These cards are examples of late 19th- and early 20th-century trade cards used by livestock commission merchants who operated out of the Kansas City Stockyards. Larger than modern business cards, they served as both advertisements and calling cards, listing the company’s name, office location inside the Livestock Exchange Building, and the specific salesmen for cattle, hogs, or sheep. Many also offered free market reports, correspondence, and references to banks, underscoring the competitive and trust-based nature of the livestock trade.

Displayed together, these cards illustrate how central the Exchange Building was to the cattle business and how merchants branded themselves in an era before telemarketing or digital communication. They are more than just business cards; they are artifacts of a time when Kansas City was one of the busiest livestock markets in the country, and commission firms relied on reputation, personal contact, and printed ephemera to secure consignments and build lasting relationships with ranchers and feeders.