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THE (ON N ECTICLIT MAGAZI NE
NUMBER V

SERIES OF 1902-1903

FEBRUARY - MARCH

An illustrated Bi-Monthly Magazine devoted t o Connecticut in its various
phases of History, Literature, Genealogy, Science, Art, Genius and Industry.
' Edited by Francis Trevelyan Miller and under the business management of
Edward B. Eaton. Following is a list of contents in this edition, lavishly
illustrated and ably written.

Art Cover
Designed by E. A. SHERMAN
Connecticut's Giant Elms-A Street Seen~ in Danbtsry
FRONTISPIECE
A Connecticut Battlefield in American Revolution
J. MOSS IVES
421
Sixty-five Illustrations, loaned by A. N . WILDMAN, MARY C. BouGHT0N and others.
The Legends of Machimoodus
w. HARRY CLEMONS
451
Historic Taverns in New England
THOMAS MORGAN PREN1'ICE
459
Five Drawings by Lours ORR and four photographs furnished by the Author.
Ode to Sleep
Fragment of Poem by JOHN TRUMBULL, LL. D.
472
Some Old Mattabeseck Families-Tales of Old Middletown MARGARET ELLEN JACKSON
473
Three Drawings by K. F. J ACKSON and eleven photographs furnished by Author.
· Photo of Jabez Hamlin loaned by ALBERT C. BATES, Librarian Connecticut
Historical Society.
When a Nation Grows Great and Forgets
Sketch of the Author by HAROLD DouGLAs.

w. H. H. (ADIRONDACK) MURRAY

483

The Homes of Our Forefathers
CLARA EMERSON B~CKF0RD
Seven Drawings by M. L. CowLES and others.
Twilight-A Poem
ELIZABETH CURTIS-BRENTON,
Lights and Lamps of Early New England
c. A. QUINCY NORTON
Twelve Plate Illustrations by WILLIAM G. DuDLEY.
Country Life in Connecticut .
THE EDITOR
Sheep Grazing on a Hillside in Norfolk
A Scene Along Haystack Brook in Norfolk
Monument Mountain, in the Southern Berkshires
An Old H omestead in the Canaan Valley
Northern End of Twin Lakes
A Farm Scene in Pine Plains
Lake Wangum, Norfolk's Water Supply,
Illustrations by MRs. J . C. KENDALL, K. T. SHELDON and others.

495
500
501
~14
515
516
517
518
519
520
5:21

Monarch Supreme in Nature's Glorious Realms-An Ode to
Niagara
HENRY T. BLAKE
Seven Illustrations furnished by the Author.

523

Origin and Development of Surnames
West River Oaks-A Poem .

531
536

LUCY B. SAYLES
LAVINIA VERRILL

L.

Entered at the Po$t Office at H artford, Conn., as mail matter o/: the second class.

THE CO NNECTICUT
NUMBER V

FEBRUARY - MARCH

SERIES O F' 1902-1903

There are 173 Illustrations in t his edition excelling and surpassing m
number any publication· from an American press during the year. Every
article is one of vital interest, and is presented with a vigorous literary style.
Produced by the Connecticut Magazine Company, 730 Main Street, Hartford,
Connecticut.
The Strength in Eccentric Character
The Old Mill at New London-A Poem
Miniature Painting in the Colonial Days
The Struggle for Liberty
Connecticut and the Building of a Western College
Little Journeys to Ancestral Firesides
Nature Studies Under the Sea
The S~ng of the River .

CHARLES CLARK MUNN

537

CECELIA GRISWOLD

541

HARRIET E. G. WHITMORE

542

GENERAL GEORGE H. ' FORD

542

CHARLES H. MAXWELL

553

CHARLES E. BENTON

557

COMMANDER H.

560

H.

BARR0LL

JOE CONE

563

Nine Illustrations-Drawings by Lours ORR.

The Governors of Connecticut

FREDERICK CALVIN NORTON
Five Illustrations-Reproductions, by HERBERT RAND/LL, from paintings.

Connecticut Artists and Their Work
Miss Fidelia Bridges in Her Studio

Department edited by HERBERT RANDALL

ALICE SAWTELLE RANDALL
lllustrated by reproductions from Miss Bridges' paintings.

Nathaniel Jocely!}-Portrait Painter

ELLEN STRONG BARTLETT
Illustrated by -six reproductions from paintings by Jocelyn.

569
583
583
589

Art Notes

Edited by HERBERT RANDALL

602

The Quill of the Puritan ·

Introductory by MARK TWAIN
FRANCIS TREVELYAN MILLER
GEORGE WILLIAMSON SMITH

603
604
606

The Monetary Standard of Literary Values
The Tendency of Modern Education

President of Trinity College

A Song to the Daisy-A Poem
The Historical Service of J ohn Fiske

DR. FREDERICK II. WILLIAMS 6ro .
ALBERT BUSHNELL HART
612
Harvard University

Sonnet .

Fragment from EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN
617
Department edited by EDWIN STANLEY WELLES 618

Studies in Ancestry
Book Notes and Literary Criticism .
Connecticut in the Manufacturing World (Danbury)

J. MOSS IVES
In collaboration with EDWARD B. EATON

625
627

Congratulatory Letters and Conclusion-By Gov. ABIRAM CHAMBERLAIN,
Ex-Gov. O. VINCENT CoFFIN, LrnuT.-Gov. HENRY ROBERTS, ExLrnuT.-Gov. LYMAN A. MILLS, PRESIDENT HADLEY OF YALE UNIVERSITY, JUDGE SIMEON E. BALDWIN OF SUPREME COURT, CONGRESSMAN N. D. SPERRY, CONGRESSMAN E. STEVENS HENRY .
647, 648, 649, 650
S UB S CR IPT I ON $2 .00 YEARLY .
SINGLE COPIES , 50 C E N TS.
Address all communications and manuscript to the Connecticut Magazine Company, Hartford, Conn.Copyright IQ03-By the Connecticut Magazine Company.

