Marguerite Mills Advertisement Card Collection

Scope and Contents

            The collection of over 1000 loose trade cards (mostly chromolithographs) was assembled by donor Marguerite E. Mills.  It is probable that Marguerite inherited the cards from a close, older relative since collecting trade cards was most popular in the two decades before Marguerite’s birth in 1903.  The collection features a wide variety of products and focuses on Hartford, Connecticut area businesses and merchants.  The date range of the cards is 1870 through 1910. Of special interest are trade cards from the 1893 Columbian World’s Fair in Chicago, including the complete set of 12 cards from American Cereal Co, and a complete set of 8 trade cards from the Allyn, Blanchard and Latimer Company entitled “The Story of Bluebeard and his Wife.” Some of the cards feature blacks, Native Americans, and people of many different nationalities. Several trade cards have early images of baseball, ice hockey, and other sports, several fold out to demonstrate the results of the product advertised, and others reveal a hidden image when held to the light.