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Trade card for Excelsior metal polish, as advertised by the manufacturer's agents Holway, Wright and Miner, 1880-1890

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Collection Type

  • Ephemera

Date

1880-1890

Location Note

Library and Archives: Advertisements: Trade Cards: Cleaning: Household Soaps and Polishes

GUSN

GUSN-190949

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Description

This trade card contains harmful imagery and employs racist stereotypes.

Historic New England acknowledges historical records / objects may contain harmful imagery and language reflecting attitudes and biases of their creators and time in which they were made. Historic New England does not alter or edit objects and / or historical text.

This trade card promotes Excelsior metal polish manufactured by Walpole Emery Mills. The illustration depicts a woman before and after cleaning cooking pots and utencils using Excelsior metal polish.

Details

Descriptive Terms

racial discrimination
metal
polish (coating)
pots (containers)
pans (containers)
coffeepots
forks (flatware)
spoons
cookware
laborers
trade cards (advertising)

Additional Identification Number

Project number HNE0097

Physical Description

1 trade card : chromolithograph

Collection Code

EP001

Collection Name

Ephemera collection

Reference Code

EP001.01.021.02.04.030

Places

Boston (Suffolk county, Massachusetts)

Record Details

Originator

Walpole Emery Mills (Manufacturer)

Material Type

trade cards (advertising)

Other Organizations

Holway, Wright & Miner
Schultz & Harrington Lith.

Subjects

African American women
African Americans in advertising
African Americans
Black People
Domestic workers
Stereotypes (Social psychology)

Accruals Note

Included in the Boston African Americana Project.

Description Level

Item

Location Note

Library and Archives: Advertisements: Trade Cards: Cleaning: Household Soaps and Polishes

Reparative Language in Collections Records

Historic New England is committed to implementing reparative language description for existing collections and creating respectful and inclusive language description for new collections. If you encounter language in Historic England's Collections Access Portal that is harmful or offensive, or you find materials that would benefit from a content warning, please contact [email protected].