Regent Manufacturing Company
Chicago, Illinois
The Regent Manufacturing Company of Chicago was in business from at least 1895 until early 1905 when the contents of their business were sold at auction. They specialized in producing sales premiums that retailers presented to their customers to encourage or reward sales. They advertized heavily in various trade journals that were geared towards the tailor, shoe and boot retailers. The items they offered included pictures, novelty clocks, silver plated flat ware, table ware, and banks. All their offerings were well marked with the Regent company name and location. In addition to safe banks with advertising, they are known to have also produced several different building banks with advertising.
On December 1st, 1893, Straus, Glaser & Co. of Chicago filed a request to trademark the feature “Kast Iron” as it related to men’s, boy’s and children’s clothing. Reviewing newspapers of that time, it was noted that many different cities throughout the country advertised as carrying “Kast Iron” clothing for boys that consisted of a jacket, two pair of pants, and a hat. As the Regent Manufacturing Company specialized in producing premiums to stimulate sales, and both Regent and Straus, Glaser & Co. were co-located in Chicago at that time, it is likely that Straus, Glaser & Co. encouraged their retailers to use sales premiums such as toy savings banks to encourage sales of their clothing line. At least five different safe banks advertising “KAST IRON” clothing with different retailers have surfaced to date
Their original sales office at 182-184 Wabash Avenue was in the heart of the downtown business district know as “the loop” for the cable car route that started at Marshall Field’s Department Store. After an 1898 fire they moved their sales office to 248 Jackson Boulevard, and in 1901 moved again to 122-124 Market Street. Their factory, first located at 1707 S. Clark Street, also moved in 1901 to 232 S. Clinton Street.
On June 29, 1905, at 232 S. Clinton Street, all the assets and belongings of the bankrupt company were sold at auction. From the auction listing in the newspaper this included, among other things, machinery from their Plating-Room and Buffing-Room as well as toy banks.
