Josiah Green and Co. Records 1829-1905

ArchivalResource

Josiah Green and Co. Records MS 683., 1829-1905

Josiah Green and Co. Records 1829-1905

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Josiah Green and Co. were pioneering manufacturers of mass produced pegged boots, one of the earliest and largest firms of its kind in Central Massachusetts. Founded by Josiah Green in the town of Leicester in 1812 and relocated to Spencer in 1816 or 1817, the firm grew rapidly, erecting a four story factory on the Boston Post Road in 1834. In 1850, J. Green and Co. was the largest of six major shoe- and boot-manufacturers in town, though its market share eroded thereafter. Green ran the company until passing control to his sons in 1867. The records of Josiah Green and Co. document the growth and peak years of operation of one of the most important high-volume manufacturers of boots in central Massachusetts. Although the account books and ledgers extend back into the 1820s, the bulk of the correspondence dates from 1889-1894, when Josiah's sons operated the firm. Despite being sporadic and incomplete, the correspondence offers a glimpse into the manner in which Green's business was conducted during a period when the firm sold to a wide network of wholesalers and jobbers in the northeast and Midwest. Much of the correspondence concerns the placement or fulfillment of orders and issues surrounding prices and payment. The four press copybooks in the collection contain outgoing letters for the years 1889-1892 and 1904-1905.

2 boxes; (2.0 linear ft.)

eng,

Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries