Scranton PA Foote Shear Puzzle Trade Card 1890s Hardware Stove 4.25 x 3

This 1890s puzzle trade card advertises Foote & Shear of Scranton, Pennsylvania through a colorful hidden-object illustration tied to the company’s builders hardware, stove, and tinware business.

Victorian trade cards often incorporated games, riddles, and visual puzzles to encourage customers to keep advertising pieces rather than discard them. The illustrated front features a child seated beside a tree while a printed challenge invites viewers to locate hidden figures and scenes embedded throughout the image, reflecting the interactive novelty style popular in late nineteenth-century commercial ephemera.

The upper advertising panel identifies Foote & Shear as dealers in builders’ hardware, stoves, paints, oils, plumbing, and tinning supplies from their Lackawanna Avenue address in Scranton. The long printed list of hidden figures at the bottom adds strong period character while also reflecting cultural attitudes and entertainment conventions common to inexpensive Victorian advertising material. Age toning, scattered spotting, and surface wear are visible across the card, consistent with surviving nineteenth-century trade ephemera.

The item shown in the listing is the exact item the collector will receive. We have tens of thousands of items to choose from. Shipping will always be combined (or refunded) to save you as much money as possible. Please contact us with any questions, or visit our store page for specifics.