BOOK NOTES
For, a number of years Mr. Manwaring has been going through the
Probate Records and files at Hartford
in order to make a trustworthy compilation. The magnitude of the task
can be seen when it is found that
three large octavo volumes averaging
six hundred pages each will be required for the diges't, extending from
1635 to 1750.
It will be surprising too, to learn
that as many as forty towns furnish
names to these Records at Hartford,
and that the names alone number over
fifty thousand.
\Vhat a boon this
will be to the genealogist can readily
be seen.
·
The price, $7.00 a volume, will
seem prohibitive to some, but such
an undertaking justifies it.
Every reference library m the
country of respectable size, should
have these volumes, and every historical student would do well to place
them on his shelves. If each one interested will do what he can toward
publishfog this great work, it will
soon be issued. Mr. Manwaring will
gladly receive any communications.
His address is, Charles W. Manwaring, 25 Mather Street, Hartford,
Conn.

James Shepard's Monograph "John
Hall."
Certainly one of the most interesting genealogical monographs is that
entitled John Hall, of Wallingford,
Conn., by James Shepard, Esq., of
New Britain. Mr. Shepard has made
a searching examination of the Hartford Town Votes and Land Records

to determine, if possible, which of the
two John Halls was the original settler of Hartford-John Hall, of Middletown, or John Hall, of New Haven and Wallingford.
Whether one agrees or not with
Mr. Shepard's conclusion that John
Hall, of New Haven and Wallingford, was the pioneer of Hartford by
that name, he must admit that Mr.
Shepard has presented a strong case
from evidence mainly circums'tantial.
With the meager Records at hand, it
would be hard to offer a more convincing argument. Over half of this
monograph of some sixty pages is
taken up with a study of the two
John Halls, which will be rewarding
to any genealogical student. The
rest of the work is devoted to a carefully prepared genealogy of the descendants of John Hall, which can
be depended upon for accuracy. Its
price is $1.00.

Florence Peltier Perry's Book, "A
Japanese Garland."
Mrs. Florence Peltier Perry's very
charming book of sketches, entitled
"A Japanese Garland," seems to me
a volume peculiarly adapted to supplementary reading and school use.
It is full of instruction concerning
the l)eautiful aspects of nature in that
most artistic and interesting of countries, Japan, and is so wholesome in
tone and pleasure in manner, and
adaptable to the comprehension of
the young, that I regard it as well-nigh
an ideal book of its kind, and heartily
approve of its wide use in schools.
-Richard Burton.

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD
DANBURY LEADS THE WORLD IN HATTINGHISTORICAL STUDY OF THE BEGINNING AND
DEVELOPMENT OF A REMARKABLE INDUSTRY
BY

]. MOSS IVES
Author of "A Connecticut Battlefield in the American Revolution"

In collaboration with Edward B. Eaton, who tells the story of the Process of
Manufacture and gives an entertaining description of the modern manufactories
Illustrations in the story of Process are from photographs of interior of the Hawes, Von Gal Company's
f actory, at Danbury, furnished by Edward Von Gal.

Danbury's industrial history is the history of hatting. There were other industries that had priority. A paper mill was
established several years before the first
h a t shop was built and the manufacture
of combs and boots and shoes was carried on quite extensively at later periods.
But Danbury was predestined to become a hatting town, and its soil did
not seem favorable to the growth of
other industries. Hatting has had a
marked influence on the life and growth
of the town. When hatting has been poor
it has had to suffer hard times. Then too
it has made Danbury the most democratic of cities. There are few who can
be called rich in the modern acceptation
of the word, no one citizen having accumulated property of over half a million,
and there are few who are very poor.
There is a large middle class, thr'fty, industrious, independent people, owning
their own homes, and maintaining for
years an equality that nas long been one
of the chief characteristics of the place.
It has often been clarmed that the first
hat ever made on this side of the ocean
was made in Danbury. Be this as it may,
during the days of the Revolution there
stood a little red building at the northern
edge of the village where the manufacture
of hats was conducted on a small scale.
How long previous to this time hats had
been made in the town there is no record
to determine. Zadoc Benedict was the
owner of this infant industry, and he may
be called the father of hatting in Danbury. In his employ were one journey-

man and two apprentices, and the output
of his shop was three hats a day. The
work was all done by hand, this in contrast with the factories of today equipped
with modern mach'nery, turning out an
average of two hundred and fifty dozen
a day, and employing from three to five
hundred operatives. Soon after the Revolution other shops were established, and
at the beginning of the century hatting
was the chief occupation of the inhabitants of the town.
Danbury has chiefly been devoted to the
manufacture of the stiff or derby hat.
From 1840 to 1850 the making of silk hats
was undertaken, but this bra nch of the
trade was finally given up. Of late years
the manufacture of soft hats has come
to be a part of Danbury's hatting industry, and several factories now are devoted entirely to making this style of hat
although the stiff hat trade still predominates to a large degree. Ladies' hats are
also made to some extent.
During the la st ten years the annual
shipment of h a ts from Danbury h a s a veraged over 127,000 cases, there being about
three dozen hats to a ca se. So this city
sends out from its factories each year
more hats to cover the hea ds of American
citizens than any other one city in the
country. Today there are over thirty
firms engaged in the business of hat manufacturing in Danbury. These do not include industries auxiliary to the hat trade
which have grown up with it and include
two hat-case factories, three hat-wire factories, two silk mills, three hat-sweat

6:18

)

