Fouke Fur Company Advertisements
This collection of images contains Fouke Fur Company advertisements. For at least six decades, the U.S. government held contracts for the dressing, dyeing, and selling of fur-seal skins with the Fouke Fur Company of St. Louis, Missouri (and later Greenville, South Carolina) and its predecessor Funsten Brothers and Company, which had a Fouke as its president. Former acting secretary of the Department of the Interior, Orme Lewis, is quoted in a 1955 press release as saying, “The Fouke Company is pre-eminent in its field and processes about 85 percent of the entire world’s supply of fur-seal skins.” More than one hundred distinct manipulations or treatments were involved in the processing of the skins. The result was the creation of luxurious fur. The furs were sold at public auctions held twice per year with the net proceeds going to the U.S. Government. Prior to the 1910s, sealskins had to be sent to London for processing because the required expertise was not available domestically.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration obtained permission from Philip B. Fouke III to include the advertisements in this image gallery.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|