Trade Card for Sir Robert Peake, printer and publsiher

This object is housed in an album of British trade cards from the collections of Bella C. Landauer, Ambrose Heal, and others. The term “trade card” is of nineteenth-century origin and refers to a card that advertises the services of an individual or business. Eighteenth-century trade cards were often printed on thin sheets of paper and referred to as “tradesmen’s cards,” “tradesmen’s bills,” or “shopkeeper’s bills.” During the Victorian era, trade cards were often reinforced on pasteboard and closely resemble business cards today.

Son of the print publisher William Peake, Robert Peake worked with his father and inherited the business upon William's death in 1639. Robert closed the business in 1642 when he joined the Royalist army. He was knighted by Charles I on March 27, 1645.