Produced by Bethanne M. Simms, Matthew Wheaton and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
BALTIMORE HATS
PAST AND PRESENT.
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE HAT INDUSTRY OF BALTIMORE
FROM ITS EARLIEST DAYS TO THE PRESENT TIME.
BY
WILLIAM T. BRIGHAM.
_PRINTED FOR GRATUITOUS CIRCULATION ONLY._
BALTIMORE:
MDCCCLXXXX.
COPYRIGHTED, 1890, BY WM. T. BRIGHAM.
_Press and Bindery of
Isaac Friedenwald, Baltimore, Md._
PREFACE.
It is not impossible that some useful information may be conveyed by
this book. Should these pages prove of such service, their cost in
labor is most cheerfully donated.
This volume is composed of a series of articles which appeared in a
Trade Journal, covering a period of two years from 1887 to 1889. It
must be accepted as but a brief history of an industry long identified
with Baltimore.
Thanks are due the Librarian of the Maryland Historical Society and
Mr. B. R. Sheriff for favors in lending rare and valuable old City
directories; also to the many citizens who kindly aided and assisted
in the search for needed information.
THE AUTHOR.
BALTIMORE, 1890.
CONTENTS.
1. INTRODUCTORY
2. EARLY DAYS
3. PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION
4. AFTER THE REVOLUTION
5. EARLY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
6. SOME OLD FIRMS
7. PATRIARCHS OF THE TRADE
8. JACOB ROGERS
9. OLD METHODS
10. JOHN PETTICORD
11. MIDDLE OF THE CENTURY
12. FASHIONS
13. NEW DEVELOPMENTS
14. GROWTH OF BUSINESS
15. HISTORY OF THE MACKINAW HAT
16. MODERN IMPROVEMENTS
17. A MODEL ESTABLISHMENT
18. WAYS AND MEANS OF THE PRESENT TIME
Baltimore Hats--Past and Present.
INTRODUCTORY.
No. 1.
Past and present have each their independent significance. The past
gives freely to us the experiences of others, the present a suitable
opportunity to improve upon what has already occurred. With our
observation and acceptance of these privileges so easily obtained, we
reap the benefit of their advantages and unconsciously find ourselves
the gainers both in capacity and intelligence. A history of the past,
giving the record of events and circumstances existing before our own
day, bringing to our knowledge the accomplishments, business
enterprises and undertakings of our predecessors, is a profitable
study, and the reader gratifies his curiosity in observing how
differently things were conducted and managed a century ago as
compared with the processes of the present day, exciting a sense of
wonder at the rapid progress that has been made in a comparatively
short period of time. Think of it! quite within the lifetime of many
of us have been the most wonderful of inventions--the steam engine,
steam vessels, the telegraph and other wonders and triumphs of
electricity. The wildest fancy may not be styled visionary in
anticipating the appearance of things still more surprising.
[Illustration: THEN.]
[Illustration: NOW.]
Continued familiarity with the present system of making hats has the
tendency in a great degree to prevent a recognition, until brought to
our notice by comparison of the wide difference existing between the
old and new methods, and this common every-day experience assists in
making us unappreciative of the remarkable improvements that have been
made in this branch of business.
Only a half a century ago the time required to make a single fur hat
from the prepared material was fully a week, and the average
production was two hats per day per man. With the bowing of the fur,
the forming and shrinking of the bodies, and the handwork of finishing
and trimming, all of which by the aid of modern science and invention
is to-day done by machinery more perfectly and completely at the rate
in production of twenty times that of fifty years ago, while the
sewing of a straw hat, which could hardly be done in an hour by the
plodding work of the hand, stitch by stitch, is, by the rapid
sewing-machine, made in a minute. When we think of the largest number
of stitches our mothers and sisters could take in their needlework by
hand and contrast it with the result of the sewing-machine that spins
its twenty-two hundred stitches a minute, we are able to gain some
adequate idea of the saving of labor, and while we complacently accept
these marvellous accomplishments, the question whether it be to the
poor and needy a loss or gain is still an undecided problem. With all
the advantages now at our command, it appears to us a matter of
surprise how our forefathers, with their apparently indifferent
methods, could profitably succeed in their labors. With steam engines,
sewing-machines and electricity, the quick accomplishments of the
present compared with the slow movements of the past tend to make one
think we are living in an age of wonders amounting almost to
miracles.
What would be the exclamation of the ghosts of our great-grandfathers
who, with the rapid trot of an ox-team, drove to church miles away
through the storms of winter to exemplify their devotion to the truth
of their faith, if suddenly they could rise and observe the luxury of
the present modes of transportation in convenient palace cars and
palatial steamships, our comfortable and gaudy churches, and our easy
ways of communicating instantly with those thousands of miles away
from us? Aladdin's wonderful experiences, or the magical change by
Cinderella's fairy god-mother, would appear tame to their intense
surprise.
[Illustration: RAPID TRANSIT IN OLDEN TIMES.]
