Civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., Part 35

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : Munsell
Number of Pages: 1360

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Still another class manufacture embossed and stamped leather, for furniture and decorative purposes. This work properly belongs to fine arts, but it is, neverthless, leather-working.

Others, still, manufacture from leather, and either partially or wholly from leather produced in Brooklyn, fancy leather goods, trunks, valises, portmanteans, satehels, ladies' reticules, purses and pocket-books. This is also a leather mannfacture, but is very inadequately represented under " trunks and valises " in the census.

There are, still further, the large saddlery and har- ness trade, which as being more obvious to the enumera- tors, is probably a little more accurately represented.

Let us consider these different branches of the great leather industry in their order and we will afterward sun up the totals of the various leather manufacturers.

SUBSECTION I .- Skirers.

The manufacture of skivers * (and of sheep, calf and goat skins, connected with it, in some establishments),

. "Skivers " are the " pelts" (i.r., skins of certain breeds of sheep), which have been spilt once or twice. The split skins of larger animals are called " splits " or spilt leather.

779

THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

has many subdivisions. There are hatters' leather; book-binders' skivers, book-binders' roan; library sheep; American calf; French calf; American morocco; cape morocco ; goat skin or turkey morocco ; Russia for books, pocket-books, etc. (this is a split cowhide); pocket-book and reticule leather, and linings ; some of the former are of alligator skin; shoe-linings; shoe- uppers of calf skin, sheep or goat skin, kid and pebble goat, and sheep-skin morocco, for ladies' shoes, &c., &c.

For the book-binders' use, the skivers are better than the entire skin; will last as long; look as well or better than the whole skin; are put on more easily and neatly and render the book lighter, while they cost only a little more than half as much.

The Russia leather, now manufactured here, though from a different class of skins, and by a different process, is also split for many purposes for which it is used. The goat skins, for book-binders' use, are not split, the leather being usually not quite so thick as the sheep or calf skins; and, as much of it is used for what is known as half binding, a somewhat thicker material is required.

Genuine goat skin being the most costly material used, both in book-binding and shoe-making, a cheap substitute for it is very largely manufactured from sheep skin, which, when neatly grained and new, is an excellent imitation, not to be easily detected, except by experts, but the leather is softer and less durable.

The book-binders' calf is, through late improvements, produced of a quality equal to the best English.

Skivers are also largely used for linings of boots and shoes, in the boot and shoe trade, and for linings, parti- tions, &c., in the fancy leather goods trade.

Skivers are not produced in this country, but are imported from England. The reasons of this are not far to seek. A sheep skin, to split well, must be from a coarse-wooled sheep of large size and must have considerable thickness, so as to admit of being easily divided. The South Down, Leicestershire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire and other large-framed sheep are suitable for this purpose; their wool is a combing, not a felting wool. The South American sheep and many of the Australian sheep belong to the same class. The pelts of Canadian sheep are also very well adapted to the pur- pose of splitting. The sheep of the United States, be- ing generally reared for their wool, do not furnish skins fit for the production of skivers.

The machine for splitting sheep skins is an English invention, and still protected by an English patent, while those for splitting larger hides or skins are of American invention. Both do their work exceedingly well, but the English machine is the more delicate of the two.

The skins, deprived of their wool and dried, but not tanned, are shipped from England to the manufacturers. They are first put into a brine or pickle to soften them,

then washed and plunged in vats filled, or partly filled, with an infusion of Sicilian sumac. In this solution they are kept for 48 hours, being frequently handled, and when taken ont they are completely tanned. The Sicilian sumac proves much better in practical working than the Virginian or any other American sumac, both as containing its tannin in a more readily soluble con- dition, and as possessing, in a higher degree than most other articles yielding tannin, the mordant property which makes the colors, with which the skins arc subse- quently dyed, fast. The other articles used in tanning heavier skins, such as the mezquite bark, hard-hack, the Australian wattle, or the infusions or extracts of oak, liemlock and other barks, do not answer as good a purpose for these skins. Occasionally, when the Sicilian suniac is scarce and high, some terra japonica is mixed with it in the vats, but the result is not so good. After being drawn from the sumac vats, the tanned skins are hung up and exposed to the pure air, that they may be oxygenized, or, as some of our chemists would say, "ozoncd." They are next brushed by a rapidly revolv- ing brush, to remove all dust, and are now ready for the coloring, which is applied in shallow tubs, a dozen or more skins being placed in each tub, which contains always the same color. The colors are logwood and other blacks, some combined with iron, redwood, Brazil wood, fustic, madder, and for the more delicate tints of red, blue, purple, &c., the aniline colors. They are handled constantly in these dye tubs, and, when colored, are rubbed down with a broad piece of hardwood, all the superfluous color discharged, and the skins arc piled upon a bench or horse, and are removed to the drying- room, where each skin is stretched to its full tension upon an upright drying board, and dried by steam heat, some hundreds or thousands of skins being subjected to this process at once. The heat is increased gradually to about 110° or 120° F. They are next taken to the polishing and marking room. The polishing is done by a burnisher driven by steam power over a sloping surface. They are now gencrally divided into halves; and if intended for the book-binder or for shoe linings, &c., they are ready to be packed, unless the book-binder desires to have them lined or marked. For the hatters' use, as well as for linings of reticules, &c., &c., however, they still require to be lmed, ruled or checked. For those purposes, they are put upon large cylinders, and creased, lined or checked by the appropriate tool, which is moved forward automatically at each revolution from 50% to 31% of an inch, according to the design to be worked out. When this process is completed, they are ready to be packed for the market.

