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Stoddart Bros : Original Trade Card - "Cashmere Dew, Stoddart Bros, Chemists and Perfumers, Cor. Geary and Mason Streets, S. F."

Original trade card with a color illustration of two children looking at an owl perched on a crescent moon holding up a bottle of Cashmere Dew in one of its feet. No date, circa 1880s-1910s. 4 1/4" x 2 3/4." Trade card is very clean and intact except for a couple minuscule wrinkles near the edges and age toning. A Very Good copy. Trade card for Cashmere Dew, a skin care product sold by the Stoddart Brothers, Chemists and Perfumers, in San Francisco, California. The product is advertised as being useful "[f]or Beautifying the Complexion and Skin. Removes Sunburn, Tan, Pimples, and Eruptions, leaving the Skin soft, velvety and fragrant." May be considered a type of patent medicine. Patent medicines are medicinal products whose healing or curative properties are questionable at best. Historically, many were actually dangerous and contained unsafe levels of alcohol and undisclosed substances such as narcotics. The history of patent medicines in United States begins at its inception but it was not until the years leading up to the Civil War that they became popular. Despite the misleading and even dangerous nature of patent medicines, they achieved peak popularity during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Around the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Progressive movements led by journalists, watchdog groups, and legislators began to stem the tide of patent medicines. 1906 marked the passing of the first federal Food and Drug Act which required medicinal products to disclose their active ingredients, be accurately labeled, and not fall below certain purity levels set by the U.S. Pharmacopeia and National Formulary. Subsequent legislation over the years helped solidify food and drug safety measures that made it difficult for misleading and dangerous medicines to reach the general public. 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.. Ephemera. Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Binding: No Binding

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