Sample length of Pepperell Mills "Beaver" brand Jean cloth; 1898
date: label: date made
content: ca. 1898
name: label: maker
content: Pepperell Manufacturing Company
notes: label: Description
content: Sample length of Pepperell Mills "Beaver" brand Jean cloth; 1898. Sample cut from end of bolt, selvage width; containing blue stamp of Beaver at top and the words Fine Jeans / Pepperell Mills / Biddeford, Maine / Manufactured in United States of America." Below that is a small circular line cartouche with "40 yds" inside. Twill weave unbleached cotton cloth. Consular officer label attached: "Beaver brand American jeans 40 yds x 30 inches 13 lb Best Quality" "Used for spring, summer, autumn, and winter clothing -- mostly for the people in the country. Not so much used in the city as formerly." "Dyed locally"
label: Description
content: "Price per yard Tls. 0.146 - Mex 0.21; Price per piece Tls 5.20 Mex 7.43"
label: Description
content: The piece is quite dirty and stained and a rectangle has been cut from one corner. It is, however, an important document of the trade in textiles between the US and foreign markets in the late 19th century, as well as evidence of branding and trademark use, and marketing ideas. The piece was acquired in China by a US Consular officer as part of commercial reporting duties to the Dept of Commerce and US Board of Trade.
label: Description
content: Consular Collection. Part of a large collection of American and foreign made textile samples acquired between about 1898 and 1918 by US Consuls overseas to report on the state of markets and on business opportunites. Transferred from the Dept. of Commerce in the 1920s.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Maine, Biddeford
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: American Textile Industry
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content: Consular Collection Textile Samples
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transfer from the Dept. of Commerce
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.67426.004
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Fabric Sample
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: twill weave; unbleached (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 47 3/16 in x 29 1/2 in; 119.888 cm x 74.93 cm