Original Trade Card - "Edwin C. Burt, Fine Shoes.; Patterson & Davis, 175 Genesee St., are Agents for the sale of my Goods in Utica, N. Y."

Original trade card featuring a color illustration of a young girl who is feeding birds in a scenic landscape filled with flowers. A butterfly is pictured to the left. No date, circa 1874-1884. 4 3/4" x 2 3/4." Printer's information printed on back: "The Major & Knapp Lith. Co. 56 Park Place, N. Y." Trade card is very clean and intact except for some wrinkling, a few light spots of discoloration, and age toning on back. A Very Good copy. Trade card for Edwin C. Burt, a dealer in fine shoes, and agents for Edwin C. Burt, Patterson & Davis. Major & Knapp was a famous printing company with close ties to the prominent nineteenth-century photographer, Napoleon Sarony. Sarony first partnered with Henry Major (Sarony & Major), then later, Joseph F. Knapp (Sarony, Major & Knapp). Over the years, Henry's brother, Richard Major, joined the company, as well as Joseph's son, Joseph P. Knapp. The company changed its name multiple times. Major & Knapp was located at 56 Park Place from about 1874-1884. Trade cards are antique business cards that first became popular during the late seventeenth century in Paris and Lyon, France and London, England. Trade cards were often given by business owners and proprietors to patrons and customers as a way to promote their businesses. Prior to the use of street addresses, trade cards had maps so clients could locate the associated business. Many of these cards also incorporated elaborate designs, illustrations, and other decorative features. Trade cards became popular in the United States during the nineteenth century in the period after the Civil War. The late nineteenth century also saw the advent of trade card collecting as a hobby. While they are no longer in use, trade cards influenced the formation of trading cards and were the predecessors of modern-day business cards.…