One of the most successful stationery, paper, and box design companies in Holyoke during the late 19th and into the mid-20th centuries was the White & Wyckoff (W&W) Manufacturing Company. This 4-part series tells the story of the formation and growth of this long-standing, well-known paper converting business.
Some of the company's very popular and widely distributed products included greeting cards and envelopes. boxed social stationery, writing tablets, typing paper, ruled and folded papers, and manuscript covers.
Edward N. White was born in 1863 in Claremont, New Hampshire, and moved with his family to Worcester at the age of 5. After a year and a half of high school, he started work at the Prentiss Wire Mills in Holyoke at age 17. He steadily advanced in responsibility as the company's bookkeeper and paymaster during the 1880s. In 1889, he left Prentiss Wire to become a junior partner to Frank D. Smith in a new paper-processing venture.
The company, founded in August 1889, was the Smith & White Manufacturing Co., a partnership of Frank D. Smith and Edward N. White. The company had 8 employees and was housed in a small, one-story building on Race Street called the Old Postal Building. J. Lewis Wyckoff joined the sales department in 1891.
Mr. Smith left the company in 1893, and needing money for his new business, he sold his interest in the Smith & White Mfg. Co. to Messrs. White and Wyckoff in August 1894.
In 1894, the Smith & White Mfg. Co. needed more space and relocated into 20,000 square feet of J. K. Judd's new building at 31 Race Street.
The company continued to grow quickly and, in 1895, leased additional space in a new four-story block built by Lemuel Sears. Lemuel Sears & Co. occupied the first floor, and the remainder was occupied by Smith & White, providing more than 14,000 additional square feet of factory space.
1898 marked a major transition for Smith & White. S.M. Green drew plans for a new factory building to be constructed at Riverside behind the National Blank Book Co. The plant was situated along the river between Riverside Paper Co. and the Hampden Glazed Paper & Card Co. On June 27, 1898, the construction contract was awarded to Casper Ranger.
In 1899, the plant had 125 employees.
The company continued into 1900 under its corporate name of Smith & White Mfg. Co. It was not until 1901 that White & Wyckoff was granted its corporate charter, and thereafter operated under the name White & Wyckoff Manufacturing Co. Edward N. White was named President and General Manager, and J. Lewis Wyckoff was Treasurer and Chairman of the Board.
Joseph Lewis Wyckoff was born in Perry, New York, in 1864. He attended local schools and later graduated from a prep school in Ithaca, New York. He began his career working for Wyckoff & Tuttle, a harvesting machine business in Perry, N.Y. After three years, he left and worked for the Perry Salt Company, where he remained for two years. He spent 19 months in New York City and, in 1891, relocated to Holyoke to work for the Smith & White Mfg. Co.
In 1901, the company expanded its Riverside mill with a 24,000-foot addition. Once again, Casper Ranger was awarded the construction contract. In 1905, two additional stories were constructed, providing 40,000 square feet of new space for its operation. In 1906, a prominent sign measuring 99 feet long and about 4 1/2 feet wide was added and inscribed with "Home of Autocrat Stationery."
In 1912, White & Wyckoff Mfg. Co. was adding further to their plant. F. P. Sheldon & Sons, architects, drew plans for a 40-foot by 260-foot, 6-story building to be constructed on land adjacent to its existing building on the riverside.
In 1916, the company adopted a program to provide sick-leave benefits and life insurance benefits to its employees. The plant had 400 employees at the time. The company sponsored many sports and social events for its employees, including basketball and bowling leagues and dances.
The growth and success of this company since the mid-1890s have been astounding, and more information will be shared in the forthcoming chapters.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
1911 Richards Atlas of the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts
History of Massachusetts Industries, Chapter XXVII- Holyoke, Orra L. Stone, 1930
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