Historical Society of Pennsylvania trade cards collection


Collection 3138

( Bulk, 1800-1900 ) circa 1800-2000
(15.0 Linear feet 32 boxes; 2 volumes)
© The Historical Society of Pennsylvania1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Summary Information

Repository
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Creator
Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Title
Historical Society of Pennsylvania trade cards collection
ID
3138
Date [bulk]
Bulk, 1800-1900
Date [inclusive]
circa 1800-2000
Extent
15.0 Linear feet 32 boxes; 2 volumes
Author
Finding aid prepared by Willhem Echevarria.
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Young Friends of HSP.
Language
English
Language of Materials
This collection is mostly in English with a few items in German and French.
Abstract
The collection contains an extensive collection of 19th-century trade cards from Philadelphia and surrounding region, the majority of which are arranged alphabetically by name. This is an artificial collection that has been put together by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania over time and is still open for additional accruals.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Historical Society of Pennsylvania trade cards collection (Collection 3138), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

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Background note

Trade cards were the primary form for the advertisement of products and services in 19th century America, particularly during the two decades prior to 1900. Originating in England in the 1700s, trade cards are printed paper card; the most common methods to print the card were letterpress (also known as woodcut) and copperplate engraving. However, it was not until the development of color lithography in the 1830s that trade cards became popular among both the businesses that used them as commercial publicity and the general public that relied on then not only for comparing goods but also as a collector’s item. During the Victorian era it became a pastime to collect trade cards and organize them in scrapbooks, and it is common to find references to them as “Victorian cards.”

Trade cards feature colorful illustrations, sayings, humor (sometimes bordering on the insensitive by today’s standards), poems, and religious aphorisms. Between 1870 and 1900 the use of trade cards by business establishments was widespread and products advertised ranged from tobacco and medicines to clothes and restaurants. Cards were either customized to a specific business or trade, or they would have an illustration and a blank back so they could be personalized by the advertiser. Collectors today call the former “custom cards” and the latter “stock cards.”

In the 20th century trade cards decreased in popularity with the rise of newspapers and magazines.

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Scope and Contents

This is an artificial collection containing trade cards advertising businesses from Philadelphia and neighboring areas such as Atlantic City and New York. Except for a small group of business cards of restaurants and art galleries in Philadelphia’s Center City that was acquired by HSP between the 1990s and 2011, the majority of the cards are from the 19th century. Most of the cards are small and feature color images depicting people, scenes, animals, clowns, and landscapes. Some of the images feature stereotyped caricatures of African Americans, Chinese, and other ethnic groups. A few of the cards are from countries other than the U.S. such as Ireland and France.

The cards have been divided in four groups: Series I (Custom Cards, by Name) contains trade cards of businesses from Philadelphia and the surrounding region. Trade cards are arranged alphabetically by name of business or proprietor and include, among many others, businesses and services such as insurance companies, gardening, pottery, tobacco, clocks and watches, soap, glassware, hair products, drugstores, medicines, sewing machines, food, restaurants, grocers, furniture, house furnishings and household appliances, hardware, textile fabrics and thread, footwear, jewelry, clothing stores, perfumes, dyeing products, shoes, toys, games, service-oriented business, and department stores. This portion of the collection also includes two scrapbooks containing trade cards, some of which are duplicates of items already in the alphabetical sequence. Trade cards in  Series II (Stock Cards, by Subject) contain no advertising information, the majority of the items being generic cards depicting human figures, animals, flowers, boats and ships, and a group of cards with religious images.  Series III (Centennial International Exhibition) is composed of trade cards and other items by businesses and individuals visiting the event held in Philadelphia in 1876. Miscellaneous materials such as loose cards and items not belonging to any of the companies in the alphabetical sequence are located in  Series IV (Miscellaneous). This portion of the collection also includes items previously catalogued as “humorous” but now deemed racially insensitive.

