The Sock Monkey

The sock monkey's most direct predecessors originated in the Victorian era. when the craze for imitation stuffed animals swept from Europe into North America and met the burgeoning Arts and Crafts Movement. Craft makers began sewing stuffed animals as toys to comfort children, and, as tales of the scramble for Africa increased the public's familiarity with exotic species, monkey toys soon became a fixture of American nurseries. However, these early stuffed monkeys were not necessarily made from socks, and also lacked the characteristic red lips of the sock monkeys popular today.
.
John Nelson, a Swedish immigrant to the United States patented the sock-knitting machine in 1869, and began manufacturing work socks in Rockford, Illinois in 1890. The iconic sock monkeys made from red-heeled socks emerged at the earliest in 1932, the year the Nelson Knitting Company added the trademarked red heel to its product. In the early years, the red-heeled sock was marketed as "De-Tec-Tip". Nelson Knitting was an innovator in the mass market work sock field, creating a loom that enabled socks to be manufactured without seams in the heel. These seamless work socks were so popular that the market was soon flooded with imitators, and socks of this type were known under the generic term "Rockfords". Nelson Knitting added the red heel "de-tec-tip" to assure its customers that they were buying "original Rockfords". This red heel gave the monkeys their distinctive mouth. During the Great Depression American crafters first made sock monkeys out of worn-out Rockford Red Heel Socks.
.
The Nelson Knitting Company was acquired in 1992 by Fox River Mills and the original brown heather, Red Heel monkey sock is still in production by Fox River Mills. A distinctive change in the red-heeled sock design distinguishes monkeys made with Fox River Mills socks from Nelson Knitting Company socks. Fox River heels are more uniformly ovular, without the end points that gave Nelson Knitting-made sock monkeys their smiles or frowns.
..
In the 21st century, efforts by crafters, writers, photographers, and artists to immortalize the sock monkey doll beyond soft sculptured socks has intensified. Today, sock monkey images can be found adorning books, greeting cards, journals, calendars, book marks, paintings, playing cards, quilts, clothing, jewellery and bakery goods like cakes and cookies to name but a few. Sock monkeys have also been immortalized in polymer clay, fiberglass, and in commercials. They have been themes for weddings, graduations, birthdays, and baby showers. They continue to make their way into our homes and hearts..
..
Love & Light.
.
Jayden.
.

All materials contained in The Jayden Project are the copyrighted property of Jayden Productions Inc, or affiliated companies and/or third-party licensors. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to Jayden Productions Inc. No material from The Jayden Project may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way.

Scritti Politti - Absolute