I landed this group of four Victorian images in a box filled to the top with fantastic trade cards. But there was a problem: the bottom of the box had gotten wet, so some cards were stuck together and a few - luckily, just a few - were damaged beyond repair. I managed to separate the ones stuck together with minimal damage, because the book store owner who sold them - who was upfront about the water - clued me in on how to do it: submerse them in water and let them sit for a while. I know, it's counterintuitive. But it works. These inks are permanent, and trade card paper generally is thick and sturdy.
After some research, I discovered that a blank white band on the bottom of the cards had been trimmed and that these were part of a set of 14 stock cards. That is, cards left blank on the bottom and on the back so that they could be ordered by any business to advertise. These were printed by Clay & Richmond of Buffalo, N.Y., but you'll find plenty examples of the same cards printed by other printers - as well as other roller skating cards - at tradecards.com.
I'm not sure how I'll use these yet. But love the image of the two girls. The first roller derby queens?
