Sticks, Whips, Canes, Parasols, and Umbrellas

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BAMBERGER, OPPENHEIMER & Co. - BAMBERGER, OBERDORFER & Co. - HERMAN BAMBERGER Co.

380 & 382, Broadway, New York


Bamberger & Oppenheimer, Manufacturers of Umbrellas and Parasols, Nos. 380 and 382 Broadway.—An Important branch of industrial activity in the metropolis is that of the manufacture of umbrellas and parasols, and in this department of trade no firm has built up a higher reputation, and few have developed a larger and more widespread trade than that of Messrs. Bamberger and Oppenheimer. The business was founded in 1868. The co-partners are Messrs. Herman Bamberger and Max Oppenheimer, both gentlemen being very popular and highly respected in commercial circles, and possessing vast practical experience in their line of business. Their factory and salesrooms are located in the best wholesale section of Broadway, corner White and Walker Streets, and where they have in stock a complete assortment of all grades of umbrellas and parasols in the latest fashions, and embodying all the newest improvements, rendering them the best and cheapest goods in their lines upon the market. The firm has built up a trade of great magnitude, extending throughout this city and neighborhood, and all over the United States as well. To meet its requirements the house gives employment to upwards of two hundred hands, while it is represented to the trade by its own travelling salesmen. As skilled manufacturers of all the goods they handle, the co-partners have attained the best of reputations for their uniformly high standard of excellence, a great consideration with careful buyers. As a representative concern, the house of Messrs. Bamberger and Oppenheimer has long held a leading position in metropolitan trade circles, and deservedly so in view of the honorable business methods of the co-partners.

Source: New York's Great Industries - 1884



HERMAN BAMBERGER, Manufacturer of Umbrellas, Nos. 381–383 Broadway, Corner White Street.—One of the oldest and best known manufacturers of umbrellas is Mr. Herman Bamberger, whose establishment was founded thirty years ago by Messrs. Bamberger and Oppenheimer, the latter afterward retiring, and the firm later on became Bamberger & Obendorf. This firm was finally dissolved and Mr. Bamberger has since continued in the sole control. This gentleman was born in Germany, but has resided in New York the greater part of his life. He has been identified with the umbrella industry over thirty-two years, and is therefore thoroughly conversant with all its requirements. The premises occupied have dimensions of 50 x 120 feet, are appropriately fitted up, and employment is furnished a force of skilled hands. All kinds and varieties of umbrellas are made here, the goods being of the best class of workmanship, and the trade supplied extends to all parts of the United States.

Source: New York, 1894 Illustrated - 1894



DEATH OF VETERAN MANUFACTURER

In the passing of Herman Bamberger, whose death occurred June 1, after a short illness, the umbrella trade loses an honored member, who had been identified with the industry for sixty-three years.



Mr. Bamberger was born in Bavaria in 1838 and came to America at the age of seventeen. Like many of the young immigrants at that time he went \Vest and settled in Cincinnati, where he worked for a while in the wholesale dry goods house of Louis Stix & Co. From there he went to Mobile, Alabama, and Wilmington, N. C., but turning eastward again he located for a few years in Philadelphia, finding employment in the umbrella factory of Morris Heiter & Co., with whom he was connected until 1863. Returning to New York in that year, he organized the firm of Bamberger, Oppenheimer & Co., to manufacture umbrellas at 337 Broadway. A few years later the style changed to Bamberger, Oberdorfer & Co., and in 1890 Mr. Bamberger bought out his partners’ interests, continuing alone at 381 Broadway. Four years later he moved to 20 White street and continued there until 1915 when the business was incorporated as the Herman Bamberger Co. and moved to its present location on Broadway just north of Eighteenth street.

In 1911 Mr. Bamberger celebrated his fiftieth anniversary in the umbrella business and at the time of his death was the oldest manufacturer in this line. He was prominently identified with Hebrew organizations and took an active interest in various charities, including the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, of which he was a director. He leaves a widow and four children, two sons and two daughters, Alfred H., Robert, Mrs. Esther Rheinheimer and Mrs. Alice Mengas. Both sons are connected with the business, Alfred being treasurer and Robert secretary.

The funeral, held at his late residence in New York, was largely attended, including many of the umbrella manufacturers and dealers.

