Tram Tuesday - Marseille, France

Back in 2011 I posted a colorful scene of streetcars on La Canebière in Marseille. Here are some more cards showing scenes of Marseille that include streetcars. The earliest trams in Marseille began service in 1876 and were pulled by horses.  As in most other places, the system slowly transitioned to electric power.  This first card, circa 1900,  appears to show horse-drawn and electric trams operating side by side.

Here's a close-up.

The tram system in Marseille has operated continuously, although the cars today are very sleek and modern in comparison to the ones shown here.

More Cats in Advertisiing

Here are some more cats working hard to promote totally unrelated products on circa 1880 trade cards. The first one is especially clever, suggesting that if you don't buy a shoe with a black reinforced tip, it won't even make a safe nest for birds.

If you're near Salina Street in Syracuse, new York, you can head over to G.W. Ingalls & Co. and buy yourself a pair.

Then you can head down the street and buys some fruit vinegar from John Ferguson, Grocer.

Cats in Advertising

Cats have been used to advertise everything imaginable, from shoes, to groceries, hardware, and medicine. Here are two trade cards from the 1880s featuring cats. The first one is an advertisement for Dr. Thomas Ecletric Oil, used all around the world and equally good for man and beast. If that's not enough, it was used for internally and externally for coughs, croup, asthma, diptheria, rheumatism, lame back, and a number of other things. The ingredients included spirits of turpentine, fish oil, oil of tar, and red thyme.

 

 The second card is equally peculiar. The picture , with a caption of Declaration of Love, seems to show a cat swatting a monkey...or is that a dog with a very long tail? In any case, one of them is chained to the wall.

 
If you think this is a strange approach to selling stoves and hardware, check out the back of the card.

Stay tuned for more cat advertising cards next week.