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- 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 genuine Murray & Lanman Florida Water the richest of all perfumes
- Description
- Illustrated trade card promoting Murray & Lanman’s perfume and depicting a full-length profile of a woman, possibly meant to be Asian, carrying a parasol over her shoulder. The woman wears her hair tied up in a bun and is attired in a pink and yellow, kimono-style dress, with a white collar, and pink shoes. She stands on the grass in front of a large fountain and dangles an object in front of her face, observing it closely. Murray & Lanman, the partnership between perfumer Robert I. Murray and David Trumbull Lanman, formed in 1835 in New York City. The firm's style changed to David T. Lanman & Co., then Lanman & Kemp in 1861., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1881 by Lanman & Kemp, N.Y., Advertising text printed on verso: Always a favorite. Time has proved beyond a question that our claim to the title of “Imperishable Perfume” for our Murray & Lanman’s Florida Water is based upon absolute facts. It is to-day, as when first it appeared, winning immediate favor with all classes. The sweetest, the richest, the most delicate, the most lasting of all perfumes. Where, except in this delicious floral water, can one find such a rare combination of excellencies? Since the introduction of Murray & Lanman’s Florida Water, numberless rivals and imitations have been foisted upon the public, to live their day and fall into the neglect which, sooner or later, attends pretentious inferiority. The genuine article is known by the words, “Lanman & Kemp, New York,” Printed in water-mark on every leaf of the little pamphlet wrapped around each bottle. This mark also protects our other preparations., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- 1881
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Murray [1975.F.598]
- 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
- Purgen, Japan’s superiority over other oriental countries is indicated by the enlightenment of its medical profession, which prescribes in habitual constipation the pleasant and certain hydragogue laxative Purgen
- Description
- Advertisement for Lehn & Fink's patent medicine and depicting a group of Japanese men and women. In the left, shows the man, attired in a wicker Kasa hat, black-striped kimono with a red obi, and geta shoes, playing the samisen as he looks down at two small dogs. A woman, attired in a white hat and red and purple kimono, walks behind him. Next is the woman attired in a gray kimono. Two young men control the strings to a puppet at her feet. In the right, the Japanese man, wearing a chonmage hairstyle and with a sword at his waist, walks carrying a bundle and staff. In the left is the building decorated with red paper lanterns and with a counter holding a plate of food, possibly rice balls. A tree branch of red flowers arches across the top. Five black boxes for stamps are in the top of the print. Library Company copy has four Imperial Japanese Post stamps. Louis Lehn (1838-1915) and Frederick W. Fink (1846-1925) founded Lehn & Fink in New York in 1874., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the advertised business., Gift of William H. Helfand., See related: Graphic Popular Medicine Ephemera Collection - Series II - Advertisements [P.2010.37.72]; Helfand Graphic Popular Medicine Print Collection - Advertisements [P.2012.29.58].
- Date
- [ca. 1900]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Graphic Popular Medicine Ephemera Collection - Series II - Advertisements [P.2010.37.71]
- Title
- Purgen, Japan’s superiority over other oriental countries is indicated by the enlightenment of its medical profession, which prescribes in habitual constipation the pleasant and certain hydragogue laxative Purgen
- Description
- Advertisement for Lehn & Fink's patent medicine and depicting a group of Japanese men, women, and boys. In the left, shows the man, attired in a blue-striped kimono and sandals, holding a wooden tray and blowing colorful bubbles that float up. A young boy runs and looks up at the bubbles. A woman, attired in a white hat, purple patterned kimono with a red obi, and sandals, walks with a boy who carries a branch of cherry blossoms. Next two women, attired in white hats and a gray kimono with a black obi and a purple kimono with a red obi, walk and talk together. In the right, the Japanese man, wearing a chonmage hairstyle and attired in a gray kimono and sandals, walks carrying a red bundle and a branch of cherry blossoms. A cherry tree, with a red-and-white striped banner tied to it, has a flowering branch that extends across the top of the print. Library Company copy has five Imperial Japanese Post stamps. Louis Lehn (1838-1915) and Frederick W. Fink (1846-1925) founded Lehn & Fink in New York in 1874., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the advertised business., Gift of William H. Helfand., See related: Graphic Popular Medicine Ephemera Collection - Series II - Advertisements [P.2010.37.71]; Helfand Graphic Popular Medicine Print Collection - Advertisements [P.2012.29.58].