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Overview of Arrangement

Series I: Custom Cards, by Name, 27 boxes, 2 volumes

Series II: Stock Cards, by Subject, 5 boxes

Series III: Centennial International Exhibition, 1 box

Series IV: Miscellaneaous, 1 box

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Conditions Governing Access

One of the scrapbooks is undergoing conservation treatment and temporarily closed to researchers. The rest of the collection is open for research.

Accruals note

Additional accruals are expected.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This is an artificial collection put together by HSP staff over time.

Processing Information

The collection was previously housed in acidic boxes and non-archival envelopes. During December 2012 the collection was rehoused in non-acidic archival boxes and although some of the cards remain in non-archival envelopes a plan is in place to house them in non-acidic ones in the near future. Large items were removed from envelopes, described, and housed in letter-size archival folders. These items are listed in the finding aid as “Oversize.” Two scrapbooks were housed in custom-made enclosures and a third one is undergoing conservation treatment. This last item is unavailable to researchers until cleaned, treated, and housed. Type of housing will be determined by the damage of the item; the item will be either enclosed in volume form or taken apart page by page and housed in archival folders.

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Related Materials

Separated Materials

Advertisement flyers, broadsides, and several postcards have been tranferred to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania collection of ephemera (Collection 3206). Another group of postcards has been transferred to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania print collection (V89). A printed map of Philadelphia's Main Line area has been referred to the Director of HSP's library to be catalogued as a map.

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Controlled Access Headings

Genre(s)

  • Advertising cards.
  • Business cards.
  • Scrapbooks.
  • Visiting cards.

Subject(s)

  • Advertising cards--United States.
  • Advertising--19th century.
  • Advertising--20th century.
  • Animals in advertising.
  • Animals--Pictorial works.
  • Birds--Pictorial works.
  • Caricatures and cartoons.
  • Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.).
  • Children--Pictorial works.
  • Consumer goods--United States.
  • Ethnic attitudes--United States.
  • Flowers--Pictorial works.
  • Household supplies.
  • Idols and images.
  • Men--Pictorial works.
  • Racism in cartoons.
  • Ships--Pictorial works.
  • Stereotypes (Social psychology) in advertising.
  • Women--Pictorial works.

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Bibliography

History Detectives. Trade Cards. In http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/trade-cards/. Accessed on 12/18/2012

Reitz, Joan M. Entry: trade card. ODLIS (Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science). In http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_t.aspx, Accessed on 12/18/2012

Crane, Ben. A Brief History of Trade Cards. In http://www.tradecards.com/articles/history/history.html. Accessed on 12/18/2012

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Collection Inventory

I. Custom Cards, by Name 

Scope and Contents

This series is arranged alphabetically by name of business or proprietor. Business types represented here include but are not limited to: clothing stores, perfumes, dyeing products, shoes, toys, games, service-oriented business, department stores, clocks and watches, soap, glassware, hair products, drugstores, medicines, sewing machines, food, restaurants, grocers, furniture, house furnishings and household appliances, hardware, textile fabrics and thread, footwear, jewelry, insurance, gardening, pottery, and tobacco. Among the names included in this portion of the collection are John Wanamaker, Partridge's & Richardson, J.P. Coats, Van Haagen Soap Manufacturing Co., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Blaylock & Blynn, Inc., Lautz Brothers & Co., and Strawbridge & Clothier.
Box

A-Bar 

 1

Bas-Bro 

 2
Box Folder

Battles, H.H.--Oversize 

 32 2

Brainerd and Armstrong Co.--Oversize 

 32 3
Box

Bro-Chr 

 3
Box Folder

Brown, Frederick--Oversize 

 32 4
Box

Chr-Cow 

 4

Cox-Dem 

 5

Dem-Eul 

 6
Box Folder

Duval, P.S. and Son--Oversize 

 32 5
Box

Eur-Fug 

 7
Box Folder

Fried, George M. Jr. [corks]--Oversize 

 32 7

Friedberger and Strouse--Oversize 

 32 8
Box

Ful-Hal 

 8
Box Folder

Gutenkust, Frederick--Oversize 

 32 9
Box

Hal-Hor 

 9
Box Folder

Henderson, Peter and Co.--Oversize 

 32 10

Home Sewing Machine--Oversize 

 32 11
Box

Hor-Ken 

 10
Box Folder

Horsford, Prof.--Oversize (also see: Rumford Chemical Works) 

