Trade Card for W. Smart, Engraver and Printer
19th century
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 7/16 × 3 9/16 in. (6.2 × 9.1 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Bella C. Landauer, 1926
Accession Number
26.28.331
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th British commerce with this charmingTrade Card for W., Engraver and Printer*. Created anonymously around the mid-1800s, this petite engraving measures just 2 7/16 × 3 9/16 inches, perfectly sized for pocket or wallet distribution. As ephemera—those delightful, disposable printed items—it served as a promotional tool, much like today's business cards but far more artistic, advertising the services of W. Smart, a specialist in engraving and printing. Engraving, the medium here, was a hallmark of precision craftsmanship: artists incised intricate designs into m...