Figure 1.--These are some sample issues of the Butler Brothers "Our Drummer" catalog from the 1920s.

We have been unable to find a great deal of information about Butler Brothers. We know that the form was based in Chicago and New York. The New York store was located at 860 Broadway. The company was a major wholesaler in the United States. The Butler Brothers apparently founded the company in the 1870s as a small Boston retail store. We know that in the 1910s and 20s that they were a major wholesale clothing compamy, specializing in providing goods to small retailers. We are not sure what happened to the firm after 1929, perhaps it was a product of the Depression. We know of the firm as a clothing retailer, but they appear to have handled othr good as well, including books, even offering a "complete library". A Butler Brothers 1928 ad, for example offered bridge and floor lamps[$3.50 pair], blue willow (a popular chinawar pattern at the time) cup & saucer [$2.25 a dozen], 10 Pc. Burl walnut bedroom suite {$198.00] 4 wheel turn coaster wagon, Wilson golf balls, boys' knickers, hosiery, etc. According to an article in a trade journal, " The 'Department Store' is the outgrowth of the cheap counter business originated by Butler Brothers in Boston about ten years ago. The little 'Five Cent Counter' then became a cornerstone from which the largest of all the world's branches of merchandising was to be reared. It was the "Cheap Counter" which proved to the progressive merchant his ability to sell all lines of wares under one roof. It was the Five Cent Counter "epidemic" of '77 and '78 which rushed like a mighty whirlwind from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and all along its path transformed old time one line storekeepers into the wide-awake merchant princes of the present day. It was this same epidemic which made possible the world famed Department Stores of Houghton, of Boston; Macy, of New York; Wanamaker, of Philadelphia; and Lehman, of Chicago." ["The department store".] The Butler Brothers were apparently quite proud of the success stories reported by the retailers who sold their goods, often beginning with very limited capital and the list included many firms that grew into some of the most important department stores in American cities, in the days before modern chain stores. The trade journal goes on to indicate, "We have quoted rather freely from Messrs. Butler Brothers in this article, and had we the space, we would feel justified in going still further by telling of the phenomenal growth of this estimable house, as well as the world famed business which it has created. We could preach a whole sermon with a text taken from their success on the Possibilities of Printers' Ink as a Trade Solicitor, and our entire argument would be left with the single fact of the mammoth business of the house of Butler Brothers (New York and Chicago) having been done solely with the aid of their original 'get up' in the shape of a price-list, called 'Our Drummer', which they have been mailing free to all merchants during the past ten years, and that in ail this time they have never sent out a traveling man." ["The department store".]

Location

We know that the form was based in Chicago and New York. The New York store was located at 860 Broadway. The Chicago warehouse was located on the west bank of the Chicago River between Washington & andolph in the Near West Side neighborhood of downtown Chicago. It was a substantial 18 floor building. It was built in 1913, but torn down only 7 years later in 1920. The building was demolished to make way for railroad tracks leading north from Union Station. It was identical to the Butler Brothers Warehouse built in 1920. The warehouse was located where River Center and the Randolph Place Lofts were built. The Boeing World Headquarters currently occupies this site.

Foundation

The company was a major wholesaler in the United States. The Butler Brothers apparently founded the company in the 1870s as a small Boston retail store. According to an article in a trade journal, " The 'Department Store' is the outgrowth of the cheap counter business originated by Butler Brothers in Boston about ten years ago. The little 'Five Cent Counter' then became a cornerstone from which the largest of all the world's branches of merchandising was to be reared. It was the "Cheap Counter" which proved to the progressive merchant his ability to sell all lines of wares under one roof. It was the Five Cent Counter "epidemic" of '77 and '78 which rushed like a mighty whirlwind from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and all along its path transformed old time one line storekeepers into the wide-awake merchant princes of the present day. It was this same epidemic which made possible the world famed Department Stores of Houghton, of Boston; Macy, of New York; Wanamaker, of Philadelphia; and Lehman, of Chicago." ["The department store".]

Chronology

After the firm was founded in the 1870s it became an important wholesale operation. We know that in the 1910s and 20s that they were a major wholesale clothing compamy, specializing in providing goods to small retailers. We are not sure what happened to the firm after 1929, perhaps it was a product of the Depression.