In a series of articles it is proposed to give an account of the
growth of the hat manufacturing business, one of the most interesting
of Baltimore's industries; how at an early period it was raised into
conspicuous prominence in common with other enterprises undertaken in
the active spirit which has always characterized Baltimore merchants
as among the foremost of their time. They will also treat of its
gradual growth and development, followed by a temporary decline of
progress caused by the Civil War and its consequences, and finally of
its triumphant stride to place itself again in line with other leading
industries of this enterprising metropolis, for without doubt it holds
to-day an enviable position among the different trades, a position
acquired by the thoroughness, determination and perseverance of those
engaged in its development.
[Illustration: AN OLD TIMER.]
EARLY DAYS.
No. 2.
The spirit of ambition and independence constituting the fundamental
principles of manhood, and inspiring a nobleness of character which in
time of the country's struggle for liberty helped to give her the
benefits of wise counsel, noble patriotism and manly service, was
early manifested by the neighboring colony of Virginia, as in the year
1662 she ventured upon a practical plan to encourage the manufacture
of hats by offering a premium of ten pounds of tobacco for every
domestic hat made of fur or wool. What resulted from this generous act
we are not informed, but there is no evidence that it in any degree
stimulated the production of hats in that colony, and it is a noted
fact that hat-making to any extent has never flourished south of
Baltimore. This city seems to have been the southern boundary
line--the geographical limit in that direction--of hat-manufacturing.
As an offset to this enterprising manifesto of Virginia is a petition
in the year 1731 of the hat-makers of London to the "Lords of Trade,"
to enact a law forbidding the American colonists to wear hats not made
in Great Britain. This law was passed, attaching a penalty of five
hundred pounds sterling (twenty-five hundred dollars) for its
violation.
The archives of the New Jersey Historical Society for the year 1731
show that there was one hatter in that colony, and from a history of
Boston we learn that sixteen hat-makers of that town were affected by
the edict of these despotic English law-makers.
In this manner were the enterprises of the new continent checked and
the attempt made to crush out that spirit of progress so manifest in
the brightest of the English colonies. It was the continuation of such
injustice and oppression that eventually inspired a rebellious spirit
to take the place of patience and submission, ending in a revolt, the
termination of which secured us liberty and justice and the
announcement of our complete independence on the 4th of July, 1776.
The style of hat of this period (1731) had the sides of the brim
turned up, with a front of an easy curl, which, nearly resembling a
cap-visor, made it in shape somewhat between a hat and cap; this seems
to have been the first approach toward the "cocked" or three-cornered
hat afterwards so extensively used, and to Americans the most familiar
of past styles, from its being a fashion of the period of the
Revolution, by which it became the prominent part of an historical
costume. The arbitrary law before alluded to was afterwards modified,
but an uncomfortable restriction continued to be enforced upon all
manufactures, for in the year 1750 the English Parliament, among other
unjust acts, enacted a law forbidding exportation of hats from one
colony to another and allowing no hatter to have more than two
apprentices at one time, "because the colonists, if let alone, would
soon supply the whole world with hats."
[Illustration: 1731]
The French fashion of this time had the brazen characteristic of its
brim rising erect from the forehead, a style seemingly in keeping with
the then irritable condition and reckless agitation of the French
people.
Planche, in his "Cyclopaedia of Costumes" (vol. 1, page 261), quotes a
humorous description, evidently referring to this particular style, as
follows: "Some wear their hats with the corners that should cover the
forehead high in the air, these are called Gawkies; others do not half
cover their heads, which, indeed, is owing to the shallowness of their
crowns, but between beaver and eyebrows exposes a blank forehead,
which looks like a sandy road in a surveyor's plan."
[Illustration: 1750]
From the year 1750 until after the Revolution there was but little
change in the general character of style in men's hats: the custom of
erecting the brims by tying or looping them up prevailed. Soon the
elevation of the brim of 1750 was abandoned and a change made by
looping it at the points of a triangle, producing the three-cornered
or "cocked" hat. This was a becoming style we must admit, and one
seemingly well suited to the independent, fearless and patriotic
characteristics of our forefathers' traits, the possession of which at
that time gave us all the comforts that are ours now. The "cocked" hat
enjoyed a long popularity, continuing in fashion until near the close
of the century, when the "steeple top" and "chimney pot" styles--slang
terms for the high beavers--came into vogue, a style which Ashton, an
English writer, designates as "the hideous head-covering that has
martyrized at least three generations."
[Illustration: 1760]
Departure from settled and accustomed styles created the same furore
and astonishment, and subjected the venturesome individual whose
inclinations led an advance in fashion to the same exposure to
ridicule as affects the "swell" of the present day, and the reporters
of "society doings" then were as close observers, as keen in wit, and
as unmerciful in criticism as any of their kin to-day. Planche,
quoting from the _London Chronicle_ for 1762, refers to fashion of
hats at that time as follows: "Hats," says the writer, "are now worn
on the average six and three-fifths inches broad in the brim and
cocked. Some have their hats open like a church spout or like the
scales they weigh their coffee in; some wear them rather sharp like
the nose of the greyhound, and we can designate by the taste of the
hat the mood of the wearer's mind. There is a military cock and a
mercantile cock, and while the beaux of St. James wear their hats
under their arms, the beaux of Moorfields-Mall wear theirs diagonally
over the left or right eye; sailors wear their hats uniformly tucked
down to the crown, and look as if they carried a triangular apple
pasty upon their heads."