The leading manufacturers of skivers arc the great house of J. S. Rockwell & Co., who occupy nearly the whole block bounded by Flushing and Classon avenues, Wallabout street and the Williamsburgh road. Their buildings on this large tract are four stories in height, and have 700 feet front by 40 feet width. Their large

780

HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

and powerful eugines receive their steam from four boilers, consmuing 1,000 tons of coal annually. They use about 300 tons of Sicilian sumac annually, as well as other tanning materials. The house have also two tanneries in Broome County, N. Y., kuown as the " Yorkshire tanneries," and the leather and skins pro- dueed there are all tanned with heinloek bark. The sinnae is used for tanning split sheep skins or skivers. The dealers in these skins there are known as " fell- mongers." We have already explained why these are preferred, as well as the treatment they undergo to make them finished skivers. The split skins are divided into " fleshes "-the side next the flesh, and " grains " or " skivers "-the side next the wool. The house use also a considerable number of these large sheep skins whole (not split) which are technically known as " roans;" goat, kid, ealf and other skins, and some kip and horse hide, are also tanned by this great establish- ment at its tanneries in Broome county.

Their specialties are book-binders' and hatters' skivers, as well as linings of boots and shoes, roans, calf, goat and other bookbinders' leather, and some kip and calf for the boot and shoe trade.

They employ 275 hands, and turn out from 1,200 to 1,500 dozen finished skins per week, or about 930,000 skins a year, besides other leather. Their total ont-put exceeds $1,500,000 a year, and has done so for many years .*

Mr. Elihu Dwight, whose works are also on Flushing avenue, is engaged in nearly the same lines of goods with Messrs. Rockwell & Co., though he confines him- self mostly to two classes of skivers, the " grains " for hatters' leathers, and the " fleshes " for childrens' shoes aud shoe linings. Ile turns out from 125 to 150 dozen finished skins a week, but in busy seasons ean increase his production to 225 to 250 dozen weekly. He em- ploys from 30 to 40 hands. Frederick Horst also manu- faetures skivers, but mainly for shoe and boot linings. H. M. Warren & Son, Maurice S. Kerrigan, James Chinan & Co., and George F. Sullicun, tan and dress entire sheep skins for shoe - makers and book-binders'use. There are also a number of small houses who mamfae- ture a few entire skins, and sell them to the speculating dealers.

Messrs. James Clunan & Co., Adolph Fleischauer,

the Game Brothers, and William Garner, are reported as tanners, and probably all do something in the way of tanning and dressing sheep and goat skins, and, per- haps, also calf skins. There are very few, if any, cow or horse hides tanned in the county, and, it is said, no glove leather of any description.

The total number of manufacturers and dressers of skivers and entire sheep skins, and the small tanuers, aggregates not over 18; the amount of capital is un- certain, but certainly exceeds $1,200,000; the number of hands is not less than 625; the amount of wages paid is about $330,000, and the total product not far from $2,800,000.

SUBSECTION II .- Belting and Luce Leather.

Of the 22 manufactories of leather belting and hose in the State of New York, whose anmal product is reported in the census as $2,365,139, ouly two are in Kings county, and the belting factory of one of these has been only removed into the county, from New York, in the spring of 1884. The lace-leather factory of that house has been here for some years. The other belting factory has been here for several years. We are doubtful if either of them manufacture hose, though in the list of miscellaneous industries of Brooklyn, " belting and hose" are named.

The two houses were Messrs. Charles A. Schieren & Co., of 13th street and Third avenue, and Stephen Ballard d' Co., 26 First street, E. D., but the latter sold out their factory January 1, 1884.