 32 12

Dr. Jayne--Oversize 

 32 14
Box

Ken-Lem 

 11
Box Folder

Kennedy and Bros.--Oversize 

 32 15
Box

Lem-McC 

 12
Box Folder

LeMaistre, J.W.--Oversize 

 32 16

Mark Bros.--Oversize 

 32 17

Martin, A. [optometrist]--Oversize 

 32 18
Box

McC-Mil 

 13

Mil-Noc 

 14
Box Folder

O’Neill, H. and Co.--Oversize 

 32 19

Oysters--Oversize 

 32 20
Box

Nol-Par 

 15
Box Folder

Partridge’s Dining Room-Café--Oversize 

 32 21

Partridge and Richardson [dress trimmings]--Oversize 

 32 22
Box

Par-Pri 

 16
Box Folder

Philadelphia Button House--Oversize 

 32 23

Philadelphia Press--Oversize 

 32 24

Polly’s Paper Playmates--Oversize 

 32 25

Pozzoni, J.A.--Oversize 

 32 26
Box

Pri-Ryn 

 17

Sau-Sha 

 18
Box Folder

Sharpless and Sons--Oversize 

 32 32

Shaw Manufacturing Co.--Oversize 

 32 33
Box

Sha-Sol 

 19
Box Folder

Shoneman Bros.--Oversize 

 32 34

Sichel and Meyer--Oversize 

 32 35
Box

Sol-Str 

 20

Str-Vie 

 21

Vie-Wan 

 22
Box Folder

Wanamaker, John--Oversize 

 32 36-37
Box

Wan-Whi 

 23

Whi-Wil 

 24
Box Folder

Wipple, Edward [carpet store]--Oversize 

 32 38
Box

Whi-Yat 

 25

Yat-Zoe 

 26
Volume

Scrapbook # 1 

 1

Scrapbook # 2 

 2

Scrapbook # 3 

Conditions Governing Access note

Undergoing conservation treatment. Temporarily closed to researchers.

 3
Box Folder

Scrapbook--Loose pages 

 32 29-31

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II. Stock Cards, by Subject 

Scope and Contents

Trade cards in this portion of the collection depict human figures, animals, flowers, boats and ships, and religious iconography. Most of these are stock cards and templates to be used in the advertising of commercial products.
Box

Animals (dogs, cats) 

 26
Box Folder

Animals (cats, dogs)--Oversize 

 32 1
Box

Birds 

 26

Boats and Ships 

 26

Flowers 

 26-27
Box Folder

Flowers--Oversize 

 32 6
Box

Foreign 

 27-28

Human Figures 

 28-29
Box Folder

Human Figures--Oversize 

 32 13
Box

Insects--Butterflies 

 29

Religious Iconography 

 29
Box Folder

Relgious Iconography--Oversize 

 32 27
Box

Scenes 

 30
Box Folder

Scenes--Oversize 

 32 28

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III. Centennial International Exhibition 

Scope and Contents

This series contains trade cards and ephemera from firms and individuals visiting the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876. Most cards are from Philadelphia and New York.

 Box
30-31

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IV. Miscellaneous 

Scope and Contents

This series contains items found loose while processing, items that do not belong to any of the categories or businesses in the alphabetical sequence, and several items previously classified and catalogued as “humorous” but now considered racially insensitive.

 Box
31
Box

Miscellaneous 

 31
Box Folder

Miscellaneous--Oversize 

 32 39
Box

Miscellaneous--Previously catalogued "Humorous" 

 31
Box Folder

Miscellaneous--Scrapbook--Loose pages [Journey of a Slave] 

 32 40

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Box Box Box Box Box Box Volume Box Box Volume Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box Box

Instancing for barcoding 

 27 26 29 28 31 30 1 32 1 2 3 2 5 4 19 18 21 20 15 14 17 16 8 9 6 7 12 13 10 11 22 23 24 25

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