That "there is nothing new under the sun" is a maxim the truth of
which is often verified within the limits of fashionable manners; thus
the counterpart of the present captivating custom of carrying in the
public ball-room or at the private party the collapsed "opera" hat
under the arm is seen in the fashion of 1762, the only difference
being, not as now, to doff the hat in the house, but when promenading
the street the beau was to be seen with
"A pretty black beaver tucked under his arm,
If placed on his head it might keep him too warm."
[Illustration: Folded Hat, 1762.]
[Illustration: The 'Opera', 1887.]
The folded hat of 1762 differed from the opera hat of the present day
also in the softness of the crown, permitting its being flattened, and
the brim, as if hinged front and rear, folded at the sides like the
corners of a book, while the present opera hat, constructed with
jointed springs, allows its cylindrical crown to be flattened down to
a level with the brim, which keeps its fixed shape.
Scharf's "Chronicles of Baltimore" give the copy of an inventory made
in the year 1779 of the personal effects of one Thos. Edgerton, a
citizen of the Province of Maryland, and among them is his hat,
described as having a gold band and feathers. This hat evidently was
the celebrated cavalier style that appears in many of the portraits of
Rubens, Vandycke and Rembrandt, of all styles the prettiest and most
picturesque ever introduced.
The wide brim of the cavalier hat was arranged as suited the fancy of
the wearer, some of whom allowed it to take its natural shape, some
would wear it looped up on the side, and by others it was caught up
and attached to the crown at different angles; in fact, it was modeled
very much as the ladies now-a-days do the "Gainsborough," exercising
their own individual fancy as to the treatment of the brim.
[Illustration: The 'Cavalier', 1689]
Identical with the interests of Baltimore were the industries of other
towns of the colony of Maryland, and among the earliest records
referring to the hat business are several advertisements found in the
_Maryland Gazette_, published at Annapolis. In February, 1760, Chas.
Diggs advertises "men's and boys' castor and felt hats." In 1761
Barnet West advertises "gold and silver band hats, just imported from
London," and in April, 1761, appears the advertisement of Nathaniel
Waters, of Annapolis, who announces that he has for sale "silver and
gold buttons and loops for hats, and that he carries on the hat-making
as usual."
About this time Annapolis, being in her palmy days, was the center of
gentility and fashionable life; here was congregated the blue blood of
English aristocracy, who strove to foster and cultivate the same
courtly splendor and etiquette existing in old England, which brought
to the venerable place the enviable fame of being considered the most
fashionable of our colonial towns.
[Illustration: THE BEAU OF 1762.]
PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION.
No. 3.
An indulgence of those inborn habits of luxury and fondness for rich
and expensive dress by the wealthy land owners, comprising the large
majority of the population of the Southern colonies, encouraged a
demand for articles more elaborate and costly than those produced
within the colonial territory; hence imported fabrics were by them
largely preferred to those of domestic make. The gay and festive
social life, and the means easily acquired from their profitable crops
of cotton and tobacco, permitted indulgence in lavish expenditures for
articles of fashionable attire and household elegance.
The general customs of the people of the South had the effect of
retarding the progress of ordinary trades by not affording sufficient
patronage to encourage their successful undertaking; while, on the
contrary, from the greater necessity with the Northern people of
personal exertion and labor to provide the comforts of home life,
sprung that support of manufactures which has so largely increased as
to place the power and wealth of the country in their hands.
The event of the American Revolution, however, somewhat changed this
aspect of affairs. The genuineness of Maryland's loyalty was certainly
in one way nobly demonstrated, and by an act of patriotic
self-sacrifice, gave to her an unlooked-for reward in a prosperous
future. Her people quickly espousing the cause of liberty, at once
rejected articles of foreign make and gave choice to those of home
production, thus stimulating industries in their midst which had not
before flourished from lack of encouragement and support.
Actuated by a feeling of sympathy for their fellow-citizens of
Boston--whom the British Parliament in 1774 attempted to shut out from
commercial intercourse with every part of the world--the citizens of
Baltimore called a town meeting, unanimously recommending a general
congress of delegates, to meet at Annapolis, to take action against
this indignity on American liberties.
The congress met June 22, 1774, offering their heartiest support not
only in resolution, but in the more substantial way of money and food,
as aid to their Boston friends in the resistance to British tyranny
and oppression, supplementing these patriotic resolutions by one
making the importation of English goods an act disloyal to the
sentiment of American hearts.
The earliest manufacturing hatter in Baltimore, of whom any definite
knowledge can be obtained, was David Shields, who kept store at No. 14
Gay street. As the location was on the east side of Gay and the
seventh house from the corner of Baltimore street, it probably was
about half-way between Baltimore and Fayette streets. Here he sold to
his patrons the products of his "back shop" or factory, which was
located on the south side of East, now Fayette street, at a point
half-way between Gay and Frederick streets. Mr. Shields' father was
from Pennsylvania. David Shields was born in the year 1737, and his
descendants of to-day include some of the wealthiest and most refined
citizens of Baltimore. In Scharf's "Chronicles of Baltimore" his name
is mentioned, in connection with others, in the year 1769 as aiding by
a general subscription in procuring an engine for the extinguishment
of fires; this engine was for the "Mechanical Fire Company," and was
the first machine of its kind in Baltimore, costing the sum of two
hundred and sixty-four dollars.
