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Rumford Chemical Works Javens Danals (1 results)
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Original Trade Card - "Horsfords Acid Phosphate for Mental & Physical Exhaustion, Dyspepsia, &c.; Javens & Danals, Dealers in Drugs, Medicines, Fancy Articles, . Rochester, PA."
Published by The Major & Knapp Lith. Co., New York
No Binding. Condition: Collectible-Good. Original trade card with a black-and-white illustration of young child with the caption, "Our Pet." Illustration is accented by pink text and pink coloring to the child's bow. No date, circa 1880s-1910s. 3" x 4 3/4." Trade card is very clean and intact overall. Slight rippling. Back has bits of paper that are stuck and some discoloration. Front is Very Good, but including the back, a Good copy overall. Printer's information at bottom: "The Major & Knapp Lith. Co. N.Y." Trade card for dealers Javens & Danals and one of the products they carry, Horsford's Acid Phosphate, which was manufactured by Rumford Chemical Works. This brand of acid phosphate was made by Eben Horsford (1818-1893), a Harvard University professor. He and George F. Wilson founded Rumford Chemical Works which was incorporated in 1854. Promotional text on back advertises the acid phosphate's purported medicinal properties. Among the ailments the product is said to cure are "Dyspepsia, Indigestion, Headache, Mental & Physical Exhaustion, Nervousness, Hysteria, Night Sweats of Consumption, etc." Patent medicines, products with no medicinal properties despite being advertised as such, proliferated during the latter half of the nineteenth century. While Horsford's Acid Phosphate is a patent medicine, it found a new lease on life as a flavoring compound in sodas and other drinks. Acid phosphate is described as having a sour taste with no other flavor notes. Acid phosphate is still sold to this day but typically as a flavoring, not a medicine. Major & Knapp is one of the iterations of the company whose founders and partners include Henry B. Major (1820-1887), Richard Major (1825-1894), Joseph F. Knapp (1832-1891), and Joseph P. Knapp (1864-1954). Trade cards were 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.
