Description
Black Americana Merchant Trade Card Advertising Master Soap
Dating to the last quarter of the 19th century. Single sided, vibrant colour, exaggerated black caricature promoting ‘Master Soap’. Nationally produced and distributed to merchants across the country as there’s no specific location or merchant referenced.
Black Americana trade cards refers to advertising trade cards or promotional ads of the 19th century that contain stereotypically racist images of African Americans. The images reflected the cultural roles and values of American life, unfortunately many trade cards were derogatory, caricatured depictions of race, ethnicity, national identity, class, and gender, highlighting the anxiety and bigotry within white, Anglo-American society. And in these cases particularly, the popular trade cards not only reflected but also perpetuated insidious stereotypes. Even though these trade cards were exaggerated depictions, they also exhibited a sense of truth to the kind of treatment that these targeted groups endured.