In New York city there are eleven belting and hose factories, whose united production is $1,699,729. One, if not two, of these, properly belong to Brooklyu.

Messrs. Schieren & Co.'s works were established in New York in 1868, and now rank as one of the largest and most extensive belt manufactories in the United States. They have branch houses in Boston and Philadelphia, and have special agents at New Orleans, San Francisco, and Hamburg, Germany, and repre- sentatives in every large manufacturing district, in our own and other countries. Their belting is shipped to alnost every part of the globe.

Their leather belting is known as the " Bull Brand," and has attained a high reputation for its excellence. It is made from pure oak-tanned leather, tanned in those regions in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, where the best oak bark is to be obtained. None but domestic steer hides are used. After the leather is tanned it is brought to their New York factory, and the solid part eurried and cut up into belting; the balance (offal) is used for shoe purposes. The house used about 40,000 hides in 1883. The Brooklyn works were at first established only for the purpose of tanning and preparing lace-leather, which is used for sewing belting together. They were established in 1879, and are the only works of the kind in the city of Brooklyn or its vicinity, and have met with great

* This house was started In 1814 (seventy years ago), at ('olebrook, Litchfield Co., Conn., by Theron Rockwell, father of the late J. S. Rockwell In 1-38. J. S Rockwell came to New York, as tire repre- sentative of the house, and the next year was admitted Into partner- ship, the firm being Therott Rockwell & Co Theron Rockwell dled In 1844. The Brooklyn factory wns bullt In 1856, on Wallbout street, and has since been four times enlarged. Mr J. S. Rockwell was a man of great executive ability, and wide and far reaching enterprise. The business greatly prospered under his wise management He died Jan- uary 3, 1879, and the next year his wife and daughter (hls only child). dled. S. G. Bass, a partner. dled In February, 1881 ; and Mr. George Whiting, a brother In-law and partner, dled Nov. 25, 1883. There are how none of the original firm of J. S. Rockwell & Co. surviving, except Mr. Jolin T. Rockwell, a brother of J. S. Rockwell, Mr. S. A. Smith 14 the Superintendent of the factory, and Mr. W. L. B. Story, General Manager

781

THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

CHAS. A.SCHIEREN & CU. MANUFACTURERS OF LEATHER BELTING & LACE LEATHER

N.Y. OFFICE. 47 FERRY ST

LACE LEATHER WORKS.

TJEKK

CHARLES A. SCHIEREN & CO.'S MANUFACTORY.

success. For the production of lace leather peculiar material and special processes are required. The hides for this purpose are imported from Calentta, and being so near the great Brooklyn docks, they can obtain thein without expensive inland transportation. When re- ceived, they require very careful handling. They are first unhaired with lime, and then laid away in tan-vats, filled with a strong solution of gambier (a variety of catechu), until they are thoroughly tanned; after tan- ning they are finished with neats-foot and castor oils, which make the skins very pliable and tough. The lace-leather works are erected on a new and improved plan, and are considered as models. They employ only skilled mechanics, who earn high wages. The pro- prietors, who are all Brooklyn men, have been so much gratified with the success of this manufactory, that

they propose, in the near future, to remove their New York leather belt factory to the same site, and their new buildings for that, together with the present lace- leather factory, will cover an acre of space .*

Messrs. Stephen Ballard & Co., of 26 First street, E. D., the only other house engaged in the manufac- ture of belting in Kings county, sold ont their entire business on the first of January, 1884, to the Union Belting Company. They had been a long time in the business, employed 28 hands and reported an annual output of $220,000. We believe their successors in- tend to enlarge the works, but their plans have not yet been made public.

The leather belting business in Kings county, for 1883, may be summed up as employing about 125 hands and yielding a product of from $700,000 to $750,000.

*The present firm of Cbas. A. Schieren & Co. was formed in 1882, and consists of Charles A. Schieren, Jacob R. Stine, and Fred. A. M. Burrell.

