Trade cards and labels collection, ca. 1734 - ca. 1932

This artificial and still open collection contains thousands of trade cards and labels that advertise a variety of products, including house furnishings, toys and games, jewelry, horse equipage, gas appliances, foodstuffs, hardware, sewing products, paints, medicines, personal goods, etc. Service oriented businesses, such as commission merchants and insurance companies, also advertised through the collection's cards and labels. There are also stock cards (that is, cards kept in stock by printers) that were used by advertisers of different products; often these cards feature designs which have little or nothing to do with the product or business being promoted. Many of the cards are in color and feature ornate designs. Most of the cards and labels are from the eastern United States, while some originated in Europe.