Ball, Black & Co. - New York - 1853
Ball, Black & Co. were formed in 1851 as successors to Ball, Tompkins & Black, who in 1839 had taken over the business of Frederick Marquand.
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Ball, Black & Co. - New York
Ball, Black & Co. - New York
A nice early advertisement for the important firm of Ball, Black & Co. of New York.
Ball, Black & Co. - New York - 1853
Ball, Black & Co. were formed in 1851 as successors to Ball, Tompkins & Black, who in 1839 had taken over the business of Frederick Marquand.
Trev.
Ball, Black & Co. - New York - 1853
Ball, Black & Co. were formed in 1851 as successors to Ball, Tompkins & Black, who in 1839 had taken over the business of Frederick Marquand.
Trev.
Re: Ball, Black & Co. - New York
Ball, Black & Co. - New York - 1862
Ball, Black & Co. - New York - 1871
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Re: Ball, Black & Co. - New York
Ball, Black & Co. - New York - 1864
Ball, Black & Co. - New York - 1872
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Re: Ball, Black & Co. - New York
BALL, BLACK & Co.,
565 and 567 Broadway, N. Y.
This house was founded in the year 1810 by Erastus Barton, afterward Marquand & Barton, Marquand & Brothers, Marquand & Co., who were succeeded in 1839 by Ball, Tompkins & Black, and in 1851, upon the decease of Mr. Tompkins, the present style of firm was adopted, the partners then being Henry Ball, William Black, and Ebenezer Monroe; this continued till 1865, when William D. Black and Elbert B. Monroe were admitted, the firm name remaining the same. The various locations in which their business has been carried on have necessarily changed and improved the success of the house, keeping pace with the growth of the City. In 1810, 166 Broadway was the Jewelry Store of New York as is 565 and 567 of the present day; in the spring of 1833, removal to No. 181 Broadway was found requisite; in 1848 another advance up the great thoroughfare was made to 247 Broadway, and on the first day of July, 1861, the magnificent building they now occupy was opened with great splendor and eclat. This building, justly ranking among our finest specimens of architecture, needs here a description, as its construction and mercantile importance justly constitute events in the History of our City. It was the first structure erected in New York City for mercantile purposes that was absolutely fire-proof, and it was in its splendid vaults that Messrs. Ball, Black & Co. originated the Safe Deposit System in the United States.
In proportion, in chasteness of design, in rich and elegant finish, and in perfect keeping, we know no building in the whole length of Broadway that can equal it. It is built of the whitest East Chester marble, and has a front on Broadway of fifty-one feet, and on Prince Street of one hundred feet. It is six stories in height, but the upper one, from the shape of the roof, is not visible from the street. It has also a basement running the whole extent of the building, thirteen feet high, with vault extensions under the sidewalk.
The first story is pure Corinthian, carried out in its details from the base to the summit of the entablature. The upper stories are Italian, but so ornamented as to be in keeping with the main story and to give a pleasing uniformity to the whole structure.
The building is well lighted, having fourteen windows in front besides the door lights, and twenty-nine side windows. The glass in the doors are large single panes; but the two lower front and first side windows are a single pane of heavy plate glass, the largest ever brought to this country, and supposed to be the largest ever made. They are fourteen feet eight inches in height by nine feet two inches in width, and of great value.
The vestibule which we enter after passing the porch is exceedingly beautiful in appearance and is surmounted by a paneled arch of exquisite design. When the store doors are thrown open they form ornamented sides to the vestibule, being decorated with elegant mouldings and rosettes in green bronze, all specially designed for this establishment. The store is very lofty and of beautiful proportions.
The interior front of the store is very rich in ornamentation—a combination of pilasters, cornices, arches, and peaks surrounding and surmounting the entrance windows and the pier which intervenes. The Grecian style predominates, and is treated in a rich, chaste, and original manner. The fittings, which are very beautiful, are composed of panels of richly-stained wood and gold. A series of cabinets extend along the south wall, forming one continuous design by means of arches, under which are elegant vases. The whole appearance is rich and elegant in the extreme.
The business of the first floor is exclusively for the sale of diamonds and other precious stones, watches, and silver ware. The stock of diamonds in this store is among the largest in the world, offering a vast selection of the costliest gems of the finest water and the rarest cutting. Their style of jewelry is of the richest and most recherche description, and the watches of the finest make. The display of silver ware on the table and in the cabinets is curiously beautiful and wonderfully extensive. It embraces every article of silver ware, from an unadorned egg-cup, to the most gorgeously chased and exquisitely patterned epergnes, all designed and manufactured on the premises.
If the visitor can tear himself away from this enchanted temple of diamonds and plate, and ascend the handsome marble staircase to the second floor, he will find a gallery of fine paintings, rare specimens of the Italian, Flemish, and German schools. After admiring which, he can examine a wilderness of rich clocks, bronzes, marble statuary, and splendid mantel ornaments of every kind, together with superb porcelain ware of the Sevres, Dresden, and Berlin Royal Manufactories. A more varied, rich, and beautiful collection we have never seen. It would take a day to examine all the objects of interest it contains. The third floor is devoted exclusively to the chandeliers and gas-fixtures. The stock is immense, and exhibits every conceivable pattern, from the plainest to most richly elaborate, and from the lowest to the highest prices, to suit all customers. A large portion of them are designed and manufactured on the premises, but there is also a choice selection of English and French chandeliers, &c.
