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Between the Springmaid Sheets
Provocative 1940s and 50s

Advertising by Colonel Elliott White Springs
Winthrop University Galleries
September 10 – October 26, 2012

Published in conjunction with the exhibition Between the Springmaid Sheets, at
Winthrop University Galleries in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

This exhibition and publication was sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union.
Additional funds for this exhibition have been provided by Springs Creative, the
Springs Close Family Archives, The Springs Company, Gary and Peggy Williams in
honor of the Close family and the Patrons of Winthrop University Galleries.
The galleries are funded through the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the
generous support of the Patrons of Winthrop University Galleries, The Elizabeth
Dunlap Patrick Gallery Endowment Fund, and the Edmund D. Lewandowski
Student Gallery Endowment Fund.
Exhibition Curator:
Karen Derksen, Director, Winthrop University Galleries
September 10 – October 26, 2012 Exhibition and catalogue research:

Winthrop University Galleries Ann Evans, Archivist, Springs Close Family Archives
College of Visual and Performing Arts Francine Kola-Bankole, Independent Researcher
126 McLaurin Hall Danielle Donnelly, Undergraduate Gallery Assistant
Rock Hill, SC 29733
803/323-2493 Editor: Linda Starrett
www.winthrop.edu/vpa/galleries Designer: Gerry Derksen
Photographer: Dustin Shores
April 26 - September 8, 2013 Exhibition catalog ©2012 Winthrop University Galleries, Rock Hill, SC. The Springs Close
South Carolina State Museum Family Archives holds copyright to all artwork and images. All rights reserved. No part of
301 Gervais Street this publication may be used without the express written permission of Winthrop University
Columbia, SC 29202 Galleries.
803/898-4921
www.southcarolinastatemuseum.org ISBN: 978-0-9859875-0-3
Contents
Page
06 Foreword
08 Preface
10 Introduction
13 From An Inherently Uninteresting Product to Famous Brand Springmaid
20 Selected Work
68 Exhibition Checklist
72 Additional Catalogue Images
75 Acknowledgments
Foreword
We’re proud and excited to bring the Between the Springmaid Sheets exhibition
to Winthrop University Galleries. For more than a century, advertising has been a
significant part of the fabric of our lives in the United States. And over the past three
decades, has been increasingly recognized for the creativity it has inspired as well as the
messages it communicates. The relationship between art and advertising has always
been controversial (there are some critics that insist ALL art is advertising) and with
the popularity of current TV shows such as “Mad Men” and “The Pitch”, the world of
advertising and its history are now undoubtedly front and center in American main-
stream popular culture.
We are fortunate that some of the most creative, artistic, humorous, and successful
ad campaigns during the 1940s and 1950s were inspired by the innovative work of local
textile entrepreneur, Colonel Elliot White Springs. His provocative and outside-the-
box campaigns are now considered an integral component of advertising history.
We especially want to thank Founders Federal Credit Union, Springs Creative, The
Springs Close Family Archives, The Springs Company, Peggy and Gary Williams, The
Fort Mill Historical Museum, and the South Caroliniana Library for their enormous
help and support in making this exhibition possible. We hope you enjoy it.
David Wohl, Dean

College of Visual and Performing Arts
Winthrop University
6
Elliott Springs, no date
James Montgomery Flagg
Charcoal and Pencil, 14 x 12 inches
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
7
Preface
Between the Springmaid Sheets explores the creative achievements of textile entrepre-
neur Colonel Elliot White Springs. Businessman, author and a product of the roar-
ing jazz age, Springs combined his talents to produce provocative and controversial
advertising campaigns that would shock Madison Avenue and skyrocket his family’s
textile business, Springs Cotton Mills, to profitable success. His legacy offers Winthrop
University Galleries the opportunity to present original artworks by internationally
known illustrators within the context of the cultural and social standards of the 1940s
and 1950s.
Colonel Springs’ ad campaigns have been referenced by numerous scholars and
academics of advertising history, including Juliann Sivulka (Soap, Sex and Cigarettes: A
Cultural History of American Advertising), Tom Reichert (The Erotic History of Advertis-
ing), and Burke Davis (War Bird: The Life and Times of Elliott White Springs). In Adver-
tising in America: The First 200 Years, authors Charles Goodrum and Helen Dalrymple
reference the Colonel’s sexually provocative approach:
According to John Tryten, editor of Sales Management, advertisers use sex in

advertising for one of two reasons. There are “those who think sex sells like
mad” and “those who think advertising doesn’t sell anyhow, so why not have a
little fun for the money as it goes down the drain.” Elliott White Springs put
these together and gave us the approach to sex in advertising with which we
have lived for the past fifty years. 1
When Springs’ controversial ad campaigns first launched in 1948, they received

national attention from public readership and the advertising industry. Springs undeni-
ably grabbed attention with the use of sexually suggestive, illustrated imagery and pun;
some found humor, while others were outraged. A growing conservative post World
War II society and a “prim-and-proper” advertising industry lambasted the ads for bad
taste. So why did Springs choose sex and other societal taboos to sell textiles? Through
illustrative artworks, Between the Springmaid Sheets explores the motivations and soci-
etal circumstances that led to the provocative campaigns that built the successful brand
still known today as Springmaid.
The principle focus of the exhibition and catalogue are the original maquettes
(illustrations) and associated advertisements. Regrettably, a number of ads could not be
included. Historic information about the advertising was found in the Springs Cot-
ton Mills corporate papers at the University of South Carolina Caroliniana Library in
Columbia, S.C., and at the Springs Close Family Archives in Fort Mill, S.C. Texts
about advertising history and autobiographical material were also used to supplement
information. More research is still necessary to ensure a holistic portrait of the Spring-
maid campaigns.
From post World War II to the 1960s there was a momentous shift in American
1 Dalrymple, Helen, and Goodrum, Charles.
culture and domestic life. In today’s popular culture we have seen a revived fascination
Advertising in America -The First 200 Years. New
York: Abrams, 1990, 74. for the 1960s, with such television shows as “Mad Men” and “Pan Am.” Part nostalgia
8
and part critique, these shows present storylines about changing gender roles and other
social and cultural standards during the period. By looking back, we are able to exam-
ine current ideas about these roles and standards. How different is our society 60 years
after the Springmaid campaigns were launched? The exhibition is an opportunity for us
to explore not only the historical milieu of the campaigns, but also the role of sex and
gender in advertising and the visual culture of the period.
Between the Springmaid Sheets is the jumping off point for a series of four exhibi-
tions throughout 2012-2013 at Winthrop University Galleries centering on the impact
“thread” and the textile industry have had on society, social structure, economics
and belief. The history of Springs Industries and Mara Kurtz’s exhibition Remnants:
A Collection of Rock Hill’s Visual Alterations, showing concurrently, establishes the
ongoing relevance of the textile industry in the region. The industry’s importance and
historic significance drawn from these two exhibitions solicits us to look forward and
contemplate how contemporary artists and designers are inspired by the materials and
vocabulary of the industry. Exhibitions in the continuing series by contemporary artists
Nava Lubelski, Libby O’Bryan, Sonya Clark and Christine Kirouac generate com-
mentary and provide a new context beyond the deep-rooted dialogue of textile and/
or fiber creative practice as “women’s work” or “craft,” questioning what one considers
as “thread” or “fabric,” processes of “weaving” or “sewing,” “hand” or “machine” labor
and the meaning behind the objects created in today’s society.
Winthrop University Galleries is excited that this series of exhibitions and education-
al programs form a relationship with Winthrop’s 2012-2013 Common Book Project
“Where am I Wearing” by Kelsey Timmerman. The project chronicles the author’s
journey around the world to discover where his clothes were made, to learn about the
lives of those who work in the factories, and to understand the forces of globalization.
The connections created between art, design, artifact, industry and current social is-
sues across the region and the globe will create a stimulating narrative to engage our
students and community audiences over the year.
Karen Derksen
Director/Curator
9
Introduction
Colonel Elliott White Springs was the third president of Springs Cotton Mills (today
known as Springs Industries), which began as the Fort Mill Manufacturing Company
chartered in 1887. Its initial investors included Samuel Elliott White (1837-1911) and
three Springs bothers: Eli, Leroy (Elliott’s father) and Brevard. Fort Mill, S.C. has been
the home of the Springs family for several hundred years. As early as 1820 the Springs
family, under its first patriarch John Springs (1782-1853), a wealthy cotton plantation
owner, owned large tracts of land, making the Springs family one of the most influen-
tial families of Fort Mill.
Prior to the 1880s, the local economy was supported by the farmed cotton crop,
handpicked, and then ginned to export north to be milled into finished goods. A few
mills spinning cotton yarn were in existence in South Carolina prior to the Civil War,
but the establishment of textile mills in the south took hold well after the war’s end.1
Daniel Augustus Tompkins, publisher of the Charlotte Observer, argued that if the
South stopped exporting cotton but converted it into coarse textiles, the economic val-
ue of cotton would increase at least four times.2 The establishment of new railroads, the
existence of a power source in Fort Mill (spring on the side of a hill) and an abundance
of people in need of work during the late 1880s created an ideal climate for building
a “New South” based on cotton mills. The Fort Mill Manufacturing Company soon
grew in reputation for “making the best goods … of any mill in the South.” 3
Leroy Springs (1861-1931) was an entrepreneur from Lancaster, S.C. Rising from his
career as a traveling salesman, he bought a store that sold supplies to country farmers,
bought stock to leverage majority ownership of the mill, and diversified his holdings
to become a major cotton buyer, bettor of cotton futures and banker. Leroy became
Samuel Elliott White’s son-in-law when he married Grace White in 1892. At that time
he was the largest cotton shipper in the Southeast. Leroy became president of the Fort
Mill Manufacturing Company in 1911 after the death of his father-in-law.4
Colonel Elliott White Springs
at Princeton University (1913-1917) Leroy and Grace had one child, Elliott White Springs (1896-1959), born on July 31,
1896 in Lancaster, S.C. Young Elliott Springs graduated from Princeton in 1917 and
became a fighter pilot and U.S Air Ace during World War I. On return from the war,
he aspired to be a writer and enjoy the lifestyle of an adventurous young man during
the Roaring '20s against the wishes of his father to enter the family business. During
the 1920s, Springs married Frances Hubbard Ley and reluctantly held positions in his
father’s company, but he found the work dull and unsatisfying.5 He did achieve success
as a writer during this period, publishing autobiographical short stories and novels in
1 Pettus, Louise. The Springs Story, Our First his spare time, such as “The Fastest Lap in Lapland,” “Skin Deep,” and “Women Are
Hundred Years. Fort Mill: Springs Industries, Just Toys,” published in Red Book magazine March 1929. He also completed his most
1987, 9.
2 Ibid., 15, 19. critically acclaimed book War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator, which debuted as
3 Ibid., 21. a series in Liberty magazine in 1925.6 Throughout his literary career, Springs worked
4 Ibid., 46. directly with America’s leading illustrators such as Clayton Knight and James Mont-
5 Davis, Burke. War Bird the Life and Times of
gomery Flagg to bring his stories to life.7
Elliot White Springs. Chapel Hill: The Univer-
sity of North Carolina Press, 1987, 91. When Elliott Springs inherited six cotton mills and 11 subsidiary companies in 1931
6 Ibid., 102.
7 Ibid., 118.
the combined worth of these holdings was valued over $7.25 million, but he inherited
a fortune that was deeply in debt. He consolidated these holdings into one corpora-
10
tion called The Springs Cotton Mills, reorganized to own majority shares, and by 1933
modernized the mills and centralized management under one roof.8
To ensure future success of Springs Cotton Mills, Springs realized early on the
importance for the mills to become a major producer of finished goods, but the stars
did not align for his plan to take form until the post World War II economy. To revive
the company following the war, Springs Cotton Mills began to manufacture finished
cotton goods, largely sheets, sold from their New York office.
It would be a controversial decision and one that would restructure the entire
organization. Within the first five years after the war, Springs would modernize and
expand, build the Grace Bleachery, establish a selling house in New York City, create a
national advertising campaign … and build new recreational facilities for employees.9
Prior to the opening of his finishing plants, most southern mills sent their grey goods
north to be finished.10 Grey goods consisted of unbleached, uncolored and unfinished
cloth. Grey goods were sold to converters – middle men who had the unfinished fabrics
bleached then dyed or printed at northern plants. The finished textiles were then sold to
wholesalers for the manufacturer of sewn goods.
Springs understood the success of this new company structure rested on a nation-
wide market for the Springs Cotton Mills textiles, and advertising was the means to
create that demand.11 Prior to Springs becoming a finisher of grey goods, Springs
Cotton Mills had had little need to advertise to the public, and most of the company’s
advertising had been in trade publications. For the first time, after previous aban-
doned attempts, Springs was able to create a coordinated national marketing program
in the “Springmaid” advertising campaign.12 Twenty years earlier in 1928, Springs Miss Mazie Smith, circa 1928
Clayton Knight
had attempted to persuade his father to modernize “the company’s dull, unimagina- Pen and ink, 14 x 11 inches
tive advertising.”13 He added the first double entendre “You can’t go wrong on a Fort Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Mill sheet” to the company’s 1890s logo and created an illustration with his old friend
Clayton Knight with the female character of Maizie Smith. As biographer Davis Burke
describes, “This projected ad provided a treasure hunt for readers alert to salacious
innuendo.”14 The ad was not accepted by his father, Leroy Springs, at that time but 8 Davis, Burke. War Bird the Life and Times of
presented inspiration for the Springs’ campaigns by 1946. Elliot White Springs. Chapel Hill: The Univer-
sity of North Carolina Press, 1987, 133.
In 1946, Springs had grown dissatisfied with the conventional approach of his 9 Pettus, Louise. The Springs Story, Our First
New York advertising agency. “Your advertising needs pepping up,” Springs stated in Hundred Years. Fort Mill: Springs Industries,
1987, 124.
a letter criticizing his agency’s campaign, “Now, you are not the only outfit which is 10 Ibid., 111; Davis, Burke. War Bird the Life
lacking in originality. Many advertisements are an insult to a second grade IQ and and Times of Elliot White Springs. Chapel Hill:
are just as dull as yours.”15 In the Elliott White Springs biography, War Bird, author The University of North Carolina Press, 1987,
133-139.
Burke Davis describes how Springs “acknowledged that cotton fabrics were ‘inherently 11 Pettus, Louise. The Springs Story, Our First
uninteresting’ to consumers and that the textile industry needed stimulating – even Hundred Years. Fort Mill: Springs Industries,
shocking – advertising techniques.”16 As Professor James D. Taylor states in the article 1987, 111.
12 Ibid., 89, 93.
“Elliott White Springs – Maverick Ad Leader,” “Springs faced the need to gain positive 13 Davis, Burke. War Bird the Life and Times
national identification for a brand of an inherently uninteresting product, i.e., cotton of Elliot White Springs. Chapel Hill: The Uni-
fabrics, and later sheets.”17 versity of North Carolina Press, 1987, 124.
14 Ibid.
Also inspired by a set of New Yorker cartoons that caricatured ads for perfume and 15 Ibid., 186.
fanny girdles, Springs wrote to his New York office what have become his famous 16 Ibid.
17 Taylor, James D. “Elliott White Springs –
words, “Why can’t we combine the ridiculous with the sublime and get something
Maverick Ad Leader.”
worthwhile out it? We’ll take a typical sexy ad and revive it into a cartoon. Or take a Journal of Advertising 11.2 (1982): 40-46.
cartoon and revise it into a sexy ad. This should please everyone.”18 After numerous at- 18 Dalrymple, Helen, and Goodrum, Charles.
tempts by his New York agents to produce Springs’ concepts with little success, he dis- Advertising in America - The First 200 Years.
New York: Abrams, 1990, 74.
missed his agency and forged ahead without it. He would eventually hire Erwin, Wasey
11
& Company as an agent, but his battles with magazines would continue. In May 1948,
Colonel Springs launched his campaign by placing ads in nine publications including
the Saturday Evening Post, Charm, Esquire, Cue and Fortune magazine.19 He designed
innovative ads combining seductive imagery with clever text and double entendre that
would establish the successful brand “Springmaid.” Springs had achieved the stimulat-
19 Davis, Burke. War Bird the Life and Times ing advertising strategy necessary to create a brand for an “inherently uninteresting
of Elliot White Springs. Chapel Hill: The Uni- product.”
versity of North Carolina Press, 1987, 88.
This is the Office That Runs the Mills

