The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I, Part 176

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1114

USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I > Part 176

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But we are not now fighting the battles of the nickel- platers, or copper electro-platers, or electrotypers against the Census Office ; we have only to consider in this place, the silver-platers. Of these, the Directory of 1882 gave the names of eight firms; that of 1883 re- duced the number to five. Of these six in the former year and three in the latter are merely re-platers and repairers in a small way, who are unable to do any large pieces, or even any small ones, requiring the use of moulds or machinery, but bring them at once to the large manufactories ; one is engaged in the manufac- ture of door-plates, silvered knobs, and articles of hard- ware and plumbing necessity, which require plating. It is not absolutely necessary that he should resort to the electro-plating process at all ; but as there is some economy in it, the probability is that most of the arti- cles are electro-plated. The other house which is en- gaged in silver and gold plating, has undertaken the manufacture of that almost infinite variety of goods, which, though they are not all hollow, yet are known to the trade as "hollow wares." These include ice- pitchers, flagons, wine and beer pitchers, communion services, tea services in great variety, castors, card re- ceivers, oyster dishes, tureens, silver bowls and cups, butter dishes, with and without covers, fruit holders, etc., etc., etc. They make no flat ware, such as knives, forks and spoons, except the fancy fish and fruit knives, and the spoons for especial use, such as sugar spoons, olive, salad and other ornamental spoons and wares, more largely used in wedding presents than for any more practical purpose. This house, Messrs. E. G. WEBSTER & BROTHER, takes rank among the seven or eight great manufacturers of silver-plated wares in this country: the Meriden Brittania Company; Reed and Barton; Simpson, Hall and Miller; the Meriden Silver Plate Co .; the Middletown Silver Plate Co .; the Wil- cox Silver Plate Manufacturing Co., and we believe; also one large house in Cincinnati and another in Chicago.

Commencing in a small way in New York city, just after the war, as the successors of Asa Rogers and William Dupree (Mr. Rogers being one of three brothers whose names are thoroughly identified with the early history of electro plating in this country), they made wares of such excellence as to create a demand for their goods greater than they could sup- ply. They removed to Brooklyn very soon, and after several experiences of too straitened quarters, erected their present fine six-story warehouse, of which we give a view in

WEBSTER

BROTHER

MFGRS

AT THER

PLATED

WARE

WWWARE

622 EC WESTER & BRO 622

SILVER

E. G. WEBSTER & BRO.'S SILVER-PLATING WORKS.

this page. Messrs. Webster not only own the building, which occupies about one-half of the block, but the adjacent lots, which gives them a complete command of all the light and air they need on each side of the building ; a matter of great importance in the manufacture of silver-plated wares. In this great establishment they employ an average of 135 hands, paying annually about $65,000 in wages, and produc- ing silver and gold plated wares of the value of $275,000 to $300,000.

A tour through their works reveals much that is very inter- esting in this manufacture. We begin with the basement, where the raw material, which is to be transformed into articles of such beauty, is stored. And now, before we look into the innocent-seeming kettle in yonder brick furnace, let us indulge in a little philosophical and historical explanation. In the early days of plated ware, before the electroplating methods were discovered, the basis of all plated goods for table use was copper, and these wares were made mostly in England, and exported to this country. After a while a whiter and somewhat cheaper basis was sought for, and this was found, at first, in that compound of varying proportions known as German silver, or more recently as nickel silver. This is a compound or alloy of nickel and brass in different proportions. Sometimes tin is added; generally, in practice, the amount of nickel is small, and of brass large, for eco- nomical and other reasons. For what is known as flat ware, forks, spoons and knife handles, this is a very good compound, not, perhaps, the best possible, but though it is liable to the offensive brassy odor, it is better than a softer and more easily worked metal, But for what is known as hollow ware, it was early seen that a more flexible and easily moulded and turned metal, which should be of the silver color, would be better, and nearly all the large manufacturers are now agreed in using a composition known as Brittania or Albata, whose composition is mainly of pig tin, of the quality known as Straits or Malacca tin, with a moderate percentage of copper, and a still smaller one of antimony. The tin is flexible, and of a whiteness strongly resembling silver; the copper gives it

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

firmness and body. while it does not diminish its flexibility; and the antimony hardens it and makes it take sharper and cleaner impressions from the dies or moulds which are used in the ornamental portions, and the handles, &c., of such of the articles as are cast.

