparing celluloid and traditional corsets. In the center, the laundry worker, wearing a queue hairstyle with the braid sticking straight out to the right and attired in gold hoop earrings, a red tunic, white pants, and blue and white cloth, slip-on shoes, smiles as he holds up a clean, white corset with celluloid clasps. In the left, the laundry worker, wearing a mustache and queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic, yellow pants, and blue and white cloth, slip-on shoes, holds a soiled and dirty corset as he opens his mouth in dismay looking at the clean corset. In the right background, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a yellow tunic, blue pants, and white cloth, slip-on shoes, washes laundry with his hands in a steaming washtub. Also visible are a basket of laundry; a corset hanging on a line; and a table with an iron on top of it., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Contains advertising text printed on verso: Celluloid corset clasps. Side and dress steels. Perspiration proof. Elastic. Durable. In introducing these improved corset clasps, &c., let us call your attention to some of the points of their superiority over all others heretofore in use. 1st.--The inferior is finely tempered clock spring steel. 2d.--The exterior is celluloid. 3d.--The combination of the two unites the strength of the steel with the rust-proof qualities of the celluloid. 4th--The trouble of ripping out and sewing in the steels every time corsets are laundried becomes unnecessary as these steels need not be taken out for that purpose. 5th--They are warranted not to rust and thus stain the corsets or other garments. 6th--They are the best steels in every particular ever offered. Sold by all dry and fancy goods dealers throughout the country., RVCDC, Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Celluloid [1975.F.182]

Title: Celluloid waterproof collars, cuffs & shirt bosoms
Description: Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese boy smoking a pipe and carrying a cane. Shows the boy, wearing a queue hairstyle with a pink bow tied at the end of his braid and attired in a colorfully patterned Chinese robe with oversized celluloid cuffs, collar, and hat, and red, slip-on, cloth shoes. He holds the smoking pipe to his lips with his left hand and carries a walking cane in his right hand., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, Gent’s furnishing and over-gaiters, 1032 Chestnut St., S.E. Cor. of 11th., Text printed on verso: Celluloid (Waterproof linen.) Collars, cuffs and shirt bosoms. The following will commend the use of these goods to all who study convenience, neatness and economy. The interior is fine linen. The exterior is Celluloid – the union of which combines the strength of Linen with the Waterproof qualities of Celluloid. The Trouble and expense of washing is saved. When soiled simply rub with soap and water (hot or cold) used freely with a stiff brush. They are perspiration proof and are invaluable to travelers, saving all care of laundrying. Advice. In wearing the turn-down Collar, always slip the Necktie under the roll. Do not attempt to straighten the fold. The goods will give better satisfaction if the Separable Sleeve Button and Collar Button is used. Twist a small rubber elastic or chamois washer around the post of Sleeve Button to prevent possible rattling of Button. To remove Yellow Stains, which may come from long wearing, use Sapolio, Soap or Saleratus water or Celluline, which latter is a new preparation for cleansing Celluloid. Goods for sale by all dealers., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.741]

Title: Celluloid cuffs, collars & bosoms, water & perspiration proof
Description: Trade card advertising J.H. Richelderfer’s celluloid collars and cuffs and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man at the beach watching a white man demonstrate the waterproof qualities of his celluloid cuffs, collar, and bosom or bib. In the center, the white man, wearing a mustache and attired in a red robe, red-and-yellow striped shorts, and white celluloid cuffs, collar, and bosom, stands in the ocean with water dripping down his clothes, showing that they are waterproof. In the right, a Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle, a red tunic, blue pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, carries two sacks of laundry and looks over at the man in the water. In the left, a white man, attired in a straw hat, a white collared shirt, a red vest, yellow striped pants, and red shoes, sits on the sand holding an umbrella and wipes perspiration from his face with a handkerchief. In the background, a white man swims in the water and a boat is visible., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Stamped on recto: J.H. Richelderfer, 1032 Chestnut St., Phila., Text printed on verso: Waterproof linen, patented. Ladies’ and gent’s cuffs, collars and bosoms, made from celluloid. Waterproof, elastic, durable. These goods are far superior to any Linen Goods yet placed before the public, and in recommending them, we would call attention to some of their remarkable features, which will commend their use to all who study economy, neatness and beauty. 1sr. The interior is fine linen. 2d. The exterior is celluloid. 3d. The unison of above, combines the strength of linen with the waterproof qualities of celluloid, 4th. The expense of washing is saved. If the goods are soiled, simply cleanse with soap and water. 5th. The goods never wilt or fray on edges and are perspiration proof. The best preparation to effectually cleanse them is celluline. For sale by all gent’s furnishing and fancy goods houses throughout the country., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Richelderfer [1975.F.745]

