Business Advertisement Card: Sewing Machine

Many American advertising cards in the nineteenth century displayed a variety of visual and rhetorical themes to foster the attention of potential consumers. The appealing elements these cards displayed convinced the public that these easily disposable ephemera pieces were worthy of preservation. In this card for a sewing machine, two advertising tropes which can be observed are natural imagery and the inclusion of animals.

One of the ways trade card advertisers could compensate for the flat, mundane nature of their paper products was by implementing natural imagery. If a feeling of “naturalness” and “genuineness” was conveyed to the consumer successfully, then the advertised product was more likely to be researched and purchased. Chromolithography, the process of printing color-printed ephemera, allowed trade card authors to create colorful and appealing images which helped to circulate the supposed benefits of their wares. This card includes resting birds on a branch as well as flowers, impressive and intricate images that suggest the textiles produced from the advertised sewing machines are similarly elegant and natural.

American advertisers often included animals in their trade cards to charm and increase consumer patronage. Producers were particularly incentivized to make their advertisements visually appealing to children since younger audiences tended to collect and disseminate trade cards to their parents. This card demonstrates this trend by showing two birds perched on a branch, a wholesome image which helps to facilitate favorable attention from consumers.

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