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H. Partridge & Co. Fancy Goods
was established in 1847 by Horace
Partridge.
The wholesale company sold china,
dolls, toys, musical instruments and
games. Partridge moved
and expanded his business several times
in the Boston area. In course of time,
his son-in-law, Benjamin F. Hunt, and
subsequently his son, Frank were
admitted to partnership and in 1880 the
company name was changed to Horace
Partridge & Company. Benjamin Hunt was
in charge of importing goods from
Europe and Frank Partridge expanded the
sporting goods department.
In 1900, Horace Partridge & Co., under the control of Frank P. Partridge
failed. Horace Partridge died in 1902,
and by 1908 the name of the company was
changed to Horace Partridge & Co. In
1931 along with Lowe & Campbell, the
Horace Partridge Athletic Goods Co.,
merged with the larger, Thomas E.
Wilson Company.
The baseball bats that are branded with "H.P. & Co." or
"Horace Partridge &
Co." were made before 1908. The bats
branded with "H.P. Co." or "Horace
Partridge Co." were manufactured in 1908
or after.
The 1918 Horace Partridge
Company catalog illustrates an
"H.P.CO." branded baseball bat, with
the statement; the company "made
arrangements with the leading bat
manufacturers of the country for their
first selection of stock." The No. 00
line of bats supplied include; No.
00TS. "Tris Speaker" model, 00D. "Harry
Davis" model, No. 00EC. "Eddie Collins"
model, 00TC. "Ty Cobb" model, 00J. "Harrold
Janvrin" model, and 00LD. "Little
Driver" model.
All players under contract with the Hillerich & Bradsby Co., and
Louisville Slugger baseball bats are
also listed in the catalog, suggesting
that Hillerich & Bradsby Co. produced
the bats for Horace Partridge. The 1927
catalog
has listings for Kren Baseball bats,
and Wilson baseball bat are included in
the later catalogs.
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