Unfortunately, the information gained of Mr. Shields' business career
is so meagre as to leave much to the imagination, but it is natural to
suppose that in 1769, being thirty-two years of age, he must have
been established in business.
That Mr. Shields was a public-spirited citizen is further proven by
his connection with the First Baptist Society, being one of a
committee constituted for the purpose of purchasing a lot upon which
to erect a church; this was in 1773, two years before the Revolution.
The church was built on Front street, upon the site now occupied by
the Merchants' Shot Tower, and was the first Baptist Church erected in
Baltimore.
The _Federal Gazette_ announces the death of Mr. Shields, October 4,
1811, in the seventy-fourth year of his age; his funeral taking place
from his residence, which was over his place of business, on Gay
street.
What may have been the actual condition of the hat business of
Baltimore just before the Revolution has been difficult to ascertain.
Mr. Shields must have been in business during this period, and it is
more than probable that in a town of the size of Baltimore at that
date there must have been others engaged in this branch of business,
but how many and who they were cannot be ascertained. It is very
likely that the restriction placed by English rule upon most
manufacturing industries prior to the Revolution operated
detrimentally upon this industry also, and while the ordinary kind of
wool felt hats were made by the hatter in his own shop, undoubtedly
most of the fashionable hats sold and worn at that time were of
English or French make. Paris (which then, as well as now, was the
axis upon which revolved the world of fashion) possibly supplied the
wants of Baltimore's highborn gentry, always famous for exquisite
dress and refined taste, with the French chapeau--the _ton_ of those
days.
As there are no existing detailed statistics of the business of
Baltimore during the Revolutionary War, the record of some business
firms has been entirely lost, and although some trades have received
slight mention in the published histories of the city, a trace of the
existence of but two hatters, who afterwards continued in business, is
to be found. Since it is known as a fact that fourteen hatters were
engaged in business in Baltimore, not later than ten years after the
close of the war, we have a right to suppose that more than two must
have been in business during the existence of the war.
Among the proceedings of the "Council of Safety" of Maryland,
organized at the outbreak of the war, is found the following order:
"March 2, 1776. The Council of Safety authorize Major Gist to contract
for fifty camp-kettles and as many _hats_ as may be necessary for the
battalion, not to exceed 7 shillings apiece." Again, April 6, 1776,
"Commissary of Stores of Baltimore is ordered to send to Annapolis 200
of the hats arrived from Philadelphia." Why Baltimore hatters did not
supply the needed hats for Maryland militia we cannot say, but
probably a sharp competition for so _large_ a contract wrested it from
them.
The adoption of the "cocked" hat in its various forms as a portion of
the military costume of the Continental Army brought about the
necessity of making a distinction between civil and military wear.
After the close of the American Revolution France was in a state of
civil insurrection, and the French "chapeau" of that time was
constructed upon a plan somewhat similar to that of the "cocked" hat.
With the termination of the French Revolution appeared the
"steeple-top" hat, having a conical crown with stiff curled brim,
drooping front and rear, being trimmed with a very wide band and
ornamented in front with a huge metal buckle, a change radical enough
from those preceding it, but admitting a question as to its
comparative intrinsic beauty or to its being a more becoming part of
male attire; the style withal certainly proved acceptable, for with
slight modifications it has continued and is now embodied in the
fashionable silk hat of the present time.
Thus with the opening of the nineteenth century commenced the era of
what may be correctly termed the _high_ hat. Ashton, in "Old Times,"
says of the style of 1790-95: "The 'cocked' hat had gone out, and the
galling yoke of the 'chimney pot' was being inaugurated, which was as
yet of limp felt."
[Illustration: 1795]
In fashions prevailing at the opening of the new century, particularly
those of wearing apparel both for ladies and gentlemen, Paris took the
lead, and though with many articles to-day Parisian designs and ideas
secure the largest share of popularity, yet in regard to hats for
gentlemen it can proudly be said that American-made hats are ahead in
point of style and quality, and are no longer dependent upon foreign
ingenuity for assistance in securing for them a ready sale; in fact,
no American industry to-day stands in a more enviable position
relatively to foreign manufactures than does that of hat-making.
The fancy for sentimental hits and political phrases indulged in by
modern hatters seems to have been the rage at an earlier period, as is
evident from the following, published in the London _Times_ of
December 4, 1795: "If the young men of the present day have not much
wit in their heads they have it at least in their _hats_." Among the
pleasantries we have seen in this way are the following: "Not yours,"
"Hands off," "No vermin," and "Rip this as you would a hot potato,"
and other charming sallies of _refined_ and _elegant_ vivacity.
But the wittiest linings are the political ones. The other day we
observed one perfectly clean and tidy in which was written: "Avaunt!
