12 unnumbered pages : illustrations ; 27 cmhttps://digitalcommons.salemstate.edu/books_pamphlets/1000/thumbnail.jp

Almy, Bigelow & Washburn

English

Salem State University: Digital Commons

Salem State University
Digital Commons at Salem State University
Books & Pamphlets
1908
Almy, Bigelow & Washburn: Fifty Years 1858-1908
Almy, Bigelow & Washburn
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.salemstate.edu/books_pamphlets
This Book is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons at Salem State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Books &
Pamphlets by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at Salem State University.
Recommended Citation
Almy, Bigelow & Washburn, "Almy, Bigelow & Washburn: Fifty Years 1858-1908" (1908). Books & Pamphlets. 4.
https://digitalcommons.salemstate.edu/books_pamphlets/4
.. , 

\ 
fifty .Years 
~~ 1858 
1908 
Almy., BigeloW" 
&Washburn 
· SALEM, MASS. 
' 
JAMES FERGUS ALMY 
; 
The Organizer of the Business 
JAMES FERGUS ALMY w-as born in Adams, Mass., July 24, 1833, of Quaker parentage. He came to Salem in 1854 and entered the employ of W. W . Palmer. At the end of four 
years he w-ent into business for himself. 
Mr. Almy w-as a man of brilliant mind, great energy and high 
moral character. He w-as ambitious, not only for himself, but also for 
his associates and his city. 
He w-as alw-ays ready to recognize ability in others, and by his 
advice, encouragement and practical assistance led many young men and 
w-omen tow-ard success in life. 
He loved Salem and had great faith in her future . So much so, 
that he turned aw-ay from opportunities for success elsew-here, and by 
self-sacrifice and constant dlort built up a business remarkable in size 
and strength for a city of the population of Salem. 
But not only as a merchant w-as he loyal to the city. He w-as 
active in advancing her prosperity in many w-ays. In 1867 he w-ith 
tw-o associates bought the Derby estate of more than a hundred acres 
in South Salem from the heirs of Elias Haskett Derby, the famous ship 
ow-ner. This immense estate he laid out in streets and house lots w-hich 
he o:Gered for sale. 
The bringing into the market of this tract of unproductive and un-
improved property w-as a great stimulus in the buying of land and 
building of homes in that section of the city. It brought new- residents 
to Salem, enlarged the city, increased its beauty and added greatly to 
the amount of taxes to flow- ~nto its treasury. · 
Mr. Almy w-as closely identified w-ith the business, social and 
church life of the city for more than a quarter of a century, and took 
an active part in its political a:ffairs. He w-as a leader in the formation 
of the Salem Board of Trade and its first president. He served as a 
member of the School Board in 1856, and again in 1896-98 ; a mem-
ber of the Common Council in 1864-67, and a member of the Legisla-
ture in 1881-82. He also served on the Republican City Committee 
many years and -was for a few- years its chairman. 
At the time of his death, April 14, 1899, he w-as president of the 
Asbury Grove Camp Meeting Associa-cion; a director of the Sdem 
Electric Lighting Co., the Merchants' National Bank, the Pettis Dry 
Goods Co. of Indianapolis, the Lamson Cash Carrier Co., and the 
Y. M. C. A.; a trustee of the Salem Five Cents Saving Bank, and 
Boston University, and treasurer of the Salem Great Pasture Co. 
.. 
, 
... 
A PERSONAL APPRECIATION 
W ITH many of our frienda, we have had opportunities to eipre•s our gratitude for their patronage, yet it has not been possible to meet them all personally. W e wish now, on behalf of the corporation, to thank you for what you have 
done for us during your association with this store. 
We very deeply appreciate your loyalty, and hope we may continue to deserve it. 
Thie business has become a part of Salem. and its endeavor must be to afford you the 
true•t and best character of store-service, 
W. K. BIGEWW 
C. R. WASHBURN E. A. ANNABLE 
.. "' 
THE BRIEF STORY OF FIFTY YEARS' GROWTH OF 
~Imp, 1Jiigelotu & Wasbburn 
lleadp BORN September, 1858, in a little room 17x47 feet, 
1'1t5torp in the Bovvker Block, at 156 Essex Street, under 
the firm name of James F. Almy; this vvas the be-
ginning of the biggest store in Essex County to-day-Almy, Bigelovv 
& Washburn, Inc., Salem, Mass. 
In three short years the business grevv large enough to necessitate a 
move to more commodious quarters, and in 1861, a store 20 x 75 feet 
vvas taken in the West Block-its present home-then a practically 
nevv building, erected on the site of the old Mansion House, a famous 
hostelry, still in the minds of the oldest citizens, vvhich had been des-
troyed by tire two years previous. 
Here it passed through a healthy childhood despite the fact that its 
.first few years saw the ruinous hand of the greatest strife ever visited 
