that Baltimore came rapidly forward as a straw goods manufacturing
place, becoming important as a center in that particular branch of
business; therefore a history of the article which contributed so
largely to the development of this industry is likely to prove both
interesting and instructive.
"Mackinaw," as a trade term or name, does not, as might be supposed,
indicate the region from whence the articles comes, but undoubtedly
received its christening from some one of the few retailers who early
used these goods, in order to create a distinction from a similar,
but much inferior article, then termed the "Canada" hat. While both
the "Mackinaw" and the "Canada" are made of wheat straw, the
difference between the two, as the product of one country and of
nearly the same latitude, is a great surprise. The wheat of the
eastern part of Canada produces a straw dark in color, harsh in
texture, and of little use for making a hat, while that grown in the
western part of the same country is clear and white in color,
possessing a brilliant enamel which imparts the beauty that rendered
the Mackinaw so famous as an article of fashion.
The Mackinaw must be considered a local rather than a national
production, coming as it does from a region comprised within a small
radius around the city of Detroit, part of which is Canadian territory
and part within the borders of the United States; for while
considerable straw from which the plait is made is raised and plaited
within the limits of the State of Michigan, by far the largest
proportion, as also the best quality, is the product of the Canadian
territory. Nature seems to have provided a small community with
unusual advantages, for within a limited territory has been produced
all the large quantity of straw plait required to supply the popular
demand that for many years existed for Mackinaw hats, and all efforts
elsewhere to produce material combining the peculiarities of this
straw, from which these hats were made, invariably failed.
The claim of the Mackinaw to antiquity and long use is perhaps as
strong as that of other plaits with which the trade has become
familiar, for no doubt the natives of the country made use of these
hats as a head-covering long before they became an article of trade.
The Mackinaw was for many years after its first introduction sold
under the designation of the "Canada" hat, the name given to a similar
but comparatively degraded article produced in Lower, or Eastern
Canada; and the title Mackinaw was first applied by the late Mr.
Charles Oakford, of Philadelphia, or by Mr. R. Q. Taylor, of Baltimore,
each of whom were among the first to make it a fashionable hat.
The makers of these goods are wholly the poor, ignorant half-breeds,
who spring from the Canadian French and the Indian. Finding that hats,
as well as the skins of the animals they trapped, could be traded for,
the family talent was brought into use to produce something that might
contribute to their meagre subsistence. So during the winter season,
while the men hunted the muskrat, the Indian women and children
plaited straw and made hats, which, on the opening of spring, were
carried with the skins obtained by the hunters, to the towns, where
they were exchanged for food, drink, clothing and ammunition.
To the advantages of soil and climate is attributed that purity of
color, brilliancy of enamel, toughness of fibre and elasticity of
texture which are recommendations of the Mackinaw. Added to these
natural qualities was the advantage of a peculiar treatment given to
the straw by the natives, who employed a whitening or bleaching
process without the use of chemicals, giving increased beauty to the
article.
During the prosperity of Mackinaw straw plaiting, a prominent
character among the half-breeds was one Madame Lousseux, a sturdy,
aged matron, with twelve hearty daughters, who, inheriting their
mother's prolific nature, were in turn each the proprietress of a
family of a dozen boys and girls. They all appeared to inherit the old
lady's natural ability and wonderful expertness, and surpassed all
competitors in the plaiting of the straw. The choicest products in
braid and hats came from the Lousseux family.
In 1834, and for many years after, these goods were sold and used only
as ordinary harvest hats. It now seems surprising that an article
possessing such attractive merits should have occupied a secondary
position and been so long in establishing the reputation it finally
secured. The first person, as far as discovered, who used this article
for retail purposes as a genteel and fashionable hat, was Henry
Griswold in the year 1845, who did business in the then little and
obscure town of Racine, Wisconsin. The Raciners must have been people
of an appreciative and refined taste, as it appears that Mr. Griswold
sold the hat for several seasons to his own advantage.