Title: Use Muzzy's starch
Description: Trade card promoting Elkhart Starch Company and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man laundry worker holding up a shirt to a white family. Shows the family standing in the right, including the white man, attired in a brown bowler hat, a white collared shirt, a black bowtie, and a brown-checked suit, holding a walking stick; the white woman attired in a yellow and pink hat and a blue dress with a red bow; and the white girl, attired in a yellow hat and a red and blue dress, holding a small box. In the left, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a blue tunic and blue pants with yellow accents, stands behind a table with an iron and ironing board on top of it. He holds up a white shirt, which shows the reflection of the white woman. A basket full of laundry is on the ground. In the background is a stove and a clothesline of white shirts and clothes. A.L. Muzzy built the Muzzy & Sage Mill in Elkhart, Indiana in 1870. Albert R. Beardsley (1847-1924) purchased the mill in 1878 and founded the Elkhart Starch Company. The Company was bought by the National Starch in 1893., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Advertising text printed on verso: "Be sure to use Muzzy's Corn Starch." Includes six recipes, including for sponge pudding, creamy pudding sauce, Salem pudding, scolloped oysters, oyster pie, and butter scotch., Gift of Linda Kimiko August., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Muzzy [P.2023.43.3]

Title: Boston boot and shoe and gents’ furnishing house, also, a fine line of hats, caps, trunks, valises &c. At no. 253 South Clark St., near Jackson, Chicago. L. F. Shanovski, - proprietor
Description: Trade card promoting L.F. Shanovski’s shoe store and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man upset that a cat has taken a rat from his plate. Shows the man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in red pants and brown cloth slip-on shoes, holding a large white plate across his chest and a pair of chopsticks in his right hand. He opens his mouth upset that a cat is taking a dead rat from his plate. Louis F. Shanovski was born in Germany and moved to Chicago in the early 1870s, opening a shoe store in circa 1877. The firm L.F. Shanovski and Bro. dissolved in 1899., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Gift of Linda Kimiko August., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1888]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards - Shanovski, L.F. [P.2023.43.1]

Title: Old processee starchee no goodee. It smellee rots & makee shirts yellee.” "I will never use any other but the New Process Starch." New Process Starch. Manufactured only by the Firmenich Manufacturing Company, Peoria, Ill
Description: Trade card promoting Firmenich Manufacturing Company and depicting a racist caricature of a Chinese man laundry worker contrasted in a split panel with a white women doing laundry. In the left, the Chinese man, wearing a queue hairstyle and attired in a white tunic and pants and blue cloth slip-on shoes, stands and irons a shirt on a table. He speaks in pidgin English, “Old processee starchee no goodee. It smelle rots and make shirts yellee.” On the floor are two boxes of “Old Process Gloss Starch.” On the table is a bowl of steaming water. A teapot heats on the stove behind him, and clothes hang on the clothesline. In the right, the white woman, attired in a pink dress with a white bow around the neck and white cuffs, stands behind the table ironing. She says, “I will never use any other but the new process starch.” A young white boy hands her a box of “New Process” starch, and two additional boxes lie on the floor in the right. On the table is a bowl of water. A tea kettle steams behind her on the stove. Buildings are visible through a window in the background. Dr. Joseph Firmenich (1828-1903) started a starch company with his two sons, George and Frank. The Firmenich Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1884. The Company opened a glucose plant in Marshalltown, Iowa in 1887. The Company operating into the 20th century., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of operation of business advertised., Advertising text printed on verso: New process starch. This starch is manufactured by a new process, with pure spring water. The light starch and gluten usually found in other starches, especially if made from white corn, are entirely removed and manufactured into other articles. The patents of this process are owned solely by this company. We guarantee all our starch perfectly pure and sweet. This starch, having the light starch and gluten removed, one-third less can be used than any other in the market. Ask your grocer for the new process gloss and corn starch and take no other. Manufactured only by the Firmenich Manufacturing Company. Peoria, Ill., Gift of Linda Kimiko August., RVCDC
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade cards – Firmenich [P.2023.43.2]

