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The card below is for Carter's Medicine
Datewise, this card was handed-out
on the frindge of the Trade Card (Victorian) Era.
 
John Samuel Carter (Dr. Carter, founder) urged the United States government to regulate Patent Medicines ~
the Food and Drugs Act was established in 1906.
 
Very proudly, this mechanical trade card
states Carter's Medicines committment to the  purity in the Carter product line 
and in the words of his advertisements.
 
They've even made it simpler and easier
for the busy consumer to remember
when to take their Little Liver Pills...
 
BE REGULAR
TAKE YOUR MEDICINE
THEN MOVE HAND TO HOUR
NEXT DOSE SHOULD BE TAKEN

™Carter Medicine Company, New York

 
 
 

A Late Victorian MECHANICALTrade Card
cart.13.1.jpg
Move the Hour Hand When Next Dose is Due!

Mechanical Trade Cards provide enjoyment,  because there is at least one part of the card which moves.
These cards took a little ingenuity
in their making ~ 
from Inception to Creation;
Unfortunately, they also took
a great deal of abuse
and did not wear too well...
[they are getting harder to find in excellent condition]
Careful Handling and
Following Preservation's Guides...
I hope these wonderful Pieces of the Past
Live on well beyond my years!

Cascarets Candy Cathartic
cascaretsbefore.jpg
Mechanical, Before and After, Heavy stock trade card

The Cascarets Candy Cathartic trade card
is shown above (the before image)
and below (the consequence)! 
It is a Mechanical card, in that SAND
is the device which moves...
It fills the chamber pot that the child is sitting on.
 
It is also a Metamorphic, or Before and After, trade card.
The obverse shows the constipated child.
Flip it over and you can watch the SAND flow into the pot..
The Product (Cascarets) Worked!
------------------------
Because the action in this trade card so obviously
mimics the actions of having taken the candies...
I think it is safe to say ths is a Privately Issued trade card.
 
Cascarets most likely spent a hefty portion
of their allocated advertsing budget
to have this card made.
The card consists of TWO, heavy stock paper boards -
Where a liner with sand is held.
The paper stock is die-cut with an opening
to show the SAND.
ALL IT TOOK, WAS A LITTLE INGENUITY!

Flip Over the Card and
cascaretsafter.jpg
SAND FILLS THE CHAMBER POT! (this is the mechanics of it)

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