Original trade card with a color illustration of nervous-looking young boy in a winter outfit standing precariously at the edge of an open pool of icy water. Features a gilt background. No date, circa 1880s-1890s. 3" x 4 1/2." Trade card is clean and intact overall but has small spots of discoloration on front and back and a wrinkle in the lower-left corner. A Very Good copy. Trade card for an unidentified company. Trade cards are antique business cards that first became popular during the late seventeenth century in Paris and Lyon, France and London, England. Trade cards were often given by business owners and proprietors to patrons and customers as a way to promote their businesses. Prior to the use of street addresses, trade cards had maps so clients could locate the associated business. Many of these cards also incorporated elaborate designs, illustrations, and other decorative features. Trade cards became popular in the United States during the nineteenth century in the period after the Civil War. The late nineteenth century also saw the advent of trade card collecting as a hobby. While they are no longer in use, trade cards influenced the formation of trading cards and were the predecessors of modern-day business cards.
Title: Original Trade Card - Untitled
Binding: No Binding
Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good
Type: Ephemera
Categories: U.S. History, Business and Finance, Trade Cards
Seller ID: 023440
