The vibrant colors of this antique Victorian trade card issued by J&P Coats Thread will add a lovely touch to the walls of your home or your favorite sewing enthusiast's studio. This premium art print is carefully reproduced using state-of-the-art printing technology, which results in sharp details and color fidelity using UL-certified Greenguard Gold inks.

.: Available in two high quality paper options in a variety of sizes
.: Fine art paper (310 gsm) is equivalent to traditional watercolor or etching paper. It has a soft textured surface and archival quality.
.: Semi-glossy paper (260 gsm) is a bright white photo paper with a satin finish and offers full sharp color fidelity.
.: The print is sealed in an archival plastic bag and shipped in an envelope or tube.

In some cases, the dimensions of the image are a somewhat different aspect ratio than standard print sizes; these images are printed on a background color that blends into the antique paper border. Depending on your display preferences, you can choose to custom frame the card outline with matboard in a contrasting color, or the finished print will fit in a standard sized frame without a mat.

This image is from my personal collection of antique Victorian Trade Cards, which largely date from 1876-1900. When these vibrant little chromolithograph cards were introduced, color printing was still a novelty that had just become affordable on a mass scale. People were delighted to receive complimentary advertising cards or "chromos" from local merchants and many began collecting them in scrapbooks.

Trade cards tell a visual story of life during the American Industrial Revolution, as mechanization and manufacturing produced an array of new products and companies to market to a growing consumer audience. Businesses could choose from a variety of generic stock cards with blank spaces to add an imprint of their business name, and some larger companies also commissioned their own designs in hopes of making their brand memorable and educating consumers on the virtues of their products.

I routinely do digital restoration of high resolution scans of the images to remove small age spots, creases, or worn areas before they are reprinted. As the original cards are quite small (often in the ballpark of 3" x 5"), tiny text and other details can be seen better in larger copies. I imagine many Victorian collectors used magnifying glasses to read some of these cards! Stippling and stray ink dots from the original etched stone printing process becomes more apparent in larger prints and adds to the handcrafted feel of the image.