Goudey Indian Gum Trading Card #56 William Penn. 1933.

Front of trading card

Back of trading card

This trading card, one of 96 from an overtly racist series published by Goudey Gum, depicts an elderly William Penn, who appears to be presenting a Lenape with a Wampum Belt. In the background, the Elm makes an appearance, which shows us how central it is in images representing the Treaty. The image itself is skewed, as Chief Tamanend would be the one to gift Penn with the Belt, and the description on the back is equally questionable, calling the Indigenous people of Pennsylvania “savages” and Penn’s record “one of peace.” The narrative of this card plays into West’s depiction of the morally superior Quaker, but what is perhaps more interesting about this piece is its commercial use. Trading cards such as these are, and were, highly coveted, and even today collectors pride themselves on owning this series of cards, which normalizes racism against the Lenape and other Indigenous peoples living in the United States.