Sapolio [graphic].
Title
Sapolio
Description
Racist trade card promoting soap manufacturer Enoch Morgan's Sons Company and depicting the caricature of an African American child’s head emerging out of a watermelon. The child, portrayed with exaggerated features, smiles as their eyes look to the right. The green watermelon is ripped open revealing pink flesh and black seeds. Enoch Morgan's Sons Company began manufacturing Sapolio soap in 1869 in New York. Peruvian company Intradevco Industrial SA purchased Sapolio in 1997., Title from item., Publication information from copyright statement: Copyrighted 1882, by Donaldson Brothers., Advertising text printed on verso: One cake will do more work and will do it better than Three Cakes of any other mineral or scouring soap ever made. Enoch Morgan's Sons Sapolio. Better and cheaper than soap. For all house cleaning purposes. It will clean paint, marble, oil cloths, bath tubs, crockery, kitchen utensils, &c. It will polish tin, brass, copper and steel wares of all kinds better than Emery or Rotten Stone. Ask for it. Take no other as a substitute for it. It is the best and cheapest scouring soap. Hand Sapolio, for every day use, is the best and cheapest toilet and bath soap in the market. Removes stains of all kinds, and leaves the skin white and soft. Prevents chapping of hands. Illustration of a white man looking at the bottom of a pan that reflects his face as a mirror., Gift of David Doret.
Date
1882
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Enoch [P.2017.95.60]
Enoch Morgan's Sons Sapolio [graphic].
Title
Enoch Morgan's Sons Sapolio
Description
Racist trade card promoting soap manufacturer Enoch Morgan's Sons Company and depicting African American women domestics cleaning a parlor. Shows an African American woman, attired in a head kerchief; hoop earrings; a polka dotted dress with the sleeves rolled up to her upper arms; and black shoes, on her hands and knees cleaning a floor with a brush in her right hand. There is a wooden bucket beside the woman. In the right, another African American woman, attired in a short-sleeved dress with a bustle and checked skirt, stands cleaning the molding of a doorway with a cloth. In the background is a lit fireplace and mantle with vases on top of it. Enoch Morgan's Sons Company began manufacturing Sapolio soap in 1869 in New York. Peruvian company Intradevco Industrial SA purchased Sapolio in 1997., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Distributor's imprint stamped on recto: Tom S. Culver, Dealer in surplus [?] teas, coffees, [?] and flour. Canned, dried, and [?] vegetables, etc. Choice brands of [?] tobacco. A fine [?] Ithaca, N.Y., Advertising text printed on verso: There is no one article known that will do so many kinds of work in and about the house and do it so well as Enoch Morgan's Sons Sapolio. (Each cake is wrapped in tin foil, and surrounded with Ultramarine Blue Band, and bears the above device.) Always note this. A cake of Sapolio, a bowl of water and a brush, cloth or sponge will make House Cleaning an easy and quick job--Will clean paint and all painted surfaces-- Will clean marble, mantels, tables and statuary-- Will clean oil-cloths, floors, shelves, &c. -- Will clean bath tubs, wash-basins, &c. -- Will clean crockery, glassware, &c. -- Will clean kitchen utensils, of all kinds--Will clean windows without splashing of water -- Will polish tin, brass, and copperwares-- Will polish knives as you wash them-- Will polish all metal surfaces and Will clean all household articles -- and is better and cheaper than soap, emery, rotten stone, &c. Price 10 c. per cake. Illustration of a white man looking at the bottom of a pan that reflects his face as a mirror., Gift of David Doret.
Date
[ca. 1890]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Enoch [P.2017.95.59]