The industrial history of Seattle has always fascinated me, and when I recently saw this real photograph postcard (RPPC) for sale I just could not resist adding it to my collection. This RPPC shows the three-story tall factory of the A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company. The postcard is unused, but the style of AZO stamp box on the back indicates that the postcard was produced circa 1904 to 1918. However, a brief dive into the local newspaper archives provided an unexpected wealth of information about this building and helped to narrow down the likely time period of the photograph.
Real photo postcard (RPPC) of the A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company building. Original image from 1911 with later alterations to the painted sign band at the top of the building, which appear to have been applied on the photograph negative used to produce the postcard.
I first came across the A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company while writing the landmark nomination for the Thomas and Sarah Esther Bordeaux House on Seattle’s Millionaire’s Row. The Bordeaux House was built in 1903 and originally piped for gas lighting, but electrical service was installed in the house in 1910. An extensive 1913 remodel of the house by Bebb & Mendel included major utility upgrades, including the replacement of the 1910 wiring with a state-of-the-art electrical system. A cutting-edge Pacific Electric telephone and intercommunication system and a Tuec Model 240 Stationary Cleaner central vacuum system rounded out the major infrastructure upgrades.
A builder’s plate on the decommissioned 1913 fuse panel in the basement of the Bordeaux House indicated that the panel was manufactured by the A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company. I filed this away for future reference, but it wasn’t until I saw this RPPC that my attentions once again turned to the A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company.
The A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company label on the decommissioned fuse panel at the Thomas and Sarah Esther Bordeaux House, which was installed in 1913. Note that the fuse panel is made from marble.
John J. Agutter and Andrew E. Griswold founded the Agutter-Griswold Company in 1905. John J. Agutter was born in London, England in 1875 and immigrated to the United States in 1887 (Census 1910). Agutter appeared in the 1890 Seattle directory as a laborer, and by 1894 he was working at the Home Electric Company (Polk 1890:116; Polk 1894:133). In 1895 Agutter appeared in the Seattle directory as an electrician and by 1898 was working as an electrician at the Union Electric Company (Polk 1895:116; Polk 1898:110). By 1900 he was working as a foreman for the Seattle Electric Company, and the following year appeared in directories as contractor and general estimator for the same company (Polk 1900:130; Polk 1901:160). Agutter remained at the Seattle Electric Company until at least 1904 and formed the Agutter-Reardon Company about 1904-1905, followed by the Agutter-Griswold Company in 1905 (Stradley1904:152; Polk 1905:170; Polk 1906:170).
Andrew E. Griswold was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin in 1876 (Census 1880). In 1886 he moved with his parents to Vashon Island, Washington, where he later attended Vashon College (SDT 24 Jul. 1961:34). By 1900, Griswold was living in Seattle, where he worked as an electrician (Polk 1900:463). The following year he was working as an electrician at Erickson & Wyman, and in 1902 he was working at Gifford & Dow (Polk 1901:533; Polk 1902:579). Griswold was listed in directories simply as an electrician in 1903 but is not listed in 1904 (Stradley 1903:557; Stradley 1904:478). In 1905 he was with the Griswold-Knapp Company, but was listed under the Agutter-Griswold Company the following year (Polk 1905:553; Polk 1906:530).
The Agutter-Griswold offices were first located at 1406 1st Avenue (Polk 1907:150). The company worked initially as electrical contractors, and between 1907 and 1910 Agutter-Griswold installed electrical systems in some of the largest buildings being built in Seattle, including the Moore Theatre (E.W. Houghton, architect; 1907; extant); the Chelsea Family Hotel (Harlan Thomas, architect; 1907; extant); the Orpheum, Empress, Alaska, Liberty, Colonial, and Clemmer Theatres; the Broadway and Lincoln High Schools; the White, Henry, and Cobb Buildings; and the Central, Empire, and American Bank Buildings (SST 22 Dec. 1907:2; PBE 2 Mar. 1907:14; SST 18 Oct. 1914:42). Agutter-Griswold also installed electrical systems in large commercial and industrial facilities, such as the Fisher Flouring Mills, the Ford Motor Company factory, the Supply Laundry, and the Bryant Lumber & Shingle Company mill (SST 18 Oct. 1914:42).
