Antique Cat's Paw Rubber Heel Promotional Postcard

1911 Cat's Paw Rubber Heel promotional postcard from the vintageworkwear.com collection

Promotional postcard for the FOSTER RUBBER CO., makers of Cat's Paw Rubber Heels.
USPS cancellation stamp dates this one hundred and one year old postcard to Oct. 18 1911.

Postcard features an image of what was claimed to be the world's largest Black Cat. The cat appeared every afternoon and evening at the New England Industrial and Educational Exposition and was used to advertise Cat's Paw Non-Slip Rubber Heels. The Cat was operated by man power, and the eyes feature electric lights that could be flashed at will.
Cat's Paw salesman Mr. Noll is seen standing along side the cat to provide size & scale.

Happy Halloween.

Vintage BIG BEN Salt & Pepper Convert Cloth Work Jacket

The San Fernando Valley Mercantile Co. had the pleasure of hooking up customer and San Fernando Valley resident Kelly with this vintage 1960s era BIG BEN brand work jacket at The Rose Bowl Flea Market this past Sunday. A simple cossack style short jacket constructed of salt & pepper twist twill cotton fabric (originally referred to as convert cloth) with quilted liner and Talon zipper that will be right at home as part of Kelly's big rig working uniform.
It's always great to see a favorite piece matched up with an appreciative and knowledgeable buyer; it's precisely these type of customers that bring a smile and remind us of just why we work hard to share our passion for vintage workwear.

BLUE BELL / BIG BEN / Wrangler company history.

1897 - 20-year old C.C. Hudson leaves Spring Hill Farm in Williamson County, Tennessee seeking fortune in the emerging textile town of Greensboro, North Carolina. He finds work in an overall factory sewing on buttons for 25 cents a day.
1904 - Hudson's workplace closes. He and a few others buy several sewing machines from the closing company. C.C. Hudson and his brother Homer form the Hudson Overall Company, operating from a loft over Coe Brothers Grocery on South Elm Street in Greensboro.
1919 - Sales of Hudson overalls are booming. The company moves to a larger headquarters and changes its name to Blue Bell Overall Company.
1926 - Big Ben Manufacturing of Kentucky (Est. 1915) purchases Blue Bell for $585,000. The name of the merged companies remains Blue Bell; headquarters remain in Greensboro.
1936 - Blue Bell introduces Super Big Ben Overalls, featuring 100% Sanforized fabric that reduces shrinkage to less than 1%, setting a new standard for the industry.
1947 - Blue Bell Inc. files U.S. federal trademark registration for Big Ben on Oct. 7.

VINTAGE HEADLIGHT OVERALLS PATENTED BIB POCKET

Vintage HEADLIGHT Overalls with patented bib pocket design

Talon brand brass heavy duty zipper opens to reveal large pocket located behind conventional bib patch type pockets

Close up of the right side patch pocket watch pocket opening shows denim red line selvedge edging

Proprietary bib pocket found on vintage HEADLIGHT Union Made Overalls. Pocket design, Talon zipper and HEADLIGHT loomed label most likely date this pair of overalls to the 1940's era, possibly as late as the 1950's. This particular pocket design was filed by inventor Oscar Berman on November 24th 1936 and was patented on April 18th 1939. The design provided four different pockets located on the front bib portion of the overalls including right and left side patch pockets, watch pocket (separated from the right patch pocket by sail cloth not seen in photo) and the patented larger pocket located behind the patch pockets and accessed via the zippered opening. Patent information is seen below.

QUINTRON AND MISS PUSSYCAT and the DRUM BUDDY: TREME Season Three, Episode 23

HBO's most excellent BOARDWALK EMPIRE is a no-brainer for most folks who check this blog but the New Orleans based drama TREME stands tall as part two of HBO's powerful Sunday night one two punch. Much respect to series creator David Simon for his music heavy take on the culture and flavor of this neighborhood in The Big Easy as they rebuild post Katrina. Some favorite artists and musicians who have appeared on the show include Alan Toussaint, Dr John, Elvis Costello and The Rebirth Brass Band.
Another artist who is new to me and whose raucous live performance in Sunday nights episode 23 had me immediately both listening & looking for a name is QUINTRON AND THE PUSSYCAT.
The attention grabbing instrument that QUINTRON is seen playing at their Halloween gig is his self made DRUM BUDDY, a 4 oscillator, light activated, mechanically rotating synthesiser/drum machine. This contraption that could be described as part Drum Machine, part Synth, part Scratch Turntable and part Theremin. The ignition switch and key to turn it on and off is also a neat touch. The fact that Laurie Anderson and Nels Cline (two unique artists who over the years have provided much enjoyment and command much respect) own two of the only ten units made provides the proverbial icing on the cake.

