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Alan Mays

Alan Mays club

Posted: 06 Feb 2017

Taken: 06 Feb 2017

5 favorites     5 comments    1 577 visits

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Keywords

glass fronts •
Roberts •
1883 •
typefaces •
Newark •
Victorian •
Broad Street •
NJ •
New Jersey •
cherubs •
companies •
ephemera •
bows •
bow and arrow •
oversized •
Cupid •
clothing stores •
1880s •
Roberts & Co. •
quivers •
J. H. Bufford's Sons •
tall tales •
Bufford •
lithographers •
clothiers •
exaggerations •
mending •
cupids •
spools •
nineteenth century •
trade cards •
publishers •
printed •
advertisements •
putti •
pants •
type •
advertising •
clothes •
grey •
old •
wings •
vintage •
antique •
fantasy •
gray •
paper •
red •
green •
typography •
strange •
clothing •
stores •
fonts •
19th century •
putto •
sew •
borders •
huge •
giant •
illustrations •
unusual •
thread •
sewing •
arrows •
ads •
yellow •
OKAY •

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Too Small for His Britches?

Too Small for His Britches?
"Roberts & Co., leading clothiers, 'glass front,' 797 Broad St., Newark, N.J. Copyright 1883 by J. H. Bufford's Sons."

A winged Cupid, who's wearing a shirt but no pants, waits patiently as two women use needles and thread to mend a gigantic pair of pants. Although pants seem to be an appropriate item to feature in an advertising trade card for a clothing store like Roberts & Co. (whose glass store front was apparently a selling point), I'm not sure why they're so huge or how Cupid is going to wear them. Perhaps this is just a silly scene intended to amuse the children who would paste cards like this in their scrapbooks in the late nineteenth century.

Steve Bucknell, Bergfex, wintorbos and 2 other people have particularly liked this photo

Comments
 arts enthusiast
arts enthusiast
Wonderful! So much to love, but my favorite thing is the bobbins in the capital R and C in Roberts & Co. and the font it's in.
9 years ago.
Alan Mays club has replied to arts enthusiast
Thanks! I like the font, too--how about that ampersand!
9 years ago.
 Peggy C
Peggy C club
Found in - EXPLORE..
9 years ago.
Steve Bucknell club has replied to Peggy C club
Read Elizabeth McCracken's novel The Giant's House and all will become clear. I will refund all your monies if you are not satisfied by this magical book.
9 years ago.
Alan Mays club has replied to Peggy C club
Oh, thanks for letting me know about Explore!
9 years ago.

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