Saturday, December 18, 2010

Dreaming of Corned Beef

This girl could be dreaming of a white Christmas, but instead, she's dreaming of corned beef.  The trade card was produced sometime in the 1870s. There was a famous company by the name of Libby, McNeill & Libby, which specialized in canned meat. They are now known as just Libby, and they still produce canned meats (think Vienna sausages.)

The back of the card is also interesting.  It provides a space for a receipt for goods bought at George Mason, dealer in teas, coffees, & fine groceries in Paterson New Jersey. Here's the back of the card:
 

10 comments:

  1. Ha ha, unglaublich. Die junger Frau ist ja schnell zufrieden zu stellen. Das dürfte sich als Weihnachtsgeschenk wohl machen lassen.

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  2. Whoa, corned beef with butterfly wings, no doubt an early inspiration for the surrealist artists to come later... Looks like it gives you good bedhead too!

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  3. Flying Libbies? Sounds like a good name for a circus act! LOL !

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  4. I do rather like the idea of the trade card also being the receipt - much more interesting than those scraps of machine printed paper you are issued with these days

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  5. What child doesn't dream about corned beef. I have to wake my kids up constantly when they are in a fit dreaming about it. That child will never think about butterflies the same way ever again.

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  6. Surreal dream of flying canned meat! Could be Dali or Cornell. This trade card was way ahead of its time.

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  7. I really like this - and it's probably good advertising from a day when people kept receipts for all sorts :-) Jo

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  8. How fascinating! Is the face on the top can part of the illustration or is it an embellishment?

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  9. Yowser, didn't notice the face on the top can until a commenter pointed it out. Looks rather phallic to me! Luv the receipt idea but I'll pass on Libby's -- canned or flying or flying and canned. A digestion-inspired nightmare?

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  10. Indigestion-inspired I should say

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