Trade Cards

About Victorian Trade Cards

Victorian trade cards are an early form of collectible advertising. Popularized after the Civil War by businesses, they offer a colorful and diverse look at popular culture and society in the late 1800s.

Trade cards originated in England in the 1700s with tradesmen advertising their wares. But the advent of lithography in the 1870s made it possible to mass-produce them in color, leading to a golden age from 1876 to the early 1900s when halftone printed newspaper and magazine ads became more economical...

Trade cards typically had a picture on one side and an ad on the other. There were custom cards printed for specific products, and stock cards which could be used for any product. Trade cards were popular for medicines, sewing, and farm equipment, and a range of other products. Some rare Victorian trade cards are now worth thousands of dollars, for example cards advertising Clipper Ships traveling from the East Coast to California in the 1860s.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview With Victorian Trade Card Collector Ben Crane

How did I start collecting Victorian trade cards? In the late 60s I was a bottle collector, early American bottles … [more]

Some Trade Cards and Broadsides

American advertising has always told a rousing story. What people had and what they could acquire. From the first i… [more]

An Interview With Victorian Furniture Collector John Werry

How did I get started collecting Victorian Furniture? Antiques is in my genes, my mother's family were longtime ant… [more]

An Interview With Comic Character Advertising Pinback Collector Mark Lansdown

I started off collecting comics, and still do, but I’d been given a few early Disney pinbacks as a child and always… [more]

An Interview With Antique Advertising and Porcelain Enamel Sign Collector Alex Renshaw

How did I get started collecting advertising antiques? My dad was a lecturer and tutor in graphics and art from the… [more]

An Interview With Baseball Card Collector Dave Campbell

Dave Campbell contacted me after reading a post on The Baseball Card blog. He's been collecting baseball cards non-… [more]

An Interview With Star Wars Card Collector Paul Holstein

I was 10 when the movie came out and I went to the store and bought a couple of packs of Star Wars cards. But I end… [more]

An Interview With Victorian Greeting Card Collector Malcolm Warrington

Malcolm Warrington is based 12 miles to the west of Central London. He is a council member of the UK Ephemera Socie… [more]

An Interview With Porcelain Advertising Sign Collector Michael Bruner

I liked to collect things even as a child. Things that didn’t cost anything, like different colors of stones. The… [more]

An Interview With Vintage Baseball Card Collector Ben Henry

I started collecting in 1986. If you’re in Boston and you’re a baseball fan, the Red Sox may take over your life. T… [more]

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Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Trade Card Place

Trade Card Place

Ben Crane's excellent reference site on Victorian trade cards. Includes a scrapbook containing hundreds of beautifu… [read review or visit site]

Advertising Antiques

Advertising Antiques

This classy looking British site features hundreds of high resolution photos of antique porcelain pre-war (enamel) … [read review or visit site]

Non Sports Cards: Tobacco, Gum and Candy

Non Sports Cards: Tobacco, Gum and Candy

Tom Boblitt moderates this extremely deep, collaborative site dedicated to non-sports cards (tobacco, gum and candy… [read review or visit site]

Rare Victorian

Rare Victorian

John Werry's in-depth blog on rare Victorian Furniture, with detailed, informative and often humorous posts on doze… [read review or visit site]

Ad Access

Ad Access

Duke University's library has pulled together an impressive collection of over 7,000 ads printed in U.S. and Canadi… [read review or visit site]

The Scrap Album

The Scrap Album

Attention paper collectors: don't miss Malcolm Warrington's exquisitely designed tribute to Victorian scraps (stamp… [read review or visit site]

Plan 59

Plan 59

From the Nostlagia Factory in Virginia comes this celebration of 'mid-century automotive advertising illustrations'… [read review or visit site]

Stevengraphs Bookmarks and Postcards

Stevengraphs Bookmarks and Postcards

Malcolm Roebuck's tribute to the ornate silk picture bookmarks and postcards ('Stevengraphs') produced by Thomas St… [read review or visit site]

American Package Museum

American Package Museum

Ian House's gallery of early 20th Century American package designs. Browse the exhibits in slide show mode or view … [read review or visit site]

Found in Moms Basement

Found in Moms Basement

Paula Zargaj-Reynolds’ blog, an extensive collection of 20th century vintage advertising, is a visual feast. Scro… [read review or visit site]

Ephemera Society of America

Ephemera Society of America

Great reference on ephemera... includes examples and descriptions of various ephemera categories, selected special … [read review or visit site]

Truth in Advertising

Truth in Advertising

This gallery of cigarette magazine advertising from the 1940s and 50s contains no surgeon general's warning, just p… [read review or visit site]

Ephemera Blog

Ephemera Blog

Marty Weil's wide-ranging, in-depth blog on ephemera, including lots of great interviews with ephemera collectors. … [read review or visit site]


