Most advertising cards, called "trade cards," were tiny. But Clark's thread company's versions, often oversized and based on specially-commissioned watercolors, became the favorites in many collectors’ scrapbooks. This view of the Capitol and a spray of goldenrod was part of a lengthy series that paired flowers and nations. At the turn of the 20th century, the indigenous yellow bloom was considered the odds-on favorite to be named America's official national flower.