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

manufactories, twelve machine shops and
foundries, and four fur factories.
The hat shipments have shown a
marked and steady increase each year,
a nd it looks as if Danbury, with the help
of Bethel, formerly a part of the town,
can make secure its position as the center of the h a tting industry in this country.
The Danbury Board of Trade is an important factor in the industrial development of the city and the object of this
association is to unite the energies of the
citizens in a common effort to promote
the m ateria l interests of the town by fostering and encouraging a ll those industriaf enterprises which shall tend to develop the sources of wealth and advance
public and private prosperity.
Its officers are: Charles Kerr, President;
Arnold Turner, First Vice-President; I.
W.
Stillman,
Second Vice-President;
Geo. D. Northrop, Supt. Public Schools,
Secretary; John McCarthy, Treasurer.
The Danbury News, at the head of its
editorial column, gives this valuable resume of the resources of D anbury:
A county seat.
Sixty-five miles from New York.
Population approximately 20,000.
Danbury, Berkshire and Highland divisions, New York, New Haven and
H artford railroad.
Unexcelled hotel facilities.
One of the hatting centers of the
country with twenty-five hat factories.
A city offering unsurpassed advantages
to industries wishing to loca te here.
Two national and two savings banks.
Twelve miles of electric railway.
Ten handsome churches.
One of the finest public libraries in the
state.
Graded and High schools.
A theater.
Owns its own water system, valued at
$1,000,000.
Moderate taxes.
Available water privileges.
Sixty manufacturing establishments.
Finely equipped public hospital.
County jail and court house.
Paid police and fire departments.
Beautiful lake with summer resorts.
In Rev. Mr. Robbin's century sermon,
is the following:
"In the manufacture
of hats this town much exceeds any other
in the United States. More than twenty
thousand hats, mostly of fur, are made annually for exportation."
Manufacturing was very different then
from what is is now. The manufacturer
bought the skins in a bundle and fur had
to be taken from them by hand and assorted. Now there are separate industries for cutting, most of the work being

done by machinery. In 1810 there were
fifty-six hat shops in operation in the
township of Danbury, but each shop did
not employ over five hands. At this time
the hats were not finished in the shops
but sent to New York in the rough where
they were made ready for sale. The shop
consisted of a small plank-room where
the men gathered about a kettle heated
by a wood fire and pulled and hauled the
bodies of coarse fur, which had been
formed by their own hands at the rate of
one an hour.
Gradually the shops increased their capacity, employing more men from year
to year - the shops becoming fewer in
number, but many more hands being employed - large factories finally taking the
place of the little shops. Soon machinery
came in by slow degrees to work a radi cal change not only in the method of manufacture, but in the cost of the product.
A machine was invented for forming wool
hat bodies about 1820, and soon after the
invention was perfected many of the Danbury shops put in machines. Then a machine was invented for coloring hats, the
former process being very slow and tedi ous. In 1849 fur-hat forming-machines
were first used which worked quite a revolution in the trade. The introduction
of machinery h as, of course, decreased
the number of employees heretofore required for the manufacture of the same
number of h ats, but the output of the
factories h as increased correspondingly.
It h as a lso resulted in offering cheaper
h ats to the consumer.
Nearly a ll the materials of hat manu facture are imported, although there is an
increasing use of American silks in trimming. The fur is taken from the pelts
of a variety of an imals, the most important in the order of their value being beaver, -otter, nutria, muskrat, mink, Russian
h are, Saxony hare, Scotch hare, Scotch
coney, and French coney. Australia, New
Zea la nd, Russia, Siberia, and Scotland,
principally, a nd a lmost every other part
of the world , to some extent, contribute to
the supply.
The most scrupulous attention and deli cate m a nipula tion must be given to every
process of manufacture or the result of
negligen ce will show in the finished hat,
either when it is new or after it has been
worn a short time. The preparation of
the fur for felting begins ·while it is yet
upon the skin of the animal from which
it is t a ken.
When first received at the factory, thP.
skins are sorted into some eight or ten
grades, which are determined either by
the kind of skin, or its color, or both, or
by some subtle quality in the fur itself
inappreciable to the novice.
After sorting, the skins are brushed to

GILES M. HOYT
THEODORE S. 'I'WEEDY
WM. B. WILDMAN
JOH N T. DANN

WM. R. WHITE
A. EDWARD TWEEDY
DAVID D. WILDMAN

CHARLES BENEDICT
WM.
TWEEDY
WM. MONTGOMERY

FI.

THOMAS E. TWEEDY

PIONEERS IN THE UPBUILDING OF DANBURY'S lNDUSTRIAL"lNTERESTS

630

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

''BLOWING" OR SEPARATING THE FUR FROM
THE COARSE HAIR

)
J

straighten out the fur and cleanse it.
They are then plucked, a process in which
a heavy bed knife over which a roller
runs, removes the hair without dlsturbing the fur, which lies thick and matted
next to the skin. The hair is waste, so
far as the manufacture of hats is concerned.
It is upon the serrated edges of the fur
that the process of felti11g a:epends. They
are developed to the utmost by treating
the fur upon the skin from which the
hair has been removed with a solution of
nitric acid and quicksilver, an operation
which is called carroting. The skins,
·carefully dried, are then fed into a machine in which a revolving knife cuts the
skin into shreds and rolls back the fur in
an unbroken fleece upon an apron arranged to receive it.
This fleece is divided, or sorted, by girls
into various grades according to the portion of the skin from which it has been
cut. In the case of land animals, the
center of the fleece, as coming from the
back. is the finest grade, gra dually deteriorating in quality towards the edges. In
the fur of water animals, these conditions
are reversed, the finest fur coming from
the bellies.
Thus sorted, the fur is put up in strong
paper bags containing five or ten pounds
of fur each. This is the condition in which
it is usually purchased by the manufacturer.
In the fur stock room of the hat factory
the various grades and sizes a re carefully
weighed into the proper mixtures to make
any desired quality of hat, a carefully

