Object of the Day: Coats Card with Shepherds

I’m really not sure why there are so many J. & P. Coats trade cards in this lot, but, they are bountiful.  Here’s another one.  I’ve been saving this one since it seems Easter-ish to me what with the bucolic scene of a flute-playing shepherdess and her beau (or maybe, her brother—one can never tell).  They lean against an unusually short tree while two lambs rest in the background.

As usual, there’s an enormous spool of white thread in the foreground.  These giant spools of thread were the U.S. Victorian equivalent of Jack the Ripper—leaping out from the shadows to attack unsuspecting youngsters.  Okay, I’m kidding.  It’s just a reminder about what the card is advertising.  After all, the scene, as usual, has nothing to do with thread.  I guess they figured that an odd, over-sized spool would serve as natural product placement in any scene.

The reverse is the standard J. & P. Coats Thread boiler plate.  The giant spool’s headshot is surrounded by the usual text:

J. & P. Coats’

Best Six Cord Thread

White, Black and Colors

For Hand and Machine.