Mapping H. R. Mallinson's Success and Decline

While researching my latest post for On Pins and Needles, I devoured a well-written gem entitled American Silk, 1830 - 1930 by Jacqueline Field, Marjorie Senechal, and Madelyn Shaw.

When reading through the history of H. R. Mallinson & Company, I noticed how faithfully the authors recorded the many times the location of company headquarters changed. I thought it might be interesting to trace Mallinson's journey, with the help of Google maps, from 72 Grant Street to 119 W 40th Street:

1895 – Soon after the company was founded in 1895, it acquired the Gotham Silk Mills in Astoria, New York.
1901 – The company opens its first salesroom and administrative offices on 72 Grand Street:

1902 – The company opens a new mill in Baltimore, Maryland, but closes this mill by 1905.
1903 – The company begins producing silk at a new mill in Erie, Pennsylvania, and moves its headquarters to 41 Greene Street:

1910 – The company relocates again, this time to 465 Broome Street:

1911 – The company moves to 4th Avenue (later Madison Avenue) and 20th Street...which doesn't exist. Not sure about this address:

1915 – The company opens its Paris sales office and a new mill in West Hoboken, New Jersey.
1917 – Mallinson moves to the corner of Madison Avenue and 31st Street:

1919 – Mallinson purchases two weaving mills in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company also added looms to mills in Erie, Astoria, and West Hoboken. In addition, Mallinson enlarged the Astoria mill and opens a throwing mill in Paterson, New Jersey to replace the an Erie mill that was defunct by 1916.
1920 – The company adds a mill in Trenton, New Jersey.
1921 – Company headquarters relocates, this time to the brand new Textile Building at 295 5th Avenue:

1922 – The company opens sales offices in Chicago and in San Fransisco.
1930 – Despite massive losses, the company opens a new sales office in Los Angeles. That same year, the company opens a new office in New York City at 512 7th Avenue to compete with the popular price market:

1931 – H. R. Mallinson dies, and company continues to decline. The company closes the Trenton throwing mill and three Allentown mills, but later reopens the Trenton mill.
1932 – The Paterson mill closes, and as the company closes more and more mills, it finally makes the decision to file for bankruptcy in 1936.
1936 – Mallinson & Company makes its final move from 5th Avenue to 119 W 40th Street:

"The interpolation of the ready-to-wear middleman had radically and fundamentally changed the nature of the relationship between the textile producer and the ultimate consumer of its goods. By 1938 Mallinson Fabrics Corporation was no longer a vertically integrated silk manufacturer producing the highest quality fabrics for the top of the market. It had metamorphosed into a developer of designs that contracted out the manufacturing to mills or commission weavers. Only the success and importance in the market of some of the Mallinson products allowed the company to survive in this form" (195).

Six moves in 41 years.

Update: October 18, 2012. I have not been content with the way I ended this post. As a conclusion, I wanted to mention the following: While I am only vaguely familiar with the various New York neighborhoods and their histories, I am inclined to believe that H. R. Mallinson's success can be traced by viewing the locations of its company headquarters. We do know that the company purchased space in a brand new Textiles Building on Fifth Avenue. (I was not happy with the image I originally choose on Google maps and have replaced it will an image showing the building and its signage; the signage is partially obscured by the tree.) We also know that the company move many times in its early years, possibly due to rapid growth and possibly due to a desire for a more fashionable location. I'm not sure if the company history is interesting material for a walking tour, but tracing the development of one company has inspired me to look at the city a little differently. Apartment buildings and office buildings have been the theaters for the most dramatic events in New York City; they have been the setting of the lives of ordinary people accomplish both mundane tasks and extraordinary feats.