© Copyright 2020 - The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. TEL (215) 546-3181 FAX (215) 546-5167
For inquiries, please contact our IT Department
- Title
- With H. A. Bartlett & Co., Philadelphia & Boston
- Description
- Trade card promoting Bartlett's polishes, including "Pearl Blue," "Hub Blue," "No. 3 Blacking," and "No. 5 Blacking." Shows a driver, attired in a top hat and suit, operating a two-mule team wagon composed of tins of Bartlett's polish (for wheels) and an "Immense Stove Polish" bar (for the cab). The wagon also transports tins of polish., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of Helen Beitler and Estate of Helen Beitler.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helen Beitler Graphic Ephemera Collection - Trade cards & Blotters [P.2011.10.25]
- Title
- Twelve good reasons why the Woman's Suffrage Stove Polish is preferred to all others
- Description
- Illustrated trade card depicting a seated portrait of a girl with her arms propped on and crossed on the back of the chair., Title supplied by cataloger from advertising text printed on verso., Manuscript note on verso: Edith from Abbie., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Woman's [P.9990]
- Title
- Foxy Granduncle's first mistake. How is that? Hello! Hello! Hello! Well, well, well! What's this?
- Description
- Metamorphic foldout trade card promoting "Imperial Metal Polish." Card composed to portray the perceived and actual scene viewed by an old man "Granduncle" looking through a peephole in a fence (completely folded). The perceived scene shows a bare bottom and a woman's feet (partially-folded). The actual scene shows a racily-attired young woman, smoking cigars, drinking, and seated on a hammock near a pig with his rear to the viewer (unfolded). Also contains the "Imperial" trademark label depicting an image of the world. Label captioned "Reg. U.S. Pat. Office.", Distributor's stamp on verso: Hainsworth Supply Co., 2247 N. 8th St., Phila., Registration Applied For., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of Helen Beitler and Estate of Helen Beitler.
- Date
- [ca. 1895]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helen Beitler Graphic Ephemera Collection - Trade cards & Blotters [P.2011.10.27]
- Title
- Leadbeater's renowned stove polish
- Description
- Racist advertisement for Leadbeater & Co.’s stove polish depicting a white woman and an African American woman polishing stoves. In the left, the brown-haired white woman, attired in a blue ruffled dress, white gloves, a necklace, and bracelets, stands holding a bottle of Leadbeater’s stove polish in her left hand, which she brushes onto a heating stove. In the right, an African American woman domestic, attired in a yellow head kerchief, gold hoop earrings, a red collared shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, and a green skirt with black stripes, kneels as she brushes polish on the cooking stove. She turns her head to see her reflection on the stove in the left. Also visible in the image are a framed portrait, landscape, and still life, and a green sideboard with white plates and a cup. Leadbeater & Company, was a one year partnership between Philadelphia stove polish merchants, F.C. Leadbeater and D.L. Wells, at 920 Market Street., Title and date from manuscript note written on recto: Leadbeater's Renowned Stove Polish; Feb. 1861., Not in Wainwright, Philadelphia on Stone, POSP 134, Originally part of a McAllister scrapbook of engravings relating to Philadelphia. McAllister Collection, gift, 1886., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Date
- [February 1861]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department BW - Advertisements [(7)1322.F.441a]
- Title
- Willard & Lane's improved Eagle Stove Polish better than any made
- Description
- Racist trade card promoting Willard & Lane’s Eagle Stove Polish and depicting caricatures of an African American woman and two African American boys using stove polish. Shows the African American woman, portrayed with exaggerated features and attired in a hat decorated with a ribbon, a white, short-sleeved dress, and slippers, standing and carrying a brush in her left hand. She looks with concern to the left at the two boys sitting on the floor. In the left, the barefooted boy, attired in a short-sleeved white shirt and shorts, sits on the floor with his legs stretched out. The barefooted boy in the right, attired in a white, long-sleeved shirt and white pants with a patch, applies stove polish with a brush on him. In the foreground is a box labeled, “Willard & Lane’s Improved Eagle Stove Polish.” A stove is in the center of the room. Abel Lyman Willard (1829-1892) opened an apothecary and drug store in 1855 in Taunton, Mass. In circa 1874, he founded the firm Willard & Lane with A.F. Lane, manufacturing Eagle Stove Polish., Title from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1875]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Willard [P.2017.95.190]
