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Title: J. & P. Coats thread. Come in Topsey out of the rain. You’ll get wet. Oh! it won’t hurt me missy I’m like Coats black thread de color won’t come off by wettin
Description: Racist trade card promoting J.&. P. Coats thread and depicting a caricature of an African American woman domestic washing outside in the rain. Shows an African American woman in the left, attired in a white, short-sleeved shirt, a white and yellow checked apron, a red skirt, and black shoes. She stands outside in the rain and places her right hand on an oversized spool of thread labeled, “J.&P. Coats best six cord 200 yds 40,” which sits on top of a wooden stool. Behind the woman, a pipe fills a wooden wash tub with water. In the right, a blonde-haired, white woman, attired in a blue dress with a white collar and bow tie and a red sash below the waist, white stockings, and black shoes, stands at the door inside the house. She lifts her right hand to the domestic and says, “come in Topsey out of the rain. You’ll get wet.” The African American woman replies in the vernacular, “Oh! It won’t hurt me Missy. I’m like Coats black thread. De color won’t come off by wettin.” 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., Advertising text printed on verso: Fast Black Spool Cotton. Does it wear? Does it wash? When a textile fabric must be dyed a pure, rich, deep black, the question that presents itself to the dyer is: “Will these goods be washed in ordinary soap and water, or will they be dipped in some powerful acid, like aquafortis, sulphuric, or muriatic acid?” It they must withstand every-day wear and tear; he will not be so foolish as to fix his black by aid of powerful acids, but will treat the goods mildly, and thus secure superior strength and endurance. In like manner, a druggist will not put a rubber stopper in a bottle filled with sugar and water; he will naturally use an ordinary cork, and save the rubber for resisting violent acids. It is well to look with suspicion on all Acid Tests applied to Spool Cotton. To resist acids, the dyer must use acids at peril of rotting the thread. Intelligent people do not wash their clothes in acid baths. J. & P. Coats’ Black will hold its color as long as any fabric on which it can be used., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - J. & P. Coats [P.2017.95.88]

Title: We never fade!! J. & P. Coats best six cord 200 yds 50
Description: Racist trade card promoting J.&. P. Coats thread and depicting a caricature of an African American boy sitting on an oversized spool of thread in a field. Shows the boy seated and with his legs straddling a giant spool of black thread labeled, "J&P Coats best six cord 200 yds 50." He says “we never fade!!” and points his finger at the sun, which has a face and a concerned expression with a downward turned mouth. The boy is barefoot and attired in a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows; a multi-colored tie and belt; and red pants rolled up to the knees. In the foreground, two black crows look at the thread. A house is visible in the right background. 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., Advertising text printed on verso: Fast Black Spool Cotton. Does it wear? Does it wash? When a textile fabric must be dyed a pure, rich, deep black, the question that presents itself to the dyer is: “Will these goods be washed in ordinary soap and water, or will they be dipped in some powerful acid, like aquafortis, sulphuric, or muriatic acid?” It they must withstand every-day wear and tear; he will not be so foolish as to fix his black by aid of powerful acids, but will treat the goods mildly, and thus secure superior strength and endurance. In like manner, a druggist will not put a rubber stopper in a bottle filled with sugar and water; he will naturally use an ordinary cork, and save the rubber for resisting violent acids. It is well to look with suspicion on all Acid Tests applied to Spool Cotton. To resist acids, the dyer must use acids at peril of rotting the thread. Intelligent people do not wash their clothes in acid baths. J. & P. Coats’ Black will hold its color as long as any fabric on which it can be used., Date deduced from the history of the advertised business., Gift of David Doret.
Date: [ca. 1880]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Goldman Trade Card Collection - J. & P. Coats [P.2017.95.89]

Title: Scrapbook of Trade Cards, Holiday Cards, etc.
Description: Scrapbook possibly compiled by Fanny Keene containing trade cards, sentiment cards, holiday cards, rewards of merit, die cut and embossed scraps, and a temperance pledge card primarily issued in New England. Majority of the contents are chromolithographs and some contain trompe l'oeil, embossed, die cut and overlay designs.

