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H.K.H. Silk Company Records
Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
405 Babbidge Road, Unit 1205
Storrs, Connecticut 06269-1205
URL: http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/
Overview of the Collection |
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| Repository: | Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. |
| Creator: | H.K.H. Silk Company. |
| Title: | H.K.H. Silk Company Records. |
| Dates: | 1892-1924. |
| Quantity: | 4 linear feet. |
| Identification: | MSS19990066 |
| Language: | English. |
| Abstract: | Hammond, Knowlton and Company was a silk manufacturer in operation prior to 1892. The company consolidated with other companies in 1918 to form the H.K.H. Silk Company. This company had mills in Putnam, Watertown, New London, and Woodbury, CT, as well as Haverstraw, NY. The company headquarters was in Watertown, CT. In early 1925, it appears that the company changed its name to the Heminway Silk Corporation. As a matter of local interest, it is worth noting that company treasurer Clarence Asahel Hammond-Knowlton resided in Mansfield Center, CT, on Knowlton Hill near Gurleyville Rd. |
History
Hammond, Knowlton and Company were silk manufacturers prior to 1892. Key figures in the development of the company were Charles Clark Knowlton and his cousin, George Asahel Hammond. G.A. Hammond served as a member of the Connecticut commission at the 1892 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where the company silks were the official silks of the Exposition. The company was awarded a bronze medallion from the Exposition. The collection includes two letters, one from 1894 and the other from 1897, to C.C. Knowlton from G.A. Hammond. In the 1897 letter Hammond refutes questions that have arisen as to his character.
C. C. Knowlton adopted his cousin Clarence Asahel Hammond-Knowlton. C. A. Hammond-Knowlton was also involved with the silk company, and received a patent in 1912 for a “Method of Producing a Filled Bobbin.” By 1921, C. A. Hammond-Knowlton was the treasurer of the H.K.H. Silk Company, the new name for the company having been adopted after some acquisitions around 1918. It appears that the company changed its name to the Heminway Silk Corporation in 1925 to reflect the major brand name of the silk articles being produced by the company.
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Scope and Content
The collection contains a few letters and pieces of ephemera, as noted above. However, the bulk of the material in the collection consists of the personal correspondence, both incoming and outgoing, of Clarence Asahel Hammond-Knowlton from the years 1921 to 1924. C. A. Hammond-Knowlton appears to have been chief executive officer for the company at this time (despite the title of treasurer), and it is possible that his father, C. C. Knowlton, was suffering from illness or was unable to carry out all of his responsibilities as president of the company. Correspondence covers a wide range of topics. Some letters address business dealings, and other matters are purely personal. The H.K.H. Silk Company had mills in Putnam, Watertown, New London, and Woodbury, CT, and Haverstraw, NY. The company offices were in Watertown, CT, but C. A. Hammond-Knowlton lived with his wife, Isabel, and his daughter, Mildred, in Mansfield Center, CT, on Knowlton Hill near Gurleyville Road.
Interesting correspondences include those between C. A. Hammond-Knowlton and his father, C. C. Knowlton, those with the Silk Association of America, those with the Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, materials relating to the pollution of a stream in Putnam, Connecticut, by an H.K.H. mill, and personal correspondences from C. A. Hammond-Knowlton relating to his hobby as an early enthusiast of radio.
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Arrangement
Collection consists of a single series. Organization is chronological and then alphabetical. Within folders, original arrangements have been retained, with correspondents usually grouped together (chronology within folders is somewhat imprecise).
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Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.
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Related Material
Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of records for a number of Connecticut textile businesses, including those of the Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturing Company, Belding Brothers and Company, Deep River Lace Company, Slater Company, and the Wauregan and Quinebaug Company. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the reference desk.
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Index Terms
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Organizations:
Subjects:
Document Types:
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Administrative Information
Custodial History
Records from the 1920s were stored on the property of Isabel Atwood of Storrs, CT, and in July 1999.
Preferred Citation
[Item description, #:#], H.K.H. Silk Company Records. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.
Acquisition Information
Collection donated by Evelyn Guymon of Tucson, Arizona in 1999.
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Bibliography
Information in this finding aid compiled by Laura Katz Smith through correspondence with Evelyn Guymon of Tucson, Arizona, and from materials in the collection.
