subject: Factories
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Foster Grant Company
description- – A photograph of an aerial print of the Foster Grant Company in Leominster, Massachusetts. Foster Grant was a pioneer in the plastics industry in the United States. Founded by Samuel Foster, Jr. in 1919 the company began as a manufacturer of hair ornaments. Most notably Foster Grant has been known as the first company to market sunglasses for mass appeal. By the 1940s Foster Grant was the largest manufacturer of sunglasses in the U.S.
- – Factories--Massachusetts--Leominster
- – Foster Grant Company, Leominster (Mass.)--Aerial views
- – Plastics industry and trade--Massachusetts--Leominster
- – Text and images are the property of the National Plastics Center and Museum (NPCM) and are protected by copyright. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, the NPCM may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The NPCM prohibits the copying of any protected materials on this website except for non-commercial use. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of the National Plastics Center and Museum. The copyright symbol should accompany the reproduction if applicable. Commercial use of the museum's property is subject to publication fees and/or royalties.
- – 1930-1940?
- – Is part of the Foster Grant Collection, 1933-1980s. National Plastics Center and Museum, Leominster, Massachusetts. http://www.plasticsmuseum.org/museum.html#Collection
- – image/jpg
- – English
Dupont Viscoloid Co., Viscoloid Works Property Plan
description- – The property plan of the DuPont Viscoloid Co. Viscoloid Works in Leominster, Massachusetts. The property plan shows all the buildings, wells, hydrants, roads and railroad tracks that made up the Viscoloid Works on Lancaster Street, in Leominster, Massachusetts. Note the multiple small buildings that made up the complex. Companies that worked with cellulose nitrate used small buildings to minimize the fire risk inherent with working with the flammable material. Buildings on the plan are numbered and contain basic information about their functions. On the left is a chart listing all buildings and notes that list functions, and , where appropriate, when the building was removed. The property plan was originally created on September 3, 1926, but was revised as needed. A chart with the revision dates is listed on the left. The last revision was done on September 19, 1934. The property plan is an enlarged negative image embedded in plastic.
- – Plastics industry and trade--Massachusetts--Leominster
- – Factories--Blueprints
- – DuPont Viscoloid Company, Leominster (Mass.)
- – E.I. du Pont de Nemours&Company
- – Property Plans
- – Text and images are the property of the National Plastics Center and Museum (NPCM) and are protected by copyright. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, the NPCM may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The NPCM prohibits the copying of any protected materials on this website except for non-commercial use. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of the National Plastics Center and Museum. The copyright symbol should accompany the reproduction if applicable. Commercial use of the museum's property is subject to publication fees and/or royalties.
- – 1934-09-19
- – Is part of the Archival Collections. National Plastics Center and Museum, Leominster, Massachusetts. http://www.plasticsmuseum.org/museum.html#Collection
- – image/jpg
- – English
Employees of the National Straw Works
description- – Operators in Hall No. 2 of the National Straw Works. The company was incorporated in 1869 by Henry Bernard and George Smalley. They employed 2,000 workers in 1880. The company burned down in 1917.
- – Westborough (Mass.)
- – Westboro (Mass.)
- – Straw Hats 1880-1890
- – Factories -- Massachusetts
- – Hat Industry
- – Industries -- Massachusetts -- Worcester County
- – 1883-1884
- – In the collection of the Westborough Public Library Westborough Room, Westborough, Massachusetts. http://www.westboroughlib.org
- – image/jpg
Sewing Hall No. 2 at the National Straw Works
description- – Women sewing at the National Straw Works
- – Westborough (Mass.)
- – Westboro (Mass.)
- – Straw Hats 1880-1890
- – Factories -- Massachusetts
- – Hat Industry
- – Industries -- Massachusetts -- Worcester County
- – 1880s
- – In the collection of the Westborough Public Library Westborough Room, Westborough, Massachusetts. http://www.westboroughlib.org
- – image/jpg
Shop workers at the Humber Cycle Company, Westborough (Westboro), Massachusetts
description- – Humber Cycle Company shop workers, Westborough (Westboro), Massachusetts. Humber Company bought the White Bicycle Company of Westborough.