Title: The Mikado
Description: Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as the Mikado, or Emperor. He stands holding a closed fan and smiles at the viewer attired in a headpiece, a blue kimono decorated with gold birds and flowers and red trim, with a sword at his waist. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the right. Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: My object all sublime! Shall attain in time. To let the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime. All people who have to do sewing and don't use Coats' six cord thread, will be punished with cotton that's snarly and rotten and kinks, till they wish they were dead., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.1]

Title: Ethnographic tableau Specimens of various races of mankind
Description: Chart showing racist depictions of fifty-four, bust-length, portraits of men and one woman of different "races" from eight geographic regions to emphasize contrived differences in cranial characteristics. The “Geographical Distribution” includes I. Arctic, II. Asiatic, III. European, IV. African, V. American, VI. Polynesian, VII. Malayan, and VIII. Australian. With each region, six depictions of individuals of that race are shown, some facing forward and some in profile. Many of the individuals are depicted as racist stereotypes. Many are attired in hats, turbans, or headdresses custom to their country of origin. In the left, under the caption “Cranioscopic Examples,” nine different skulls in right profile are depicted. In the right, chart sections include “Mankind, Grouped Physiologically” and “Linguistic Distinctions.”, Title from item., Folded plate removed from Josiah C. Nott and George R. Gliddon's Indigenous races of the earth (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co.; London: Trubner & Co., 1857) (LCP *Am 1857 Nott (1)2733.Q (Rush)). See "Explanations of the tableau" pages 618-638., Captions below images on recto: Artic: Eskimo, Tchucktchi, Koriak, Aleoutian, Aino, Samoyede. Asiatic: Kamtschadale, St. Laurent Islander, Tartar, Chinese, Kalmuck, Tuda. Euro[pean]: Finn, Icelander: Cuvier, Bulgarian, Greek, Caucasian. [Euro]Pean: Syrian, Arab, Fellah, Berber, Uzbek Tatar, Affghan (sic). African: Ababdee, Sahara Negro, Yeboo Negro, Mozambique Negro, Caffr, Hottentot. American: Kutchin Indian, Stone Indian, Ottoe Indian, Yucatan Indian, Boroa Indian, Fuegian. Polynesian: New Zealander, Samoa Islander, Tikopia Islander, Vanikoro Islander, Tana Islander, Viti Islander. Malayan: Malay, Javanese, Marianne Islander, Hindoo, Mintira, Negritto. Australian: North Australian, West, Australian, South Australian, Tasmanian, Tasmanians (Men, Women)., Bequest of Dr. James Rush, 1869., 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.
Creator: Kramer, Peter, 1823-1907, artist
Date: 1857
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***BW-Natural history [(1)2733.Q.1]

Title: The tables turned You sabe him! Kealney must go!
Description: Political cartoon depicting racist caricatures of Chinese workers heckling Workingmen's Party of California leader Denis Kearney, who is in prison. In the right, shows Kearney, attired in a black-and-white-striped prison uniform with a ball and chain on his ankle, standing and grasping the bars of his cell, which is labeled, “House of Correction, 181.” In the left, a group of Chinese men workers, wearing queue hairstyles and attired in caps and hats, tunics, pants, and cloth slip-on shoes, sit and stand amongst baskets, including two filled with fish. They hold out to Kearney products associated with their employment, including a laundry worker carrying a washboard and offering socks with holes; a fishmonger holding crabs and a fish labeled, “Black Friday,” on a stick; and a man with a cigar in his mouth holding out a bundle of cigars. They mock him in pidgin English, “you sabe him? Kealney must go!” in reference to Kearney’s slogan that he ended every speech with: “The Chinese must go.” In the top left pinned to the wall is a depiction of a donkey and a cart, possibly alluding to Kearney’s draying business. Denis Kearney (1847-1907) was an Irish immigrant who lead the Workingmen’s Party of California on a platform of anti-Chinese hate, blaming the Chinese immigrants for low wages and job scarcity. He was imprisoned in 1877 for inciting a riot., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Text printed on recto: Copyright secured., RVCDC
Date: [ [ca. 1877]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department political cartoons - 1877 - Tables [P.2025.44]

