Brigham, Hopkins & Co., one is ushered directly into the first or main
floor of the building, which is partly occupied by offices for the
members of the firm and for the necessary clerical force, as well as
the show-rooms for the exhibit of the products of this factory. These
various apartments are partitioned off with handsomely beaded cherry,
and a series of arched windows give beauty to the architecture and
serve the practical purpose of ventilation.
The several rooms upon this floor are handsomely finished in solid
cherry; this was done solely with the view of harmonizing the effect
with that of the exterior of the building, rather than for an
indulgence in luxury.
In the first office is a capacious fire-proof vault, having its
counterpart in size in the basement, upon which the one in the office
rests; it is built of yellow enameled-face brick, and with its
handsomely finished iron door surmounted with a bold decoration in
terra-cotta, adds greatly to the ornamentation of this room. The desks
are all of cherry, large and capacious, designed expressly for the
required accommodation of the bookkeepers.
Adjoining is the private office of the members of the firm; among the
decorations of this room is a spacious open fire-place, ornamented
with terra-cotta tile and a handsome mantelpiece in carved cherry. The
carpeted floor and tasty furniture serve to give that comfort that is
looked for in the modern office of the business man. Beyond and
leading from this office are show-rooms for the exhibition of the
firm's products. These show-rooms, two in number, are without doubt
the best in finish, breadth of space and arrangement of any in this
branch of business in the United States, affording the best
conveniences for the display of the handsome goods they contain; the
first in size, 25 x 18 feet, with an adjoining one 18 x 12 feet, is
supplied with handsomely designed show-cases of solid cherry and of
glass; the wall space is colored a light tint, while the ceilings are
laid off in yellow and brown. A long table of cherry occupies the
centre of the large room, while the hard-wood floors are partially
covered with oriental rugs. When these rooms are filled with the
choice products of the firm, embracing the finest qualities of straw,
with their trimmings of various hues and colors, intermingled with the
sombre black of the derbys and the brilliant lustre of the silk hat,
upon which is thrown a bountiful supply of light that comes from the
spacious windows, a striking melange of harmonious colors is produced.
Here the customer is surrounded by all that is desired from which to
make his selection.
[Illustration: A BIT OF THE OFFICES]
Beyond these show-rooms is still another room devoted to the valuable
collection of hat trimmings. While to the uninitiated the trimmings of
a hat, consisting merely of its band and binding, may appear quite
insignificant, yet to the manufacturer it is a part of great
importance. Here in this room, stored in various quantities, are two
hundred different designs of hat-bands, every one of which is the
product of a French or German loom, mostly made from original designs
furnished and sent abroad to be executed for this firm.
From this, the last of the series of departments on this floor, exit
is gained to the remaining space, which is used for the packing and
storing of goods ordered and received finished from the factory.
With an ascent to the second floor by a broad stairway, the
"finishing" department of silk and fur hats is entered; this
department occupies the entire space of this floor. Here the silk hat
is made and finished complete, and the derby, whose process of
manufacture belongs to several departments, receives its finishing
touches, of curling and setting the brim, after which it is neatly
nested in tissue paper and placed in paper boxes to be sent to the
packer.
The third floor provides three departments: that of silk and felt hat
trimming, straw hat trimming department, and that very valuable and
necessary auxiliary to business, the printing department. Although two
branches of the hat business are carried on under the same roof (that
of straw and that of silk and felt hats), they are kept entirely
separate and distinct in all their requirements and details, which
affords a reason for the difference in aspect of the trimming
departments on this floor. In one, the multitude of busy hands is at
work upon hats of black, while in the adjoining department, the many
nimble fingers are handling the light and delicate straw and the
bright ribbons, making a contrast of the sombre with the gay.
Entering the next department, we find that element of development,
that force of propulsion by means of which modern business plans are
moved and executed--the printing press. This department is fitted and
furnished complete with such requirements as are necessary to the
advance of an enterprising business. A large Gordon press, propelled
by steam power, is kept constantly in use to supply the vast amount
of printing required in the details of this business. Tips, labels,
size-marks, tickets for use in the various departments of "making,"
"sewing," "sizing," "finishing," and "blocking." Order tickets,
coupons, boxes and box labels and mercantile printing are but a
portion of the work done here. In addition, a patent gas-heating press
is used for printing in gold and silver leaf. There also emanates from
this department a monthly trade journal, conducted under the auspices
of the firm.
