Object of the Day: A Trade Card for Eggleston Boots and Shoes

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Even the smallest Nineteenth Century business could afford to have a few attractive trade cards printed. These would guarantee some exposure for the store or company as well as help convey a certain sense of branding.

This card from my collection is one of the smallest, but it’s also quite attractive—capitalizing on the 1880s passion for flowers. This stock card is printed in the pale greens, pinks and emeralds which were in fashion at the time.

The card advertises for a shoe store. I’m not sure where the store is. These cards were not meant for national or international distribution, and, so would often just put a street address since it was assumed that only local people would receive them. I don’t think anyone at the time imagined that in the Twenty-first Century some man in Texas would be even looking at this card, let alone writing about it for people all over the world to see.

The copy reads:

H.C. EGGLESTON 

No. 150 North Eighth Street 

ONLY FINE SHOES 

FOR 

Ladies, Misses and Children