Title: Scrapbook
Description: Scrapbook possibly compiled by Fanny Keene containing trade cards, sentiment cards, holiday cards, rewards of merit, die cut and embossed scraps, and a temperance pledge card primarily issued in New England. Majority of the contents are chromolithographs and some contain trompe l’oeil, embossed, die cut and overlay designs. Pictorial themes include landscape, marinescape, seasonal, residential and genre views; women and children; fruits and flowers; animals (cats, dogs, mice, and birds); comic scenes; and portraiture, including Frances Folsom Cleveland. Several of the holiday cards contain religious passages and sentiments and several of the trade cards advertise sewing machines, patent medicines, soaps, and J. & P. Coats thread. Scrapbook also contains series of Arm & Hammer (i.e., Church & Dwight Co.) trade cards depicting different species of birds., Other business establishments and products advertised include A. Stowell & Co., jewelers (Boston); California Fig Syrup Co.; C. F. Santelle, stationery (Rockland, Me.); C. I. Hood & Co., tooth powder; Electric Lustre Starch; E. W. Hoyt & Co., cologne; F. M. Evertleth, M. D., druggist (Waldoboro, Me.); Household Sewing Machine Company; Ingall’s Throat and Lung Specific; Kendall Mfg. Co. soapine; Lydia E. Pinkham; Mansion House (Troy, N.Y.); Munson’s 99 Cent Store (Boston, Ma.); The New Home Sewing Machine; R. H. Stearns & Co., department store; Rush’s Sasparilla and Iron; Stickney and Poor’s Mustard; M. A. Packard & Co., shoes; Vegetine; W. H. Levansaler & Co., wool; and Whittemore, Bros & Co, shoe gloss., Blue paper binding printed in color with a marinescape view and pictorial and border details. Also contains chromolithograph overlay showing a young lady carrying a basket., Some of contents inscribed Fanny Keene, Jessie Keene, Mrs. Annie Leland., Printers include New England and Mid West firms Bufford; Calvert Lith. Co; Crosker & Co.; Donaldson Brothers; Knapp & Co.; Mayer, Merkell & Ottman; and W. J. Morgan & Co., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Housed in phase box.
Date: ca. 1885-ca. 1889
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department albums [P.9763]

Title: [J. & P. Coat's thread trade cards]
Description: Series of trade cards promoting J.&. P. Coats thread and depicting men, women and children performing a variety of activities with the thread, including a white girl swinging on a tree swing; a white man fishing in a stream while a white woman watches; and several white children pretending to be a horse team. Includes a large frog on a riverbank. "So do my sisters and my cousins and my aunts!" depicts an older white woman carrying packages. "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" based on Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" shows an oversized Gulliver being tied down with thread by the Lilliputians. "That's the kind! Bring me some more" depicts an older white woman inspecting different colored spools of thread in a box held up by a white boy. "Ef dis don't fetch you nothing will" depicts an African American man and woman, portrayed in racist caricature, trying to tame a donkey. In the left, the woman, attired in a white bonnet with a red ribbon, a red shirt, a blue scarf, a yellow shirt, a white apron, and gray shoes, uses thread from an enormous J. & P. Coats spool to pull on the bridle on the donkey, who pulls back with its mouth open. Behind the donkey, the man stands, attired in a brown, brimmed hat, a red shirt, blue plaid pants, and blue shoes, who holds a rope in his left hand and scratches his head with his left hand. "We never fade!" depicts an African American boy, portrayed in racist caricature, sitting on an oversized spool of thread in a field. Shows the boy seated and with his legs straddling a giant spool of black thread. He says “we never fade!!” and points his finger at the sun, which has a face and a concerned expression with a downward turned mouth. The boy is barefoot and attired in a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows; a multi-colored tie and belt; and red pants rolled up to the knees. In the foreground, two black crows look at the thread. A house is visible in the right background., 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 supplied by cataloger., Five prints printed by E. Ketterlinus & Co., Ten prints contain advertising text printed on versos, including promotions for J. & P. Coat's best six cord, soft finish spool cotton; a table of needle and thread numbers; a calendar for 1880; and a description of "Gulliver and the Lilliputians" illustration (on recto of print 1975.F.220)., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883. Purchase 1999. Purchase 2001., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date: [ca. 1885]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Coats [1975.F.123; 1975.F.126; 1975.F.133; 1975.F.150; 1975.F.157; 1975.F.193; 1975.F.195; 1975.F.220; 69211.D; P.9743; P.9984.4]

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