Late 1920s or 1930s Levi's Shipping Label

Late 1920s or 1930s Levi's shipping label for Cimarron Mercantile Company in Cimarron, New Mexico. It's interesting to see the line at the top of the label which explains that "Levi's" is a registered mark of Levi Strauss & Co. The company introduced this trademark in 1928.

Sweet, Orr & Co. Factory Workers Cabinet Photo

Courtesy of GM collection

The other day my friend at work came in and said he had something I should post on the blog. He then proceeded to hand me this incredible cabinet photo showing women at their sewing stations inside the Sweet, Orr & Co. factory. There's no date on the piece, but it's easily from the late 1890s or early 1900s. The name Clara Hanlin is written on the front of the piece. A quick search online produced no results to help me identify this woman. There's writing on the back, but it's pretty difficult to make out what it says. Check out the Stifel Indigo Cloth in the bottom right-hand corner.

Courtesy of GM collection

Smith's Double Duty Overalls Pocket Flasher

Nicely illustrated pocket flasher from Smith's Overall Company advertising their line of Smith's Double Duty Overalls. No date, but I'd put it in the 1950's because of the price.

1887 Levi Strauss Advertising Cover

Great advertisng cover from Levis Strauss & Co., San Francisco with a double postmark. San Francisco on the front and San Andreas on the back with the date October 20, 1887. It looks like a stamp collector clipped the stamp from the cover.

The envelope looks to be addressed to C. Agostini in San Andreas, California. I did find a Cyprien Agostini while digging around online. If it is the same person, he was the owner of the D'Agostini Building which was built in 1851. Agostini purchased the building in 1870. It was the first brick building built in San Andreas and one of only a few to survive the disastrous fire of 1858. After attempts to save the building as a landmark by the Calaveras County Historical Society, it was dismantled in 1971.

1938 Signal Work Clothes Presents The Hired Hands Real Photo Postcard

There's quite a bit stuff going on in this real photo postcard produced by Orcajo Photo Art Cards in Dayton, Ohio in 1938.

You have John Rissman & Sons, Signal Work Clothes, The Hired Hands (aka The Four Hired Hands), Lucille Overstake (aka Jenny Lou Carson) and WCFL Radio.

John Rissman & Sons, Chicago, stand out because they're known for trademarking  the name "Windbreaker." I'm not quite sure at what date they took over Signal Work Clothes who used to be produced by Hilker-Wiechers Manufacting Company in Racine, Wisconsin. They stopped producing Signal sometime in 1923 or 1924.

The Hired Hands (aka The Four Hired Hands) were a hillbilly/country band. Pictured in the postcard are Al Viodek, who joined the group in 1938,  Tony "Pitchie" Pacione, Don Giacolett, who left the band in 1938, and Ben "Blinky" Pigotti. The band was a big performer on WCFL and WLS, both Chicago based AM stations.

WLS was founded in 1924 and on its second night on the air debuted a show called National Barn Dance. This was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor to the Grand Ole Opry.

Another mainstay on National Barn Dance was Lucille Overstake (aka Jenny Lou Carson). She went on to write and record several #1 country hits including Jealous Heart preformed by country music and cowboy film legend, Tex Ritter.

The radio station featured on this card was WCFL. They were called the "Voice of Labor" and was founded by the Chicago Federation of Labor in 1926. They were the first labor union station in the country. Their mission statement was, "influence or educate the public mind upon the meaning and objects of Trade Unions and of the Federation on Labor, correct wrong impressions by broadcasting the truth, and advance progressive economic ideas which when actually put into operation will benefit the masses of the nation."

Below is a WLS Artist Studio photo featuring The Hired Hands.

Late 1890s Murphy, Grant & Co. Advertising Blotters

Group of three oversized ink blotters featuring Murphy, Grant & Company from the late 1890s.

The Murphy, Grant & Company was founded in 1851 by Eugene Kelly, J.A. Donohoe, Daniel T. Murphy and Adam Grant. They were considered the largest wholesale dry goods house on the west coast. They also manufactured "The Never Rip Overall" under the Nonpareil Brand. Nonpareil is French and means without equal. They were considered one of Levi's biggest rivals at the time.

Below is a Nonpareil label by Murphy, Grant & Co., from 1891

From Oregon State Archives

Advertising cover from Murphy, Grant & Co. postmarked 1896

Hamer-Schua Auction Galleries

1890 Henry W. Carter Billhead

Billhead dated January 7, 1890 from Henry W. Carter (& Sons) Overalls, Lebanon, New Hampshire. Carter established his company in 1859. 

Recently there have been several blog posts about the relaunch of H.W. Carter & Sons. The new company is currently offering aprons and bandanas. For more information, visit their site here.

This new company shouldn't be confused with the large baby and children's store Carter's whose roots are from the William Carter Company, an old underwear manufacturer. However, there seems to be another Carter's line that also ties its heritage back to Henry W. Carter & Sons. This line offers children's clothing and also uses the tag "Watch the Wear." For more information, click here. I'm not sure if the new H.W. Carter & Sons and Carter's Watch the wear are related but when you look at their respective history and about pages, they have a very similar look and wording.