This composition is more easily oxidized or discolored than silver, but its color varies very little from that metal. In the basement of Messrs. Webster's factory we shall find kettles of this metallic compound melted and so thoroughly amal- gamated as to form a perfectly homogeneous mass. From the kettles they are run into moulds, and come out in plates about 10 inches wide, 15 long and not far from an inch in thickness. These plates are next rolled to the desired thick- ness for the wares which are to be made. Those sheets of rolled metal which are to be made into waiters, trays, &c., are subjected to the stamping, or rather, as it is now called, the drawing process, and by dies of hardened steel, often en- graved with beautiful decorations, are forced into the grace- ful forms in which we find them. When they are removed from the presses they are liable to be warped, but by a very simple but ingenious device they are restored to a perfectly flat and regular shape. A metallic table, having a perfectly level and smooth surface, is heated to a given temperature, and upon this table the refractory trays are placed, and by the influence of the heat are so completely straightened that they will touch the table at every point of their under surface.

The sheets of metal, after being drawn through the rollers, are of different degrees of thickness, according to the pur- poses for which they are required. If they are to be made into tea-pots, coffee-pots, sugar-bowls, ice-pitchers or vases, they are cut into circular disks, from 10 to 15 inches in diam- eter, and are placed in lathes revolving with a speed of 3,500 revolutions in a minute; and a wooden form or block approx- imating to the general design which is desired being placed as a guide in the lathe, the skilful workman applies the metallic disk to the lathe, and by the adroit manipulation of a tool, somewhat like a burnishing tool, forms it into the required shape, and with a beautifully polished surface. The ring at the top is attached and held by a projecting lip of the inetal, which is turned down by the tool. If it is to be em- bossed or ornamented, this is done by means of an embossing press with matching dies. If it is to have the hammered finish, this is done by hand, and both the embossing and hammering are done by women, and done admirably well. The engraved and chased work is executed by men, not be- cause it could not be done as well by women, who possess the same artistic skill, but because these are not easily found. It is a noticeable fact, that in the manufactures of Kings county, the field of labor open to women is steadily expand- ing, and that their wages, for the higher classes of work, are approximating to those of men in the same positions. A more thorough training in the arts of design would result in a still greater enlargement of their sphere of action. But to return to our wares. The handles, spouts, rings, &c., of the various articles of hollow ware are cast and soldered on to their respective vessels. The moulds in which they are cast are expensive, and the patterns are constantly changing. " If I could have the money those moulds have cost me," said Mr. Webster, as he opened a cupboard filled with these patterns, "I could retire from business on an ample fortune." The mould, which is of brass or bronze, is made in halves, hinged together, and each has an upright tube when closed. into which the molten metal is poured. The metal in con- tact with the side of the mould chills first, and the moulder, as soon as he has poured in the metal, tips the mould and lets the liquid metal in the centre run out. Were this delayed for two seconds, the handle or spout would be solid instead

of being hollow. When cooled, these handles, spouts, &c., are cleaned, filed and trimmed, and then soldered on the vessels. The bases of the teapots, sugar bowls, &c., which have been turned on the lathes, are also soldered on, and the articles are scoured and cleaned for the silvering, which is ap- plied in a magneto-galvanic bath. The gilding of the inner surface of cups, vases, &c., is performed by a different pro- cess, though still magneto-galvanic. When the vessels are taken out of the bath, they are of a creamy or ecru color. This is removed, either by scrubbing or by scouring upon a fine emery wheel, and the silver surface appears. This is burnished, or buffed, or polished on a wheel, or by a particu- lar process a satin surface is produced. The manufacturers' stamp is put on, and the thickness of the plating is specified. Awhile ago the purchasers were satisfied with duplex plate; then nothing but triplex would answer, and now the rage is for quadruplex plating; one enterprising house, seeking to distance all its rivals, announces "sextessimal plating." It does not matter; all grades are plunged in the same silver bath, and kept there for the same time; and the triplex plate is just as thick as the sextessimal. The plated wares are now ready for packing, or for storing away in dark chests till they are ordered, and Messrs. Webster & Brother find it difficult to keep up a sufficient supply of all the numerous articles on their illustrated catalogue to fill their orders promptly. This enormous demand for articles of luxury, while very gratifying to the manufacturers, is another of the many evidences of the extravagance of our times, especially in our own country.

