Artifacts as Family History
Artifacts as Family History
Or, my excuse for building a small collection of umbrellas... or at least pictures of them.
While most of the brothers in my great-grandfather’s generation left Baltimore, the city to which they arrived, Jessie stayed and co-founded one of the several Jewish umbrella factories in the city, Polan Katz Umbrellas. They were, for a while, the nation’s largest manufacturer of umbrellas, a dominance made possible because their chemists developed a way to dye umbrella fabric such that it didn’t run in the rain. This was followed by several more innovations that made them an industry leader.
Polan, Katz & Co. made headlines with the first vat-dyed umbrellas, which let anyone have a cheerful colorful umbrella for a rainy day. Polan, Katz & Co. were also the first company to create a 16-rib umbrella, umbrellas made of Dupont’s nylon fabric, and “Touch ‘n Go” umbrellas that opened by pressing the tip on the ground. Furthermore, Polan, Katz & Co. was the first company to develop acetate prints and use Goodyear’s “Pilofilm” for see-through umbrellas and raincoats. (Source: Preservation Maryland)
These must have been really well-made umbrellas, because there is a thriving collector community of them and you can find them on websites like eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, and Mercari.
I have a small collection, and I try to be good about not buying more for it because:
it feels a little silly
it also feels like maybe not the sort of thing on which one should spend money
but mostly, I am the sort of person who will go ahead and use these once I buy them, and I am also the sort of person who loses umbrellas.
So instead, I’ve got a HUGE folder of pictures of the umbrellas, which are both free and things I can’t accidentally leave behind in a restaurant or classroom. Here are a few of my favorites:
What sort of artifacts—or pictures of artifacts—have you found as you search out your family’s stories, friends? I’d love to see them!
Thanks for this, Sarah! My grandfather worked in an umbrella factory in Paris after leaving home in Poland and then boarded a ship to NY in 1913 from Cherbourg (no connection yet to umbrellas!). My mother often spoke of "the umbrella people," although I don't know whom she meant.
Interestingly, my artifacts are quite like yours. I have my father’s dining room furniture, my grandfather’s blue armchair, my father’s books, and my great-grandmother’s cake knife. Oh and my grandmother’s piano!