Guinea Pig," and on the lining of a very powdery hat that lay in the
window of the same room were inscribed the two monosyllables
"Off-crop." "Guinea pig" and "Off-crop" were probably local political
distinctions of the day.
[Illustration: A CITIZEN OF '76.]
AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
No. 4.
Not until after the Revolution is it apparent that any attempt was
made in Baltimore to concentrate the hatting industry into a
legitimate business upon any extensive scale, or to separate the
manufacturing from the retail branch of business; in fact, far into
the new century was it the practice of those who manufactured
extensively for the trade, to continue to keep in operation also a
_retail_ establishment.
The general system of conducting the hat business at the time of which
we are now writing was for the hatter to have his "back shop" in the
rear and accessible to the "front shop," where the proprietor and his
"prentice hand" made the needed supply for the existing or future
small demand likely to come; for hats in those days were "built" for
service, not for show, and in a manner quite different from those
suited to the modern requirement of almost a monthly change in style.
Then the principle demand came from maturing youth, desiring to assume
suitable dignity for entrance into manhood, by procuring a "beaver"
which, unless he lived to a patriarchal age, might serve him during
his natural life, and that, too, without fear of banishment from
society for being out of the fashion.
In the first "Baltimore City Directory," printed in the year 1796,
appear the names of nineteen hatters; the business locations of some
of the number, it is curious to observe, being at places hardly
recognizable by those living at the present day.
Gay street, prior to the year 1808, extended from the water to
Griffith's bridge (now called Gay-street bridge), beyond which it was
called Bridge street; German lane is now German street; East street is
Fayette street, and the euphonious name of Cowpen alley is now
dignified by that of Garrett street. Baltimore street was then called
Market street, and for a long time after was often designated by
either name.
The following names and localities of hatters are found in the
Baltimore City Directory published in 1796:
RICHARD AVERSON, German lane, between Howard and Liberty streets.
JOSEPH BURNET, Welcome alley, Federal Hill.
PETER BOND, 13 Bridge street, Old Town.
WILLIAM BRANSON, 131 Market street.
PETER BEZE, 31 Charles street.
FREDERICK DEEMS, Cowpen alley.
JOSEPH BURNESTON, 17 George street, Fell's Point.
" Shop, 19 George street, Fell's Point.
GEORGE LITTIG, 141 Market street, Shop on "The Causeway."
ARNOLD LIVERS, Shop, 24 South Calvert street.
AARON MATTISON, Shop, East street, between Calvert and Gay.
WILLIAM MOCKBEE, East street, between St. Paul's lane and Charles
street.
GASPER MORELLI, 36 Charles street.
JOHN PARKS, Shop, 14 Light street.
JACOB ROGERS, 29 South street.
GEORGE SMITH, 101 Bond street.
DAVID SHIELDS, 14 North Gay street.
JOHN STEIGER, 250 Market street.
JOHN UNDERWOOD, Alley between St. Paul's lane and Calvert street.
DANIEL WEAVER, 19 Front street.
Judging from localities here given, ten of this number were engaged in
business as principals, the others were probably journeymen, working
at their trade in the various shops in the town.
JOHN PARKS, who did business at 14 Light street, had his residence at
137 Market street, about the location now occupied by Clogg & Son as a
Shoe store. In the year 1802, No. 137 Market street was occupied by
John Walraven, Hardware and Silversmith, and John and Andrew Parks are
in the Dry-goods business, at No. 2 Market space.
WILLIAM BRANSON, at 131 Market street, appears to have continued
business in the same place up to the year 1810. During the years
1800-2 the firm was Branson & Son; their store was the second house
west of Grant street, then called Public alley; the place is now
occupied by Geo. Steinbach & Son as a Toy establishment.
AARON MATTISON, whose shop, in 1796, was on East street, in 1799
associated his son with himself in business, locating at 16 North Gay
street, next door to David Shields. In 1802 Wm. Mattison, probably the
son, opened a store at 180 Market street; the firm continuing at 16 N.
Gay street as Aaron Mattison & Son. The next year W. Mattison appears
at 72 Market street, following which no further record is found of
this firm.
No. 180 Market street was two doors east of Charles, on the north
side, now occupied by Towner & Landstreet's Rubber store. No. 72
Market street was also on the north side, second house east from
Lemon, now Holliday street.
PETER BOND, whose location was No. 13 Bridge street, continued as a
hatter in the same place until the year 1806; afterwards he appears to
have changed the character of his business, for in 1807 he is found to
be a "storekeeper" at No. 9 Bridge street. No. 13 was on the north
side of what is now Gay street, the seventh or eighth house beyond the
bridge over the Falls. Peter Bond was a member of the committee of
"Vigilance and Safety" organized by the citizens of Baltimore in the
dark days of anxiety and trouble preceding the invasion of the city by
the British in September, 1814.
RICHARD AVERSON had his residence on German lane, between Howard and
Eutaw streets. At that time there was but one dwelling-house on German
lane between Hanover and Liberty streets. German lane, now German
street, then extended only from Charles to Greene street. Mr. Averson
kept his hat store at No. 4 County wharf, which was the lower terminus
of South Calvert street; he had for his neighbors Gerard T. Hopkins,
Peter Cox and George Mason, Grocers.
