West Haven Buckle Company

Collection history

West Haven Buckle Company repeatedly advertised an establishment date of 1853 and illustrated buckles for clothing and suspenders. The 1901 and 1911 advertisements make the products visible at the scale of everyday clothing, rather than as an anonymous factory name. Their repeated date is useful evidence of the company’s own account of its beginnings. [WB-001]

The 1911 corporate directory places the company at 742 Washington Avenue with $17,000 capital, Phelps Montgomery as president, J. C. Hyde as secretary and Clarence E. Thompson as treasurer. It is essential to preserve that address: American Buckle Company is separately listed on Campbell Avenue. [WB-004]

Rockey’s 1892 history describes nearly one hundred employees, while Hill’s 1918 survey reports fifty. These are published snapshots from different years, not a continuous employment register. Earlier accounts of American Buckle & Cartridge’s formation differ between 1883 and 1885; charter records are needed before presenting a simple merger or succession. [WB-006]

A buckle can make industrial history tangible because it connects a named factory with an everyday object. Advertisements show the intended use and the company’s own identity, while directories locate its officers and works. Patent drawings add a different kind of evidence: they describe a claimed mechanism, not necessarily a product manufactured in quantity. The West Haven company must also remain separate from similarly named buckle firms. Published employment totals from 1892 and 1918 are snapshots, not a complete record of growth or decline. Reading these source types together can recover design, business and place while making clear which questions—wages, working conditions and production volumes—remain unanswered. [WB-001] [WB-004] [WB-006]

Key dates

• 1853 — Establishment/incorporation date repeated in original company advertisements and directory records. WB-001
• 1887 — Published portrait and biography of manager George R. Kelsey. WB-003
• 1891–1892 — Rockey reports nearly one hundred employees and D. S. Thompson as secretary/treasurer in 1891. WB-005
• 1911 — 742 Washington Avenue; $17,000 capital; Phelps Montgomery president. WB-004
• 1918 — Hill reports fifty employees. WB-007

A closer look at the surviving record

Small fittings, a visible business

Two engraved buckle forms give a concrete shape to the company’s work. The advertisement joins product images, a place name and the claimed 1853 establishment date. Comparing it with the 1901 advertisement lets researchers follow a business identity across a decade.

Read the image and source notes: WB-002

Putting a name to the management

The signature reads “Geo. R. Kelsey.” His adjacent biography discusses his management of West Haven Buckle Company. This is an engraved portrait from a commemorative history; its praise of business achievement should be read as the source’s perspective.

Read the image and source notes: WB-003

The address is evidence

The Washington Avenue listing helps distinguish this company from other buckle manufacturers. Officers, capital and location provide starting points for charter, property and directory research; they do not identify the workers pictured in unrelated factory photographs.

Read the image and source notes: WB-004