L. Newell Dental Surgeon. 42, Seneca St. Geneva. N. Y.
New York: J. L. Lazarus, 179 Broadway, [1848]. Hand-lettered “show-card” trade sign on evident card stock (11.75 x 13.88 inches), executed in gilt paint and various shades of blue ink and wash, with gilt highlights and an embossed gilt border, affixed to a larger mount. Two extracted cutout printed images of dentures added as accents. Signed in pencil along the lower edge, “I. L. Lazarus, 179 Broadway, New York.”. Item #22492
A stunner of a handmade trade sign, almost certainly executed for the dentist Lectus Newell (1805-1896), whose name is sprinkled through the expected public records. Doggett’s New York City Directory for 1848-1849 lists Lazarus’s earliest appearance (so far found) as a show-card maker at the 179 Broadway address (“Upstairs”) as here, while subsequent directories beginning with 1849-1850 have him at 156 Broadway. Harford’s 1864 Merchants’ Guide for New York notes I. L. Lazarus at a 636 Broadway address, with the note “Established in 1843,” calling him the “first introducer and manufacturer of Fancy Show-Cards,” while Trow’s New York City Directory for 1865 at last supplies a given name, putting Isaac L. Lazarus again at the 636 Broadway address, along with a similar boast for longevity.
Price: $2,000.00