Trade cards provide fascinating views of local Hopewell businesses in the late 1800s. These cards with their colorful artwork were a popular method of promotion to clients and customers. And they are helpful historical artifacts for us, as they provide information including the owner’s name, descriptions of the business, and listings of important products.
Thanks to three new contributions, we now have a card that is the first known artifact from Mrs. M. A. Carter’s Millinery store, a mystery card for the unknown “T. A. Puison & Bro.”, and a card with new information for J. Thomas Gandy, a well-known druggist.
== View all the Business Trade Cards in the Image Gallery ==
Mrs. M. A. Carter – Millinery
This trade card, illustrated with two little children and lily of the valley flowers, is the only known artifact from the store of Mrs. M. A. Carter, that featured Millinery, Dress Making, and Fancy Goods.
Mrs. Carter ran extensive advertisements in the Hopewell Herald describing her services, including the Millinery, Dressmaking, and Fine Stationary departments, plus the variety of Ladies’ Garments and accessories available.
Mrs. Carter’s store operated from 1883 to around 1889 in the building that became the Hopewell Inn on East Broad Street at Seminary Avenue. The 1887 Fowler map identifies her business at the building, with the distinctive square mansard roof.
- See earlier post on the Hopewell Inn for more on Mrs. Carter and the Hopewell Inn site.
“T. A. Puison & Bro.” – Humphreys’ Witch Hazel Oil
This c. 1890s trade card is a two-sided advertisement for Humphreys’ Witch Hazel Oil (“Trial Size 25 cts.”).
The front has an illustration of maiden in red dress frolicking with fanciful witch hazel branches in a meadow by a stream.
The back has dense advertising copy extoling the product as a “Pile Ointment” for irritated and damaged skin (“Infallible” … “Invaluable” … “The relief is immediate – the cure certain”).
The business listed at the bottom of the card is “T. A. Puison & Bro.” of Hopewell, but there are no obvious references to a Puison or a brother in local records. Instead, this turns out to be a typo for “T. A. Pierson,” apparently because a handwritten “Pier” became “Pui” – as these cards were presumably printed by Humphreys for distribution to area drug stores that carried their product.
Dr. Theodore A. Pierson (1870-1948) came to Hopewell in 1893 and opened a drug store in the Cook’s Block building on East Broad Street at the corner of North Greenwood Avenue. His brother, George E. Pierson (1872–1946), joined him in the business, which became the T. A. Pierson & Bro. drug store. Dr. Theodore Pierson then focused on medicine as a town doctor in Hopewell for over 50 years, while George Pierson continued the drug store for 30 years (later under the Rexall brand).
The Pierson drug store soon relocated across the street to 1 West Broad Street (then the Holcombe Block, now the Hopewell Pharmacy building), and thereby avoided the fire that destroyed Cook’s Block in 1899.
Humphreys later ran a series of Witch Hazel Oil ads in the Hopewell Herald in 1898, but did not list any local distributors.
- See previous post on Dr. T. A. Pierson in the 1894 sleigh races
- More on Dr. T. A. Pierson’s part in the Hoproco toy company
J. Thomas Gandy, Druggist and Seedsman
The third card is for J. Thomas Gandy, who ran an earlier drug store in Hopewell from the mid-1880s until 1888. It was located in in a complex of buildings that were located at the entrance to South Greenwood Avenue off Broad Street (i.e., along the current location of the Hopewell Pharmacy buildings, before South Greenwood was opened up as a street).
The earlier set of 1880s trade cards list Gandy’s business as “Drugs, Medicines, Fancy Articles, etc.” plus “Fancy Cigars, Tobaccos, Garden Seeds.” They are illustrated with colorful flowers and county scenes.
This front of this additional card features a pensive lady with flowers at a red table with vase – but no writing. The back then describes Gandy’s business as “Druggist and Seedsman, Dealer in Pure Drugs and Medicines,” with distinctive curly cue letter forms.
The card then details Gandy’s important products, including “Syringes, Breast Pumps, Nipple Shields, Patent Medicines, Perfumery, Fancy Articles, etc., etc.” In addition to the drugstore products, Gandy also featured “Landreth’s Celebrated Garden Seeds.”
- See earlier post on the Gandy Trade Cards, with more on the history of the store location.
== View all the Gandy Drug Store Trade Cards in the Image Gallery ==
== View all the Business Trade Cards in the Image Gallery ==
Thanks to Bob Gantz for sharing the original set of Gandy trade cards, and George Wagner and Rich Sauers for sharing the new set of cards.
Do you have trade cards or other materials like these to help share the history of the Hopewell Valley?