Prior to 1846 these goods were sold in New York by Leland, Mellen &
Co., at that time the largest wholesale hat firm in the country. Mr.
Mellen retired from business in 1851. In reply to a personal inquiry
of the writer in the year 1874, Mr. Mellen wrote from Framingham,
Mass., as follows:
"The Canada straw hat from the region of Detroit was sold by our firm
as early as 1845. After being blocked and trimmed, they were sold as
an ordinary staple hat. We sold a few to John H. Genin, W. H. Beebe &
Co., and Charles Knox, then the leading retail hatters of Broadway. I
think, however, they were sold by them only as a fishing or harvest
hat. We continued to receive these goods from Detroit for several
seasons, until an article from Lower Canada, of inferior quality and
less price, made its appearance, and stopped the sale, as far as we
were concerned."
The exact date of the appearance of the Mackinaw in Philadelphia
cannot be accurately determined, but it must have been as early as
1847. Messrs. Beebe, Coster & Co., a prominent retail firm in
Philadelphia, in 1849, sold the tapering crown, wide brim "Canada
straw hat." From about 1855 to 1860 the Mackinaw became so very
popular in the Quaker City that it was recognized as a leading
article. The prominent retailers then using it were Charles Oakford,
W. F. Warburton, Louis Blaylock, and Sullender & Pascall; each of these
firms themselves finished the straw hats, taking them as they were
sewed by the natives, which was with a taper crown and wide brim,
making little pretence to any variety in style or proportion. Messrs.
Sullender & Pascall made an advanced step and undertook one season to
sell the Mackinaw to the exclusion of all other straw hats, preparing
them in various shapes and for the first time adapting them to the
requirements and tastes of a "nobby" trade.
In 1847 William Ketchem of Buffalo, E. B. Wickes of Syracuse, and John
Heywood & Sons of Rochester sold these hats. In 1848 L. Benedict &
Co., prominent retailers of Cleveland, handled the goods. This firm
was followed next season by Messrs. R. & N. Dockstadter, then a very
prominent concern in the same place. In 1849 they were sold in
Sandusky by C. C. Keech.
The Mackinaw during these periods must have been introduced and sold
in other places, but it had not secured its recognition as an article
worthy of being placed on a level with foreign productions, which
were then considered the desirable and suitable straw hat for genteel
wear. It was probably not until after the year 1855 that the article
received its title of "Mackinaw," and not until then did it secure its
well merited, dignified position.
By far the largest retailer of the Mackinaw hat in this country, and
the one to whom belongs the greatest credit in popularizing it, is Mr.
R. Q. Taylor, of Baltimore. He introduced the hat to his customers as
far back as 1850, and for _thirty_ consecutive seasons sold it without
any apparent diminution of popularity. For many years Mr. Taylor sold
the Mackinaw to the exclusion of all other straw hats. At one time so
identified did the Mackinaw become with the people of this city, that
it was said a Baltimorean might be recognized anywhere by the straw
hat he wore. Mr. Taylor asserts that in the years 1872 and 1873 he
retailed from his own counter, in the two seasons, upwards of 9000
hats. The reputation of the Mackinaw has been admirably sustained by
Mr. Taylor, whose firm is still engaged in their manufacture, with a
constant demand for them. Probably no other straw hat ever introduced
to the American public can show such a continued and extended sale. In
1868 Messrs. Wm. R. Cole & Co., predecessors of the present firm of
Brigham, Hopkins & Co., commenced to produce these goods for the
general trade, and it is to their efforts that much of the widespread
popularity of the Mackinaw is due. They first tried these hats with
their own local trade, and finding them eminently successful, ventured
to offer them in New York, meeting with much encouragement. From a
small commencement their trade in these goods continued to increase
until a large and well established business was secured, continuing to
grow in volume and extent, and becoming the precursor of an industry
that places Baltimore in a leading position as a manufacturing place
for straw goods.
MODERN IMPROVEMENTS.
No. 16.
