Ads and trading cards by William Wallace Denslow
W. W. Denslow was a very prolific illustrator who had his share of work in the advertising industry, as well. The next ad was created for the magazine, where buyers were lured into a subscription to different creations by modern artists.
The series of advertisements for Diamond Condensed Soups is already very recognizable by Denslow's mischievous style. Diamond Soup Company from Chicago, Illinois, promoted them as an alternative to canned or powdered soups as a rare treat based on the highest quality.
Let's see how William Wallace Denslow perceived them:
Let's see how William Wallace Denslow perceived them:
What are trading cards?
You may wonder what is a trading card and you are not alone. As with many things, their existence is a result of necessity, coincidence, and business acumen. When the first cigarettes were mass-produced in the 19th century, they were packed into paper packs. These packs were too soft to protect the cigarettes against mechanical stress, and a card, made of thicker paper or cardboard was added to the pack to keep its shape and the shape of cigarettes.
The same idea was used for packs of bubble gum, which led to cigarette and bubblegum cards as precursors of trading cards. In 1886, the first advertisements were printed on such cards by Alen and Ginter, one of five companies that formed the American Tobacco Company in 1890. At first, their cards promoted just cigarette brands but soon expanded to different areas that might be interesting for buyers (predominantly men). Their most popular series, which soon became collectible, were baseball trading cards, but they also created a series of illustrations or photos of animals, historical figures, flags of the world, and different sports.
Here is an example of a Victorian trade card illustrated by Denslow, published by Baker & Hayes, which advertises skating track with the 'Clear the Track' slogan:
You may wonder what is a trading card and you are not alone. As with many things, their existence is a result of necessity, coincidence, and business acumen. When the first cigarettes were mass-produced in the 19th century, they were packed into paper packs. These packs were too soft to protect the cigarettes against mechanical stress, and a card, made of thicker paper or cardboard was added to the pack to keep its shape and the shape of cigarettes.
The same idea was used for packs of bubble gum, which led to cigarette and bubblegum cards as precursors of trading cards. In 1886, the first advertisements were printed on such cards by Alen and Ginter, one of five companies that formed the American Tobacco Company in 1890. At first, their cards promoted just cigarette brands but soon expanded to different areas that might be interesting for buyers (predominantly men). Their most popular series, which soon became collectible, were baseball trading cards, but they also created a series of illustrations or photos of animals, historical figures, flags of the world, and different sports.
Here is an example of a Victorian trade card illustrated by Denslow, published by Baker & Hayes, which advertises skating track with the 'Clear the Track' slogan:
Cigarette cards were so popular that children stood outside of tobacco shops for hours to get as many cards as possible from the buyers of cigarettes. Several hundred companies produced thousands of tobacco cards, which inspired numerous companies from other areas of business to create their own trading cards. Some were packed inside the product, and others were given to customers by the seller at the time of purchase.
A fine example is this set by Baker & Hayes, where W. W. Denslow associated products with Roman gods.
A fine example is this set by Baker & Hayes, where W. W. Denslow associated products with Roman gods.
And here is a series of trading cards promoting bread, which were also used as postcards:
Theatre plays and similar events were also promoted in the same way:
During World War II, a shortage of paper ended the production of trade cards and they returned in different form around 1950. But we will stay with vintage trading cards, or, if we may say, antique trading cards, created by William Wallace Denslow.
If you like the presented examples, don't miss the article about Denslow's Postcards!
If you like the presented examples, don't miss the article about Denslow's Postcards!