upon this country-the Civil War of 1861-5. Altho' no invading 
army marched through the old Puritan city, store-keepers felt the 
stress of the war keenly, ·for most housevvives could not a:lford many 
nevv govvns, vvhen a simple calico cost at least hve dollars. 
1ftr. Walttr it. 
jlligdoto jlluomts 
a t}artntt EVEN through this trying period the ti.rm continued to flourish. Mr. Walter K. Bigelow, the present 
head of the corporation, who had been associated 
vvith the business from the beginning, became a partner at this time. 
With this added strength of management, and under the enlarged 
name of James S. Almy & Co., it steadily_ increased in size, adding 
a department here, another there, until it hnally became the largest 
business house in the city. 
Cbangts fn JN 1867 the business of F. W. L. Huntoon & Co., 
:fflanagrmrnt 222 E ssex Street, vvas purchased, and Mr. William 
G. Webber, vvho had been in the ti.rm 's employ 
since 1864, was made a partner and general manager in the nevv 
enterprise. About two years later the Huntoon business was con-
solidated vvith James F. Almy & Co.; Mr. Webber vvas ~ade a 
THE BRIEF STORY OF FIFTY YEARS' GROWTH 
A Fashionable 
Lady of 1865 
general partner and the hrm name changed 
to Almy, Bigelow- & Webber. 
In 1885, Mr. Wm. G. Webber retired 
from the hrm and Messrs. Calvin R. 
Washburn and E. Augustus Annable, -who 
had been connected -with the business since 
1867, became partners, under the hrm name 
of Almy, Bigelow- & Washburn. 
31mprobeb A BOUT this time the 
JSuping j1'acilltieli many advantages of the 
great buying facilities 
of the Syndicate Trading Go. of New-
York. -with its branch offices in all the 
leading trade centres of the Old World, 
became so convincing, that an alliance -with 
this pow-erful combination of large and 
reliable stores throughout the country -was formed. The -wisdom of 
this alliance ~s attested by the ever increasing yearly business -which 
now- exceeds many, many times the -wildest expectations of the future 
of the little store of 1858. 
~xtract from AS an insight into the :hrm's ambitions at this period 
®lb ~bbtrtllitment in its career, -we print the folio-wing brief extract 
from an advertisement -which appeared September 
24, 1885., " As to the future enlargements of our business -we cannot 
say. Our success in the past has been due, not to an ambition to 'make 
haste to be rich' from large prohts, but to a hxed purpose to make our 
store desirable to the public. Enlargements have al-ways been made 
-without hesitation or regard to cost, -when public necessity for them 
has appeared." 
This liberal policy of providing for its customers, -without consider-
ation of expense, every comfort, convenience and improvement -which a 
-wise appreciation of their patronage could suggest, has ever been one of 
the prominent factors in the success of this store. 
The floor space devoted to the selling of dry goods has increased at 
the rate of 1,143 square feet per year, for it now- averages 31,662. 
This great increase was obtained through seven extensive alterations. 
.. 
.. 
THE BRIEF STORY OF FIFTY YEARS' GROWTH 
Deatl)of THROUGH the death of Mr. James F. Almy, the 
~r. Jamts jf. ~Imp senior partner, in the spring of 1899, the £.rm sus-
tained the great loss of one whose wisdom and 
industry had nurtured the success of the store in its early years and did 
much to place it in the high position which it now holds in the esteem 
of the shopping public and the respect of the business world. 
~be jilusine•• S HORTLY after Mr. Almy's death, it was decided 
3Jnmporatd1 that in order to keep pace with the modern and pro-
gressive methods of conducting a large department 
store, the business should he incorporated. This was e:ftected. The 
hoard of directors upon whom rests the responsibility of maintaining 
the store's reputation as "the £.nest in Essex County" consists of 
WALTER K. BIGELOW, President 
E. AUGUSTUS ANNABLE, Vice-President EMMA S. ALMY, Executive Committee 
CAL VIN R. WASHBURN, Treasurer HELEN J. BUTLER, Executive Committee 
HENRY M. BATCHELDER WALTER CALLENDER (0£ Providence. R, I.) 
In 1901 the services of Mr. Louis W. Rosskopf as general mer-
chandise manager were secured. To his youth, ability and enthusiasm 
the corporation owe much for the successful conduct of the business 
since his association with it. . 
T
HE entire West Block is now necessary for the 
adequate accommodation of the steadily growing 
business of the Incorporated Store. On the hrst 
floor are located no less than thirty large . and complete 
carrying the lines of goods usually found 
departments 
in a hrst-class department store. Each 
department is under the direction of a 
competent manager, who devotes his 
energy and experience to providing the 
best and most reliable goods in such a 
variety of prices and styles as to please 
every purchaser. 
