Mar 17, 2010 Artifacts
I stumbled upon this old fashioned butcher’s block cart on my way to lunch one day. It was sitting proudly, outside of an antiques shop on 24th street.
The plaque on the board really caught my eye. It had beautifully faded type, and a classic turn of the century design aesthetic. It almost looked faux, so I snapped the shot anyways and research it later.
Come to find out, Blickman, Inc is still in business, but it’s not what you’d expect. Go ahead, click on the link for the site.
Confused? I sure as hell am. What a monstrosity of a site, and a logo. Reading their history page, you’ll find this:
The Blickman story is one of all-American pluck, determination and dedication to doing things the right way!
The company originated in 1898, the year Sophia Blickman began manufacturing pots and pans in her garage, and selling to neighbors in her New York City metro-area community. The quality of her cookware made Sophia’s business thrive. By 1923 the garage was no longer adequate as a production facility. So the S. Blickman Company, as it was then known, moved to a plant in Weehawken, New Jersey. It wasn’t until years later―in the depths of the Great Depression―that an employee persuaded her that hospitals, as well as homemakers, needed durable pots and pans, too.
Eager to explore a new market, Sophia began marketing to hospitals. Thus was born an extraordinary legacy of service to the nation’s healthcare industry. Sustained through lean economic times by its reputation for excellence, the company grew, slowly but steadily, and began to add other hospital equipment, fabricated of stainless steel, to its product line. Soon the S. Blickman Company name was familiar, not only in hospital kitchens, but throughout major health-care facilities as well.
What an awesome story! It’s just a shame that they’ve turned into such a commodity for plain hospital equipment. One wonders if they may have been a brand like Le Creuset, or Crate & Barrel had they just stuck to their guns.
I can imagine Aaron Draplin right now going ape-shit about “who took this amazing beautiful logo away and charged gobs of money for this new monstrosity!?”
Tip: Weehawken, NJ is literally directly across the water from Manhattan, and not a bad place to start off your NYC life if you’re new. It’s not glamourous or terribly clean, but you can’t beat the rents and the bus commutes right into the heart of the city. Much cheaper than Queens or Brooklyn, and less tax. But some will argue, as have I. Are you really living in New York City at that point?