Category Archives: Enterprises

“The Collier Make” logo on envelope back and  “The Collier Made” hand stamp.

In 1912, the newly re-named Collier Manufacturing Co, with J. C. Collier at the helm and with the addition of D. C. Collier to management, was branding its products as “The Collier Made” and “The Collier Make”.

According to the late Virginia Collier Dennis, daughter of D. C. Collier, her father woke from a dream in which he had seen a way to economically make women’s knit underwear.  He sought to patent his idea which involved precise, cost-saving cuts.  J. C. Collier, a master marketer, had previously used a form of alliteration in his advertising, such as seen in the example below.

It followed that “The Collier Cut’ was chosen as the name of the patent.  The patent was granted in Canada in 1914 and in the United States in 1915.  This is the draft patent application for “The Collier Cut”, by inventors D. C. Collier and F. M. Murphy.

The Collier Cut was a marketing success.  This page from a 1916 publication shows eight mills licensed to make The New “Collier” Union Suits for ladies.  It also says that patents were pending in “all European countries”.

What had been marketed as “Collier Make Underwear” in these hanging cardboard store signs (approximately 10″ x 13″) . . .

. . . now became “Collier Cut Underwear”.

Collier Cut Union Suits were sold internationally, with an obvious appeal to those in colder climates.  Here is a fascinating 1918 picture of the shipping room of the Collier Mfg. mill in Barnesville.  These packaged ladies knit underwear were headed to Rottenberg, Sweden.  Notes about the photograph identify Walter Slaughter, Shipping Clerk, and J. R. Stotelmyer, Superintendent.

This is an equally fascinating original photograph of the model for Collier Cut Ladies Union Suits.  The notation is by D. C. Collier.

Prior to the sale to the William Carter Company (see the post “J. C. Collier – From Merchant to Manufacturer”), Collier Cut marketing took on a new look.   This 1922 note announces the appointment of a new selling agent in New York.

Here are two hanging cardboard advertising signs of a different style promoting Collier Cut underwear.

The advertisement (dated 1923 on the pennant) for misses and ladies underwear was updated to appeal to the younger generation and the 1920’s “flapper” style.  The meaning of the reference to “8 Point” is not known.

And 8 Point Collier Cut knit underwear was promoted for boys and men.

CHF knows of only one of the Collier Cut Ladies Underwear still in existence.  The underwear was sent along with the rest of the Collier Collection to Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia where it will be archived.

Ladies Collier Cut Union Suit

Ladies Collier Cut Union Suit from the Back

Roll of Collar Labels for The Collier Cut Union Suit

J. C. Collier – 1902

In 1897, 31-year old J. C. Collier was operating department stores in Barnesville and Thomaston, Georgia.  From an initial investment of $1350, in only ten years he had built up the largest merchandising business in Georgia south of Atlanta.  His net worth was over $37,000.

Not one to let his energies or his money sit idle, in 1898, he and his father, I. C. Collier, formed Oxford Knitting Mills in Barnesville.  The company was organized and the mill built with an initial investment of $7500.  J. C. Collier served as the company’s President and his father, I. C. Collier, was Vice-President.  F. Marvin Stephens (J. C. Collier’s brother-in-law) was Treasurer and General Manager.  Affordable Alabama coal, access to rail service, and a pool of dependable labor in an area where “Cotton was King” fueled the success of the mill.  The mill specialized in men’s knit undershirts.

I. C. Collier died on July 11, 1908.  There is no evidence his vacated vice-president position was ever filled.

In June 1911, 21-year old Durward Cuthbert (D. C.) Collier, son of J. C., joined the company as Treasurer and General Manager.  D. C. succeeded his uncle, F. Marvin Stephens, who had joined Marshall Field and Co.’s North Carolina Mills.  D. C. was a 1911 graduate of Georgia Tech, finishing with a degree in textile engineering and receiving the National Association of Textile Manufacturers’ gold medal for his academic excellence.

Also, in 1911, the company’s name was changed from Oxford Knitting Mills to Collier Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Here is a picture of the mill in 1911.

1911

And another in 1912.

1912

Portion of 1912 Photograph showing Name on Water Tank

This picture was probably taken between 1912 and 1920.

Here are some pictures of the inside the mill.

Spindles

Bleaching Area

Cutting Area

Seamstresses in the Mill

More Seamstresses

Packaging Area

Mill Management

In 1913, ladies’ lightweight union suits (underwear) were added to the product offerings.  The line of female garments resulted from a patent by D. C. and F. M. Murphy labeled “THE COLLIER CUT” (more to come later).

In early 1918, Collier Manufacturing, with its 20 years of experience in manufacturing knit underwear, was solicited by the U. S. government to make undershirts for the U. S. Army involved in World War I.  The company installed the necessary equipment and began production.  The effort was short-lived as the war ended later that year.

By 1920, Collier Manufacturing was operating six mills on a royalty basis.  THE COLLIER CUT had received a Canadian patent and production was underway there.

Cardboard Store Sign

The name of the company was changed to Collier Mills, Inc.  A new mill was added in Macon, Georgia to produce boys union suits.   The market share became international, and a New York office was opened for selling and billing direct to the retailer.  The mill in Barnesville, Georgia had a payroll of about 270 people in a town with a population of about 3,000.

In 1923, Collier Mills and the William Carter  Co., of Needham Heights, Massachusetts, began discussions about a consolidation of the two firms on a 50-50 basis.  In June 1923, Carter Collier Company was organized.  The preferred stock in the new company was owned exclusively by J. C. Collier and D. C. Collier.  On September 30, 1924, J. C. Collier and D. C. Collier sold their stock interest in the Collier Mills, Inc. and Carter Collier Co. at a premium to the William Carter Co., and ceased any further connection with the New England firm.

Jena Cuthbert (J. C.) Collier was born November. 5, 1866 at 10:00 pm. In J. C.’s own words, it was at the time that he “commenced to hustle.”

In 1881, at age 14, he left his father’s plantation at Piedmont and moved to Barnesville, Georgia to attend Gordan Military Institute.  Apparently he sought more than a formal education for on August 18, 1881, he walked into the store of C. C. Holmes in Barnesville and asked for a job. He was hired and placed in the grocery department at the salary of $12 per month. His duties also included “superintendent of the rag-packing department.”

On October 5, 1882, he began working for W. R. Murphey & Co. in Barnesville for the salary of $20 per month. At age 17, his salary was raised to $50 per month.  Here is a picture of J. C. Collier at age 17.

At age 20, on September 1, 1887, with an investment capital of $1,350, he opened a dry goods business as J. C. Collier & Company. He bought out the company on January 12, 1890 and formed the succeeding business of J. C. Collier Company on February 1, 1895.  By 1896, J. C. Collier Company was recognized as the largest dry goods business south of Atlanta with “big” stores in Barnesville and Thomaston.  About that time, J. C. bought out Howard & Co. and merged that business with his.

J. C. Collier Co. Store – 1894

By 1897, his initial investment of $1,350 had resulted in a net worth for J. C. Collier Co. of over $37,000.

J. C. Collier Co. Store, probably in the late 1890s

J. C. Collier was a marketing strategist. He researched advertising techniques and was a student of successful business philosophies. From this, he learned to cut his prices to gain a larger market share, and he maintained his profit margin by buying directly from suppliers and manufacturers in such places as New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. His seasonal trips to the northeast put him in a position to buy at the lowest possible prices. His acceptance in societal circles in New York was facilitated by his cousin from the Greene side of the family, Floyd Corbin, a resident and well-known financier in New York City.

1896 Newspaper Advertisement for J. C. Collier Co. Note the listing of a New York Office at the top of the ad.

Here is a July 2, 1892 promissory note made to I. C. Collier (Father of J. C. Collier) of Piedmont from an unknown individual.  The note is presented on J. C. Collier Co. letterhead with a sketch of the “big” store at the top.  The note is for the rent of one mule for the year for the amount of $20.00.

The former J. C. Collier Co. Store building in Barnesville, Georgia as it was in 2003.  This is the same building as on the letterhead.