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A Demuth—Dunhill Connection?: Difference between revisions
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The company went through a period of changeovers. David A. Schulte (Schulte Cigar Stores) purchased the company in 1927. As of 1929, Demuth and S.M. [Samuel Morris] Frank were two of the five companies that controlled the domestic briar pipe industry. In 1937, Frank became Demuth’s president by purchasing the factory in Queens—to combine Frank (Kaywoodie pipes) and Demuth pipe production—and Demuth became a subsidiary company. The Company officially disappeared in 1972, but Frank continued to produce Wellington pipes from the Demuth factory until 1976; in the 1980s, the Wellington was revived for a brief time. | The company went through a period of changeovers. David A. Schulte (Schulte Cigar Stores) purchased the company in 1927. As of 1929, Demuth and S.M. [Samuel Morris] Frank were two of the five companies that controlled the domestic briar pipe industry. In 1937, Frank became Demuth’s president by purchasing the factory in Queens—to combine Frank (Kaywoodie pipes) and Demuth pipe production—and Demuth became a subsidiary company. The Company officially disappeared in 1972, but Frank continued to produce Wellington pipes from the Demuth factory until 1976; in the 1980s, the Wellington was revived for a brief time. | ||
New York City’s Fifth Avenue was literally Pipe and Tobacco Row. The Demuth showroom was at 230 Fifth Avenue. Alfred Orlik was at 86 Fifth Avenue. F. W. Kaldenberg and Sons had its retail store at 95 Fifth Avenue. A. Oppenheimer & Co., sole American distributors of GBD pipes and Gallaher’s tobaccos, was situated at 104 Fifth Avenue. The Manhattan Briar Pipe Company’s initial address was 111 Fifth Avenue. KB&B/Kaywoodie was at 120 Fifth Avenue. Frankau & Co., 129 Fifth Avenue. The headquarters of S. M. Frank & Co. was at 133 Fifth Avenue. The House of Comoy was not far away at 342 Madison Avenue. Philip Morris & Co, Ltd. was at 72 Fifth Avenue. The George W. Helme Company, distributors of Lorillard, Railroad and Gail & Ax snuff, had offices at 111 Fifth Avenue, as did The British American Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company. Liggett & Myers was at 212, Carreras, Ltd. at 220, and Benson & Hedges at 435. I won’t burden you with all the Fifth-Avenue addresses of tobacco leaf importers and cigar merchants. | New York City’s Fifth Avenue was literally Pipe and Tobacco Row. The Demuth showroom was at 230 Fifth Avenue. Alfred Orlik was at 86 Fifth Avenue. F. W. Kaldenberg and Sons had its retail store at 95 Fifth Avenue. A. Oppenheimer & Co., sole American distributors of GBD pipes and Gallaher’s tobaccos, was situated at 104 Fifth Avenue. The Manhattan Briar Pipe Company’s initial address was 111 Fifth Avenue. KB&B/Kaywoodie was at 120 Fifth Avenue. (In 1926, KB&B was joined by the staff of Reiss-Premier Pipe Company, the staff of Civic Premier Pipe Company (the American affiliate of London’s Civic Company), and La Bruyère of St. Claude. Now, under single management, these three associate companies represented “the largest factor in the pipe industry of the United States.”) Frankau & Co., 129 Fifth Avenue. The headquarters of S. M. Frank & Co. was at 133 Fifth Avenue. The House of Comoy was not far away at 342 Madison Avenue. Philip Morris & Co, Ltd. was at 72 Fifth Avenue. The George W. Helme Company, distributors of Lorillard, Railroad and Gail & Ax snuff, had offices at 111 Fifth Avenue, as did The British American Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company. Liggett & Myers was at 212, Carreras, Ltd. at 220, and Benson & Hedges at 435. I won’t burden you with all the Fifth-Avenue addresses of tobacco leaf importers and cigar merchants. | ||
For years, M.M. Importing Company, 6 East 45th Street, was the sole agent for Dunhill pipes in the United States. Then Dunhill opened its first U.S. retail store, Alfred Dunhill Ltd., at 514 Fifth sometime in 1921; other public announcements listed 295 Fifth Avenue. (The Schulte Retail Stores Corporation owned a controlling interest of this Dunhill store.) Soon thereafter Dunhill became the talk of the town, and here’s evidence from a few trade publications. “The Dunhill offices have been handsomely fitted up, and they have on display a large and ample stock of pipes and other Dunhill products. …The Dunhill pipe, with the white spot, is recognized in this country as a high quality proposition, and the franchise to handle this line has come to be regarded as a very valuable asset” (“Dunhill Offices in New York City Carry Full Line,” ''United States Tobacco Journal'', September 24, 1921). “Alfred Dunhill of London, Inc., will open shortly and prior to May 16th, 1922, a cigar store at No. 514 Fifth avenue, corner of 43rd street, for the sale of its own products. The store will be unique in the annals of American smoke shops and will probably be the finest example of its kind and on a scale never before attempted by anyone” (“That Dunhill Store,” ''The Retail Tobacconist'', April 20, 1922). “Dunhill’s has also been aided remarkably by the retail store recently opened at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street, a store so situated that it advertises the pipe not only to all New York but also to that large part of the money-spending population of America which gets to New York at least once a year” (James Henle, “Making Pipe Smoking Respectable,” ''Printers’ Ink Monthly'', October 1922). | For years, M.M. Importing Company, 6 East 45th Street, was the sole agent for Dunhill pipes in the United States. Then Dunhill opened its first U.S. retail store, Alfred Dunhill Ltd., at 514 Fifth sometime in 1921; other public announcements listed 295 Fifth Avenue. (The Schulte Retail Stores Corporation owned a controlling interest of this Dunhill store.) Soon thereafter Dunhill became the talk of the town, and here’s evidence from a few trade publications. “The Dunhill offices have been handsomely fitted up, and they have on display a large and ample stock of pipes and other Dunhill products. …The Dunhill pipe, with the white spot, is recognized in this country as a high quality proposition, and the franchise to handle this line has come to be regarded as a very valuable asset” (“Dunhill Offices in New York City Carry Full Line,” ''United States Tobacco Journal'', September 24, 1921). “Alfred Dunhill of London, Inc., will open shortly and prior to May 16th, 1922, a cigar store at No. 514 Fifth avenue, corner of 43rd street, for the sale of its own products. The store will be unique in the annals of American smoke shops and will probably be the finest example of its kind and on a scale never before attempted by anyone” (“That Dunhill Store,” ''The Retail Tobacconist'', April 20, 1922). “Dunhill’s has also been aided remarkably by the retail store recently opened at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street, a store so situated that it advertises the pipe not only to all New York but also to that large part of the money-spending population of America which gets to New York at least once a year” (James Henle, “Making Pipe Smoking Respectable,” ''Printers’ Ink Monthly'', October 1922). | ||