Tanglefoot Flypaper 1887 Vintage Men's T-Shirt
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Couldn't load pickup availability
Guaranteed Safe Checkout
In the early 1880s, Grand Rapids, Michigan druggist William Thum challenged his four sons to come up with a better kind of flypaper. The brothers developed a sticky compound made from castor oil, resins, and wax that lasted longer on the shelf and, unlike many competing products, didn’t soak through its paper backing. The Thums soon formed a company to market their invention under the Tanglefoot name, offering a simple solution to a very real nuisance in an era when horse-drawn transportation made flies an unavoidable part of everyday life. Although plenty of other companies sold flypaper, few became as familiar to consumers as Tanglefoot. Its formula was patented in 1887, and the brand went on to become one of the best-known names in fly control—the proverbial better mousetrap, only for flies.
Like all our designs, this one is treated with our signature ‘relic-ing’ process which includes our own secret recipe of hand-painted chipping, cracking, fading, and just the right touch of yellowing to ensure that it looks the part of a true vintage imprint.** We lay these works of art down on premium Bella+Canvas 3001 Unisex Jersey Short Sleeve Tees, one of the softest, best-wearing t-shirts available today, via state of the art direct to garment (DTG) printing which allows us to create a vintage effect that simply can’t be accomplished with other printing methods. In short, these shirts are everything you’ve dreamed of and more – it feels soft and lightweight with just the right amount of stretch, making it comfortable and flattering for both men and women.
- 100% combed and ring-spun cotton*
- Fabric weight: 4.2 oz (142 g/m2)
- 32 singles for a softer hand
- Dyed and cut in the USA
- Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
- Side-seamed construction
- Tear-away label
- Modern retail fit
- Runs true to size
Not sure what size is your best fit? We recommend taking one of your current t-shirts, laying it flat and measuring it. The measurements in the chart below are taken with the shirt laying on a flat surface. To get the length, measure from the high shoulder point down to the bottom of the shirt. To get the width, measure approximately 1-inch below the armhole, across the chest, from seam to seam. While our tees are all made using premium, pre-shrunk, ring-spun cotton, there can be some shrinkage depending on your personal wash and dry cycles. With that said, if you’re on the fence, we always suggest going up a size.

