Elaine Katz collection of women's trade cards, 1870s-1920s

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Summary

Creator:
Katz, Elaine J., Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, and John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Abstract:
Elaine Katz is a collector of books and ephemera. This collection was created by Katz and contains more than 800 cards documenting numerous women's businesses and professions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries including millinery, dressmaking, and fancy work, as well as many other types of businesses and work. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture and the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
0.75 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13174

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of 805 trade and business cards produced between approximately 1870 and 1920 advertising women-owned or women-managed businesses in the United States. Of these, 733 are unique examples and 72 are variant versions. The majority of the materials date to the late nineteenth century and reflect a wide range of occupations, geographic locations, and visual styles. Occupations represented include millinery, dressmaking, tailoring, sewing instruction, sales agents, and retail businesses selling dry goods, fancy goods, liquor, cigars, wigs, groceries, shoes, and baked goods. The collection also documents women who owned and managed hotels, restaurants, cafes, saloons, and boarding houses, as well as druggists, florists, booksellers, artists, teachers, cosmetics manufacturers, hairdressers, and operators of employment agencies for women. Together, these materials illustrate the breadth of women's entrepreneurial activity during this period. At least one trade card (Mrs. P. H. Crawford & Mrs. M. J. Harris, RL13174-TC-0804) represents a business owned by Black women.

Most cards identify the business owners using contemporary naming conventions, typically listing them as "Mrs. (husband's first and last name)" or "Ms. (last name)" rather than including their own first names. Geographically, the collection emphasizes east coast cities such as New York and Philadelphia while also including smaller towns and western locations, including Washington Territory and California.

Many of the trade cards are vividly colored and feature illustrations of white babies, women, and children, as well as animals domestic or natural scenes. A small number of the trade cards feature racist caricatures of Black people or exoticized depictions of Middle Eastern men.

Biographical / historical:

Elaine Katz is a collector who became involved in the antiquarian book trade in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s, she and her father began a rare book business in Los Angeles. She moved to Seattle in the mid-1980s, establishing her own business that specialized in books by and about women. Katz left the antiquarian trade in 1991, but she continues to collect books and ephemera, including trade cards.

Trade cards were a popular form of advertising by businesses, especially in the second half of the nineteenth century. Advances in printing technology and color lithography (multicolor printing) made the production of trade cards efficient and affordable. Businesses typically included trade cards in product packaging, and the cards were often collected and compiled into albums.

Source: "Trade Cards: A Short History," Cornell University Library (accessed January 16, 2026).

Acquisition information:
The Elaine Katz Collection of Women's Trade Cards was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Kate Mitas, Bookseller on behalf of Elaine Katz in 2025.
Processing information:

IDs were assigned prior to physical arrangement so do not always follow in sequential order.

Processed by Reina Henderson, Leah Tams, and Mary Mellon, December 2025.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2025-0135.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically in the collection guide. Arranged physically by size (small or large) and then alphabetically therein.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Elaine Katz Collection of Women's Trade Cards, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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