DAVID SHIELDS continued in business at his old locality, 14 North Gay
street, certainly until the year 1808, and probably up to the time of
his death in 1811. In 1819 his place is found to be occupied by
Francis Foster as a hat store.
ARNOLD LIVERS would seem to have been the most peripatetic of hatters,
and must have caused no little stir and comment among his
fellow-tradesmen. Until 1801 he appears as solitary Arnold Livers,
carrying on the hat business at 24 South Calvert street, where
probably he had a retail "shop." In 1802 the Directory records:
"Arnold Livers, 24 South Calvert street," and on Fayette street
(probably his residence), also 70 Cumberland Row; Livers & Atkinson,
35 Fell street, and Livers & Atkinson, 10 George street, Fell's Point.
In 1804 Arnold Livers is still at 24 South Calvert street, also at 70
Market space, and George Atkinson has succeeded to the firm of Livers
& Atkinson. In 1810 it is Livers & Grover, 39 South, corner of Water
street. From this time Mr. Livers disappears entirely; one may imagine
what a commotion this evidently unsettled man of business must have
raised during ten years of these varied and numerous changes, and
possibly others of which the Directories give no account.
So rapidly and effectively does time erase the evidence of former
labors, and so quickly is the past forgotten, that one is surprised
and disappointed at not finding more proof on record of what these
worthy apostles of work may have done.
Of the nineteen whose names are in the Directory of 1796, traces of
the personal history of but two of the number can be found: these are
David Shields, before alluded to, and John Parks. In Griffith's
"Annals of Baltimore," John Parks is mentioned in the year 1784 as
subscribing ten pounds to the funds raised by citizens for the purpose
of elevating the courthouse to admit the extension of Calvert street.
Then the courthouse stood in the bed of Calvert street, which it
spanned, where since has been erected and now stands Battle Monument,
commemorating the loss of Baltimore's brave citizens, who gave their
lives in defence of their homes against British invasion in 1814.
Among the patriots whose names are inscribed upon this monument by a
grateful people, desiring in such way to honor and perpetuate the
memory of those who sacrificed themselves in the defence of their
homes and firesides, appears that of JOSEPH BURNESTON, a hatter, who
is found in 1796 doing business at 19 George street, Fell's Point.
Thus, while little else is known of Mr. Burneston's career, he is
immortalized by a noble deed, and his name is handed down to coming
generations to show what sacrifices were made in securing to us that
freedom and comfort we now possess, sacrifices which should inspire us
with the determination that when similar calls come we will be ready
to answer as unhesitatingly as did this patriotic hatter.
From the location of Mr. Burneston's place of business it may be
inferred that he was only a hat-maker, having no "front shop" or
retail establishment, but was merely a maker of hat bodies to be sold
to retailers, who themselves finished and trimmed them ready for sale.
Of the hatters of 1796 there is but one through whom can be
connectedly traced Baltimore's hat industry from before the Revolution
down to the present time; that one is JACOB ROGERS, whose
long-continued business career brings personal knowledge of him down
to a time quite within the recollection of some now living. Singularly
enough, by this solitary instance are we able to connect hatting in
1769 with that of 1890, for it is known that Mr. Rogers learned his
trade with Mr. David Shields, who was in business in 1769, and engaged
in their occupation to-day are several who were apprenticed to Mr.
Rogers.
[Illustration: IN READINESS.]
EARLY IN THE XIX CENTURY.
No. 5.
So wonderful were the recuperative powers of the American people,
after undergoing the trials and sacrifices consequent upon a
protracted struggle for liberty, as to surprise the most sanguine
advocates of self-government.
Following the train of war came ruin and desolation, but freedom was
the birthright of the people, who, though sorely tried by a tremendous
outlay in blood and money, were by no means disheartened or
discouraged, and without delay they cheerfully took in hand the task
of renovation with the same resolute determination that characterized
the conflict with their enemies.
The contributions of Maryland to the country's wants during the war
were always generous in both men and money. Baltimore, after
recovering from the exhaustion consequent upon her constant
participation in the seven long years' contest for freedom, commenced
the foundation of her future commercial greatness, and early in the
present century she had attained a commerce greater in extent than
that of many older seaport towns. Baltimore "clippers" were celebrated
for their marvelous speed, and their white sails were to be seen in
the ports of every foreign nation.
Baltimore kept steadily advancing in population and wealth; compared
with her rivals, she was precocious. The town was settled in the year
1730, and its increase shows evidence of growth that must have created
a surprise in its early days similar to that now experienced by the
development in a few weeks of a full-fledged Western city, with its
thousands of inhabitants, from its humble foundation of a few
straggling hamlets. New York was settled in 1614, Boston in 1630,
Philadelphia in 1682, each being well on in existence before Baltimore
was born.
At the close of the Revolutionary War the population of Baltimore was
5000; in 1800 it was 26,614. The first United States census, taken in
1810, places the number at 35,580, and in 1820 it had grown to be a
prosperous commercial city of 62,738 inhabitants.
