Albany New York 1885 MacFarlane Old Dye Works Victorian Trade Card - 4.5 x 3

This 1885 Victorian trade card advertises MacFarlane’s Old Dye Works of Albany, New York, featuring a finely detailed portrait illustration produced for the New York State Fair.

Late nineteenth-century dye works and textile cleaning businesses relied heavily on visually refined trade cards to project quality, fashionability, and technical expertise to middle-class consumers. Portrait imagery, floral ornamentation, and soft chromolithographic color palettes were commonly used in advertising ephemera connected to garment care, textile restoration, and fabric dyeing during the Victorian era.

The card itself features an oval portrait of a young woman wearing a pink headscarf surrounded by decorative floral elements and geometric corner designs. Printed text references the 1885 New York State Fair and identifies MacFarlane’s Old Dye Works at 24 Norton Street in Albany, New York. The reverse remains blank aside from light pencil notation and age-related toning. Minor edge wear, scattered spotting, and surface discoloration consistent with period trade cards are visible throughout.

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