We have not attempted to describe the decorative designs of the second and third floors; we cannot spare the space, but we can state that they are rich and beautiful, and in perfect keeping with the first floor which we described.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors are used solely for manufacturing purposes. For setting diamonds, manufacturing jewelry, gold and silver plate, making and repairing watches, &c., &c. Over three hundred workmen are here employed in the various departments of manufacture. Among them are the most skillful designers, engravers, chasers and modelers, who are paid large salaries, and are competent to produce the most elaborate, elegant and original designs at the shortest possible notice. It is not an uncommon event for Ball, Black & Co., to receive an order in the morning for some elaborate piece of work, and to produce a model entirely original and elaborately ornate on the afternoon of the same day, to such an exactitude and perfection have they brought the various departments of their vast establishment.
People are apt to imagine when they gaze on the marble palace inhabited by Ball, Black & Co., that only the wealthy and fashionable are welcome visitors there. This is an error. Their goods are open to all purchasers, and at prices which can compete with the poorer establishments, the only difference being that Ball, Black & Co., from their large capital and resources, can afford to sell good articles at the same prices that many others charge for inferior goods. Their store is open to all, and whether visitors come to purchase or merely to examine the building, the same courtesy and attention on the part of the clerks is extended to all. This is a rule of the establishment.
Of the estimation in which the costly productions of this house are held by our jealous and partial cousins on the other side as well as at home, we have only to refer to the expressions and acknowledgments of the highest authorities throughout Europe, at such times as Messrs. B. B. & Co. have sent any of their manufactures for competition and comparison. The most costly testimonials ever presented to our prominent men have almost invariably been designed and manufactured by them, and it is but justice to add that in no department of American art industry, has the true mission of art been so faithfully adhered to, and the combination of beauty and utility been so perfectly attained as in the productions of this establishment.
Sixty years ago, the foundation of this house, whose triumphs as exponents of American genius and skill were destined to reflect a national honor, was laid by perseverance and industry alone, entirely unaided by pecuniary capital.
For nearly a generation, the three senior members of the present firm have been associated together, combining their brains, exertions, and abilities in leading and improving their branch of business. For an evidence of the success they have achieved, we have only to picture in our minds the commencement, progress, and the present status of the house, the latter rendered still stronger by the infusion of young, fresh, and ambitious blood, that ought to relieve the older members of a great portion of the cares and responsibilities which have devolved upon them so long.
Messrs. Ball, Black & Co., collectively as a firm, and individually as men, are representatives among the sterling merchants of America, through whose unflagging enterprise and unswerving integrity our metropolis has risen to its present greatness among the cities of the world; and thus, with honor to themselves and advantage to the class they represent, their names and lives are prominently identified with the history which it has been our pleasing duty to chronicle in preceding pages of this work.
Source: History of New York City: From the Discovery to the Present Day - William Leete Stone - 1868
Trev.
565 and 567 Broadway, N. Y.
This house was founded in the year 1810 by Erastus Barton, afterward Marquand & Barton, Marquand & Brothers, Marquand & Co., who were succeeded in 1839 by Ball, Tompkins & Black, and in 1851, upon the decease of Mr. Tompkins, the present style of firm was adopted, the partners then being Henry Ball, William Black, and Ebenezer Monroe; this continued till 1865, when William D. Black and Elbert B. Monroe were admitted, the firm name remaining the same. The various locations in which their business has been carried on have necessarily changed and improved the success of the house, keeping pace with the growth of the City. In 1810, 166 Broadway was the Jewelry Store of New York as is 565 and 567 of the present day; in the spring of 1833, removal to No. 181 Broadway was found requisite; in 1848 another advance up the great thoroughfare was made to 247 Broadway, and on the first day of July, 1861, the magnificent building they now occupy was opened with great splendor and eclat. This building, justly ranking among our finest specimens of architecture, needs here a description, as its construction and mercantile importance justly constitute events in the History of our City. It was the first structure erected in New York City for mercantile purposes that was absolutely fire-proof, and it was in its splendid vaults that Messrs. Ball, Black & Co. originated the Safe Deposit System in the United States.
In proportion, in chasteness of design, in rich and elegant finish, and in perfect keeping, we know no building in the whole length of Broadway that can equal it. It is built of the whitest East Chester marble, and has a front on Broadway of fifty-one feet, and on Prince Street of one hundred feet. It is six stories in height, but the upper one, from the shape of the roof, is not visible from the street. It has also a basement running the whole extent of the building, thirteen feet high, with vault extensions under the sidewalk.
The first story is pure Corinthian, carried out in its details from the base to the summit of the entablature. The upper stories are Italian, but so ornamented as to be in keeping with the main story and to give a pleasing uniformity to the whole structure.
The building is well lighted, having fourteen windows in front besides the door lights, and twenty-nine side windows. The glass in the doors are large single panes; but the two lower front and first side windows are a single pane of heavy plate glass, the largest ever brought to this country, and supposed to be the largest ever made. They are fourteen feet eight inches in height by nine feet two inches in width, and of great value.
