Days and Gods of the Week Trade Cards Series S-839 by Liebig Fleisch-Extract
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Days and Gods of the Week Series S-839 by Liebig
Liebig Tade Cards
One of the most prolific publishers of trade cards during the late 19th and early 20th century was the Liebig company. Despite the German name, Liebig was an English company that became multinational. Its product was a concentrated meat extract called Fleisch-Extract -- a paste form of salted bouillon that preserved the flavour and nutrients of beef. The method of extraction was invented by the German organic chemist Justus Freiherr von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 20 April 1873) -- and note that Liebig's zodiac sign is Taurus the Bull (and he shares my birthday!) and his product was based on beef. Commercial production of Liebig Fleisch-Extract began in 1850. Most of the meat came from South American cattle and was processed in Fray-Bentos, Uruguay, and Colón, Panama.
Liebig Fleisch-Extract was packaged in little jars and sold all around the world. The inclusion of colourful, collectible, and educational chromolitho trade cards with every package of Liebig Fleisch-Extract began in 1870. The early cards were gilded with brass powder ink, but unlike postcards of the era, they were not embossed. The last chromolithographed cards were released in 1939, but reprints interspersed with new sets continued until 1975. During this more than 100-year run, at least 11,226 different cards were produced, as well as a number of artistic menu cards with a blank area for a hand-written menu.
The thematic Liebig cards were printed in sets of six, and each set touched on one topic of interest. These topics covered a vast range of human knowledge, including history, mythology, world travel, theatre, zoology, botany, mechanical engineering, fairy tales, amusements, psychology, country life, military uniforms, domestic animals, poetry, warfare, gaming, architecture, opera, transportation, factory work, indigenous costumes, dances, festivals, and religion. The only limitation was "six cards per topic," although sometimes this restriction could be avoided by publishing several sets on a single topic, such as "Sea Life" or "Puzzles." Occasionally a set of 12 cards would be released, but this was not common.
Due to the multinational distribution of the product, Liebig cards were printed with minimal text on the front and dense text on the back in a variety of languages, including English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, and Belgian. The card backs contained advertising, often accompanied by recipes that included the use of the Fleisch-Extract and small pen-and-ink illustrations. These back-of-card illos rarely bear a logical relationship to the topic of the card set; for instance, the back of a set on mushrooms might be decorated with circus clowns and a set on human emotions might be decorated with fantasy images of children, sailors, and draymen carting about giant jars of Liebig Fleisch-Extract.
The Seven Gods of the Weekdays
Because Liebig trade cards are never text-centered, i have included here some brief excerpts on the symbolic and occult meanings of the days of the week, their ruling planets, and the gods that represent the planets and days. This is abstracted from "Astrology for Roootworkers: Spell-Casting with the Zodiac in Hoodoo and Conjure" by catherine yronwode and Prof. A. F. Seward, published by Lucky Mojo in 2033.
$12.00 BOO-GRI-AHCM
Die Tage der Woche (The Days of the Week) Cards from Liebig
This set of trade cards was issued in 1905. The topic is the days of the week and the classical planetary gods and goddesses associated with each. Along the way, a few ascriptions of symbolic plants, weather, and times of the day are used to enhance the art.
Choosing the days of the week as a topic clearly demonstrates the limitation of the Liebig six-card rule: We get Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Fri, and Saturday, but Wednesday and Thursday must be made to share one card.
Each card carries out its theme in several ways, with emblematic colours, plants, a landscape, and stylized archway borders.
SUNDAY
DAY OF THE WEEK
Sonntag - Dimanche - Sunday
- Deity: Apollo in his horse-dawn chariot, holding a lyre, with the radiant Sun behind him
- Flowers: Sunflowers
- Landscape: A glowing sunrise; a stone bridge over a river sparkling with reflected light, , within an art nouveau border
"SUNDAY: The Sun, Sol, Apollo. Tarot: The Sun.
Keywords: Fathers, men and boys, blessing, health, success, fame.
Herb: Chamomile. Flower: Sunflower. Gem: Citrine. Metal: Gold.
Candles: Yellow, Gold. Scent: Frankincense. Archangel: Michæl.
" -- catherine yronwode
MONDAY
DAY OF THE WEEK
Montag- Lundi - Monday
- Deity: Dark-Haired Luna, dressed in blue and grey, with the full Moon behind her
- Flowers: Poppies above, Jonquils in a vase, and budded red roses below
- Landscape: A misty, moonlit garden in which a Gothic arch forms a vesica piscis
"MONDAY: The Moon, Luna, Selene, Diana. Tarot: High Priestess.
Keywords: Mothers, women, girls, home, family, dreams, visions, water.
Herb: Willow. Flower: Gardenia. Gem: Moonstone. Metal: Silver.
Candles: White, Blue, Silver. Scent: Jasmine. Archangel: Gabriel."