Source: Trunks, Leather Goods and Umbrellas - July 1920



Herman Bamberger Co. Inc. - New York - 1922


Herman Bamberger Co., Inc., manufacturers of parasols and umbrellas, have moved to 24 East Eighteenth Street. Formerly they were located at 867 Broadway.

Source: Dry Goods Economist - 4th March 1922

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MATTHEWS-MAYNARD Co. Inc.

6-8, West 20th Street, New York



Matthews-Maynard Co. Inc. - New York - 1922

The business of Alfred W. Matthews and Charles Maynard.

The trade mark of Matthews-Maynard Co. Inc.:



'MERIT MADE'

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NABARRO & NASSBAUM

10 Christopher Street, Finsbury, London


Notice is hereby given that the Partnership heretofore subsisting between us the undersigned David Nabarro and Philip Nassbaum carrying on business as Nabarro and Nassbaum Gold and Silver Stick Mounters at 10 Christopher-street Finsbury in the county of Middlesex under the style or firm of Nabarro and Nassbaum was dissolved as and from the 2nd day of February 1897. by mutual consent—Dated the third day of February 1897.

DAVID NABARRO.
PHILLIP NASSBAUM.

Source: The London Gazette - 12th February 1897

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E. STAFF

124, Baxter Street, New York



E. Staff - New York - 1906

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TAYLOR UMBRELLA Mfg. Co.

116½, Whitehall Street, Atlanta



Taylor Umbrella Mfg. Co. - Atlanta - 1914

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KIEL & ARTHE Co.

307-309-311, Canal Street, New York



Kiel & Arthe Co. - New York - 1907


John Moulton who recently severed his connection as office manager for Kiel & Arthe Co. is now traveling for Simons & McGill covering his old territory in the middle west.

Source: Trunks, Leather Goods and Umbrellas - June 1908


Fred Rubsaman has purchased an interest in the Kiel & Arthe C0. and has been elected secretary.

Source: Trunks, Leather Goods and Umbrellas - June 1908

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SAMUEL KIRKPATRICK

Liverpool


Notice is hereby given, that Samuel Kirkpatrick the elder, of Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, Umbrella, Parasol, and Stay Maker, hath by indenture of assignment, dated the 11th day of July now instant, assigned all his estate and effects unto George Wilkinson Foot, of Spital-square, in the county of Middlesex, Silk Manufacturer, and William Boulton Agard, of 14, New York-street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, in the said county of Lancaster, Commission Agent, upon trust, for the equal benefit of all the creditors of the said Samuel Kirkpatrick the elder who shall execute such indenture, or signify their assent thereto, on or before the 11th day of October now next ; which said indenture was executed by the said Samuel Kirkpatrick the elder, George Wilkinson Foot, and William Boulton Agard, on the day of the date thereof, and their respective execution was attested by Thomas Baker, of 14, Saint John-street, Manchester aforesaid, Solicitor. The said indenture now lies at the office of the said 's Thomas Baker, 35, Princess-street, Manchester aforesaid, for the inspection and execution of the creditors of the said Samuel Kirkpatrick the elder.—Dated this 13th day of July 1848.

Source: The London Gazette - 18th July 1848

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PIZER & MILLER

109, South Fifth Street, Brooklyn, New York


Pizer & Miller, the Brooklyn silversmiths, are showing a number of new things in loop handles of metal, leather and cord. They include the latest popular fancies, such as rings, sliding straps, chains with balls and powder puff cases. etc. Their engine turned and etched work reflects the high-grade character of the silversmith's art as adapted to the handle trade, and the full line is on view at the salesroom, 109 South Fifth street.

Source: Trunks, Leather Goods and Umbrellas - March 1918

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THOMAS ALDRED

126, Oxford Street, and 54 & 55, Burlington Arcade, London



Thomas Aldred - London - 1872

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THE MAKING OF A WHIP

An Enumeration of the Many Materials Which Are Necessary; a Description of the Principal Steps in Molding These Materials Into the Finished Article, and a Reference to the Great Variety Offered by the Modern Factory

By M.E. Thompson


Although the United States is the foremost country engaged in the manufacture of whips, and the present source of supply for the markets of China, Africa, Italy. Greece, Jamaica, Mexico and Argentina, there is very little realization of the amount of labor involved in their manufacture, or the exquisite care necessary in both selection and combination of materials which has gone far toward placing this branch of industry in the category of the useful arts. The preparation of each type of whip may be said to constitute practically a separate industry, toward which many other industries have combined to contribute, drawing upon the resources of the farthest corners of the earth and the remotest depths of the sea — the commonest materials used including whalebone and rattan, silk, cotton, twine, leather, rawhide, rare fancy woods and some of the more ordinary varieties, glues and varnishes, with additional ornamentation of gold, silver, brass, ivory, bone and mother-of-pearl.

