Trade Card of Brewster & Co. (of Broome St) Carriage Builders
ca. 1870
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
6 9/16 × 4 in. (16.6 × 10.2 cm)
Classification
Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Brewster, 1941
Accession Number
41.52.29
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the bustling streets of 1870s New York with this charming trade card from Brewster & Co., renowned carriage builders on Broome. Produced around 1870 as a promotional lithograph by Tiffany & Co.—the luxury goods powerhouse—this petite 6 9/16 × 4 in. ephemera the elegance of urban life. Dep men, women, horses, and finely crafted carriages, it advertises Brewster's high-end vehicles, favored by the elite for their superior craftsmanship and status. Trade cards like this were the billboards of the Gilded Age, handed out at shops and events to entice customers. Lithography, the medium he...
About the Artist
Tiffany & Co.|Brewster & Co. · 1837–present
Tiffany & Co., founded on September 18, 1837, by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young in New York City as a stationery and fancy goods store, quickly evolved into a premier American house for jewelry and decorative arts. Under Charles's leadership, the firm introduced innovations like the sterling silver standard in 1851 and the iconic six-prong Tiffany Setting engagement ring in 1886, establis...