- Title
- Brother Gardner addresses the lime kiln club on the virtues of Dixon's Stove Polish
- Description
- Racist, satiric trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a caricature of an African American man presenting Dixon’s Stove Polish to the African American men members of the Lime Kiln Club. Shows Brother Gardner, the white-haired, African American man, in the left with spectacles on his forehead and attired in a white collared shirt with a red bowtie, an orange jacket with a sunflower on the lapel, red and white checked pants, and black shoes. He stands holding a blue box of Dixon’s in his left hand and a gavel in his right hand. In the left is a wooden table with a blue pitcher and a top hat on top of it and a sign that reads, “Dixon’s Carburet of Iron Stove Polish.” Brother Gardner addresses the men in the vernacular, who are identified by number with the key of their names on the verso of the card. In the right, the man, attired in a striped white collared shirt, a red tie, a white and blue striped jacket, yellow and red striped pants, and black shoes, sits on a wooden chair and examines a blue box of Dixon’s in his hands. Beside him another man, balding with tufts of white hair on the sides of his head and a white beard and attired in a red jacket and blue striped pants, kneels down and carries a brush in his right hand. Behind them two men sit on chairs and an additional nine men stand and listen to Brother Gardner. In the background, the wall reads, “Lime Kiln Club, Paradise Hall.” A horseshoe and framed prints that read “Beautify your homes” and “Rules of the Lime Kiln Club” hang on the wall. In the center is a large, black stove., The African American "Lime Kiln Club" caricatures originally were devised by Charles Bertrand Lewis (i.e., M. Quad) in the Detroit Free Press. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date from copyright statment: Copyright 1886., Advertising text printed on verso: The Lime Kiln Club, Brother Gardner in the Chair. “Dis Club hab ebery reason to be proud of de Stove Committee. We has tried all de other stove polishes. We has been stunk out wid so-called peperahuns and seen de piping rust to pieces, till de stove-pipe wus a tumbled down disgrace to de good name of de Lime Kiln Club. De honah of dis occashun belongs to Brudder Shindig, who has made a name for hisself, by introducing Dixon’s Big cake of Stove Polish, and has covered hisself wid shine. Stand up, Brudder Shindig, and let us gaze upon your countenance. Now, my frens, let us draw a lesson from dis: Seek and find out for yerselves, and when you’s got a good ting stick to it, so dat, like DIXON’S STOVE POLISH, you may not only be a use to de community in which yer libes, but a shining example for de rest of mankind. “De club owes a vote of thanks to de Stove Committee, an’ to Brudder Shindig in particular, an’ extend de heartfelt thanks of de Lime Kiln Club to DIXONS for de valuable addition to de comfits of dis life through their CARBURET OF IRON STOVE POLISH. Wid one drawback, Brudder Shindig—you orer haf found dis outen befo’ for de DIXON’S STOVE POLISH has bin in de market SINCE 1827,--58 YEARS.” (Signed) No. 1. Bro. Gardner, 2. Old Man Jenkins, 3. Bro. Shindig, 4. Give-A-Dam Jones, 6. Sundown Davis, No. 7. Accordingly Davis, 8. Stepoff Johnson, 9. Trustee Pullback, 10. Sickles Smith, 11. Sir Isaac Walpole, 12. Layback Jones, Committee., Advertising text printed on verso: Fifty-Eights Years In Market! The Oldest, The Neatest, The Best, The Quickest. Ask your dealer for Dixon’s Stove Polish, Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J. [Includes an depiction of a box of Dixon’s Prepared Carburet of Iron.], Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- 1886
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Jos. Dixon [P.2017.95.94]
- Title
- [Lewis Fatman & Co., steam paste blacking, steam friction matches, 41 N. Front Street, Philadelphia] [graphic].
- Description
- Location: 41 North Front Street (pre-consolidation)., LCP copy lacking title and imprint., Wainwright retrospective conversion project., Select link below to view a digital image.
- Date
- [Dec. 1847]
- Location
- http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W217.htm, Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. W217 [P.2110]
- Title
- [Lewis Fatman & Co., blacking manufactory, steam friction matches manufactory, back of No. 412 Coates Street, Philadelphia] [graphic].
- Description
- Location: 412 Coates Street, later Fairmount Avenue., Wainwright retrospective conversion project., Select link below to view a digital image.