Advertisement
Fort Mill, S.C., the Heart of the

Cotton Belt
Illustrated by
Vernon Grant
Church and Wall Streets, the heart of

the Textile District
Illustrated by
Fredrick P. Goodrich
Collection of South Caroliniana Library,

University of South Carolina
Karen Derksen
12
From an inherently uninteresting product
to famous brand “Springmaid”
Unique Aspects of American Culture and society informed the American
approach to modern design. The United States is an egalitarian society with
capitalistic values, limited artistic traditions before WWII and a diverse
ethnic heritage. In this highly competitive society, novelty of technique and
originality of concept were much prized….
- Philip Meggs
In the history of advertising, Colonel Elliott White Springs’ provocative advertis-
ing campaigns are known for challenging the conventions of the time. His strategy to
combine humor with sexually and socially charged imagery had not been seen before
in mainstream advertising. Like designer and author Phillip Meggs, who described the
1940s as “a lackluster decade for advertising,”1 Springs found the ad men of Madison
Avenue too serious and would remedy the situation with the creation of his own adver-
tising campaign to parody industry ads of the 1940s and '50s.
Springs’ convention-defying ad strategy was harmonious with the creative world of
his time. Early in the 20th century (1910-1920) the art world had split into factions
of avant-garde, mainstream and commercial art. After 1945, strong influences from
the avant-garde had moved from Europe to the United States. Avant-garde artists and
designers were challenging norms and traditions in form and practice. Modern art was
seeking new materials, methods, and compositions post World War II with Abstract
Expressionism, and design was responding to the needs of the expanding consumer
society. Globally, the International Style had taken hold in design. Rational, logical and
highly structured, the International Style was appropriate for universal communica-
tion, but the highly competitive, capitalistic market of the United States lent itself to
originality of concept and novelty of technique.2
American culture and society engendered an original approach to modern design
with the development of the New York School.3 In the 1940s Paul Rand, a pioneer of
the New York School, began to fuse word and image in advertising, combining pun
and wordplay supported by whimsical integration of photography, drawing and logo.4
Rand’s approach, “integrating words and phrases in a freer organization with visual
metaphors and puns,” became sought-after qualities in the 1950s and '60s by leading
advertising agencies such as Doyle Dane Bernbach.5 Like Rand, Springs was respond-
ing to the “unique aspects of American culture” that commanded originality and
novelty to reach its audience.
1 Meggs, Philip B.; Purvis, Alston W. Meggs’
Springs’ exposure to sexually charged imagery and puns in trade publications, pin-up
History of Graphic Design. Hoboken: John
calendars and magazines – particularly in the pin-up images that sprang from the pages Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006, 389.
of Esquire – provided inspiration for his unique approach to advertising, 2 Ibid., 374.
3 Ibid.
When Esquire began in 1933, its most popular and alluring feature soon became its 4 Ibid., 338.
“girlie” cartoons “combining cultural sophistication and bawdy humor.”6 A number 5 Ibid., 352.
of illustrators, such as E. Simms Campbell, created what became the “modern ideal of 6 Buszek, Maria Elena. Pin-Up Grrrls: Femi-
the Esquire women,” but the two most famous were George Petty’s “Petty Girl” and nism, Sexuality, Popular Culture. Durham:
Duke University Press, 2006, 202.
Alberto Vargas’s airbrushed “Varga Girl.”7 Illustrated iconic beauty had been well 7 Ibid., 202.
13
established in American minds since the late 1800s when Charles Dana Gibson created
the famous “Gibson Girl” rendered in Life magazine. Admired by men and women,
the Gibson Girl had set the standard of femininity, fashion and morals.8 Mainstream
commercial artists made their living during the 1920s illustrating “pretty girl” cover
images to satisfy the demand shaped by the publishing and editorial industry. Illustra-
tors included J.C. Leyendecker, Howard Christy, and Cole Philips, who is known for
his pin-up images in Holeproof Hosiery advertisements and his inventive use of the
“fade-away” method.9
During World War II, the pin-up became wildly popular through Esquire’s represen-
tation of the “Varga Girl” illustrations consumed by the servicemen on the war front.
As author Maria Elena Buszek states, “[Alberto] Vargas’s pin-ups became ubiquitous
icons for the genre itself – so much so that any illustrated pin-up girl would come to
be widely referred to as a Varga Girl, a common generalization that continues to this
day.”10 Pin-up illustration was an active part of the war effort. Esquire distributed
the publication throughout the ranks and produced calendars to be sent overseas to
the troops. The illustrations were pinned up next to photographs of family, wives or
girlfriends at home, or appropriated as talismans on the front of airplanes. Varga Girl
illustrations became propaganda, reminding servicemen what they were fighting for.
Robust, athletic, presented in “various states of undress, often humorous and placed in
modern sexual situations,” the Varga Girl represented the increasingly self-aware war
I Love These Slow-burning gal with new roles in the workforce.11 These images helped popularize a growing ac-
Springmaid Sheets ceptance of a self-confident, sexually aggressive modern female in the public sphere.12
Photographic advertisement, black and white
with Gypsy Rose Lee
Springs’ military service during both World War I and World War II would have
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, solidified his understanding of the popular impact of pin-up illustration on his genera-
University of South Carolina tion. Pin-up popularity continued after World War II through business trade advertis-
(above) ing. Before the 1950s the illustrative sexual imagery of women was commonly used
on calendars, magnets, and pins advertising businesses to businessmen. Tom Reichert,
in The Erotic History of Advertising explains, “The calendar is a special item because, if
used, it guarantees a year of exposure – of having the business name and phone number
right in the consumer’s face. What better way to ensure the adoption of a calendar than
8 Martignette, Charles G.; Meisel, Louis K.
with proactive images of women – as long as wives and female coworkers don’t see it.
The Great American Pin-Up. Hohen-
zollernring: Taschen, 2002, 35. Many images featured salacious illustrations of women … peek-a-boo shots captured
9 Ibid., 39. women in compromising positions.”13 Many also featured puns and double entendre.
10 Buszek, Maria Elena. Pin-Up Grrrls: Femi-
Similar images and copy were used in trade publications that served the bachelor cul-
nism, Sexuality, Popular Culture. Durham:
Duke University Press, 2006, 186. ture in business, especially during the 1930s and 1940s. Men in trade were the likeliest
11 Ibid., 202. target audience, and provocative images of women captured male attention, promoting
12 Ibid., 185.
unglamorous products such as mechanical parts or varnish.14
13 Reichert, Tom. The Erotic History of
Advertising. Amherst: Prometheus Books, Post World War II American society was a time of unprecedented economic growth.
2003, 105, 107. There was great promise with new technologies, materials, labor-saving devices and
14 Ibid., 102.
15 Sivulka, Juliann. Soap, Sex and Cigarettes: medical breakthroughs. Suburban homes, large families, automobiles and television
A Cultural History of American Advertising. were the symbols of a prosperous future; mass consumption was taken to new heights.15
Boston: Wadsworth, 2012, 202. The idea of the household and its items being a “status symbol” became established.
Advertising in America -The First 200 Years.
For a decade after the war, there was an initial boom; Americans purchased products
New York: Abrams, 1990, 42. that were unavailable during the war and unaffordable during the depression.16 Ad-
17 Sivulka, Juliann. Soap, Sex and Cigarettes:
vertisers and marketers began to promote the concept of “newness” – planned obsoles-
A Cultural History of American Advertising.
cence – to promote more frequent purchases.17 Along with this economic boom came
Boston: Wadsworth, 2012, 206.
18 Dalrymple, Helen, and Goodrum, Charles. a nostalgia for “the way things had been before” the war.18 America reclaimed its ideals
Advertising in America -The First 200 Years. and style from the end of the 1930s. Illustrators such as Norman Rockwell represented
the loving traditions of the family in advertisements for Quaker Oats. For advertisers
14
to compete in an increasingly cluttered marketplace, market segmentation shifted from
the established predominant female consumer to couples and even to just men. “The
efforts to conceptualize the men’s market had begun in the 1930s and 1940s.”19 The
male consumer became the focus of advertisers and publishers promoting cigarettes and
automobiles as well as magazines and toiletries. In the 1940s most advertising themes
were geared towards the male, with females shown as sultry sexpot versions of Holly-
wood stardom personified in the Betty Grables and Rita Hayworths of the day. Esquire,
and later Playboy and other magazines, “linked a seductive middle-class lifestyle with
masculinity” and expanded the acceptance of casual humor and sexual explicitness
in advertising into mainstream media.20 Sexually suggestive imagery did the trick as
proven by trade publications and the celebrity of Esquire.
Springs determined that for Springs Cotton Mills advertising to stand out in this
cluttered marketplace it would require more than just another image of a girl under-
neath a sheet. He wanted an image that provoked and humored; that combined the
ridiculous with the sublime by revising a typical sexy ad into a cartoon.
To popularize the company image in the textile market and serve to further the
reputation of the company, Springs developed Miss Springmaid as a strategy to brand
Springs Ads in Real Life /
Springs Cotton Mill sheets and fabric products. Springs shrewdly developed the com- If We Could Only Make Sheets
pany marketing into a nationally recognizable brand by choosing the fresh-faced milk- Advertisement, includes photographic
maid as the iconic image of womanhood instead of the sexy divorcee – even though, by reenactments of ‘We Love to Catch Them’;
‘Watch the Butter Fly’; and
the 1950s, Gypsy Rose Lee became a running theme of the adult woman who could,
‘A Buck Well Spent’
with tongue-in cheek, proclaim that not only could she “spike a rumor” [or depending Collection of South Caroliniana Library,
on the particular advertisement, roomer], she “loved slow burning sheets.” University of South Carolina
(below)
We see reference to the popularity of the Varga Girl in a series of Springmaid adver-
tisements from 1943. James Montgomery Flagg, known for his famous “I Want You”
Uncle Sam recruitment poster, illustrates three Springmaids seated in various poses
on cotton bales or bolts of fabric, with scenes of textile mills or a steamboat in the
background. Dressed only in a short, loosely draped apron and bonnet, these alluring
