Birge Company.

Martin H. Birge established a dry goods store at 234 Main Street, Buffalo in 1834, stocking general merchandise and wallpaper. By 1866 the business concentrated solely on wholesale and retail sales of wallpaper. In 1875 Birge was joined in the business by his two sons, George K. and Henry M. Birge, and by 1878 they were manufacturing their own wallpapers. The firm was incorporated in 1900 with branch operations throughout the country; Humphrey Birge also opened a European office. Birge & Sons hired local artists, such as Charles E. Burchfield, to design wallpapers. The company was bought by Reed Forest Products in 1969, and was liquidated in 1982.