A trade card is a small card, similar to a visiting card, formerly distributed to advertise businesses. Larger than modern business cards, they could be rectangular or square, and often featured maps useful for locating a business in the days before house numbering. They first became popular at the end of the 17th century in Paris, Lyon and London.
The term, trade card, refers to a varied group of items made of paper or of card of varying sizes and shapes. Trade cards evolved in different ways in Britain, America and Europe, giving rise to wide variation in their format and design. The characteristic features of a trade card are that it is a small printed item, used by merchants and traders to give to their customers for their use as an aid to memory. Trade cards were sufficiently small so that they could be carried in the gentleman's pocket or lady's purse. [1]
In its original sense, the "trade" in trade card refers to its use by the proprietor of a business to announce his trade, or line of business. Trade cards were widely used by retailers and tradesmen from around the late 17th century in Paris, Lyon and London. In the period before mass media, they functioned as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to the merchants' stores (no formal street address numbering system existed at the time). The trade card is an early example of the modern business card. The use of trade cards in America became widespread from the mid-19th century in the period following the Civil war. [2]
The earliest trade cards were not cards at all, instead they were printed on paper and did not include illustrations. Later they were printed on the more substantial card and typically bore the tradesmen's name and address, and before street numbering was in common use, often included a long-winded set of directions on how to locate the store or premises. With the advent of commercial engraving and lithography, illustrations became a standard feature of even the most humble trade card. Eventually trade cards evolved into business cards, which are still in use today. [3]
Eighteenth century traders wanted cards with impact and sophistication. Accordingly, they often hired notable designers and engravers to design their cards. In 1738, for instance, when leading Parisian art dealer Edme-François Gersaint changed the name of his business to A la Pagode, he hired the engraver, François Boucher to design his card. [4] In 1767, the French painter Gabriel de Saint-Aubin designed a trade card for quincailler (ironmonger), Perier, whose premises were situated at the sign of the Moor's Head on the Quai de la Megisserie in Paris. [5] Other artists who accepted commissions for trade cards included: Hogarth, Bartolozzi and Bewick. [6] The demand for trade cards, and also for catalogs fuelled demand for creative services such as etching, engraving and print-making in the first half of the eighteenth century.
Examples of early trade cards
Fuelled by the advent of color lithography and multi-color printing, trade cards entered their heyday in the late 19th century. [7] Businesses began to create increasingly sophisticated designs, using color printing. A few American companies specialized in producing stock cards, usually with an image on one side and space on the other side for the business to add its own information. [8] In around 1850, Aristide Boucicaut, the founder of the department store Au Bon Marché used color printing to great effect when he seized on the idea of using the new chromolithography to offer a weekly advertising color print to children accompanied by their parents. This plan was so successful that it was soon emulated by other Parisian department stores. Cards for La Belle Jardiniére and La Galerie Lafayette soon followed.
The attractive and colorful designs spawned a passion for collecting trade cards, which became a popular hobby in the late 19th century. By moving into the realm of collecting, trade cards gave rise to the trading card, the meaning now shifting to the exchange or trade of cards by enthusiasts. Some cards, particularly those produced by tobacco companies featuring baseball players, later developed into collectibles and lost their function as a business advertisement.
The interest in collecting trade cards has ensured that many examples have survived. Collections of rare trade cards, dating from the 17th century to the 19th century can be found at the British Library, Bodleian Library, Oxford, and Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire. [9] Another important collection of medical trade cards is the Wellcome Collection. [10]
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining items that are of interest to an individual collector. Collections differ in a wide variety of respects, most obviously in the nature and scope of the objects contained, but also in purpose, presentation, and so forth. The range of possible subjects for a collection is practically unlimited, and collectors have realised a vast number of these possibilities in practice, although some are much more popular than others.
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare.
Cigarette cards are trading cards issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise cigarette brands.
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stadiums, or celebrities.
Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros ‘lasting only a day’. The word is both plural and singular.
Hovis Ltd is a British company that produces flour, yeast and bread. Founded in Stoke-on-Trent, it began mass-production in Macclesfield in 1886.
The Wellcome Library is a free library and Museum based in central London. It was developed from the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome (1853–1936), whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of medicine in a broad sense and included subjects such as alchemy or witchcraft, but also anthropology and ethnography. Since Henry Wellcome's death in 1936, the Wellcome Trust has been responsible for maintaining the Library's collection and funding its acquisitions. The library is free and open to the public.
An advertising postcard is a postcard used for advertising purposes. Postcards are used in advertising as an alternative to or to complement other print advertising such as catalogs, letters, and flyers. Advertising postcards may be mailed or distributed in other ways.
An American football card is a type of collectible trading card typically printed on paper stock or card stock that features one or more American football players or other related sports figures. These cards are most often found in the United States and other countries where the sport is popular.
A tinsel print is an example of one of two types of print, where tinsel is added after printing, for decorative effect.
Billhead receipts are receipts that were commonly used in business transactions from the late 1860s through the early 1940s. They can be found in present-day transactions, although they are less common today.
Joseph Netherclift was an English composer and lithographer. He was awarded a medal in 1829 for his method of lithography. He was making lithographic facsimiles of historical documents in 1833.
Jefferson R. Burdick (1900–1963) was an American electrician and a collector of printed ephemera, including postcards, posters, cigar bands, and other types of printed materials dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the early 1960s. He is best known for collecting trading and baseball cards in The American Card Catalog, otherwise known as the ACC.
In painting, staffage are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape, that are not the primary subject matter of the work. Typically they are small, and there to add an indication of scale and add interest.
The Evanion Collection is a collection of printed Victorian ephemera in the British Library created by the conjurer, ventriloquist and humorist Henry Evans who used the stage name 'Evanion'.
John Lewis (1912–1996) was a Welsh typographer, printer, illustrator and collector of printed ephemera.
Bella Clara Landauer, born Bella Clara Fackenthal (1874–1960) was an American collector of ephemera, sheet music, and manufacturing trade cards who also became a self-taught historian of commercial art and printing.
Navy Cut Tobacco was a brand of cigarettes originally manufactured by Imperial Brands in Nottingham, England. Named "Player's Navy Cut," the brand gained popularity in Britain, Germany, and British Ceylon during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, later expanding to the United States. The brand's packaging featured a distinctive logo of a sailor in a 'Navy Cut' cap.
A Rugby card is a type of trading card relating to rugby football codes, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. These cards are most often found in the Australia, New Zealand and other countries where the sport is popular.
William H. Helfand was an American collector, author, and authority on the history of medical ephemera and quackery. His many donations are held across numerous research institutions.
