Among our collection of novelty ribbons is a series of holiday cards created by the National Woven Label Company, a 20th century company that was based in Paterson, NJ. These cards feature mounted jacquard textile “pictures” and were likely used as a combination holiday card/promotional item.
The name “William B. Maynard” is woven into several of the designs. We can confirm that William was V.P. of the company in 1949 and that Herman Benz was the president. Benz passed away in 1955 and we presume William took over as president around that time. This helps us date these cards to the 1950s at the earliest. The car pictured in the New York cityscape above looks a lot like an early 1950s Chevy Bel Air, but we welcome any vintage car experts to chime in about that.
Below is a Holiday Season/4th of July mash-up and another greeting signed by Nathalia B. Maynard, who was William’s mother.
And here’s a snowy landscape. Perhaps this is the Maynards’ home?
As we wrap up another year, we’d like to thank you for following along with the blog as we share stories from the Textile & Costume Collection. Special thanks to our wonderful team of student workers and volunteers who help us care for these objects. And, with a little help from the Maynards, we wish you Happy Holidays, and we’ll see you back here in 2023!
Sources:
New Jersey Industrial Directory, 1949, Compiled, Edited, and Published by the Hudson Dispatch, Union City, NJ.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63315153/william-benz-maynard
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115912085/herman-benz
