Antique Crochet

Corticelli’s Silk Thread Ads With Playful Kittens

Corticelli was famous for their adorable ads featuring playful kittens. I’ve seen a variety of different kitten ads, all showcasing Corticelli silks in some way; the kitten is often tangled up in their silk thread. The thread is touted as being “Too strong for him to break”.Here’s a Corticelli ad from the March 1902 issue of the Delineator Magazine:

The following ad appeared in the Feb. 1916 issue of Home Needlework Magazine:

Click Here To Search Ebay For Corticelli Kitten Ads and Advertising.

Corticelli Electric Sign at Broadway & 42nd, New York City

There was also a time when Corticelli’s kitten was highlighted as the center of attention in an electric sign. The sign was at Broadway & 42nd Street, New York City, directly opposite the Times Building. The sign was featured on various advertising postcards. Apparently it was quite an attention-getter! Here’s a quote from one of the postcards featuring the Corticelli electric sign:

There are nearly 3,300 electric lamps in this sign, which is 100 feet long by 35 feet high. The sewing machine starts running and the small kitten plays with the spool of silk, and finally jumps up on to the table of the sewing machine, where it plays with the silk. The big kitten plays with the spool and soon becomes entangled in the red silk, the spool revolving and the kitten’s paws and tail moving in a most life-like way. The big Corticelli sign is in the very center of the “Great White Way,” and when you go to New York be sure to see it.

Click Here To Search Ebay for Memorobilia Featuring the Corticelli Kitten Electric Sign Display on Broadway.

See also:

• Corticelli Crochet Books
• Antique Yarns page (this page features some Corticelli yarn ads.)

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