- Date
- [ca. 1847]
- Location
- http://www.lcpgraphics.org/wainwright/W218.htm, Library Company of Philadelphia Print Dept. *W218 [P.2109]
- Title
- [Rising Sun Stove Polish by Morse Bros. trade cards]
- Description
- Series of illustrated trade cards depicting two cause and effect scenarios entitled "The story of a foolish man" and "The story of a wise man". In the four panels of "The story of a foolish man," a businessman buys an imitation stove polish from an "unprincipaled dealer" and as a result, suffers a cranky maid, dirty stove and late meals, which forces him to lose money and business. In the four panels of "The story of a wise man," a businessman purchases Rising Sun Stove Polish from a "respectable store" and as a result, enjoys a happy home, which allows him to tend to his business and eventually become a wealthy and well-respected Congressman. One print [1975.F.722] also depicts a package of Rising Sun Stove Polish on the verso and the other [1975.F.725] includes a bird's eye view of Morse Bros. manufactory in Canton, Massachusetts., Title supplied by cataloger., Advertising text printed on versos promotes Rising Sun Stove Polish created by Morse Bros. of Canton, Massachusetts. Cautions viewer to avoid imitations., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
- Date
- [ca. 1880]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Rising [1975.F.722 & 1975.F.725]
- Title
- Brother Gardner addresses the Lime Kiln Club on the virtues of Dixon's Stove Polish
- Description
- Racist, satiric trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a caricature of an African American man presenting Dixon’s Stove Polish to the African American men members of the Lime Kiln Club. Shows Brother Gardner, the white-haired, African American man, in the left with spectacles on his forehead and attired in a white collared shirt with a red bowtie, an orange jacket with a sunflower on the lapel, red and white checked pants, and black shoes. He stands holding a blue box of Dixon’s in his left hand and a gavel in his right hand. In the left is a wooden table with a blue pitcher and a top hat on top of it and a sign that reads, “Dixon’s Carburet of Iron Stove Polish.” Brother Gardner addresses the men in the vernacular, who are identified by number with the key of their names on the verso of the card. In the right, the man, attired in a striped white collared shirt, a red tie, a white and blue striped jacket, yellow and red striped pants, and black shoes, sits on a wooden chair and examines a blue box of Dixon’s in his hands. Beside him another man, balding with tufts of white hair on the sides of his head and a white beard and attired in a red jacket and blue striped pants, kneels down and carries a brush in his right hand. Behind them two men sit on chairs and an additional nine men stand and listen to Brother Gardner. In the background, the wall reads, “Lime Kiln Club, Paradise Hall.” A horseshoe and framed prints that read “Beautify your homes” and “Rules of the Lime Kiln Club” hang on the wall. In the center is a large, black stove., The African American "Lime Kiln Club" caricatures originally were devised by Charles Bertrand Lewis (i.e., M. Quad) in the Detroit Free Press. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date from copyright statement: Copyright 1886., Advertising text printed on verso: The Lime Kiln Club, Brother Gardner in the Chair. “Dis Club hab ebery reason to be proud of de Stove Committee. We has tried all de other stove polishes. We has been stunk out wid so-called peperahuns and seen de piping rust to pieces, till de stove-pipe wus a tumbled down disgrace to de good name of de Lime Kiln Club. De honah of dis occashun belongs to Brudder Shindig, who has made a name for hisself, by introducing Dixon’s Big cake of Stove Polish, and has covered hisself wid shine. Stand up, Brudder Shindig, and let us gaze upon your countenance. Now, my frens, let us draw a lesson from dis: Seek and find out for yerselves, and when you’s got a good ting stick to it, so dat, like DIXON’S STOVE POLISH, you may not only be a use to de community in which yer libes, but a shining example for de rest of mankind. “De club owes a vote of thanks to de Stove Committee, an’ to Brudder Shindig in particular, an’ extend de heartfelt thanks of de Lime Kiln Club to DIXONS for de valuable addition to de comfits of dis life through their CARBURET OF IRON STOVE POLISH. Wid one drawback, Brudder Shindig—you orer haf found dis outen befo’ for de DIXON’S STOVE POLISH has bin in de market SINCE 1827,--58 YEARS.” (Signed) No. 1. Bro. Gardner, 2. Old Man Jenkins, 3. Bro. Shindig, 4. Give-A-Dam Jones, 6. Sundown Davis, No. 7. Accordingly Davis, 8. Stepoff Johnson, 9. Trustee Pullback, 10. Sickles Smith, 11. Sir Isaac Walpole, 12. Layback Jones, Committee., Advertising text printed on verso: Fifty-eight years in market! The oldest, the best, the neatest, the quickest. Ask your dealer for Dixon's Stove Polish. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J. Illustration showing a box of "Dixon's Prepared Carburet of Iron (Trademark) For Polishing Stoves, Grates, Ranges, and Every Kind of Cast and Sheet Iron work.", Purchased with funds from the Walter J. Miller Trust for the Visual Culture Program., RVCDC, Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., 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.
