America's Pastime: Patent Medicine Trade Cards on Pain

Behind the Scenes: The Significance To The Back Sides of Trade Cards

Abstract
One thing that all trade cards have in common is that they are selling a product or idea. However, something unique to each distributed trade card is the purpose and the contents of their back sides. In some cases they imply a long-term use. In other cases, they are expanding on the information of their product or idea, and then very rare cases they share the backside with another product company or creator. Nonetheless, each  trade card has something unique to offer when we flip them over.





Antikamnia Tablets [Inscribed]

The front side of Antikamnia tablets can almost speak for itself. There is quotations that include purity, there are illustrations of the pill they are selling, and lastly, there is an illustration of how their customer will feel after taking their product. Still, what makes this change card set apart from the rest of the ones I have seen is that the backside includes a calendar. Although most ephemera is technically not meant for a long-term use, this trade card bends that definition of ephemera. By offering a calendar the user of Antikamnia tablets can keep track of their dosages throughout the year of 1909. This is significant and shows how the backside of these trade cards can change the use for different purposes.


Dalley's Magical Pain Extractor
Most of these trade cards have front signs that are very captivating in their illustration and text font. However, If we are to analyze the back side of Dalley’s Magical Pain extractor we see information providing more reasons to buy the product. 

Instead of the 10 Commandments, Dalley is telling us 10 reasons why a customer should buy this product. This is the case for most trade cards, however it was the fashion in which Dalley's Magical Pain Extractor did it. In reference to the ten commandments, Dalley tells us ten reasons we should have the ointment in our family home. All of this, however, would not have been noticed had we not flipped the trade card around. 

Conclusion
As explained before, there are a range of different reasons and purposes to use the backside of chain cards. I have provided examples where it is used as a way to expand the customer’s knowledge on the product, which is important when it comes to selling medicine.  In the other instance, I showed how the backside used as the informative side, and one of the front side is solely, capturing the consumers attention all the while having the important aspects on the back. Lastly, I explained how some trade cards defined the purpose of ephemera and convey a reason for long-term use through the inclusion of a calendar. In all the observation for the backside of the trade cards should not be ignored when making an analysis as it can lead to missing out on fifty percent, sometimes more, of the context for the business that is creating the cards. 

This page has paths:

  1. The Influence of Innocence and Purity in Patent Medicine Trade Cards Chien-Ling Liu Zeleny

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