Trade Card: Strauss', Clothing, Concord, Massachusetts
This trade card, advertising Strauss' clothing store in Concord, Massachusetts, uses a humorous approach to promote its durable suits. The front of the card depicts a lively scene of a man demonstrating the strength of a suit by attempting to tear it apart without success. The illustration is detailed and uses vibrant colors to emphasize the resilience of the garments. The back of the card features a text-based advertisement; it is formatted as a reward poster for a stolen horse—a 'blind horse'—offering $500. The text also subtly advertises suits underneath the reward notice. The visual style and color scheme of the card suggest a late 19th-century origin.
