Over the course of researching this blog, I have gathered a very modest collection of Wellington trade cards. Trade cards are small, printed advertisements that were widely distributed and collected in nineteenth-century America. While I have published (nearly) all of these images previously, I wanted to display them on a single page for ease of viewing. Enjoy!
Note: Images are not displayed to scale.
E. W. Adams (Druggist)
4 1/2″ L x 3 1/4″ W
Erwin Wright Adams (1849-1929) operated a drug store on the south side of Liberty Street–today West Herrick Avenue–for nearly forty years.
Freeman Battle (Sewing machine sales and repair)
5 1/4″ L x 2 3/4″ W
Freeman Battle (1850-1897) was a retail agent who specialized in sewing machines. His office was located in a building owned by Hoyt & Peters (see below) on the north side of Mechanics Street–today East Herrick Avenue–still standing today.
The Bee Hive (Home goods and groceries)
4 1/2″ L x 3″ W
The Bee Hive store had a very brief existence (1880-1884), but left behind a brick business block of the same name on the south side of West Herrick Avenue that still stands today.
H. W. Bennett (Furniture and undertaking)
3 1/2″ L x 5 1/2″ W
Bennett describes himself as “successor to Hoyt & Peters” (see below).
Levi Bowman (Clothing house)
2 3/4″ L x 5″ W
Levi Bowman was a Jewish businessman born in what is today Germany. He was a member of Wellington’s Masonic Lodge for more than forty years and recommended artist Archibald Willard for membership. Bowman’s tailoring shop on the west side of South Main Street was at the center of a local scandal in 1866.
A. G. & G. L. Couch (Furniture sales)
2 7/8″ L x 4 1/2″ W
The Couch cabinet factory produced locally-made furniture on South Main Street for more than sixty years. This card suggests that (at least later in their operations) they also sold goods manufactured elsewhere.
Dr. S. B. Emerson (Druggist)
5 1/4″ L x 3 1/4″ W
W. W. Harvey (Clothing sales)
5″ L x 2 1/8″ W
5″ L x 2 1/8″ W
S. P. Hastings (Sewing machine agent)
4 1/4″ L x 3″ W
Hoyt & Peters (Furniture and undertaking)
3 1/4″ L x 3 1/4″ W
Norton G. Hoyt (1837-1923) and David J. Peters (1844-1909) were brothers-in-law who operated a home furnishings business out of a building they constructed on the north side of Mechanics Street–now East Herrick Avenue–still standing today. I believe this card was printed ca. 1886.
Lang & Pierce (Stove and tin shop)
4 1/4″ L x 3″ W approx. (all cut)
Lang & Pierce (Stove and tin shop)
4 1/4″ L x 2 3/4″ W
J. M Otterbacher (Harness and sadle shop)
3″ L x 4 3/4 ” W
An interior view of the shop, which operated on what is now West Herrick Avenue in the late nineteenth century, can be seen here.
W. E. Peirce (Oven sales)
5 1/4″ L x 3 1/2″ W
William Rininger (Dry goods)
3″ L x 4 1/2″ W
William Rininger (1823-1901) was one of Wellington’s wealthiest citizens in the late nineteenth century. He lived and had multiple business locations on what is today East Herrick Avenue.
E. T. Robinson (Barbershop)
4 1/4″ L x 2 3/4″ W approx.
Robinson was an African-American businessman whose family moved to Wellington during the Civil War.
J. F. Ryder (Photography and art supplies)
4 1/2″ L x 2 3/4″ W
While James Fitzallan Ryder (1826-1904) was a photographer based in Cleveland, his role as Archibald Willard’s chief collaborator and promoter in the 1870s, just as Willard was becoming nationally known as an artist, makes Ryder’s inclusion here feel appropriate.
O. H. Smith (Grocer)
4″ L x 2 3/4″ W
William Vischer (Piano and organ sales)
2 3/4″ L x 4″ W
William Bentley Vischer (1863-1948) had a piano and organ selling business. If one looks carefully at the tallest brick building on the south side of West Herrick Avenue–then called Liberty Street–the ghostly remnants of the painted words, “Vischer & Sons Pianos” are still visible on the mansard roof.
J. W. Wilbur (Hardware and dairy equipment sales)
2 3/4″ L x 4 1/4″ W
Originally from Canada, John Watson Wilbur (1839-1936) settled in Wellington as a young man and operated a hardware store, both with partners and alone, for thirty years. His business was located on the north side of Mechanics Street–today East Herrick Avenue–across from the present location of the public library. The image on this trade card was copyrighted in 1883.
Wooster & Adams (Druggists)
2 1/2″ L x 4 1/4″ W
Precursors to E. W. Adams (see above).
19th-Century Wellington 