The manner in which these materials drawn from every part of the world are coordinated in the making of a finished whip is most interesting, and the various stages in the manufacturing processes are as numerous as the materials which are employed. Through the courtesy of the Binghamton Whip Company, Binghamton, New York, it is possible to describe in detail some of the principal steps in the making of a whip, and the process may be taken as typical of that followed by other whip makers in the United States. The city of Binghamton itself has had a long and noteworthy experience in both the manufacture and exportation of whips, and shares with Westfield, Connecticut, and a few other cities in the eastern part of the country, the success which has won for American whips an enviable reputation in many parts of the world.

The most valuable and serviceable of the lighter whips made in a modern factory are those with a basis of so-called whalebone, the baleen plates taken from the roof of the mouth of the Greenland, South Sea or Pacific whale. The superior, qualities are light, flexible, tough and fibrous, the fibers running parallel to each other without inter-twisting. Although three hundred of these plates are usually found in the mouth of the full-grown animal, only 30 per cent — the center of the slab — can be used for making whip-stock, each whip of the better grade requiring a single strip of baleen running its entire length. With the gradual falling off of the whaling industry, the cost of whalebone has steadily increased, a ton of Greenland baleen being sold at $10,000 shortly before the war.

The first process in the preparation of whalebone is to soften it by a prolonged period of boiling, after which it is cut into strips ranging from 18 inches to 10 feet in length, the shorter lengths being used in the preparation of the cheap grades of whips. Each strip is then heated and made perfectly square and true, otherwise the whip cannot be counted upon to strike square. The whalebone strip is dipped in glue, after being roughened by machine to insure the glue’s adhering, and receives a coating of rattan which is first fastened on with twine and afterwards firmly bound with rope. Rattan is the product of the Calamus rotang, a scandent palm extensively grown in Ceylon, but also found in India and the East Indies. This species of palm grows without branches, the stem being very tough and strong, often equalling in thickness the size of a man's wrist. When split into strips the fiber may be twisted into cordage of great strength, and is often used for this purpose. Rattan is imported in bundles of 100 canes each, ranging from 15 to 20 feet in length. These canes as they enter the factory are sorted, sized, cut in required lengths, straightened, split, shaped and tapered by experts in whip manufacture, to form the covering of the whalebone center.

When the glue has been allowed to dry overnight, the whips are fed into an automatic rounding machine by means of an intricate system of wheels and spiral springs, where they are rounded, tapered and trimmed to an exact length. This machine is built with two revolving cutting-heads, each of which is furnished with 60 specially formed knives, reducing the rounding and trimming to a single operation; and a tapering wheel which is made to be adjusted to the length and size of each separate whip, varying from two to eight feet or even longer. The completing of the rounding process is invariably done by hand, that the whip may acquire the proper swing, after which it is coated with a special composition which renders it absolutely waterproof. A cloth or leather outer covering is then applied, and the whip is ready for what is perhaps the most interesting stage of its manufacture, the plaiting process which immediately precedes the final hand-finishing.



The machinery used for plaiting consists of two bobbins revolving in a circle in opposite directions, and constantly changing as they revolve, a movement which has been felicitously compared to the “right and' left hands around" in a quadrille. By the use of this machine either one or several colors of thread may be plaited around the whip-stem with great speed and precision, while snaps and lashes of horsehide, calf and buck are often plaited in the same way. So fine and even is the finish given to the better grade of whips, that the threads are barely discernable in the completed product, the polish being produced by numerous rollings between two pieces of marble. and extra coats of varnish, waterproofing, water and glue. Many of the more expensive whips are made with two separate coverings, which practically doubles the polishing process.



In the finishing room, the whip is treated to a last coat of varnish, the buttons are plaited on, snaps are added, handles are attached, and after a final coat of waterproofing the whip is labeled for the market, to be hung in the drying-room until it is consigned to the stock-room or the shop.