Ascending to the fourth floor, the noisy sound of machinery is first
heard. This is the department for sewing straw braid; here
unquestionably centres the interest in a hat factory; the hum of a
hundred machines quickens the pulse, and to the observer, the interest
and astonishment increases as the wonderful machine with its lightning
speed, guided by the magic touch of the young woman who rules it,
draws towards itself yard after yard of the delicate strand of straw
plait which it sews together by the finest stitch of the most slender
thread, till suddenly a hat comes forth, complete in its full
perfection of shape. One's surprise would not be more greatly
heightened by a display of the magician's art. The marvel of this
accomplishment may be effectively demonstrated by a simple statement.
That bit of mechanism occupying a space of 10 x 12 inches, with its
apparently simple arrangement of levers and cogs, merely carrying a
needle to and fro, up and down, will do in a single minute the work an
industrious woman with her unaided fingers could not do in less than
an hour. That little machine is capable of doing within the working
hours of a day the labor of sixty women; while a hundred machines in a
factory are capable of producing the handwork of six thousand people;
this shows the progress of the world, and the advance that has come
to this branch of industry within the last thirty years.
[Illustration: SEWING DEPARTMENT.]
Straw braid preparatory to being sewed is wound upon reels, from which
it is easily fed to the sewing machine; this department of winding and
reeling is also located upon this floor.
Adjoining is the machine room. This department is not only the
hospital for invalid and incapacitated machines, where they receive
the treatment required to put them in suitable working condition, but
its field of usefulness is extended to the making of much of the
required machinery, implements and various tools used throughout the
establishment.
Another flight of stairs and the fifth floor is reached. This is the
straw hat pressing department, occupied entirely by men. Here are the
more weighty evidences of labor and work. Heavy and powerful hydraulic
presses are used in shaping the ordinary kinds of straw hats, and the
necessary metal moulds that form the "dies" for these machines
represent tons of zinc. Also in this room is row after row of benches,
equipped for that special branch of "hand-finish," which has so
greatly assisted in the reputation of the straw hats sent from this
establishment. These benches each accommodate six workmen, are
supplied with a labor-saving appliance of great merit, the invention
of one of the firm's employees and at present in use only in this
factory, which is, that by means of rubber tubes a combination of gas
and air is carried into the pressing irons, by which heat is regulated
to any required degree. The advantage of this may be realized when it
is known that heretofore these press-irons were heated by "slugs" or
pieces of iron or steel, which, drawn from the furnaces of anthracite
coal fires, were encased in the hollow irons. By this new invention a
remarkable saving is made, by the abandonment of the furnace, in the
coal necessarily used, also in the not insignificant matter of time
consumed by the presser in the constant replenishing of "slugs." Its
work is acceptable to the workman and desirable for securing an
improvement to the goods.
[Illustration: STRAW HAT FINISHING DEPARTMENT.]
The next, the sixth floor, has a department of both the straw and felt
hat branches of the business. The finishing department of felt hats is
a large room 150 by an average of 25 feet, closely studded on three
sides with large windows, which at this height throw upon the workmen
an unobstructed flood of light, affording unusual advantages for the
most thorough perfection in the finish of these goods. This room has
capacity for one hundred finishers, allowing generous space for each,
giving the convenience and comfort that but few factories afford their
work-people.
Adjoining is the department of bleaching and dyeing of straw plaits.
This department is supplied with all the modern conveniences for
securing the best results. Large wooden vats receive the straw plaits
for a thorough cleansing before it is ready for manufacture. Bleaching
tubs are near at hand, and large copper vats with all the required
steam attachments for dyeing the many desired colors are here
conveniently arranged.
Ascending still another flight of stairs, the drying department is
reached; this is the most spacious of all the many divisions of this
establishment, for it has the sky for a ceiling and unlimited space,
being virtually upon the roof. Here, ninety feet from the ground, is
carried on one of the important divisions of the straw hat business.
Two large rooms, really houses in themselves, are built upon this
roof; these are the bleach houses, which are provided with artificial
stone floors, rendering them thoroughly secure from the chance of
ignited brimstone coming in contact with any part of the woodwork of
the building. The remaining space upon the roof, equal in its extent
to two good-sized city building lots, is secured around and over by a
substantial wire netting. Within this enclosure the hats and straw
braids coming from the bleaching and dyeing departments are dried.