female figures and accompanying advertising copy appeared in national magazines
explaining the reasons for the scarcity of Springs’ fabrics on the retail market. Springs
Cotton Mills focused on wartime production and produced cotton twill for uniforms,
gas masks, gun covers and tent duck among other items. The illustrated Miss Spring-
maid of the 1943 advertisement was to become an icon of what the ad’s copy refers to
as tomorrow’s “happier days.”21
The early look of Springs’ ad campaigns established the iconic beauty “Miss Spring-
maid.” She was “country fresh” and would remain constant, regardless of whether
the advertisement appeared in company bulletins, business and trade publications or
national magazines such as Forbes, or Life.22 The logo depicted a milkmaid in the fore-
ground of a landscape replete with a windmill, trees and a waterfall.
A 1946 company publication – the Springs Bulletin – showed six examples of the 19 Sivulka, Juliann. Soap, Sex and Cigarettes:
quintessential pin-up girl, Miss Springmaid, each created by a different illustrator: A Cultural History of American Advertising.
Rockwell Kent, George Petty, Russell Patterson, James Montgomery Flagg, Clayton Boston: Wadsworth, 2012, 220-221.
20 Sivulka, Juliann. Soap, Sex and Cigarettes:
Knight and Author William Brown. The full-page spread exclaimed, “Look … now A Cultural History of American Advertising.
I’m a Petty Girl!” Readers could request their very own “Springmaid Pinup Gallery Boston: Wadsworth, 2012, 220-221.
21 Springs Close Family Archives.
… worth framing and displaying in your home!” A calendar of these images was also
22 Pettus, Louise. The Springs Story, Our First
published in 1947.23 This early pin-up lineup was represented in milkmaid fashion, Hundred Years. Fort Mill: Springs Industries,
exposing little skin with full, long or knee-length skirts, aprons and bonnets, modest in 1987, 144.
23 Springs Close Family Archives.
comparison to later advertisements and the true Petty or Varga Girls.
15
Springmaid, 1943
Advertisement illustrated by
13 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches
(right)
Springs’ self-published book titled Clothes Make the Man or How to Put the Broad
in Broad Cloth compiles his correspondence regarding the advertising campaigns, of-
fering a view into his creative process. To create his advertisements, Springs purchased
artwork from studios or work that previously appeared in print, as in Esquire magazine,
and adapted it to his purposes. In Clothes Make the Man, a number of letters expressed
his dissatisfaction with illustrators portraying his “look” and concepts as he began
to create his new advertising program. He remarked on the examples with “a pretty
model in bed between Springmaid sheets” and stated they “go as far as the wastebas-
ket here.”24 By Jan. 28, 1948 Springs instructed his advertising vice president in New
York, Hill Wolfe, to “Go to the magazine and purchase the original art work and the
copyright” – not caring if they had been used editorially.25 The first three purchased
were “Be Protected” by Fritz Willis, originally titled “Weather Forecast,” which ap-
peared on the cover of Esquire October 1947; “Protect Yourself” by Frederick Smith
was on the cover of Esquire April 1946; and “How to Kill Two Birds” illustrated by E.
Simms Campbell was on the cover of Esquire February 1948.26 The relationship with
24 Springs, Elliott White. Clothes Make the Esquire was short-lived with only three purchased covers, but the magazine was an ap-
Man or How to Put the Broad in Broadcloth.
New York: The Empyrean Press, 1958, 103. propriate choice for the provocative look Springs wished to achieve.
25 Ibid, 115.
26 See Springs Close Family Archives for
Purchasing artwork from well known artists of the day for commercial purposes was
original illustrations. well established and became acceptable practice by the late 1880s. “Baker’s Chocolate
27 Dalrymple, Helen, and Goodrum, Charles. had been using black and white drawings of La Belle Chocolataire by Jean Etienne Lio-
Advertising in America -The First 200 Years. tard as a trademark since the 1870s. Pear’s soap also bought an oil painting by Sir John
Millais for €2300 and converted it to their trademark” in 1886.27 Professional artists
16
during the early 1900s such as Will Bradley, Aubrey Beardsley and Henri de Toulouse-
Lautrec further made fine design acceptable for commercial projects. Artwork commis-
sioned outside an agency for advertising was the norm up until the Depression, when it
moved in-house to save money.
Springs also commissioned illustrators to create the look he envisioned. In Springs’
strategy to purposefully use provocative imagery to grab the readers’ attention, he
thought showing too much skin was bad taste. “He believed the best way of stopping
readers who were scanning two hundred ads in a Saturday Evening Post was to show
them something they didn’t ordinarily see, but show so little of it, it forced the readers
to use their imaginations.”28 The advertising industry now calls this strategy “The
Tease.”29 Once he had stopped the reader with the visual, he captured their attention
with clever verse and a prominent logo for Springmaid Fabrics.
Springs rationalized his advertising approach and deliberately captured the perfect
image with a “light touch.” As Dalrymple and Goodrum describe in Advertising in
America, Springs felt you must “treat your reader as an intelligent peer, … you had to
offer some product benefit to justify stopping him, … the actual sex image should not
only be used with humor – a light touch – but with respect … [and] the ‘object’ must
not be being taken advantage of.”30 Springs found it difficult to achieve at first. In
Clothes Make the Man, a letter addressed to a fictitious ad agency, dated Feb. 15, 1947,
describes his frustration:
What I wanted was a subtle picture of a girl with her skirt agitated by the
wind. You send me down a picture of a girl with her skirts blown over her
head like she was standing over an air jet at Coney Island! It’s about as subtle
as the Can Can. Try again.31
In a subsequent letter dated Feb. 3, 1948 he writes:
The sketch of the girl and the wind is fine, I’m glad to get it and, also, to have
the skaters …. But in the future, make sure that our model has on both a bra
and slip, if anything is showing. Keep the attention on one thing at a time.
In this series we are selling material for pants, so don’t make the model titil-
lating.32
Included in this image of iconic beauty were Elliott White Springs’ real-life Miss
Springmaids. During his 28-year tenure at the helm of the various Springs Mills Indus-
tries, Springs was able to forge a close relationship with his mill operatives. He was seen 28 Dalrymple, Helen, and Goodrum, Charles.
as a strong leader, a man who could roll up his sleeves to fix any machine, and the man Advertising in America -The First 200 Years.
who could keep the mills running during hard times.33 When Springs shrewdly used New York: Abrams, 1990, 32. , 76.
29 Ibid., 80.
local scenery as the backdrop of many of his campaigns and included local women who 30 Ibid.
worked at the mills, he capitalized on community sentiment and loyalty to the com- 31 Springs, Elliott White. Clothes Make the
pany, strengthening his campaigns. Springs Park, which opened in 1940, was owned Man or How to Put the Broad in Broadcloth.
New York: The Empyrean Press, 1958, 94.
and operated by Leroy Springs & Company. It became the location where Springs 32 Ibid., 117
would hold his annual Miss Springmaid contests from 1946 to 1951. “The contests, he 33 Pettus, Louise. The Springs Story, Our First
felt, would provide opportunities to the young women who spent their lives working in Hundred Years. Fort Mill: Springs Industries,
the mills.”34 1987, 107.
34 Davis, Burke. War Bird the Life and Times
In an August 1950 letter to J.R. Swan, the company’s advertising agent, Springs ex- of Elliot White Springs. Chapel Hill: The Uni-
plained that, in addition to the contest, “the real feature of the day was the animation versity of North Carolina Press, 1987, 213.
35 Springs, Elliott White. Clothes Make the
of our advertising.”35 Three floats that re-enacted in real time the advertising cam- Man or How to Put the Broad in Broadcloth.
paigns “Watch the Butter Fly,” the “Buck Well Spent,” and “We Love to Catch Them” New York: The Empyrean Press, 1958, 185.
36 Ibid., 186.
were “the best stunt” pulled at the Park in ten years.”36 Springs goes on to run these
17
ads with the new re-enacted photographs, which included young female mill operatives
Bernice Frazer, Jane Murray and Elaine Gladden in place of the illustrated versions.
Due to Springs’ clever inclusion of the mill operatives, the floats became an integral
part of the community.
The winner and runners-up of the Miss Springmaid contests would be treated to an
all-expense paid trip to New York, a new wardrobe and exposure to New York night-
life. Most of the women, Willie Mae Etters and Allie Mae Starnes for example, worked
their entire lives at the mills. Etters, although married, entered and won in 1948 and
had her portrait painted by James Montgomery Flagg. Ann Sellers, winner in 1949, was
captured by illustrator Russell Paterson and Arthur William Brown. Mavis Funderburk
was the winner in 1950 and illustrated by Wales Turner. Most fondly remember their
trip to New York as a major highlight and one of the best experiences of their life. As
evidence of how important the mill was to the community, many felt it was an honor
to have actually met and spoken to Springs.
Springs played with subjects beyond the pin-up genre, appropriating social taboos
such as race, physical oddity and cultural practices, but subversive undertones of sexual
innuendo remained the focus for the advertising. This is most prominent in the series
of advertisements employing Native American imagery. One ad illustrated by E. Simms
Campbell stated “since she went off the reservation she insists on wearing Springmaid
sheets under her blanket.” The most famous advertisement titled “A Buck Well Spent
on a Springmaid Sheet” illustrates a female Native American Indian elegantly stepping
from a Springmaid sheet hammock leaving behind a “well spent” male buck.
From the moment the ads were launched, Springs became a provocateur locked in
controversy, to his delight. Time reported in July 26, 1948, “Such lusty ballyhoo …
startled readers of the high necked New York Times …. It also drew a shocked cry
of ‘bad taste’ from Advertising Age and protest from the New Yorker, Life and other
magazines that refused to run Springmaid copy until such phrases as ‘ham hamper’,
‘lung-lifter’, and ‘rumba aroma’ were deleted.”37 An advertising trade magazine, Tide,
August 1948, stated “such advertising fails to achieve the fundamental objective of all
product advertising – to sell goods.”38 But despite the critics, what remains fact is the
success of the campaigns Springs masterminded, establishing his legacy in advertis-
ing history. As Tom Reichert describes, “Springs single-handedly changed the look of
advertising with his sex-tinged advertising strategy” and established “mainstreaming
humorous and witty uses of sex in advertising.”39 The ads were more than publicity.
Surveys showed the ads resulted in far greater brand recall than any other campaign
from 1947 to 1951.40
37 “TextileTempest.” Time (July 26, 1948).