- Date
- 1886
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *trade card - J [P.2012.54.2]
- Title
- Wootten's excelsior stove lustre or pure black lead Prepared by John Wootten, Jr. No. 94 Spruce St. Wholesale Depot, no. 13 North Third Street Phila
- Description
- Racist advertisement promoting Wootten’s Excelsior Stove Lustre and depicting an African American man, portrayed in caricature, polishing a stove. Shows the African American man servant, barefoot and attired in a plaid, collared shirt and pants, kneeling before a stove with a brush in his left hand. On the floor in front of him is a glass of water, an open can of polish, and a box labeled, Wootten’s Excelsior Stove Lustre or Pure Black Lead. In the right, a white woman stands wearing her brown hair in a bun and attired in an off-the-shoulder dress with a bow at the chest and lace sleeves. She looks toward the man and asks, “Uncle Tom whose blacking is that you are useing [sic].” He replies in the vernacular, “La Missey don’t you know dat -- dat is Wooten's Lustre." To the left of the woman, a black cat stands on a wooden chair with its back raised and looks at the man. Also visible in the image are plates, bowls, and cups on shelves, another wooden chair, and an open window that has a potted plant on the ledge. John Wootten Jr. (1820-1872) is listed in the 1861 Philadelphia city directory as a blacking maker., Title from item., Date from Poulson inscription on recto: Mar. 28 -59; S. 4 (old no.) Spruce Street., Not in Wainwright., Text printed on recto: For polishing and beautifying stoves, this Lustre stands unrivalled. It may with perfect justice be called The Housekeeper’s Choice; it gives a more brilliant appearance, retains it gloss longer, and requires Fifty per cent less labor than any other preparation in existence, when moistened with a little water, and applied vigorously to iron work of any kind, the effect is truly magical; housekeepers and others are well aware what great labor is requisite, and time expended in the attempt to give a fine polish with many of the lustres sold at the present day – here however both these evils are remedied; a beautiful gloss is obtained in a few minutes, and without scarcely any exertion whatever. Another advantage which this article possesses over all others, is, that it tends to preserve the iron from the deleterious effects of damp and rust, which so often render a stove entirely useless in the course of a few seasons. This Lustre is prepared with great care from the very best lead that can be found in the market, and is entirely free from all those foreign substances which so greatly destroy the efficacy of other articles.", Philadelphia on Stone, POSP 279, Accessioned 1982., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021.
- Creator
- Sinclair, Thomas S., approximately 1805-1881, lithographer
- Date
- [March 28, 1859]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *BW - Advertisements [P.8729.21]
- Title
- Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
- Description
- Trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming copper kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso: Established 1827. Dixon's stove polish; over fifty years in the market. Neat; quick; brilliant, and lasting. No dust. No odor. Nothing will make a stovd (sic) so bright and cheerful for so long a time as the Dixon stove polish. It is by far the cheapest in use, in the long run. Buy it. Try it. Take no other. Pressed into a neat quarter-pound packet, absolutely free of adulteration. Six millions sold in 1881. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J., Gift of David Doret., Library Company holds duplicate copies [1975.F.235; P.9577.14; P.9599].
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Dixon [P.2017.95.44]
- Title
- Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
- Description
- Trade card promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item., Date deduced from history of the advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso: 57 years in market Dixon's pure carburet of iron. Stove polish. The oldest. The best. The quickest. The neatest. Ask your grocer for it., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Dixon [P.2017.95.45]
- Title
- [Lewis Fatman & Co., steam paste blacking, steam friction matches, 41 N. Front Street, Philadelphia]
- Description
- Advertisement showing the three-story building covered in signage for the polish and match business located between Market and Arch streets on Front Street. A clerk, crates, cans piled on a table, and a rope hoist are visible through the first floor window and entrances. Another worker is visible in a third-floor window. A conestoga wagon passes in the street with the driver astride one of the four horses in the team. Fatman operated a second factory at 412 Coates Street, i.e., Fairmount Avenue., Date from Poulson inscription on recto: N. Front streets. Dec. 1847., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 437, LCP copy trimmed and lacking title and imprint., Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited.