determined proportion of short fur being
mixed with the longer fur to serve as
filler.
Thus proportioned, It goes to the blowlng room, where it is passed three times
through a m ixing machine called a devil
which separates the fur on revolving
teeth and carries it on an endless band
into another machine wnere the various
kinds of fur are thoroughly mixed.
The next process i s blowing. Here a
cylindrical apparatus revolving with great
rapidity, retains only the finest fibres, rejecting the coarsest and all impurities,
such as pieces of pelt, dirt, hair, or other
foreign substances.
The fur is then carefully parcelled out
to the fraction of an ounce of the desired weight of each hat and placed in
little boxes, each box containing just
enough fur for a single hat, a dozen of
these boxes to a case; and by dozens the
hats continue to be grouped until they
reach the heads of the public. From two
and one-quarter to two and three-quarter ounces of fur are allowed for a stiff
hat, and from three and one-quarter to
five or six ounces for a soft hat, according to the depth of crown and width df
brim.
Then, in another department, comes the
forming of the hat body. Here a cone
of thin plate copper, perforated until it
resembles gauze, turns around slowly in
a structure like a huge barrel set upon end
and attended by two men. Beneath the
cone. a fan revolving with great rapidity
exhausts the air drawn through the perforations. The fur from one of the little
boxes is fed by a girl operator over an
apron leading to a series of swiftly revolving pickers and brushes within the
machine and passes through a slit the
same height as the revolving cone, but
much wider at the bottom than at the top
in order that the base of the cone may

WHERE THE HAT FIRST TAKES ITS FORM

DANBURY LEADS WORLD IN HATTING

"SIZING" OR SIIRINKING THE HATS

receive the due proportion of material
for the formation of the brim of the hat.
The flying particles of fur, drawn by the
suction of the fan, are deposited evenly
upon the revolving cone closely matted
and held in place until the entire hat is
formed. The material for a hat having
been fed into the machine, one of the two
men quickly opens the doors, the cone is
deftly wrapped in cloths which have been
dipped in hot water, is removed from the
machine, and another put in its place to
receive the next hat. Over the first cone,
protected by the wet cloths, a perforated
metal cover is slipped and the whole, with
the aid of a small hand crane, immersed
in a tub of hot water. This operation
starts the process of felting sufficiently
to enable the operator to slip the hat body
from the cone, when the cone is ready
to be returned to the machine and receive another hat.
The hat body is now a thin cone
shaped bag of fur which may be as much
as thirty-two inches deep by thirty-six
inches in diameter, or a few inches
smaller, according to the size and kind
of hat desired. A dozen to sixteen of
these bodies, according to their weight,
are wrapped in a woolen cloth and by
means of hot water and a process of
careful manipulation and rolling by hand,
hardened sufficiently to prevent the breaking of the delicate fabric in handling.
Next comes the sizing. Six to eight
men stand around a large tub of water
kept at the boiling point by live steam
passing down into it, and work with bare
hands. Three or four of the cone-shaped
bodies are laid one upon another, dipped
into the boiling water, quickly withdrawn
upon an Inclined apron leading into the

tub, wrapped in a piece of burlap, quickly
and lightly rolled beneath the hands for
a moment, unwrapped, dipped again into
boiling water and the process repeated, the fabric growing constantly
thicker and the cone smaller.
'l'his
is the process of felting, preparation for
which was made in carrotting the fur
upon the skin, and without which the fur
would have proved very refractory. As
the tiny barbs upon the fur fibres knit
and cling together, the longer fibres are
drawn up into little loops while the
shorter fibres interlace the interstices,

'' STIFFENING "-APPLYING THE SHELLAC
i'O HATS

632

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD
process continues, the bodies are turned
about from side to side in order that all
parts may be shrunken equally, and are
frequently shaken out and turned over to
prevent felting together.
Occasionally
they are held up to the light and examined, and any foreign particles. which
might result in a damaged hat removed.
After the sizing is completed, the bodies
receive a very thorough examination from
an inspector, after which the selvedge
which has formed upon the edg·e of the
cone is trimmed off in order that it may
not interfere with the proper stretching
of the brim. The edge is then marked
with one or more notches to indicate the
size to which the hat is to be finished.
The size of a hat, it may be remarked,
is not the diameter of the hat e ither way
across it, but the diameter of a circle of
the same circumference as the inside of
the finished hat.
"STRETCHING" TIIE TIP AND BRIMS
OF 'l'JIE HATS

themselves becoming looped and knit togeth er as the process continues.
Until recent years, sizmg was done entirely by hand. Now, in the finer grades
of hats, it is started by hand and finished
in a machine in which a wooden roller
takes the place of hand manipulation,
after the bodies have been withdrawn
from the hot water and wrapped in the
burlap. 'I'he cheaper grades of h ats are
s ized entirely by machine; but it is believed that the felting process is started
more evenly by hand and that the liability
to damaged hats is much less.
The sizing is continued until the bodies
have shrunk to about one-third of the
original size, the depth and diameter of
the cone when completed being determined by the height of crown and width
of brim desired in the finished hat. As the

"PRESSING" OR FINAL SHAPING OF THE
CROWNS

''BLOCKING" THE HATS TO SHAPE AND
SIZE

The hat bodies, of a uniform grey in
color, are placed in the store room, whence
they pass to the co loring department,
where they are placed in large vats in
·which the proper mixtures of dye stuffs
for the desired colors have been dissolved.
The vegetable dyes of the past are being
done away with and alazerine dyes are
taking their place; but logwood continues
the basis of a ll these dyes.
After several hours of constant boiling
and stirring, the desired color is obtained,
and the hat bodies are removed to the
drying room and thoroughly dried at a
high temperature.
The next step, with the hat still in the
cone shape, is stiffening, by forcing
through the hat body a solution of shellac
dissolved in alcohol. This is accomplished