-- catherine yronwode
TUESDAY
DAY OF THE WEEK
Dienstag - Mardi - Tuesday
- Deity: Mars in full armour, with shield, lance, and sword, sits within a Doric colonnade
- Flowers: Bay Laurel bushes stand behind him and there are two emblematic five-petalled flowers graven into the stones; they may be Rock-Roses; also carved in stone is the head of snake-haired gorgon
- Landscape: High noon with cumulus clouds and blue sky; in the distance, a temple on a hill, within a Doric border
"TUESDAY: Mars, Ares, Twi. Tarot: The Tower.
Keywords: Strength, conflict, war, courage, risks, competition, victory.
Herb: Cayenne. Flower: Red Hot Poker. Gem: Bloodstone. Metal: Iron.
Candles: Red. Scent: Dragon’s Blood. Archangel: Chamuel."
-- catherine yronwode
WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY
DAY OF THE WEEK
Mittwoch - Mercredi - Wednesday / Donnerstag - Jeudi - Thursday
- Deities: Mercury in a winged helmet and orange shawl carries a winged caduceus and flits away from blond and bearded Jupiter, who holds a bundle of lightning bolts in his left hand and a spear n his right hand; a hawk sits quietly on the clouds
- Flowers: There are no flowers
- Landscape: Thunderheads above, a windstorm at middle, lightning strikes farmland below, within a Moorish border
"WEDNESDAY: Mercury, Odin, Hermes. Tarot: The Magician.
Keywords: Communication, trickery, gambling, speech, broadcasting.
Herb: Cinquefoil. Flower: Lavender. Gem: Agate. Metal: Mercury.
Candle: Orange. Scent: Sandalwood. Archangel: Raphæl."
-- catherine yronwode
"THURSDAY: Jupiter, Thor, Zeus. Tarot: The Wheel of Fortune.
Keywords: Expansion, wealth, patronage, money, dignity, royalty.
Herb: Black Walnut. Flower: Hydrangea. Gem: Lapis Lazuli. Metal: Tin.
Candles: Purple. Scent: Cedar. Archangel: Zadkiel."
-- catherine yronwode
FRIDAY
DAY OF THE WEEK
Freitag - Vendredi- Friday
- Deity: Auburn-tressed Venus, with a wild rose in her hair, wears a pink and gold flowered dress and dances the hula on a large white clam shell, accompanied by a green-winged blond Cupid, who hangs suspended from her pale blue scarf
- Flowers: Wild pink roses
- Landscape: A calm blue sea under a sky dotted with rosy clouds, within an art nouveau border
"FRIDAY: Venus, Freya, Aphrodite. Tarot: The Empress.
Keywords: Love, pleasure, sexuality, artistry, æsthetics, plants, beauty.
Herb: Damiana. Flower: Rose. Gem: Emerald. Metal: Copper.
Candles: Green, Pink. Scent: Rose. Archangel: Haniel.
"
-- catherine yronwode
SATURDAY
DAY OF THE WEEK
Sonnabend - Samedi - Saturday
- Deity: Saturn, bald, winged, and with a long white beard, seated on a jagged rock, wrapped with a floating orange cloth, holding an hour-glass aloft in his right hand and his scythe in his left hand; behind him is a large clock-face, pointing to 11:55
- Flowers: Mistletoe above, Pine trees below
- Landscape: A rocky, mountainous forest of Pines within a Roman arch border; the last rays of sunlight illuminate the top of the rock and the man; below all is in shadow
"SATURDAY: Saturn, Saturnus, Chronos. Tarot: The World.
Keywords: Agriculture, obstacles, curses, death, restrictions, limitations.
Herb: Mandrake Root. Flower: Hellebore. Gem: Black Onyx. Metal: Lead.
Candles: Black. Scent: Myrrh. Archangel: Cassiel."
-- catherine yronwode
The Card Backs
The reverse sides of these cards vary from nation to nation. Most depict jars of Liebig Fleisch-Extract and are surprinted with the signature "J. Leibig." The recipes on the six cards all include Fleisch-Extract. One card back tells the buyer that in the production of Liebig's meat extract, no cattle under the age of a four are used and only the best pieces of muscle-meat go into the production of this product, which is of guaranteed uniformity.
Collecting Liebig Trade Cards
Keeping track of -- and collecting -- the 11,226-plus Liebig images has been the obsession of many art fans over the past 150 years. Several sorting systems have been published, but the most often referenced catalogue is that of the Italian publisher Sanguinetti, hence the set featured here, "Die Tage der Woche," is given the number S-839, indicating that it is the 839th set catalogued by Sanguinetti.
For those who may wish to learn more about these cards, i offer the following links:
"Nominated list of all sets with pictures" at Cartolino I think that by "nominated" the author means "enumerated." This is your basic list. Click on the number to see a small representation of the set.
Liebig complete illustrated catalog at Cartolino To use this series of small reference images you first need to know the set's Sanguinetti number. Or just play it like a game of sortilege and see what comes up!
For those interested in collecting the cards, i recommend eBay, although a number of specialized trade card companies also handle them. The cards are generally sold in sets, but you may not get matching backs. For example, my set on Colours consists of five with German backs and one with a French back.
See Also
catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
Your Wate and Fate
Special thanks to my dear husband and creative partner nagasiva yronwode for illustration scans and clean-ups.