- Date
- [December 1847]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department W217 [P.2110]
- Title
- [Lewis Fatman & Co., blacking manufactory, steam friction matches manufactory, back of No. 412 Coates Street, Philadelphia]
- Description
- Advertisement showing the adjoined three-and two-story manufactory buildings covered in signage for the polish and match business located on the 1000 block of Coates Street, i.e. Fairmount Avenue. Laborers, including one carrying a stack on his shoulder, are visible at a few windows and at an entrance. In the foreground, a gentleman walks, and a boy plays with a hoop near some crates and barrels, on the sidewalk. In the street, a drayman transports planks of wood, a "Fatman and Co.'s Matches & Blacking" wagon is parked, and a laborer loads crates on to a dray. Fatman operated a factory from this location circa 1844-1848 in addition to a second factory on North Front Street., Date from Poulson inscription on recto: Dec. 1847. Back of No. 412 Coates Street., Title supplied by cataloguer., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 436, Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., Trimmed and lacking title.
- Date
- [ca. 1847]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W218 [P.2109]
- Title
- Mason's challenge blacking Philadelphia
- Description
- Photographic reproduction of a racist and whimsically absurd advertisement, including an African American shoe shiner, to promote the premier manufactory of blacking established in 1832 by James S. Mason. Depicts the shoe-shiner "blacking" a boot near a white shoe-shine boy with a puppet and a dog. The shoe-shiner, portrayed with grotesque features, holds a brush overhead in his right hand and a boot over the hand of his other arm. He wears a button-down shirt with an open collar, suspenders, and breeches. To his right, is an oversize boot on which the boy has a propped a puppet. The puppet is an African American dandy-like character. The puppet attired in a jacket and high collar shirt holds an umbrella above his head. A dog, as he looks behind, flees from the puppet. The dog's face is reflected in the foot of the boot. The young shoe-shiner, attired in a cap, jacket, and breeches, smiles and points toward the dog. Scene also includes an oversize opened tin of blacking in the foreground. Following the death of Mason in 1888, his son Richard assumed the business which was in operation into the 20th century., Date inferred from address of engraving firm., Advertising text printed on verso: July 15th, Reduced prices Mason's Challenge Blacking. Net prices, ornamental cases, adapted for display in retail stores, or shipping, without re-packing, holding three dozen each. No. 1, or Small Size, per doz. 25 cts. " 2, or N. Medium Size, " 30 ." " 4, or Large Size, "50." To obtain this Blacking in the original Show Cases, not less than three dozen of a kind should be ordered. The American News Company, New York.
- Date
- [ca. 1877]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department cdv - unid. photo. - Advertisements - M [P.2016.65]
- Title
- No dinner?
- Description
- Racist trade card illustration promoting Rising Sun Stove Polish and depicting two domestic scenes with an African American husband and wife. The first scene shows the woman berating the man for buying an ineffective brand of stove polish and lunging toward him with the stick of polish in her left hand. The woman is attired in a blue and white headwrap, a red and white checkered scarf, a yellow and red patterned dress, a blue and white apron, and black shoes. The grey-haired man is attired in a blue and white top hat, a red long sleeved shirt, blue overalls, and black shoes. In the right is a bare wooden table and in the left is a dull black stove on top of which is a plain kettle. Visible beside the woman is a saucer and a brush. In the second scene, the man peeks his head from behind the door to the home and the woman faces and welcomes him with open arms. The woman is attired in a yellow and red headwrap; a blue, red, and white scarf; a red, white, and black patterned dress; a white and blue apron; and black shoes. The man is attired in a white and blue top hat. A cat with gray and black fur slinks behidn the woman. In the right is a wooden chair and a table with a red and white tablecloth, food, and utensils. In the left is a polished black stove, on top of whic sits a golden steaming kettle. Rising Sun Stove Polish Company was founded in Canton, Massachusetts by Elijah Morse in 1864., Title from item., Date inferred from content and genre of print., Advertising text printed on recto: Look yere, old man! What kind o' stove blacking you call dat? Ise been rubbin' on dat stove all mornin' an it don't gib it a polish worf a cent. You jest git de Rising Sun Stove Polish right away, or dar'l be trouble. You think I got time to 'speriment with such mud? Come in, Ephraim! Ise not mad with you dis time, case yer sent me de genuine Rising Sun Stoe Blacking; an' it shines de stove in good shape. An' here's yer dinner all ready. Somethin' agin yer? No, deed I haven't: yer tink ise an anjul to get along without good Stove Polish?, Advertising text printed on verso: An Acrostic. Royally the Rising Sun, In the east on fiery oar, Strong his daily course to run, Is with welcomes hailed afar. Nature in his radiance bright, Glowingly her form arrays; Sings her songs of sweet delight, Unisonant in his praise. Nations dwelling far and near See with joy his golden beams, Throwing back dark night, appear, Over plains and hills and sreams. Vividly his beams suggest Every bright and cheerful thing; Perfect, of its kind the best, One, the Polish that I sing. Lo! afar you find it famed, It the praise of all hath won; So, this Polish has been named, Happily, The Rising Sun., Advertising text printed on verso on right side is partially obscured., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Morse [P.2017.95.134]
- Title
- Frank Miller's crown dressing Yes missus dat am de Crown of Dressing shua!