- – Bicycle Industry -- Massachusetts
- – Factories -- Employees -- Westborough (Mass.)
- – 1895-1896
- – In the collection of the Westborough Public Library Westborough Room, Westborough, Massachusetts. http://www.westboroughlib.org
- – image/jpg
Litchfield Shuttle Works, Southbridge, Mass.
description- – Litchfield Shuttle Company located in the Shuttleville district (off South Street) in Southbridge, Massachusetts. View taken from the upper road way, looking down on the plant. The brick building has three levels including a tower. Workers shown in the foreground working on an exterior vent or water tower, on a flat roof. The Litchfield Shuttle Company was formed in 1843 by Pliny, Festus C. and Leroy Litchfield. In 1844, they were joined by their brother-in-law, S. S. Whitney in a partnership. Initially known as the L.O.P. Litchfield and Company, later incorporating in 1878 as the Litchfield Shuttle Company, with a capital investment of $21,000. The company manufactured shuttles and shuttle-irons for woolen, cotton, silk, jute and linen. According to The Southbridge Press, July 2, 1904 the Litchfield Shuttle Company is the largest company in the industry. The following subsequent article by Ralph Minard, appeared on the day of the auction of the plant and the equipment"One of Southbridge?s oldest industrial firms came to the end of a 00 year old career Thursday amid the ring of the auctioneer?s hammer and the eager bidding of some 200 buyers, The Litchfield Shuttle Co., on the Westville rd., was the scene. Operated by three generations of the Litchfield family since 1843, the company was at one time the largest in the world, supplying shuttle to thousands of textile mills throughout the country.In recent years it had struck harder going, and had passed out of control of the Litchfields. A month ago, the last of the 30 remaining employees were paid off and a liquidation sale was arranged. Bidders milled through the interior of the factory from 10 o clock Thursday morning, when the sale began, until 9 o clock that night. Representatives of engineering and tool firms, shuttle companies and textile mills came from many parts of the country. One bidder was on hand from the Dominion Shuttle Co., in Canada. Others came from as far away as South Carolina.Up for sale were the property, water rights, good will, persimmon and dogwood blocks, woodworking machinery, machine tools, punch presses, belt drop hammers, motors, generators, 170,000 pounds of round, flat bar and sheet steel and office furniture. Auctioneers from Samuel T. Freeman&Co., of Boston found the bidding voracious. Battle To BuyEight bidders battled vocally for possession of the lathe worth in normal time about $350. They ran the price up to $1200, reaching a stalemate, and cut cards to decide who was to get it. The same spirit attended the sale of a majority of the equipment. Milton Werby, of the Werby Motor Co., of Boston, buyer and dealer in second hand electric motors, bid in the building for $25,000. It is believed possible that he will rent or sell the property to some local manufacturer who can use it.Simonds Machine Co., of Southbridge bought belting, shafting and some machinery. Southbridge Tool Co., a war plant operated by three youthful graduates of Cole Trade school, purchased the good will, and the tools, dies and fixtures necessary for making shuttles.American Optical Co. purchased the bulk of the office equipment. Various junk dealers, including local men, bought scrap metal and other salvageable material.Added Incentive Adding impetus to the bidding was the act that small manufacturers, unable to obtain equipment and materials because of priorities, flocked to the sale to pick up machinery they could not otherwise obtain. Shapes worth $100 in a normal market were bid off for prices ranging up to $425. Piles of steel acquired by the company as war raw material for shuttles, were snapped up by buyers, under government supervision.A man familiar with the history of the shuttle company said today that the business reached its peak around 1925, when such firms as Cannon Mills were buying as much as $450,000 worth of shuttles a year. A total of 125 employees, many of them veteran craftsmen who had never known any other trade, were kept busy on orders. DeclineIt was this man?s opinion that the company?s subsequent decline resulted from too much emphasis on custom designing, on failure to standardize the product, and on the lack of application of new production methods. An output of 50 shuttles a week, he said, was considered good production for one shuttle maker.The company was