Racist trade card promoting stove manufacturer Cribben, Sexton & Co. and depicting a genre scene with African American caricatures originally created for Harper’s Weekly in 1878 by Sol Eytinge that satirized the courtship and marriage of and the start of families by "The Twins." Figures are portrayed with exaggerated features. Shows the sisters getting married a parlor. The twins are attired in white, short-sleeved wedding dresses with ruffles at the bottom and veils. The groom at the left, a squat man, is attired in beige pants; a white waistcoat with a gold pocketwatch chain; a collared shirt; and a black jacket, while the groom at the right, a tall man, is attired in blue striped pants; a white shirt; and a black tie and jacket. An African American reverend attired in a black suit stands in front of them and officiates while holding an open bible. The twin's parents stand behind the couples. The father is attired in white pants, a shirt, and a waistcoat, with a black jacket and bowtie. The mother is attired in a brown dress with a white hat decorated with a bow and sash. Behind them watching the nuptials is a woman, attired in a white mob cap and a blue dress, seated in a wooden chair. She holds a boy in her lap, attired in a green pants and a beige jacket. Three other people view the ceremony through a doorway. In the left is a woman attired in a beige dress with a white apron and a cap; in the center is a man attired in a blue collared shirt; and in the right is a woman attired in a beige dress. A table with a cake and a decanter with glasses is visible behind the reverend. Henry Cribben and James A. Sexton founded the stove manufactory Cribben, Sexton & Co. in Chicago in 1873. The Company closed in 1965., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Distributor's imprint printed on verso: Davison & Steinhilfer, Dealers in stoves and hardware, and a full line of universal perfect & elegant stoves and ranges always on hand, Strawberry Point, Iowa., Gift of David Doret.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Cribben, Sexton & Co. [P.2017.95.38]
