[PHILADELPHIA] [PURE FOOD] [TRADE CARD] THE PURE FOOD DAIRY and LIGHT LUNCH CAFE

Philadelphia: c. 1920. Cards. 8.5 x 15.5 cm. Color illustrated trade card featuring a highly accessorized woman. Located at 54 N. 13th Street, next to St. George's Hall, the cafe advertised "Pure Food - properly Cooked, Prompt Attention and Right Prices - Special Lunch Bill of Fare Each Day, Our Cream Coffee Has No Equal." It reflects the early 20th-century urban "pure food" movement, whic emphasized fresh, carefully prepared foods, especially dairy products that spoiled quickly.

"The pure food movement of the 1870s was the culmination of a growing popular discontent with food and its handling, especially in big cities. The special attention directed to the problems of milk purity, in its supply and delivery, had people thinking about reliable sources from the nearby countryside and, by association, the spanking-white, easy-to-clean tiles of model dairy farms and milking rooms. Clever restaurateurs must have seen the possibility of aligning themselves with this movement by offering an alternative to the spittle-flecked, sawdust-covered floors of the quick lunch counters common in that day. The heavy baronial-styled banquets and drapes could give way to a new scientifically based aesthetic of cleanliness and purity. What better way to attract customers than to appeal to their fear of illness due to unsanitary and unhealthful eating conditions." (The Dairy Restaurant, Ben Katchor, 2020)

Light foxing to rear otherwise clean. Color illustrated trade card. Very good. Item #4341

Price: $50.00