Author: Pyle, James
Title: Curious Optical Illusion [James Pyle's Pearline Trade Card]
Description: New York, James Pyle, 1880. First Edition. Trade card; 4 1/4 x 2 3/4; beige card stock, printed and illustrated in black; a few spots to margins, not affecting readability; minor wear to corners; in about very good condition. An intersting trade card, it advertised soap merchant James Pyle's Pearline - a washing powder, said to be gentle on fabric and hands, not requiring soap, and working with or without boiling the water with the clothes in it. Pearline was originally named "O. K. Soap" and was initially manufactured around 1862. James Pyle's obituary in the New York Times stated that "he was the first to utilize in advertisements the letters "OK" in their business significance of "all correct." The optical illusion consisted of several concentric circles surrounding a cog ("toothed circle") and when one turned the card in a specific way - the circles and the cog appeared to revolve in opposite direction. Very good .

Keywords: Trade Card, Advertisement, Optical Illusion


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