John B. Curtis
Encyclopedia
John Bacon Curtis was an American
businessman.
as a chewing gum
. His family moved to Bangor
in 1848, where there would be a better market for such a product. Over a Franklin stove
in the Curtis home, they cooked up their first batch. The label they printed on their new product was "State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum."
Curtis made a sufficient production of his gum and went to market it in Portland, Maine
. He had made the first commercial production of chewing gum. For the first two days in Portland he had no luck in being able to sell the new product to merchants. The third day he finally made a sale to a merchant, however it was a hard sale. The business in Portland was very little in 1848 and 1849. Curtis decided then to become a traveling salesman
starting in 1850 selling other products like patent medicine besides Curtis' Spruce Gum. His motto was Give a man all you can for his money, while making a fair profit yourself.
Curtis was quite ambitious and many times would travel well into the night just to get to the next town before his competition. This way then he had most of that town's business as the wholesale
peddler
- since the most active would get the principal patronage. The first year he traveled all throughout New England and had earned six thousand dollars. Eventually Curtis then advanced from being just a peddler to a commercial sales traveler and included the West
into his territory. This meant to him the areas west of Maine as such regions as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota and Missouri. He traveled by water on the Erie Canal
and down through the Mississippi River
and Ohio River
. He carried his supplies and took orders. He would even extend credit for as much as a year. In the United States he was one of the first, if not the very first commercial
sales broker as a representative of an Eastern business marketing firm.
Curtis's father would attend to the making of the chewing gum product while Curtis himself would sell it during his sales travels. His father would have his men pick the gum from the trees. After a week or two of collecting the raw product they would bring it out of the woods to the Bangor factory for processing. The business did quite well and the fifteen square foot processing area became too small. They then moved their chewing gum business to larger facilities at Portland, Maine. A few pounds of raw material was adequate in their first years, however later they were buying up to ten tons of material at once. This was considered very risky. One day Curtis even purchased $35,000 worth of raw gum material, considered probably the largest transaction in that type of business ever made in the nineteenth century.
Curtis with his firm he held with his father, "Curtis & Son," had eventually increased the business where they were occupying a factory that was 51 x 145 feet (44.2 m) in size. The building was three stories high. They employed 200 people which turned out eighteen hundred boxes of chewing gum in a day. Curtis himself invented most of the machinery that was used in the automation process of the production of the chewing gum. He never took out a patent on any of his inventions. The firm instead kept secret their process of making chewing gum. Some of the spruce gums "Curtis & Son" made were under such names as "American Flag," "Yankee Spruce," "White Mountain;" "200 Lump Spruce," "Licorice Lulu," "Trunk Spruce", "Sugar Cream," "Four-in-Hand," and "Biggest and Best."
. Here he owned over 1500 acres (6.1 km²) where he raised Hereford cattle.
Curtis bought in 1878 the largest and most expensively built house in Deering Center, Maine
. During the last months of his life he took an interest in ancient Egypt and the pyramids. His creed was do good.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman.
Early life
Curtis attended the normal schools while growing up. He never graduated, but instead worked for the family and others to earn a living. He first was making five dollars a month, which was later increased to six and eventually he worked his way up to twenty-four dollars a month. In addition to being a farmhand he worked as a swamper - clearing underbrush and making roads through the woods.Mid life
Curtis came up with the idea of how practical it would be to make and sell spruce gumSpruce gum
Spruce gum is a chewing material made from the resin of spruce trees. In North America, spruce gum was chewed by Native Americans, and was later introduced to the early American pioneers and was sold commercially by the 19th century, by John B. Curtis amongst others...
as a chewing gum
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
. His family moved to Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
in 1848, where there would be a better market for such a product. Over a Franklin stove
Franklin stove
The Franklin stove is a metal-lined fireplace named after its inventor, Benjamin Franklin. It was invented in 1741.L.W. Labaree, W. Bell, W.B. Willcox, et al., eds., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin , vol. 2, page 419...
in the Curtis home, they cooked up their first batch. The label they printed on their new product was "State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum."
