New Sewing Thread Spool Cabinets With J & P Coats Name

A series of small chests resembling antique spool cabinets have been sold in several holiday mail order catalogs. The new pieces are based on cabinets originally used by J & P Coats, a leading thread manufacturer of the 19th and early 20th century.

Unlike original cabinets which have drawers, all the new pieces have lids that lift (with no drawers). The fronts of the new pieces are shaped and finished to give the illusion of drawers including labels and hardware. New boxes come in two, three (Fig. 1) and four "drawer" versions. All the new pieces are made of painted pine. Original spool cabinets, especially Coats, are almost always made of hardwoods like walnut or oak.

The other tip-off to their latest manufacture is their small size. A typical original six-drawer J & P Coats spool cabinet is 33″ wide, 23″ deep and 14″ high. The new lift-top chest in Fig. 1 is only 13″ wide, 7″ deep and 6″ high.

Fig. 1 New cabinet. Red paint over pine; white porcelain knobs. Drawer labels are painted yellow gold background with black lettering.

Fig. 2 Drawers on new cabinets do not open. Instead, the tops lift up.