The persistent patriotism of Baltimore throughout the Revolutionary
War was proverbial; the strong intelligence of a majority of its
citizens, though of foreign birth, gave them an intuitive knowledge of
the distinction between right and wrong, and a fine sense of honor and
justice prompted them to act as well as theorize, consequently their
personal convictions as to the allegiance they owed their adopted
country enabled the city of their choice to assume a strong and
patriotic attitude in behalf of America's struggle, and incited them
to act with the native element in expelling from their midst all who
indulged in hostile acts or expressions. But one sentiment prevailed
in Baltimore during the period of the war--that of loyalty to country.
The courteous attention and honor paid by citizens to many of those
who attained distinction in the war lent great assistance to Baltimore
in quickly recovering from the damage she had sustained, and gave to
the city a renown for hospitality which has remained by her to the
present day.
Washington, Lafayette, Count Rochambeau, and many others united in
unrestricted praises of Baltimore's patriotism and liberality, and
General Vallette, who commanded a French division of troops, declared:
"I will never forget the happy days I have passed among you, citizens
of Baltimore, and I beg you will believe that your remembrance will be
forever dear to my memory."
The famous General Greene, of Rhode Island, on his way homeward from
the war in the South, stopped in Baltimore and gave his impression of
the city in 1783 as follows:
"Baltimore is a most thriving place. Trade nourishes, and the spirit
of building exceeds belief. Not less than three hundred houses are put
up in a year. Ground rents are little short of what they are in
London. The inhabitants are all men of business."
The period from 1800-30, although interrupted by the war of 1812, when
the city was made the immediate battle-ground, was marked by a
wonderful growth in both commercial and industrial occupations, and,
in common with the general prosperity of the place, hat-making also
flourished. In 1810 Maryland is found, from the United States census
reports, to have taken the lead in the production of fur hats. Aside
from the custom with some retailers of making and finishing the hats
they sold, we find in the year 1818 several firms engaged in the
_manufacture_ of hats. The products of these factories were
distributed throughout the entire South, a section the natural
resources of which enabled its people to easily recuperate from the
war and quickly become large purchasers and consumers of goods which
they did not themselves manufacture. In addition to this desirable
field of business was the region of the "Far West," then comprising
Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, the rapid increase of which in
population by emigration greatly enlarged the demand for the products
of Baltimore's hat industry. This being the most accessible seaport
city, regular traffic by wagon trains was established, connecting
Baltimore with the West, and giving to the former such superior
advantages as to enable its enterprising merchants to secure a large
trade, which they long and tenaciously held.
The city directories of that period were not, as now-a-days, issued
annually, but at intervals of three or four years, and while
furnishing much valuable information, cannot be relied upon for
complete correctness, the main object of the compiler being to get the
names of house-holders and business men, while many who were
temporarily employed, and all who were unmarried though permanently
employed, were omitted from registration. Thus the Directory of 1818
does not give a full list of hatters in this city at that time, for
while it appears that there were in operation in Baltimore twenty-five
hat establishments in the year 1818 (five or six of which were
extensive manufactories), the Directory does not show any fair
proportion of the number that then must have been engaged in the
occupation of hat-making. It may be safely estimated from the extent
and the activity of this branch of business at that time, that it gave
employment to at least three hundred hands.
Before the year 1810 the "taper crown" or "steeple top" had yielded to
the uncompromising demands of fashion, and a style appeared quite
different from that which existed at the opening of the century. It
had so expanded its crown as to become "bell" in place of "taper," a
change so manifestly popular that the "bell crown" since that time,
though subject in a greater or less degree to occasional alterations
in its proportions, has been for a dress hat the generally accepted
style.
[Illustration: 1810]
In the style of 1810, Fashion, indulging as she not infrequently does,
in a gymnastic summersault from one extreme to another, went in this
instance quite as far as prudence would allow: the crown was about
seven inches in height and about eight and one-quarter inches across
the tip, with a brim about two-and-a-quarter inches wide, the hat
being thickly napped with long beaver fur and trimmed with a wide band
and buckle. Following the year 1810 there came a reduction in heights
of crowns as well as in the proportions of "bell," and a modified
style prevailed until the year 1835, when it again developed into an
extreme "bell" shape with a very narrow brim, a style so utterly
extravagant as to bring it into ridicule.
SOME OLD FIRMS.
No. 6.
Of the hatters engaged in business in Baltimore during the early part
of this century, many are worthy of more than passing notice as men of
honest character, strict in their dealings and successful in their
business undertakings, gaining the respect of their fellow-townsmen
and becoming honored and trusted citizens of a growing community.
When it is known what were the social surroundings of the "old time"
hatter in his youth, it seems a matter of surprise that such good
fruit should spring from so unpromising soil.
