Information Regarding Wright, Kay & Co.

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DETROIT

John Drexler, a watchmaker from Chicago, has entered the employ of Wright Kay & Co.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 13th December 1893

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Wright, Kay & Co. - Detroit - 1901

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Work has begun in earnest on Wright, Kay & Co.’s addition at 142 Woodward Ave., and by the middle of March this firm will be as comfortably situated as any in the West. The whole new store will be given up to silver, nickel and hard metal goods and the firm will have the second floor of 140 and 142 Woodward Ave. for their art rooms, the floors above these numbers and 144 Woodward Ave. being used for the factory.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 10th February 1892

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Wright, Kay & Co. have had on exhibition in their show window, since last Friday, the silver service for the battleship Michigan. This service, which was made by Tiffany & Co., consists of 63 pieces. The set is unique, in that not only the officers and the rank and file of the sailors are recognized in the pieces comprising the service, some of the articles being for the wardroom table, while a tobacco set is for the enlisted men. The decorations consist of pine cones and sheaves of wheat, as symbolic of the products of the State. The old cruiser Michigan, now re-named the Wolverine, is pictured in the principal engraving upon the punch bowl of the set.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 8th September 1909

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Charles Radeke, aged 40, a jeweler, residing at No. 353 Fisher Ave., died Thursday after an Illness of several months with tuberculosis. He was employed for 16 years by Wright, Kay & Co., and for the past 10 years with Burr, Patterson & Co., manufacturing jewelers.

Source: The Detroit Times - 29th September 1911

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Wright, Kay & Co. - Detroit - 1906

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Wright, Kay & Co. - Detroit - 1911

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A. Hopper has entered the watch department of Wright, Kay & Co.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 3rd November 1897

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Wright, Kay & Co. - Detroit - 1909

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The beautiful ship clock the city of Detroit will present to the scout cruiser which bears its name has been exhibited for a few days at the city hall. The committee which selected the design was composed of Percy Loud of Wright, Kay & Co., jewelers; Albert Kahn, architect; Richard T. Broadhead, commander U. S. Navy Reserve force, and Joseph S. Stringham. The clock stands seven feet high and is built of inlaid walnut and bronze. The case was designed by Albert Kahn and constructed by J. & P. Sloan Co., New York. The works, electrically controlled, with six bronze secondary clocks to be located in various parts of vantage about the ship are controlled by the master clock. The works are full jeweled. The cruiser is now on a short Atlantic trip and plans are under way for presentation of the clock next month when the ship returns to Boston.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 26th March 1924

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Wright, Kay & Co. - Detroit - 1919

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Wright, Kay & Co. - Detroit - 1891

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After an existence of 20 years, the partnership of Wright, Kay & Co. has been ended and a corporation has been formed under the same name. The paid-up capital is $300,000 and the majority of the stock is owned by members of the former partnership. Several of the older clerks have taken blocks of stock and four or five business men of Detroit have purchased shares. The business was started March 1, 1872, under the name of Roehm & Wright, and was changed to Wright, Kay & Co., 14 years ago. At a stockholders’ meeting of the firm. May 14, H. M. Wright was elected president and general manager; John Kay, vice-president, and F. A. Kelsey, secretary-treasurer.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 16th May 1906

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John Kay has sold his interest of $25,000 in the firm of Wright, Kay & Co. to the other partners. He opened a store of his own in the Majestic building last November, but retained an interest in the older firm until last week.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 3rd June 1908

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F. A. Kelsey and R. D. Kay, of Wright, Kay & Co., are spending their vacation in the Highlands of Ontario. Mr. Kelsey is in Muskoka, and Mr. Kay in the Georgian Bay district. North Wilcox, head of Wright, Kay & Co.’s diamond department, has just returned from a holiday trip.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 9th August 1911

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F. A. Kelsey, of Wright, Kay & Co., has just returned from a month’s outing spent in Canada.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 13th September 1911

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John Kay, of Wright, Kay & Co., is confined to his house from a bad fall. He was riding his bicycle when he collided with an electric car and sprained his back and leg.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 7th April 1897

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W. G. Hamburg, of Wright, Kay & Co., and Robert Traub, of Traub Bros. & Co., were among the early ones to reserve accommodations for the lake trip soon to be taken by the Detroit Board of Commerce. This is a yearly function and serves to bring the business of the city in closer touch with those of other lake cities and to promote harmony and better feeling among the business men themselves through the close acquaintance on these cruises.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 11th June 1913

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A Model Jewelry Store Recently Completed in Detroit, Mich.

The new jewelry store of Wright, Kay & Co., Detroit, Mich., which was formally opened last week, is illustrated below. In the richness of its appointments, in its proportions and the harmony of its color scheme, the store is exceptional It is located at the corner of Woodward and Grand River Aves., in the heart of the fashionable retail district.



The firm has taken a long lease of the building, a six-story structure, and spent considerable money in refitting and altering it inside and out. Wright, Kay & Co. occupy the lower floor, which is 100 by 40 feet, as a retail salesroom, and the sixth floor as a repair and engraving department. The optical department is located on the fourth floor.

In the arrangement and decorating of the lower floor much care and thought were expended. The fittings are of solid mahogany and are unusually artistic in design. The cases, instead of being built close to the floor, rest on hand-carved legs, which not only add to the attractiveness of the interior but are of great convenience in the care of the store.

Silent salesman counters extend along the full length of the store in three rows, one along the south wall and two down the center. Along the north wall are placed handsome cases for the display of china, silver, cut glass and plated silver. These are arranged like rooms, and not only save space, but add greatly to the appearance The interiors of all the cases are lighted with the "linolite" system, and the effect at night is particularly pleasing.

The wall cases are about 10 feet in height and from 26 to 30 inches deep, thus affording plenty of space for effective display. Beneath these cases drawers of special design serve to hold surplus stock.

The exterior of the store is just as attractive as the interior. The handsome show windows extend along the Woodward Ave. front and for 100 feet on Grand River Ave. Most of these windows are divided into space large enough for the display of separate lines. The front windows are 27 inches deep while those on the side are 21 inches deep. It has been the experience of the firm that windows this depth are more easily dressed and look more at tractive than the deeper windows so long in use.

Across the rear of the store is a mezzanine, in which are located the business offices. Under the mezzanine are the vaults and apartments for canes, umbrellas and clocks. The fittings also include diamond salesrooms for the use of those customers who desire exclusiveness. These are prettily decorated and arranged so as to have plenty of light.

Among the changes noted in the store is the absence of the old-fashioned watch board on which are displayed watches brought in for repair. These are kept in drawers, each watch in a separate compartment, alphabetically arranged, so that the finding of a watch is but the work of an instant.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 11th January 1911

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Percy K. Loud, of Wright Kay & Co., retail jewelers, was recently elected secretary of the Merchants’ Credit Bureau, and Oscar Webber, of the J. L. Hudson Co.’s department store, treasurer. The other officers chosen are from other lines of business. Last year the Bureau installed what is claimed to be one of the most efficient interchange telephone systems of any Bureau in the country. More than 30 representative business houses now have direct wires into its offices.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 11th February 1925

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