Printed Ephemera — 1770-1799
Trade card
The trade card dates from the period when tea was directly imported into London's East India Dock from China by the East India Company. The Company's monopoly on the importation of tea from China ended in 1834.
The imagery on the cards depicts an idealised version of the tea trade with China that bears no resemblance to the reality of the exploitative and ruthless trading practices of the East India Company.
Until the abolition of import duties on tea in 1784, tea was expensive and often purchased from grocery stores in small quantities.
- Category:
- Printed Ephemera
- Object ID:
- NN21979
- Object name:
- trade card
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- —
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1770-1799
- Material:
paper
- Measurements/duration:
- H 62 mm, W 94 mm (overall)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 80%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.