Tootal - The Company History and its products (ties, scarves etc)

[DNO]

Great information, Two Types! Thanks for posting it. Interesting that Tootal established a branch in Canada. I've come across three Tootal scarves (well..two scarves and one labelled as a 'muffler') all of which were made in England so I'm assuming that it was a distributor of some sort, rather than a manufacturing branch.

 

[Ben Stephens]

This is a very interesting thread. I have an awful lot of Tootal ties and cravats. This is an interesting price list from July 1940. It is part of the price fixed wartime goods

 

[Two Types]

Ben - what are your thoughts on the 'Special Quality' Tootal ties? Whenever I look at them, I always feel they are the most modern of the Tootals (due to the silky feel, shiny look and the lining) yet
from things on here, we see that 'Special Quality' appear to be pre-1953. Do you have any evidence of them from later in the 1950s?

 

[Ben Stephens]

Well, certainly they do feel newer, however, when you look at the quality etc of the American ties and the lining, and the fact the evidence from the adverts seems to be the change in 1953, It may just be our perception of what we expect from a British tie. Looking at the price difference, the Special quality were much better ties.

Here is an interesting 1952 advert on ebay. It has the new (Colour) quality in brackets

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tootal-ties-1952-magazine-advert-/110803639836

Here is a 1949 advert, this one mentions Tebilized, now, being a registered trade mark, it would be possible to look up when it was registered.

 

[Ben Stephens]

I am not sure if this will work. It is the Kenya Gazzette, under application number 5063, 5064 and 5065 Tootal have applied for the Trade name Tebilized on the 6th of September 1951.

I would imagine this was posted around the colonies in case of any objection?

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...age&q=tebilized trade mark registered&f=false

 

[Ben Stephens]

Just to prove myself wrong. This paper is from the 30th of April 1945. That mentions Tebilized

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/1097444

 

[herringbonekid]

excellent detective work Ben... so Tebilized indicates a date of post 1951. but were ALL the ties tebilized after that date or just some of them ?


EDIT: spoke to soon !

 

[Ben Stephens]

http://newspaperarchive.com/appleton-post-crescent/1939-09-15/page-24

This is from 1939. I can only just read it, but it talks of an English fabric. They call it the Teb Tie.

 

[herringbonekid]

p.s. i have a tie in the mail which is apparently called a Tootal 'Croydon'. whether this refers to the model or the place of manufacture (they normally say 'made in England') remains to be seen. i'll post pics of the label when it gets here.

 

[Ben Stephens]

Sorry HBK, I am doing live research here, I have not formulated an real opinion yet on date. This is a very interesting book I have found online. It seems to suggest that Tebilized was a trademark regd by Tootal Broadhurst Lee to any company that was able to meet the required standard for crease resistance etc.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...BMAk#v=onepage&q=tebilized trade mark&f=false

 

[DNO]

I’ve been doing some research in one of the local papers (Toronto Star).

The first ad I can find for Tootal was for fabric in April 1939.

The first ad for Tootal ‘Croydon’ ties was in February 1940. This ad appeared in September 1943:

The first reference I can find mentioning "Trebilized" was an ad for Tootal fabrics in March 1948. Here's an ad for Trebilized ties from 1950:

And, finally, the absolute last reference for "Trebilized" was an ad for Tootal fabrics in 1957. Nary a mention after that date.

 

[herringbonekid]

thanks DNO.
the 'Croydon' tie i mentioned on the previous page is coming from the U.S. so i'm guessing that they rebranded their ties with English names for the U.S. and Canadian market.

 

[DNO]

Here's the February 1940 ad:

and the last reference for Tootal "Croydon" ties that I can locate occurred in this ad from January 1947:

No mention of Croydon ties after that date.

 

[Ben Stephens]

That is very interesting DNO. So, we are now looking to see if we can find Tebeilized mentioned before 1939, also, when did they start marketing the name in the UK?

Kindest Regards

Ben

 

[DNO]

That is very interesting DNO. So, we are now looking to see if we can find Tebeilized mentioned before 1939, also, when did they start marketing the name in the UK?

Kindest Regards

Ben

I can't seem to access that 1939 paper you posted. Did it actually mention 'tebilized'? If not, then the earliest date is your 1945 reference. The earliest date I can find from Canadian sources is 1948, and the latest is 1957. My Tootal muffler has a 'tebilized' label.

 

[Ben Stephens]

Yes, it actually mentions Tebilized when you zoom in. the narrative implies it is a new fabric, however, we have to be aware it is a marketing piece.

Ben

 

[Two Types]

This is splendid work - well done everyone!

Here are the four examples of cravat labels. I have no idea about the dates of Tootal cravats and changes in style etc since up until the introduction of fabrics other than rayon, there seems to be very little change. I have a hunch that the top label is the earliest:

The reason that I think the top label is the earliest is that this label is seen on the style of cravats with the unpleated neckband:

It really is just a hunch, but the fabric on these just feels earlier. Interestingly, none of my cravats are marked 'Tebilized'.

For reference, here is an example of the pleated neckband. These appear to come in different widths, with some stitched into a band no more than an inch deep, and others with a pleated band about two inches deep (of course it may not depend on date, it may just have been an occasional aberation that resulted in differing widths).

I look forward to more feedback.

N.B. my conclusions are not offered as definitive. These are hunches and, if am wrong, so be it. Hopefully this will give us a good opportunity to learn more about this fantastic British brand.

 

[Two Types]

Here is the most fantastic horse racing/paisley design that i mentioned earlier in the thread:

Unfortunately it's not mine. It was recently for sale on Ebay - but I wasn't prepared to part with £49 to pay the price they were looking for. I made an offer but it was refused - they'll list it again. Hopefully a bit more reasonably.

 

[Two Types]

Here are some close up photos to show the designs/patterns of my Tootal cravats:

The first one is probably the one I see the most:

 

[Two Types]

And the next batch of cravat designs:

This one is my favourite ever cravat: