Montgomery Ward Labels: History and How to Date Them
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Montgomery Ward was a Chicago mail-order company from 1872 that became a department store chain and closed in 2001. Its label dates a garment only to that long span, but its catalogs are useful dating evidence for when everyday clothing details appeared.
Company history
Wikipedia records that the original Montgomery Ward & Co. operated as a mail-order business and later department store chain between 1872 and 2001. By 1883 its catalog had 240 pages and 10,000 items. It opened its first retail outlet store in Plymouth, Indiana, in 1926 and had 531 stores by 1929. A separate online and catalog retailer using the name started three years after the original closed.
Label timeline
| Label or clue | Approximate dates | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery Ward & Co. (mail order) | 1872 to 2001 | The original company |
| Montgomery Ward stores | From 1926 | In-store sales |
| Later Montgomery Ward online retailer | From about 2004 | Not the original company |
What it helps date
- Our buttons and fasteners guide notes hook-and-eye tape appears in the 1922 Montgomery Ward catalog, an example of catalogs as dating evidence.
- A store label only dates a garment to the years the store traded: date by labels.
Sources
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Guides that mention Montgomery Ward
- Dating Vintage Clothing by Buttons, Snaps and FastenersHow button materials (celluloid, casein, Bakelite, acrylic), snaps and Velcro help date vintage clothing, and why buttons are the least reliable clue.
Related
- Dating Vintage Clothing by Buttons, Snaps and FastenersHow button materials (celluloid, casein, Bakelite, acrylic), snaps and Velcro help date vintage clothing, and why buttons are the least reliable clue.
- How to Date Vintage Clothing by the LabelUse the laws, postcodes, fiber names and country names printed on a garment label to work out the earliest year it could have been made.
- ACWA Union Labels: History and How to Date ThemDate men's suits, coats and shirts by the ACWA union label: the first label of 1916, the 1949 design with and without the registered mark, and ACTWU.
- Adrian Labels: History and How to Date ThemAdrian Original and Adrian Custom labels explained: Gilbert Adrian's move from MGM costume design to his own Beverly Hills house, and suit values.