India rubber world . afterwards widely known hotel. In 1856, Mr. Clapp bought out a drygoods firm on Tremontrow, Boston, at that time one of the central streets in that lineof business. He associated himself with Edmund B. Parker,who had some knowledge of the business, Mr. Clapp furnishingthe capital. They met financial difficulties in the followingyear, known as the panic year,and in December, 1858, the firmfailed. Mr. Clapp not only hadlost all the money he had putinto the business, but becameburdened with the debts of thefirm, which he discharged fully afew years later. Mr. Clapp soon after
India rubber world . afterwards widely known hotel. In 1856, Mr. Clapp bought out a drygoods firm on Tremontrow, Boston, at that time one of the central streets in that lineof business. He associated himself with Edmund B. Parker,who had some knowledge of the business, Mr. Clapp furnishingthe capital. They met financial difficulties in the followingyear, known as the panic year,and in December, 1858, the firmfailed. Mr. Clapp not only hadlost all the money he had putinto the business, but becameburdened with the debts of thefirm, which he discharged fully afew years later. Mr. Clapp soon afterward en-gaged with Henry A. Hall, a rub-ber merchant of Boston, as book-keeper, remaining with him fouryears, when he opened a store atNo. 37 Milk street, for the sale ofrubber goods. From the start hewas successful, and in a shorttime he was able to cancel thedebts of the house of Parker,Clapp & Co., and enter into therubber business in his own with him as a clerkwas Robert D. Evans—since pres-. CHARLES M. CLAPP ident of the United States Rubber Co.—who in time wasgiven a percentage of the profits of the business. In 1865,Mr. Clapp was appointed United States government inspectorof rubber blankets in the quartermasters department, locatedat Cincinnati, Ohio, and served until all the contracts forblankets were completed. In the early years of his career inthe rubber business, he bought of Henry W. Burr and others,land and factory buildings at JamaicaPlain, Massachusetts, which had beenused for the manufacture of rubbergoods. He added new buildings andplant, greatly enlarfjing the establish-ment, which was known as the /litnaRubber Mills. This was always hisown individual property, paid f3r andoperated solely by himself. By 1870 the business had so increasedthat it became necessary to remove thestore to a larger building, which wassecured at No. 28 Summer street, andabout that time Robert D. Evans andLevi Ladd were taken into the firm,under the style Clapp, E
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectrubberindustryandtra
