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Antique 1880s Oberne, Hosick & Co. "Sweet Sixteen" Soap Victorian Trade Card
Item Details
• Product Advertised: Sweet 16 / Sweet Sixteen Soap
• Manufacturer: Oberne, Hosick & Co. (Chicago, Illinois)
• Estimated Era: circa 1885
• Type: Authentic Victorian Advertising Trade Card (Stock Card)
• Dimensions: Standard Victorian Trade Card size (Approx. 3" x 5")
Historical Significance & Visual Design
This authentic, late 19th-century Victorian trade card features an elegant chromolithograph illustration of a woman in a red-and-white striped Victorian house dress cleaning a wooden cabinet. Her reflection is visibly cast into the polished wood veneer, highlighting the superior cleansing and polishing capabilities of Sweet 16 Soap. The foreground details include a wooden cleaning bucket, a scrub brush, and a bar of the soap itself.
The bottom border displays the bold text: "Use Sweet 16 Soap. Manufactured by Oberne, Hosick & Co., Chicago." The reverse side is entirely blank, indicating a clean, unprinted stock card variant distributed during the height of the 1880s ephemera craze.
Condition Report (Graded: Very Good / VG)
This card has been carefully inspected and is in highly collectible Very Good (VG) vintage condition:
• Front Imagery: The lithograph ink remains exceptionally bright, clean, and vibrant across the entire face of the card.
• Corners & Edges: The bottom corners are remarkably sharp and square. The edges are straight with zero signs of major fraying or structural splitting.
• Flaws to Note: The top two corner tips show very light, minor softening. There is a small structural pinch/crease line accompanied by slight paper layering along the upper left edge
📝 please see high-resolution macro photos for exact detail
• Reverse Side: The blank back is mostly clean, with a small spot of light discoloration/minor paper separation visible on the top-right corner tip (corresponding to the front corner crease). No heavy scrapbook glue residue or handwriting.