Product Line

We know of the firm as a clothing retailer, but they appear to have handled othr good as well, including books, even offering a "complete library". A Butler Brothers 1928 ad, for example offered bridge and floor lamps[$3.50 pair], blue willow (a popular chinawar pattern at the time) cup & saucer [$2.25 a dozen], 10 Pc. Burl walnut bedroom suite {$198.00] 4 wheel turn coaster wagon, Wilson golf balls, boys' knickers, hosiery, etc. A more complete list of the items in the January 1929 issue of Our Drummer included: lingerie and hosiery, men's work clothes, suits for men and boys, men's sporting sweaters, silk ties, luggage/trunks, handkerchiefs, towels, tablecloths, bedding, lace curtains, fabrics, oil cloth, women's belts and buckles, half-dolls, sewing notions (spool cabinets were free to merchant with purchase of thread), combs, buttons, garters, rugs, linoleum, school supplies, (slates, fountain pens, pencils, ink, glue, tablets, etc), five entire pages of valentines, cast iron 10" Lindy airplane, party decorations, celluloid wedding cake toppers, costume jewelry, spectacles, flatware, clocks, watches, ice skates and other sporting goods, Winchester rifles, shoes, toys (wagons, cap pistols, marbles, velocipides, American National pedal cars, lithographed metal sand toys, wood sail boats, tops, doll carriages, Uncle Sam register banks, Tootsietoys, Daisy air rifles), dolls (celluloid, composition, bisque, china), harmonicas, phonographs and musical instruments, auto accessories (including lap robes), furniture (both wood and upholstered), kitchenware (cookware, utensils, several brands of aluminum and graniteware, molds, lithographed tin canister sets, etc), cleaning and laundry supplies (several washboards), baskets, pocket knives, safety razors, parlor heaters and stoves, plumbing fixtures, padlocks, door hardware, tools, radios, flashlights, small appliances, lighting (electric and oil lamps, lanterns), 16 pages of glassware (depression, elegant, Czechoslovakian art glass, carnival, stemware, pressed, goofus, Pyrex cookware, refrigerator ware, etc), imported and American dinnerware, yelloware bowl sets, Hall teapots, Czechoslovakian ceramic canister sets, English Rockingham teapots, Japanese ceramic novelties (wall pockets, condiment sets, vases, etc), powder boxes, glass candy containers, talcum powders, compacts, perfumes, tobacco pipes, sewing machines, store equipment, etc. " [Ms. Information]

Our Drummer

Butler Brothers published a catalog with seasonal offerings and special bargains, it was titled Our Drummer. Drummer of course means a person who plays the drums, but the term in the United States in the 19th century came to mean a traveling or commercial salesman. I'm not sure just whu, perhaps because early salesmen used music sucg as drumming to attract crouds. The term is no longer commonly used in America, but was quite common through the first half of the 20th century. It was thus adopted by Butler Brothers as a title for their periodic catalogs. I am not sure about the periodicity. I am not sure when they began doing this. There apparently were regional editions. The November 1923 Butler Brothers Our Drummer had a cover picturing Santa and banner print of a speeding train and cupid drumming on a world map. It contained an amazing 528 pages, a substantial number of which were devoted of course to toys. There were many other pages for clothing, household goods, furniture, appliances, and other items. These issues are today a wonderful reference for social historians, fashion reserchers, toy collectors and researchers on other collectibles. The Butler Brothers catalogs like Our drummer are an important primary research tool because of the many years covered during a period that much information on retail items like clothing no longer exists. The catalogs like Our Drummer also offer a tremendous range of items and the clear illustrations are especially helpful, one reason that the publication is of interest to HBC.

Figure 2.--Here is a sample offering from the Butler Brothers 1929 catalog--stocking supporters to hold up the long stockings children still wore. These are in different sizes fofr children age 2-9 years. Butler Brothers even offered a meery-go-round display cabinent for the merchant.

Sample Pages

HBC has archived some Butler Brothers catalog pages on HBC. See for example stocking supporters in the 1929 catalog and boys' suits in a 1930-31 catalog.

Impact on American Retailing

The Butler Brothers were apparently quite proud of the success stories reported by the retailers who sold their goods, often beginning with very limited capital and the list included many firms that grew into some of the most important department stores in American cities, in the days before modern chain stores. The trade journal goes on to indicate, "We have quoted rather freely from Messrs. Butler Brothers in this article, and had we the space, we would feel justified in going still further by telling of the phenomenal growth of this estimable house, as well as the world famed business which it has created. We could preach a whole sermon with a text taken from their success on the Possibilities of Printers' Ink as a Trade Solicitor, and our entire argument would be left with the single fact of the mammoth business of the house of Butler Brothers (New York and Chicago) having been done solely with the aid of their original 'get up' in the shape of a price-list, called 'Our Drummer', which they have been mailing free to all merchants during the past ten years, and that in ail this time they have never sent out a traveling man." ["The department store".]

Sources

Ms. Information. "Out-of-print, new & used books on antiques & collectibles", wesite accessed April 24, 2003.

"The department store: A benefit to mankind," American Shopkeeper. The date of this issue is unclear, but appears to have been sometime in 1888.

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Created: March 23, 1999
Last updated: April 25, 2003