Chas. A. Schieren, tbefounder of the business, was born in Germany, and came to Brooklyn in 1856. He was 14 years of age the very day that he landed with his parents in this country. He bad received a good com- mon school education, and applied himself studiously to master the English language, which be accomplished. He was at first engaged with his father in the cigar business; but had formed a dislike to it, and after attaining bis majority, obtained, in 1864, a situation as sales- man in the leatber belting establishment of Phil. F. Pasquay. at 25 Spruce street, New York. By close application and energy he soon acquainted himself with the business, especially the making of leather belting, so that when his employer died, in 1866, he was placed at the head of the concern. The administrators did not wish to continue the business, and it was sold to other parties, with whom he staid until April. 1868, when he founded the present house with a very moderate capital, the savings of the four years' salary, and bullt up, in a comparatively short time, one of the leading leather belting houses In this country. He continued alone until April, IS82. Mr. Schieren, aside from business, gave much of his time and means to Sunday- schools and charitable organizations. He was a member of the

Brooklyn S. S. Union for 10 years, and served several years as Chair- man of Anniversary Committee, or Grand Marshal of the May parade. He represented the Lutheran interest in that board, and is yet an active member of St. Matthew's English Lutheran Church, and through his liberality placed that congregation upon a solid financial basis. Ile was Superintendent of the Sunday school several years, also had charge of a mission school for five years, and only ill-health compelled him to withdraw from his cherished work.

Jacob R. Stine was born near Plainfield, N. J., and came to New York in 1845, and engaged in the leather trade, and was associated with his brother in the morocco business; but for the past 10 years has been associated with Mr. Schieren in several capacities, until 1882, when he entered into partnership with him.

Mr. Stine is also an active worker in the Nostrand avenue M. E. Church, and has been treasurer of the congregation for several years; he is also an ardent worker in the Sabbath school.

Fred. A. M. Burrell was born in Northampton County, Pa., and came to Brooklyn in 1875. His father, the late Rev. J. Ilgen Burrell, was pastor of St. Matthew's English Lutheran Church. He entered the employ of Mr. Scbieren in 1877, and by his energy and fidelity worked his way up to chief clerk, and received an interest in the firm In 1882.

782

HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

SUBSECTION II .- Saddlery and Harness- Making.

This branch of the leather mannfacture, like the boot and shoe trade, includes a large number of man- nfacturers whose individual products are small, and their number of employés, few. The census report of 88 es- tablishments, with 185 hands (248 as the largest num- ber at one time), and an annual product of $300,425, gives less than three hands, and not quite $3,400 of an- nual product to each establishment. The number of saddle and harness makers is somewhat larger than the truth, for there were only 75 in 1882, of whom 7 had dropped out in 1883, though 15 new ones had taken their places, making the latter year number 83.

Two other facts indicated very clearly that the busi- ness was of small extent ; there were only three firms in 1882, all the rest being individual shops; of these, two were brothers, who were in partnership, and one of these gave up business at the end of the year ; in 1883, there were bnt two firms, and two of the shops had wo- men for proprietors, though the business is a heavy one and not as appropriate for female labor as some others. Judging from the names, three-fourths of the whole were of foreign birth and of nine or ten dif- ferent nationalities.

There is a moderate demand for saddles, and a very steady one for harness and repairs; but the business is not one which offers a chance of a large success, even to an enterprising man, unless he can find an outlet for his products beyond the bounds of the city and county; and this business is monopolized by the large manufac- turers of Newark, N. J., New Haven and Hartford, Con., and New York city. The southern trade in saddles and harness is large, though, it has not increased so rapidly as that of the west. The greater part of this is supplied from the eastern cities, but our Kings county manufacturers have not made any progress in commanding it.

The largest houses in this business here are said to be Jordan Brothers, of 63 Lafayette avenue, and Herring und Cump, of 26 Flatbush avenue, but we doubt whe- ther either house has an annual outlet, exceeding $25,- 000 or $30,000. James Van Vleit, of 1751 Fulton avenne, and George W. Bungay, Jr., 432 Fifth ave. nue, also do a fair local business. The census state- ment of the product of this business, 8300,425, was pro- bably not far out of the way.

SUBSECTION IN .- Truuks, Portmanteaus, Valises, Satchels, Reticules and Fancy Leather Goods.

This subsection might, perhaps, with propriety, be divided, inasmuch as the manufacture of trunks, port- manteans, valises, etc., is entirely distinct from that of fancy leather goods, the latter including not only the finer qualities of the ladies' retienles, pocket books, and purses, but ladies' belts and girdles, leather fans, jewel cases, opera-glass cases, toilet boxes, shaving cases, surgeons and physicians' pocket cases, etc, etc.

The census reported seven manufacturers of trunks, valises, &c. The technical name for valises, satchels, retienles, &c., is " bags." The business directory, for 1883, reports fifteen, but a careful inquiry reveals the following facts in regard to them. Ten of the fifteen do not mannfacture, but purchase their stock in New York or elsewhere. Three of these keep one or pos- sibly two men in their stores, who repair trunks and bags ; and one of these and perhaps two, manufacture in a small way elsewhere, but not in Kings county. One has removed his factory to New York city. One is a " bag " maker and does not make or sell trunks. Three manufacture trunks, but not bags. All retail these goods, though one of the trunk-makers and the " bag " maker also sell their goods at wholesale.

Of the three trunk-makers, Mr. James M. Spear is much the largest, having a factory at 327 Adams street, besides his retail store at 311 Fulton street. He employs abont 40 men or in the busiest time, 50. The other houses, in their workmen for repairing and all, probably make np the 93 or thereabouts reported in the census.

The other two trunk manufacturers, Messrs. Hand and Plant, and Mr. George W. Mc Carthy do a smaller business than Mr. Spear, but are fair and honorable manufacturers. The annual product of the trunk man- ufacture as conducted in Kings county does not pro- bably exceed $125,000 and including the "bag " man- ufacturer, Mr. D. S. Hammond, who, besides his fac- tory, 28 Cumberland street, has ware-rooms at 108 Chambers street, New York, does not probably much exceed $150,000.

There has been a materially increased consumption of these goods here, within three years past, especially in the line of travelling bags, satchels, retienles, &c .; but the increase has not been in their production here, but in the abundant supply furnished from other mar- kets, especially from Newark, N. J., which has very large manufactories of every description of leather goods, and also from New York city, which has large trunk, bag, and pocket-book factories.

Of the pocket-book manufactories, some of whom also manufacture the fashionable bags, reticules, &c., now so much worn by ladies, we find it impossible to gain any very definite information. The census does not give any report of them; the business directory for 1883 gives the names of twelve, all either Germans or Scandinavians, but there are probably twice the num- ber. None of them are located on business streets, but have their workshops in their dwellings, and these on those streets where rents and property are very low, and as they do not require a large stock of the raw material, or much machinery, their work is often done in hall bedrooms, and much of it by children's fingers. Mr. Frothingham's report, thrown out entirely by the Cen- sus Office, of 120 hands and $341,367 annual product, was certainly not above the mark. There remains one establishment, not noted in the Census, that of Messrs.

783

THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

C. H. Walker & Co., leather embossers, to be notieed. Messrs. Walker & Co. have not been long in the busi- ness, but they make all descriptions of stamped and em- bossed leather for the deeoration of furniture, and up- holstery trimmings, ehair eoverings, etc. They use for these purposes the finer qualities of sole leather, Russia leather, French and American ealf skins, etc., etc. Their leather is mostly American, though little, and perhaps none of it, of Brooklyn produetion. Their work is ar- tistic and tasteful, and finds a ready sale among the finer upholsterers of New York city. The embossing is in gold and eolors as well as plain. They also emboss to some extent silk velvets, plushes, mohairs, ete. They employ ten or twelve hands, and their out-put is not less than $50,000 and is rapidly inereasing.

SUBSECTION V .- Leather, Shoe-uppers und Linings.

There are eight or ten houses who are engaged in the production of boot-legs and shoe-uppers and linings. They are not shoe-makers; very few, if any, of them eould make a shoe if they tried, but they have their patterns of all the sizes, and all the breadths of each size. Most of them furnish their own material, and cut, trim and line tliese uppers and boot-legs for the shoe manufacturers, furnishing them of any required quality at so mueli per dozen or hundred. The eutter is gener- ally a man and a skilled workman, but several girls are employed, who paste, trim, bind and stiteh these up- pers. These houses are all Germans, and they gener- ally add to their ineome by dealing in a moderate way in sole and upper leather, moroeeo and skivers. Their leather may be, and some of it doubtless is, manufac- tured in Brooklyn, but they procure it always in New York. The amount of the out-put of these houses can only be roughly estimated, for a German manufacturer, whether large or small, has the greatest possible aver- sion to giving figures in regard to his business. In New York, the Census Offiee recognized this business as "boot and shoe uppers," and reported 18 establishments with a product of $180,702, or about $10,000 each. The boot and shoe manufacturers, who are the sole purehasers of these artieles, say that the estimate is too low, and that those shops average not less than $15,000 each. This would give a total out-put of $150,000 or more, aside from the trade in sole and upper leather, which is not manufacturing, and is therefore not within the scope of our inquiries. They employ about 50 hands. Let us now sum up the total production of leather and - leather goods, exeept boots and shoes, so far as that production belongs to Kings eounty. We find the footings of production of all these elasses, $4,740,792, and of the number of hands employed, 1,150.

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Civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., Part 35

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : Munsell Number of Pages: 1360

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : Munsell
Number of Pages: 1360