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Please to Save Your Rags
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The frequently mentioned Joel Munsell, in his “A Chronology of Paper and Paper-Making,” tells us this story of the rag trade in Troy in 1801. Paper made from tree pulp is a relatively new development; one reason old documents have survived so long is that paper used to be made from cotton and wool…
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The passing of Troy Savings Bank
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Weise’s 1886 “The City of Troy and its Vicinity” recounts the early history of the Troy Savings Bank, which was incorporated by law in 1823. The board of managers first met at Platt Titus’s inn on August 1 of that year. The by-laws provided that the bank “should be opened on every Saturday evening,…
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Cruising up the Hudson, 1909-style
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English: US Postage Stamp, Fulton on the Hudson, 1909 Issue, 2c (Photo credit: Wikipedia) In “The Motor Boat: Devoted to All Types of Power Craft,” author C.G. Davis gave us a colorful description of a 1909 trip up the Hudson River and the Erie Canal aboard the yacht Marie, a 63-footer with two masts,…
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Guns and automobiles
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From the Schenectady Gazette, December 31, 1923, comes this handy little fact about the driving and shooting inhabitants of Rensselaer County. 5,000 permits to carry revolvers had been issued throughout Rensselaer County. “Virtually all of these permits, it is said, were issued to persons who drive automobiles.” I have no idea what to make…
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What to Wear on the Head
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Apparently in 1894, what to wear on the head was a very important question with ladies, just at present. Frear, of Frear’s Troy Cash Bazaar, was quite willing to enlighten, if only you would pay a visit to his new and popular millinery department. And with every purchase over $5: souvenir spoons! A Google…
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Frear’s Spring and Summer lines, 1894
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Last week we showed off the billhead from Frear’s in Troy, now we’ll take a peek at the catalog for 1894. Here we have two lovely capes. But don’t forget that ladies’ bicycle suits were a specialty!
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Frear’s, before it became Bazaar
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Any sharp-eyed fan of the Collar City will recognize the landmark edifice of Frear’s Cash Bazaar, whose lovely marble facade still graces Third Street . . . except of course that this billhead shows the just-as-landmarky Cannon Building in Monument Square. Yes, for a long while, Frear’s was not where Frear’s is. This billhead…
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R.C. Reynolds Furniture
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R.C. Reynolds was once a major furniture store in both Albany and Troy, selling carpets, stoves, upholstery, china, glass, etc. When Mr. I.H. Vrooman of 294 Hamilton St. in Albany picked up 5-1/3 yards of linoleum remnant in 1914, Reynolds had stores at 36-38 N. Pearl Street in Albany and in the landmark McCarthy…
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Ludlow Valve
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Another beautiful letterhead from the Biggert Collection, this one from the Ludlow Valve Manufacturing Co. of Troy. The Biggert Collection actually has three pieces of correspondence between Jason H. Caldwell, Vice President of Ludlow Valve, and Mr. Eugene Carroll, Superintendent of the Butte Water Company of Butte, Montana. Ordering pipe and valves by correspondence…
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Julius Saul, clothier of Troy
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The Biggert Collection has preserved this custom commercial envelope from the firm of Julius Saul, depicting his building at 326 River Street in Troy (probably the Atrium parking garage today). Saul was born in Posen, a province of Prussia around 1835 and came to America in his youth. He opened stores in Hudson and…