Trade card, lithograph for The Fleischmann Co., Form No. 910A. Made in Germany. Circa mid-1880s – 1890s.

Price:  $10.00        Size:  3 and 1/2 x 5 and 1/2″

There’s the Easter Bunny and one Easter egg behind the young gentleman in the flared double-breasted coat with the wide lapels, checkered pants, top hat and walking cane, with gloves in hand. It’s a spring day, the lilies of the valley are in bloom, and the flowing red lines appearing from “underneath” the scene, as well as the flowing lines of the lilies of the valley, are very Art Nouveau; a beautiful advertising piece from the Fleischmann Company. A “Handsome Banner Picture” could be obtained in exchange for 50 Yellow Labels taken from the cakes of their Compressed Yeast.

Exactly what is meant by “banner picture” is not quite clear. And an internet search did not illuminate the answer.

As to the time-frame for the card, perhaps mid-1880s to 1890s.  An entry in New York City directories in 1886 shows,  “Fleischmann Maximilian, yeast, 701 Washn. & 219 E. 23d, h. 115 Madison av.”  which half-way matches the address given on the back of the card as 699-701 Washington St. The exact address given is proving hard to find in online sources, surprisingly. Newspaper ads show the 701 Washington address at least into the late 1920s. And numerous entries in various years show both “Fleischmann & Co.” and “The Fleischmann Co.”

Source:   Trow’s New York City Directory, Vol. XCIX, for year ending May 1,1886.  p. 606. (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995).