A Mechanical Trade Card, Advertising Seth H. Clay, Jeweler and Optician of Cambridge, Illinois

Cambridge, Ill: s. n., 1885. Softcover. Trade card, n. d. (ca 1885); chromolithographed, card stock frame, with a die-cut of a dapper gentleman; second, card stock piece in the frame, with a pull-tab, illustrated with a beautiful lady; when fully inserted, the man and the woman are kissing, and when pulled out, an advertisement appears, reading: “That will be lovely Dear, and you must get the RING of Seth H. Clay, the Jeweler and Optician, Cambridge, Ills.†Overall in very good condition - small chip to upper corner of smaller piece; a few crease lines to frame and pull-tab; three rubbed spots to verso.Becoming extremely popular in the latter part of the 19th century, mechanical trade cards employed one or more rotating, sliding, or hinged parts that moved to create animated effects. In this case, the trade card advertised a jeweler, through a man proposing marriage to his love.