Dating Atwood Sportswear novelty print men's button-down

Robin of Frocksley

Robin of Frocksley

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I'd love help dating this shirt by Atwood Sportswear. I'm leaning towards 50's due to the print but would love hear from you all. Is this button loop collar treatment (forgive my ignorance) tied to a specific decade? I'm also having an issue with the print. I'm a huge fan of novelty prints, and when I find a good one I grab it without looking closely. Upon inspection I realized that one of the vignettes is offensive, using a derogatory term for a Native American man. I am really uncomfortable with this, to put it mildly. I've asked friends of mine and the reactions range from "cut it up and save the inoffensive bits" to "I'll wear that!". I can't imagine cutting up (or throwing away) this shirt, but I'd love to know what you experts do when you find a piece like this? I realize that "it was a different time back then" but UGH. I'd love any advice or thoughts on this. Thanks so much.
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"Naughty" was extremely popular in the 50s as was the loop collar. I am having just a bit of trouble getting a read on the fabric - do you have an idea of fabric content? Weave? I am also leaning towards 50s but the fabric/weave could affect possibly affect that dating.

As far as the print itself, it is something rather personal that each seller has to decide for themselves. Regardless, the print is highly collectible. When I find pieces like this I grab them up and keep them in my own personal archive. History, even offensive history, is still a valuable learning tool so while I don't necessarily like to profit from them, I do like to have pieces like this in my collection.
 
Thank you all for your help, and for the advice/thoughts on the print.
jauntyrooster said:
"Naughty" was extremely popular in the 50s as was the loop collar. I am having just a bit of trouble getting a read on the fabric - do you have an idea of fabric content? Weave? I am also leaning towards 50s but the fabric/weave could affect possibly affect that dating.

As far as the print itself, it is something rather personal that each seller has to decide for themselves. Regardless, the print is highly collectible. When I find pieces like this I grab them up and keep them in my own personal archive. History, even offensive history, is still a valuable learning tool so while I don't necessarily like to profit from them, I do like to have pieces like this in my collection.
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Maureen, I took a couple of closer pics of the fabric. I believe it to be a cotton broadcloth but that's just my guess. Thanks again!
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The women in the print evoke/seem to be riffing off the late 1940s Springmaid ads (which VFG member Lizzie Bramlett has written a wonderful blog post about).

And re the racially offensive content-- I agree with what's been said above: Whether or not you choose to keep the shirt in your own archive or sell it, it does have historical value. (I may be wrong, but my impression is that many if not most collectors of Black Americana are African American, so clearly they don't celebrate or want to perpetuate slurs and stereotypes!)
 
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