HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER IS CELEBRATING ITS 150TH ANNIVERSARY
WITH A GALA EVENT FEATURING THE RE-NAMING OF 57TH STREET BETWEEN LEXINGTON AND
THIRD AVENUES AS "HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER WAY".
Hammacher Schlemmer is a retail store and catalog marketer famed for unique products that make
life more efficient, comfortable and amusing for adults, children and pets. It all began on
the Bowery in 1848, when William Tollner opened a small quality hardware business. Five years
later his 12 year old nephew William Schlemmer arrived from Germany and sold tools on the
sidewalk in front of the store. In 1859 Alfred Hammacher became part owner, and in 1883 the
store became Hammacher Schlemmer and Company. In 1889, when there were 600 cars in New York,
the store began selling automotive parts and tools, and it was one of the first American
businesses to install electric lighting. Over the years Hammacher Schlemmer has been a leader
in retailing -- the first to offer pop-up toasters, steam irons, portable radios, electric razors,
microwave ovens and many other now-indispensable products.
In 1926 Hammacher Schlemmer moved to 147 East 57th street and in the 1980's opened stores in
Chicago and Beverly Hills. Today the monthly catalog offers millions of customers hundreds of
items including a 2600 watt artificial sun to illuminate night events; a wind-defying umbrella;
a soothing Desktop Waterfall; a Krypton-Lighted Dog Leash; Hundred-Year Light Bulbs; The Flying
Leap Stick-On Wall; The First Portable DVD Player; A Clarity-Enhancing Telephone; Electrically
Heated Socks; and Automotive Navigator; many travel, kitchen and cleaning aids; and every type
of radio, clock, binocular and camera.
For 150 years Hammacher Schlemmer has been a vital part of our city's business community,
adding the excitement of discovery to the assurance of fine quality, recognition of this
important anniversary, do hereby proclaim Thursday, October 29, 1998 in the City of
New York as "Hammacher Schlemmer 150th Anniversary Day"
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