Grouping of Forty-Eight (48) Agricultural Trade Cards
- United States: Various, 1850s-1890s
United States: Various, 1850s-1890s. Very good. Minor toning, the odd spot or short tear.. A grouping of lithographed advertising trade cards collected by a single individual over 30 plus years related to agriculture, dating from approx. the 1850s to the 1890s. Each card measures approx. 3" by 5". There are a total of forty-eight (48) trade cards divided into five (5) categories: Animals and Animal Remedies; Farm Equipment, Machinery, and Fencing; Millers and Milling; Seeds and Fertilizers; and unrelated products using agriculture in their marketing. The grouping represents thirty-four (34) different manufacturers and twenty-six (26) different kinds of products.
Of note are the gender and racial elements present. Gender roles are emphasized through farm machinery with strong handsome men wielding plows and heavy machinery, as well as with the reverse: young stylish women drive plows in a kind of "even a woman could do it"-style of marketing in two examples. Women are sometimes stylized as muses or goddesses, as in the trade cards advertising Alden Fruit Vinegar and Challenge Corn Planter Co.
Race and racism figures prominently in one example, a trade card advertising Dr. Jos. Haas' Hog and Poultry Remedy. The card depicts farm animals wreaking havoc on a farm next to a stereotypical "Mammy"-type character saying "Oh! Lordy!". Another example of race is present in the Macoupin Mills card, which depicts two Native Americans in a canoe stylized in the "Noble Savage" stereotype, catering to the White gaze.
Animal cruelty is sadly also on display in one trade card for the "Patent Steam Hog Stuffer", which is a machine that force feeds hogs.
An expanded description is available on request; it includes full listings of manufacturers and products.
Institutional sale only - as some of the materials require contextualized for educational purposes. An expanded description is available on request; it includes full listings of manufacturers and products.
Institutional sale only - to be contextualized for educational purposes.
Of note are the gender and racial elements present. Gender roles are emphasized through farm machinery with strong handsome men wielding plows and heavy machinery, as well as with the reverse: young stylish women drive plows in a kind of "even a woman could do it"-style of marketing in two examples. Women are sometimes stylized as muses or goddesses, as in the trade cards advertising Alden Fruit Vinegar and Challenge Corn Planter Co.
Race and racism figures prominently in one example, a trade card advertising Dr. Jos. Haas' Hog and Poultry Remedy. The card depicts farm animals wreaking havoc on a farm next to a stereotypical "Mammy"-type character saying "Oh! Lordy!". Another example of race is present in the Macoupin Mills card, which depicts two Native Americans in a canoe stylized in the "Noble Savage" stereotype, catering to the White gaze.
Animal cruelty is sadly also on display in one trade card for the "Patent Steam Hog Stuffer", which is a machine that force feeds hogs.
An expanded description is available on request; it includes full listings of manufacturers and products.
Institutional sale only - as some of the materials require contextualized for educational purposes. An expanded description is available on request; it includes full listings of manufacturers and products.
Institutional sale only - to be contextualized for educational purposes.