The Henry Seymour Cutlery Company was formed in Holyoke in 1877. The company was established in a mill building located at what was then numbered 10 Appleton Street, at the southeast corner of Bigelow and Appleton Streets. Appleton Street was not yet developed east of Main Street, hence the low street number.
Henry Seymour was the company President, and Robert H. Seymour, its Treasurer and Clerk. The company manufactured over 150 types of shears and scissors. The company touted that its products were very durable and backed that up with a warranty. The salesroom was at 84 and 86 Chambers Street in New York City.
In 1886, Fritz Celce, the plant superintendent, invented and received a patent for an improvement to cutting shears. The shears could be adjusted depending on the thickness of the cloth, preventing clogging of the material at the hinge.
The company exported products to Australia, South America, England, and Mexico. Sheep shears were a major item produced by the company. The company president indicated that the British manufacturers had not been able to imitate its production methods or quality. Tariffs did hinder its competitive advantage, allowing English-made sheep shears to undercut the Seymour Cutlery prices.
In the mid-1890s, the business's financial problems led to creditors successfully being assigned the corporate assets. A public auction was held on October 3, 1896, at the 10 Appleton Street plant. The company did not survive this sale of its assets.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts, Holyoke Public Library.
Bird's eye view of the 1881 city of Holyoke and village of South Hadley, Mass., created and published by J. J. Stoner, Madison, Wisconsin.
No comments:
Post a Comment