1848-49
There is no evidence that Jacob was ever a gunsmith.
1849-50
1850-51
1851-52
No ad found after scrolling through all the pages.
1852-53
This appears to be the first year that Wiss advertised. The ads were not indexed. To find one has to flip through the pages. This ad found on page 385.
1853-54
1854-55
Business moved to 13 Bank St. I scrolled through the ad pages and did not find one for Wiss. There may be something on page 412, but that page was not in the digitization. So it appears that with the move they stopped advertising for a few years.
1855-56
1856-57
1857-58
1858-59
1859-60
1860-61
Directory not online. In the copy at the library the ad is around page 548. Need to ask about where online.
1861-62
1862-63
1863-64
1864-65
1865-66
Not listed in main listing. I searched through the pages of the library's copy and did not find one.
1866-67
No ad found.
1867-68
No ad found.
1868-69
This starts a long run of advertising pole pruners and pruning shears. This is the first year that the ads are indexed. The page number was wrong.
1869-70
1870-71
1871-72
1872-73
1873-74
1874-75
In one of the listings it notes Pat. Pruning Shears. Based on the ads I would think this is the pole pruner. The common ancestor of this popular type of pole pruner? [It will be hard to find patent.]
This was in a listing of the businesses on Bank St, in number order. This was a new feature in this edition.
1875-76
1876-77
1877-78
1880-81
The ad has shrunk in size. Pole and other pruners went from top billing to gone. This is the first year with Imported and Domestic Table Cutlery in the ad.
1881-82
This is the first directory with Sons added to the business name, though in a way that lasted only for this directory. When this directory was published both Jacob and his wife Maria have died. The oldest daughter, Mary Wiss Ungrich (born 1855), returned to the household to raise the youngest child, Augusta (born 1867). I find Mary's husband, Martin, worked for the company.
Found in the 1948's A Story of Shears and Scissors is this article from the City of Newark Directory, 1881..
1882-83
The ad got bigger. A lot more pop with the image. The business name is now to what was used until the sale. This is the first year that "All grinding and repairing done on the premises" was dropped. This would be the start of men working at other locations. Frederick C.J. Wiss built the workmen up to 150, ready for when the new factory opened in 1887.
1883-84
1884-85
1885-86
1886-87
1888-89
The factory has now opened on Littleton Ave. By this time they had 150 employees at various locations and this plant consolidated them. The retail operation remains at 26 Bank Street.
1889-90
1890-91
Martin Ungrich is no longer listed. He and his wife moved back to Manhattan, where his family held property. The store has moved to 755 Broad Street. The Bank Street store location will be in the footprint of the Prudential Building. And Louis is listed as living at 26 Bank St. The building wasn't coming down right away.
1891-92
Louis has moved to 9 Plum St. [The block long street no longer exists.] This is the first year that Silverware appears in the ad.
1892-93
A year later and now they are selling Sterling Silver, and Opera Glasses, Dog Collars, etc. It looks like this is when they added the gift shop. Sterling flatware patterns popular in this decade regularly show up on eBay.
1893-94
Frederick C.J. Wiss has moved to his mansion at 171 Fairmount Ave. Dog Collars have disappeared, replaced with Cut Glass Banquet Lamps and Art Potteries. Pruning shears, and some other types, get mentioned.
1895
1896
Louis has moved to 166 Bank St. They've ended the two years of ads looking like pirates. Now overly sedate.
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901-02
1903-04
In this directory the store has moved to 683 Broad St.
1906
1907
Page 139 is missing from digitization. Have to check if copy at library has that page for scanning.
1908
Louis Wiss died on January 24, 1908. Early enough in the year for this to be noted in the same year edition.
1909
1910
No online directory found.
1911
No street numbers in the ad. When Wiss bought the ad, the Wiss Building was still under construction. But in a later edition the ad has street numbers, and the page number/location has been corrected.
1912
1913
K.U.V. = K.U. Verein [social club]
1914
1915
First 300 pages of online directory are missing. So no advertisement until scanned in a library.
1916
In the Business Directory Wiss was not listed under Shear Mfrs (only listed were Coit Machine, Compton and Heinisch). There is no notation that a Wiss ad appears elsewhere in the directory.
1918
Gretchen and her brother Jerome have moved next door to 85 Johnson Ave. Or typos. Under Shear Mfrs it notes to See Cutlery Mfrs.
1920
Gretchen and Jerome no longer appear.
1922
1936
The jewelry store is now using Wiss Sons. The Jan 1922 date noted in the listing is when they dropped the J from the name. I see they are still listing Heinisch.
