SOLD
This handsome paperweight measures about 4.25 inches long x 2.75 inches wide x .75 inches thick. The black and white paper image is affixed to the underside of the glass. Overall, the condition is very good with some minor fading to the image front. The print on the back side of the image is quite faded and the written portion is barely discernible. No damage to the glass is noted. I am not not sure of the vintage but it has been in my collection over 15 years.
SOME HISTORY: Chief Two Moon Meridas (Ca1888–1933) was an American seller of herbal medicine who claimed that he was of Sioux ancestry. Meridas was born Chico Colon Meridan, son of Chico Meridan and Mary Tumoon; his exact place and date of birth are unclear. Later, his marriage certificate recorded his date of birth as August 29, 1888, but this information in unconfirmed.
By 1914, Meridas was selling herbal medicines in the streets of Philadelphia and New York City. In New York he met Helen Gertrude Nugent, married her, and shortly afterwards they moved to Waterbury, Connecticut, where he began to sell his herbal medicines from his house. Contemporary newspaper accounts state that during the Great 1918 Influenza Pandemic, none of his patients died! This increased his prestige and clientele. His most famous product was "Bitter Oil", a laxative that was widely marketed as a cure-all.
In 1921, Meridas moved to a larger house in Waterbury and established an extensive and prosperous herb business in a storefront at 1898 East Main Street. He built his own laboratory at 1864 East Main Street in 1925. His business increased to such an extent that he had a fleet of buses for his salesmen as well as an airplane. He took money only for his products, not his advice. He spent lavishly but also surreptitiously donated to charities and to the poor.
In 1928, The Chief was awarded the keys to Atlantic City, where he founded his Indian Temple there. Although The Chief always claimed Native American ancestry in the advertising of his products and in his personal life, the United States Department of Interior refused to certify that he was an American Indian. However, on August 6, 1930, the Oglala Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge Reservation awarded him the honorary title of Chief, because of the significant financial help he provided them and others during the Great Depression.
The Chief died in Waterbury at the age of 43.
SOLD
"Picture cards" as they were called then, feature very colorful and highly detailed images on the front side with product advertising generally on the back side. For those with advertising on the backside, the advertising, in most cases, is written in French. These cards, of course, were a strategic marketing concept designed to provide the customer with a tangible reminder of the food stuff or article of clothing that had just been purchased.
All but one of the cards measure approximately 2.75 inches x 4.25 inches, with the remaining card measuring approximately 2.50 inches x 5 inches. All but two are in very good condition with no observable flaws or damage.
The two exceptions:
-the 2.50 inch x 5 inch card- which has been scissor-trimmed, has a fold line down the center, and was pulled from a scrap book obscuring some of the printing on the backside-
-and one Liebig card which is missing one corner edge.
Condition quite remarkable given their 80-100+ years of age.
A nice early collection of trade cards!