In the rank of those whose successful undertakings have contributed
towards the restoration to Baltimore of a lost industry, and placing
it upon such a foundation as to have it recognized as one of
importance, no firm stands more prominent or has done more towards its
accomplishment than that of Brigham, Hopkins & Co. The straw hat
business inaugurated by this firm's immediate predecessors, and
encouraged by their own efforts, has grown in volume and strength
until Baltimore is now designated in trade parlance "the straw hat
city," rightfully claiming the honor of surpassing in this class of
her manufactured products the efforts of all rivals of this or of any
other country.
Messrs. Brigham, Hopkins & Co., while possessing a large business,
have the pleasure of conducting it in a spacious building, whose
architectural design is one of the handsomest of its kind in the
country, and whose conveniences for the successful prosecution of
their business cannot be excelled. A business coming from one of its
pioneers through a direct succession of firms gives to Brigham,
Hopkins & Co. a natural pride in such an inheritance, and brings also
a pleasure in being able to trace its progress from its origin,
showing how this branch of manufacture was at an early day brought to
an admirable condition of prosperity, afterwards to pass through a
period of almost total decay, then again to attain a development that
entitles it to rank with any of the successful and prominent
industries of the city.
It is a pleasant reflection as well as a happy coincidence that the
restoration of a forsaken industry, once a vital element in the city's
life and activity, is greatly due to the labors of the firm who, in
this branch, connect the past with the present, the old with the new.
The enterprising business traits manifested by Runyon Harris, in
erecting, in the year 1814, a large hat factory in this city, seemed
to have prompted his various successors to a spirit of emulation,
enabling them to preserve the legacy bequeathed them, and to
perpetuate that reputation for meritorious products that was so early
earned in the factory of Mr. Harris.
Following the erection of the factory by Mr. Harris came the firm of
Aaron Clap & Co., who purchased the property and commenced in 1817 the
manufacture of hats, and a remarkable fact--one encouraging an innate
pride in their successors--is that during three-quarters of a century
all of the firms inheriting a title of descent from that of Aaron Clap
& Co. have passed in safety through every financial convulsion of the
country, and have promptly met every pecuniary obligation incurred.
Although during the former period of prosperity in the hat business of
Baltimore, felt hats only were manufactured, which business was
completely reduced by the unfortunate conditions existing at the time
of the Civil War; its revival came through the establishing of a
different branch, that of the manufacture of straw hats; and while
Messrs. Brigham, Hopkins & Co. have lately entered extensively into
the manufacture of silk and felt hats also, it is the purpose of this
article to dwell more particularly upon facts relating to the straw
hat branch that has contributed so largely in bringing Baltimore once
again forward as a leading hat manufacturing city.
Prior to 1860 Messrs. Wm. P. Cole & Son, then manufacturers and
jobbers, became especially interested in the straw goods branch of
their business. Being at that time manufacturers of the best class of
felt hats, the straw goods sold by them were all made in the factories
of the North. Machines for sewing the straw braid were not then in
use, and much of the straw products of foreign countries came ready
sewed in shapes that were very irregular in proportions and sizes. The
looseness of the stitches in sewing rendered the use of glue a
necessity in the manufacture of the hats, producing an article of
headwear that gave but little comfort. Suggestions for improvements
were given the manufacturers, who adopted them with advantage to
themselves. The first suggestion made by the Baltimore firm was an
improvement in the appearance of the hat by trimming it with wider
bands. At that time the use of bands about 14 lines wide was
prevalent, and the adoption of 23-line bands was looked upon as a very
radical departure. The substitution of leather sweats for those of oil
muslin was also first undertaken by the Baltimore firm; following
which, the most important improvement ever gained in the production of
straw goods was conceived and executed in this city, which was the
abandonment of the heavy glue-sizing and the manufacture of the
comfortable "flexible finish" straw hat, an accomplishment secured by
careful attention to the proper sewing of the goods aided by hand
finish.