- Description
- Racist trade card depicting an African American maid shining a white woman's boots. The African American woman is depicted in profile and holds a bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing in her left hand. The white woman holds up the skirt of her dress to reveal her left boot. The maid is attired in a head wrap, a dress with the sleeves rolled, an apron, and flat shoes. The white woman is attired in a ruffled, dark-colored dress, flowers in her hair, and leather boots. A bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing sits atop an ornamented table. A bottle of Frank Miller's Crown dressing is also printed on the verso. A tassel is visible above the bottle and a curtain is visible behind it. Frank Miller & Co. was a New York manufacturer of shoe polish based in Manhattan. The company was founded in the 1860s and continued operating throughout the late 19th century., Title from item., Printed in red ink., Distributor's imprint printed on recto: John Cottrill, boots, shoes, trunks, &c, Wallingford, Conn., Advertising text printed on verso: Frank Miller's Crown Dressing in 4-oz. bottles, with wire, sponge, and cork. Gives a rich gloss, with a deep and durable color. While most dressings crack the leather, the Crown does not injure it in the least, and for ladies' and children's boots and shoes is rapidly displacing all others., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2017.95.130]
- Title
- Frank Miller's blacking
- Description
- Racist trade card illustration depicting an African American man walking down a street past two white male onlookers and with a small white man behind him. The African American man stands tall with his right hand tucked into the breast of his coat and his legs crossed. He carries a cane in his left hand and smokes a cigar. He is attired in a top hat, a collared shirt, a bowtie, a coat, striped slim-fitting pants, and heeled shoes. The two white men stand with their hands in their pockets and are attired in top hats, coats, pants, and dark-colored shoes. The small white man stands in an identical pose to the African American man and carries a box in his left hand. He is attired in a coat, a vest, pants with a patch, and shoes. The African American man is depicted with exaggerated features. Frank Miller & Co. was a New York manufacturer of shoe polish based in Manhattan. The company was founded in the 1860s and continued operating throughout the late 19th century., Title from item., Date inferred from content and genre of print., Text printed on recto: Over., Advertising text printed on verso: Frank Miller's peerless black[in]g. This article will fully meet the requirements [of the] dealer and consumer, as to quality and appearance, [for] the general consumption of the country. It gives a quick [radiant], jet black gloss, without injury to the [?]. Frank Miller's improved French blacking gives a quick, brilliant and durable polish with positive nourishment to the leather. It is different in composition from common blackings, being based upon the French pro-cess, with every vluable feature of the French style retained, while such improvements have been made as to insure a dryer and more durable gloss, with increaed pliability of the leather., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2017.95.129]
- Title
- A tale of the Rising Sun stove polish
- Description
- Racist trade card circular advertising Rising Sun Stove Polish. Depicts four scenes in which a white woman, identified as Mrs. Smith, buys cheap ineffective stove polish from a "crafty shopkeeper" and proceeds to purchase the more effective Rising Sun Stove Polish. In the background of the scenes in Mrs. Smith's kitchen is her African American housekeeper, Dinah. Also depicted in the scenes are Mrs. Smith's friend Mrs. Jenkins, her husband Mr. Smith, and a small white dog. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jenkins are attired in elaborate and colorful dresses, hats, and hair pieces. In the scene titled "The wretched household," Dinah frowns and is attired" in a yellow dress with the sleeves rolled, a white apron, yellow shoes, white socks, and a yellow headwrap. She holds a brush in her left hand. In the scene titled "The happy home," Dinah smiles and is attired in a blue and white dress with a yellow skirt visible beneath it, black flat shoes, and a red and white cap. She holds a brush in her left hand and raises it triumphantly. In both scenes, she is depicted with exaggerated features. Rising Sun Stove Polish Company was founded in Canton, Massachusetts by Elijah Morse in 1864., Title from item., Text printed on recto: The crafty shopkeeper. "It's just as good!" the shopman - he was a vile deceiver. And Mrs. Smith, unused to guile, alas, was a believer. And on the rascal's oily words and lying tongue depended, and bought the swindling compound that the shopman recommended. The