NONOTUCK SILK COMPANY
Here are the booklets I have for The Nonotuck Silk Company. I don't have many of the yearly books they put out, but I've gone ahead and set up the page with the few I have in hopes of filling in more as I find them. The title changed when the company changed hands in 1896 from "Florence Home Needle-work" to "Corticelli Home Needlework", but was still published yearly until 1899, when it became a quarterly, then monthly periodical called "Home Needlework Magazine". The periodical stopped publication in 1917.
Here is the link to the magazine catalog: "Home Needlework Magazine"
Excerpt from a digital library collection:
The Nonotuck story begins in the early 1830's when one Samuel Whitmarsh moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, built a cocoonery on his estate, planted mulberry trees, and set up a silk mill. Visitors flocked to see the miracle but, according to one eyewitness,"the mills were kept running in order to increase the sale of mulberry trees." By the end of the decade, the mulberry speculation had crashed, and Whitmarsh went with it. But his silk company was reborn in 1842 as the main enterprise of the Northampton Association for Education and Industry. Its dissolution in 1846 ended sericulture in Northampton--but not the manufacture of products from imported raw silk. Some of its members remained in the area and continued their efforts to create a humane industrial society.
One of them was Samuel L. Hill. The recently invented sewing machine was plagued with problems, not least the uneven quality of the available thread. Hill invented a machine that could spin silk smooth enough to be used in sewing machines and took over the factory and ran it as the Nonotuck Silk Company.
Later, the company changed its name again, and, as the Corticelli Silk Company, grew to be one of the world's largest producers of silk thread, made with raw silk imported from Japan. In New York City, the Corticelli logo—a kitten playing with a spool of thread—loomed over Broadway from a huge electrical sign at 42nd Street between 1910 and 1913. The company went out of business in 1930.
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Bibliography Entries
How to Use Florence Knitting Silk, No. 1,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1879?)
Notes: ?? pages; Language: English; Publisher: Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, Mass.; ISBN: None;
all knitting patterns...
How to Use Florence Knitting Silk, No. 2,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1880?)
Notes: ?? pages; Language: English; Publisher: Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, Mass.; ISBN: None;
all knitting patterns...
How to Use Florence Knitting Silk, No. 3,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1881?)
Notes: ?? pages; Language: English; Publisher: Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, Mass.; ISBN: None;
all knitting patterns...
How to Use Florence Knitting Silk, No. 4,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1882)
Notes: 57 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, Mass.; ISBN: None;
all knitting patterns. Has an article in the back "How Corticelli Silk is Made"..
How to Use Florence Knitting Silk, No. 5,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1883)
Notes: 64 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, Mass.; ISBN: None;
all knitting patterns...
How to Use Florence Knitting Silk,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1885)
Notes: 64 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, Mass.; ISBN: None;
all knitting patterns. I've seen a copy of this one on ebay and all they showed was the cover - it might be numbered on the inside title page, but not on the cover. Cover has a woman wear silk knitted gloves...
Florence Home Needle-work 1886,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1886)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Subjects- Ladies' fancy knitted silk mittens, ladies' silk stockings, men's silk half hose, baby's socks, lace edgings
and insertions, lamp shades, crocheted silk purses...
Florence Home Needle-work 1887,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1887)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Subjects- crochet silk bead work, crocheted and knitted silk purses, ladies' silk mittens and stockings, baby's socks, men's
silk half hose, lace edgings and insertions...
Florence Home Needle-work 1888,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1888)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Florence Home Needle-work 1889,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1889)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
One source says this is the only one of their early yearly books that has tatting in it. I haven't been able to
confirm this yet.
Florence Home Needle-work 1890,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1890)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Subjects- crochet and embroidery. Rules for four-in-hand scarfs...
Florence Home Needle-work 1891,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1891)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Florence Home Needle-work 1892,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1892)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Subjects- crochet and Embroidery. Rules for Roman picture throw, easel scarf, Irish lace, plain sewing, crocheted wheels,
cornucopias, belts and garters...
Florence Home Needle-work 1893,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1893)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Subjects- Corticelli darning or mosaic embroidery, drawn-work, crocheted lamp shades, pillow lace and embroidery...
Florence Home Needle-work 1894,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1894)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Subjects- Corticelli darning, knitting and crochet. Designs for men's four-in-hand scarfs and ladies' linen belt with
mosaic embroidery. Rules for baby's crocheted silk sack...
Florence Home Needle-work 1895,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1895)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Florence Home Needle-work 1896,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1896)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Subjects- Tea cloths, centerpieces, and doilies in popular designs. Rules for knitting baby's shirt and cap and crocheting
baby's bonnet...
Corticelli Home Needlework 1897,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1897)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Home Needlework 1898,
by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1898)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Co., Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Home Needlework 1899, by Nonotuck Silk Company (TPB:1899)
Notes: 96 pages; Language: English; Publisher: Nonotuck Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
This one is primarily embroidery with a bit of crochet. It's announced that they are going to a quarterly format,
starting in November of that year as "Home Needlework Magazine"...
Corticelli Lessons in Crochet, Book No. 1, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1916)
Notes: 48 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
There's a little bit of knitting also included in this booklet...
Corticelli Lessons in Crochet, Book No. 2, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1917)
Notes: 64 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
This was advertised in the first crochet book, with the date of publication given as Sept. 1, 1916, but my copy says 1917...
Corticelli Lessons in Tatting, Book No. 3, by Nellie Ellison, Melvia M. Stoddard (TPB:1920)
Notes: 54 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Crocheted Bags and Purses, Book No. 4, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1917)
Notes: 36 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Lessons in Crochet, Book No. 5, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1917)
Notes: 49 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
There are knitting and tatting patterns in this one as well...
Corticelli Yarn Book, Book No. 6, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1917)
Notes: 65 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
contains knitting and crochet...
Corticelli Lessons in Crochet, Book No. 7, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1920)
Notes: 49 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Lessons in Knitting and Crochet, Book No. 8, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1918)
Notes: 61 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Lessons in Crochet, Book No. 9, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1919)
Notes: 49 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Yarn Book, Book No. 10, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1919)
Notes: 66 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Filet Crochet Sweaters, Book No. 11, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1919)
Notes: 30 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Also included some knitting and standard crochet...
Corticelli Lessons in Knitting and Crochet, Book No. 12, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1919)
Notes: 49 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Lessons in Crochet, Book No. 13, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:19??)
Notes: ?? pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Corticelli Yarn Book, Book No. 14, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1920)
Notes: 33 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Includes knitting and crochet...
Corticelli Yarn Book, Book No. 17, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1921)
Notes: 48 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Includes knitting and crochet...
Corticelli Knitting & Crochet Book, Book No. 19, by The Corticelli Silk Mills (TPB:1922)
Notes: 46 pages; Language: English; Publisher: The Corticelli Silk Company, Florence, Mass.; ISBN: None;
Includes knitting and crochet...
