Distributing Ship Cargo of Standard Buggies Coast of Australia.
Cinncinnati, OH: Cincinnati Lith. Co., ca 1880s. A large promotional image for the Columbus Buggy Company which in its heyday, manufactured one of every five buggies used anywhere (some accounts say the US, other claim the world). Clearly, this image implies the world over. With a promotional trade card for the company.
In the upper right corner is a ship where any number of buggies have been offloaded. Coming down the road are people in buggies drawn by ostriches, although the illustrator thought they would evoke emus. The main image shows a properly dressed man and woman in a buggy being drawn by four harnessed ostriches pulling the buggy, with two brown boys riding them. The implication is that they are Aboriginals but they have nothing of the stature of an Aborigine. Below this is written "Columbus Buggy Co. Standard. World Over. Columbus, Ohio. U.S.A." The lower corners illustrate different scenes. The lower left corner has a scene of kangaroos bounding and emus running, somewhat reminiscent of the images in the Illustrated London News earlier in the century. The lower right corner illustrates the massive factory complex with at least 6 buildings and the caption "View from Union Depot of portion of the worksof COLUMBUS BUGGY CO. and PETERS DASH CO. (One Firm.)
Begun in 1875, along with the Peters Leather Dash Company, by Clinton Firestone and George Peters formed the Columbus Buggy Company and Peters Leather Dash Company.
By 1900 the companies employed over 1,000 people and were the largest manufacturers in Columbus. To keep up with demand, production was expanded to factories in Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, and San Francisco. It may have only been in business for forty years, but in its heyday one of every five buggies used anywhere (some accounts say the US, other claim the world) was made in Columbus. Despite its success, the buggy company would not withstand the advent of the automobile. (Source Columbus Dispatch blog 20150729)
23 x 35 1/2", backed on canvas. The image is very darkened, with a couple of chips with loss. The paper is very browned, with the marginal area whited out. It is in an old wooden frame. We have found no evidence of this on Trove, other than a partial screenshot on an archived webpage dated 11 Mar 2014 of a company who reproduced images. No further information was found. The trade card is 4 1/2 x 3 1/4", printed in two colors with text on one side, an image of the Green River and Buttes in Utah on the verso. Item #26337
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