DANBURY LEADS WORLD IN HATTING

"FINISIIING" OR SURFACING TIIE IIATS

with soft hats, altogether by a machine in
which the hat is manipulated by rollers
until the stiffening solution is thoroughly
and evenly worked into the fabric. To
stiff hats the stiffening solution is first
applied to what afterwards becomes the
inside of the finished hat. This is done
in order that the outside of the hat may
be kept clean and that none of the stiffening solution except such as has been
strained and clarified through the entire
fabric of the hat may reach the outside.
Eighty per cent or more of the a lcohol
used in the JJrocess is afterwards recovered for use again.
The hats are dried at a temperature of
170
degrees,
the shellac
thoroughly
steamed into the body, the turning reversed, and the hats passed to the stretching department.
Here the conical body assumes the first
crude semblance of a hat. The work is
accomplished in a machine in which the
body is drawn upon a rounded, slowly revolvmg form, roughly resembling the
crown of a hat, a "tip" as it is called,
and gently forced down upon the form
by the action of the machine un_til the
apex of the cone disappears, while the
fingers of the operators draw out the
edges in the first appearance of the brim.
Another machine carries the development
of the hat still farther, the process being
divided into what is called tip stretching
and brim stretching.
Then comes the blocking, in which a
powerful press completes the process of
stretching and leaves the tip of the proper
size and depth, the brim flattened out at
right angles and wide enough for proper
shaping into the finished hat.
Up to this point, within limits constantly growing more restrictive as the

work progresses, hat bodies may be safely
carried in stock; beyond it they begin to
assume the ephemeral characteristics of
style.
After blocking, the hats are again dried.
If in tended for derbys, they next appear
in the press room. Here the hat is first
placed in a heated oven until the stiffening has become properly softened. It
is then tal~en to a hydraulic press, the
crown placed in a steel die exactly conforming in size and shape to the finished
style desired.
A rubber bag through
which cold water ;s constantly pumped
at a pressure of from four to six hundred
pounds is forced down into the hat. This
distends it to the exact shape of the die,
and in a short time cools and hardens it
into shape. It is here that the firs t real
separation in prncess of manufacture between soft and stiff hats begins. The
soft hats are softened by steam, drawn
over a die of the required shape, ironed
by hand with a hot iron to conform, and
placed in a cold water press to cool.
Next comes shaving and pouncing. Here
the stiff hat is placed upon a cylinder
which is run against a bed knife in such
a way as to shave off the heavy nap which
has been left on the hat after sizing.
Drawn over a revolving wooden b lock, the
hat is then finished to a smooth exterior
by expert hand work with pouncing paper
(a kind of sand paper), polished, and the
finest effect of the dyes brought out by
" leuring."
The " leur" is a piece of
coarse, strong muslin stuffed out to about
the size and shape of a brick for conven ience in handling. This is heated and
with it grease is applied to the surface of
the hat and thoroughly rubbed in. The
soft hats, in the finishing department, are

• • MATRICING" OR FINAL SHAPING
OF THE BRIMS

634

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

TRHii\IING AND

BINDING THE HATS

steamed and drawn over wooden blocks
and pounced and leured in a manner similar to that used for stiff hats.
Up to this point the brims have remained perfectly !lat. The hat is now
placed on a machine adjusted to cut off
the brim to the exact width desired. From
this point the stil'f hat passes to the brim
shaping and curling department, where
the first operation consists in giving the
sharp turn to the outer edge of the brim
by a machine, the hat having been first
softened by heat. It then passes to a
matricing machine where, still under the
influence of heat, a die made in two parts
and together forming the exact shape of
brim desired, is placed under the brim,
the hat placed brim upward in the machine, and hydraulic pressure of about
three hundred pounds applied to force it
into exact conformity with the die. Here
the hat remains until the brim cools and
hardens into shape. In the flanging department, a die in one piece is slipped
down over the crown of the soft hat and
a cloth tied over the brim as a protection.
The brim is pressed into shape over the

die with an electrically heated iron and
cooled and hardened under the pressure of
a heavy sand bag.
The manufacture of the hat itself is now
complete, and nothing remains but the
trimming. In the trimming-room, nimblefingered women and girls first insert (on
stiff hats) the wire around the edge of the
brim, next put on the binding, then the
band, and last of all the sweat leather,
the name of the manufacturer and perhaps that of the dealer for whom it is in tended having first been printed upon it
and the reed sew·ed into the edge where
it is attached to the hat. In the old days,
the employees of the trimming room in
some departments made much better
wages than at present, and the daugh ters of many of the best families of the
city were engaged in the work. This was
especially true when hats were lined with
satin, when expert tip maKers, as the op erators who made these linings were
called, frequently made as high as five or
six dollars· a day. The tip now is only
the label which the manufacturer places
in the crown of the hat, though the
crown, as distinguished from the brim, is
called the tip while the hat is going
through the factory.
The little ventilating holes in the sides
or top of the hat are now punched with
a steel die and the hats, after thorough
inspection, go to the packing room to be
carefully protected by paper and placed
in band boxes and the band boxes placed
in the cases in which the hats are shipped
to the jobber or retailer, to appear next
upon his shelves.
Some six millions of men's hats are
turned out annually in Danbury alone.
They have a long career of usefulness
first and last, from the time they leave
the factory until, broken, and worn, and
faded, they leave the world of hats. Reincarnated, they doubtless have an interesting history as shoddy. But that is
another story.

