Trade Card for J & W Butterworth, Engravers & Copper Plate Printers

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century British commerce with this charming trade card for J & Butterworth, Engravers & Copper Plate Printer. Created anonymously in the era, this petite engraving just 3 3/8 × 4 7/16 inches, perfectly sized for tucking into pockets or pasting into scrapbooks Trade cards like this were the era's equivalent of modern business cards or ads, often distributed with purchases to promote goods and services amid the Industrial Revolution's boom in manufacturing and marketing. The medium—copper plate engraving—highlights the printers' own expertise. This labor-inte...