18th-Century Trade Cards

A set of four biscuits against a maroon wooden background. The biscuits are iced in different shades of cream. Three are rectangular, and one has a cloud-like shape. Each biscuit is painted to look like an eighteenth-century printed trade card. One has ‘James Reynolds’ written in large type, spelt with an I instead of a J. Beneath, in a curly calligraphic font, the biscuit reads: ‘Haberdasher at the Hand and Pen in Russell Street, Covent Garden, London’. The design is finished with an extravagantly-framed hand holding a quill. The other biscuits read: ‘John Lockington: Engraver, Hair Worker & Toy Manufacturer’; ‘Elizabeth Bagwell, Linen Draper at the great Ship & Bell on Tower Hill’; and ‘Owen & Cox, Appraisers, undertakers, etc.’ Elizabeth Bagwell’s card features an image of an eighteenth-century ship. Owen & Cox’s design is framed with tiny line drawings of furniture pieces.

Biscuit (cookie) flavour: Almond and orange, taken from an eighteenth-century recipe for Ratafia-Cakes

Decoration: Royal icing base. All designs painted onto royal icing by hand using food colouring gels and vodka.

Context: Inspired by trade cards from eighteenth-century London. Moving clockwise from the top left: