Sketches and statistics of Cincinnati in 1859, Part 31

Author: Cist, Charles, 1792-1868
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: [Cincinnati : s.n.]
Number of Pages: 844


USA > Ohio > Sketches and statistics of Cincinnati in 1859 > Part 31


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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Tailoring .- Of those who make to measurement, we have one hundred and sixty merchant tailors, who employ one thousand three hundred and forty hands, exclusive of women who sew at their own dwellings. These produce to the value of two millions and thirty-five thousand dollars.


Tanners and Curricrs .- This department embraces thirty estab- lishments, which employ three hundred and eighty hands, and


333


MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


manufacture a value of one million five hundred and twenty thou- sand dollars.


Tapers .- The American Taper Company, factory 50 east eighth street, west of Broadway ; office, northwest corner Race and Sec- ond streets; has introduced a new and very superior light-producing . article, which for efficiency and convenience excels all others, and is free from objections that exist against most kinds of matches now or lately in use. The first apparatus for striking a light was a flint and steel. Upon this it was thought a great improvement was made by the invention of the brimstone match, dipped in sulphur at both ends. Next followed the phosphorus bottle, into which matches tipped with chlorate of potash were inserted. Lastly came the article of. matches dipped in sulphur and coated with phosphorus in combination with nitrates and chlorates. To all these existed various objections. Some lost their strength by ex- posure, others required the aid of fire to produce light, and while none of them were perfectly reliable, all had an odor extremely offensive, if not prejudicial to health, affecting the atmosphere in which they were used or even kept.


The tapers now offered for sale by this company are as cheap as the cheapest of other kinds, produce an instantaneous and reliable igniting light, and are safe, convenient, odorless and unaffected by dampness or age.


For the use of persons called up at night to get or find medicine or other necessary article on the spur of the moment, these tapers form a special convenience. They can be carried in the hand for one minute at least, a space of time usually long enough to perform these purposes. This company manufacture five millions of tapers daily, and have a capacity of making four times that quantity. They work thirty hands, with a product of ninety-three thousand six hundred dollars.


Terra Cotta Work .- One factory, eighteen hands; value of pro- duct, twenty-five thousand dollars.


Tobacco, Cigars, etc .-- This business comprehends, first, those who in this city and in Covington manufacture tobacco in the whole- sale line exclusively .. Second, of those who make fine tobacco for' regular customers ; and third, of various factories, principally on a small scale, in which cigars and snuff are the main articles.


There are ninety-three tobacco manufacturers here. Of these, forty factories in the wholesale line, employ one thousand five hun-


334


MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


dred and fifty hands, principally boys ; value of product, ten hun- dred and sixty-five thousand dollars. The residue work four hun- dred and sixty hands, not including boys, and manufacture to the value of six hundred and two thousand dollars ; raw material, 55 per cent.


Trunks, Valises, Carpet Bags .- Of these there are twelve fac- tories, employing two hundred and seventy-five hands, with a pro- duct value of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars.


Trusses, Braces, Belts .- Eight factories, employ sixty hands, and manufacture every species of supports and mechanical reme- dies for natural deformities, and discases affecting the spine or lower limbs. Value of product, fifty-six thousand dollars.


Turners .- Eighteen shops, fifty hands ; value of product, ninety- five thousand dollars.


Type, Stereotype, Electrotype and Printing Materials .- There are five establishments here, some of which cast type and stereo- type plates, without furnishing general printing materials, but most of them supply every article in this line. Two hundred and twen- ty hands employed, with a labor product of three hundred and ten thousand dollars.


Undertakers .- Twenty-four establishments, of which several are small. Most of these furnish coffins for funerals, in addition to carriages. Fifty hands ; value of product, one hundred and forty thousand dollars.


Upholstery and Window Shades .- Eighteen factories, which employ two hundred and ten hands, with a product of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars in value ; raw material, 50 per cent.


Varnish, Copal .- Three varnish factories. These employ six- teen hands. Value of product, two hundred thousand dollars.


Veneers .- H. Albro & Co., 196 west Pearl street, between Elm and Plum. Here the spectator will behold saws of such tremen- dous power as to cut the hardest woods with great celerity and per- fect ease, and others operating with such mechanical exactness as to cut fifteen veneers to the inch-cut so thin as to fold to any de- sired shape, and so exact as to bear the plane over their entire surface.


Heretofore, the great bulk of the veneers used or sold in this place has been brought from the east. In making them here, two important advantages result -- they are bought cheaper, and the cabinet makers can get them of the first quality, as cut up from the


335


MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


log, whereas at the east the best selections are made by the piano makers working on the spot.


in former years, foreign woods were principally in demand for furniture-as rosewood, zebra and mahogany. But the beauty of our American woods -- the black walnut, cherry and curled maple . -has of late brought them extensively into use, and so generally are they becoming preferred for furniture, that veneers of these kinds are as valuable now as are those of mahogany, except of the very finest crotch pieces.


This firm works twenty hands, with a product of one hundred thousand dollars in value.


Vermicelli, Maccaroni, etc .- Four factories, ten hands. Product value, twenty-four thousand dollars.


Vinegar .- Twenty factories. The entire vinegar manufacture employs eighty hands, and reaches the value of two hundred thou- sand dollars ; raw material, 40 per cent.


Wagons, Carts, etc .- Fifty-two shops, one hundred and seventy hands. Value of product, two hundred and ten thousand dollars; raw material, 40 per cent.


Wall Paper Stainers and Hangers .- Two factories, employ thirty hands ; value of product, eighteen thousand dollars.


Ware, Earthen and Potter .- M. & N. Tempest, Hamilton Road, head of Elm street. This firm does by far the largest business of any pottery in the city; employs thirty to forty hands, and carry on their business with a great deal of that spirit of enterprise which, when coupled with judgment, almost invariably insures eminent success. Here a great variety of yellow and Rockingham ware is manufactured, consisting, among many other articles, of bowls, pitchers, jars of all kinds, milk dishes, baking dishes, spittoons, teapots, ewers and basins, many of which are chaste and elegant in design, and all of excellent quality.


Messrs. Tempest have recently purchased the exclusive right for this market, as also for about seven eighths of all the counties of Ohio and Indiana, to " Dayton's Patent Air Exhauster," a very valuable invention for putting up fresh fruits and vegetables, by means of consuming the air by combustion.


The process is simple, ingenious, and effective, insuring the safety of every can-a thing hitherto found impracticable-and can boast of producing fruit fresh, firm and delicate, owing to the fact


336


MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


that instead of being partially cooked by boiling, no higher degree of heat need be attained than 180º.


This firm also manufacture an immense quantity of their air- tight fruit jars, which are of an octagon shape, glazed outside and in, and twice exposed to white heat for about twenty-four hours- each time. They are as close in their fabric as, glass, incapable of breaking by heat, will bear any amount of transportation, and, if desired, will be found very useful for household purposes.


The proprietors of this establishment are men suited to the times, being alive to every improvement, and well qualified to carry into practical operation everything in their line of business calcu- lated to add to the economy and comfort of the public.


Washboards, Zinc .- Two factories, employ ninety hands, and produce a value of two hundred and ten thousand dollars; raw material, 50 per cent.


There are more washboards made in Cincinnati than in any State of the Union, or any city any where.


Whisky .- This is the great whisky mart of the whole world, The article is manufactured for the Cincinnati market for several miles up and down the Ohio, along the lines of the Miami and Whitewater canals, along those of the Little Miami and Cincinnati, the Hamilton and Dayton Railways, and wi hin the city and its sub- urbs, to the extent of sixteen hundred and fifty barrels per day, as an average for the working days of the year. Yearly value of product, five millions three hundred and fifteen thousand seven hundred and thirty dollars ; raw material, 65 per cent.


Wigs .- Three shops, seven hands ; value of product, ten thou- sand dollars.