A few words now of the electroplaters, electrotypers, and nickel-platers. The last-named branch of the business has had a rapid development during the last three or four years. The nickel-plated trimmings are found in all buildings, stores, offices, railroad cars, steamboats and steamships. The very slight oxidization to which the nickel is subject makes it very desirable for many uses; our five and three cent coins are almost pure nickel, and the Mexican Government has decided recently to make its subsidiary coin wholly of it, and to issue certificates payable for duties based on it. Our nickel-platers in Kings County in May, 1883, were five in number, and were all doing a good business, em- ploying about 100 hands, and producing in all over $100,000 of goods. The other companies or firms en- gaged in electroplating or replating silver and copper, and the electrotypers, numbered together eight estab- lishments, employing about 70 hands, and producing nearly $80,000.

We may safely put down the whole business as pro- ducing more than $450,000.

Having thus canvassed all the branches of industry in Kings County connected with the manufacture of materials in whole or in part, let us now sum up the number of hands and the total annual out-put, so far as they can be estimated.

A careful footing makes the number of hands em- ployed 14,300, representing more than 57,000 dependent persons, and a total production of $24,823,000.

When we consider that here are no large yards for building steamships, no great marine engine or loco-

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THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

motive works, no furnaces for the production of pig iron or steel, this amount of production appears to be very large, and shows the resolute and persistent in- dustry of our metal-workers.

SECTION XII.

The Manufacture of Paints, Varnishes, etc. I. White Lead and Its Professed Substitute- Linseed Oil. 2. Painters' Colors, Dry. 3. Paints in Colors and White, Mixed with Oils or Other Ingredients. 4. Varnishes. 5. Whiting and Paris White, and the Art of Kalsomining.

The manufacture of paints, varnishes, etc., in Kings county does not include what are known as tube or artists' colors; for though one of the largest of our paint manufacturing houses does produce these, their manufactory of them is in New Jersey. But all the descriptions of paints which are used on surfaces of wood or iron, or other metals, and all kinds of varnishes used on wood, metallic or paper surfaces, are made here, as well as all descriptions of dryers. All the so- called mineral paints are made or refined for usc here, as well as the linseed and other oils, and the refined spirits of turpentine which have so large a measure of use in all descriptions of painting.

The whiting, paris white, white oxide of zinc, glue, and other constituents of the wash known as kalsomine, alabastine, etc., are also either made or prepared for use here.

The subject is consequently one of great compass and extent.

SUBSECTION I .- White Lead.

Let us take up each department of the manufacture in its natural order. With the exception of the coarse paints applied to rough surfaces of iron, wood or stone for their preservation, which may be of coal tar, red lead, lime, or other articles, all paints used in house painting and ornamental work have either white lead or the white oxide of zinc, either pure or adulterated, as their basis. What is white lead, and how is it pre- pared ? It is a carbonate, or perhaps a carbonate and a white oxide of lead mixed, and is obtained in the form of a very white and heavy powder. It mixes readily with oil, giving to it a drying property, spreads well under the brush, and perfectly covers the surface to which it is applied.

