Advertising trade card for J.P. Julius piano store of York, Pa.

This 2¾-inch-wide tattered advertising trade card was first featured seven years ago in "A blast from the past: Weaver Organ and J.P. Julius" on Joan's long-running hit blog, Only in York County. (Way back when I was "Hubby.")

I reckon the Ephemera Blogging Statue of Limitations¹ has passed, so now it's my turn to write about the card.

York, Pennsylvania, was a hub of piano-making and piano-selling activity back in the day. I found a couple of short items in The York Daily about J.P. Julius. First, from the October 2, 1895, edition:

J.P. JULIUS — PIANOS.Owing to the demand for Pianos steadily increasing every year, I have decided to make a specialty of Pianos, and have prepared myself with a large assortment for the fall trade. These goods are all new, very latest designs and woods; best standard makes, such as Steinway, Stieff, Sterling, and Wissner, &c.

I sincerely hope that the Piano purchasing people will appreciate my efforts to give them a good selection of standard makes, and give me a call to see what I can do for them before buying.
J.P. JULIUS,
22 South George St.
Store now open every evening.

Second, from the December 13, 1905, edition:

The Sterling Piano at Julius'has made a reputation for itself in the city of York, and has gained its place at the pinnacle of piano popularity; besides being popular, the Sterling piano is highly recommended and used by York's best musicians. You will never regret the investment if you buy a Sterling piano.
J.P. JULIUS
46 South George St.

So, we can say that this advertising card dates to sometime before December 1905, as the street address of the business was different at that point.

As far as the back of the card, Joan detailed it seven years ago on her blog: "This even has writing on the back – the name 'Lizzie S. Misener' is signed, and under that is written 'Alfred Tennyson.' Is it THE Alfred Tennyson? Was Lizzie just practicing her penmanship? These things we’ll never know."

Lizzie's full name was probably Elizabeth S. Misener, but some initial searches didn't find anything under that name. Maybe Mark Felt or one of Papergreat's other sleuths will uncover something. I'm guessing that Lizzie was born sometime between 1880 and 1900.

Footnote
1. Not a real thing.