For several years Wm. P. Cole & Son and their successors had straw
hats of their own designing made and finished at the North, continuing
to suggest improvements which were made at their command, and the
privilege of retaining which for their own trade was for the time
extended to them by the manufacturers, from which they gained such
advantages as would arise from having goods superior to and differing
from the general class sold by others.
It was in the year 1875, upon the dissolution of the firm of Cole,
Brigham & Co., that Mr. W. T. Brigham and Mr. R. D. Hopkins, uniting as
the firm of Brigham & Hopkins, became straw hat manufacturers. The
Mackinaw straw hat had at this time gained well in popularity; the
natural firmness and flexibility of the Mackinaw were merits
particularly acceptable to the trade, and the new firm made a careful
study of embodying as far as possible in the manufacture of all their
straw hats, those essential points possessed by the Mackinaw. So
successful were their efforts that, by the exercise of thorough
watchfulness, they continued to improve, until they secured for their
products a celebrity that gave the firm the foremost position in the
trade.
Following the onward movement of the straw hat business in Baltimore
since its first introduction (less than twenty years ago), it is
interesting to watch its constant and steady growth, and to observe
the advance that has been accomplished. Even before Messrs. Brigham &
Hopkins entered upon the business, a great improvement in the straw
goods had already been made through the favorable impetus imparted by
their predecessors. Straw hats which from a lack of style and comfort
had heretofore played a secondary part in the conditions of man's
costume, were so much improved in style and finish as to be accepted
as a desirable article of dress, thus an increased demand was created
for them.
To still further improve the straw hat, and as near as possible secure
perfection, was the aim of the Baltimore manufacturers.
Entering the field with the commendable object of producing a class of
goods that should be recognized as the best, Messrs. Brigham &
Hopkins, abandoning traditional ways, commenced their work upon a
thoroughly independent basis; copying after none, but relying upon
their own ingenuity; striving to improve upon every last effort,
observing and studying the wants and needs of their customers, they
continued to put forth a class of goods bearing an undoubted stamp of
originality, which, being supplemented by excellent workmanship and
the use of good materials, resulted in securing a large patronage, and
brought to them a constantly increasing trade. In this way did the
firm secure a recognized position at the head of the straw hat
industry of the country, and gained for their products a reputation
for excellence in style and finish that is widespread over the whole
country. American manufacturers had a long and tedious struggle in
their efforts to overcome the prejudices of the people existing in
favor of foreign productions, but steady endeavors to win the approval
of Americans for American made hats have scored a genuine success, and
the American gentleman of to-day may take a just pride in wearing a
straw hat of Baltimore make--one not to be excelled.
A MODEL ESTABLISHMENT.
No. 17.
That part of the history of Baltimore which relates to the present
position of its hat industry is especially interesting, as it records
a business that has acquired large proportions, placing it prominently
among the many important manufactures of this city.
A business identified with the very earliest days of the city's
existence, growing and assuming in its movement a condition of vigor
and prosperity that is encouraging for the future, has given to
Baltimore a name and fame that places her in an enviable position at
the very head of the hat-manufacturing cities of this country.
As an example, showing the growth and progress of the hat business,
and giving evidence of its extent in Baltimore at the present time,
no better illustration could be offered than a description of the
complete establishment erected by Messrs. Brigham, Hopkins & Co. for
the requirements of their extensive business.
[Illustration: PRESENT FACTORY OF BRIGHAM, HOPKINS & CO.]
While at the present time the hat business of Baltimore is largely
confined to the special manufacture of straw goods, a revived movement
made by one firm in the manufacture of silk and felt hats assures a
development of that branch of the business also into such proportions
that ere long it may restore to Baltimore the prestige and rank it
once held as the manufacturing centre of high grades of that class of
goods.
Going back to the early period of 1814, Runyon Harris, the predecessor
of this firm, in advance of his time displayed evidence of progressive
ideas by erecting what was then considered a large and spacious
factory. His structure was one hundred and twenty-five feet in length,
about twenty-five in width, and two and a half stories high; the area
of space upon the two floors, which was alone suited for work-people,
was 6200 square feet.