The second floor departments occupy 
an immense floor space. Windows in 
the front and rear make it a perfect day-
light store. On the third floor the entire 
space is devoted to the hrm's offices, to-
gether with a rest-room for employees. 
Card 11ivcn by 
Mr. Almy to boys 
cntcrinll hia employ 
The boy goes to business, and at hi!; 
business begins by simply doing the things 
he is told to do, and doing them in a com-
mon a11d ordinary way. If he stops he 
remains all his life Jong a drudge. But if 
he begins to see that business has a signi-
ficance, that his life is not merely sweeping 
the store, not merely writing letters, not 
merely selling goods, if he begins to see the 
higher life involved in business, if he begins 
to see that business is a greater instrument 
of beneficence than what we call benefi-
cence, that trade is clothing thousands 
of men where charity ·clothes ten; that 
agricultural and mi1Jing industries are feed-
ing thousands of men where charity feeds 
ten; if he begins to see how the whole 
history of the world is linked together, and 
is God's way of bnilding up humanity and 
serving humanity-a he ge~ this large 
view and enters into it, life is enriched and 
becomes the school wherein he is educated 
into that which is immortal.-Dr. Lyman 
A/J6ott. 
25 Theater 
Strasse, Chemnitz, 
Germany 
Manchester, England 
Syndicate 
Trading' Company 
2 Walker Street 
NC'W York City 
OUR NEW YORI< AND 
EUROPEAN Of f[CES. 
St. Fiden 
(near St. Gall) 
S'Wi tzerland 
I 
THE BRIEF STORY OF FIFTY YEARS' GROWTH 
tJrogrtSS in 
~bbertislng T HE advertising has kept pace with the tremendous growth. A Friday advertisement occupies invari-
ably four columns, or one-half the hack page of 
the Salem Evening News (occasionally augmented by an additional 
whole page "Sale Adv " ). A glance at an advertisement printed in 
1864, shows that a little space about four inches long, in one column, 
was then considered most liberal advertising. 
For £ifty years the city of Salem and thi11 store have developed 
together. They have been of mutual benefit to each other. The 
interests of Salem have ever been near and dear to the owners of this 
store, and because the store has served the public well, it has won the 
friendship and support of the people of Salem. After all, friendships 
- personal or commercial- live and thrive upon a system of reciprocal 
benefits. In the exchange of benefits lie the common interests of Salem 
and Almy, Bigelow & Wash.burn, Inc. 
t)rogress in 
6tor Jlletbobs 
A LMY. BIGELOW & w ASHBURN were first in the city to put plate glass in their show 
windows: first in the city to install a complete 
cash carrier system ; first in the city to install a passenger elevator; 
first in the city to provide a retiring room and toilet for customers: 
first to inaugur ate the department store idea in E ssex county. 
Last November, Almy, Bigelow & Washburn introduced a system 
of ventilation by which the air in the store can he renewed every 
twenty minutes. 
• 
• 
.. 
• 
I N 1858 there 'Were no electric rail'Ways or even horse-cars in Salem; all those living at a distance 'Were obliged to come 
by steam train or carriage to do their shopping. T arming and cur-
rying 'Were the principal industries. Printed Delaine 'Was one of the 
most popular materials for 'Woman's dress ; Thibets and Cashmeres 
'Were also in demand, as 'Well as the handsome Peony Silks and Crepe 
Sha'Wls, many of 'Which 'Were brought home from the Orient by Salem 
shipmasters. 
The store began 'With three employees besides Mr. Almy. Last 
Christmas the names on the payroll closely approached the five-hundred 
mark. 
During the 'Winter, after the business 'Was started, the old Mansion 
H~use, on the site of 'Which the Almy, Bigelo'W & Washburn store is 
no'W located, 'Was burned in the night. The result of this conflagration 
'Was the erection of a business block 'Which enabled the firm to secure a 
model store at the best location in Salem. 
Almy, Bigelo'W & Washburn believed in the efficiency of ne'Ws-
paper advertising, even in their earliest days, and used both semi-
'Weeklies, the Salem Register and the Gazette, as 'Well as the 'Weekly 
Observer, in 'Which to tell of their stock. 
Almy, Bigelo'W & Washburn 'Was the organizer and promoter of 
the Salem Electric Lighting Co . 
' 
'Il ,. ' 
- I\ •• 
IUNTILlAS, CAPES AN.D CLOAK 
H ~ l{I 1, l'l, <, (i ( l()f>, 
J.<;> .. IERY. GL0-0: tu, 
,~ ·• (llot.,,l.f'I' lllorl•.) 
SAL , MASS. 
Fac-•imilc of Original Business Card 
, 
• 
I • 
I l 
EMPLOYEES OF ALMY. BIGELOW &I WASHBURN. Inc. 

I 



Almy, Bigelow & Washburn: Fifty Years 1858-1908

https://digitalcommons.salemstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&amp;context=books_pamphlets

Almy, Bigelow & Washburn: Fifty Years 1858-1908

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Salem State University: Digital Commons