Trade Card
ca. 1750 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This is a trade card, a type of large business card, often illustrated, setting out the goods and services a tradesman or woman had on offer.
Subject Depicted
The engraver Edward Warner (active about 1750) has shown, within, around and hanging from a very elaborate, asymmetrical Rococo framework, some of the goods sold by Henry Patten. His main stock seems to have been cutlery (some of it sold in special boxes), razors, penknives and scissors, including horse scissors. Patten evidently marked some, if not all, of his goods with his name or initials. The eel and the pike at the bottom of the card are a reference to his sideline in fishing tackle. The engraver has combined the fanciful with the commonplace. A Chinoiserie-style dragon, perched on a branch of curling scrollwork, has a couple of Patten's combs hanging from its teeth. The engraver probably based the overall design on another trade card by Henry Copland for a goldsmith and watchmaker, Thomas Gardner. Copland in turn had partly based his card on a plate from A Book of Ornaments (1745) by Matthias Lock.
Place
Henry Patten's address is given as 'at the Saw and Crown in Middle Row Holborn'. Before London streets were numbered systematically, commercial premises were identified by their shop signs. Patten's shop sign may have resembled the saw and crown in the centre of the upper part of the card.
This is a trade card, a type of large business card, often illustrated, setting out the goods and services a tradesman or woman had on offer.
Subject Depicted
The engraver Edward Warner (active about 1750) has shown, within, around and hanging from a very elaborate, asymmetrical Rococo framework, some of the goods sold by Henry Patten. His main stock seems to have been cutlery (some of it sold in special boxes), razors, penknives and scissors, including horse scissors. Patten evidently marked some, if not all, of his goods with his name or initials. The eel and the pike at the bottom of the card are a reference to his sideline in fishing tackle. The engraver has combined the fanciful with the commonplace. A Chinoiserie-style dragon, perched on a branch of curling scrollwork, has a couple of Patten's combs hanging from its teeth. The engraver probably based the overall design on another trade card by Henry Copland for a goldsmith and watchmaker, Thomas Gardner. Copland in turn had partly based his card on a plate from A Book of Ornaments (1745) by Matthias Lock.
Place
Henry Patten's address is given as 'at the Saw and Crown in Middle Row Holborn'. Before London streets were numbered systematically, commercial premises were identified by their shop signs. Patten's shop sign may have resembled the saw and crown in the centre of the upper part of the card.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Engraving, ink on paper |
| Brief description | Trade card of Henry Patten, razor-maker and cutler |
| Physical description | Trade card |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Lettered in the image 'H.P' |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
Trade cards were used like business cards today and were often used as receipts. They also helped spread the Rococo style. Rococo trade cards could be very elaborate, often including fanciful ornament and strongly asymmetrical designs. Critics of the style called this sort of asymmetry 'contrast'.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Hugh Phillips |
| Object history | Engraved in London by Edward Warner (active about 1750) |
| Summary | Object Type This is a trade card, a type of large business card, often illustrated, setting out the goods and services a tradesman or woman had on offer. Subject Depicted The engraver Edward Warner (active about 1750) has shown, within, around and hanging from a very elaborate, asymmetrical Rococo framework, some of the goods sold by Henry Patten. His main stock seems to have been cutlery (some of it sold in special boxes), razors, penknives and scissors, including horse scissors. Patten evidently marked some, if not all, of his goods with his name or initials. The eel and the pike at the bottom of the card are a reference to his sideline in fishing tackle. The engraver has combined the fanciful with the commonplace. A Chinoiserie-style dragon, perched on a branch of curling scrollwork, has a couple of Patten's combs hanging from its teeth. The engraver probably based the overall design on another trade card by Henry Copland for a goldsmith and watchmaker, Thomas Gardner. Copland in turn had partly based his card on a plate from A Book of Ornaments (1745) by Matthias Lock. Place Henry Patten's address is given as 'at the Saw and Crown in Middle Row Holborn'. Before London streets were numbered systematically, commercial premises were identified by their shop signs. Patten's shop sign may have resembled the saw and crown in the centre of the upper part of the card. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.571-1976 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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