Hall's Hair Renewer

 

This is a Victorian trade card advertising Hall's Hair Renewer. This type of advertising card was popular with advertisers and collectors in the late 19th century, before postcards became popular. Unlike postcards, there was not a standardized size for trade cards--this one is 3-1/8" X 4-3/4". Trade cards typically had a picture on one side and advertising on the reverse.

The advertising on the back of this card makes Hall's Vegetable Sicilian Hair Renewer sound like a miracle all-purpose hair product, but it really was a quack product. 

According to Hall himself the product formula was given to him by an Italian sailor hence the name Sicilian Hair Renewer. However the actual product formula changed over time. Initially the formula was composed of 60% water, 36% glycerine, 2% lead sugar, and trace amounts of sulfur, sage, raspberry leaves, tea, and oil of citronella. Later on though the formula was 52% water, 26% glycerine, 13% Jamaica rum, 7% bay rum, and trace amounts of lead, sulfur, and salt. The lead combines with the sulfur to form lead sulfides that darken the hair shaft. However, lead is also poisonous…(source)

See ADVERTISEMENTS AND OTHER IMAGES for more Hall's advertising images. The same website also has information and images of many other hair product advertising and bottles here.

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Sewing Trade Cards

 

In the late 19th century, tradecards were a common way of advertising American products. Sewing machines and thread were two of the products that were heavily advertised on tradecards. Collecting tradecards was very popular, and many were saved in scrapbooks.

Here I have three cards with a sewing theme. Most tradecards were rectangular and came in various sizes. Some tradecards are diecut in various shapes like the seamstress above and the spool below. The card with the girl sewing a U. S. flag advertises Wheeler & Wilson sewing machines. This card folds so it can stand up.

The main image on the front of a tradecard was usually printed in full color. Often there was one-color printing on the back with an advertising message. The Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine was the "magic silent" machine said to "turn drudgery into pastime." The strength of Clark's O.N.T. Spool Cotton was compared to the strength of  mother's love. It was the "best thread for hand & machine sewing."

 

The last card is the more typical rectangular shape (size 3" X 4.5"). It advertises Household Sewing Machines and shows one of  their "most durable" machines in use in a household of the time. This card is one of the cards in my collection of  "cats on tradecards."

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VTT - Minnesota State Fair - Territorial Pioneers Cabins

The Minnesota Territorial Pioneers is an organization whose members are descendants of early settlers in the Minnesota Territory, before Minnesota became a state in 1858. The organization has participated in the Minnesota State Fair since 1900.

The first postcard was mailed in 1911 and shows the original log cabin the Territorial Pioneers used at the fair. This cabin was built in 1900-1901 and was used until 1957. The second postcard shows the cabin that has been used since 1958. This cabin was originally built by the WPA in 1936 and was used for other purposes in another part of the fairgrounds. It was moved to the location of the original cabin after the original cabin was condemned and demolished.

The interior of the cabin has many "vintage thingies" on display. The photos below are some that I took when I visited the fair a couple of days ago. First is an old album of trade cards and scraps on display in the parlor area.

Next is a small painted trunk dated 1885.

The sewing machine perched on top of a crazy quilt is a "Minnesota" Model B distributed by Sears Roebuck & Co. in 1907. The "Minnesota" sewing machine was Sears Roebuck and Company's main sewing machine trade name for many years. It was named after Richard Sears' native state of Minnesota and was sold until World War II. There were many different models of "Minnesota" sewing machines made by a number of different manufacturers.

The last photo is a detail from the crazy quilt.

Vintage Thingies Thursdays