Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Brotherhood of American Yeomen (about 1927)

This pretty little needlebook with a sentimental drawing of a mother and child on the cover would have been an attractive addition to the sewing basket of a home seamstress.  The mother’s clothing is typical of the late 1920s which is consistent with the 1927 financial data presented inside the needlebook. 
Front

The Brotherhood of American Yeomen was founded in 1897 in Iowa as a fraternal organization and was headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa with local “Homesteads” established across the United States.  The Brotherhood admitted both men and women and provided death and disability insurance to member as well as social opportunities and a fraternal structure with rituals based on Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe.   The Brotherhood was reorganized in 1917 to resolve issues of insolvency in their insurance products and reorganized as the Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1932.

The advertising inside emphasizes the solvency of the company and the protection provided by the financial position of the organization.  In the context of financial challenges in the late 1910’s this was likely designed to reassure policy holders that they were purchasing insurance from a financially strong entity. 

In a  world where illness, disability and death were much more common than today, in 1926, the Brotherhood of American Yeomen established the City of Childhood  orphanage for the care of members’ children ensuring that members children would be well cared for and educated because of their parents’ foresight in purchasing insurance.

Inside


The orphanage was envisioned “not as an institution but as a home where orphans shall live and learn, play and grow, and later become men and women leaders of a nation.”  The City of Childhood grounds and farm covered 680 acres and provided a “cottage-plan and home-like environment, education, moral and manual training for dependent orphans of Yeomen.” In 1930, about 50 children lived in the orphanage.  The orphanage closed in the early 1940s following some financial irregularities.

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Saturday, August 26, 2017

Welcome to History through the Needle's Eye!

From the late 1800's through the 1970's or 1980's, local and national businesses used needlebook premiums to advertise to American women.  These small paper premiums were inexpensive to purchase and could be customized with a firm's advertising message.

In a period when many women sewed to create or repair clothing and household furnishings, a needle was an essential household tool; and, getting a firm's message in front of a key household purchase decision maker (the home seamstress) could drive sales.

Advertising needlebooks range from utilitarian messaging describing products or services to more decorative items that also highlighted a firm's wares.

Needlebooks provide glimpses into the past and insights into twentieth century American business.