No one was supposed to be capable of conducting the retail hat
business unless he had served his term of apprenticeship to the trade,
and apprenticeship in those days was no trivial matter. It meant the
surrender at an early age of home, with its parental influences--a
most dangerous experience for the untrained youth to encounter--and
was entered into by contract for a term of years, binding master and
hand to its faithful execution; not merely a verbal agreement between
parties themselves, but one solemnly executed by parent and employer,
ratified and signed before a magistrate and made binding after all
this legal form by the attachment of the portentous seal of the
Orphans' Court, before the boy could be considered bounden as "an
apprentice to the trade." This was virtually a surrender of all
domestic control, giving to one not of "kith or kin" absolute
guardianship of the boy. The habits and morals of the "'prentice" were
often a secondary consideration, if not wholly neglected.
Thus, as a class, the journeyman hatters often developed into loose,
shiftless, migratory characters, spending their liberal wages freely,
with no ambition beyond that of daily support; and the surprise is
that from such a source came notably honorable men, whose lives seemed
to contradict the whole theory of the influence of early training. To
these worthy pioneers belongs the credit of laying a secure
foundation for a trade that from humble beginnings has developed into
one of the most prominent industries of the country, requiring
extensive capital, liberal business capacity, and one that gives
employment to a large, intelligent and skillful class of people.
Among those conducting the hatting business in Baltimore at the
opening of the present century, Mr. Jacob Rogers, from his long and
successful business career, as well as from being the only one through
whom it has been possible to connect this special industry as it
existed before the Revolution, with that of the present time, ranks
most prominently.
What year Mr. Rogers commenced business cannot be ascertained, but as
early as 1796, being nearly 30 years of age, he is found established
at the corner of South and Second streets, and in the year 1844
(almost the middle of another century), after the lapse of nearly
fifty years, and while actively engaged in business pursuits, his life
was suddenly ended; his funeral taking place from his residence, at
South and Second streets, his home for more than half a century.
About the year 1805 Mr. Rogers erected a large factory on Second
street near Tripolet's alley (now Post-Office avenue). This building
was about one hundred and fifty feet long, forty wide, and four
stories in height. Afterwards a wing extension of considerable
proportions was added.
[Illustration: Hat shop of Jacob Rogers, built about 1805.]
This establishment was one of the "big" concerns of the day, and Mr.
Rogers was credited with conducting, at this time, the most extensive
and prosperous hat business in the United States.
To-day not a vestige remains of Mr. Rogers' factory, and upon its site
is the extensive structure of the Corn and Flour Exchange. His store,
at the corner of South and Second streets, still remains, however,
having been remodeled from that of Mr. Rogers' time, the ground-floor
being now occupied by H. W. Totebush as a cigar store.
In 1819 Mr. Rogers took as partner in business his eldest son, George,
the firm becoming Jacob Rogers & Son. In 1823 Mr. Rogers leased from
the Carroll family the property No. 129 West Baltimore street, at the
corner of Public alley (now Grant street), where a branch
establishment was opened, both establishments being continued up to
the time of Mr. Rogers' death, in 1844, at which time the firm was
"Jacob Rogers & Sons," William, another son, having been admitted
about the year 1835.
Upon the occasion of celebrating the laying of the cornerstone of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Baltimore, July 4, 1828 (a great event
in the annals of the city), the exhibition of trades was a most
prominent feature of the immense procession, and none made a finer
display than the hatters. George Rogers commanded that division, a
description of which is thus given in the Baltimore _Gazette and Daily
Advertiser_ of July 5, 1828: "The hatters' car was drawn by four
horses, showing the men at work in the several stages of hat-making.
The group attracted much attention; they carried a banner with a white
ground, and on the shield was a beaver resting on a scroll bearing the
motto: 'With the industry of the beaver we support our rights,'
crossed with implements of the trade, the whole supported by the
motto: 'We cover all.'"
Bazil Sollers commenced business in 1799 at No. 68 Market street, a
location on the north side of the street, four doors east of what is
now Holliday street. In 1803 he removed to No. 22 Market street, also
on the north side, four doors west of Harrison street; this latter
place was previously occupied by Brant & Hobby as a hat store in 1801,
and by Stansbury & Hobby in 1802. Mr. Sollers continued in business on
Market street until the year 1831, when he removed to North Gay, No.
15, on the northwest corner of Front street. His factory was on East,
now Fayette street, three doors east of Lemon street. Mr. Sollers
continued in the manufacturing business until about the year 1840.
James Gould & Co. started hat-manufacturing at No. 3 Water street in
the year 1802. Water street at that time was numbered from Calvert to
South street, subsequently from South to Calvert, and lately
renumbered as formerly. No. 3, the second building from Calvert, is
now occupied by J. E. Warner & Co., commission merchants. In 1807
Joseph Cox succeeded to the business of James Gould & Co., and kept a
retail store on the corner of South and Water streets. Mr. Cox had the
reputation of making a superior class of hats, excelled by no
manufacturer in the country, selling at both wholesale and retail.
Requiring more extensive accommodations, he located his factory on
the corner of Little Water and Calvert streets, where now stands the
large warehouse of Keen & Hagerty, tinware manufacturers. In 1829,
disposing of his hat business to Boston & Elder, he associated with
himself his son James, the firm becoming "James Cox & Son, dealers in
hatters' furs and wools," at No. 1 South Liberty street. In latter
years, the members of this firm having acquired a competency, retired
from business.