wretched household. Next day wise Mrs. Jenkins called on Mrs. Smith, her neighbor, and found the house all upside down, herself distraught with labor: the fire unkindled in the stove, and Dinah vainly trying to black the stove with that vile stuff her mistress had been buying. The dinner not commenced to get, and Mr. Smith expected, each moment home - no wonder that his wife appeared djected. Wise Mrs. Jenkins gazed in tears upon the scene - said she - "For all your troubles, dear, I know a sovereign remedy.", Text printed on verso: The beautiful chromo. Wise Mrs. Jenkins and her friend a little ramble took, and at a splendid chromo in a window took a look. Said Mrs. Jenkins (verbum sap), "'twill all your cares abolish, if you will use the best of all - the Rising Sun Stove Polish." The happy home. "Home, home, sweet home," entranced we gaze upon the peaceful scene, a happy home where everything is quiet and serene. Within the polished stove the fire is burning bright, and on old Dinah's face appears a smile of a calm delight. Kind reader, heed the moral taught, and then our story's done - no stove polish is "just as good" as is the Rising Sun., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Rising Sun [P.2017.95.149]
- Title
- Frank Miller's crown dressing Well dis chile am 'stonished at his own genius- dat Frank Miller must be a conjuror-shua!
- Description
- Racist trade card depicting an African American man cobbler in a shop setting. Shoes the boy-faced man shining a boot from a counter lined with shoes and boots. He looks out toward the viewer, and holds a dabber in his right hand and the boot in his left. To his left is the counter of footwear along the wall. A chest, boxes, and a bag are visible in the right foreground. In the left are several pairs of shoes and boots strewn in a pile on the ground in front of a counter on top of which a bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing rests. The cobbler is attired in a collared shirt, striped pants, an apron, and leather shoes. Frank Miller & Co. was a New York manufacturer of shoe polish based in Manhattan. The company was founded in the 1860s and continued operating throughout the late 19th century., Title from item., Date inferred from content and genre of print., Advertising text printed on verso: Frank Miller's Improved French Blacking. Gives a quick, brilliant, and durable polish, with positive nourishment to the leather. It is different in composition from common blackings, being based upon the French process, with every valuable feature of the French style retained, while such improvements have been made to insure a dryer and more durable gloss, with increased pliability of the leather. Frank Miller's Crown Dressing. An invaluable preparation for restoring ladies' and children's boots, shoes, rubbers, travelling bags, and all black leather goods that are soiled or worn by age or use, to their original beauty of finish and softness. Frank Miller's Leather Preservative and Water-proof Blacking. This blacking is not designed to produce a polish, but to render the leather soft, pliable, water-proof, and much more durable. For more than forty years it has been the reliance of farmers, miners, sportsmen, lumbermen, soldiers, and outdoor laboring men. It does away with the necessity of using rubbers, which are expensive, uncomfortable, and destructive to health and leather. This is the only article designed for this purpose which has met with universal approval. Frank Miller's Peerless Blacking. This article will fully meet the requirements of the consumer, as to quality. It gives a quick, brilliant, jet black gloss, without injury to the leather., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2017.95.126]
- Title
- Frank Miller's crown dressing Yes missus dat am de Crown of Dressing shua!
- Description
- Racist trade card depicting an African American maid shining a white woman's boots. The African American woman is depicted in profile and holds a bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing in her left hand. The white woman holds up the skirt of her dress to reveal her left boot. The maid is attired in a head wrap, a dress with the sleeves rolled, an apron, and flat shoes. The white woman is attired in a ruffled, dark-colored dress, flowers in her hair, and leather boots. A bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing sits atop an ornamented table. A tassel is visible above the bottle and a curtain is visible behind it. Frank Miller & Co. was a New York manufacturer of shoe polish based in Manhattan. The company was founded in the 1860s and continued operating throughout the late 19th century., Title from item., Several lines of advertising text printed on verso; text is not visible., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2017.95.128]
- Title
- Frank Miller's crown dressing Yes missus dat am de Crown of Dressing shua!
