S&H Green Stamps Chair

Do you remember S&H Green Stamps?

I have a chair that my Mom bought with S&H Green Stamps in the 1960s.

It's a really cute little wooden chair and very comfortable to sit in.  Many times when my lower back is bothering me I will sit in it with a heating pad.   I remember my Mom getting the green stamps from the grocery store and putting them into the little stamp books.

Oh, for those of you who are too young to know what S&H Green Stamps are here's a nice summary from the internet (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia):

"S&H Green Stamps (also called Green Shield Stamps) were trading stamps popular in the United States from the 1930s until the late 1980s. They were distributed as part of a rewards program operated by the Sperry and Hutchinson company (S&H), founded in 1896 by Thomas Sperry and Shelly Hutchinson. During the 1960s, the rewards catalog printed by the company was the largest publication in the United States and the company issued three times as many stamps as the U.S. Postal Service.^[1]Customers would receive stamps at the checkout counter of supermarkets, department stores, and gasoline stations among other retailers, which could be redeemed for products in the catalog.

S&H Green Stamps had several competitors, including Triple S Stamps (offered by Grand Union Supermarkets), Gold Bond Stamps, Blue Chip Stamps, and Plaid Stamps(a project of A&P Supermarkets).

Sperry & Hutchinson began offering stamps to U.S. retailers in 1896. The retail organizations that distributed the stamps (primarily supermarkets, gasoline filling stations, and shops) bought the stamps from S&H and gave them as bonuses to shoppers based on the dollar amount of a purchase. The stamps—-issued in denominations of one, ten, and fifty "points"—-were perforated with a gummed reverse, and as shoppers accumulated the stamps they moistened the reverse and mounted them in collectors books, which were provided free by S&H. The books contained 24 pages and to fill a page required 50 "points", so each book contained 1200 "points". Shoppers could then exchange filled books for premiums, including housewares and other items, from the local Green Stamps store or catalog. Each premium was assigned a value expressed by the number of filled stamp books required to obtain that item.

Green Stamps were one of the first retail loyalty programs,^[2] retailers purchased the stamps from the operating company and then gave them away at a rate determined by the merchant. Some shoppers would choose one merchant over another because they gave out more stamps per dollar spent.^[3]

Some states equated the green stamps to gambling and required merchants to obtain an expensive license.^{[citation needed]} Few did, however, making their popularity vary substantially from state to state. The company also traded overseas. During the early 1960s, it initiated S&H Pink Stamps in the United Kingdom, having been beaten to their green shield trademark during 1958 by Richard Tompkins'sGreen Shield Trading Stamp Company.^[4]

The program had its greatest popularity during the mid 1960s, but a series of recessions during the 1970s decreased sales of green stamps and the stamp programs of their competitors.

Sperry and Hutchinson was sold by the founders' successors in 1981, and was purchased from a holding firm by a member of the founding Sperry family in 1999. At that time, only about 100 U.S. stores were offering Green Stamps. Eventually, the company modified its practices with the advent of the Internet and now offers "greenpoints" as rewards for online purchases.^[5]

My Mom had the two wicker chairs that she inherited from her in-laws re-upholstered with this fabric.  On one of my trips to visit my parents in Florida (where they had retired in 1979) my Mom asked me if I could make a seat & back cover for her S&H Green Stamp chair with the few pieces of left over fabric she had remaining from upholstering the wicker chair cushions.

I used my paternal Grandmother's Singer sewing machine to make the covers piecing together the fabric as best as I could to match up the stripes.  That old Singer machine had no problem sewing through the thick upholstery fabric.  I now have my Grandmother's Singer machine in my craft room.

I didn't make a pattern - I just cut the seat cover to fit around the arms and back.

Here's a close up of the piping.

  I made a bottom seat cover and put together a batted back cushion for the chair back.   I even made piping out of the fabric to give it a more professional finish.

The back cover is tied on with the fabric ties

The bottom seat cover isn't tied on...it fits neatly and stays in place easily.

I matched up the stripes as best as I could with the limited amount of fabric left over.

I learned to sew from my two roommates while in college in the early 1970s.  My one roommate had a Bernina (a beautiful sewing machine) and she was gracious enough to let me learn to sew on it.  I loved to sew clothes back when I was young and thin.  I haven't sewed much in the last couple of years.  I guess I should set aside time to make something again.    

I'm sharing my little chair project with you on the following blog parties.  Maybe I have inspired you to whip out your sewing machine and try making something.  

Please join me for:

Make It My Day at Backyard Eden
Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursdays

Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday
Artie at Color Outside the Lines for Vignette Fridays

Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Wendy at The Shabby Nest for Frugal Friday
 Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special

Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming for the Sunday Showcase Party

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Cielo at The House in the Roses for Show of Your Cottage Monday

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday