| Title |
Use Merrick's thread. "Gully this cotton beats 'em all!" [graphic]. |
| Publisher |
[United States] : [publisher not identified] |
| Publisher |
UNITED STATES. 1885 |
| Date |
[ca. 1885] |
| Physical Description |
1 print : chromolithograph ; sheet 13 x 8 cm (5 x 3 in.) |
| Description |
Racist trade card promoting Merrick thread and depicting a domestic scene of an older African American man sewing. Shows the
man, in a cabin setting, seated atop a stool, his feet slightly turned in, and mending the seat of a pair of blue pants. The
man holds the pants in his left hand and pulls a needle and thread through a patch on the pants in his right. The thread comes
from a large spool beside the man which is marked with "Merrick Thread Co. Best Six Cord 8" logo. Behind the man is a window
with a sill, which is lined with potted plants. A candle holder rests on a shelf attached to the wall below the window. The
man is attired in a red button-down shirt, blue suspenders, brown pants, and brown shoes. Merrick Thread Co. was founded in
1865 by Timothy Merrick, Austin Merrick, and Origen Hall in Mansfield, Connecticut. After its founding, the company established
mills in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1898, the company merged with thirteen other independent thread and yarn manufacturers
to form the American Thread Company.
|
| Notes |
Title from item. |
|
Date inferred from content and genre of print. |
|
Advertising text printed on verso: Buy Merrick Thread Co's best six cord soft finish spool cotton for machine & hand sewing
warranted 200 yds. also these threads are made from the finest quality of combed sea island cotton, and for strength, evenness,
elasticity and smoothness surpass anything in the market. By the use of the "ready wound bobbins" the annoyance of winding
the iron bobbin is done away with, and a more perfect stitch obtained. When in want of more thread, don't fail to ask for
Merrick's.
|
|
See related copy: Goldman Trade Card Collection - Merrick [P.2017.95.122] |
|
Gift of George Allen, 2022. |
|
RVCDC |
| Subject |
Merrick Thread Co. |
|
African American men -- Caricatures and cartoons. |
|
Older people. |
|
Racism in popular culture. |
|
Sewing. |
|
Thread. |
|
Thread industry -- Massachusetts -- Holyoke. |
| Genre |
Chromolithographs -- 1880-1890. |
|
Trade cards -- 1880-1890. |
| Location |
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| Trade cards - M - Merrick [P.2022.42.10] |
| Accession number |
P.2022.42.10 |
