I am starting a new clothing accessories business. While I was researching clothing labels I came across a label that was created in the 1940's. It is

It is impossible to give any opinion without actually looking at the original work and comparing it to the design you want to use. However, no one can have the sole right to use something like the New York City skyline in a copyrighted work. What you can't do is copy an existing design that is currently protected by copyright. It may be a good investment to have the search run at the United States Copyright Office to see what design was ever protected by copyright - if the copyright was not renewed, you may be able to use it. However, you also refer to a"logo" which falls under trademark law, not copyright law. You also need to search the United States Patent & Trademark Office database to make sure your logo design is not "confusingly similar" to a registered trademark. It is also a good idea to have a trademark search run for nationwide state registrations and "common law" trademarks, since trademarks do NOT have to be registered with the USPTO to be enforceable. Running a trademark search will likely be more expensive than running the copyright records search.