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Charles B. Nichols Collection of Textile Industry Records

 Collection
Identifier: 6561

Scope and Contents

The Charles B. Nichols Collection of Textile Industry Records contains records from various cotton manufacturing companies. Contains printed items from E.J. Kitching & Co., Boston, giving stock listings and a document offering shares in Hill Manufacturing Co., Lewiston, ME, a manufacturer of sheeting, shirting, twill, cotton dress goods, poplin and coutil (a strong, firmly woven cotton often used for corsets, brassieres, and sometimes called brassiere cloth); a copy of a document from the U.S. Supreme Court: Otis Co. vs. Ludlow Manufacturing Co. and Ludlow Cordage Co., concerning restraining the defendants from flooding the plaintiff's land by means of a dam erected across the Chicopee River; the Otis Co. was located in Ware, MA; Ludlow Manufacturing and Ludlow Cordage were in Ludlow, MA. Also includes a letter, from Marshall & Co., bankers in Boston, giving history and financial standing of Tremont & Suffolk Mills, Lowell, MA; and specifications from Whitin Machine Works, Whitinsville, MA, to build combing machinery for Lawrence Manufacturing Co., Lowell, MA.

Dates

  • 1919-1933

Conditions Governing Access

Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.

Biographical / Historical

Charles B. Nichols' family was involved in the textile industry for at least three generations. His great-grandfather is the first known member to work in the textile mills. Nichols, known by his nickname "Carl" or "Karl", grew up in the mill city of Lowell, MA. During his college years Charles Nichols worked summers at the Bay State Cotton Corporation and the Massachusetts Corporation. After graduation, he took his first job at the Boston Manufacturing Company in Waltham, MA. He wrote of his regard for the work, but it rapidly became too routine for his taste. Upon leaving the Boston Manufacturing Company he took a position with the United States Department of Commerce. Later in life, Nichols was involved in many business enterprises, including the Appleton Company, Inc., a milling company, and Old Sturbridge Village, a MA "living museum" devoted to recreating life in the nineteenth century. He also served as director of the Locks and Canals at Boott Mills in the 1970's. He collected many books on milling throughout the course of his life.

Extent

0.25 cubic feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Collection of records from various cotton manufacturing companies (1905-1924). Includes items from or pertaining to E.J. Kitching & Co., Boston; Hill Manufacturing Co., Lewiston, Maine; a lawsuit between Otis Co. and Ludlow Manufacturing Co./Ludlow Cordage Co. regarding flooding from a dam; Tremont & Suffolk Mills, Lowell, MA; Whitin Machine Works, Whitinsville, MA regarding combing machinery for Lawrence Manufacturing Co., Lowell, MA.

Custodial History

American Textile History Museum Collection, gift of Charles B. Nichols.

Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives Repository

Contact:
227 Ives Hall
Ithaca NY 14853