|
 Millinery
shops were quite popular for fashionable lady's dresses, where shop
owners
influenced styles of dress. One of the most ornate millinery
advertisements,
this trade card is for Madame Walsh of Boston. |
| Taking in boarders or
running inns
allowed women to bring in income while staying at home to care for
their
children. This trade card advertises a boarding establishment run by
a woman,
offering "Partial or full Board, on moderate terms." |
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Women's
primary work was within the household, but if the family's business
included
a shop, the women of the family might frequently be asked to help
out. Some
women did operate their own shops, and advertised their goods with
trade
cards, newspaper ads, and word-of-mouth. This trade card for Jane
Eustis
advertises imported goods from London sold at her shop in Boston.
Trade
cards were not originally called trade cards, but rather
"shopkeepers
bills," and sometimes doubled as receipts for customers, with
the reverse
side being used to total up the cost of purchased goods. This trade
card
includes a receipt for goods purchased on April 17, 1769. It is the
oldest
known trade card for a female merchant. Gift of Gary L. Milan. Click
on
the image to enlarge. |
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In seacoast towns, male shopkeepers were often mariners as well,
which
meant that they were out at sea for extended periods of time. This
gave
their wives and daughters the opportunity to run the shop alone.
Many
homemade items were sold in shops, including textiles, candles,
soaps,
and produce.
This is another early trade card for a female merchant who ran
her own
shop. Lydia Learned not only advertised her goods, but also the
location
of her shop by mentioning a nearby landmark. It was common to list
a landmark
or to have the shop's sign engraved on the card so that customers
could
locate the shop more easily.
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Newspaper advertising was an important
way for
merchants to reach potential customers. This ad for a "Family
Newspaper"
from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Feb. 2, 1861,
states that
it was successfully published by a woman. Notice the "agents
wanted"
section of the ad, which lists ladies along with the respected
professions
of teachers, postmasters, and clergymen. |
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Female merchants would have been at
least semi-literate,
and have had some understanding of accounting or a system of barter
in order
to properly keep account books. Barter was a common method of
purchasing
goods. This trade card from Jaffrey, New Hampshire advertises
band-boxes
made by a woman. |
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This image of a farmer's daughter on her way into the village to
deliver
poultry is called "Scenes in the Country." It was
designed and
lithographed by A. Kollner's Lithography in Philladelphia.
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