1929-30 Washington "Dee-Cee" Work Shirts Memo Book

Get Inspired! Inspiration Vol.4: Upgrade!

It's that time of the year again. Time to get inspired at Rin Tanaka's Inspiration Vol.4: Upgrade! For more information click here. I look forward to seeing old friends and the new ones I've made over the past year.

Silver Saddle Western Jeans Pocket Flasher

Pocket flasher for Silver Saddle Western Jeans made by Blue Anchor, Incorporated in New York. A quick search of the company and brand online didn't come up with any information.

1909 West River, Nova Scotia Logging Team Real Photo Postcard

Great image of a logging team from West River, Nova Scotia. This type of Velox real photo postcard dates from 1909-1914. Luckily the date is pinpointed by a previous owner who wrote the actual date on the cards reverse. Front of the card shows some nice examples of period work shirts. 

 

Circa 1906-1915 Cyko Real Photo Postcard with Work Crew

Here's another recent addition to my collection of real photo postcards showing work crews. Great example of clothing and hats. Looks like the third guy in from the right on the bottom is missing part of his ring finger. This card was produced by Cyko and dates from 1906 to 1915

Early 1900s Integrated Work Crew Real Photo Postcard

Great image of an integrated work crew from the early 1900s. Unfortunately this postcard was not used and does not have a stamp box to help date it. It's pretty cool to see that the white worker with the pipe has his arm around the black worker next to him. Something like this probably wasn't the norm during this time period.

Circa 1905 A.R. Churchman Workers Cabinet Photo

Cabinet photo showing two unidentified workers taken by A.R. Churchman of New Rockford, North Dakota. The photo is from circa 1905 because that is the year Churchman was working in New Rockford. 

1960s Lee Boss of the Road Dungarees Pocket Flasher 11-Z Model

1960s Lee Boss of the Road Dungarees pocket flasher for their 11-Z model. I'm pretty sure this model was the denim painter pant with a zipper. I like how the original owner attached the waistband tag and size tag.

H.W. Carter & Sons, Carter's Overalls Receipt Envelope

I recently picked up this piece from my friend and vintage dealer John Gluckow of Strongarm C & S Co. it's a H.W. Carter & Sons, Carter's Overalls, receipt envelope from Savard & McCarthy Clothiers in Kingston, New York. There's no year date on the envelope, but I'd place it from the late teens to the early 1920s. Joseph Savard and John E. McCarthy teamed up in March of 1915 to form the firm of Savard & McCarthy. At the time Savard owned eight other stores in Connecticut and New York.

Out To Lunch

Sorry, no posts this week. I'm away for my regular 9 to 5. More goodies return next week

Tractor Brand Denim Pocket Flasher

Tractor Brand pocket flasher for their 8 ounce denim. Tractor Brand was located in High Point, North Carolina and produced a number of lines for men, women and children including Sheraton Sportswear. There's not a whole lot of information out there on this company. If anyone knows more about them, please pass it along. 

Circa 1943-1945 H.D. Lee Waistband Tag

H.D. Lee waistband tag from around 1943-45. I put the dates around here because in 1943 H.D. Lee officially changed its name to The H.D. Lee Co. Inc. dropping the word mercantile. Also around 1945 Lee changed the appearance of the "ee" on Lee. They went from having an angled aperture to a straight one. This might have been done as a rebranding move because Lee had started to change their business strategy by acquiring other companies and producing a larger line including more work clothes. 

Back to the Daily Grind

From Corbis

After having exactly two months out of work, today I go back to the daily grind of producing graphics for a new, but old, company. I will still try to get posts up on a daily basis. It really depends on my schedule and workload. There's still lots of stuff to be shared.

1915 Black Diamond Shirts & Overalls Invoice

Invoice dated October 1, 1915 from Sol Heller & Sons, manufacturers of Black Diamond Shirts and Overalls, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The invoice is addressed to Henning Brothers in Pocono Lakes, PA. It looks like they ran up quite a big tab.

Black Diamond label from an ebay listing

Black Diamond shank from an unknown source

1922 Johnstown Nuff Stuff Overalls and Shirts Invoice

With all the elaborate letterheads and invoices I have in my collection, this one for some reason always stands out to me. Maybe it's just the two color thing and the fact that it's not so elaborate. I'm not sure when and if Johnstown became a formal part of the company's name. In a postcard I posted on January 10th of last year, the company name was just Nuff Stuff. I've also seen some earlier pieces where it was also just Nuff Stuff. I have invoices from 1923 that also have Johnstown in the name.

The Red Star Shirt and Overall Co., St. Paul, MN Cabinet Photo

Cabinet photo featuring The Red Star Shirt and Overall Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. I couldn't locate any information on this company, but was able to place the company in St. Paul because of the business located next door. There were a few hits online for the W.H. Konantz Horse Collar Company in St. Paul during the1890s and early 1900s. I like that the photo is for the Red Star Shirt and Overall Company, but it's W.H. Konantz that has the red stars above his door. If anyone has additional inof on this company, please pass it on.

Union-Made Turns One

I know it's unusual for me to post on the weekend, but today is a big day for Union-Made. We made it to our first birthday. I'd like to thank everyone, especially my wife and little boy, for their support through the first year. 

1882 Levi Strauss & Company Letter with Envelope

Another great letter from Levi Strauss & Company, San Francisco. This one came with the original envelope addressed to S. Marks & Co. in Roseburg, Oregon. It is postmarked February 2, 1882 out of San Francisco. The letter itself is part printed and part handwritten. The printed part is basically a notice of payment. I've seen these types of printed receipts in printing catalogs I have from the late 1800s. The handwriting on this letter and envelope is the same as yesterday's from 1870.

The iconic picture shown below was taken in 1882. I wonder if one of the guys is responsible for the handwriting on these early Levi Strauss pieces?

1870 Levi Strauss & Company Letter

Great letter from Levi Strauss & Company, San Francisco, California. The letter is dated June 15, 1870. This is almost three years before Levi Strauss teamed up with Jacob Davis and got their patent. In one brief online bio of Levi Strauss, it says that by 1870 the 41 year old Strauss had already become a millionaire  off his dry good business. The content of this letter, which is addressed to what appears to be William N. Petire Esquire, is about his credit being up to date. The letter shows great penmanship. I love the Levi Strauss & Co. signature at the bottom. I'd really like to know whose handwriting this is.

1906 Headlight Overalls Receipt Postcard

Receipt postcard issued by Larned, Carter & Company, makers of Headlight Overalls. The card is dated May 18, 1906 and postmarked the same day out of Detroit, Michigan. It is addressed to Branch & Alexander in Roper, North Carolina. A quick search online didn't produce anything, but I suspect this was a local clothing store.