This advertising print from 1847 depicts the four-story equestrian store of William N. Lacey and Samuel R. Phillips, located at 12 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia. Signs announce that the store sells "ladies and gentlemen's saddles, single and double harnesses, and bridles and whips." Saddles, bridles, harnesses, and blankets are prominently displayed in the storefront window and on the building facade. On the upper floors, several employees work by open windows. Elegantly dressed patrons converse near the entryway and four horses are lined up in the street awaiting and receiving service, including a pair reined in by an African American coach driver. A partial view of the adjacent building occupied by carpenter W.B. Morrell is visible. The Lacey and Phillips partnership was established in 1845 and remained at the site until 1852. The print is by William H. Rease, the most prolific lithographer of advertising prints in Philadelphia during the 1840s and 1850s. Born in Pennsylvania circa 1818, Rease became active in his trade around 1844. Through the 1850s he mainly worked with printers Frederick Kuhl and Wagner & McGuigan in the production of advertising prints known for their portrayals of human details. Although Rease often collaborated with other lithographers, a listing in O'Brien's Business Directory indicates that by 1850 he had founded his own establishment at 17 South Fifth Street, north of Chestnut Street. After a partnership with Francis Schell that lasted from about 1853 to 1855, in 1855 he relocated his shop to the northeast corner of Fourth and Chestnut Streets, where, in addition to advertising prints, he produced certificates, views, maps, and maritime prints.
This advertising print from 1847 depicts the four-story equestrian store of William N. Lacey and Samuel R. Phillips, located at 12 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia. Signs announce that the store sells "ladies and gentlemen's saddles, single and double harnesses, and bridles and whips." Saddles, bridles, harnesses, and blankets are prominently displayed in the storefront window and on the building facade. On the upper floors, several employees work by open windows. Elegantly dressed patrons converse near the entryway and four horses are lined up in the street awaiting and receiving service, including a pair reined in by an African American coach driver. A partial view of the adjacent building occupied by carpenter W.B. Morrell is visible. The Lacey and Phillips partnership was established in 1845 and remained at the site until 1852. The print is by William H. Rease, the most prolific lithographer of advertising prints in Philadelphia during the 1840s and 1850s. Born in Pennsylvania circa 1818, Rease became active in his trade around 1844. Through the 1850s he mainly worked with printers Frederick Kuhl and Wagner & McGuigan in the production of advertising prints known for their portrayals of human details. Although Rease often collaborated with other lithographers, a listing in O'Brien's Business Directory indicates that by 1850 he had founded his own establishment at 17 South Fifth Street, north of Chestnut Street. After a partnership with Francis Schell that lasted from about 1853 to 1855, in 1855 he relocated his shop to the northeast corner of Fourth and Chestnut Streets, where, in addition to advertising prints, he produced certificates, views, maps, and maritime prints.