- Description
- Racist trade card depicting an African American maid shining a white woman's boots. The African American woman is depicted in profile and holds a bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing in her left hand. The white woman holds up the skirt of her dress to reveal her left boot. The maid is attired in a head wrap, a dress with the sleeves rolled, an apron, and flat shoes. The white woman is attired in a ruffled, dark-colored dress, flowers in her hair, and leather boots. A bottle of Frank Miller's Crown Dressing sits atop an ornamented table. A bottle of Frank Miller's Crown dressing is also printed on the verso. A tassel is visible above the bottle and a curtain is visible behind it. Frank Miller & Co. was a New York manufacturer of shoe polish based in Manhattan. The company was founded in the 1860s and continued operating throughout the late 19th century., Title from item., Printed in red ink., Advertising text printed on verso: Frank Miller's Crown Dressing in 4-oz. bottles, with wire, sponge, and cork. Gives a rich gloss, with a deep and durable color. While most dressings crack the leather, the Crown does not injure it in the least, and for ladies' and children's boots and shoes is rapidly displacing all others., Gift of David Doret.
- Date
- [ca. 1870]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - Miller [P.2017.95.127]
- Title
- Dixon's carburet of iron stove polish
- Description
- Series of trade cards promoting Joseph Dixon Crucible Company's stove polish and depicting a racist caricature of an African American woman nanny at work. Shows the nanny smiling, holding, and scrubbing an unclothed white girl, who is coated in black stove polish along her right side. The long, brown haired girl wears a red headband and is partially covered by a white cloth draped around by the nanny. The nanny uses a scrub brush under the right arm of the girl. The girl stands, her right leg raised, upon a table covered with a yellow tablecloth and stained by the polish. She looks down and touches the nanny's face with her right hand. She places her left hand over the woman's hand on her left side. The nanny is attired in a white head kerchief with red polka dots; a yellow short-sleeved shirt with red stripes; and a blue skirt. On the table is a plate; a brush; and boxes labeled Dixon's Stove Polish. Image also includes, in the left background, a stove with a steaming copper kettle and a partial view of a stove pipe and checkered flooring. The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, established by Joseph Dixon in Salem, Mass. in 1827, produced graphite pencils, crucibles and stove polish, and relocated to Jersey City, N.J. in 1847. In 1868, the firm name changed from Joseph Dixon & Co. to the Jos. Dixon Crucible Co. In 1870 the firm won a trademark case against a Philadelphia competitor selling J.C. Dixon Stove Polish., Title from item, Printers and engravers include Major & Knapp Engraving, Manufacturing & Lithographic Co. (New York) and A. Gast & Co. (New York and St. Louis)., Advertising text printed on verso: Advertising text printed on verso: Established 1827. Dixon's stove polish; over fifty years in the market. Neat; quick; brilliant, and lasting. No dust. No odor. Nothing will make a stove so bright and cheerful for so long a time as the Dixon stove polish. It is by far the cheapest in use, in the long run. Buy it. Try it. Take no other. Pressed into a neat quarter-pound packet, absolutely free of adulteration. Six millions sold in 1880. Jos. Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N.J., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1998., 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.
- Date
- [ca. 1885]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Dixon [1975.F.235; P.9577.14; P.9599]
- Title
- Mason's challenge blacking. James S. Mason & Co., nos. 138 & 140 North Front Street, Philadelphia
- Description
- Advertisement depicting a "shoe blacking" competition between two African American shoe shiners to promote the manufactory of blacking established in 1832 by James S. Mason. Shows two African American men, portrayed in racist caricature, holding a brush, a canister of "Mason's" blacking, and a boot, while they dance on a table. An African American man fiddler sits on a stool and plays. In the foreground, a white man holds an oversized boot. A white shoe shine boy, his pack on his back, stands behind an older man holding his arm as he points at his reflection in the boot. In the left background, a troop of white Union soldiers marches in behind a parade marshal adorned in "M" insignias. The men carry a banner reading "Mason's (Original) Challenge Blacking (Philadelphia)," as well as boots, and signs spelling "M-A-S-O-N." In the right background, a crowd of spectators, including figures likely representing Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and possibly France, stand and watch the competition attentively. Scene also includes boxes of Mason's Challenge Blacking. Following the death of Mason in 1888, his son Richard assumed the business which was in operation into the 20th century., Title from item., Date inferred from directory listings for the artist and engravers., Attributed by cataloger to Francis H. Schell, but possibly by Frederick B. Schell., 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 Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Creator
- Schell, Francis H., 1834-1909, artist
- Date
- [ca. 1863]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Ph Pr - 11x14 - Advertisements - M [P.2013.51]