'It is not only employed alone as the best sort of white paint, but, as we have already said, is the general material or body of a great number of paints, the colors of which are produced by mixing suitable color- ing matter with the white lead. Besides its use as a paint, it is also in demand to a considerable extent as an ingredient in the vulcanized india-rubber. To pre- pare it the purest pig lead, such as the refined foreign

lead and the metal from the mines of the western states, is almost exclusively used. This was by the old methods made in thin sheets and these coilcd into small rolls to be subjected to the chemical treatment. But according to the American method devised by Mr. Augustus Graham, of Brooklyn, and now generally adopted, the lead is cast into circular gratings or " buckles," which closely resemble in form the large old-fashioned shoe-buckles, from which they receive their name. They are six or eight inches in diameter, and the lead hardly exceeds one-sixth of an inch in thickness. Ingenious methods of casting them are in use in the American factories, by which the lead is run upon moulds directly from the furnace, and the buckles are separated from each other and delivercd without handling into the vessels for receiving them. They are then packed in earthen pots shaped like flower-pots, each of which is provided with a ledge or three pro- jecting points in the inside, intended to keep the pieces above the bottom, in which is placed some strong vine- gar or acetic acid. It is recommended that on one side the pot should be partially open above the ledge, and if made full all round, it is well to knock out a piece in order to admit a freer circulation of vapors through the lead. In large establishments an immense supply of these pots is kept on hand, the number at one of the Brooklyn works being reckoned at not less than 200,000. They continue constantly in use till accidentally broken below the ledge. Being packed with the buckles and the acid, they are set close together in rows upon a bed of spent tan, a foot to two fcet thick, and thin sheets of lead are laid among and over the pots in several thicknesses, but always so as to leave open spaces among them. An area is thus covered, it may be twenty feet square or of less dimensions, and is en- closed by board partitions, which, upon suitable frame- work, can be carried up twenty-five feet high if re- quired. When the pots and the interstices among them are well packed with lead, a flooring of boards is laid over them, and upon this is spread another layer of tan; and in the same manner eight or ten courses are built up, containing in all, it may be, 12,000 pots and 50 or 60 tons of lead, all of which are buried beneath an up- per layer of tan. As the process of conversion re- quires from eight to twelve weeks, the large factories have a succession of these stacks, which are charged one after another; so that when the process is completed in one, and the pots and lead have been removed and the chamber is recharged, another is ready for the same operation.

The conversion of metallic lead into carbonate is ill- duced by the fermenting action, which commences in the tan soon after the pile is completed. The heat thus gencrated evaporates the vinegar, and the vapors of water and acetic acid rising among the lead oxidize its surface and convert it externally into a subacetate of lcad; at the same time carbonic acid evolved from the

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

tan circulates among the lead and transforms the acetate into carbonate of the oxide, setting the acetic acid free to renew its office upon fresh surfaces of lead. When the tan ceases to ferment, the process is at an end, and the stack may then be taken to pieces. The lead is found in its original forms, but of increased bulk and weight, and more or less completely converted into the white carbonate. The thoroughness of the operation depends upon a variety of circumstances; even the weather and season of the year having an in- fluence upon it. The pieces not entirely converted have a core of metallic or " blue " lead beneath the white carbonate crust. The separation is made by beating off the white portion, and this being donc upon per- forated copper shelves set in large wooden tanks and covered with water, the escape of the fine metallic dust is entirely prevented and its noxious effect upon the health of the workmen is avoided. In Europe, rolling machines closely covered are applied to the same purpose, but less effectually. The white lead thus collected is next ground with water between mill- stones to a thin paste, and by repeated grindings and washings this is reduced to an impalpable consistency. The water is next to be removed, and, according to the European plan, the creamy mixture is next turned into earthen pots, and these are exposed upon shelves to a temperature not exceeding 300° until perfectly dry. Instead of this laborious method, the plan is adopted in the American works of employing shallow pans of sheet copper, provided with a false bottom, beneath which steam from the exhaust-pipe of the engine is admitted to promote evaporation. These pans or " drying kilns " are sometimes 100 feet long and 6 feet broad, and several are set in the building one above another. The liquid lead paste is pumped up into large tanks, and the heavier portion, settling down, is drawn off into the pans, while the thinner liquid from the surface is returned to be mixed with fresh por- tions of white lead. Beside pans, tile tables heated by fines in the masonry of which they are built, are also employed. From four to six days are required for thoroughly drying the white lead. This is the finish- ing process, after which the lead is ready for packing in small casks for the market.

