The ads of Edmund J. Peters, 1899-1900

By alcue, June 28, 2022

I started noticing these cool little ads while researching period newspapers. My curiosity got the best of me, and I went looking for them all. Edmund J. Peters used clip art to spice up his ads; most of the topics were frivolous, but now and then the ads would express some pointed political commentary.

Edmund J. Peters died in 1957, after working at the business for over 70 years. It was founded in 1848 by his father, and through the years, was C.F. Peter, C.F. Peter & Son, Edmund J. Peters, and the Peters Optical Shop. Eugene had become blind in his later years, and his wife, Marguerite, operated the business since. The shop finally closed in 1954, after having been in the same location since before the Civil War. The building seems to have been demolished in the early 1970’s. That entire block is now a parking lot.

So far I’ve only found 36 images, all of which I cleaned up and repaired to present here. No doubt there are more out there.