My mind immediately went in two directions- #1. How can I do something creative with these AWESOME spools, and #2. When, where, and who went into manufacturing them. I've never heard of the Star or Belding-Corticelli companies, and how weird and cool is it that Fruit of the Loom made sewing thread??
A Google search on "vintage sewing thread" and a large number of variations revealed nothing.
So then, I started to search for the individual companies. A search for "Fruit of the Loom thread" revealed an interesting, if not very useful for my purposes, Vintage Thread Chart that lists all the manufacturers and size and styles of thread. This list confirmed that Fruit of the Loom manufactured thread. Hmm. Good to know.
The Belding-Corticelli company search was more interesting. I found an entry from the American Heritage website, which showed a similar spool that is housed in the Charlotte Museum of History. Unfortunately it just listed the spool, not the date or any specifics. The Norwich Bulletin in an article about the Belding-Corticelli Mill states that the mill closed in the 1960s. These threads all come from the same era, all priced at 15 cents and containing about the same amount of thread, so it's safe to assume all were manufactured prior to the 1960s.
A search for Coats and Clark helped solve the puzzle. Coats and Clark company became Coats and Clark after a merge in 1952. The company began to widely utilize the mercerization process in 1955. Originally developed in 1844, mercerization strengthens fiber and helps retain color-fastness of cotton thread. By 1961, Coats and Clark converted to plastic spools.
So, without going into research on the other threads, its possible to conclude that these threads were likely manufactured in the mid-to-late 50s.
And probably not great for machine sewing any longer, seeing as cotton fiber breaks down after a while.
What to do with them is the next question!
Onto the craft desk....
