Racist trade card promoting thread manufacturer J. & P. Coats and depicting a character from The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Shows the white man actor in character as the Mikado, or Emperor. He stands holding a closed fan and smiles at the viewer attired in a headpiece, a blue kimono decorated with gold birds and flowers and red trim, with a sword at his waist. An oversized spool of thread labeled, "J & P. Coats 200 yds 50 best six cord," is in the right. Brothers James Coats, Jr. (1803-1845) and Peter Coats (1808-1890) established the firm J.&P. Coats, a thread manufactory. Their brother Thomas Coats (1809-1883) joined the firm soon after. By 1840, three quarters of the British company’s business was with the United States. In 1896, the firm merged with thread manufacturer Clark & Co. and formed J. & P. Coats, Ltd. In 2015, the firm was renamed, “Coats Group.”, Title from item., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Text printed on recto: My object all sublime! Shall attain in time. To let the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime. All people who have to do sewing and don't use Coats' six cord thread, will be punished with cotton that's snarly and rotten and kinks, till they wish they were dead., Advertising text printed on verso: White, black and colors for hand and machine. J & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Thread.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Trade Cards - J. & P. Coats [P.2024.38.1]
Program for performance of The Mikado or, The town of Titipu, the opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan at the Broad Street Theatre, Philadelphia from May 14 to 17, 1913 for the benefit of Philadelphia Lying-In Charity Hospital. Includes a list of the Savoy Company's previous performances from 1901; history of the Savoy Company; article on Gilbert and Sullivan's operas; list of members of the Savoy Company; cast of performers of the Mikado; article on the Philadelphia Lying-In Charity Hospital; and cast of performers of every previous Savoy Company production. Cover image by artist Franz de Merlier and depicts the Mikado, or Emperior standing attired in a red hat and patterned kimono. In the right, a Japanese man, wearing a chonmage hairstyle and red kimono, sits on the floor. A line of four men, wearing chonmage hairstyles and patterned kimonos, hold swords in their right hands., Title from item., Date inferred from dates of the stage production., Advertisements on the inside covers and 7 p. of ads at the back.
Date
1913
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *ephemera -- Misc. - Savoy [P.2024.36]
