FYI
2 Vesta Knitting Mills, now known as Imperial Knife Company (1893, 1903)
Imperial and Schrade Cutlery have combined and now are called Schrade Cutlery - Imperial Schrade Corporation.
The Imperial Knife Company was established in Providence, Rhode Island in 1916, and grew to manufacture a full range of value-priced folding pocket knives.
In 1941, Albert M. Baer, whose vision guided Imperial Schrade Corp., purchased the Ulster Knife Company, which was founded in Ellenville, New York in the 1870's. In 1942, Ulster Knife Company and Imperial Knife Company joined forces to become Imperial Knife Associated Companies. As Ulster and Imperial joined forces, they committed themselves to producing knives for the military throughout World War II.
During the 1950s through the 1980s, Imperial produced many of the bayonets supplied to the US armed forces, including the M5, M5A1, M6 and M7. Imperial Knife experienced extremely strong growth throughout the late 70's. As Imperial Knife entered the 80's, a consolidation took place and the company divested itself of various holdings.
In 1983, Albert M. Baer purchased the stock of all shareholders in Imperial Knife Associated Companies and became the sole owner of the privately held cutlery giant. In 1985, the name of the company was changed from Imperial Knife Associated Companies to Imperial Schrade Corp. and in the next few years all of the production facilities were moved to Ellenville, NY.
In 2004, Imperial Schrade Corp. will celebrate its 100th anniversary. The Imperial Schrade Corps world headquarters in scenic Ellenville, New York has more than 548,000 square feet of manufacturing space and employs more than 450 people dedicated to producing the world's finest pocket knives, lock backs, fixed blades, cutlery for the outdoor and hunting markets and multi-tools. Additionally, as part of their global strategy, Schrade's manufacturing assets include the Listowel, Ireland facility which employs over 70 people.
The 1893 factory is a 6-story, flat-roof brick building with rounded corners, segmental-arched windows and a corbeled cornice, that runs east along Bassett Street from the intersection of Imperial Place and Bassett. The 1903 factory is a plain, J-shaped, 6-story, flat-roof brick building with segmental-arched windows with granite sills, that extends south along Imperial Place and cast along Elm Street. between the north and south wings formed by these two buildings there is a complex of smaller brick buildings, including: 1 two- story, gable-roof, brick building with segmental-arched windows mmmm dates from c. 1888. There are two brick and one concrete-block, single-story flat-roofed outbuildings attached to the east side of the complex that were added in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1883 Rudolph Berry established a company to manufacture ribbed, knitted underwear and hosiery made on circular-knitting machines. This type of jersey underwear for women and children previously had been imported from France, England, and Switzerland. Berry's company started in a small, 2-story building. By 1888 he had outgrown these structures and built two 3-story buildings. A few years later, in 1891, the business incorporated as the Vesta Knitting Mills. By this time the company had doubled its output of knitted goods. The machinery included spinning. carding, drying, scouring, and knitting machines which were operated by 300 employees. The company soon established a sales office in New York and Vesta products were distributed throughout the country.
The Vesta Knitting Mills, one of the few textile companies located in this part of the city, took advantage of the proximity of the jewelry district in a few blocks to the northeast when it expanded its factory in 1893 and 1903. The Vesta Company occupied most of its 1893 factory - a handsome, 6-story, brick structure with segmental-arch windows, rounded comers, and
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manufacturers. With jewelry-manufacturing rental space at a premium in or near the jewelry district, the Vesta Knitting Mills soon invested in a second large factory designed primarily for jewelry manufacturing. The company rented five of the six floors to jewelry manufacturers and occupied one floor of the new structure. This plain brick structure with a flat roof, segmental-arch windows, and granite sills is adjacent to the earlier structure. In 1916 the Vesta Knitting Mills reorganized as the Vesta Underwear Company with Ovide de St. Aubin as the president and his brother Percival as the treasurer. By 1930 the Vesta Underwear Company was producing 4000 dozen garments a week.
In 1941, however, the Vesta Underwear Company closed its plant and sold the buildings to the Imperial Knife Company which already occupied the 1903 structure.
The Imperial Knife Company founded by Felix Mirando was the first large American manufacturer of jack knives, a product which had previously been imported from Germany and England. By 1929 the company employed 1,000 workers. The Imperial Knife Company, which now manufactures all kinds of cutlery, still occupies these buildings.
