Business Advertisement Card: "Austen's Forest Flower Cologne"

Advertising cards that featured children and young adults engaging in consumer lifestyles were appealing to young audiences. For young American girls, a demographic that often lived in constraining social environments, these cards were particularly endearing and relatable, especially when they featured girls of the same age group. The girls on the card participating in happy and even adventurous consumer activities were symbolic of what opportunities were available for young women in a new American industrialized era. This card for W.J. Austen & Co. features an elaborately dressed girl holding flowers and experiencing the outdoors, insinuating that a girl’s life will improve with the advertised product. It also appears that, based on the advertisement, this card is also scented with Forest Flower Cologne, demonstrating the quality of the producer’s items to their audience.

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