The manufacture of white lead, which was formerly an unhealthy and even dangerous occupation, has been so much improved by the expedients for keeping the material wet and thus preventing the rising of the fine dust, that the peculiar lead disease now rarely attacks the workmen. The business is conducted altogether upon a large scale, and gives employment to numerous extensive factories in different parts of the country. Some of these lave arrangements for converting-stacks that extend under cover 200 feet in length, and their facilities for grinding and drying are proportionally extensive. These, and the time required for fully com- pleting the process and getting the white lead ready

for market-which is from three to four months-in- volve the use of large capital and tend to keep the business in few hands.

Very numerous have been the substitutes proposed for white lead ; baryta, silica (pure or compounded), zinc, oxide or carbonate, etc., etc., but all have failed some- where ; and success is hardly probable in this century.

There is a vastly increasing demand for pure white Icad, and the competition and watchfulness of the trade insure the genuineness of the article thus warranted by the manufacturers. For some years after the com- mencement of the manufacture it was the custom with the manufacturers to sell the white lead dry to the grinders, who then constituted a distinct trade, and who ground the lead in oil and mixed it with zinc, baryta, and other substances to suit their own purposes. These grinders sold to the house painters, and most of them dealt also in colors, which the painters mixed, and thus obtained the tints they desired.

This business is still transacted to some extent, but there have been material changes within a few years past. Some of the white lead manufacturers now also manufacture linseed oil (and this is particularly the case with one Brooklyn manufacturer), and it is now their practice to grind their white lead in oil themselves, and sell it in this condition. They are able thus to control the purity of their lead. Pails or kegs of white lead thus ground in oil, and bearing the brand of a firm of high character, can be relied upon as pure. On the other hand, if the dealer or painter requires an article which contains a percentage of white oxide of zinc, or of sulphate of baryta, he can be accommo- dated, but knows what he is purchasing exactly, and receives it as an inferior grade and bearing an inferior brand.

The grinders, too, have taken a step forward; they now not only grind white lead, zinc, etc., in oils, but they also grind, both dry and in oils, other colors, and mix them so as to produce a great variety of shades, every desirable one, indeed, and furnish them of uni- form excellence. Some of them also, as we shall see further on, have devised processes for preventing these paints from drying up in their cans or pails.

The result of these changes is that now the white lead manufacturers sell their products either dry or ground in oil to the large dealers and the paint manufacturers only, and these sell to the painters.

The History of the White Lead Manufac- ture in Brooklyn is interesting. The manufacture originated in Holland; was not introduced into Eng- land till near the close of the last century, and was unknown in the United States until after the war of 1812. The first white lead works were established in Philadelphia, probably between 1815 and 1820; though there is a tradition that two previous cfforts had been made in that city, that of Wetherell in 1796, and of Lewis in 1800. If so, both had failed very soon. The

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THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

works of Hinton and Moore, in Belleville, N. J., were founded in 1818, and the next was probably that of the Brooklyn White Lead Company, founded in 1822, and incorporated in 1825. This is believed to have been the third then in existenee in the United States. When it was incorporated it had a capital of $52,000. The brothers, John B. and Augustus Graham, were among the most active and prominent of its founders, and the latter was the inventor of several important improvements in the processes.

In twenty-six years (1851), it had grown into one of the largest, and perhaps the largest white lead manu- factory in the United States. It oeeupied an entire bloek, 230x200 feet on Front street, between Washing- ton and Adams; employed ninety men, and produced annually 2,500 tons of white lead, red lead, litharge, ete., valued at $425,000. Meanwhile other white lead works had been established in Brooklyn. Among these were the Atlantic White Lead Works of Messrs. Robert Colgate & Co., and the Union Works, Front, corner Bridge. The works of the Atlantie White Lead Co. were established on Marshall street, near Gold, in 1845, where they are still eondueted with great success. They were destroyed by fire in 1866, but were immediately rebuilt.

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The civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the county of Kings and the city of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 1683 to 1884 Volume I, Part 176

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1114

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909, ed. cn; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893; Proctor, L. B. (Lucien Brock), 1830-1900. 1n
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1114