Coats – J&.P Coats – Clarks – Coats & Clarks – John Clark Junr.
Label Pictures - Coats & Clark
These threads have their origin in England and Scotland. The Clarks were weavers and to combat the shortage of silk hand-sewing thread during the Napoleonic Wars, Patrick Clark twisted together serveral cotton yarns which proved superior to silk thread. In 1812 the Clarks the first cotton thread factory. A few years later the Coats family established a thread mill under the name J&P Coats. ring hand-sewing thread. By 1840s both families had relatives in America and by 1860s they established plants there.

In 1866 George Clark invented the first-ever thread that could be used in sewing machines. He named it ONT for Our New Thread. George A. Clark & Bro. in New York were the sole agents in America for Clark's ONT thread. Coats and Clark were consolidated in 1896 but retained separate identities. Two years later the Spool Cotton Company became the sole selling agent. In 1953 J&P Coats and the Clark Thread Co. merged to become Coats & Clark Inc. Information on thread label shows that Clark Thread Co. was successor to John Clark’s Mile-End brand. Some of the brand threads they own today are Talon and Anchor as well as their own Coats, J&P Coats and Dual Duty Plus. Coats & Clark is now a craft company of Coats North America which is a division of Coats Viyella headquartered in Great Britain.