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Star Braid Trade Card 1876 Centennial Exposition Putti Warriors Chromolithograph
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Pre-linen · 1876

Star Braid Trade Card 1876 Centennial Exposition Putti Warriors Chromolithograph

Philadelphia, USA1876Pre-linenFair-Good

Two chubby putti squared off in Roman warrior regalia — one bearing a shield emblazoned with the Star Braid trade-mark, the other sprawled on a sandy shore clutching Mercury's caduceus — make for one of the most dramatically imaginative trade-card compositions of the Gilded Age. This chromolithograph, issued by the Star Braid alpaca-braid company to leverage their gold-medal performance at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, is a companion card to others in the same promotional series. A crate stenciled "STAR BRAID — Doz" stands at the left, anchoring the fantasy scene in commercial reality. The reverse again reproduces the official Centennial Commission award report certified by Francis A. Walker and signed by judge Elliot C. Cowdin, with additional notes of Silver Medal awards at the Franklin Institute Exhibition of 1874. The card bears a prominent crease across the right-center but retains vivid color throughout, and the allegorical imagery — commerce as martial conquest — is a telling reflection of Gilded Age business culture.

$14.95
Fair-Good
Buy on eBay
PC-01585
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