Around 1910 the Agutter-Griswold Company decided to switch from electrical contracting to manufacturing electrical equipment exclusively (SST 18 Oct. 1914:42). In late 1910 and early 1911 the Thomson Estate had plans drawn up for a new factory building at the northwest corner of Aloha Street and Yale Avenue North, and the Agutter-Griswold Company signed a ten-year lease on the industrial development. The building was designed by the noted Seattle architecture firm of Saunders & Lawton and constructed by the general contractor Matt Branigan for $25,000, or about $685,000 in 2020 U.S. dollars. The reinforced concrete building was three stories tall with a basement, and measured 60-feet by 120-feet. The first floor was used for offices, storage, and distribution space, and also featured a dedicated space for the construction of electrical switchboards. The second and third floors were occupied entirely with the equipment needed to manufacture electrical cabinets, panel boxes, meter cabinets, and the parts needed for knife switches, panelboards, and switchboards. Sheet metal shearing, punching, and stamping work took place on the third floor, and an Erickson & Wyman freight elevator connected all of the levels of the building. Naturally, all the manufacturing equipment was driven by electric motors (PBE 1 Apr. 1911:152).
Manufacturing at the new Agutter-Griswold factory began in May 1911 (SST 18 Oct. 1914:42). In August 1915, the company adopted a trademark, which consisted of an “A G” enclosed within a diamond. By the time the company adopted their trademark, the A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company was also manufacturing electric popcorn popping machines, electric cooking ranges, and an electric carving knife with removable blades (SST 15 Aug. 1915:62; SDT 28 Nov. 1915:56). In 1916, the A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company moved to a new factory at 1350 Dearborn Street, and the Yours Truly Biscuit Company moved into the building following a $50,000 remodel (ER Mar. 1917:76; SST 22 Oct. 1916:22). Yours Truly continued to use the building until the company was purchased by the Tru Blu Biscuit Company of Spokane, Washington in December 1925. Tru Blu invested an additional $50,000 to upgrade the bakery plant (SDT 15 Dec. 1925:8). Tru Blu Biscuit Company became a division of the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company in 1930 (SDT 20 Oct. 1931:11). The Loose-Wiles Company became Sunshine Biscuit, Incorporated in 1946 (SDT 26 Mar. 1946:15).
In October 1929, a group of East Coast investors purchased a controlling interest in the A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company. Governor John H. Trumbull of Connecticut was named to the company board of directors, and the company was reorganized and incorporated as the A.G. Electric Manufacturing Company. Trumbull was one of the founders of the Trumbull Electric Company in Plainville, Connecticut, and served as president of the company from 1911 to 1944. The Trumbull Electric Company eventually was acquired by General Electric. Trumbull served as Governor of Connecticut from 1925 to 1931 (MCH 2020; SST 27 Oct. 1929:29, 31). In January 1931 the company name was changed to the Trumbull Electric Manufacturing Company, Pacific Division (SST 11 Jan. 1931:41).
Sunshine Biscuit remained in the building until at least 1953. The 1950s Seattle directories available online are incomplete and only available up until 1960, so verifying the occupants of the building after 1953 is not currently possible. Sam J. Doces of Majestic Furniture acquired the building at some point after 1953 and appears to have operated a carpet warehouse in the building (SPI 10 Nov. 1967:11). In February 1968 Doces sold the building to Fred Rogers of the Fred Rogers Company, which operated a ship supply business in the building from 1968 until 1977 (ST 18 Feb. 1968:117; 6 Nov. 1977:54). A variety of businesses, including a theatrical scenery production company and a pasta manufacturer, occupied the building during the late 1970s and early 1980s (SPI 11 May 1980:38; ST 8 Jul. 1981:48). The office of the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects was also located in the building for a period of time in the 1980s. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center purchased the property in 1991, and the building was demolished in the early 2000s to make way for the present building on the site (KCDA 2020).