Title: Lloyd O. Woodruff, druggist. Cor. Broadway & Point St., Cape Vincent, N.Y. Don’t read the other side
Description: Racist trade card promoting pharmacist Lloyd O. Woodruff and depicting actress Kate Forster dressed in character as Pitti-Sing from the opera, The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows Forster wearing her hair up and attired in a blue kimono with gold decorations and a gold, flower-patterned obi. She holds a fan in both hands behind her head. Kate Forster, whose real name was Kate Jancowski, worked for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and performed as Pitti-Sing and Katisha in the Mikado in 1885-1886, 1889-1902. Lloyd O. Woodruff opened a drugstore in Cape Vincent, New York circa 1870., Title stamped on recto., Date deduced from dates of the performance., Text printed on verso: Lloyd O. Woodruff, druggist, keeps a full line of drugs, patent medicines, paints, oils, window glass, dry goods, boots, shoes and rubbers, fine stationery, school books, fancy groceries, watches, chains, plated ware, crockery, and will not be undersold, if you do not see what you want at his store, ask for it. Don’t forget the place, Cor. Broadway & Point St., Gift of William H. Helfand., RVCDC, See related: P.9828.2769-2771; P.9828.2823.
Date: [ca. 1886]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists -Woodruff [P.9828.7139]

Title: C.C. Hughes, druggist & chemist, S.W. cor. 8th & Race Sts., Phila
Description: Trade card promoting druggist C.C. Hughes in the style of trompe l'oeil depicting a landscape with ships and a vignette portrait of a Japanese woman portrayed in caricature. Shows a landscape view with people standing on a path leading to a pagoda on a cliff. In the right, ships sail on the water. In the background are mountains. In the left, shows the Japanese woman wearing her hair up and decorated with Kanzashi hair ornaments and attired in gold hoop earrings; a yellow, patterned kimono with red trim; and a black obi. A green parrot sits on her left arm. Decorated border surrounds the scene., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1881 by Geo. M. Hayes., Advertising text printed on verso: Alhambra hair restorer. Restores gray hair to its natural color with three or four application, making it soft and beautiful; removes dandruff and itching of the scalp; prevents premature baldness; stops hair from falling out; will not soil the finest linen: an excellent dressing, nicely perfumed. Price, 75 Cts., large bottle. Manufactured by C.C. Hughes, druggist & chemist, S.W. Cor. Eighth and Race Streets, Philadelphia. Hughes’ Corn & Bunion Plasters. Give instant relief and effect a cure. (They are not pads to relieve the pressure.) Each 25 cents per box; 12 corn or 6 bunion in each box. Sent by mail on receipt of price. C.C. Hughes, Druggist, Eighth and Race Streets, Philadelphia, Pa., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of William Helfand., RVCDC
Creator: Rosenthal, Albert, 1863-1939
Date: 1881
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Patent Medicine Trade Card Collection - Pharmacists - Hughes [P.9828.6166]

Title: The Smile that was childlike
Description: Print depicting characters from Bret Harte’s 1870 poem “Plain Language from Truthful James” later reprinted as “The Heathen Chinee.” The narrative of the poem focuses on two white men, Bill Nye and “Truthful James,” and a Chinese man named Ah Sin playing the card game Euchre. Bill and James believe Ah Sin is “childlike” and does not comprehend how to play the game. The print shows Bill and James standing in the left on a dirt road and showing playing cards to Ah Sin, who looks on with his hands in his pockets. Ah Sin is depicted in racist caricature and wears a queue hairstyle, a conical hat, gold hoop earrings, a blue tunic and pants, and cloth, slip-on shoes. In the background are mountains and a partial view of a cabin. Later in the poem’s narrative, Bill cheats playing the game by having cards up his sleeve. When Ah Sin plays a card that James already has, it is discovered that Ah Sin is also cheating with decks of cards hidden in his sleeves. Bill proceeds to fight Ah Sin. Bret Harte’s poem “Plain Language from Truthful James,” satirizing anti-Chinese sentiment, was originally published in the Overland Monthly Magazine in September, 1870. It became widely popular and was reprinted and republished as “The Heathen Chinee” in several illustrated series in pamphlet and loose print form., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Print contains registrations marks., See related: GC-Genre [P.2007.39.24]., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC-Genre [P.2007.39.23]