said to have served a wide clientele, all of them asking for different shuttle designs, with the result that a huge stock had to be carried and designing equipment had to be kept available for as long as five years. As much as 100 operations was into the making of a single shuttle it was explained. Veteran employees who made their last shuttles at time worn benches in the shop in the last six months, have found place in other industry. It is estimated that half of the men who remained have been placed in American Optical Co., and in Russell Harrington Cutlery Co., where they can be employed in skills related to shuttle making. Some 30,000 semi finished shuttles are still stored at the plant.Future Indefinite Approximately 10 years ago, management of the company came into the hands of Albert Leon, of Edwards St., who has been operating it up to recent months. For the past five months two mortgages have taken active roles in the company?s activities. One is Joseph Beal of Boston, a machinery operator, the other is Fred Firstenberg, who operates the First Machinery Corp., of New York City.The future of the structure is indefinite today, but one man familiar with the business pointed out that there is still a market for shuttles, and that it is possible that the factory will be making shuttles again after the war ends. The use of duplicating machinery, simplification of manufacturing technique, restriction of model and concentration of design for a few important customers rather than for a wide range of consumers, plus the hiring of women for some of the processes, might make it possible to revive the shuttle industry in Southbridge, he said.In the meantime, the materials and equipment which once made Litchfield the world?s largest shuttle factory are on the move today, to plants in many sections of the country where they can play their part in war production."
- – Southbridge (Mass.)--history
- – Historic buildings--New England
- – Litchfield Shuttle Company--history
- – Textile workers--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Textile industry--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Litchfield Shuttle Works--Southbridge (Mass.)
- – Mills and mill work--New England--pictorial works
- – Historic buildings--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – Factories--New England--pictorial works
- – pre-1923
- – Is part of a photographic collection at Jacob Edwards Library, Southbridge, Massachusetts. http://www.jacobedwardslibrary.org. Donated by Stella (White)Anderson and Susan (Anderson)Chaplin, November 10, 2001
- – image/jpg
- – 42 degrees 04' N 72 degrees 02' W
Harrington Cutlery Company 1920 Marcy Street
description- – The Harrington Cutlery Co. factory building has a brick foundation and covered with wooden clapboard. In the background, the renowned triple-decker housing, unique to New England, is in evidence. Signage is painted onto the structure with the words"Dexter"Knives and Harrington Cutlery Co. A water tower sits on top of the factory. A modest brick chimney is located towards the rear of the building, in this winter scene. In 2001, the company changed name to Dexter Russell, a successor to the Harrington Cutlery Company (Dexter) and the John Russell Cutlery Company (Green River). Tracing its origins to June 18, 1818 to Henry Harrington's first business, Dexter Russell has the distinction of being the oldest, and the largest professional cutlery manufacturer in the United States.
- – Southbridge (Mass.)--history
- – Historic buildings--New England
- – John Russell Cutlery Company--history
- – Historic buildings--Massachusetts--Southbridge
- – mills and millwork--New England--pictorial works
- – Factories--New England--pictorial works
- – c.1920
- – Is part of a photographic collection at Jacob Edwards Library, Southbridge, Massachusetts. http://www.jacobedwardslibrary.org.
- – image/jpg
- – 42 degrees 04' N 72 degrees 02' W
In the rag room, Holyoke, Mass.
description- – Image shows a group of women at work sorting rags in the rag room of a paper-making company. The rags are piled in large baskets beside each woman. All the women are wearing hats or bonnets of some type and are working in the bright light coming through the large windows of the building.
- – Women--Employment--Massachusetts--Holyoke
- – Paper industry--Massachusetts--Holyoke
- – Factories--Massachusetts--Holyoke
- – ca. 1900
- – Image is part of the Clifton Johnson Collection, 1880-1940. Jones Library Special Collections, Amherst, Massachusetts. http://www.joneslibrary.org
- – image/jpg
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