Next in value to whalebone whips, and equally if not more serviceable, are those made with a center of twisted rawhide. For this purpose American hides cannot be used, the amount of oil which they contain preventing their remaining sufficiently stiff and durable. The best rawhides for whip-centers are brought from Calcutta, the hot Indian climate producing skins of the necessary quality and texture. The process of manufacture is essentially the same as that followed in the making of whalebone whips.

In the cheaper whalebone whips only a portion of the centers are composed of whalebone, while the cheapest whip of all is made from rattan alone, with a common wood handle. The rattan is sawed to the desired size, one end is slit, and the wooden handle is inserted and glued fast. This class also includes the stout and unadorned article commonly used by herders and drovers; leather whips for carts and teams, and dog whips of hickory and other utilitarian woods with handles for attaching the leash. On the other hand, whip manufacture offers a fine opportunity for the use of rare and costly woods and metals, and there is practically no limit to either the amount of work which may be applied or the value of the material used in manufacture and adornment.

For the making of whip-handles. the different varieties of ebony Wood are greatly in demand, as well as the light and dark grades of malacca, leopard wood and English holly. The most valuable species of ebony is the heart-wood of Diaspyros ebenum, a tree whose growth is distributed from India and Ceylon to New Caledonia. Scarcely less beautiful and rare are the native ebonies of the West Indies, the green ebony of Jamaica, taken from the Brya ebenus, a Ieguminous tree, being much sought after for inlaying, flute-making, etc., as well as for whip-handles. The green or yellow ebony of French Guiana, the wood of the Tacoma leucoxylon, and the red ebony of the same region, are hard and heavy, and may be polished to a fine surface; while the brown ebony of British Guiana is one of the handsomest woods used for this purpose.

A favorite wood for whip manufacture, and one which is very rare and costly, is known as leopard wood, the product of the South American Piran'nera Guianaensis, whose dark mottlings give a fancied resemblance to the skin of the leopard. The more widely-known malacca, the brown, mottled or clouded stem of the Calamus Scipiounm, used without removal of the bark, is largely brought from Singapore and Malacca, although the best wood of this species is grown in Sumatra. English holly, widely used and unfailingly popular among horsemen, is the product of the Ilex aquifolium, or common European ivy. The cheaper varieties of wood in use, of which hickory is the most generally in demand, are too well known to justify description.

The more progressive whip factories make a special feature of preparing their own mounts, and are generally equipped with the most complete and up-to-date apparatus for chasing, engraving and plating in gold, silver and nickel. While the working force is not considered complete without one or more craftsmen skilled in the carving of ivory and the cutting and polishing of bone. Carved ivory stocks, gold-mounted and set with various jewels, are not unusually seen in factories where such fine work is done, nor are such delicate fancies unknown as the setting of a miniature watch into the end of a whip-stock, or a parasol equipment for a lady's driving whip. Several years ago a firm of jewelers had sent to them for repair an ivory handle ornamented with delicately carved scroll-work and golden mounts, with 47 fine diamonds set in the stock.

Source: Commercial America - October 1917

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CHARLES DOWNS

61, Peck Street, Providence, Rhode Island


CHARLES DOWNS, Manufacturing Jeweler, 61 Peck Street

Jewelry manufacture proper was begun in Providence about 1830, at least the oldest establishment now in the trade dates its existence from about that time. The business grew rapidly, and since then, perhaps, the best industrial talent of the country has been centred here. As in most other lines of industry wherein American manufacturers excel, the reasons of their success in jewelry-making are found in the application of steam-power to manufacturing processes, and the use of ingeniously devised tools. Jewelry-making in Europe is carried on almost wholly by hand, the processes being slow and laborious, and, notwithstanding the cheapness of labor, far more expensive.

To the application pf all the advantages of labor-saving machinery and modern mechanical skill, may be traced the success and widespread celebrity of the house of Mr. Charles Downs, which was established in 1870, and has built up a trade embracing the whole of the United States. No branch of industry is more replete with interest than jewelry-making, and the artistic designs and finish displayed in the products of this house have resulted from a clever combination of mechanics, science and art.

