Design for Trade Card for Samuel P. Avery
Medium
Watercolor and graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 2 3/8 x 3 7/8 in. (6 x 9.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Emma Avery Welcher and Amy Ogden Welcher, 1965
Accession Number
65.639.2
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate 1873 design for a trade card was created by Samuel Putnam Avery Sr. in collaboration with the celebrated British illustrator George Cruikshank. Executed in watercolor and graphite on a sheet measuring just 2 3/8 by 3 7/8 inches, the drawing served as a preparatory sketch for a promotional card used by Avery, a prominent New York art dealer and publisher. The small format and mixed media reflect the intimate, precise work typical of 19th-century commercial illustration, where lively scenes of men and women likely helped convey elegance and approachability to potential clients. Tr...