The Stollwerck Chocolate Company was one of the first German companies to use trade cards — picture cards inserted in the wrapping of their chocolates — as a means of advertising. However, having produced thousands of different images usually in distinct sets of six cards each, the company presented a panorama of German society in the late 19th century through popular motifs that customers found attractive.
Some of the most common motifs in the German trade cards of the late 19th century were of a military and nationalistic nature, while others reflected artistic trends of the time. In fact, the Stollwerck Company ran a number of competitions for artists to design their trade card sets.