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Detailed Description
| Series I: Correspondence and Ephemera, 1892-1924 | |||||||||||
| 1:1 | World Columbian Exposition Medal, 1892 | ||||||||||
| 1:2 | Letters from G.A. Hammond to C. C. Knowlton, 1894, 1897 | ||||||||||
| 1:3 | Letter from E.G. Siggers to C.A. Hammond-Knowlton, packet includes patent information (patent held by C.A. Hammond-Knowlton) and supplementary publications on patent rights, 1912-1915 | ||||||||||
| 1:4 | C.A. Hammond-Knowlton Correspondence, “A”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:5 | Correspondence, “B”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:6 | Correspondence, “C”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:7 | Correspondence, “D”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:8 | Correspondence, “E-F”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:9 | Correspondence, “G”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:10 | Correspondence, “H”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:11 | Correspondence, Haverstraw Dept., 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:12 | Correspondence, “I, J, K”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:13 | Correspondence, C.C. Knowlton, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:14 | Correspondence, “L”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:15 | Correspondence, “M”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:16 | Correspondence, H. M. Merriman, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:17 | Correspondence, “N” through “Q”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:18 | Correspondence, New London Dept., 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:19 | Correspondence, New York Dept., 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:20 | Correspondence, Putnam Dept., 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:21 | Correspondence, “R”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:22 | Correspondence, “S”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:23 | Correspondence, F. W. Shaw, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:24 | Correspondence, Silk Association of America, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:25 | Correspondence, H. G. Stine, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:26 | Correspondence, “T, U, V”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:27 | Correspondence, T. B. Thompson, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:28 | Correspondence, “W” through “Z”, 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:29 | Correspondence, Watertown Dept., 1921 | ||||||||||
| 1:30 | Correspondence, “A”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 1:31 | Correspondence, “B”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 1:32 | Correspondence, “C”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 1:33 | Correspondence, “D, E”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 1:34 | Correspondence, “F, G”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:35 | Correspondence, “I” through “L”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:36 | Correspondence, J. G. Johnson, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:37 | Correspondence, C. C. Knowlton, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:38 | Correspondence, “M”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:39 | Correspondence, H. M. Merriman, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:40 | Correspondence, “N” through “P”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:41 | Correspondence, New York Dept., 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:42 | Correspondence, “R”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:43 | Correspondence, “S”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:44 | Correspondence, F. W. Shaw, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:45 | Correspondence, A. A. Smith, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:46 | Correspondence, H. G. Stine, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:47 | Correspondence, “T, U”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:48 | Correspondence, T. B. Thompson, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:49 | Correspondence, “W” through “Y”, 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:50 | Correspondence, Watertown Dept., 1922 | ||||||||||
| 2:51 | Correspondence, “A”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:52 | Correspondence, “Applications”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:53 | Correspondence, “B”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:54 | Correspondence, “Babson's Statistical Reports”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:55 | Correspondence, “C”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:56 | Correspondence, “D” through “F”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:57 | Correspondence, “G, H”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:58 | Correspondence, Haverstraw Dept., 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:59 | Correspondence, “I” through “L”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:60 | Correspondence, C. C. Knowlton, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:61 | Correspondence, “M”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:62 | Correspondence, H. M. Merriman, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:63 | Correspondence, “N, O”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:64 | Correspondence, New York Dept., 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:65 | Correspondence, “P” through “R”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:66 | Correspondence, Benjamin Pomeroy, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:67 | Correspondence, Putnam Department, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 2:68 | Correspondence, “S”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 3:69 | Correspondence, A. A. Smith, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 3:70 | Correspondence, F. W. Shaw, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 3:71 | Correspondence, H. G. Stine, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 3:72 | Correspondence, “T, U”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 3:73 | Correspondence, T. B. Thompson, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 3:74 | Correspondence, “V” through “Z”, 1923 | ||||||||||
| 3:75 | Correspondence, Watertown Dept., 1923 | ||||||||||
| 3:76 | Correspondence, “A”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:77 | Correspondence, “Applications”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:78 | Correspondence, “B”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:79 | Correspondence, “C”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:80 | Correspondence, “D”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:81 | Correspondence, “E” through “G”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:82 | Correspondence, “H”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:83 | Correspondence, Haverstraw Dept., 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:84 | Correspondence, “I” through “K”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:85 | Correspondence, C. C. Knowlton, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:86 | Correspondence, “L”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:87 | Correspondence, “M”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:88 | Correspondence, H. M. Merriman, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:89 | Correspondence, “N, O”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:90 | Correspondence, New York Dept., 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:91 | Correspondence, “P”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:92 | Correspondence, Pollution of Stream Materials, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:93 | Correspondence, Benjamin Pomeroy, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:94 | Correspondence, Putnam Dept., 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:95 | Correspondence, “Q, R”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:96 | Correspondence, “S”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:97 | Correspondence, F. W. Shaw, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:98 | Correspondence, Silk Association of America, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:99 | Correspondence, A. A. Smith, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:100 | Correspondence, H. G. Stine, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:101 | Correspondence, “T” through “V”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:102 | Correspondence, T. B. Thompson, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:103 | Correspondence, “W” through “Y”, 1924 | ||||||||||
| 3:104 | Correspondence, Watertown Dept., 1924 | ||||||||||