From the late 1800s, trade cards announcing a trade, or line of business, were widely distributed and exchanged in social circles to clients and potential customers. They functioned as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to the merchants’ stores (no formal street address numbering system existed at the time).

Some businesses began to create increasingly sophisticated designs, especially with the development of color printing. A few companies specialized in producing stock cards, usually with an image on one side and space on the other side for the business to add its own information.

These trade cards come from businesses located in the Oswego, New York, area. The they include the following:

1.  "Perfumed with Austen’s Flower Cologne" - Wm. J. Austen, Oswego, N.Y. Four young girls holding hands forming a ring. The back of the card has a pink coloration presumably from spraying the cologne.

2.  "Perfumed with Austen’s Forest Flower Cologne" - The most fashionable and lasting perfume of the day. Manufactured by T. Kingsford Successor To W. J. Austen & Co., Oswego, N.Y. copyright 1889. Young girl holding bottle of perfume spraying white cat with atomizer.

3.  "Parker’s Tonic Builds Up The System, Heals The Sick" - Everybody says Parker’s Tonic is the best Cough Medicine. Young girl wearing white lace bonnet with yellow ribbon.

4.  "Perfumed with “Forest Flowers” - Girl and boy with flowers baskets and large bottle of cologne between them.

5.  "Perfumed With Austen’s Forest Flower Cologne" - The Most Fashionable and Lasting Perfume of the Day. Manufactured by T. Kingsford Successor To W. J. Austen & Co., Oswego, N.Y.—There is a blue and pink satin bag with a blue bow; the pink part of the bag is accented with a gold rope trim.  The bag has a print of a woman with a winged cherub holding a bottle of perfume to her nose; a pink petaled flower adorns a tree branch. The back of the card is discolored and has a mark on the bottom, but the print and design is still clear.

6.  "Perfumed With Austen’s Forest Flower Cologne" - The Most Fashionable Perfume of the Day. W. J. Austen & Co. Proprietors, Oswego, N.Y. Copyright 1885. A young girl with a pink ribbon in her hair wears a white dress and holds a bouquet of red and pink roses.

7.  "Perfumed With Austen’s Forest Flower Cologne" -W. J. Austen & Co. Oswego, N.Y. Two young women are pictured holding bouquets with red, pink, yellow and white roses.

The colors on the trade cards are bright and clear and would make an attractive display when framed. The cards are from the late 1800s with some of the cards marked with copyright dates from 1885 to 1889. The collection is in very good condition.