The premises of this firm are equipped with all the latest tools and appliances incident to the business, are operated by steam power, and the share which the house takes in promoting the well-being of this community can be at once understood when it is stated that employment is here found for about fifty skilled operatives.

The productions of the house consist of a general line of Plated Jewelry, the specialties being crosses, sets, bracelets, charms, pendants, and ladies' and gent's lockets. The ready adaptability and inventive genius of the proprietor has fully demonstrated itself in the new designs and patterns of the goods produced, among which is a patent bracelet which has met with great favor in the trade. These goods are made in every conceivable variety and description, and by improved processes, which not only greatly lessen the cost of production, but result in a very desirable class of goods. The sets are mounted with a variety of stones, such as garnets, brilliants, cameos and pearls, also in the Byzantine style of enameled painting, some being elegantly chased. All goods are made from the finest quality of standard rolled plate, and as such are warranted, while in style and finish they are equally as desirable as solid gold in every respect except actual money value.

The house is represented on the road by Mr. C. H. Cook, who has headquarters at the Astor House in New York.

Mr. Downs is a thoroughly practical man at the business. He personally supervises all the operations of his factory, and makes it his aim to produce only such goods as shall stand in the market unrivalled for excellence. It is on that ground, as well as general competition and a liberal policy, in keeping with a house of such high repute, that he relies upon securing to himself that share of public support to which his energy and enterprise entitle him.

Source: Commerce, Manufactures & Resources of Providence, R.I. - 1882


Chas. Downs is now making, in addition to his jewelry department, a fine line of gold and silver heads for canes, umbrellas and parasols, in a variety of styles. Mr. Downs desires to notify the trade that all cane heads made by him are stamped with his name and the word “sterling.”

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - August 1885


Charles Downs.—One of the oldest manufacturing jewelers in this city in Mr. Charles Downs, who has devoted the energy of a life-time to the development of this branch of industrial labor, and passed successfully through the vicissitudes incident to the business for the last thirty-six years. His first experience as a manufacturer was in the town of Foxboro, Mass., where he started for himself in 1850; he removed to Providence about sixteen years ago, and now operates a large plant at No. 61 Peck Street. He employs about fifty workmen, and in the course of a long experience in manufacturing he has made almost every variety of plated goods. Since coming to this city Mr. Downs has given particular attention to making fine walking sticks with gold and silver heads. This is a new departure from the stereotyped lines of goods, and a flourishing trade in these commodities has been secured in all parts of the civilized world. The New York headquarters of the house are at No. 200 Broadway.

Source: The Providence Plantations for Two Hundred and Fifty Years - Welcome Arnold Greene - 1886

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W.H. MARTIN

64 & 65, Burlington Arcade, London



W.H. Martin - London - 1872

Exhibitors at the Paris Exhibition, 1867.

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D.W. GOFF

Westfield, Massachusetts


TRADE EMBARRASSMENTS

MASSACHUSETTS

WESTFIELD—D. W. Goff, whip manufacturer, failed and in insolvency. Liabilities reported at $10,000; assets $5,000.

Source: Bradstreet's Weekly - 27th September 1884

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THE AMERICAN UMBRELLA Co.

Norwich, Connecticut


The American Umbrella Co., of Norwich, have incorporated with capital $5,000, paid in $1,000, to manufacture umbrellas and umbrella supplies.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 27th July 1898

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WILLIAM E. ROSE

37, Reade Street, New York



William E. Rose - New York - 1851

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O'HANDLEN & Co.

48, Victoria and Temple Streets, Bristol



O'Handlen & Co. - Bristol - 1880

The business of R.D. Frost.

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WELLS WHIP COMPANY

Wellsville, Pennsylvania and 512-514, St. Charles Street, St. Louis



Wells Whip Company - Wellsville, Pa. - 1903

Established in 1837.

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CHARLES P. CALDWELL

4, North Fourth Street, Philadelphia



Charles P. Caldwell - Philadelphia - 1860

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PERKEN, SON & RAYMENT

99, Hatton Garden, Holborn Viaduct, London



Perken, Son & Rayment - London - 1898

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C. LINGEMANN

Detroit


C. Lingemann, the umbrella manufacturer, who has occupied his present place on Monroe Ave. for thirty years, has a large line of silver and gold headed articles for the holidays. Mr. Lingemann reports a splendid wholesale trade this year.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 9th December 1891

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