This exhibit explores the history and use of trade tokens from the Mark Kulikowksi Collection. Issued by merchants throughout this area, the tokens were utilized to advertise and entice customers to patronize their businesses. They offered a monetary value toward merchandise or a product and were the precursor of the modern day coupon. The tokens were particularly popular from 1870-1920, when local businesses were being established at a steady pace, but began to decline after World War II. Included in the display is a representative selection of historical materials from the Local History Collection utilized to identify and research the history of these trade tokens.
The exhibit is located in Special Collections on the second floor of the Bartle Library and will be on display through the Spring semester. Special Collections is open Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm.
This exhibit gives a view into the varied and unique items housed in our Special Collections. Housing nearly 2000 linear feet of unique archival materials and manuscripts, Special Collections has built collections of manuscripts, books, films, photographs, sound recordings, and other formats in a number of specialized areas.
Collections of note include: The Vera Beaudin Saeedpour Kurdish Library & Museum Collection, The Link Collections, The Max Reinhardt Archives and Library, and sixteen distinct Civil War collections. Our collections support research by a wide range of scholars including undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and other researchers whose work relies on primary resource materials, rare books, and manuscripts.
This display is located on the Second Floor Mezzanine of the Glenn Bartle Library through the summer. We hope that it will entice you to visit our Libraries' Special Collections and discover treasure!
Special Collections, Preservation and University Archives | Binghamton University Libraries
P.O. Box 6012, Vestal Parkway East, Binghamton, NY 13902-6012
Tel: 607.777.4844 | Email Us
