Thursday, April 27, 2017

Buy your Ferry's Seeds at Tuttle's ...


It's time to plant garden and had you been living in or near Chariton about 1928-29 and for 30 years thereafter, Tuttle Hardware --- on the north side of the square --- would have been ready to supply you with the largest selection of Ferry's Seeds available locally.

Gifford R. and Elizabeth Tuttle went into the hardware business as part of a partnership during 1923 and emerged independently as the Tuttle Hardware Co. during 1928 or 1929.

This is a photo of a Tuttle display window decked out for spring and featuring Ferry's Seeds that probably dates from 1929 or shortly thereafter --- we're just not sure. It came to the historical society from Jack Young, who collected many things in his time but didn't recall specifically where this 8-by-10 "glossy" came from.

D.M. Ferry & Co., which originated in Detroit during 1856, still was operating independently during 1929, but merged with another seed giant during 1930 to become the Ferry-Morse Seed Co. of Detroit and San Francisco, the world's largest distributor of seeds. Tuttle Hardware still was advertising Ferry's Seeds well into the 1950s.

You can still buy Ferry's Seeds, although the brand is now owned by Jiffy International, a Norwegian corporation. Tuttle's, however, is no longer available.


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