The "Other" Charles Biele

During the late 1800's and early 1900's two prominent businessmen named Charles Biele lived and worked near each other in New York City.  One was my ancestor Charles F. Biele who ran Charles F. Biele and Sons and the "other" was Charles Biele, the coffee merchant who ran Cafe Savoy Coffee.

Charles Biele was born in February 1866 in New York City to Frederick W. Biele and Elizabeth Zink.  Both parents were originally from Germany and immigrated to New York in the mid 1800's.  (There is no know link between this Biele family and mine)

Charles was the youngest of seven children and the only one known to have married and had children.  His first marriage was to Della Ward in 1894 and there are no record of children.  The second marriage was five years later to Margaret Thomson.  They has one daughter, Elizabeth, one year later.

Charles Biele was a prominent coffee merchant and items from the business are for sale on various web sites:

Charles Biele Cafe Savoy Coffee Tim (front)

Charles Biele Cafe Savoy Coffee Tin (side)

 During the 1909 New York Electrical Exhibition , Charles Biele displayed items that were mentioned in the Edison Monthly magazine that highlighted new electrical devices and in Electrical World

Highlight of Charles Biele of Cafe Savoy Coffee in the Edison Monthly in 1909

Highlight of Charles Biele of Cafe Savoy Coffee in Electrical World in 1909

This ad from 1917 is from Charles Biele but does not use the Cafe Savoy Coffee brand name.

1917 Coffee Ad from Charles Biele 

Charles Biele died in 1918 and his death was recorded in the New York Times.

Charles had a brother, Edward, who died one week earlier.  They were the last two known male Bieles from the Frederick Biele family.  Charles's daughter, Elizabeth, married and took the last name Favarger.  She died in 1993.

Biele Show Case in Ann Arbor

The latest find is a show case that made its way from New York City to Ann Arbor, Michigan and now resides at the Thistle and Bess.

The business name (C.F. Biele) and address (112 West Broadway) on the tag indicate that the show case was likely made around 1880.  The 1880 Trow’s Directory lists the business address of Charles F. Biele as 112 West Broadway.  By 1885, the business had moved down the street to 42 West Broadway.

C. F. Biele Show Case at Thistle and Bess in Ann Arbor

Tag on C. F.  Biele Show Case in Ann Arbor 

The design of the show case is the same as one in a catalogue from that period (now at the Hagley Museum and Library) and from a later catalogue from 1909.

C. F. Biele Show Case from ca. 1885 catalogue that is now at the Hagley Museum and Library

C. F. Biele Show Case from a 1909 Catalogue

Thank you, Diana, for sharing.  

There is an online story about the store here.

Biele Showscases at Teddy Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill

In the 1938 New York Sun article on Charles F. Biele and Sons, one of the references to well known customers is to showcases for "Theodore Roosevelt for his Japanese art objects".

These showcases are also referenced in a 1917 letter by Carl Biele of Charles F. Biele and Sons to Charles L. Freer, a wealthy businessman and art collector.  

1917 letter from Carl Biele of Charles F. Biele and Sons to Charles L. Freer referencing showcases at Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill for his collection of Japanese objects.  Letter from the Freer archives at the Smithsonian.

The letter states - "We enclosed some photographs which we though might prove of interest of you.  The small figure in armor was presented to Theodore Roosevelt by Admiral Togo.  The smaller sword was presented to him by the city of Sendai; while the other two swords were presented to him by His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, through Baron Komura at the close of the Portsmouth Peace Conference."  (President Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on this conference which ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1905).

Below are the front and page of the picture of the sword showcase that were included with the letter.  The other pictures were not part of the Freer archives.

1917 picture from Carl Biele of Charles F. Biele and Sons to Charles L. Freer referencing showcases at Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill for his collection of Japanese objects.  Letter from the Freer archives at the Smithsonian.

  

Back side of picture of Biele showcase with the inscription "Theodore Roosevelt".

Below is a modern picture of the North Room at Sagamore Hill with the three items referenced in the letter.

North room at Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill with three showcases highlighted.

Close up of Biele showcase at Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill.

According to a source at Sagamore Hill, the two showcases on either side are original while the one housing the small samurai is made of modern plexiglass.  There are no records of when it was replaced.

1919 Biele Vitrine to McCormick Heir

My latest find is a receipt for a vitrine sold to an heir to the McCormick fortune.  The receipt is from the Wisconsin Historical Society which maintains the archives of correspondence by Anita McCormick Blaine.

Anita was the daughter of Cyrus Hall McCormick, the inventor of the mechanical reaper. His farm innovations helped revolutionize farming around the world and made the McCormick family a fortune. She was a major stockholder of their farm implement company, which later became International Harvester.

More on Anita McCormick Blaine can be found on her Wikipedia page and other online biographies:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_McCormick_Blaine

http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Blaine,AnitaMcCormick.html

A few items of note:

• The purchase price was $60, which is around $900 in today's dollars.

• The shipping address was 101 E. Erie Street in Chicago.  That was Anita's home until her death. The mansion no longer there.  It was demolished in the late 1950's for the new headquarters of the Kiwanis and that was later demolished for a modern building that now houses a Conrad hotel.

• Charles F. Biele and Sons was located at 379 & West 12th Street in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan.  They later moved a street over to Bethune Street.

Receipt for a Biele vitrine for Anita McCormick Blaine

Mansion at 101 E. Erie Street in Chicago before demolition