Bring a piece of Amsterdam, New York’s broom‑making glory days into your collection with this antique 1900s Rex broom label from the Amsterdam Broom Co., Amsterdam, N.Y. 🧹🏭 Printed in vivid red with bold gold and black detailing, this original new old stock label captures the pride of a Mohawk Valley industry that once shipped millions of brooms across the country.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Amsterdam was known not just for carpets and textiles but also as a major center for broomcorn and broom manufacturing. Local historians note that entrepreneurs like Julius and David Wasserman built the Amsterdam Broom Company into one of the largest independent broom concerns in the world, producing millions of brooms per year and employing over a hundred workers at its peak. The company’s factory and wagons—like the ones seen in period photographs—were familiar sights around town, tying Amsterdam’s identity to everyday household tools as much as to its big mills.

This Rex label, measuring about 4½" by 3½", would have been applied to a high‑grade broom, with the bold “REX” name (Latin for “king”) and the prominent number 8 signaling quality tier and size at a glance. The intricate scrollwork, laurel branches, checkered borders, and small circular Amsterdam Broom Co. emblem at the bottom all showcase early 20th‑century stone lithography, a painstaking printing method that gave advertising art its rich, layered color and crisp detail—something modern digital printing still struggles to match.

Because this example is true NOS, it has never been attached to a broom and retains its vibrant color and fine detail. ✅ Collectors value these labels not just as packaging, but as small works of art: they are a window into the days when even a humble cleaning tool was sold with ornate graphics and a sense of pride in local manufacturing. Museums and archives, including the Smithsonian’s Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, preserve Amsterdam Broom Co. ephemera as part of the broader story of American industry.

As vacuum cleaners became affordable for the middle class after World War II, many broom companies either consolidated or disappeared, making original labels like this harder to find. Once they’re framed on walls, tucked into collections, or kept in institutional archives, the available supply in the open market shrinks quickly. This piece is a chance to secure an authentic example while they can still be found.

Details 📝

• Antique Rex broom label

• Amsterdam Broom Co., Amsterdam, New York

• Era: early 1900s (Amsterdam broom manufacturing boom period)

• Approx. size: 4½" x 3½"

• Condition: NOS (new old stock), unused original label

• Brilliant red, gold, and black lithographed design

• Perfect for framing, shadow boxes, or pairing with other Amsterdam / Mohawk Valley industrial ephemera

A beautiful, display‑ready slice of Amsterdam, N.Y. broom history and early 20th‑century advertising art. 🧹✨