| Henry Likly Flat Top Trunk we have the key. It is an antique trunk that was found in New York and sold for $200 according to the tag. It is it has the Henry Likly Trunk made in Rochester, New York established in 1844 It is monogrammed J.E.M. on the side. Henry Likly was born on January 18th, 1836 in Perth Canada. In the spring of 1848 after his father died, he and his mother moved to Rochester N.Y. He continued his education in the Rochester N.Y. public school system and upon graduation took an apprenticeship with the A.R. & T.H. Pritchard company where he learned the trade of manufacturing trunks and traveling bags. Henry Likly was married in 1861 to Miss Helen E. Callister. They had two children, William C. Likely born March 31,1867 and Henry Likly born March 12, 1870. The Henry Likly Trunk Company was established in 1844 as A.R. & T.H. Pritchard. When Henry Likly and his brother in law became the sole proprietors of the business the name was changed to Henry Likly & Company. This was the name from 1870 when A.R. Pritchard retired until 1925 when it simply became "Likly's".The Company was the largest factory of its time. Located at 340 Lyell Ave in Rochester N.Y. it covered two acres of land, the building was 4 stories tall and utilized 60,000 square feet of space. During this period, it was one of the best equipped manufacturing plants in the United States. The first floor was where the lumber was sawed and prepared, the second floor was the woodworking and box shop where the frames were made, the third floor was designated for trimming and finishing, and the top floor was probably reserved for the executives, sales and accounting. There products were shipped all over the U.S. and even to parts of Europe. For the local residents the Likly company also maintained a retail outlet at 96 State St in Rochester N.Y. At its peak the company used over one million feet of lumber annually and turned out over 30,000 trunks yearly. |
