Trade card promoting Kerr & Co.’s thread and depicting a racist caricature of an African American man using Kerr’s thread to move a safe onto a cart. In the right, shows an African American man, attired in a yellow hat, an orange shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and green pants, standing on the back of a cart pulled by two white horses. He turns the handle attached to an oversized spool of “Kerr’s Cotton” thread, which is pulling a large, black safe labeled, “Herring’s Champion New York; Kerr & Co., 34 Walker St. N.Y.” onto the cart. A white man, attired in a black hat, an orange shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and green pants, stands behind the safe to steady it. In the left, a crowd of people look on to the scene, including a white man police officer; a brown haired white girl attired in an orange hat, an orange dress with a white lace collar and a blue sash at the waist, and white stockings and shoes; a white man with a black mustache, attired in a black top hat, a white shirt, a black jacket, a yellow coat, and white pants and shoes; and a white woman attired in an orange hat with a white feather, an orange dress with white checks, and a black shawl. Above them a crane holds an oversized spool of black thread labeled, “Kerr & Co. Warranted 200 yds machine thread. Six cord (40) soft finish.” In the right is a building where people look through the windows at the scene. In the second story window in the left are two white men with mustaches attired in white collared shirts and blue jackets. In the right window are two white women attired in an orange dress and a blue dress respectively and hats. The building reads, “six-cord, soft-finish, new spool cotton.”, Peter Kerr (1818-1869) was a thread manufacturer who moved to the United States in 1866 and opened a factory in New York City. He partnered with his brother-in-law George A. Clark's thread company. Clark & Company later merged with J.&P. Coats in 1896., Title from item., Place of publication inferred from place of operation of advertised business., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Advertising text printed on recto: Kerr's cotton never breaks. It is a safe thread., Gift of David Doret.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Kerr [P.2017.95.97]