HATS IN THE VARIOUS STAGES OF MANUFACTURE FROM THE "RAW MATRRIAL"
TO THE FINISHED PRODUCT

DANBURY LEADS WORLD IN HATTING

PLANT OF THE HAWES, VON GAL COMPANY

DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREAT HAT FACTORY
OF THE HA WES, VON GAL COMPANY

I

NGENUITY has been one of the
great factors in the industrial
successes in Connecticut, and
the ability to market goods is
one of the most important requirements in the building of extensive
manufacturing interests. The evolution of industry is a study for the scientists, and but few are skilled in its
intricacies. Concentration of energy,
systematization in production, and facilitation in mechanical construction
are among the factors which give impetus to industrial progression. A remarkable example of ability in this
line of the world's work is the Hawesvon-Gal Company, which was incorporated under the laws of the State

of Connecticut in November, 1902,
with a capital of $530,000. Edward
J. Von Gal is president and general
manager of the Company and holds a
controlling interest in the Company's
stock.
The plant of the Hawes-von-Gal
Company, an illustration of which is
here produced, is a model of its kind
in equipment, system and fire protection. Situated on the Highland Division line of the New York, New Ha"'ven and Hartford railroad, and covering a large area with over 25,000
square feet of floor space, the immense
structure commands the attention of
travelers as they approach Danbury.
Much study has been given to the ar-

636

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

SECTION OF MAIN OFl'lCE AT THE DANHURY FACTORY

rangement of the various departments
of the factory by which the hats in
their various stages of manufacture
pass from one department to another
with a surprising routine and regularity. The system is so well planned
that a back transportation is never
necessary. This is an important factor
in the economy of the enterprise as
well as the fact that the Company possesses its own lighting and -heating
plant. Its complete equipment of automatic sprinklers, affords the best
factory protection known and required
by fire insurance underwriters to-day.
In fact, the fire rates on this factory
are lower than on any other hat fac'tory of its kind in this country.

The detail of the business is conducted in a handsome and well lighted
office on the ground floor, an illustration of which is here produced. Adjoining the main office is a well furnished private office. The Hawes-vonGal Company employs the highest paid
operatives in the hat industry, which
together with an equipment of the
most modern machinery known to hatting to-clay, and with the excellent system and the methods employed, enables the Company to produce hats of
a high standard of quality and perfection. This Company has established a
precedent and innovation in marketing
their hats by becoming one of the first
concerns in the country to adopt the

DANBURY LEADS WORLD JN HATTING
method of selling their product direct
to agents only, and never to jobbers.
The agents are selected with great
care and represent invariably the best
retailing el ement, with never more
than one dealer to each city, each
clealer having the · exclusive handling
of tbe Hawes hat.
Traveling representatives cover tbe
U nited States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Holland, South America ancl
France, appointing new agents continually, and introducing the Hawes
hat into all parts of the civilized
world.
Five years ago the Company had established 200 agencies ; to-clay more
than I ,ooo reliable hat dealers are
handling the Hawes hat, as agents for
this prosperous and growing Company. It may afford some idea of the

extent and facilities of the Hawes-vonGal Company to know that its plant
is capable of producing about 50,000
dozen hats annually, representing a
total of 600,000 hats, permitting an annual volume of business for the Company of nearly $r,ooo,ooo. The New
York and Boston salesrooms, located
at 1178 Broadway, New York, and 75
Summer Street, Boston, are spacious
and attractive, and afford excellent
central points for the transaction of
the firm's business in these great cities.
They are represented in the accompanying illustrations.
The experience of Mr. Von Gal, the
active head of this great enterprise is
a remarkable demonstration of untiring energy, quick and keen perception,
and sound business judgment. Born
in Danbury in 1862 he soon became

SECTION OF ONE OF THE FACTORY WORKROOMS

638

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

EXTERIOR OF TUE COMPANY'S OFFICE AT

imbued with. the hatting spirit of the
town, and at the age of eighteen entered the employ of Crofut & White,
at that time the leading hat factory in
this country. As an apprentice he was
studious and devoted, and during the
eight years of his association with this
firm he mastered the various branches
of the business so well that at the time
of severing his connection, he held the
position of superintendent of the " fin:
ishing department." His spirit of ambition and business energy then asserted itself for he immediately established a business of his own to supply
the jobbing trade, which he carried on
successfully for eleven years. Departing from the custom so generally

u78

BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY

111 use among the hat manufacturers,
of furnishing hats in large quantities
to a few of the great distributing
houses throughout the country in 1898,
he inaugurated the system of selling
exclusively to the retail trade with the
result that the Hawes-von-Gal Company stands to-day as one of the leaders among the great retail factories
in this country. Shortly after the
adoption of the retail system in
1898, a combination of interests was
effected with Mr. B. F. Hawes of the
Hawes Hat Company of New York.
The partnership between Mr. Von Gal
and Mr. Hawes continuing until the
death of the latter member of the firm
in 1902.

DANBURY LEADS WORLD IN HATTING

I

THE HANDSOME AND SPACIOUS NEW YORK SALESROOM

An incident in Mr. Von Gal's career
is well wol,"th relating. At four o'clock
on an afternoon in April, 1897 a fire in
a neighboring plant communicated
with Edward von .Gal's factory and
caused its total destruction. Without
an evidence of discouragement, Mr.
Von Gal acted promptly, and at nine
o'clock the next morning had the majority of his employees at benches and
machines in another factory turning
out hats as usual. Undaunted, Mr.
Von G13.l's ability to act in an emergency enabled him to fill all orders
within a week from the time of the
fire, operating the factory to its full
capacity in the short time.
In the many years that Mr. Von Gal

has been engaged in hat manufacturing his factory has never suffered from
strike agitations, although Danbury is
known as a stronghold of Unionism
This fact may be attributed largely to
his practical experience for many years
as a jouneyman which has given him
an insight into the desires and needs
of wage earners and has brought him
into close touch · with operatives generally as well as with his own employees.
Mr. Von Gal is one of the progressive business men of Danbury being a
factor in all that concerns the prosperity of that city. While his many
business connections do not permit him
much time for social duties, he is a

640

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

EDWARD

J.

