Original Trade Card - "Willimantic Thread."

Original trade card with an illustrated color portrait of a young, blond-haired child. Decorative flowers are placed along the portrait's frame. No date, circa 1880s. 3" x 4 1/4." Printer's information in lower-right corner on front: "Lindner, Eddy & Clauss, Lith. N. Y." Trade card is very clean and intact except for slight corner and edge wear and age toning on back. A Very Good copy. Trade card promoting Willimantic Six Cord Spool Cotton thread. The text on back highlights the thread's high quality and soft finish and that it is made in the United States. 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 latter of which was founded in 1854. 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 are 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.…