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Originally Posted by bocca001
About Worton, I look forward to hearing more from Kyle and others. [...] So how to tell the difference between a maker and a down the line seller?
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My opinion: Worton was just a retailer; and these labels were merely his retailer's mark. From the limited universe of Worton-marked pennants I know of, he peddled a mixture of both Trench and AMCO pennants. That alone tells me he couldn't have made them all.
Additionally, unlike Epstein, there's no trade catalogue or phone directory identifying Worton as a
manufacturer of pennants. Nothing. If they made all of these pennants, they were a significant manufacturer, and there should be some directory classifying them as a pennant maker.
Finally, as Greg pointed out, look at their location: across the street from old Yankee Stadium. Where there was plenty of foot traffic containing fans headed into the ballpark for baseball and football games. In other words, the ideal spot for a brick and mortar souvenir shop. In contrast, most of the 20th century NYC-based pennant makers, including Epstein, were clustered together in the Garment District, down by lower Manhattan. Nowhere near their end-users....
For me, the 1948 advertisement for football supplies seals the deal. Felt pennants were just one of several different novelty items they offered ... along with some complementary goods, e.g., pennant canes and charms; but also ... rabbits feet.
That tells me they were a retail store, and to stay in business year round, they had to offer more than just felt pennants to their retail customers.
I've never heard of a single manufacturer making both pennants
and rabbits feet, have you?
So, for me, they were just a retailer that sourced their felt pennants from a variety of makers over the years. Because they purchased so many each year, these makers rewarded them by sewing Worton's name on their pennants. It's really not too different from a concessionaire's mark. Not only were Trench (and others) known for doing this, it would explain why there's plenty more of these same pennants with
no label on them, i.e., because they were purchased from another retail source.