VON GAL

President and General Manager of the Hawes,
Von Gal Company

prominent Elk being widely known
throughout the country in that fraternity.
The chief product of the Hawesvon-Gal factory is stiff and soft hats
and the aim of the Company has been
to afford the public a medium priced
$3.00 hat of high quality. Modern
methods and excellent factory equipment, and marketing direct enables
the Company to place a hat of superior workmanship and quality on the
market at this very moderate cost. The
Company orders immense quantities of
raw material, reducing its cost by these
large purchases. The Hawes' styles
are awaited with interest by dealers
and wearers, and the name has become
a household word.

THE COMPANY'S BOSTON SALESROOMS AT

75

SUMMER STREET

DANBURY LEADS WORLD IN HATTING
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF D. E. LOEWE & COMPANY
AND THE ADVENT OF SOFT HATTING IN DANBURY
The history of Soft Hatting in Danbury
for the past twenty years is largely told by
the record of the firm of D. E. Loewe & Co.
For many years the Soft Hat reigned
supreme in this as well as in other hatting
centers, but with the advent of the stiff
"Derby," the manufacture of soft hats
gradually drifted away to what have
since become known as the soft hat cen..
tres, and Danbury manufacturers devoted their best endeavors to producing
stiff hats. Two or three firms, however,

So much was this the case with D.
E. Loewe & Co., that the stiff hat department was abandoned entirely in 1896,
and since . that time none have been made
by them.
D. E. Loewe, the senior member of the
firm, is a German by birth and came to
this country in 1870. After working at
several trades he came to Danbury and
learned hatting.
He soon reached a
managing pos1t10n, and after serving as
foreman in several shops, in 1879 he es-

THE OLD FACTORY:,OF D. E. LOEWE & COMPANY

of which this concern was one, continued
making soft hats, and though the business languished to such an extent as to
be hardly profitable for a while, their grip
on the trade was never quite relinquished.
In 1893 came a great demand for the
Soft Tourist or Fedora Hat. Danbury
makers were quick to take advantage
of it and though at first the business received was but the overflow from other
places, they soon won a name for themselves, and when the craze subsided a season or two after, they had obtained a
much increased foothold.

tablished the business he now controls,
in company with Messrs. Targett and
Beardsley. · This partnership lasted one
year, when both of the latter gentlemen
withdrew.
Mr. Loewe then admitted
Messrs. Mathias Heinzelman and Charles
Mutschele into the concern, which continued under this management until 1885
when Mr. 1\Grtin Fuchs became a partner. In I894 a dissolution of partnership
was occasioned by the death of Mr.
Heinzelman, and in 1901 Mr. Mutschele
retired from the firm, since when Mr.
Loewe and Mr. Fuchs have continued the
business . .

64:z

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

The first home of the concern was a
small, though historic, shop, known as
the Sturtevant factory, situated near
Beaver Brook.
This has since burned
down. In 1880 these quarters proved too
cramped and the present location was
taken. That changes have been made in
the appearance of the plant since then
may be seen by comparing the illustrations.
The early history of the main building,
is not definitely known, but that it has one
of interest may well be believed. Years
:igo Danbury had another industry, combmaking, and at least one concern in that line
made its home in this building. An old
shed, recently torn down, formed part of
their plant, and was an old resident at the
time of the Civil War.
Power was furnished by a mill-pond, since drawn off, and
the remains of the old race-way and wheel
pit give a touch of antiquity to an otherwise modern plant.

After combs, naturally, came hats, and
the buildings were remodelled to fit the
new conditions. Various wings and additions have been erected by the present
owners, notably a plank shop, or sizing
room, which is probably as nearly model
in its appointments as any in the district,
and new office quarters.
The product of the plant is sold to the
wholesale trade only, and through them
reaches many remote quarters of the
world. Mexico and Japan, South Africa
and Australia, the Philippines, and the
British East Indies all have contributed
to turning the wheels of the shop that has
the name of being "always busy."
But in this, as in most lines in America,
the great bulk of the business is home
trade ; and the careful study of the needs
of the different sections of the country for
years has resulted in a firm hold on trade
in every part of the United States and
Canada.

THE PRESENT EXTENSIVE PLANT OF D. E. LOEWE & COMPANY

DANBURY LEADS WORLD IN HATTINc;

THE PLANT OF THE TURNER MACHINE COMPANY AT DANBURY

Operating factories also at Newark, New Jersey, Denton and Stockport, England.

DANBURY SENDS SPECIAL AND HATTER'S MACHINERY INTO ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD-THE
PRODUCT ON THE TURNER MACHINE COMPANY

Inventive skill has given Connecticut an enviable reputation in the world
of manufactures. The patent records
show that the Connecticut mechanic
is a most extensive producer. Through
his originality and untiring energy,
industrial progress has secured a wonderful impetus.
Thus it may be of historical significance that John Turner, an
English -inventor, and a pioneer in the
hatting industry, was among the first
to recognize the need of improved
mechanical facilities, and his genius
played an important part during the
last forty years in accomplishing the
almost complete revolution of this
huge industry.
The name of John Turner is signifi-

cant of the machinist's art the world
over, as a firm of this name was established as far back as 1859 at Denton, England, with John Turner as
its head, and since that year has extended its influence throughot1t the
civilized globe.
In 1900 an amalgamation of the
interests of John Turner and Giles
Atherton, another large English manufacturer and inventor was effected,
the combination controlling many valuable patents and almost the entire
output of hatters' machinery, being
known as Turner, Atherton & Co.,
Limited, with capital stock fully paid
of $875,000.
The first McKinley tariff was the
influence that led to the establishing

644

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

THE BLOWING MACHINE USED IN HATTING

One of the many kinds of batters' machinery built
by tbe Turner Machine Company.