Ascent has been provided by stairways leading from the front part of
this building; descent is also had by the rear, where broad stairs are
partitioned off from the work-rooms, making a continuous spacious
hallway from top to basement--a wise precaution, taken in consideration
of the safety of the lives of those employed. This building, capable
of accommodating six hundred work-people, is provided with the most
convenient means of escape in case of fire by these broad stairways at
each end of the building.
As additional precaution for safety, the boilers supplying the
required steam for the various departments, as well as for the motive
power and heat, are in a building adjoining the main one, but
separated by a fire-proof brick wall, and is only accessible by
entrance from the outside; here are located two boilers, with a
combined capacity of one hundred horse power. Above this boiler-room
are two departments desirable to be kept apart from the others; these
are the moulding and casting departments, in one of which is made the
vast number of plaster shapes and blocks required in the factory, and
some idea may be gained of the quantity when it is here mentioned that
this department converts annually two hundred barrels of plaster of
Paris into hat blocks.
In the casting department are the necessary melting furnaces and other
requisites for casting metal "dies," parts of machinery, and the
various things needed in a large manufacturing business.
Two large freight elevators, reaching from basement to roof, each of
one ton capacity and propelled by steam power, are placed in the
building. These elevators are furnished with automatic attachments by
which as they ascend and descend each of the floors open and close,
thus avoiding permanent openings, the frequent cause of accidents and
assistance in the spread of a conflagration; an additional small
elevator gives the convenience of transmitting light packages to and
from every floor.
Electric bells and tubes afford telephonic communication with every
department. Steam heat radiates throughout the entire building, and a
reel of hose attached to a water supply pipe is in readiness upon each
floor in case of fire. The length of steam, gas, and water pipes
throughout the building is estimated at five miles. The telegraph
call-box signals for the messenger, and the telephone, aids in the
execution of the advanced method of reducing the detailed requirements
of a large business to a perfectly controllable system in its
management.
The engine supplying the motive power for this establishment is
located in the basement. With exception of this room, partitioned off
for the engine, the entire space of the basement of this large
building is used for receiving and storing raw materials used in the
manufacture of both straw and fur hats. Here the visitor's imagination
may indulge in a wide scope, and his thoughts wander away to many
foreign lands, for in this store-room are found the products of nearly
every country in the world. China is seen in its strong and durable
straw plaits; Japan, a new and formidable rival, shows its handsome
goods; far-off India contributing its products, while England, France
and Belgium send their choice plaits; Italy, Germany, and Spain are
represented, as also South America, Canada, and our own United States,
while the Hawaiian Islands make a pretence at competition with the
world in the making of straw plaits, by submitting creditable
specimens of their native products. Furs for making derby hats are
also here, sent by Russia, France and Germany. In observing the firm's
connection with countries quite encompassing the entire globe, some
idea of the extent of this business may be realized.
Thus a fair description is here given of a thoroughly equipped hat
factory existing in Baltimore, in the year eighteen hundred and
eighty-nine, and the reader may realize by comparison the advance of
improvement from the last decade of the eighteenth century to the
commencement of the last decade of the nineteenth century.
THE END.
The Hatter and Furrier
PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT
_7 Washington Place,--=NEW YORK=_,
Is the LARGEST AND HANDSOMEST HAT AND FUR JOURNAL IN THE WORLD, and
the only journal in its line that gives full and reliable information
upon the trades represented by its title.
Each number comprises Editorials upon the Trade Styles and Colors,
Treasury Decisions, Reports of Meetings, Original Correspondence from
Trade Centers, etc., etc.
The FASHION PLATES issued each season are superior in design and
execution to anything of the kind in this or any other country, and
are alone worth the full price of subscription.
The =FUR DEPARTMENT= contains special information and reports upon all
matters connected with this important industry.
All patents of interest to the Hat, Fur and allied Trades are
published and illustrated as soon as issued.
=ALL FOR $2.00 PER YEAR.=
* * * * *
_THE GALLISON & HOBRON COMPANY_,
_7 Washington Place, Cor. Mercer St., =NEW YORK=_,
ISSUE THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATIONS:
THE HATTER AND FURRIER, Monthly, $2.00 per Year
THE CLOTHIER AND FURNISHER, Monthly, 2.00 "
THE CLOAK, SUIT AND LADIES' WEAR REVIEW, Monthly, 2.00 "
THE HATTER AND FURRIER DIRECTORY, Yearly, in June.
