Soapine — Kendall Mfg. Co., Providence, Rhode Island Original Victorian advertising trade card, chromolithograph, c. 1880s. Approx. 5.20 x 3.60 in. A young woman shown in profile against a painted sky of blue and violet, her long auburn hair falling loose over a pale gold dress with a lace collar and a deep red sash. The printing on this card is the finest in the group — the flesh tones, the hair and the sky are all built from dense multi-colored stipple. The reverse reads: For Washing and Cleaning Everything, No Matter What, Soapine Works QUICKER, EASIER, CHEAPER and BETTER Than Soap or anything Else. One Trial will Convince You. Kendall Mfg. Co., Providence, R.I., Established 1827. For sale by all grocers. HISTORICAL CONTEXT Kendall was already sixty years old when this card was printed, and the reverse says so. In an era when anyone could put a name on a box, “Established 1827” was doing real work — it meant somebody had been answering for the product for three generations. The front makes no argument at all. There is no soap in the picture, no kitchen, no washing. Just a portrait good enough to want on the wall, with the name underneath. The company was buying a place in the house rather than a place in the argument. CONDITION Toning and age typical of the period. A crease to one corner; staining and pale patches to the reverse; light surface soiling; minor edge and corner wear. The chromolithographed portrait on the front remains bright with strong color. Please view the images carefully. ABOUT THE PRINTING This is an original chromolithograph, and it was slow, exacting work. Each color had to be drawn onto its own separate stone by hand — in monochrome, the artist judging how much stipple each area needed so the colors would combine correctly only once every stone had been printed. The sheet then went through the press once for every color it carries, often a dozen or more, and every pass had to register exactly against the last. A pass out of register showed. Under magnification the image resolves into irregular hand-drawn stipple, each ink carrying its own dot pattern, the colors mixing in the eye rather than on the paper. There is no regular halftone screen and no four-color rosette, which is what a modern reproduction would show. Modern process printing simulates every color from four inks; chromolithography laid each color down as its own. PROVENANCE This item comes from the personal collections of my family estate, accumulated over more than 200 years — including items that came west by wagon train to Colorado and later to Oklahoma. Now that my parents have passed we cannot keep all of these cherished items. They were well-educated antiques collectors/traders and continued to build their collections over more than 60 years. The vast majority of the pieces are from the Victorian Era, however there are plenty of older and newer items. Everything has been stored in a climate-controlled environment over time. DISCLAIMER Specifications and detailed item descriptions are provided as a courtesy only and are not guaranteed to be one hundred percent accurate. Please do your own research. There are generally no receipts available for any items from original purchases. Any dimensions and/or weights are approximate. The absence of a more detailed condition report does not imply there are no condition issues with the item(s). Please inspect images carefully as they are part of the official item description and best representation of the actual condition. Additional images may be available upon request depending on time and availability. Not responsible for internet mis-translations or mis-identification of maker's marks if found or assumptions of makers or materials — item descriptions will indicate if it is assumed. If you see a problem, please message us immediately and we will do our best to sort out a solution and confirm the information. With the exception of eBay rules, no returns are accepted. Ref#ADV-009