THE FUR-MAN OF FULTON STREET (1896)
Fur was a big thing 100 years ago. The highest classes of women wore furs and those not as high a class wished to emulate them. There were all types of furs – from lynx, to fox, to otter and seal – even mole, squirrel and Persian sheep! James Cassidy not only sold the finest furs in the latest styles, but he also altered them as the styles changed, repaired them when they became damaged, and then refrigerated them in the summer when they were not in use. After a fur was selected, altered, and sold, it also needed to be cared for. So an entire industry sprang up around their cold storage in the warmer months. Cassidy used the latest in refrigeration techniques – an ammonia refrigerating machine – a freezing method which “far surpasses the old.” With refrigeration at hand within the same building where the furs were sold, an employee of Cassidy’s would simply send a wagon around to their client’s door and pick up their furs, bringing them back to Cassidy to summer in his cold storage. CASSIDY MOVES DOWN FULTON Cassidy’s fur emporium at 454 Fulton Street, a new “four-story brick building” in 1889, allowed him to expand his operations as he moved from his former shop at 277 Fulton Street. He held his grand opening later that year on October 29th. By 1900, Cassidy’s son, James, Jr., was running the business. In 1902, Although Cassidy continued to operate his store from this location, he […]
