Last updated on October 17th, 2022 at 09:32 am
Charles Y. Butterworth appears to be a Philadelphia-based business that primarily marketed to and supplied weaving supplies. Considering they advertise that they were in business for at least 70 years, I’ve found very little about them so far. Their yarn and thread sample cards (scroll down to view them) from 1955 state “Over 70 Years in Yarns”, which would place their founding at or before 1885, but the oldest mention I have found so far is 1920, and the most recent is an advertisement in 1968 and a supplier list in 1970.
So far, I’ve only found one news tidbit on Charles Y. Butterworth, which I found in American Wool and Cotton Reporter dated October 7, 1920: 
Charles Y. Butterworth, of Philadelphia, has purchased from the National Pants Company of Washington, D.C., the mill equipment of the Millington Mills, located at Millington, Maryland. The new concern will be known as the Butterworth Mills.
I have found Charles Y. Butterworth listed as a supplier in several weaving pattern books dating mostly in the 1960s, and one dated 1970. Although I’ve not found an obituary yet, it appears that Charles Y. Butterworth died in 1960 as there is a brief mention of his death in a weaving related magazine that I can’t access but do see a portion of the mention in Google search results.
In Philadelphia, there was a massive “textile finishing machinery” manufacturer known as H.W. Butterworth & Sons from 1870 through about 1942. I’ve not been able to determine if Charles Y. Butterworth is related to this Butterworth family – one of the founders had a son named Charles C. Butterworth; it would not surprise me if Charles C. had a son named Charles Y. who then started a weavers supply retail/wholesale business. Sadly, I’ve not been able to confirm this but I also haven’t searched Census records yet! The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau for Historic Preservation has a highly detailed Historic Resource Survey Form file that relates the history and description of the H.W. Butterworth & Sons company and manufacturing buildings, including original hand-drawn elevation/architectural blueprints and photographs taken in 2009 of the buildings as it was when the Historic Resource Survey Form was completed. It’s a fascinating read and can be found here: https://gis.penndot.gov/CRGISAttachments/SiteResource/H155396_133868_D.pdf
Advertisements
1951
Spring 1951 Handweaver & Craftsman, Volume 2, Issue 2
1952
Fall 1952 Handweaver & Craftsman, Volume 3, Issue 4
1958
This advertisement is from Handweaver & Craftsman Winter 1958-1959, Volume 10, Issue 1. This advertisement continued to run in the Handweaver & Craftsman magazine through Winter 1960.
1961
Spring 1961 Handweaver & Craftsman, Volume 12, Issue 2
This advertisement (“in association with Davis-Howard Design Studio”) ran in Handweaver & Craftsman, Winter 1961, Volume 12, Issue 1
1962-1967
This advertisement appears in every issue of Handweaver & Craftsman from Spring 1962, Volume 13, Issue 2 up through Winter 1967, Volume 18, Issue 1. This advertisement always appeared in the front of the magazine, usually within the first 4 pages.
1968
Charles Y. Butterworth appears to downsize their advertising budget, changing to a much smaller advertisement that appears in the back pages of the magazine. Handweaver & Craftsman, Spring 1967, Volume 18, Issue 2 through Summer 1968, Volume 19, Issue 3. Although Charles Y. Butterworth is presumably mentioned as a supplier in a weaving book in 1970 that I can’t access (just see it in a Google Books search result), this last advertisement is the last mention I have found of Charles Y. Butterworth as a company/
Charles Y. Butterworth Yarn and Thread Sample Cards from the 1950s
The sample cards below are all from that treasure trove of yarn color sample cards I found on eBay last month (September 2022). I believe all date from about 1954 through 1957.
Charles Y. Butterworth 2/3 Perle Mercerized Cotton Thread
This is identical in size, feel, twist, etc., to modern-day Size 3 perle cotton thread.
Charles Y. Butterworth 4 ply Cotton Thread
This thread has a size and feel very, very similar to modern-day Size 10 crochet thread but I don’t think its mercerized.
Charles Y. Butterworth Ederlin Handweaving Yarns Pure Linen
Charles Y. Butterworth Rayon Flake
Charles Y. Butterworth Cotton Ratina
The mimeographed text on the card above has faded quite a bit so I’ve retyped what I can read onto the image. Most likely, the illegible color numbers are the same color numbers as on the Rayon Ratina card below.
Charles Y. Butterworth Rayon Ratina
The Ratina yarns look and feel a lot like a buccle yarn. This card was folded with the advert/letter I list at the bottom of this page, so I’m pretty confident this particular card dates to 1957.
January 1957 Marketing/Information Letter to Customers from Charles Y. Butterworth
Mixed in with the yarn/thread color sample cards from Charles Y. Butterworth Hand Weaving Department was a letter describing the various types of yarn and thread they offered, describing the enclosed sample cards, their prices, shipping zones and an order form.
The following photos are from an ebay listing by ebay user Dusty Corners of Time:
The following images are from ebay user Sarah’s Everything
Charles Y. Butterworth #6c White/Creme. This looks like it’s a boucle or chenille type yarn.
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