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by Ben Crane |
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Gies & Co. of Buffalo, NY, printed this set of 24 trade cards depicting various occupations. Each card in the set shows a man engaged in his occupation, with an object symbolic of that occupation in an upper corner. Many of these cards are humorous, and several are quite satirical. For example, a duck is shown with the surgeon to suggest that he's a quack, and the watchmaker's tools include a monkey wrench and hatchet. There are several other interesting things about these cards. First, it can be argued that they are actually 2 sets of 12 cards each, with one set (1-12) having a tan bottom panel and the other set (13-24) having a blue bottom panel. Secondly, 12 of these cards (1-6 and 13-18) are custom cards found only with advertising for the various R. W. Bell soaps and a humorous rhyme in the bottom panel, while the other 12 are stock cards used by more than one advertiser or left blank. Finally, no women are shown, presumably because they had not yet entered the workforce to any significant degree. Thumbnail images of these cards are shown below. Click on an image for a larger view. |
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