Billhead for the Philadelphia retail branch of the New York firm containing a vignette image showing "Clark's O.N.T. Spool Cotton" spool of thread. Clark, a native Scotsman, established an American house in New York for the exclusive distribution of cotton thread in 1855 and built a manufactory in Newark circa 1865., Completed in manuscript to Mr. Jas. R. Mercer on March 27th, 1893 for "34 B[?] Ball[?] 200 yds, 45, $15.30; 2 @ 6%, $3.80: $11.50 net., Printed on recto: Terms Cash, In Bankable Funds Within 30 Days. This Bill is Net Cash., Calculations in ink on recto., Manuscript note on recto: Will forward balance of order soon as received from our mill., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Gift of Helen Beitler and Estate of Helen Beitler.
Date
[ca. 1890]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Helen Beitler Graphic Ephemera Collection - Receipts [P.2011.10.133]
Contains views of the dye house, spinning and twisting mill, and weaving and spooling mill of Brainerd & Armstrong Co., Number 2697 on recto., Text on verso., Sheet number: 40A02A, Digitized with funding from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Creator
Brightbill, George M., collector
Date
ca. 1910
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Brightbill postcards [Business and Industry - Miscellaneous - 40]
Series of illustrated trade cards depicting children pulling on a thread of silk used as kite string; spools of silk labeled "Brainerd, Armstrong & Co."; a fairie; "good luck" horseshoe; silkworms; and butterflies., Title supplied by cataloger., Two prints [1975.F.88 and 1975.F.97] printed by the National Bureau of Engraving, Phila., Advertising text printed on rectos and versos promotes Brainerd & Armstrong Co. silk by offering a beautiful chromo card to buyers; announces the company's dyeing abilities; and suggests using the silk for good luck., Stamped on recto of one print [P.2006.20.50]: Sold by Wm. Menke & Bro., 804 Arch Street., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012., Digitized.
Date
[ca. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Brainerd [1975.F.88; 1975.F.97; P.2006.20.50]
Exterior view of the Betsy Ross House, built ca. 1740 and renovated by Richardson Brognard Okie in 1936. A banner spelling out "Birthplace of Old Glory" hangs below a picture of George Washington and a replica of the first American flag designed by Betsy Ross in 1776. Also depicts adjacent businesses in much taller commercial buildings, including the United States Thread Company and Berger Bros. Co., tinplate and metals., Inscribed in negative: 2186., Title from negative sleeve., Also known as the American Flag House.
Creator
Hand, Alfred, photographer
Date
ca. 1920
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department 4x5 Glass Negatives - Hand [P.9259.7]
Racist trade card for the Merrick Thread Company at 248 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia and depicting Black men, attired only in loincloths, pulling a captured whale onto a beach. The five men, portrayed in racist caricature, stand on the beach and hold onto the thread coming from an oversized spool labeled, "Merrick Thread Co. Best Six Cord 8," in the right. The whale with an open mouth of sharp teeth is pulled from the ocean onto the beach. In the background, two men run, and palm trees are visible in the right. 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., Title from item., Date inferred from date of operation of advertised business., Advertising text printed on verso promotes Merrick Thread Co.'s best six cord soft finish spool cotton for machine & hand sewing and offers patrons "two lithoed water-color engravings" and "Sunshine for Little Children" on receipt of twenty-five cents., Gift of Emily Phillips, 1883., 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. 1880]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department trade card - Merrick [P.2002.30]