38 “Tide Leadership Survey.” Tide (August 27,
1948).
Advertising. Amherst: Prometheus Books,
2003, 138.
Advertising in America - The First 200 Years.
18
Miss Springmaids in New York
200 Church Street office September 9, 1947
Springs remained heavily involved in all campaigns. At times he would hire a pho-
tographer to pose the Springmaids in a studio in Lancaster, S.C. These photographs
were sent to the New York agency for further refinement.41 Springs wrote the advertis-
ing copy, purposefully fanning the furor over the imagery and overtly sexual puns.
From the beginning, Elliott Springs “was convinced that he would have to market
something different from his competitors. The venture would have to be bold and inno-
vative.”42 With his past literary career and creative mind, Springs was able to be “bold
and innovative … and hit the advertising world with fresh ideas that would sell sheets
and pillowcases as they had never been sold before.”43 It worked. He had expanded
the business until it was the third largest textile producer in the country.44 Springs
achieved the brand recognition he had been searching for as Springmaid became a
household name and “sales of Springmaid sheets increased until Springs’s death in
1959.”45
Karen Derksen
41 Davis, Burke. War Bird the Life and Times

of Elliot White Springs. Chapel Hill: The Uni-
versity of North Carolina Press, 1987, 25-30.
42 Pettus, Louise. The Springs Story, Our First
Hundred Years. Fort Mill: Springs Industries,
1987, 142.
43 Ibid.
Advertising in America -The First 200 Years.
Advertising. Amherst: Prometheus Books,
2003, 142.
19
Selected Work
You Can’t Go Wrong on Fort Mill Miss Mazie Smith, circa 1928
Sheets, no date Illustrated by
Illustrated by Clayton Knight
Unidentified Pen and ink, 14 x 11 inches
Reproduction Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives (right)
(left)
20
21
Take Me Home to Mother, no date Springmaid, circa 1943
Illustrated by Illustrated by
Joseph Golinkin James Montgomery Flagg
Pen and ink, 17 x 20 inches Pen and ink, 27 x 20 inches
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives background
(left) (next page left)
Springmaid, circa 1943 Springmaid, circa 1943

Illustrated by Illustrated by
James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg
Pen and ink, 27 x 20 inches Pen and ink, 27 x 20 inches
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives (next page right)
(right)
22
23
24
25
26
Ann Sellers as
Miss Springmaid, circa 1948
Illustrated by
Russell Patterson
Watercolor, 23 x 16 inches
(left)
Leap Year Greetings From

Your Best Girl!, circa 1947
Illustrated by
Arthur William Brown
Reprint, 13 x 10 inches
posed by
Dorothy Williams
(right)
27
28
Springmaid, circa 1947
Illustrated by
George Petty
Watercolor, 20 1/4 x 12 1/2 inches
(left)
The Springmaid, May – June, 1947

Illustrated by
Rockwell Kent
Springmaid Calendar 1947
17 x 12 inches
(right)
Untitled, no date
Illustrated by
Rockwell Kent
Woodblock print, 6 1/8 x 7 1/8 inches
(inset)
The Springmaid, September –

October, 1947
Illustrated by
17 x 12 inches
(next page left)
The Springmaid, March – April, 1947

Illustrated by
Clayton Knight
17 x 12 inches
(next page right)
The Springmaid, November –

December, 1947
Illustrated by
17 x 12 inches
(following page left)
The Springmaid, July – August, 1947