Ok, with all that out of the way, we turn our attention back to the postcard. It appears that the original version of the photograph was printed in the Pacific Builder and Engineer on July 29, 1911. I took out a magnifying glass to examine the text on the panel inside the spare tire on the automobile, and a close look revealed that it was an advertisement for the Golden Potlatch celebration, which first took place in Seattle July 17 - July 21, 1911. The Golden Potlatch took place in 1911, 1912, and 1913, and was renamed the Tilikum Potlatch in 1914, so based on this detail it appears that the original photograph was taken around the time of the 1911 potlatch. However, a comparison of the two images of the building shows that the painted sign band at the top of the building in the postcard image has been altered, most likely by modifying the photograph negative that was used to produce the postcard.
Top left image: Rotogravure photograph of the Agutter-Griswold Company, Pacific Builder and Engineer, 29 July 1911, page 31.
Top right image: Real photograph postcard (RPPC) made with the same photograph used in Pacific Builder and Engineer, but with the painted sign band at the top of the building altered.
Bottom left image: Illustration of the Yours Truly bakery from the Seattle Daily Times, 8 May 1919, page 11.
Bottom right image: Illustration of the Tru Blu Biscuit Company from the Seattle Daily Times, 29 January 1926, page 8.
An extremely poor quality photograph of the building was later reproduced in the Seattle Sunday Times on October 18, 1914, and that image of the building shows an additional painted sign was added on the spandrels between the first and second floor windows on the south and east facades of the building. So taking into account these details, it appears that the postcard in my collection was produced after July 1911 but before 1914.
The A.G. Electric and Manufacturing Company as it appeared in the Seattle Sunday Times on October 18, 1914.
WORKS CITED
Electrical Record (ER)
1917 “Manufacturers’ News.” March:76, New York, New York.
King County Department of Assessments (KCDA)
2020 King County Department of Assessments eReal Property. Electronic resource, https://blue.kingcounty.com/Assessor/eRealProperty/default.aspx, accessed November 27, 2020.
L. R. Stradley and Company (Stradley)
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1904 Seattle Business Directory. L.R. Stradley and Company, Seattle, Washington.
Museum of Connecticut History (MCH)
2020 “John Harper Trumbull.” Electronic resource, https://museumofcthistory.org/2015/08/john-harper-trumbull/, accessed November 27, 2020.
Pacific Builder and Engineer (PBE)
1907 “Hotels, Hospitals and Apartments.” 2 March:14, Seattle, Washington.
1911 “The Agutter-Griswold Factory.” 1 April:152, Seattle, Washington.
1911 “Modern Electrical Equipment Factory.” 29 July:31-32, Seattle, Washington.
Polk’s Seattle Directory Company (Polk)
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1907 “Theatre is Almost Ready.” Seattle Sunday Times, 22 December:2, Seattle, Washington.
1914 “Supplies Coast With Switchboards.” Seattle Sunday Times, 18 October:42, Seattle, Washington.
1915 “A.G. Company Has Adopted Trademark.” Seattle Sunday Times, 15 August:62, Seattle, Washington.
1915 “New Electric Range Has Novel Features.” Seattle Sunday Times, 28 November:56, Seattle, Washington.
1916 “$50,000 Factory Added to Seattle Industries.” Seattle Sunday Times, 22 October:22, Seattle, Washington.
1929 “Eastern Group Buys Stock of A.G. Company.” Seattle Sunday Times, 27 October:29, Seattle, Washington.
1929 “Incorporations.” Seattle Sunday Times, 27 October:31, Seattle, Washington.
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1946 “Company to Change Name; Split Stock.” Seattle Daily Times, 26 March:15, Seattle, Washington.
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer (SPI)
1967 “Warehouse Sale.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10 November:11, Seattle, Washington.
1980 “Making a Scene Part of the Job.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 11 May:38, Seattle, Washington.
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1968 “33 Sales of More Than $100,000 Recorded.” Seattle Times, 18 February:117, Seattle, Washington.
1977 “New home in Kent for distributor.” Seattle Times, 6 November:54, Seattle, Washington.
1981 “Varied pastas and sauces are offered at local markets.” Seattle Times, 8 July:48, Seattle, Washington.
1983 “Galleries feature variety of events.” Seattle Times, 27 May:79, Seattle, Washington.
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