Original Trade Card - "Willimantic, The Best Thread for Sewing Machines."

Original trade card with a color illustration of a young child propping up a blackboard on one of Willimantic's spools of thread. The title is on the blackboard. No date, circa 1880s. 3" x 4 1/2." Printer's information at the bottom on front: "H. Bencke, Lith. N.Y." Trade card is very clean and intact overall. One pin hole in top margin. Age toning on back. Slight corner and edge wear. Former owner's handwriting in pencil on back (looks like practice for writing their signature). A Very Good copy. Trade card for Willimantic spool thread. The Willimantic Thread Company's history began in 1822 when Perez Richmond of Rhode Island built a small cotton mill on the Willimantic River. The mill was eventually incorporated into the Willimantic Linen Company. The company became very popular and was known for its wide selection of thread colors. In 1898, the Willimantic Linen Company became part of the American Thread Company. 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.…