Illustrated by
Russell Patterson
17 x 12 inches
(following page right)
29
30
31
32
33
Be Protected, circa 1947
Illustrated by
Fritz Willis
Watercolor, 19 x 15 3/4 inches
Originally published: Weather Forecast -
Esquire, October 1947
Advertisement
34
Defy Diaphoresis, no date
Illustrated by
Fritz Willis
Watercolor, 20 1/2 x 15 1/4 inches
Advertisement featuring couple

35
Protect Yourself, circa 1946
Illustrated by
Frederick Smith
Originally published: Esquire, April 1946
Advertisement
36
Safe in the End Zone, circa 1949
Illustrated by
Vernon Grant
Watercolor, 19 x 15 1/2 inches
Advertisement
Title also listed as
I’ ll Dye for Dear Old Rutgers
37
38
How to Kill Two Birds, circa 1948 Certainly we’re Taking it . . . they’re
Illustrated by Springmaid Sheets and I have a Full
E. Simms Campbell Chest Too
Watercolor and ink, 21 x 16 inches Photographic advertisement
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Collection of South Caroliniana Library,
Originally published: Esquire, February 1948 University of South Carolina
(right)
Advertisement
Title also listed as Perfume-Parabolics
(left and inset)
39
40
A Bride Must Have Her Chest, no date
Illustrated by
Wales Turner
Watercolor, 20 1/2 x 18 inches
Advertisement
(left and top right)
Legs, no date
Illustrated by
Unidentified
Pen and ink, 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
(inset)
41
Watch the Butter Fly, Watch the Butter Fly, no date
Photographic advertisement posed by Illustrated by
Elaine Gladden Wales Turner
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, Pen and ink, 17 x 17 inches
University of South Carolina Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
(left)
Advertisement
(inset and right)
42
43
44
A Buck Well Spent, circa 1949 A Buck Well Spent
Illustrated by Photographic advertisement posed by
Wales Turner Jane Murray and Yates Ward
Watercolor, 18 x 24 inches Collection of South Caroliniana Library,
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives University of South Carolina
(right)
Advertisement
(inset and left)
45
46
47
48
Since She Went Off the Reservation
E. Simmons Campbell
How to Make an Extra Buck, no date Two Bucks on the Line, no date Collection of South Caroliniana Library,
Illustrated by Illustrated by University of South Carolina
Wales Turner Wales Turner (left)
Watercolor, 13 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches Watercolor, 17 x 24 inches
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Any Squaw Would Be Glad to Have
Springmaid Sheets in her Tepee
Advertisement Advertisement Photographic advertisement posed by
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, Collection of South Caroliniana Library, Jean Peters
University of South Carolina University of South Carolina Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
(previous page left) (previous page right) (right)
49
50
Bundling Without Bungling
(left)
Bundling Without Bungling,

posed by
Nanette Fabray and George Guetary
(right)
Bundling Without Bungling, no date

Illustrated by
(inset right)
51
Bungled Bundling, no date
Advertisement llustrated by
Unidentified
Advertisement
52
You Can’t Stretch a Good Thing, no date
Illustrated by
Unidentified (W. R.)
Advertisement
53
54
She Lives in Utica Springmaid Delivers the Goods in a
Advertisement illustrated by Fine Airman Shirt
Wales Turner Advertisement illustrated by
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, Unidentified
University of South Carolina 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches
(left) Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
(right)
55
The Deb Who Made the Party, no date
Illustrated by
(top)

Illustrated by
(bottom)
The Deb Who Made the Party

Reprint, 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches
(right)
56
57
58
How to Make a Buck for a Banquet
R. Hogfeldt
(left)
Hold Everything! The Chief Has Just

Bought Springmaid Sheets and Wants
breakfast in Bed
Advertisement reprint illustrated by
Michael Berry
(top)
How to Make a Buck for a Banquet,

no date
Illustrated by
R. Hogfeldt
Print, 14 x 19 inches
(bottom)
59
60
We Love to Catch Them We Love to Catch Them, circa 1949 We Love to Catch Them
Advertisement illustrated by Illustrated by Photographic advertisement posed by
Wales Turner Unidentified Bernice Frazer
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, Pen and ink, 16 1/2 x 19 inches Collection of South Caroliniana Library,
University of South Carolina Collection of Springs Close Family Archives University of South Carolina
(left) (inset) (right)
61
62
I Love to Navigate
Unidentified
(left)
She Claims a Springmaid Sheet is Magic Carpet Ride, no date

Faster and Smoother Illustrated by
Advertisement illustrated by E. Simms Campbell
E. Simms Campbell Pen and ink, 12 x 9 inches
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
University of South Carolina (right)
(inset)
63
Lady, That’s No Way to Spike a Roomer
Photographic advertisement, color
posed by Gypsy Rose Lee
64
I’m Going to Spike a Rumor
posed by Gypsy Rose Lee
65
Lady, That’s No Way to Spike a Roomer
no date
Illustrated by
Russell Patterson
Pen and ink, 9 x 9 inches
Advertisement
(inset)
66
We Put the Broad in Broadcloth and
Now the Filly in Chlorophyll
Unidentified
67
Exhibition Checklist Merchants Trade Journal, December 1951
American Legion Magazine, January 1952
All original artwork is on loan from the Collection of Springs Close Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Family Archives. Every attempt has been made to determine the dates
and media cited from the resources available at the time of this Any Squaw Would Be Glad to Have Springmaid Sheets in
publication. Dimensions are in inches; height precedes width. her Tepee
Reproduction of photographic advertisement posed by Jean Peters
* Advertisements from the exhibition do not appear in the catalogue. Published in:
Ladies Home Journal, January 1955
A Bride Must Have Her Chest, no date Good Housekeeping, January 1955
Wales Turner Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Watercolor, 20 1/2 x 18 inches
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Be Protected, circa 1947
Fritz Willis
A Bride Must Have Her Chest Watercolor, 19 x 15 3/4 inches
Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner Originally published: Weather Forecast - Esquire, October 1947
Published in: Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Promenade, May 1950
Cosmopolitan, November 1950 Be Protected
Liberty, June 1950 Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Fritz Willis
Town & Country, June 1950 Published in:
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Collier’s, Aug. 28, 1948
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
A Buck Well Spent, circa 1949
Wales Turner Beware the Goose! *
Watercolor, 18 x 24 inches Reproduction of advertisement, unidentified artwork
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Published in:
Linens & Domestics, October 1948
A Buck Well Spent Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner
Published in: Bungled Bundling
Varsity, June 1950 Reproduction of advertisement, unidentified artwork
US Air Service, April 1950 Published in:
Pathfinder, Jul. 26, 1950 Department Store Economist, July 1949
Southern Textile News, Aug. 5, 1950 Liberty, June 1949
Argosy, August 1950 Today’s Woman, July 1949
Merchants Trade Journal, June 1950 Merchants Trade Journal, July 1949
Post Exchange, no date Esquire, August 1949
Department Store Economist, no date Coronet, April 1950
Installment Retailing, no date Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Cavalier’s, no date
Motivationa, July-August 1957 Bundling Without Bungling, no date
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Arthur William Brown
A Buck Well Spent Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Reproduction of photographic advertisement posed by Jane Murray
and Yates Ward Bundling Without Bungling
Published in: Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Arthur William Brown
Modern Bride, Spring 1951 Published in:
Varsity, March 1951 Wall Street Journal, Feb. 7, 1949
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Look, Feb. 19, 1949
Department Store Economist, March 1949
Ann Sellers as Miss Springmaid, circa 1948 Promenade, April 1949
Russell Patterson Newsweek, May 23, 1949
Watercolor, 23 x 16 inches Merchants Trade Journal, March 1949
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Another Springmaid Deb Nancy Brown * Bundling Without Bungling,

Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Reproduction of black and white photographic advertisement
James Montgomery Flagg Published in:
Published in: Department Store Economist, May 1950
Department Store Economist, November 1951 The Billboard, Apr. 1, 1950
Barron’s National Business & Financial Weekly, July 1951 Barron’s National Business & Financial Weekly, Apr. 9, 1950
Promenade, October 1951, September 1951 Promenade, April 1950
68
Garrison’s, May 1950 Hold Everything! The Chief Has Just Bought Springmaid
Merchants Trade Journal, May 1950 Sheets and Wants breakfast in Bed
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Michael Berry
Certainly we’re Taking it . . . they’re Springmaid Sheets
and I have a Full Chest Too How to Kill Two Birds, circa 1948
Reproduction of photographic advertisement E. Simms Campbell
Published in: Watercolor and ink, 21 x 16 inches
Playboy, February 1955 Originally published: Esquire February 1948
Post Exchange, June 1957, June 1959 Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Premium Practice, June 1956, September 1957 How to Kill Two Birds
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by E. Simms Campbell
Published in:
Defy Dermatitis * Department Store Economist, June 1948
Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner Title also listed as Perfume-Parabolics
Published in: Time, July 12, 1948
Promenade, November 1949 Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Town & Country, January 1950
Liberty, January 1950 How to Make a Buck for a Banquet
US Air Services, January 1950 Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by R. Hogfeldt
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Published in:
Post Exchange, April 1957
Defy Diaphoresis, no date True, Jan. 1956, March 1959
Fritz Willis Premium Practice, April 1957 and November 1959
Watercolor, 20 1/2 x 15 1/4 inches Installment Retailing, no date
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives House Beautiful, January 1959
Argosy, December 1958
Defy Diaphoresis Newsweek, December 1953
Reproduction of advertisement featuring couple illustrated by Fritz Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Willis
Published in: How to Make an Extra Buck
Promenade, September 1948 Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Published in:
Barron’s National Business & Financial Weekly, July 1951
Defy Diaphoresis * Sport, August 1951
Reproduction of advertisement featuring one woman illustrated by Field & Stream, September 1951
Fritz Willis Department Store Economist, October 1951
Published in: Linens & Domestics, November 1951
Town & Country, January 1949 Princeton Tiger, March/April 1952
The State, Jun. 2, 1949 Premium Buyers Guide, September 1959
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Don’t Feed Baby Onions * I Love to Navigate

Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner Reproduction of advertisement, unidentified artwork
Published in: Published in:
Liberty, August 1949 Merchants Trade Journal, March 1954
Promenade, August 1949 Linens & Domestics, April 1954
The Carlton, August 1949 Hunting & Fishing, September 1954
Esquire, September 1949 Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
I’m Going to Spike a Rumor
Elliott Springs, no date Reproduction of black and white photographic advertisement featur-
James Montgomery Flagg ing Gypsy Rose Lee
Pen and ink, 14 x 12 inches Southern Textile News, March 26, 1955
Fluorosckopy * Lady That’s No Way to Spike a Roomer, no date

Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner Russell Patterson
Published in: Pen and ink, 9 x 9 inches
The Social Spectator, Feb. 14, 1950 Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Liberty, March 1950
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Lady, That’s No Way to Spike a Roomer
Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Russell Patterson
Merchants Trade Journal, May 1954
69
House Beautiful, October 1958 Miss Springmaid, July – August, 1947
Look, Feb. 3, 1959 Russell Patterson
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Springmaid Calendar 1947, 17 x 12 inches
Lady, That’s No Way to Spike a Roomer Miss Springmaid, September – October, 1947
Reproduction of color photographic advertisement featuring Gypsy James Montgomery Flagg
Rose Lee Springmaid Calendar 1947, 17 x 12 inches
Published in: Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Department Store Economist, September 1958
Promenade, July 1959 Miss Springmaid, November – December, 1947
Argosy, September 1959 Arthur William Brown
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Springmaid Calendar 1947, 17 x 12 inches
Leap Year Greetings From Your Best Girl!, 1947
Reproduction of advertisement featuring Dorothy Williams, Miss Protect Your Assets *
Television, Illustrated by Arthur William Brown Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Fritz Willis
Reprint, 13 x 10 inches Published in:
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Linens & Domestics, October 1948
Legs, no date
Unidentified Protect Yourself, circa 1946
Pen and ink, 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches Frederick Smith
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Watercolor, 25 x 18 inches
Originally published: Esquire, April 1946
Look . . Now I’m a Petty Girl! Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Reproduction of advertisement, Springmaid illustrated by
George Petty Protect Yourself
Reprint, 13 x 20 inches Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Frederick Smith
Department Store Economist, May 1948
Look . . I’m Making 91,000,000 Personal Appearances! Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Reproduction of advertisement, Springmaid illustrated by Russell
Patterson Safe in the End Zone, circa 1949
Reprint, 13 x 20 inches Vernon Grant
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Watercolor, 19 x 15 1/2 inches
Magic Carpet Ride, no date
E. Simms Campbell Safe in the End Zone
Pen and ink, 12 x 9 inches Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Vernon Grant
Coronet, August 1949
Miss Mazie Smith, circa 1928 Esquire, October 1949
Clayton Knight Title also listed as: I’ll Dye for Dear Old Rutgers
Pen and ink, 14 x 11 inches Promenade, June 1949
Miss Springmaid, no date She Claims a Springmaid Sheet is Faster and Smoother
Rockwell Kent Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by E. Simms Campbell
Woodblock print, 6 1/8 x 7 1/8 inches Published in:
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Installment Retailing, June 1960
Miss Springmaid, January – February, 1947
George Petty She Lives in Utica, no date
Springmaid Calendar 1947, 17 x 12 inches Wales Turner
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Pen and ink, 24 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches
Miss Springmaid, March – April, 1947
Clayton Knight She Lives in Utica
Reprint Springmaid Calendar 1947 Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner
Promenade, June 1950
Miss Springmaid, May – June, 1947 Liberty, July 1950
Rockwell Kent Merchants Trade Journal, July 1950
Springmaid Calendar 1947, 17 x 12 inches Department Store Economist, July 1950
70
Since She Went Off the Reservation The Deb Who Made the Party, no date
Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by E. Simmons Campbell James Montgomery Flagg
Published in: Pen and ink, 11 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches
Post Exchange and Commissary, November 1960 Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Installment Retailing, January 1961
Premium Practice, September 1960 The Deb Who Made the Party, no date
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina Advertisement illustrated by James Montgomery Flagg
Reprint, 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches
Springmaid, circa 1947 Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
George Petty
Watercolor, 20 1/4 x 12 1/2 inches This is the Office That Runs the Mills
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Reproduction of advertisement
Fort Mill, S.C., the Heart of the Cotton Belt illustrated by
Springmaid, 1943 Vernon Grant
James Montgomery Flagg Church and Wall Streets, the heart of the Textile District illustrated by
Pen and ink, 27 x 20 inches Fredrick P. Goodrich
2007.026.079 cotton thread being swung Cosmopolitan, July 1958
Springmaid
Advertisement illustrated by James Montgomery Flagg Two Bucks on a Line
13 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner
Life, October 1943 Published in:
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Merchants Trade Journal, January 1951
Esquire’s Apparel Arts, January 1951
Springmaid, 1943 The American Family, March 1951
James Montgomery Flagg Daughters of the American Revolution, March 1951
Pen and ink, 27 x 20 inches Linens & Domestics, March 1951
2007.026.014 sitting on bolt w/ mill in background True, March 1951
Hunting & Fishing, July 1951
Springmaid
Advertisement illustrated by James Montgomery Flagg
12 3/4 x 9 1/2 inches Watch the Butter Fly, no date
Life, October 1943 Wales Turner
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Pen and ink, 17 x 17 inches
Springmaid, 1943
James Montgomery Flagg Watch the Butter Fly
Pen and ink, 27 x 20 inches Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner
2007.026.013 sitting on cotton bale w/ steamboat Published in:
The Social Spectator, Sept. 15, 1949
Department Store Economist, October 1949
Springmaid Merchants Trade Journal, October 1949
Advertisement illustrated by James Montgomery Flagg
Promenade, October 1949
13 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches
Liberty, December 1949
Life, October 1943
Princeton Tiger, December 1949
Springmaid Delivers the Goods in a Fine Airman Shirt Watch the Butter Fly
Reproduction of advertisement, unidentified artwork
Reproduction of photographic advertisement posed by Elaine Gladden
Esquire, December 1946, 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches
Published in:
Varsity, April 1950
Department Store Economist, January 1950
Take Me Home to Mother, no date Merchant’s Trade Journal, January 1950
Joseph Golinkin Pathfinder, Jan. 11, 1950
Pen and ink, 17 x 20 inches Today’s Woman, March 1950
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Printer’s Ink, Nov. 3, 1950
James Montgomery Flagg We Love to Catch Them, circa 1949
Pen and ink, 11 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches Unidentified
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Pen and ink, 16 1/2 x 19 inches
71
We Love to Catch Them
Reproduction of advertisement illustrated by Wales Turner
Published in:
The Social Spectator, Aug. 31, 1949
Collier’s, Oct. 1, 1949
Merchants Trade Journal, September 1949 Additional Catalogue Images
Promenade, December 1949
Today’s Woman, January 1950 Bundled Bungling, no date
Argosy, January 1950 Unidentified
True, February 1950 and November 1950 Watercolor, 31 x 38 inches
Coronet, February 1950 Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Parade, April 1950
Varsity, January 1951 How to Make a Buck for a Banquet, no date
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina R. Hogfeldt
Print, 14 x 19 inches
We Love to Catch Them Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Reproduction of photographic advertisement posed by Bernice Frazer
Published in: How to Make an Extra Buck, no date
Cosmo, March 1959 Wales Turner
Esquire, October 1958 Watercolor, 13 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches
Look, Aug. 23, 1955 Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
We Put the Broad in Broadcloth and Now the Filly in Chlorophyll I Love These Slow-burning Springmaid Sheets
Reproduction of advertisement, unidentified artwork Photographic advertisement, color with Connie Russell
Published in: Published in:
Department Store Economist, June 1953 Esquire, July 1960
Merchants Trade Journal, May 1953 Cavalier, December 1959
Esquire, July 1953 Promenade, April 1960
McCall’s, 1953 Outdoor Life, March 1960
Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina McCall’s, January 1960
Redbook, July 1960
You Can’t Go Wrong on Fort Mill Sheets, no date Redbook, August 1959
Unidentified Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Reproduction
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Springs Ads in Real Life / If We Could Only Make Sheets
Advertisement, includes photographic reenactments of ‘We Love to
You Can’t Stretch a Good Thing, no date Catch Them’; ‘Watch the Butter Fly’; and ‘A Buck Well Spent’
Unidentified (W. R.) Published in:
Watercolor, 20 x 24 inches Lancaster News, Aug. 1, 1950
Collection of Springs Close Family Archives Tide, Nov. 3, 1950
Printer’s Ink, Nov. 3, 1950
You Can’t Stretch a Good Thing Collection of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina
Reproduction of advertisement, unidentified artwork initials W. R.
Published in: Two Bucks on a Line, no date
Argosy, January 1957 Wales Turner
Installment Retailing, 1957, 1959 Watercolor, 17 x 24 inches
Redbook, April 1958 Collection of Springs Close Family Archives
Department Store Economist, January 1959
Premium Practice, 1956 -1961
Post Exchange, April 1958, August 1957
Merchants Trade Journal, July 1951, August 1951
Linens & Domestics, June 1951, September 1951
Coronet, August 1951
Department Store Economist, August 1951
True, August 1951
72
73
74
Acknowledgments
When presented with the opportunity to view the collection of original advertising maquettes
at the Springs Close Family Archives, I was thrilled to be looking at original works by fa-
mous American illustrators such as James Montgomery Flagg and Rockwell Kent in this local
archives. It has been a highlight to curate an exhibition around such prestigious illustrators and
a compelling individual such as Colonel Springs. I am thankful to Derick Close and the Close
family for their support and willingness to produce this exhibition. I am also especially grateful
to Springs Close Family Archivist, Ann Evans, for her vast knowledge, energy and enthusi-
asm assisting with this project. I also want to thank Nicki Nash and Bruce A. Brumfield from
Founders Federal Credit Union for their resources and commitment to make this catalogue
and exhibition a reality; Gary and Peggy Williams’ support in honor of the Close family; Susan
McLaughlin, for her ideas, time and energy; Dean Wohl, J. Terrell May, Winthrop’s Office of
Development, Patrons of Winthrop University Galleries and the members of the Fort Mill His-
tory Museum who helped make the exhibition and its educational programs possible.
Presenting this exhibition has been a collaborative process with the tireless efforts of many. I
would like to extend my gratitude to Francine Kola-Bankole and Danielle Donnelly for their
research and writing assistance for the catalogue and exhibition. I would also like to thank
Henry G. Fulmer and the staff at the South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina,
for their patience and assistance with the Springs advertisement research we were able to accom-
plish. I greatly appreciate the generous contributions by Jessica Johnson and Jacob Olsen who
skillfully framed and presented the work for the exhibition and Dustin Shores who documented
the original collection.
Special thanks go to Gerry Derksen who masterfully created the graphic material and catalogue
for the project; Linda Starrett for her advice and meticulous copy editing; Winthrop’s University
Relations department and the College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean’s office staff for their
contributions to this project. I am ever indebted to the on-going support of the undergradu-
ate gallery assistants who tirelessly install all the exhibitions at Winthrop amongst many other
duties.
Between the Springmaid Sheets will tour to the South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, S.C.
April to September 2013. We are especially grateful to the museum and Paul Matheny for
the opportunity to bring the exhibition to a larger audience. I would also like to thank Amy
Shumaker from SCETV and Steve Folks, the director and producer of the documentary “Miss
Springmaid,” for their willingness and enthusiasm to present the film during the exhibition.
Through this process, I have had the pleasure to learn more about the absorbing history and
wonderful people of this region. It has been a thrill to meet the former Miss Springmaids.
Ladies, you are a joy, and I dedicate this catalogue to you for your never-ending vivacious spirit
and gracious beauty.
Karen Derksen
Director/Curator
75
Winthrop University
David Wohl, Dean

Tom Stanley, Chair

Department of Fine Arts
Chad Dresbach, Chair

Department of Design
Karen Derksen, Director

Undergraduate Gallery Assistants

Matt Horick
Sara Kinard
Samantha Oliver
Jacob Olsen
Fernando Pena
Casey Shelton
The Rutledge Gallery and the Elizabeth Dunlap Patrick Galleries are located in the historic
Rutledge Building and the Edmund Lewandowski Student Gallery is located in McLaurin Hall
on the campus of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. For more information call
803/323-2493 or visit www.winthrop.edu/vpa/galleries.
76

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Between the Springmaid Sheets

Provocative 1940s and 50s

Winthrop University Galleries

September 10 – October 26, 2012

September 10 – October 26, 2012 Exhibition and catalogue research:

13 From An Inherently Uninteresting Product to Famous Brand Springmaid

72 Additional Catalogue Images

David Wohl, Dean

According to John Tryten, editor of Sales Management, advertisers use sex in

When Springs’ controversial ad campaigns first launched in 1948, they received

This is the Office That Runs the Mills

Fort Mill, S.C., the Heart of the

Church and Wall Streets, the heart of

Collection of South Caroliniana Library,

37 “TextileTempest.” Time (July 26, 1948).

41 Davis, Burke. War Bird the Life and Times

Springmaid, circa 1943 Springmaid, circa 1943

Leap Year Greetings From

The Springmaid, May – June, 1947

The Springmaid, September –

The Springmaid, March – April, 1947

The Springmaid, November –

The Springmaid, July – August, 1947

Advertisement featuring couple

Bundling Without Bungling,

Bundling Without Bungling, no date

The Deb Who Made the Party, no date

The Deb Who Made the Party

Hold Everything! The Chief Has Just

How to Make a Buck for a Banquet,

She Claims a Springmaid Sheet is Magic Carpet Ride, no date

Another Springmaid Deb Nancy Brown * Bundling Without Bungling,

Don’t Feed Baby Onions * I Love to Navigate

Fluorosckopy * Lady That’s No Way to Spike a Roomer, no date

David Wohl, Dean

Tom Stanley, Chair

Chad Dresbach, Chair

Karen Derksen, Director

Undergraduate Gallery Assistants

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