John Mundell Co (3 results)

No Binding. Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Original trade card with an elaborate color illustration of boys at play who are up and about on their feet as they toss a ball around. Emphasis on their footwear, a tie-in to the product advertised, Solar Tip Shoes. No date, circa 1880s-1910s. 5" x 3." Trade card is clean and intact overall but has slight wrinkling at the corners, a microscopic closed tear at top, and some surface tearing limited to the back that has led to some loss of text. A Very Good copy. Trade card for John Mundell & Company. All trade cards can arguably be traced as the prototypes to modern trading cards. However, John Mundell & Co. is a rare example in being one of few companies with a closer connection to the modern baseball trading card. John Mundell, Sr. had founded his shoe company in 1848. He marketed his shoes as having an extra-durable tip that could withstand children's rough play. In a complex series of events, John, Sr.'s son, John Mundell, Jr., founded a company baseball team in 1879 with the same name as its star product, the Solar Tips. The team played well into the late 1880s and may have been active until the closure of the shoe company in 1901. The printing firm, Ketterlinus, was founded in 1842 as E. Ketterlinus & Company by brothers Eugene Ketterlinus (1824-1886) and Paul Ketterlinus (1820-1894). The company became known for its high-quality selection of diverse printed materials such as cards, catalogs, checks, and labels. Eugene's son, John Louis Ketterlinus (1852-1932) took over his father and uncle's business in 1876. John shifted the company's focus onto trade cards. From about the 1890s-1920s, the firm was very successful and opened new buildings as part of its establishment. John became semi-retired in 1919, but company remained in business until about 1970. Trade cards are antique business cards that first became popular during the late seventeenth century in Paris and Lyon, France and London, England. Trade cards were often given by business owners and proprietors to patrons and customers as a way to promote their businesses. Prior to the use of street addresses, trade cards had maps so clients could locate the associated business. Many of these cards also incorporated elaborate designs, illustrations, and other decorative features. Trade cards became popular in the United States during the nineteenth century in the period after the Civil War. The late nineteenth century also saw the advent of trade card collecting as a hobby. While they are no longer in use, trade cards influenced the formation of trading cards and were the predecessors of modern-day business cards.

Single sheet. Condition: Very Good. Philadelphia: John Mundell And Company. Very Good. 1890. Single sheet. Size: 9 and 1/2 by 12 and 1/2 inches Condition: This rare vintage advertisement is in very good condition with light age toning to the paper , small binders staple holes in the outer edge of the left hand margin. A great item to matte and frame. Would make a unique gift. ; This scarce if not rare vintage advertisement is for a Victorian tardecard or advertising card issued from John Mundell & Co. Makes of Leather solar tips for shoes. Victorian Tradecards were all the rage at this time and still highly collected today. This vintage advertisement shows the card for the fall of 1890. This classic advertisement is much scarcer than the tradecard itself and would make a great addition to any tradecard collection. On the reverse are four other vintage shoe company advertisements. A great piece of local business history and genealogy. .

Condition: Good. Color lithograph trade card. 8.2 x 12.4cm. Description: This tradecard from John Mundell and Company depicts a crowd of young men dressed in blue suits and black shoes kicking a ball into the air as others scramble to catch it. Four young girls can be seen on the side watching the boys play.