Curtis made a sufficient production of his gum and went to market it in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
. He had made the first commercial production of chewing gum. For the first two days in Portland he had no luck in being able to sell the new product to merchants. The third day he finally made a sale to a merchant, however it was a hard sale. The business in Portland was very little in 1848 and 1849. Curtis decided then to become a traveling salesman
Vendor (supply chain)
A vendor, or a supplier, is a supply chain management term meaning anyone who provides goods or services to a company. A vendor often manufactures inventoriable items, and sells those items to a customer.- History :...
starting in 1850 selling other products like patent medicine besides Curtis' Spruce Gum. His motto was Give a man all you can for his money, while making a fair profit yourself.
Curtis was quite ambitious and many times would travel well into the night just to get to the next town before his competition. This way then he had most of that town's business as the wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
peddler
Peddler
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a canvasser, cheapjack, monger, or solicitor , is a travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages; they might also be called tinkers or gypsies...
- since the most active would get the principal patronage. The first year he traveled all throughout New England and had earned six thousand dollars. Eventually Curtis then advanced from being just a peddler to a commercial sales traveler and included the West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
into his territory. This meant to him the areas west of Maine as such regions as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota and Missouri. He traveled by water on the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
and down through the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. He carried his supplies and took orders. He would even extend credit for as much as a year. In the United States he was one of the first, if not the very first commercial
Commercial property
The term commercial property refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental income.-Definition:...
sales broker as a representative of an Eastern business marketing firm.
Curtis's father would attend to the making of the chewing gum product while Curtis himself would sell it during his sales travels. His father would have his men pick the gum from the trees. After a week or two of collecting the raw product they would bring it out of the woods to the Bangor factory for processing. The business did quite well and the fifteen square foot processing area became too small. They then moved their chewing gum business to larger facilities at Portland, Maine. A few pounds of raw material was adequate in their first years, however later they were buying up to ten tons of material at once. This was considered very risky. One day Curtis even purchased $35,000 worth of raw gum material, considered probably the largest transaction in that type of business ever made in the nineteenth century.
Curtis with his firm he held with his father, "Curtis & Son," had eventually increased the business where they were occupying a factory that was 51 x 145 feet (44.2 m) in size. The building was three stories high. They employed 200 people which turned out eighteen hundred boxes of chewing gum in a day. Curtis himself invented most of the machinery that was used in the automation process of the production of the chewing gum. He never took out a patent on any of his inventions. The firm instead kept secret their process of making chewing gum. Some of the spruce gums "Curtis & Son" made were under such names as "American Flag," "Yankee Spruce," "White Mountain;" "200 Lump Spruce," "Licorice Lulu," "Trunk Spruce", "Sugar Cream," "Four-in-Hand," and "Biggest and Best."
Later life
Curtis in 1872 also went into the dredging business. He worked on jobs that were from $50,000 to a half a million dollars. He was successful at this business as well. He later even went into the business of ship building. He opened the Curtis shipyard and built ten large ships. He also owned the controlling interest in the ferry between Portland and South Portland and a line of steamers until 1896. Curtis was even in the silver and coal mining business in Maine. In 1880 Curtis was in the farming business on a grand scale near Gothenburg, NebraskaGothenburg, Nebraska
Gothenburg is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lexington, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,619 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. Here he owned over 1500 acres (6.1 km²) where he raised Hereford cattle.
Curtis bought in 1878 the largest and most expensively built house in Deering Center, Maine
Deering Center, Maine
Deering Center is a neighborhood in the residential area of Portland, Maine, United States.Deering Center runs from Brighton Avenue to Forest Avenue to Catherine McAuley High School near Wayside Street on Ludlow Street.-History:...
. During the last months of his life he took an interest in ancient Egypt and the pyramids. His creed was do good.
Sources
- Little, George Thomas et al., Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, 1909