Wine and Brandy, Catawba .- Cincinnati has become almost as well known abroad for the manufacture of wine as for that of bacon and pork, and eventually, there is no doubt, it will become the more important of the two, as regards the extent and profit of the business. In the various stages of wine growing and making, not less than eight hundred persons are employed; value of product in favorable years, six hundred thousand dollars ; raw material, 25 per cent.


In addition to wine manufacturers who produce a common arti- cle merely, there are seven or eight individuals whose brands have already become known and approved abroad, or who are preparing for the production of superior wines, principally from the catawba


337


MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


grape. Of these, Longworth is the oldest and best known. But there are others who make fine wines. Among these are R. Bu- chanan, G. & P. Bogen, T. H. Yeatman, and M. Werk, whose wines have been for several years in market, and find purchasers at remunerating prices, as fast as they can be made ready for sale. - All of these make still catawba, and most of them sparkling ca- tawba, which comes in competition to the French champagne, which it undoubtedly excels.


Although the grape crop for the last three years, has fallen short greatly of the average yield, owing to unfavorable weather in cer- tain stages of growth, yet there is a steady increase in the number of acres devoted to vineyard purposes.


One of our city nurserymen alone sold last year one million of cuttings, of the catawba, which would suffice to plant three hundred acres, and Wmn. J. Flagg, who has had charge of Mr. Longworth's wine business for several years past, has recently planted four hun- dred thousand cuttings in the freestone region of the Scioto. This is the largest grape nursery extant.


Such is the present extent of vineyards in this vicinity, that if they were all in bearing order, and with a full crop this year, they would yield one million five hundred thousand gallons wine.


Owing to the comparative failure of the grape, Cincinnati alone consumes the wine product of the past three or four years. The demand presses the supply so hard that the wine manufacturers have been compelled to furnish their customers for recent years with Rhine wine to a great extent.


Mr. Longworth has a stock of two hundred thousand bottles ca- tawba on hand. His ordinary sales annually are one hundred thousand bottles still, and the same quantity sparkling catawba.


T. H. Yeatman, Storrs township, west of Cincinnati, is one of our most successful raisers of the catawba grape, and manufactu- rers of the wine. For the past ten years, he has had eight acres under cultivation, and his crop rarely fails. He has received pre- miums on exhibition of his wines at the world's fair in London, in 1850 ; also at the world's fair in New York, and the United States fair at Philadelphia. Four premiums from the Cincinnati wine- growers' association and exhibitions, and at St. Louis, in 1858, where all the States were invited to compete, the highest premium of one hundred dollars, over one hundred rivals. On the 8th Jan- uary last, he made sale of one hundred and thirty gallons of ca-


338


MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


tawba, in casks, at two dollars and fifty cents per gallon, to a gen- tleman in New York, who had tasted wine of this brand in that city, and purchased this quantity for his own use.


It may indicate the progress of the wine business here to state that side hill lands on the Ohio river, below Cincinnati, too steep for cultivation otherwise, for which the proprietors had paid forty dollars per acre, have been sold within the last eight years, for grape culture, at one thousand dollars and twelve hundred dol- lars per acre.


Yeatman's sales average one thousand boxes yearly of first quality wine, which find a ready market as soon as ripened for use. His wine cellars are forty feet by eighty feet, and of the usual depth.


Robert Buchanan, in reply to a note I addressed him on the subject of the wine manufacture, states .


Since iny last publication, 1851, the production of native wine has increased, with grape culture, to more than double the quan- tity then reported. In addition to the large cellars for preparing sparkling wine, at that time described, belonging to N. Longworth and to G. & P. Bogen, Mr. M. Werk has built one as large as his neighbors, and his wines are now quite celebrated.


