Treasures of the Rare Books Room - Historic Trade Cards
Milwaukee Historic Trade Card Collection
These bright, colorful, and highly amusing cards come from the Milwaukee Historic Trade Card Collection. Trade cards, also known as advertising cards, are small cards that businesses would distribute to clients and potential customers and are an early example of modern business cards. This gorgeous asset is also now available as a digital collection.
Trade cards became popular at the beginning of the 18th century and reached their golden age between 1876 and 1900. The development of color printing and chromolithography made trade cards more brilliantly colorful and highly collectable. Cards typically had a picture on one side and the business information on the other. Trade cards were used to sell almost anything from groceries, fashionable clothing, housewares, and a wide range of services. The cards could be custom made or printed for specific products.
The Milwaukee Public Library’s Lucile E. and Richard Krug Rare Books Room has a collection of scrapbooks containing hundreds of trade cards that document Milwaukee’s business and advertising history from the Victorian era. This collection mostly features businesses in the downtown area and prominent companies such as Goodyear, Schlitz Brewing, and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. To view the trade cards, please contact the Arts, Music and Recreation Room at (414) 286-3071 and schedule an appointment.
Maria @ Central