Mid-Century Modern Era

Historical Context

A salesman's calling card. Ink blotters were handed out by salesmen and kept on desks for years, the name always in sight.

Postal zones. "Wichita 12" and "Kansas City 6" are the postal zone numbers used before ZIP codes arrived in 1963.

Condition

Excellent. Clean front, pink blotter back. Please see the photos, which are part of the description.

About The Printing

This is a color print of the twentieth century, made by a modern commercial method. The exact process cannot be determined with certainty from a scan, so none is claimed here. Under magnification the image resolves into a regular dot pattern or flat solid inks, rather than the irregular hand-drawn stipple of an 1880s chromolithograph.

That is exactly what a piece of this date should show, so it is not a sign of reproduction here. The evidence of an original is the piece itself: its printed text, its imprints and the wear of its age.

The back is plain pink blotting paper.

Provenance

From my family's estate collections, built over more than 60 years by knowledgeable antiques collectors and traders. Stored in a climate-controlled environment.

Also In Our Store

More vintage advertising blotters and cards are in our store.

Disclaimer

The images and any video show the actual item and are part of the official listing description, so please review them closely. Measurements and weights are approximate, and any maker or material we haven't confirmed is described as assumed. Questions? Message us; we answer quickly.

Historical Context

This is a stock card, drawn to be sold to garages and service stations who wanted something to hand customers at an oil change. The joke is the one the whole design is built on: pour your engine a glass of the good stuff, like a guest you want to keep happy.

It belongs to a different world from the Victorian cards in this collection. By the time this was printed the car was an ordinary part of life, and the advice — change your oil, it costs less than a repair — is advice every mechanic is still giving.

Condition

Clean, with light toning; minor edge and corner wear. No advertiser imprint, stamp or writing on either side. Please view the images carefully.

About The Printing

This is a twentieth-century commercial printing, not a Victorian chromolithograph. It is printed in two flat inks, black and yellow, laid down as solid areas of color with crisp edges rather than blended tone.

Under magnification the ink sits in solid fields with no dot structure and no four-color rosette. The exact press method cannot be determined with certainty from a scan, so none is claimed here.

Provenance

From my family's estate collections, built over more than 60 years by knowledgeable antiques collectors and traders. Stored in a climate-controlled environment.

Also In Our Store

More Victorian advertising trade cards are in our store.

Disclaimer

The images and any video show the actual item and are part of the official listing description, so please review them closely. Measurements and weights are approximate, and any maker or material we haven't confirmed is described as assumed. Questions? Message us; we answer quickly.

Historical Context

Issued in 1946, during the Allied occupation of Japan, with the National Diet Building as its main design.

Condition

[Est. XF-AU] Lightly handled; see the photos. Grade estimated; not professionally graded.

Legal Tender

Still legal tender in Japan at face value (on the Bank of Japan list of valid notes), but worth more to collectors.

Disclaimer

The images and any video show the actual item and are part of the official listing description, so please review them closely. Measurements and weights are approximate, and any maker or material we haven't confirmed is described as assumed. Questions? Message us; we answer quickly.

Historical Context

Victor David Brenner designed the Lincoln cent for the centennial of Lincoln's birth in 1909; the wheat-ears reverse ran until 1958. After the wartime shell-case years, the cent went back to its prewar bronze in 1947, and San Francisco struck 99,000,000 that year. On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke baseball's color line.

Buying Power

In 1947 this one cent had the buying power of about 15 cents today.

Condition

[Est. AU-58 RB] Little or no wear, red-orange with brown toning. Full wheat lines and strong hair detail. Fine scratches across Lincoln's head and neck and a few in the right obverse field, plus a few tiny dark spots near the rims (see the close-ups). The S mint mark appears single. Grade estimated; not professionally graded. Currently still legal tender, but value to collectors is far higher due to its age.

Also In Our Store

More coins: https://www.ebay.com/str/tfauctionsintl?_nkw=coin

Disclaimer

The images and any video show the actual item and are part of the official listing description, so please review them closely. Measurements and weights are approximate, and any maker or material we haven't confirmed is described as assumed. Questions? Message us; we answer quickly.

Historical Context

In the years after World War II the Bank of Japan issued small-change notes such as this 10 sen. Amounts under 1 yen stopped being legal tender at the end of 1953.

Condition

[Est. VF] Light circulation; see the photos for folds and edges. Grade estimated; not professionally graded.

Legal Tender

No longer legal tender: amounts under 1 yen were voided at the end of 1953 (Bank of Japan). Sold as a collectible.

Disclaimer

The images and any video show the actual item and are part of the official listing description, so please review them closely. Measurements and weights are approximate, and any maker or material we haven't confirmed is described as assumed. Questions? Message us; we answer quickly.

Historical Context

In the years after World War II the Bank of Japan issued small-change notes such as this 10 sen. Amounts under 1 yen stopped being legal tender at the end of 1953.

Condition

[Est. VF] Light circulation; see the photos for folds and edges. Grade estimated; not professionally graded.

Legal Tender

No longer legal tender: amounts under 1 yen were voided at the end of 1953 (Bank of Japan). Sold as a collectible.

Disclaimer

The images and any video show the actual item and are part of the official listing description, so please review them closely. Measurements and weights are approximate, and any maker or material we haven't confirmed is described as assumed. Questions? Message us; we answer quickly.