Charles Parker Company

The Charles Parker Company (born 1832) was formed in Meriden, Connecticut by Charles Parker, and over the years manufactured products including metalware, Art Brass (now in museums), hardware, lamps, spectacles, and piano stools. Also related to the company were others founded by Charles Parker: including Parker Brothers (gun manufacturer), Meriden Curtain Fixture Co. (established 1869), and Parker & Whipple Co. clock manufacturers. [1][2][3]

Charles Parker Company
Founded1832 (1832)
Defunctc. 1975 (c. 1975)
Headquarters
Meriden, Connecticut
,
United States
Area served
Predominately the United States
Key people
Charles Parker, Dexter Parker
ProductsMetalware, Art Brass, guns, lamps, hardware, coffee mills, piano stools, sewing machines, spectacles

As of 1868, Charles Parker Company and related initiatives were described as comprising "four large manufactories, located at different places in Meriden and its vicinity, and some of them comprise so many departments for the manufacture of distinct articles that they might be regarded as several distinct establishments."[1] The main factory, consisting of numerous buildings, was estimated to cover two acres in the center of Meriden.[1]

At the 19th century fairs, the Meriden Curtain Fixture Company participated in the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and received an award. The company also participated in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.[4] As of 1895, this company is referred to as "the largest establishment of the kind in the world".[2]

In 1940, the Charles Parker Company acquired the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company.[5]

The Charles Parker Company was in operation until the 1970s. In 1973, the company participated as an exhibitor at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA.[6]

Among the diversity of Charles Parker products, Parker guns are very actively collected and traded, including the historical catalogues illustrating the designs. Design catalogues featuring Parker vises design are also a significant collectible.[7][8][9][10] Charles Parker Company "Art Brass", largely focused on tables and shelves, is another. Examples of these Art Brass designs are in the Brooklyn Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute museum in Utica, New York, the St. Louis Art Museum, and Yale University Art Gallery.[4]

In 2005-07, Charles Parker Art Brass designs were featured in the exhibition A Brass Menagerie: Metalwork of the Aesthetic Movement exhibited in Utica and New York City.[11] In 1994-95, the company was included in the Dallas Museum of Art's exhibition Silver in America 1840-1940: A century of splendor.[4]

References
  1. Bishop, J. Leander. (1868). "Manufactures in Meriden", pp. 424-26. In "A history of American manufactures from 1608-1860" (3rd edition, revised and enlarged). Philadelphia: Edward Young & Co. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  2. Hall, Henry. (1895). "America’s successful men of affairs. An encyclopedia of contemporaneous biography", (vol II),(pp. 608-10). The New York Tribune. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  3. D. & H. Hurd Co. (1893). "Town and city atlas of the State of Connecticut", (pp. 211-12). Boston, MA. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  4. (March 14, 2016). "Charles Parker Company designs in collections, at auction and in exhibitions". artdesigncafe. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  5. Stamm, Richard E. (Undated.) "The Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company... Masters of Metalwork". Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC) website. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  6. (September 17, 1973). "Governor at Big E today; Local firms are exhibitors". The Morning Record, p. 8. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  7. (undated). "The Parker Gun Collectors Association webpage and forum". Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  8. (c. 1998-2000). The Parker story. The Parker Story Joint Venture Group, (2 volumes).
  9. (July 20, 2016). "Parker guns design catalogues and other historical documentation" artdesigncafe. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  10. (July 20, 2016). "Charles Parker Company hardware / vises / presses - design in collections, exhibitions, trade catalogues and historical information". artdesigncafe. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  11. Moonan, Wendy. (August 3, 2007). "Brass: Roll it, spin it or stamp it to suit your fancy". New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
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