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- Trade Card for Wilmot Clothing Co., "In the Land of Cotton," 1882 - Late 19th century trade cards contain colorful illustrations and promotional text to sell products. They also reflect the prejudices of the time. This card for a clothing company depicts African Americans picking cotton. To the white consumer, this image subtly reinforced their romanticized view of race relations -- one where benevolent whites ruled and blacks "knew their place."
- 1882
- Collections - Artifact
Trade Card for Wilmot Clothing Co., "In the Land of Cotton," 1882
Late 19th century trade cards contain colorful illustrations and promotional text to sell products. They also reflect the prejudices of the time. This card for a clothing company depicts African Americans picking cotton. To the white consumer, this image subtly reinforced their romanticized view of race relations -- one where benevolent whites ruled and blacks "knew their place."
- Trade Card Advertising Jumbo the Elephant, 1882 - Showman P. T. Barnum purchased Jumbo, an 11-foot, 6-ton African elephant, from the London Zoo in 1882. Barnum shipped the giant pachyderm to America to star in his circus. Jumbo became a national sensation. Manufacturers and merchants capitalized on Jumbo's popularity by referencing the elephant in advertising materials like trade cards. This card depicts Jumbo receiving a "friendly push" through New York City.
- 1882
- Collections - Artifact
Trade Card Advertising Jumbo the Elephant, 1882
Showman P. T. Barnum purchased Jumbo, an 11-foot, 6-ton African elephant, from the London Zoo in 1882. Barnum shipped the giant pachyderm to America to star in his circus. Jumbo became a national sensation. Manufacturers and merchants capitalized on Jumbo's popularity by referencing the elephant in advertising materials like trade cards. This card depicts Jumbo receiving a "friendly push" through New York City.
- Trade Card for Mustard and Spices, Jewett & Sherman Co., circa 1890 - In the last third of the nineteenth century, an unprecedented variety of consumer goods and services flooded the American market. Advertisers, armed with new methods of color printing, bombarded potential customers with trade cards. Americans enjoyed and often saved the vibrant little advertisements found in product packages or distributed by local merchants. Many survive as historical records of commercialism in the United States.
- circa 1890
- Collections - Artifact
Trade Card for Mustard and Spices, Jewett & Sherman Co., circa 1890
In the last third of the nineteenth century, an unprecedented variety of consumer goods and services flooded the American market. Advertisers, armed with new methods of color printing, bombarded potential customers with trade cards. Americans enjoyed and often saved the vibrant little advertisements found in product packages or distributed by local merchants. Many survive as historical records of commercialism in the United States.