Trade Card for Rothwell & Hicks, engravers

This object is housed in an album of British trade cards from the collections of Bella C. Landauer, Ambrose Heal, and others. The term “trade card” is of nineteenth-century origin and refers to a card that advertises the services of an individual or business. Eighteenth-century trade cards were often printed on thin sheets of paper and referred to as “tradesmen’s cards,” “tradesmen’s bills,” or “shopkeeper’s bills.” During the Victorian era, trade cards were often reinforced on pasteboard and closely resemble business cards today.

Firm of Thomas Rothwell (1740-1870) & Hicks recorded in the 1774 Local Trade Directory as working at Church Street, Birmingham.

Credit: Rogers Fund, transferred from the Library, 1921