Black Americana Victorian Trade Card Dixon's Carburet of Iron Stove Polish , 1880s
10 x 20 in (h x w)

Trading cards like this one became popularized in the 19th century with the invention of chromolithography, which made multicolored printing available to the common man and companies. Here, this trading card advertises Dixon’s stove polish. The card seems to make the claim that their stove polish is so effective that it can turn a child black. Notably, an Aunt Jemima-esc stereotype is used in the portrayal of the black woman. Advertisements like these act to reinforce the separation between races. This trading card in particular, continues to marginalize African American people, describing the woman according to the societally accepted stereotype of domestic servitude, and simplifying the cultural identity of being black to the expression of skin color, for you could turn the child black with mere stove polish. Such neglects the cultural, historical, and societal weight of what it meant to be black.

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