Title: The Smile that was childlike
Description: Print depicting characters from Bret Harte’s 1870 poem “Plain Language from Truthful James” later reprinted as “The Heathen Chinee.” The narrative of the poem focuses on two white men, Bill Nye and “Truthful James,” and a Chinese man named Ah Sin playing the card game Euchre. Bill and James believe Ah Sin is “childlike” and does not comprehend how to play the game. The print shows Bill and James standing in the left on a dirt road and showing playing cards to Ah Sin, who looks on with his hands in his pockets. Ah Sin is depicted in racist caricature and wears a queue hairstyle, a conical hat, gold hoop earrings, a blue tunic and pants, and cloth, slip-on shoes. In the background are mountains and a partial view of a cabin. Later in the poem’s narrative, Bill cheats playing the game by having cards up his sleeve. When Ah Sin plays a card that James already has, it is discovered that Ah Sin is also cheating with decks of cards hidden in his sleeves. Bill proceeds to fight Ah Sin. Bret Harte’s poem “Plain Language from Truthful James,” satirizing anti-Chinese sentiment, was originally published in the Overland Monthly Magazine in September, 1870. It became widely popular and was reprinted and republished as “The Heathen Chinee” in several illustrated series in pamphlet and loose print form., Title from item., Date inferred from content., Print contains registrations marks., See related: GC-Genre [P.2007.39.24]., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1870]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC-Genre [P.2007.39.23]

Title: [Chas. McKeone & Son Soap Manufacturing Co. trade cards]
Description: Series of illustrated trade cards for Chas. McKeone & Son Manufacturing Co. at 2518-2550 Callowhill Street in Philadelphia. Illustrations depict a dog biting and pulling the pants of a white boy carrying a basket of fruit while another white boy climbs a stone wall to escape; a white child sitting on a pile of blankets with their pet dog beside an open doorway; a white boy hanging with his shirt caught on a tree branch while another white boy looks on with a basket on fruit at his feet; a white woman cradling a baby on her lap. Racist card depicting white women, an African American woman, and Chinese men working in a laundry room. In the center, a white woman and an African American woman, portrayed in racist caricature and attired in an orange head kerchief, a red dress, and a white checked apron, stand beside a wash basin and hold up a white cloth. A well-dress white woman comes over to inspect the cloth. In the left, a Chinese man, wearing a queue and mustache and attired in a black cap, a blue shirt, tan pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes, holds up and inspects a box of "McKeone's Extract of Soap." Behind him in the background, another Chinese man, wearing a queue and attired in a yellow shirt, washes a white cloth in a steaming wash basin. In the right, a white woman carries a basket of clothes and another white woman washes laundry in a wash basin and looks on at the scene. Also visible are wooden crates, a basket of laundry, and a drying rack filled with clothes., Title supplied by cataloger., One print [1975.F.620] printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Advertising text promoting McKeone's "Crown Jewel Soap" and "Kalistine concentrated extract of soap" printed on versos., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized., Added to African Americana Digital Collection through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - McKeone [1975.F.181; 1975.F.183; 1975.F.185; 1975.F.620; 1975.F.622]

Title: 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]

Title: “Universal family” Soapine, Kendall Mfg. Co., Providence, R.I
Description: Racist trade card promoting Kendall Manufacturing Co.’s Soapine and depicting caricatures and ethnic stereotypes of people helping Liberty wash laundry. Shows Liberty in the center personified as a white woman with blonde hair tied up in a bun attired in a blue cap with a white star and a white sleeveless dress with a red belt that has an American flag crest. She stands behind a wooden wash tub labeled “Kendall MFG Co.” that sits on top of six boxes labeled with the letter K. She spreads both of her arms out to the seven people around her. In the left, a white man with blond hair and mustache (possibly German,) holds a pipe in his mouth and is attired in a blue tunic, brown pants, and black shoes. He bends over as he carries a large box labeled “universal soap” on his back. A white Scottish man with blonde hair, attired in a blue cap with a yellow feather, a green shirt with a red sash, and a red kilt, helps a white man with black hair and mustache (possibly French) attired in a blue uniform with gold epaulettes and black shoes, carry a large straw basket filled with white laundry to the wash tub. In the right, caricatures of an African American man in a white sleeveless top, a Native American man attired with a feather headdress and blue pants with a bundle of arrows on his back, and a Chinese man with his hair styled in a queue attired in a blue tunic, brown pants, and blue, slip-on, cloth shoes, carry an oversize wash board labeled “French Laundry Soap.” In the center foreground, a white man with blonde hair and attired in a blue shirt, brown pants, blue socks, and black shoes, has fallen down on the ground. Beside him is a broken white pipe, and a small black cat runs away. Henry L. Kendall (1805-1883) founded a soap manufactory in Providence, R.I. in 1827. The Kendall Manufacturing Co. was incorporated in 1860. The Company continued to manufacture soap into the mid-20th century., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from place of operation of the advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Kendall [P.2017.95.96]

Title: 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]

