Umbrellas have been around a long time, but did you know that Baltimore, Maryland was once considered the Umbrella Capital of the U.S.? - This article from the Baltimore Sun explains, plus, we've added some history below about the origin of the umbrella!
When Baltimore was the umbrella capital
By Christina Tkacik, The Baltimore Sun
Legend has it that the first umbrella raised in
the United States was opened in Baltimore in 1772. Depending on the source,
some guy either bought it from a ship in the harbor or had just returned from
travels in India with a parasol as his souvenir. When he carried it on the streets of Baltimore,
horses were spooked. Women ran in horror. Children threw stones. “He was mobbed
and his umbrella torn to shreds,” The Chicago Tribune claimed in 1931.
Despite this inauspicious beginning, Baltimore
eventually became the world’s leader in umbrella manufacturing. A German
immigrant named Francis L. Beehler opened an umbrella factory downtown in 1828,
the nation’s first.
Others followed suit: Gans Brothers, whose
ingenious slogan was “born in Baltimore, raised everywhere.” Their luxurious,
often frilled and very stylish wares traveled to Europe and the Philippines.
Yet another company, Polan Katz & Co., would become one of the largest
manufacturers in the world.
By 1922, a Sun headline declared: “BALTIMORE
CENTER OF UMBRELLA TRADE.” The city was manufacturing around 2 million
umbrellas each year, produced from a variety of fabrics, often with finely
crafted handles.
PARASOLS VS. UMBRELLAS – A parasol is a hand-held
shade to block sunlight. An umbrella is the same, but with material covered
with wax or something waterproof to block rain.
ANCIENT HISTORY - In all written records, the oldest reference to
a collapsible umbrella dates to the year 21 AD, when Wang Mang had one designed
for a ceremonial four-wheeled carriage. The 2nd-century commentator Fu Qian
added that this collapsible umbrella of Wang Mang's carriage had bendable
joints which enabled them to be extended or retracted. A 1st century
collapsible umbrella has since been recovered from the tomb of Wang Guang at
Lelang Commandery in the Korean Peninsula, illustrated in a work by Harada and
Komai.
MODERN UMBRELLA INVENTION IN FRANCE - Kersey's
Dictionary (1708) describes an umbrella as a "screen commonly used by
women to keep off rain." The first lightweight folding umbrella in Europe
was introduced in 1710 by a Paris merchant named Jean Marius.
When Baltimore was the umbrella capital
By Christina Tkacik
The Baltimore Sun
Legend has it that the
first umbrella raised in the United States was opened in Baltimore in
1772. Depending on the source, some guy either bought it from a ship in
the harbor or had just returned from travels in India with a parasol as
his souvenir.
When he
carried it on the streets of Baltimore, horses were spooked. Women ran
in horror. Children threw stones. “He was mobbed and his umbrella torn
to shreds,” The Chicago Tribune claimed in 1931.
Despite
this inauspicious beginning, Baltimore eventually became the world’s
leader in umbrella manufacturing. A German immigrant named Francis L.
Beehler opened an umbrella factory downtown in 1828, the nation’s first.
Others followed suit: Gans
Brothers, whose ingenious slogan was “born in Baltimore, raised
everywhere.” Their luxurious, often frilled and very stylish wares
traveled to Europe and the Philippines. Yet another company, Polan Katz
& Co., would become one of the largest manufacturers in the world.
By
1922, a Sun headline declared: “BALTIMORE CENTER OF UMBRELLA TRADE.”
The city was manufacturing around 2 million umbrellas each year,
produced from a variety of fabrics, often with finely crafted handles.
“There
was a time when the umbrella was a joke, the object of derision,” the
author wrote. But those days were over. “The umbrella of today is not
only a necessity but a thing of beauty.”
- See more at:
http://digitaledition.baltimoresun.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=65973fd5-de6f-471d-9288-812624de779a&t=1490983233345#sthash.cThQl4bP.dpuf
When Baltimore was the umbrella capital
By Christina Tkacik
The Baltimore Sun
Legend has it that the
first umbrella raised in the United States was opened in Baltimore in
1772. Depending on the source, some guy either bought it from a ship in
the harbor or had just returned from travels in India with a parasol as
his souvenir.
When he
carried it on the streets of Baltimore, horses were spooked. Women ran
in horror. Children threw stones. “He was mobbed and his umbrella torn
to shreds,” The Chicago Tribune claimed in 1931.
Despite
this inauspicious beginning, Baltimore eventually became the world’s
leader in umbrella manufacturing. A German immigrant named Francis L.
Beehler opened an umbrella factory downtown in 1828, the nation’s first.
Others followed suit: Gans
Brothers, whose ingenious slogan was “born in Baltimore, raised
everywhere.” Their luxurious, often frilled and very stylish wares
traveled to Europe and the Philippines. Yet another company, Polan Katz
& Co., would become one of the largest manufacturers in the world.
By
1922, a Sun headline declared: “BALTIMORE CENTER OF UMBRELLA TRADE.”
The city was manufacturing around 2 million umbrellas each year,
produced from a variety of fabrics, often with finely crafted handles.
“There
was a time when the umbrella was a joke, the object of derision,” the
author wrote. But those days were over. “The umbrella of today is not
only a necessity but a thing of beauty.”
- See more at:
http://digitaledition.baltimoresun.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=65973fd5-de6f-471d-9288-812624de779a&t=1490983233345#sthash.cThQl4bP.dpuf
