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Island City Tobacco Works
| Name | Island City Tobacco Works |
| Ortssitz | New York City |
| Straße | Sixth Street |
| Art des Unternehmens | Tabakfabrik |
| Quellenangaben | [Bishop: History of American manufacturers 3 (1868) 516] |
| Zeit |
Ereignis |
| 06.1849 |
Erstes Verkaufsangebot für "Cornish Tobacco" |
| 1857 |
McAlpine wird Partner des ursprünglichen Eigentümers |
| 1857 |
John W. French tritt aus Gesellschafter ein, und die Firma wird in "John Cornish & Co." geändert. |
| 1865 |
French zieht sich aus dem Unternehmen zurück, und Mr. McAlpine, der feststellt, dasß das Unternehmen zu groß für die Führung durch eine einzelne Person ist, nimmt John H. Reid als Partner auf. Der Firmenname bleibt unverändert. |
| Produkt |
ab |
Bem. |
bis |
Bem. |
Kommentar |
| Tabak |
1868 |
[Bishop: Hist. of Amer. manuf. I (1868)] |
1868 |
[Bishop: Hist. of Amer. manuf. I (1868)] |
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| ZEIT | 1868 |
| THEMA | Firmenbeschreibung |
| TEXT | Of which David H. McAlpine is proprietor, and which possesses machinery as perfect and complete as any. In McAlpine's establishment, the operation commences in the Assorting room, a commodious appartment on the ground floor, into which the hogsheads conta'ning the crude material are rolled by a spacious entryway leading from Sixth street. Here the hogsheads are broken open and their contents carefully examined by a number of skilful workmen, who separate the leaves one after another, laying those intended for the finer quality of Tobacco in one pile, and those intended for inferior grades in another. When this has been done, the various parcels are taken to the Casing room adjoining and there separately immersed in a huge cauldron containing a solution of warm water and licorice, and afterwards laid upon a slightly elevated inclined plane to drain. Thence the material is carried to the Stripping room, located on the third floor of the factory, where are usually found about seventy-five juvenile and adult female operatives seated upon stools in small box-like compartments, who open out each leaf and extract the stem, after which the strips are transmitted, by means of a dummy, to the Cutting department, located on the second floor, and embracing, as does the Stripping room, the entire floor, which measures fifty by forty feet. Here the strips in given quantities are laid lengthwise in the feed-box of the cutting machine, which is a kind of trough about four feet in length, twelve inches wide, and eighteen inches in depth. An ingeniously contrived chain, or rather series of chains, called an "endless chain", now carries the ma'ss forward to a wheel revolving at one end of the feed-box at the rate of four hundred revolutions per minute (which revolutions can be indefinitely increased), in which are adjusted a number of knives that cut the leaves or strips into the fibrous form in which it is seen when ready for use. The cutting machines used here are called the "Dayton Machines", being manufactured exclusively at Dayton, Ohio, and differ from those formerly in use in that they are self-supplying through the operation of the chains. With the old style of machine the material had to be first pressed solidly into the form required, and when put into the feed-box so manipulated by band as to present a proper basis for the action of the knives, but with the Dayton Machine the operator has only to lay the material in properly and the chains at once carry it forward; so compressing it during the movement that when it reaches the wheel it is of the exact density demanded. There are four of these machines in this room, each one of which is capable of cutting one thousand pounds a day. One man is kept constantly engaged sharpening the knives, and this occupation wears out from eight to ten grindstones per annum, the stones usually weighing over a ton each. After the Tobacco has been cut it is taken to the Drying rooms, of which there are five, three above the stripping apartment and two in another building, all heated by steam, at a temperature ranging from ninety to one hundred and twenty degrees. Distributed through these rooms are five or six hundred canvas racks, so arranged that the heat affects all parts alike. On these racks the Tobacco is carefully spread to dry. The length of time required for drying varies with the temperature and the character of the Tobacco. When the desired condition has been attained the mass is gathered up, and shaken to eliminate the "shorts", or non-fibrous particles, of which there is always a considerable quantity. The selected portion is then put into a large bin in the Dressing room, where it is left until what little moisture there may be remaining has permeated every fibre alike, when it undergoes what is called the process of "Dressing", which is a closer and more elaborate manipulation than the one preceding, when it is transferred to the Packing rooms, where the final process takes place. The Packing rooms of this house are large, and present many features of interest. From seventy-five to eighty young woman, ranging from thirteen to twenty years of age, are constantly employed in packing throughout the year. At regular intervals the packers stand before a series of forms or tables elevated to a convenient height, in which hoppers are constructed, designed to contain sufficient Tobacco to fill a gross or a gross and a half of the ordinary sized packages of Chewing Tobacco. The Tobacco is all weighed in the Dressing room, and each packer receives only enough at a time for a single gross. At her right hand each packer has a number of sheets of tin,-foil and paper, cut so as to exactly envelope the proper quantity of Tobacco. In front of her is a wooden-mould of the exact size of a paper of Tobacco, into which, after covering the extreme end with a sheet of the paper and then a sheet of foil, and turning down the corners of these, a tin mould is inserted, into which the Tobacco is put and pressed down by means of a "follower." The tin mould is then withdrawn, leaving the Tobacco inclosed in the envelope, which is subsequently taken from the wooden mould, the ends fastened down, and the article is ready for the market. As in every other department of labor, there is in this considerable diversity in the capability of individuals, some being able to pack more than others in a given time. There are some females here who will pack in this way twenty gross a day. The principal brands of Tobacco manufactured in these Works are known as the John Cornish, Virgin Leaf, and Navy Fine Cut Chewing Tobaccos. The first paper of the Cornish Tobacco was offered for sale in June, 1849. Mr. McAlpine became a partner of the original proprietor in 1857, at which time, also, John W. French became associated with him, under the style of John Cornish & Co. In 1862, Mr. Cornish retired, when the firm-name was changed to that of D. H. McAlpine & Co. Upon the withdrawal of Mr. French, which occurred in 1865, Mr. McAlpine, perceiving that the business was becoming too large for a single management, called to his aid Mr. John H. Reid as special partner, with whom he is now associated, the title of the firm continuing as before. Though permanently established when Mr. McAlpine entered upon his duties here, it was not until be had assumed entire control that the house attained its greatest popularity. From 1862 until the present time, its career has been onward and upward, and to-day it is entitled to rank with the best establishments of the kind in the United States. Combined with a thorough knowledge of the Tobacco trade in all its branches, great aptitude for business generally, quick perception, and a resolute will, Mr. McAlpine possesses in an eminent degree that faculty of determining future results from the symptoms of to-day - in other words, of knowing just when, where, and in what manner to make a venture or investment - which faculty enables him to control, rather than follow events; and to the judicious exercise of this rare gift may be attributed, in some measure at least, his remarkable success as a manufacturer and business man. The Works comprise quite a number of buildings, and cover an area equal to seven or eight city lots, having a frontage of fifty feet on Avenue D, by one hundred and fifty feet on Sixth street. About three hundred persons are employed in the various departments. In the Western States, within a few years, the manufacture of Fine Cut Chewing Tobacco has taken root and made considerable progress. One of the pioneers in this branch, in the West, was |
| QUELLE | [Bishop: History of American manufacturers 3 (1868) 516] |
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