The vestibule which we enter after passing the porch is exceedingly beautiful in appearance and is surmounted by a paneled arch of exquisite design. When the store doors are thrown open they form ornamented sides to the vestibule, being decorated with elegant mouldings and rosettes in green bronze, all specially designed for this establishment. The store is very lofty and of beautiful proportions.
The interior front of the store is very rich in ornamentation—a combination of pilasters, cornices, arches, and peaks surrounding and surmounting the entrance windows and the pier which intervenes. The Grecian style predominates, and is treated in a rich, chaste, and original manner. The fittings, which are very beautiful, are composed of panels of richly-stained wood and gold. A series of cabinets extend along the south wall, forming one continuous design by means of arches, under which are elegant vases. The whole appearance is rich and elegant in the extreme.
The business of the first floor is exclusively for the sale of diamonds and other precious stones, watches, and silver ware. The stock of diamonds in this store is among the largest in the world, offering a vast selection of the costliest gems of the finest water and the rarest cutting. Their style of jewelry is of the richest and most recherche description, and the watches of the finest make. The display of silver ware on the table and in the cabinets is curiously beautiful and wonderfully extensive. It embraces every article of silver ware, from an unadorned egg-cup, to the most gorgeously chased and exquisitely patterned epergnes, all designed and manufactured on the premises.
If the visitor can tear himself away from this enchanted temple of diamonds and plate, and ascend the handsome marble staircase to the second floor, he will find a gallery of fine paintings, rare specimens of the Italian, Flemish, and German schools. After admiring which, he can examine a wilderness of rich clocks, bronzes, marble statuary, and splendid mantel ornaments of every kind, together with superb porcelain ware of the Sevres, Dresden, and Berlin Royal Manufactories. A more varied, rich, and beautiful collection we have never seen. It would take a day to examine all the objects of interest it contains. The third floor is devoted exclusively to the chandeliers and gas-fixtures. The stock is immense, and exhibits every conceivable pattern, from the plainest to most richly elaborate, and from the lowest to the highest prices, to suit all customers. A large portion of them are designed and manufactured on the premises, but there is also a choice selection of English and French chandeliers, &c.
We have not attempted to describe the decorative designs of the second and third floors; we cannot spare the space, but we can state that they are rich and beautiful, and in perfect keeping with the first floor which we described.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors are used solely for manufacturing purposes. For setting diamonds, manufacturing jewelry, gold and silver plate, making and repairing watches, &c., &c. Over three hundred workmen are here employed in the various departments of manufacture. Among them are the most skillful designers, engravers, chasers and modelers, who are paid large salaries, and are competent to produce the most elaborate, elegant and original designs at the shortest possible notice. It is not an uncommon event for Ball, Black & Co., to receive an order in the morning for some elaborate piece of work, and to produce a model entirely original and elaborately ornate on the afternoon of the same day, to such an exactitude and perfection have they brought the various departments of their vast establishment.
People are apt to imagine when they gaze on the marble palace inhabited by Ball, Black & Co., that only the wealthy and fashionable are welcome visitors there. This is an error. Their goods are open to all purchasers, and at prices which can compete with the poorer establishments, the only difference being that Ball, Black & Co., from their large capital and resources, can afford to sell good articles at the same prices that many others charge for inferior goods. Their store is open to all, and whether visitors come to purchase or merely to examine the building, the same courtesy and attention on the part of the clerks is extended to all. This is a rule of the establishment.
Of the estimation in which the costly productions of this house are held by our jealous and partial cousins on the other side as well as at home, we have only to refer to the expressions and acknowledgments of the highest authorities throughout Europe, at such times as Messrs. B. B. & Co. have sent any of their manufactures for competition and comparison. The most costly testimonials ever presented to our prominent men have almost invariably been designed and manufactured by them, and it is but justice to add that in no department of American art industry, has the true mission of art been so faithfully adhered to, and the combination of beauty and utility been so perfectly attained as in the productions of this establishment.
Sixty years ago, the foundation of this house, whose triumphs as exponents of American genius and skill were destined to reflect a national honor, was laid by perseverance and industry alone, entirely unaided by pecuniary capital.
For nearly a generation, the three senior members of the present firm have been associated together, combining their brains, exertions, and abilities in leading and improving their branch of business. For an evidence of the success they have achieved, we have only to picture in our minds the commencement, progress, and the present status of the house, the latter rendered still stronger by the infusion of young, fresh, and ambitious blood, that ought to relieve the older members of a great portion of the cares and responsibilities which have devolved upon them so long.
Messrs. Ball, Black & Co., collectively as a firm, and individually as men, are representatives among the sterling merchants of America, through whose unflagging enterprise and unswerving integrity our metropolis has risen to its present greatness among the cities of the world; and thus, with honor to themselves and advantage to the class they represent, their names and lives are prominently identified with the history which it has been our pleasing duty to chronicle in preceding pages of this work.
Source: History of New York City: From the Discovery to the Present Day - William Leete Stone - 1868
Trev.