C.F. Hathaway Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Textile, apparel |
| Founded | 1853 |
| Founder | Charles Foster Hathaway, George Hathaway |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Waterville, Maine , United States |
| Products | Men's and boys' shirts |
C. F. Hathaway Company was a producer of men's and boys' shirts, headquartered in Waterville, Maine, United States, with operations spanning from 1853 until 2002.
History
The enterprise was initiated by Charles Foster Hathaway in 1853 when he and his brother George acquired a plot on Appleton Street in Waterville for $900 to construct a manufacturing facility. By October of that year, the factory was active, employing workers who typically put in 60 hours each week. During the period of the American Civil War, the company supplied uniform shirts to soldiers serving the Union.
The brand gained widespread recognition through its iconic 1951 advertising campaign featuring a "man with an eye patch," developed by Ogilvy & Mather. Drawing inspiration from an image of public official Lewis Douglas, David Ogilvy selected Baron George Wrangell, a Russian nobleman with perfect vision, to personify the refined and experienced "Hathaway man." This campaign was ranked 22nd among the top advertising campaigns of the twentieth century by Advertising Age and was humorously referenced on Saturday Night Live in 1993.
In 2002, C. F. Hathaway Company ceased operations at its Maine factory, marking it as the penultimate major American shirt manufacturer to produce domestically. At that time, only Gitman Bros based in Pennsylvania remained as a domestic shirt producer.
Further reading
- Remembered Maine, Ernest Cummings Marriner, Colby College Press, 1957, pp. 42–63. Features selections from Hathaway's personal journals.
- History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Vol. 3, Duane Hamilton Hurd, J. W. Lewis & Company, 1890, pp. 407–409.
- "Charles Foster Hathaway", featured in Illustrated History of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1799-1892, Part 2, Henry D. Kingsbury & Simeon L. Deyo, H.W. Blake & Company, 1892, pp. 588a-589a.
External links
- Clothing brands of the United States
- Shirts
- Clothing manufacturers
- Defunct manufacturing companies based in Maine
- Companies based in Kennebec County, Maine
- Waterville, Maine
- American companies established in 1837
- Clothing companies established in 1837
- 1837 establishments in Maine
- 2002 disestablishments in Maine