, 1860-08-29
Hist ory OF TRY Goods Prfnce---I1ow
A. r. htexEArE Made l2fa 100000, 600.
ft>rnYn Is Esv Tarf

rise " wkea ehnnets in sAi1 ta1h arg sa<a<aarr.
4. r. stewart Made isis $4,000, 900.
Iffom tts Nsw Iork L.aGe1.l
Probably the most stupendous success In a
mercantile earesr, Of no extraordinary length,
has been that ri A. 7. Stewart, the present
great Wholesale and dry goods dealer.
4. T. StewArtis countryman OF O'Counel1,
Briea the Brave, Cor1an. the lake Duke Of Wei
1irgton, Powers, the Actor, Grattan, the En-
mests, and Teddy, the Tiler. FortJ~one years
ago he landed on the western aide OF the Atlantic
a1o3e aEd uutrjended. He came from the county
Tyrone, near the bushes. When he reached
New York in 1919, lit. Stewart mus. have been
twentT.four years old, aud Eoon alter be could
haye been found at 50 Aoee street, directly op-
posite the Quaker church, where be *"taught
tae young idea how to shoot" Or in plain 1rlsh,
kepi scboo!. How long Nj. Stewart MAS oo
t.ence Of Job, dare not say, but hare no
doubt it was a most e1cfEent preparatory
school, to teach patience to the fature immense
fsvo1itr, A1d successful wAiterupon the capricea
Of lady dry goods purchaser
Ar. Stsraft il now about the age Of sixty
four, having bseu born in ireland in 1795 or '96.
At,er tho yellow fever in 1922, Mr. Stewart
opened refill dry goods store in broadway,
il az old wooden tenement directly opposite to
where his great marble palace now s'andt.
S,eHart's etore may have been twenty feet Wide
and twenty 1eet deep. Lie kept hosiery, lacea,
ai!ks. glo1es. ribbons, and the more costly fab
rics. lie attended the greet auction GALES regu-
+. l. J. Hone'r, John Hone i Sous, aagee1tJ,
Austin Co.'S, Mills 4 Aintu1n'e, Adee, limp
son / Co.., aid David Adre's.
He Invariably upon theae occasions bought
what vas called iumbled lots" or, mora pro.
pt.ly speaking, "sample lots" 1t great
'sAelf sa!e." samples would te flung upon tts
long ta5lc, before the autioneer:. Tne buyers
would kandIe them, stretch, pull, try on the
goods it gloves, and tumble them in Inc style.
It. was curious to philosopher to r1tca 1he
rapid transition over Stew1rt's face. lie al
ways stsod closs to the ane:ioneer. and u he
invariably bought the sample lot, hia face ex-
pressed nuxiety. his hands reached oat and
grasped II many Of the articles as he could
compass, especially leces, and be drew them
near himseli to prevent more taogting. When
a lot Of goods waa closed up, then the samples
would be sold separate, and rarely brought half
PRICE Then 4. T. Stewart waa in bis glory.
lie bought all. conveyed them to his little s:ore,
and as he was very expert in redressing up
gloves, laces, hosiery, ETC., he would soon make
bis sample lots equAl to the original goods BE-
fore they were unused at the aueti-n sa!es.
Then followed the triumph sf the patent, hum
BIZ little tradesman. He could underscli any,
body in that trade, Of cour.e, And l1dies Of
fashion vera not long In finding out that fact
In this modest WAY be worked along 8lo1ly,
but surely, from 1922 to 1923. Then he found
hisbusintss greatly increased. lie WAS the best
best At tbs lowest prices-lower than the great
dealers, Fountain i Co., and TandervelE and
Flauden. Stewart, By practicinE economy, in.
dus:ry, and absolute devotion to hia profession
and business, soou came alongside Of his great
and Aometines orerbearing rivaie. He Wa
IL LeLn
Of goods. lie neither tried on lodges or gouges.
lie was regarded as q worthy 5onng beginner,
sad very soon tho fashionkble Misses Naaou,
Jones, Prime, Jay, Homes, Gracie, Crosby,
StuyEesant, and others Of their sei became h.s
constant phtrorA, and be eo5n had al that
profitable trade.
His business increased 80 rapidly that he hsd
ind raise d it TO three stoties- II the course Of
eve 1eara more, he WAS obliged to deepen it
thirty feet more, and put On TWO more stories,
making it 4 Eve story store
About this time Stewart adopted the plan Of
employing, ~ clerks, tee haadsomest young fel-
soFs he could pick up in this country or even
ia England. His customers were the most
dasbsng aud fashionable young women in the
citT and from the 5suth. H. hired handsome
boyle {atur=srds Boyle i uunphries) and
durham. They were great fellows among the
VT men in 1888 a1d 1854, and draw crowds to
E{fNAT4 b AII6AC5 jAsu1uukU1G 8kQEQ-
In 1881, Nr. Burroughs was book keeper.
