History

Take a 19th Century Shopping Trip Along Fulton Street

If you were in the need of any number of wares in the 19th century you may have headed to the shops stretching along Fulton Street.

vintage trade cards brooklyn ephemera fulton street

A circa 1878-1885 card for M. Schulz and Brothers of 504 Fulton Street. Image via Brooklyn Museum

by Susan De Vries

10/26/2017 0

If you were in the need of any number of wares in the 19th century you may have headed to the shops stretching along Fulton Street. How would you have known which establishments on the thoroughfare to favor with your hard-earned dollars?

vintage trade cards brooklyn ephemera fulton street brooklyn museum — A circa 1877-1894 card for Moses Schwartz of 281 Fulton Street. Image via Brooklyn Museum

You may have turned to the popular advertising tool of the day, trade cards — colorful little rectangles printed with a business name and address along with elaborate illustrations and sometimes quirky phrases.

With the increase in inexpensive printing in the 1870s, the cards were pocket-sized advertising tools that became enormously popular. Handed out liberally, they became the scrapbooking material of the day. The Brooklyn Museum collection includes several scrapbooks stuffed with cards artfully arranged on the pages.

They document numerous businesses in Brooklyn, and particularly along Fulton Street — from furniture to furs, the cards advertise just about anything a 19th century Brooklynite might need.