In these three cellars there is, in ordinary years, an average stock of about four hundred thousand bottles of sparkling and still wines ; but, owing to the great injury to the grape crop last year, the stock of wine is now below half that quantity. It is estimated that all other cellars in this city and vicinity, do not contain more than half as much as the three large cellars above named ; and this may be assumed as a fair proportion for other years. The value of the stock of these wines, as prepared for market, at twelve dollars a dozen for the sparkling, and six to eight dollars for the still, may be set down in ordinary years at four hundred thousand dollars at least ; and when it is known that fifteen to eighteen months are required to prepare and ripen the sparkling wine, this estimate may be considered a low one.


The demand for our native wines is generally ahead of the sup- ply, and the prices paid by the viutners to the wine farmers has of lato years been fifteen to twenty per cent. higher than in 1851. This may in part be accounted for, by the last three or four seasons be- ing unfavorable to the production, but more perhaps to the fact,


339


MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


that those who use wines find the native far more wholesome than the foreign wine. All our physicians concur in this opinion.


G. & P. Bogen. This firm has thirty-five acres in wine, princi- pally in the vicinity of Carthage. Two acres are within the city limits. Of these, twenty-five acres are in bearing. Messrs. Bo -. gen have made in favorable seasons, as high as from five hundred to eight hundred gallons per acre. Grapes for wine are worth three dollars per bushel, and wine newly made, if of good quality, one dollar and twenty-five cents per gallon. Of course it is more profitable to bottle it off, as good catawba commands seven to eight dollars per dozen bottles -- five bottles holding one gallon of wine. They make both still and sparkling catawba, and their wines enjoy a high reputation in this market. They also, to a limited extent, make-catawba brandy, a first rate article.


One side of their wine cellar, which is one hundred and sixty feet in length by a breadth of thirty, and a depth of twenty feet, is filled with wine casks. These hold from three hundred to one thousand and fifty gallons each. 'No pains or expense has been spared to make their cellar in every respect what a wine cellar should be, the walls and arches being of great thickness.


They have recently set out to the extent of three thousand roots, a new variety of black grapes, termed th : Virginia seedling, pro- ducing a fine red wine resembling Burgundy. This grape was in- troduced into Hermann, Mo., where it has been principally cultiva- ted for several years, and is valued there on account of its relia- bility as a regular bearer. It is of vigorous growth, although not well adapted to propagation by cuttings, being best spread by lay- ers ; bears abundantly, is not subject to rot, and being a grape na- tive to a region nearly of the same parallel of latitude with that of southern Ohio, is sufficiently hardy. They expect next year to increase the number of their vines by setting out yet more. This description of vines sells readily at wholesale for twenty-five cts. each, seven hundred and fifty dollars having been paid by this firm for the lot already set out. Sales rooms, at J. & J. M. Pfau, No. 258 Main street.


Wire working .- Five establishments, two only of mach impor- tance. Employ sixty hands, and a product of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; raw material, 35 per cent.


Bromwell & Melish, 181 Walnut, between Fourth and Fifth streets, wove and worked iron manufactory. Ten thousand Japan- 29


340


MANUFACTURES AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


ned fancy bird cages of every variety of pattern, are made here annually.


S. E. Burnet & Co., No. 27 Walnut street ; wirc workers. Em- ploy twenty-one hands, value of manufacture, fifty thousand dol- lars. This last is of recent establishment, and has not gone fully . into operation. The articles «made here are substantially those made by Bromwell & Melish.


Wood and Willow Ware .- Fifteen factories, employ ninety hands, and manufacture a product of baskets, cradles, wagons, etc., to the value of fifty thousand dollars ; raw material, 35 per cent.


Wool Carding, etc .- Three factories, principally small ; ten hands.


Writing Inks .- Five factories, which manufacture one hundred thousand dollars annually, employing fifty hands ; raw material, 50 per cent.


J. J. Butler, Excelsior Ink Works, enjoys a high reputation in the manufacture of writing and copying inks, which entirely su- persede the eastern and European articles of the sort. This is becoming an important establishment, and already employs twenty- five hands, and makes a product of fifty thousand dollars.


Wrought Nails .- Four shops, twelve hands, twelve thousand dollars labor product.



.


MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


341


SYNOPSIS OF MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


VALUE ..


NATURE OF PRODUCTS.


1841.


1851.


1859.


Agricultural machines and implements.


36000


78000


1290000


Alcohol and spirits wine.


145000


608260


2260000


Ale and beer.


126000


566000


1500000


Animal charcoal


5000


25000


30000


Artificial flowers


3000


14200


24000


Awnings. sails, tents, bags, etc.


12000


45000


52000


Bagging factories


78650


270000


Bakeries ..


259000


637662


960280


Baking Powders


6000


18000


84000


Band and hat boxes.


9000


36000


42000


Bells and brass work


11000


209500


425000


Bellows


82600


18000


20000


Belting, hose, etc


21000


96000


96002


Billiard tables,


32000


Blacking. paste.


11000


24000


36000


Blacksmithing


211400


285495


483000


Blinds, Venetian


12000


40000


60000


Blocks, spars and pumps.


26172


21000


25490


Boilers, sream engine


105000


349000


463009


Bolts, nuts, etc


6000


20000


65000


Bounet bleaching and pressing.


10000


22000


25000


Book binding.


107700


162000


326000


Boots and shoes.


48000


1182650


1750450


Boxes, packing, etc


39000


120000


210000


Brands. stamps, etc.


6-40


13500


22003


Bricks ..


87500


207000


4-5000


Bricklaying and plastering.


208650


408650


645700


Bristles and curled hair.


16600


48800


140000


Britannia ware.


12840


3960


100000


Brooms.


3000


15000


30000


Brushes


19000


60500


125000


Buckets and tubs.


21650


84200


60000


Bungs and plugs


5000


12000


10000


Buraing fluid.


89009


110000


195000


Burr mill stones


10500


24000


100000


Butchers.


1098015


2:50000


4370000


Candies and confectioneries


51900


128120


2620109


Candles, lard oil,.etc


353940


4190900


6114500


Cap and hat bodies


10000


39000


140000


Carpenters and building work


418690


2116000


2760000


Carpet weavers.


46000


56000


Carriages, omnibuses


127000


355847


460000


Carving


2000


7000


30000


Charcoal, pulverised


6000


18500


3000


Chemicals


187000


361000


450000


Cisterns.


21300


75000


75000


Cloaks, mantillas, etc.


3000


25000


450000


Clothing, made up ..


1223800


19 17500


15000000


342


MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


NATURE AND VALUE OF PRODUCTS.


1841.


1851.


1859.


Coffee, roasted or ground


8000


38000


225000


Combs


18550


18000


Cooper ware.


167000


387000


1510000


Copper, iron and sheet iron ware.


211300


258000


610000


Copper and steel plate engraving.


12000


50000


4-000


Cordage, hemp and manilla.


33600


180000


234000


Cotiou yarns, sheetings, etc.


195600


661000


680000


Cured beef and tongues. ..


21000


135000


225500


Cutlery, surgical, dental, etc.


10700


40000


80000


Dental farniture.


10000


Dentistry


6000


92000


125000


Die sinking


1500


5000


7500


Drugs, marble, etc., ground.


10000


50000


60000


Dyeing and scouring


15540


28000


60000


Edge tools.


41600


117900


158000


Engraving. seal, card, etc.


5000


18000


30000


Engraving, wood.


22550


51000


75000


Feed and flour.


816700


1690000


3216000


Fire engines and hydraulics.


13750


65000


150000


Florists and nurserymen.


15000


120000


300000


Files.


1500


7000


18000


Foundery castings


66-657


3676500


635300


Fringes.


15400


20000


66000


Furniture.


676800


1660000


3656000


Gas aud coke.


... .


45000


110000


Gas generators, portable


7000


39000


60000


Gilders on glass


10000


40000


100000


Gloves


5000


20000


30000


Glue


6000


28000


66000


Gold leaf and dentist's foil


4000


11000


15000


Gold pens


56000


90000


130000


Gunsmithing


16942


35000


45000


Hats .


