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An exceptional, beautifully preserved late-19th-century Victorian trade card scrap album containing 21 pages heavily filled with vibrant chromolithographs and early American advertising ephemera. Unlike common scrapbooks filled with generic floral scraps, this album was meticulously curated by a collector with a focus on premium national brands, localized Southern New England merchant overprints (Providence, RI; Fall River/New Bedford, Mass.), and highly collectible thematic series.
The album is bound in its original, heavy, dark textured cloth-covered boards typical of the 1880s.
Major Collection Highlights Inside:
* Rare Narrative Sets: Includes 6 out of 7 known cards from the highly sought-after 1870s Donaldson Brothers "Wear Celluloid Collars and Cuffs" Anthropomorphic Frog series, as well as 4 matching cards from the satirical "A Hunter’s Holidays" series.
* Massive Local Soapine Archive: Features a heavy, multi-page concentration of Soapine (Kendall Mfg. Co., Providence, RI) advertising, anchored by the premium Steam Train / Locomotive card and incredibly scarce, intact original text-back packaging wrappers.
* Black Americana & Social History: Contains a premium "Creme" Oatmeal Toilet Soap caricature card and a large-format Reid’s Flower Seeds broadside.
* Premium National Brands: Showcases prominent large-format industrial and medical advertisements including C.I. Hood & Co. Sarsaparilla, Magnolia Ham, Libby's Corned Beef, Remington Sewing Machines, Aultman Miller "Buckeye" Mower, and The Improved "Bon Ton" Corset.
* High-Demand Animals & Thematics: Features a striking, dedicated layout of anthropomorphic pugsacting as humans, along with a complete 7-card run of the Jas. S. Kirk & Co. "Columbia Soap" Nations/Flags series.
Condition Notes:
The album is in solid antique condition. The exterior original covers show standard surface dust and shelf wear consistent with age, but have preserved the contents beautifully. Colors on the chromolithographs remain remarkably bright, vivid, and unfaded. The cards appear securely mounted to the historic album pages. Please review the high-resolution photos to evaluate the exact condition and contents of this spectacular historical archive.
11 1/2 x 12”
150 Cards total
