The Hoge Brush Company Files, Vol. 13

[Note: For background on the "Hoge Brush Company Files" series, click here; to see all the entries in the series so far, click here.]

Don't you hate it when there's a missing piece to a puzzle? That's the situation with our latest letter from the files of the Hoge Brush Company, which was sent in 1954 by the firm of A. Steiert & Son (which, judging by the letterhead design, appears to have been another company in the broom business).

The letter is a deliciously understated dig at Hoge executive Carl Werheim, as follows:

Your letter, Mr. Werheim -

… reveals an entirely different viewpoint in the purchasing of Bass Fibre than is prevalent or customary practice.

There are so many deviations in your thinking from the prevalent practice that I couldn't begin to write about all of them in this letter.

Old Man Steiert

Ouch! I love that the letter is from "Old Man Steiert" (presumably to distinguish him from "& Son"), and that he signed his name as "O.M.S."

Unfortunately, we don't know what Mr. Werheim wrote to provoke this note from Mr. Steiert, nor do we know how Mr. Werheim responded. Frustrating!

A. Steiert & Son is no longer in business. They were apparently still an ongoing concern in 1973, when they were the appellants in this Workmen's Compensation case, but I'm not sure when they ceased operations. If anyone knows more, feel free to be in touch.

(My continued thanks to Joanna and David Zwiep for sharing the Hoge Brush Company letters with me.)