The Earl J. Arnold Advertising Card Collection 1885

updated 5 February 2018 <PREVIOUS PAGE       ~  index  ~        NEXT PAGE> Kudos to Walter Arnold! Walter's brother, Earl J. Arnold, missed these, but earned kudos later as a superb Chamber of Commerce leader in several New England communities, particularly Waltham MA. Walter was an over-achiever The next three cards were stock cards printed by "HJB" (that's just a guess) lithographers. As of this moment, I'm not sure of HJB's identity. In any case, the stock cards were produced with blanks for merchants to imprint their logo. The subject matter of the card had nothing to do with what the merchant was selling. Excelsior Metal Polish might have been expensive. Almost for sure it was not "earnestly precious," nor would it have made your love true, guaranteed the gender of your offspring or improved your posture.  No trace of the Walpole Emery Mills remains. Google Street View of State Street, Bo...

updated 11 May 2018 <PREVIOUS PAGE       ~  index  ~        NEXT PAGE> Maison de Modes, Hartford, Connecticut, aka Mademoiselle Balch Wikipedia traces the career of Ellen Louise ("Nell") Demorest and the company she and her husband founded. The Demorest Pattern Co., Inc. is discussed further on page 102 of the Earl J. Arnold Advertising Card Collection . Recently added to the Diver collection is this Demorest card: "The Demorest Reliable Patterns of the Fashions, have the endorsement of all the best Exhibitions including the Centennial and Paris Expositions and the patronage of the Elite of Society everywhere. Patterns ten to thirty cents each, sent post-free on receipt of price.  What to Wear, 15 cts. Port-Folio of Fashions, 15 cents.  Demorest's Quarterly Journal, 5 cents. Yearly, 15 cents. Post-free. Demorest's Monthly, the Model Parlor Magazine of America, 25 cents. Yearly, $3.00, with a valuabl...

updated 3 October 2015 <PREVIOUS PAGE       ~  index  ~        NEXT PAGE> As of May 2015,  a Google search for "T.F. Barbour & Co." comes up with almost nothing of interest except other pages of the Earl J. Arnold Advertising Card Collection on which we find: another card, scant information, page 71 two more cards, even less information, page 95 yet another card and, well shall we say you can help with this? page 132 There is, however, some information in this reference ( Google Books ): Title Our Yankee Heritage: The Making of Bristol Author Carleton Beals Publisher Bristol Public Library Association, 1954 Page 161 According to The Making of Bristol (p.161), the July 4, 1876 centennial parade passed by T.F. Barbour's store. "The parade paused near the railway station. On one side were grocery stores and men's furnishing shops.The large Merrick and Merriman grocery and merchandise stores we...

updated 4 October  2015 <PREVIOUS PAGE       ~  index  ~        NEXT PAGE> The origin of these cards is a mystery. If you know anything abourt them, please comment below or email me. Thanks! In order to understand the success of some of the trade card campaigns included in the Earl J. Arnold Advertising Card Collection, it is necessary to understand that circumstances in the late 19th century were extraordinarily difficult when it came to health problems. A couple of resources explain this well. The explanation given by Peggy M. Baker, Director & Librarian, Pilgrim Society & Pilgrim Hall Museum on the Museum's page, " PATENT MEDICINE: Cures & Quacks " is particularly good: "... Patent medicines are NOT medicines that have been patented. They are instead proprietary (i.e., "secret formula") and unproved remedies advertised and sold directly to the public.  "The growth of the patent medi...