Rease & Schell

Description

Advertisement depicting a corner view of the three-building showroom and factory operated by the Schells from 1853 until 1856. J.E. Schell continued the business as J.E. Schell & Company starting in 1857. On Tenth Street, patrons enter the four-story storefront and mantle room adorned with signage and statuary displayed on a second floor veranda. At the corner, a coach waits, the disembarked African American man driver standing at the ready. On Vine Street, behind the showroom, a family of passerby admire the marble statuary, monuments, and headstones in the factory's fenced-in yard. White men factory laborers load a headstone onto a horse-drawn cart, inspect open crates lining the street, and review slabs of marble outside the factory's storage building. Partial views of adjacent buildings and the "10th" Street carriage are visible.; Rease & Schell's lith., No. 17 So. 5th St., Philda.; Title from item.; Although Wainwright suggests date of publication as circa 1855, date of circa 1854 is used since Rease relocated to the new business address of 97 Chestnut Street as of 1855.; Text printed on recto: Having greatly improved their facilities for the Manufacture of every variety of Marble Works embracing the best styles of Mantels, Table Tops, Flooring, Tombs and Monuments, are prepared to supply all orders upon reasonable terms.; Rease, a prominent mid-19th century Philadelphia trade card lithographer known to highlight details of human interest in his advertisements, partnered with Francis H. Schell in the 1850s and eventually operated his own press until around 1872.

Record Contributed By

The Library Company of Philadelphia

Record Harvested From

PA Digital