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Huge Victorian Scrapbook - Trade Cards, Baseball, C&i$94.00 Ends Tuesday 11 bids 32 watchers
Victorian Trade Card "howe Scales" 1876 New York City$71.00 Ends Monday 8 bids 3 watchers
Sweetacres Cricketers Minties 1926 Trade Card Set$62.00 Ends Tuesday 2 bids 13 watchers
Whitbread Inn 21 X Signs Trade Cards Third Series$58.58 Ends in 5 hours 8 bids 8 watchers
Story & Clark Organ Trade Card - Shows Exhibit, Poem$49.99 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 2 watchers
1940s Cracker Jack Ad Angelus Marshmallows Trade Card$43.26 Ends in 11 hours 13 bids 16 watchers
Old Victorian Antique Trade Card Album$35.99 Ends in 3 hours 1 bid 10 watchers
Star Trek 1967 Leaf Trade Card #26-psa Grade 8$34.78 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 6 watchers
Star Trek 1967 Leaf Trade Card #28-psa Grade 8$34.57 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 6 watchers
Star Trek 1967 Leaf Trade Card #30-psa Grade 8$34.57 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 5 watchers
Sf Billiard Tables Mfr Trade Card - Baseball & Croquet$34.33 Ends Monday 2 bids 24 watchers
Large Victorian 25 Page Scrapbook Die Cuts & Trade Card$31.00 Ends Tuesday 9 bids 27 watchers
Victorian Trade Card Die Cut Pickle Advertising Heinz$30.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 7 watchers
Antique Victorian Easel Photo Trade Card Tabletop$26.55 Ends in 11 hours 9 bids 6 watchers
20 Lot Victorian Adv. Trade Card Paper Doll Scrap$26.00 Ends in 9 hours 5 bids 20 watchers
1892 Set Singer Trade Cards, Columbian Expo Costumes$26.00 Ends in 9 hours 8 bids 7 watchers
Scanlens Stimorol Rugby League 1988 164/164 Trade Cards$24.73 Ends Tuesday 2 bids 20 watchers
£70 1954 Brooke Bond British Birds Trade Tea Card Set$22.51 Ends Thursday 1 bid 7 watchers
Ca 1870 Baltimore Trade Card - Wm. Eckhardt, Framer$22.50 Ends Monday 3 bids 7 watchers
Sweetacres Test Match Records 1932 Trade Card Set$21.52 Ends Tuesday 8 bids 15 watchers
Pokemon Huge Rare Foil Trade Card Album Game Mixed Lot$21.50 Ends in 6 hours 3 bids 8 watchers
Victorian National Cash Register Black Board Trade Card$21.00 Ends Tuesday 4 bids 7 watchers
Rare Chase And Sanborn's Coffee Trade Card$19.99 Ends in 9 hours 1 bid 2 watchers
1880s Butterfly Trade Card Celluloid Eye Glass Frame$19.99 Ends in 11 hours 1 bid 2 watchers
1880's Accurate Barometer Baseball Trade Card - Sgc 40$19.99 Ends in 10 hours 1 bid 1 watcher
Victorian Scrapbook Advertising Trade Cards$16.05 Ends Monday 2 bids 17 watchers
Whitbread Inn 5 X Metal Signs Trade Cards First Series$15.00 Ends in 5 hours 1 bid 5 watchers
Cigarette Cards, Trade, Twinings Rare Stamps 1960$15.00 Ends in 6 hours 1 bid 1 watcher
Cricket Cards, Trade, Cricketers Inc Don Bradman$15.00 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 4 watchers
Dixons Stove Polish Victorian Trade Card Ad Black Ameri$14.99 Ends in 12 hours 1 bid 1 watcher
Cablegram Cigarettes Trade Card$14.60 Ends in 3 hours 4 bids
1892 Uncle Sam Hold To Light Everett Piano Trade Card$12.75 Ends Monday 3 bids 2 watchers
Cigar Trade Card - Palmer Cox Brownies 1880s$12.50 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 5 watchers
Hunters Enjoy O.f.c. Rye Whiskey Trade Card $12.00 Ends in 7 hours 1 bid 5 watchers
Star Trek 1967 Leaf Trade Card #21-psa Grade-8$11.50 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 9 watchers
Star Trek 1967 Leaf Trade Card #22-psa Grade-8$11.50 Ends Tuesday 2 bids 7 watchers
Star Trek 1967 Leaf Trade Card #23-psa Grade 8$11.50 Ends Tuesday 2 bids 9 watchers
Sensational Trade Card..arm & Hammer..black Americana$11.28 Ends in 5 hours 2 bids 16 watchers
1880-1890s Victorian Trade Card~capewell Horse Nail Co.$11.25 Ends in 11 hours 6 bids 4 watchers
1800's Howe Scales Trade Card Lack Americana$11.19 Ends in 9 hours 4 bids 1 watcher
Trade Card Baseball Theme, Kenyon Hat Co Rochester, Ny$10.99 Ends Saturday 2 bids 4 watchers
Vintage P Lorillard Snuff Tobacco Trade Card/sign$10.51 Ends in 9 hours 2 bids 5 watchers
Santa Postcard Trade Card Blue Robe ** Superb Graphics$10.50 Ends Monday 2 bids 5 watchers
Santa Postcard Trade Card Red Robe *** Superb Graphics$10.50 Ends Monday 2 bids 3 watchers
Tobacco Trade Card P. Lorillard Co 9 Of Spades$10.49 Ends in 4 hours 2 bids 7 watchers
Victorian Trade Card Album Made In Germany Nr$10.49 Ends Saturday 2 bids 4 watchers
Antique Victorian Trade Cards Scrapbook Coffee & More$9.99 Ends in 6 hours 1 bid 6 watchers
Cool - Oyster Trade Card - Barnes - Baltimore - Surreal$9.99 Ends in 13 hours 1 bid 16 watchers

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