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J. & P. Coats : Original Trade Card - "J. & P. Coats' Thread"

Bancroft, San Francisco, CA

Original trade card with a color illustration of a small child inching toward a box of the company's thread. Illustration also features a gilt background. Promotional text and examples of the company's "Staple Shades" and "Fancy Shades" on back. No date, circa 1880s. 3" x 4 1/2." Printer's information in lower-left corner on front: "Bancroft - Lith - S.F." Trade card is very clean and intact overall except for a few marks on front and an all-over light stain on back. A Very Good copy. Trade card for J. & P. Coats. Example text on back: "J. & P. Coats' Best Six Cord Spool Cotton: Cannot be Excelled on any Sewing Machine!" Examples of the thread colors: "Slate, "Drab," "Cardinal," "Dregs of Wine," "Rose Pink," "Sky Blue," "Olive Bronze," "Copper Bronze," "Venetian Bronze," "Tea," "Dark Pheasant," "Coachman's Drab," and "Cadet Blue." The story of J. & P. Coats begins in 1802 when James Coats, Sr. opened a weaving business in Paisley, Scotland. In 1826, James, Sr. established a cotton mill in Ferguslie to produce his own thread. His sons, James and Peter, took over the business upon his retirement in 1830 and renamed it J & P. Coats. The company had a predecessor in Paisley called the Clark Thread Company which was founded by James and Patrick Clark in 1755. Over the years, J. & P. Coats underwent a number of mergers with other companies including the Clark Thread Co. Coats & Clark Incorporated was formed in 1952. There were subsequent mergers after this, but the trade name of J. & P. Coats is still used to this day. Trade cards were antique business cards that first became popular during the late seventeenth century in Paris and Lyon, France and London, England. Trade cards were often given by business owners and proprietors to patrons and customers as a way to promote their businesses. Prior to the use of street addresses, trade cards had maps so clients could locate the associated business. Many of these cards also incorporated elaborate designs, illustrations, and other decorative features. Trade cards became popular in the United States during the nineteenth century in the period after the Civil War. The late nineteenth century also saw the advent of trade card collecting as a hobby. While they are no longer in use, trade cards influenced the formation of trading cards and were the predecessors of modern-day business cards.. Ephemera. Book Condition: Collectible-Very Good. Binding: No Binding

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