For American Independence day, a reminder that in the past there was a strong export market for British goods in the USA. The Stationers’ Hall documents at The National Archives, London, contain thousands of ‘piece goods’ labels – brightly coloured stickers attached to fabric yardage as a form of branding. These were designed and copyrighted in Britain for use with British cotton textiles. Each label is customised for a specific retailer or a specific market (although the textiles themselves were not so varied) and they present a microcosm of the places where British cotton was sold: China, Burma, Egypt, India, West Africa… In 1911-12 many of the labels refer to the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary – including one that pairs George with his American namesake George Washington. This was commissioned by A Lascelles of New York to sell Lasco prints, presumably in the U.S.A.
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For American Independence day, a reminder that in the past there was a strong export market for British goods in the USA. The Stationers’ Hall documents at The National Archives, London, contain thousands of ‘piece goods’ labels – brightly coloured … Continue reading