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Kirrene, Gerald Trade Card Collection
MC 102  
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  • Biographical / Historical
  • Preferred Citation
  • Scope and Contents
  • Conditions Governing Use

  • Contributing Institution: Sacramento Public Library
    email: sacroom@saclibrary.org
    phone: (916) 264-2795
    Title: Gerald Kirrene Trade Card Collection
    Identifier/Call Number: MC 102
    Physical Description: 1 Box; 1.06 Linear Feet
    Date (inclusive): 1870-1910
    Abstract: This is a collection of trade cards from various business in Sacramento from 1870 to 1910, collected and organized by Gerald T. Kirrene.
    Language of Material: English .

    Biographical / Historical

    Trade cards (also called tradesmen's cards) are small printed cards handed out to promote a company or product. Trade cards first appeared in Europe in the seventeenth-century to get around bans on overhead signs, with the oldest surviving examples from the 1630s. Trade cards became popular in the 1830s with the invention of color lithography. The process uses specially-prepared printing plates to print each color layer-by-layer. This process produces bright color images on the card for little cost. Early cards were simple in design, but by the 1850s trade cards had vibrant and complex images to catch the eye of would-be customers.
    Trade cards were popular in the United States from the 1870s to around 1900. The bright colors caught the eye of many Americans, and many citizens made private collections of trade cards during the late nineteenth-century. Early cards had complicated designs, but in later decades American trade cards became simpler and more commercialized in design, often having pictures that had no relation to the product being advertised. By the end of the century new printing processes made color printing on newspapers possible, and, coupled with declining interest in collecting trade cards, the industry slowed, as newspaper and magazine advertisements proved more cost-effective for businesses. The business card of today has influences from trade cards, albeit with an emphasis on services instead of products.
    Gerald "Jerry" Thomas Kirrene was born in San Francisco, California on December 5, 1934. He moved with his family to Sacramento by 1944. He graduated from Christian Brothers High School in 1953 and played baseball, basketball, and football. While in high school he met his wife, Rosemary Reynolds, and married in June 1957. Kirrene graduated from Santa Clara University in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He also served as the school's Student Body President.
    Following school, Kirrene worked in real estate from 1964 to 1983, finishing as a sales executive for Dunnigan and Associates Realtors. He served with the Santa Clara University Alumni Association, both as the president in 1973 and then in other leadership positions in the 1970s and 1980s. He is an active member of the Sierra Club and formerly leader of the Catholic Youth Organization at the Sacramento Diocese.
    Kirrene works as the archivist for Christian Brothers High School.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Gerald Kirrene Trade Card Collection, MC 102, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California

    Scope and Contents

    The collection is held in two cardboard boxes, with both boxes placed in a single archival box. Each cardboard box contains trade cards sorted by labelled files. The trade cards are sorted by address or street name.
    The vast majority of trade cards within the collection are from Sacramento, but some come from Florin, Folsom, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Stockton, and Vallejo.
    The box labelled "Trade 1" contains trade cards for businesses mainly along J Street and parts of K Street. The box labelled "Trade" contains trade cards for the remainder of K Street as well as cards sorted by numerical street from 2nd to 10th Street, L and M Streets, unsorted cards, and cards from outside Sacramento.
    The collection reflects particular businesses in different parts of Sacramento in the late nineteenth-century. Businesses closer to Front Street sold larger items such as piping and stoves, and many businesses were specialty stores like floral nurseries, jewelers, and bookstores. Druggists (early pharmacies) and confectionary stores populated the area between Third and Sixth Street. Tailors and hat-makers had a significant presence on Sixth and Seventh street, while carriage dealers and florists populated the eastern and southern outskirts of Sacramento. The cards from Florin and Folsom advertise druggists and beauty parlors.

    Conditions Governing Use

    All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Sacramento Public Library must be submitted in writing to sacroom@saclibrary.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.