Stewart took him in a. partner. and Rare him
o2e.eighth in 1s33. lie d;ed last year, and his
ahare was just one million Of doltAr1
In the year 1858, when al was gloom aad
c,nfusion in the commercial world, Stewart re-
duced his stock 10 cost, and sold for those
prices. Ginghau,s and snch stuff, tha' had
~ cent?, cscoes in the same proportion. What
was th. consequence Old women who had
s:ockineed their gold snd siIrer, marched to
Steuzra's to take advantage Of the aNful sacri-
hce thxt unfortunate merchant y Is making, and
aud though they did net want the goods, yst,
like Nrs. roodles, they might want 'em one
Of these dass.' Hhen they could not be bad at
such unheard Of low prices. Stewart WAS over
run with cash. he toek the Aame moneT re-
ccired for goods sold 1t cost, went into the
,n1rktt, and bought the aa1nc style Of goods,
caGcoss, ETC., that be had sold, for 40 per cent.
less ttnn be had obtained! In one purchase he
bought $4,000 worth OF silks, half cash, and
ha!ffor si1ty dsy.. It sixty per cent less than
the cost Of the slks TO tisport. On this traus-
ac:lon te realized 3e0, 900. During all that dis.
astrous panic Stewart retailsd every day s, ,0Go
worth OF gods. While others Ill around him
were breaking, he WAS coming money. lie Was
| the father ofthe Selling of Ut Cost" ae was
the originator Of su idea among retail dry goods
! cealers 1hat has xared thousau3 81 Of men from
| Of aumbuRs, By "seuiug Of 1t cost"
In 1e49 he removed to his pretent marble pal-
eee. lie had bought Washington Hall Of young
John Coster. for e50. .o09. and for lew thous.
| Ind dollars more tWo additional buildings and
lots, On Broadway, corner of Chambers street.
Upon this magnificent site be erected the pres.
| eut ttoss- Ihe whole cost OF the ground and
the palace erscted dld not exceed $500. 600. To,
day it would sell At auction for from $soo, 900 "a
4l,660 600.
lie paid Patroon Van Rensselaer, &.54o, 900 fol
I the Metropolitan Hotel md out-butdinga Il
is COW worth and pays N interest Of ten Pc,
cent on *1e00. 600, and wonld bring 1t auction
street, between Broadway and bin present 1asa
dence, and In fact owns nors rea. estass thar
any other man in New York, except It may b&
Wm. B. Astor. But Mr. Aasor's {ncoae u moi
80 large Al Stexatt's.
Mr. stewart ives plain'y, and is very simple
in h,s htbit4. ue never fp urget, and eafel
nothing for fashionahly society, or for any bu
a1d then gives great dinner pnrty. Hi
guests are found among the substantial com
mercisl men Of hia Acquaintance. 1t Stewart
dinner the serTiceis Of solid gold h can ant
does entertain splendidlJ.
ltis useless to speculate in regard to the dis
pssd Of this vast property. when it, presen
owner pAsses from among u.
Ar. Stewart is only sixty -four. Girard ivst
to be ninety two. and Assor waa ninety. HI
Stewart II more likely 70 hva To Be one hun
dred, than either Girard or Astor 1t sixty -fou
were likely to Ira 10 ninety.
| In 1856 Stewart wAs worth one million 1v
huudr.d thousand do'ta1s- He has averages
from that time 70 the present b1sinesa Of lou
mi:iions year for twenty -four J Aats past. hi
p1o6ts have been fifteen per ce7t-thAt is, si
hundred thousand dollars year, or fouriee
m,liipn doliara. uis half share ia keyen mi
lion two hundred thousand dollars; add con
pound interest to that ard 10 his original cap
ial in 1856, and it reaches fourteen naiuion..-
Tho rise nf real eststs owned BY Ste~art, sra
the price paid, Is in 1850 over d1e millians, Al
l DO not heheTe that b. il worth less to-da
. than eighteen or twenty Millions Of dollar
and large portion il In real estate that il nj
| icly ris.Eg il value stated, = lev lines bacl
that In ten years Stewart would b worth OF
; hundred million do1lart. will now prove i
His nusineas to-day i eight hundred thou
and dollars = year p!ohs to himself: In te
Jea7s, II compound interest, len millions Ad
to that seven psr cent or twenty millions, an
riss Of real estkte, and Ar. Stew&1ts weslt
HlIl reach pretty near eighty OF one hundrs
r2.lI:on Of dollar1.
II be lives to bo ninety years old, he viii
: | wcrth two hundred and ffty millions, and u
richest man ID the world-fhr exceeding Il
! Marquis of Westminster in England, whose i
7 come Is Z million Rnd half sterling, or abo1
: seven millions Of opr money in dollars
, Ii three to 1krec and htif per cent fs qui
8 good income from property IN England, Il
Marc ais may b. xst down II fairly vnrth ~
huno1ed millions Of dollars, which, II thr
= and hs1f mar cent, gives him Be7en uillio