* * * * *
Advertising Cuts for Hatters, Furriers, Clothiers and Furnishers. Send
for illustrated catalogues.
Hatters' Letters
_FOR INITIAL LETTERS IN HATS_.
GUMMED AND EASILY ATTACHED.
_BLOCK OR SCRIPT, IN GOLD OR SILVER._
A complete alphabet of twenty-six dozen letters (one dozen of a kind
in a package) mailed on receipt of P. O. Order or stamps, for $1.50.
Any special letters at the rate of 75 cents per gross (no dozen
packages broken). Neat and strong division boxes at 50 cents apiece.
_GEO. FRANKE, 31 Hanover St.,_
_Baltimore, Md._
REFERENCE: DUN'S MERCANTILE AGENCY.
CHAPIN HATS
Are sold by a representative Broadway Hatter at a saving to the
consumer of
=ONE DOLLAR ON EACH HAT.=
Guaranty with Derby Hats.
PRICE FOUR DOLLARS.
This hat is warranted equal in value to any sold at Five Dollars. It
is absolutely correct New York style. The styles are issued
semi-annually by the undersigned and his agents throughout the United
States and Canada.
Spring Shapes, first Wednesday in March. Fall Shapes, first Wednesday
in September.
CHAPIN.
1179 Broadway
and 12 Astor Place, New York.
Guaranty with Silk Hats.
PRICE SEVEN DOLLARS.
This hat is warranted equal in value to any sold at Eight Dollars. It
is absolutely correct New York style. The styles are issued
semi-annually by the undersigned and his agents throughout the United
States and Canada.
Spring Shapes, first Wednesday in March. Fall Shapes, first Wednesday
in September.
CHAPIN.
1179 Broadway
and 12 Astor Place, New York.
FIRST-CLASS HATTERS
Wishing to secure the CHAPIN Agency for territory not already
represented will please communicate with
L. A. CHAPIN,
=1179 BROADWAY, NEW YORK=.
_ONLY SKILLED WORK-PEOPLE EMPLOYED._
EDWARD A. SELLIEZ,
MANUFACTURER OF
=Fine Cloth Hats and Caps,=
No. 17 North Fifth Street,
Careful Attention Given to Details. =PHILADELPHIA, PA.=
_=NEW YORK AGENT, W. P. MONTAGUE, 635 BROADWAY.=_
YOU MAKE A SAFE HIT
WHEN YOU CALL UPON
=C. W. FINDLEY & CO.=
_261 N. Third Street, Philadelphia, or Cor. Baltimore and Liberty
Streets, Baltimore,_
=FOR HATTERS' PRINTING, ADVERTISING NOVELTIES, RICKETT'S HAT TAGS, PURE
GOLD INITIALS, BOX LABELS, SIZE MARKS, ADHESIVE LABELS, ETC.=
WATERBURY BUTTON CO.
No. 48 HOWARD STREET,
NEW YORK.
FACTORY, WATERBURY, CONN.
MANUFACTURERS OF
MILITARY, AND ALL UNIFORM BUTTONS,
LADIES' FANCY METAL BUTTONS,
CLOTH, AND ALL KINDS OF COVERED BUTTONS,
VEGETABLE IVORY BUTTONS,
GILT, PLAIN AND FANCY BUTTONS.
FANCY BRASS GOODS.
TOILET PINS. NURSERY PINS.
_WILLIAM P. MONTAGUE,_
MANUFACTURER OF NOVELTIES IN
BOYS' AND CHILDREN'S
=HATS,=
=635 Broadway, New York.=
SELLING AGENT FOR
=BRIGHAM, HOPKINS & CO.=
BALTIMORE.
=EDWARD A. SELLIEZ,=
PHILADELPHIA.
The Most Desirable
=STRAW,=
Silk, Cassimere, Fine Stiff and Self-Conforming
=HATS=
ARE THOSE MADE BY
=BRIGHAM, HOPKINS & CO.=
_FACTORIES_: { _German and Paca Sts., Baltimore._
{ _Paca and King Sts., Baltimore._
_SALESROOMS_: { _German and Paca Sts., Baltimore._
{ _635 Broadway, New York._
The productions of BRIGHAM, HOPKINS & CO. rank as BEST in the UNITED
STATES, which signifies the BEST in the WORLD.