- Date
- [ca. 1900]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Graphic Popular Medicine Ephemera Collection - Series II - Advertisements [P.2010.37.72]
- 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
- All together! Enlist in the Navy
- Description
- World War One recruitment poster for the United States Navy and depicting a white man American sailor standing among five other men sailors from allied countries. Flags are underneath each sailor to denote their nationality (left to right): Japan, France, United States, White Ensign of the Royal Navy used for the British Commonwealth, Russia, and Italy. In the left, the Japanese sailor, depicted with a dark-colored skin tone and attired in a blue uniform, holds his cap in his right hand. Next to him, the brown-haired, white French sailor with a mustache, attired in a blue shirt with two medals, a black utility belt, white pants, and black shoes, carries a rifle and bayonet in his left hand. He holds his cap up in the air with his right hand. The blond-haired American sailor, attired in a white cap and a blue uniform, stands in the center with his left arm around a sailor of the British Commonwealth. The British Commonwealth sailor, depicted with a light-brown color skin tone, is attired in a brimmed, straw sennet hat and a white sailor’s uniform (possibly to be portrayed from the Caribbean). He holds a telescope under his left arm and smiles at the American. The Russian sailor beside him with a mustache and attired in a white cap, a white shirt, and black pants, puts his arm on his back and on the back of the Italian sailor. In the right, the black-haired Italian sailor with a mustache and his face depicted with dark tones, is attired in a white cap, a blue shirt, and white pants. He stands and holds a rifle and bayonet over his right shoulder. In the background, battleships with Allied flags on the masts are visible on the water., Title from item., Publication information inferred from the content., Date from the artist's signature on recto: H. Reuterdahl, U.S.N.R.F. ’17., Accessioned 1980., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Henry Reuterdahl was a Swedish-born painter and illustrator who was well-known for his paintings of ships and nautical scenes. He served as artist-correspondent during the Spanish-American War and went on to develop a close association with the United States Navy.
- Creator
- Reuterdahl, Henry, 1871-1925, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1917]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department WWI Posters Drawer 2 Folder 12 [P.2284.191-204]
- Title
- [Return of 28th Division parade in Philadelphia, welcome home, passing Independence Hall May 15, 1919]
- Description
- Photograph depicting soldiers of the 28th Division of the Army marching past Independence Hall at 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia at the homecoming parade on May 15, 1919. Shows the soldiers carrying rifles and marching in formation down the street. In the right, spectators sit in bleachers and watch the parade. A banner on the post of the bleachers reads, "Boureuilles." American and Allied flags, including a Japanese flag, decorate the buildings. Police officers stand flanking the parade route. A photographer takes photographs standing on a stone urn on the sidewalk in the left. The 28th Infantry Division represents the Pennsylvania National Guard and was also called the "Iron Division" and “Keystone Division.” The Division served in World War I, including at the Battle of Chateau-Thierry., Title and date from manuscript note written on verso., See related: photo - unidentified - events - World War I [7066.Q.44-51].
- Date
- May 15, 1919
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - events - World War I [7066.Q.45]
- Title
- For…colds, sore throat, headache, neuralgia. Now is the time of year when catarrah troubles you!
- Description
- Advertisement for a patent medicine and depicting a group of Japanese men, women, and children. Shows in the right from top to bottom, the man, attired in a purple kimono, wearing a large red mask; woman, attired in a blue kimono with a red obi, holding a wooden paddle in her right hand; and woman, attired in a purple kimono with a red obi, carrying a baby on her back who is waving. In the left from top to bottom, boy, attired in a blue kimono, running, holding a wooden paddle in his right hand, and carrying a baby on his back who holds a rod with a red square on a string; boy, attired in a purple kimono, playing with a top; woman, attired in a blue kimono with a red obi, carrying sticks in each hand; and man, attired in a blue kimono, lounging on his side while a boy, attired in a purple kimono, plays. Advertising text is in the center and includes a bust-length portrait of a white woman holding an inhaler in her left hand. Clarence N. Hooks (1856-1935) began a mercantile business in Felchville, Vermont in 1882. The firm Hook & Burnham was formed in 1893 with George D. Burnham and continued until 1903., Title from item., Date inferred from active dates of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: For…colds, sore throat, headache, neuralgia. Now is the time of year when catarrah troubles you! Cushman’s menthol inhaler is an ingenious device, highly recommended by the most eminent medical authorities, consisting of a glass tube four inches long, one-half inch in diameter, filled with crystals of pure menthol in such a manner as to allow free passage of air through them The mentholized air being inhaled through the nose penetrates to the remotest recesses of the nasal passages and gives prompt relief. By continual use it is a sure cure of catarrh, headache, facial neuralgia, colds, catarrh and hay fever. The mentholized air inhaled by the mouth reaches the larynx, bronchial tubes and the very air cells of the lungs, curing croup, sore throat, asthma and bronchitis. Menthol is to-day the acknowledged antiseptic and germicide for internal use. It is the only known remedy that will destroy the germs, spores, bacteria and such minute organisms without injury to the patient. It is so volatile, and separates into such minute particles, that there is no hiding place so diminutive for a disease germ which an atom of menthol does not seek out. It is pleasant to use. Not injurious. Is neat; can be carried in the pocket. No bottle to break; no spoon to bother with. It is not a patent medicine, but a well-known remedy, endorsed by the very highest medical authority. Costs but 50 cents and lasts a year. Cushman’s menthol inhaler!! Costs 50 cents. Lasts a year. Compliments of C.N. Hook, Dealer in dry goods, groceries, etc., Felchville, Vt., Gift of William H. Helfand., See related: Graphic Popular Medicine Ephemera Collection - Series II - Advertisements [P.2010.37.71-72].
