Subject: Middle East

This trade card advertises the opening of a branch of Bronner & Co.'s Clothing Store at 20 Asylum Street in Hartford, Connecticut. The advertisement highlights Bronner & Co. as "the Largest Retail Clothing House in America," with its main establishment located at 610-618 Broadway, New York. The card promotes the new store opening with the promise of "GREAT SLAUGHTER IN PRICES!" The front of the card features a colorful illustration: on the left, a smiling boy in traditional Middle Eastern attire (turban, vest, loose pants) holds a scroll and a staff, framed by an ornate arch with Arabic script. To his right is a detailed map of Turkey and surrounding regions including Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and the Black Sea. A small scene of figures seated under a tree is depicted in the lower right. The reverse side of the card is a text-only advertisement, featuring bold, ornate Victorian-style typography characteristic of the period.

This is the first American edition of Constantin-François de Chasseboeuf, comte de Volney's *Travels in Egypt and Syria*, originally published in London in 1787. This edition, printed by John Tiebout for K. Doyckince & Co., omits the maps and plates included in the original publication, resulting in an "inexpensive edition". The book details the natural and political state of Egypt and Syria, covering their productions, arts, manufactures, commerce, and observations on the manners, customs, and governments of the Turks and Arabs.