Title: Day's soap does it Washee, washee, see him rub on his washboard in the tub; see him wash and smile with glee for he's from hard labor free; with Day's soap his work is done when his rivals just begun
Description: Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyrighted 1887 by Day & Frick., Racist metamorphic trade card showing a caricaturized Chinese man laundry worker washing a sheet on a wash board in a washtub. Includes a tab that when pulled lifts the washer's arms up and down to reveal the text "Day Soap" on the wash board. The man wears his hair in a queue and is attired in a long-sleeved, blue collared shirt with buttons down the front, blue pants, and slip-on, cloth shoes. He smiles and looks to the right. The tub rests on a table beside a bar of soap, labeled “Day’s Soap.” On the ground behind the table is a basket of laundry. Sheets hang on a drying line. In the background, the wall has Chinese-stylized decorations including a gold wallpaper depicting birds and fish and a purple and gold wall hanging that reads, “Day’s Soap.” Peter Day founded the Day & Frick soap manufactory firm in 1886. He retired as president of the firm in 1917., Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, John D. Avil founded the Avil Printing Company (also known as John D. Avil & Co.) in West Philadelphia and managed it from the early 1860s until his death in 1918.
Date: [1887]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Day's [P.2012.62.8]

Title: The Hunters three and O.N.T
Description: Circular promoting Clark Thread Company and depicting racist caricatures of African, Asian, and indigenous men. Volume also contains several lines of narrative, promotional text written as a children’s story. The front cover is a color illustration of three white "merry gentlemen" in Cololonial attire and riding on horseback as "they hunt and hunt." The men are attired in tri-corn hats; red jackets; white breeches with riding boots; and white wigs. They ride on a road towards the viewer. The figures are bordered with pictorial details of the Clark’s O.N.T trademark. The rider in the middle raised his hat with his hand. Image is reproduced in black and white on p. [2]. P. [3] shows the horsemen observe three white children standing before them whom they believe "...must be princes. They sew their clothes with O.N.T." P. [4] show the "gentlemen" observe from a distance three African Zulu men. The men drive a lion into a net made of O.N.T. thread. One man is nude except for a feather on his head and bangs a large drum labeled "Clark's O.N.T. spool thread." Another man is attired in a skirt made of palm leaves and carries a shield and arrows. A third man carries arrows and wears a feather on his head. P [5] shows the "hunters" "spy" "three happy Hottentots" who roll down a hill on large spools of Clark's thread in a "chariot race." The three African men have their hair in buns atop their heads and are attired in white shorts and hoop earrings. One man is also attired in a shell necklace, and two men hold spears. P. [6] shows the three men find a Chinese man flying a kite strung with O.N.T. thread thread and to which a Chinese boy is attached. He is seated on a rug with his back to the viewer. To his right is a pipe. His hair is styled in a queue, and he is attired in a white shirt with a vest decorated in a print of dragons and slip-on, cloth shoes., P. [7] shows the white men finding an Inuit man on a sled made from a Clark's spool and pulled over the ice by a team of dogs. The sled driver is attired in a hooded parka and boots. P. [8] the three riders encounter a Native American man reigning in a buffalo with O.N.T. thread. He is attired in knee-high boots; a patterned blanket draped around his chest; hoop earrings; and a feather headdress. P. [9] shows a view of the back of the three riders bordered by pictorial details of the Clark’s O.N.T trademark. The back cover is a color illustration of a white girl with long blonde hair attired in black boots; red stocking; a green dress; and a blue striped apron. She is seated on an oversize spool of O.N.T. thread and playing cat's cradle with a white boy. The boy is attired in a red fez; a green coat; blue stockings; and black boots. The George A. Clark & Brother Company, manufactory of embroidery and sewing thread, was founded in 1863 in Newark, N.J. The firm was renamed Clark & Co. in 1879, and in the 1880s created a six-cord, soft finished thread called "Our New Thread" or "O.N.T." The business merged with J. & P. Coats in 1896, which lead to a series of mergers with fourteen other companies. Into the 21st century, the company continues to manufacture thread under the name Coats & Clark., Title from item., Advertising text printed on verso of front cover: Use Clark's trade mark O.N.T. spool cotton on white spools! It is superior to all others for hand and machine use. Garments sewed with O.N.T. fast black will never show white on the seams after being worn or washed., Advertising text printed on verso of back cover: Use Marshall's linen thread on 200 yard spools. Guaranteed full length. Made from the bext flax, and Milward's Helix Needles in patent wrappers. For sale everywhere., Place of publication deduced from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of advertised business., Distributor's name printed on p. [1]: George A. Cole, sole agent., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Clark [P.2017.95.31]

Main menu