312000


445000


25000


Hat blocks


2000


4500


4000


Horse shoes


10000


48000


50000


Hot air furnaces


3000


60000


100000


Ice


20000


150000


250000


Iron, bar, boiler. sheet, etc., and nails.


394000


1146000


4334000


Iron, wrought, tubular bridges ..


Japanned tin ware aud tinuer's tools.


3000


58000


131000


Ladders .


..


5000


61000


Lever locks.


39000


53000


75000


Lightning rods ..


150000


175000


Lignors, domestic


145000


726000


3600000


Lithography


3500


20000


155000


Machinists


77000


130000


450000


Machinery, wood working.


130000


175000


Malt ...


89250


396200


569500


Marble working


10000


190000


325000


Masonic and Odd Fellows' regalia


21000


25000


Mats.


72.10


9000


..


65000


160000


Gas fitting ..


50000


Gilders


10000


Glass ware.


3500


6500


Grease.


5000


20000


Lead. sheet and pipe.


1000000


343


MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


NATURE AND VALUE OF PRODUCTS.


1841.


1851.


1859.


Mathematical, etc., instruments.


30000


40000


40000


Mattresses


70000


95000


120000


Medicines, patent.


68000


952000


1900000


Millinery . .


120000


820000


1750000


Mineral waters.


20000


165000


256000


Morocco leather.


15000


67000


167000


Mouldings.


30090


Musical instruments


25000


89500


40000


Music publications.


6000


50000


200000


Oil cloths and window shades


73000


50000


56000


Oil, castor


60000


30000


Oil, coal


·


100000


Oil. Linseed


36000


263000


350000


Paints.


121750


385000


412000


Painting and glazing.


78000


385000


456000


Paper ..


65000


320000


616000


Pattern making


3500


25500


27000


Perfumery


10000


120000


190000


Photographs, daguerreotypes, etc.


950


80000


150000


Pickles, preserves, etc.


5000


30000


35000


Planed boards, flooring, etc.


73000


351200


565000


Planes, etc ..


95000


167000


30000


Planing machines.


30000


80000


Platform scales


60000


84000


Platiog, silver


10000


35000


Plumbing


48000


195000


406000


Pocket books.


:2000


36000


90000


Pork and beef packing.


30:4912


5760000


6300000


'Printing ink.


20000


Publications, book, newspaper, etc.


518500


1276540


2610050


Pumps, force, lift. etc.


13750


65000


75000


Railway chairs, etc.


360000


Ranges, cooking.


25000


75000


Refrigerators


9000


25000


75000


Roofing, tin, composition, metallic, cte


76000


366000


Saddle trees. .


4500


5000


Sadillery, harness, etc.


231000


306500


663000


Safes, vaults, etc ....


11400


96000


40~000


Sash, blinds and doors.


71700


312000


13:0000


Sansages


21000


162000


215000


Saws. .


16700


95000


Saw mills.


73000


411000


820000


Screw plates.


2500


16500


21000


Shirts .


40000


157000


575000


Show cases.


6000


Silver ware


56500


90000


110000


Spokes, felloes and habs


10000


70500


125010


Stained glass.


15000


9000


Starch . .


45000


9-000


230000


Steamboats


592500


458000


400000


Stockings


12000


13000


1-000


Stone cutting


83000


222000


1125000


Stone masons


101000


308000


775000


5000


Saddle bags, physicians.


15000


40000


Pottery ...


660000


Oil, cotton seed.


344


MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.


NATURE AND VALUE OF PRODUCTS.


1841.


1851.


1859.


Sugar refineries


750000


Stucco work


6000


12000


18000


Tapers ..


65000


Tailoring


276000


832000


2035000


Tanneries


335000


965000


1520000


Terra cotta ware.


.


.


25000


Tobacco, snuff and cigars.


325000


931000


1667000


Trunks.


226700


506000


650000


Trusses.


10000


56000


Turnery.


28275


152000


95000


Types, stereotypes and printing materials.




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