Sweet home Chicago?

[tonyb]

It appears Danbury, Connecticut could once stake as firm a claim as anywhere to being the hub of the American hat manufacturing industry.

So what was the center of hat supply business? Chicago, I'm thinking. It seems that that city's name is the one that most frequently appears on old blocks and flanges and ribbon spools and such. National Hatters Supply Co., Soter Bros., Hatters Supply House -- they were all in Chicago. And I'd imagine they're all long gone.

Yeah, that's scanty evidence, but it's the best I've seen so far.

Any other contenders?

 

[Lefty]

Norwalk, Ct was another biggie for hat making, but I'm not sure about hat supplies. Cavanagh was there, and there were a lot of labor relations uprisings/strikes/etc. in the late 1800s/early 1900s. I think Brad Bowers has been researching Norwalk hatters for quite some time.

I certainly wouldn't disagree with Chicago.

 

[besdor]

All of the supply houses are gone. There are some places in Texas that suppply us with bands and hat stiffener among other items but you have to search around for many items that were once available.





Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Tomasso]

Chicago was a major distribution center (and manufacturing leader) due to it being the nation's largest rail hub.

 

[tonyb]

Chicago was a major distribution center (and manufacturing leader) due to it being the nation's largest rail hub.

Which leads me to wonder the degree to which the goods sold by the above-mentioned firms were actually manufactured by them. I can imagine that a company would manufacture blocks and flanges and such. Or ribbon and liners. Or sweatbands. But all of it? Seems likelier that the companies whose names appeared on the products (and/or its packaging) contracted out much (if not all) of the actual manufacturing and then marketed it under their own brand names.

 

[Tomasso]

Hey, all the great catalog houses (Sears, Montgomery Wards, Spiegel, etc..) outsourced the manufacture of all their products; they operated out of Chicago for distribution purposes. There were many other businesses that did the same.

 

[tonyb]

Yup, true dat. I'm just curious about where that stuff actually came from. Same general area, maybe? Hither and yon?

One of my most useful blocks (thanks to its size and profile) is marked "Eastern Woolen Co." of (get this) Omaha, Neb.

Eastern?

 

[Tomasso]

I know that when Sears awarded a contract they preferred their subs to set up locally and if it wasn't possible the sub had to bear the shipping costs to their Chicago warehouse. No drop-shipping back then.

 

[tonyb]

Add S.J.C. Supply House to the Chicago side of the ledger. Just came across a roll of ribbon bearing their label.