Trade Card: Lion Coffee, Milkmaid and Cow at Pond, Woolson Spice Co., Antique 1880s Advertising Ephemera

A milkmaid pauses at the water's edge, one hand resting on her cow, in this die-cut Victorian trade card for Woolson Spice Co.'s Lion Coffee. The torn-paper illustration technique — a popular chromolithography trick of the era — gives the pastoral scene the look of a page peeking through worn parchment.

• Type: Original antique trade card (not a reproduction)
• Advertiser: Woolson Spice Co., Toledo, Ohio (Lion Coffee brand)
• Illustration: Milkmaid and cow at a pond, with a lily-pad-bordered banner quoting Milton ("Meadows trim, with daisies pied, / Shallow brooks and rivers wide"); printed by Bufford, likely referring to the J.H. Bufford's Sons lithography house of Boston
• Materials: Chromolithograph on card stock, die-cut in an irregular hexagonal "torn paper" shape
• Dimensions: 5.75" x 5.75" (point to point)
• Era: Antique, circa 1880s
• Condition: Very Good Antique Condition, with expected light age toning on back. One minor spot missing color. No edge/corner wear. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.
• Storage recommendation: Store flat in an archival paper sleeve, away from direct light and humidity

The front carries the full pastoral illustration with its distinctive torn-edge sky effect, while the reverse is entirely text — Woolson Spice Co.'s pitch that "Lion Is the King of Coffees," a boast about the Mocha-Java-Rio blend, and the promise of "a beautiful picture in every package," which is exactly what this card once was. Most surviving Lion Coffee cards are small, plain rectangles roughly the size of a modern postcard; this larger, die-cut hexagonal "torn paper" format is a considerably less common variant, and its scale and novelty presentation make it a standout in any advertising ephemera collection.

A charming find for collectors of Victorian advertising ephemera, coffee and grocery-store memorabilia, or anyone who displays antique trade cards in a shadow box or scrapbook.

Lion Coffee traces back to 1864, when it was roasted and blended by Toledo's C. C. Warren & Company. In 1882, brothers Alvin and William Woolson acquired the brand and built it into the flagship product of their Woolson Spice Company, based on North Summit Street in Toledo. Woolson was an early and aggressive user of premium marketing — every package included a collectible picture card like this one, and customers could also mail in cut-out lion's-head trademarks from the packaging for prizes, a strategy that helped make Lion Coffee one of the best-known grocery brands in the country by the turn of the century. Woolson Spice Co. remained in business until 1920, and remarkably, the Lion Coffee brand itself survived: it was acquired by Delano West Ltd. of Hawai'i in 1979 and is still sold today.

This card was part of a matched harvest-and-pastoral series — pair it with our companion Lion Coffee trade card featuring a wheat harvest scene and a Whittier verse, from the same Bufford printing, to display the set together. Browse our shop for more Victorian trade cards and advertising ephemera to round out your collection.