The line of successors to Runyon Harris have all been found
proverbially enterprising and energetic, always noted as active and
successful manufacturers of their day. Inheriting somewhat the spirit
of activity so marked in their worthy predecessors, Messrs. Brigham,
Hopkins & Co. are found in the advance, and make no idle boast of an
establishment whose breadth of space, architectural beauty, and
convenience of arrangement find few rivals in the whole catalogue of
similar business places in this country. Their warehouse, prominently
situated, rising six stories above ground, being one hundred and fifty
feet deep by forty in width, gives a surface area of 42,000 square
feet of work room, all of which is provided with unusual advantages
for daylight and ventilation. Added to this is the detached
"make-shop" of the firm, located at Relay Station, on the line of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, nine miles from the city.[2] It is a high
studded building, of one story, built in this manner to allow the
condensing and evaporation of steam, which escapes from the
"batteries" of boiling water, around which the men are constantly at
work. This building is one hundred and thirty by sixty feet, giving in
addition to the city warehouse 7800 square feet, or a total in round
numbers of 50,000 square feet, upwards of an acre of working space,
which is a good showing of growth and expansion when contrasted with
one of the best establishments of the year 1814.
[2] This department has lately been removed to the city, and is
located corner Paca and King streets.
The handsome structure at the corner of German and Paca streets was
erected by Messrs. Brigham, Hopkins & Co., designed and arranged to
suit the demands of their own manufacturing business. Ground was
broken in the month of April, 1884, and the building completed and
occupied in January, 1885. It has a frontage of forty-one feet six
inches on German street, and extends back on Paca street one hundred
and fifty feet to Cider Alley.
Located upon one of the broadest thoroughfares, at a point which is
the water-shed of this part of the city, being at the level of one
hundred feet above tide-water, it rises prominently among other fine
warehouses surrounding it, showing its array of architectural beauty
to advantage, for it is one of the most imposing of the mercantile
structures of the city. The building is constructed of Baltimore
pressed brick and the famous Potomac red sandstone, which together so
harmonize in color as to render a very pleasing effect; the
ornamentations surrounding the windows are in terra-cotta and moulded
brick. The style of the building is Romanesque, or round arched. Very
striking features are the immense arched openings upon the Paca street
facade, being seventeen feet in width and twenty-five feet in height,
which with their broad treatment of mullioned panels and heavy
rough-hewn stonework, give strength and character to the building.
These spacious windows are not simply for effect, but designate the
location of the principal offices, and by their wide expanse afford
abundance of light to the show-rooms, making these departments
particularly attractive by the cheerful airiness and brightness that
plenty of sunlight always brings.
[Illustration: THE LARGE OFFICE WINDOWS.]
Throughout the whole building is a generous treatment of spacious
windows, flooding the interior with a bountiful supply of light, so
necessary to the production of properly manufactured goods as well as
to the health and comfort of the work-people.
The main entrance to this building is marked by its liberal dimension.
A slight elevation is made from the sidewalk, and beyond a recess of
several feet are framed two large French plate glass windows, which
afford a view of the entire extent of the first floor with its offices
and extensive storage room. Entrance doors are placed on either side
of this recess.
[Illustration: THE FRONT ENTRANCE.]
Broad stairways connect every floor, providing easy and quick ingress
and egress at both the front and the back part of the building,
rendering in the greatest degree security to the lives of those
employed within.
Adjoining, in the rear, is another structure three stories high,
separated from the main building by fire-proof brick walls, and used
as a boiler-room, as also for other departments of work desirable to
be kept apart from the general work-rooms. This separate building was
designed as an additional means of safety, in not having the large
boilers within the limits of the main building.
From basement to roof this model factory is well equipped with all
necessary modern plans for producing the best that is capable of being
made in this manufacturing line.
WAYS AND MEANS OF THE PRESENT TIME.
No. 18.