of a branch of the English industry
in this country, and Danbury was selected as a site for a plant because of
the constant requirements of the many
large hat factories in that section, as
well as for the exceptional advantages
in perfecting mechanical improvements.
The Danbury plant, an illustration
of which is here produced, is known
as the Turner Machine Company, and
its managing director is Arnold Turner. Another plant was soon established at Newark, N. J., under the
management of Henry H. Turner
The heads of both of these factories
are sons of the late John Turner, the
founder of the business.
The allied companies, American and
English are closely identified, and together supply fully seventy-five per
cent. of the hatting machinery used in
the world, employing hundreds of
skilled machinists and other artisans.
The Turner Machine Company is
an extensive plant located on Maple
avenue, Danbury, adjacent to the
Highland Division of the New York
New Haven and Hartford railroad,
having excellent shipping facilities.
The factory is a substantially built
structure covering a large area, and

is equipped throughout with the most
modern labor-saving devices. It contains in addition to the machine shop,
a brass and iron foundry which the
company owns and operates.
The Danbury factory not only
builds hatters' machinery, but is constantly engaged on large contracts for
special machinery, of all kinds, fo_r
many of the large New England manufacturers, its facilities affording the
greatest expediency in filling contract
orders of this nature.
In addition to orders, single machines or their parts, the Company is
often called upon to build and install
complete equipments for hat factories
and frequently as well to draft plans
for the factory buildings of an entire
plant, the specifications and installment depending on the producing
capacity required.
Thus the Turner Machine Company of Danbury can build and equip
a plant completely and turn it over
ready for making hats.
From their extensive connections
with all the important hat manufacturers in the world, and their years of
service in this business, the product
of the Turner Machine Company has
long been recognized as the standard.
Their export business is large and
some idea of the growing importance
of the felt hat industry may be gained
from contracts for machinery now in
the works for erection in Japan,
Russia, Spain, Australia, and South
America.
The Company has offices in New
York, London, Paris, Berlin, Milan,
Rio de Janeiro, and Calcutta.
Mr. Arnold Turner, the head of
The Turner Machine Company, is
vice-president of the Danbury Board
of Trade and has interests in a number of the large hat factories of Danbury and other enterprises.

DANBURY LEADS WORLD IN HATTING

"'z

0
<J)

ONE OF DANBURY'S HATTING INDUSTRIES NEARLY A
CENTURY OLD-THE FIRM OF E. A. MALLORY & SONS

The inception and development of
Danbury's hatting interests affords a
fascinating and instructive story of industrial progress. Since the middle of
the eighteenth century this enterprise
has been fostered in Danbury. Gen-

erations of hatters have come and gone
There are hatting concerns in Danbury
to-day occupying factories, the founders of which have long since been removed by death or retirement,- and
others whose experience covers a long

646

CONNECTICUT IN THE MANUFACTURING WORLD

number of years, and who are still
engaged in the manufacture of hats
under the original firm name, and in
the original location.
The name Mallory has been identified with hatting in Danbury since the
early part of the nineteenth century,
the manufacturing record of this wellknown family antedating by many
years that of any other present day
Danbury hatter. The original business
has been handed down by its founder
and his successors, until to-clay the
management of this old established
business represents the third generation of the Mallory family.
'
The founder of the enterprise, Ezra
Mallory, was born in Redding, Connecticut in I 78.), and later settled at
Great Plain near Danbury, establishing in 1813 a hat shop on a small scale
in that location, employing from six
to twelve hands, and turning out from
three to six dozen hats per week.
At sixteen years of age, his son
Ezra A. Mallory began work in his
father's hat shop, and was enga·gecl in
this occupation until the death of his
father in 1845, continuing the business in his ow.n name in Great Plain
and later in Danbury until 1862, when
he formed a partnership with P. A.
Sutton, under the firm name of P. A.
Sutton & Company. Mr. Mallory remaining at the head of the firm. Upon
the withdrawal of Mr. Sutton in 1863,
Mr. Mallory conducted the business in
his own name without partners until
1878, in that year taking his son,
Charles A. Mallory into partnership,
and continuing under the name of E.
A. Mallory & Son until 1883. Another
son William E. Mallory was admitted
to the firm in that year, the partnership becoming E. A. Mallory & Sons.
The year 1897 marked the retirement
of Ezra A. Mallory the head of the
firm, after a continuous and successful

record of over sixty years in this, his
life time business. H. B. Mallory the.
son of Charles A. Mallory was taken
into the partnership in 1900 without
changing the firm name.
The magnitude of the Mallory business to-clay presents a wonderful contrast to that of nearly a century ago.
The immense plant, with main buildings four stories in height, an illustration of which is here produced, is
known as one of the largest and best
equipped hat factories in the country;
employs from 350 to 450 hands, and
turns out annually 48,000 dozen hats
of all kinds, the annual output being
valued at $530,000.00
The Company generates its own
electricity for lighting t.pe plant, and
furnishing power and heat. The New
York office is at 13 Astor Place, and
the Boston office at 44 Bedford street.
In the hat indu_stry, quality of the
raw material used and high standard
of workmanship give hats only their
intrinsic value. In addition hats must
be fashioned in the most approved
style, which is an a,rt in itself.
This Company's corps of expert designers have placed the products of
E. A. Mallory & Sons' factory in a
class distinctively its ow.n . The products of this factory "Mallory's Make
Men's Hats" are not confined to the
most recent eccentricities of fashion.
Their wearers include people in many
parts of the world with varying occupations. The clubman of Fifth Avenue,
the cowboy on the plains, the Maine
lumberman, the Southern_ cotton
worker, the humble miner, the California fruit grower are all provided _for
at this large factory with various styles
to suit their needs and fancies. In the
past ten years "Mallory's Make Men's
Hats," have become popular in every
part of the Western Hemisphere.

[To be continued]

I have read with interest the last number of The Connecticut Magazine, and am
much pleased with its able articles and fine illustrations, and I wish it the success it
deserves. With best wishes, I am
Sincerely yours,
/

Governor of Connecticut.