Flowers in Vintage Photos and Ephemera

"Nasturtium Dwarf. Price 5¢." An early chromolithographed seed packet from the William D. Burt seed company of Dalton, N.Y.

"Children, obey your parents in all things. Col. III.20. Marcus Ward & Co." For another Bible verse card by Marcus Ward, see Be Sober, Be Vigilant .

"White Dress Goods. French and English piques , princess lawns , linen lawns , plain and stripe nainsooks , embroidered suits, 8-4 organdie , etc., etc., at G. V. S. Quackenbush & Co.'s." G. V. S. Quackenbush & Co. used this colorful trade card to tout all the varieties of cloth-- piqués , lawns , nainsooks , organdies --that were available at its dry goods store in Troy, New York.

A Victorian-era New Year greeting card.

A Victorian-era calling card with handwritten name and date: "Alice A. Collar. Dec. 31st, 1878. A.A.C."

A bright and colorful Victorian-era calling card.

J. Kohn, the leading clothier and hatter, corner First and Morrison Sts., Portland, Oregon.

"Holiday goods. Compliments of the West End Book Store, 304 West Market Street, York, Pa."

Or to put it more straightforwardly, this acquaintance card asks, "May I see you home?" The Encyclopedia of Ephemera (New York: Routledge, 2000), p 4, provides additional information: "A novelty variant of the American calling card of the 1870s and 1880s, the acquaintance card was used by the less formal male in approaches to the less formal female. Given also as an 'escort card' or 'invitation card,' the device commonly carried a brief message and a simple illustration.... Flirtatious and fun, the acquaintance card brought levity to what otherwise might have seemed a more formal proposal. A common means of introduction, it was never taken too seriously."

"My Christmas wishes now I send to thee, that happy may this Christmas be."

John N. Choate was "the principal photographer for the [Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pa.] from its opening in 1879 until his death in 1902." For more information, see Laura Turner, "John Nicholas Choate and the Production of Photography at the Carlisle Indian School," in Visualizing a Mission: Artifacts and Imagery of the Carlisle Indian School, 1879-1918 , exhibit catalog (Carlisle, Pa.: Trout Gallery, Dickinson College, 2004), pp. 14-18.

See also another Eat Pallister Bros' Candies trade card.

"For a ladies fine, stylish & durable shoe, always buy those made by Reed & Weaver, Rochester, N.Y." An example of a "stock" Victorian-era trade card with a generic design--a woman's hand holding blue forget-me-not flowers--that allowed it to be overprinted with advertisements for different businesses. Stock cards usually weren't used to illustrate products but rather as a way to entice customers and their children with bright and colorful designs that they'd want to take home and add to their scrapbooks. In this case, the same card was used for Reed and Weaver shoes in Rochester, N.Y. (above), photographer J. N. Choate of Carlisle, Pa. (below left), and Pallister Brothers' Candies of Ottumwa, Iowa (below right). A stock card like this might also have been used for calling cards, greeting cards, and rewards of merit. This second Pallister Brothers' Candies (below) illustrates the way in which stock cards were often printed in series. Instead of a hand holding forget-me-nots, this variation shows a hand holding a lily, and it's likely that the series included additional designs with other flowers.

"Imported Hand. C. C. Liechty." A sample Victorian-era calling card used to advertise this "Imported Hand" design.

See also another Eat Pallister Bros' Candies trade card.

"Friendship's tie. Love sincere."

"Margreta Larsson, Våmhus." A calling card that I purchased along with some Swedish-language religious cards. Margreta Larsson was presumably from Våmhus , Dalarna County, Sweden (Sverige).