JANESVILLE CLOTHING CO. Vintage Work Jacket & Work Shirt

Vintage Janesville Clothing Co. MONARCH FOODS work jacket constructed of twisted yarn convert cloth a.k.a. salt & pepper. Much less common than the standard dark grey version of salt & pepper fabric, this light variation gets its color by emphasizing the lighter natural color threads. Details lead us to date this jacket to the 1940s era, possibly earlier. Part of the VintageWorkwear.com collection.

Monarch Foods roots can be traced to Reid-Murdoch Co. a Dubuque, Iowa provisions company founded in 1853 that sold flour, bacon, sugar and other food staples to wagon trains heading west during the 1850s gold rush. Monarch is still doing business today.

Collarless design

Machine loomed Janesville Clothing Co. label

 Sleeve repairs

Left side lower pocket was removed and fabric used for repairs and patching, indicitive of Depression Era frugality and ingenuity

Original button

Replacement button

The Janesville Cotton Manufacturing Co. 1874 – 1886 was established in 1874 on the upper raceway, north of Milwaukee Street on River Street. They were the first cotton mill in the state of Wisconsin and at the time were the only factory of their kind in the West. 

The factory was enlarged in 1877, and the work force grew to 250 people. The factory had 400 looms and in 1878 manufactured 5,350,900 yards of sheeting. 

The business expanded in 1883 with the construction of a large factory and power plant at Monterey at a cost of a quarter million dollars. Four hundred people worked for the company at that time. Excessive freight rates for cotton due to the great distance it had to be

shipped and the high prices paid to the company's operatives forced the ambitious enterprise into a financial corner. In 1886, a new corporation, the Janesville Cotton Mills, formed to take over the business. It ran it for a while longer but eventually the plant was sold to the Janesville Electric Co.

The Janesville Cotton Mills Company 1886-1900 was incorporated in March, 1886, and was an outgrowth of the Janesville Cotton Manufacturing Company. The new building of the company at Monterey, near the city, was erected in 1884 and opened for business in January, 1885. It was a 300 loom-mill, with a capacity of 16,000 yard of sheeting per day and employs 175 hands. The city, or upper, mill has 400 looms, employs 225 hands and turns out 35,000 yards per day.

Janesville Clothing Co. starts making work clothes for men and boys in 1894.

Janesville Shirt & Overall Company 1906-1970s  was a manufacturer of work clothing including overalls and workshirts. They were located at the old Janesville Cotton Mill.

1940's era Janesville work shirt with chin strap collar made of Pepperell SANFORIZED salt & pepper convert cloth in rare brown color variation via ebay seller antiquegypsy

LUNCH ATOP A SKYSCRAPER, 80 YEARS AGO TODAY

Photo via MailOnline/Reuters

September 20 marks the 80th anniversary of the day the iconic Depression Era photo of 11 workers "taking their lunch break" was shot 69 stories above the streets of Manhattan in N.Y.C.  The photograph was taken during the construction of the RCA Building which would later be renamed the GE Building, now part of Rockefeller Center. 
Seems this breathtaking photo wasn't as spontaneous as figured for all these years. The trailer below is for a new film titled MEN AT LUNCH which was recently shown as part of the Toronto Film Festival. 
Thanks to Matt Strickland aka RivetHEAD for the heads up.

Antique CARTER & CHURCHILL LEBANON OVERALLS Victorian Era Tradecard and Billhead

Carter & Churchill Victorian Era Trade Card courtesy of vpostcard

Carter & Churchill Victorian Era Billhead from the VintageWorkwear.com collection.

CARTER & CHURCHILL'S LEBANON OVERALLS antique engraved Trade Card and Billhead.
These vintage ephemera items date to the end of the 19th century with the billhead dating back to November 28, 1892. Some history on the Carter's brand can be found in the previous vintage workwear.com post here. 
With the recent reintroduction of H.W. CARTER AND SONS and the CARTER'S Watch The Wear label, vintage inspired chore coats, overalls, aprons, caps & bandanas are once again available from latest incarnation of this storied American brand.