- Date
- [ca. 1890]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helfand Graphic Popular Medicine Print Collection - Advertisements [P.2012.29.58]
- Title
- The Gale costume lectures music and myth of old Japan
- Description
- Program for "Music and Myth of Old Japan," performed by Albert Gale and Martha Brockway Gale as a part of their lecture series. On the cover, shows Albert Gale "drawn by a Japanese artist" wearing a chonmage hairstyle and attired in a kimono and holding a fan in his right hand. On pages two and three are photographs of Albert and Martha, attired in kimonos, acting in scenes from the performance. In the left, the image titled "posing" shows Albert kneeling and playing a shamisen as Martha stands on one leg and holds a fan behind her head. "Ready for guests" depicts Martha holding her hands up with a fan in her right hand. "Salutation" shows Albert and Martha facing each other in a deep bow. In the top center, "the stage setting" depicts Albert and Martha kneeling surrounded by Japanese objects, including screens, parasols, and a potted flower. In the right, "magic" shows Albert standing with his left hand out and holding a fan in his right hand as Martha kneels and looks up at him. "Ready for the street" shows Martha standing and holding a parasol. "'Ikebana (flower arrangement)'" shows Martha kneeling and placing flowers into a vase. Drawings in between the photographs include: a Japanese boy, attired in a kimono, with his back to the viewer and holding a kite shaped as a fish as a bird flies; vases filled with flowers; and a bird. On page four are bust-length portraits of Albert and Martha attired in Western dress. There are drawings of a landscape view with ships and a mountain and a Japanese woman, attired in a kimono, carrying a baby on her back., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of the stage production., Manuscript note written on cover: "Given under auspices of Senior class [extras?]. In Town Hall Wed. eve., Dec. 13. 1913. Adm. 50¢ Student 25¢. R.L.M., Text printed on cover: Elaborate stage setting of handsome Japanese draperies, rich costumes of Oriental silks and gold brocade, priceless musical instruments from the Buddhist and Shinto Temples, fascinating fold-tales interwoven with seductive melody, a glimpse of the queer and quaint customs of the "little brown people," the art-life of a strange, poetic race revealed. It takes you away from the commonplace and transports you to a wonderland of fancy - a land of myths and mystics., Contents: Program: Mythological birth of the fairyland of Nippon (Japan) - Kimigayo (the National Anthem of Japan) - The Music of a race the expression of its character - Banzai march - Japanese scales - The Shakuhachi - Oiwaki - Oiwaki (harmonized) - Shen Nen (New Year's song) - The Sono koto - Hime Matsu - Legend of the Koto - Legend of the bells - Costumes - Shin-fa-diu (Chinese melody) - Sumera-Mikuni (patriotic Japanese melody) - The Theater orchestra - Percussive instruments of wood - The Hioshigi - Riu-kiu-bushi (Formosan air) - A Buddhist prayer - Drums - Sakura (cherry tree) - The Hichiriki - Musical frogs and beetles. No intermission. Part II. A short scene from Japanese home-life, given entirely in the Japanese language, introducing home devotions to ancestors, flower arrangement, tea-drinking, posing to music and Japanese magic., Albert Gale (1870-1952) was a musicologist who described himself as a "ethnologist of music." His wife, Martha Brockway Gale, was a vocalist and choral director. Together they toured the country, including Philadelphia, giving lectures and recitals starting around 1906 on Native American, Chinese, and Japanese music and culture. Gale never traveled to Japan. He took lessons on Japanese and Chinese instruments from Japanese musicians in Seattle.
- Creator
- Gale Printing Co., engraver
- Date
- [ca. 1913]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera -- Misc. - Gale [P.2025.26]

