Glued to fences or on the side of buildings, outdoor advertising in 19th Century America was so prevalent that it was considered an eye-sore by one visiting Englishman: "America is daubed from one end of the country to the other with huge white-paint notices of favorite articles of manufacture, with an endless array of advertisements puffing off the medicines of pretentious quacks...." Harsh words indeed, but one patent medicine manufacturer proposed emblazoning the name of his product on the pedestal of the State of Liberty. Another painted a huge message on a rock near Niagara Falls. Some tobacco companies were also guilty of this advertising blight. Mark Twain called the years between the end of the Civil War and turn of the century, The Gilded Age. Almost a quarter of a million patents were issued during these years of phenomenal growth. The men known as 'billstickers' that were hired to put up outdoor posters advertising all these new products, turned their trade into a game. In the dark of night these billstickers glued posters over their competitor's hoping to post the last poster on an already cluttered wall.

The man pictured on the die-cut showcard above, isn't the first billsticker to use this fence. This fellow also has a pack of Sweet Caporal Cigarettes in his hand, apparently putting his money where his mouth is. Click here for a better look at the soldier pictured behind the young woman.