David T. Abercrombie

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other people with the same name, see David Abercrombie.
David T. Abercrombie
Ossining, New York, U.S.
OccupationSurveyor
Years active1892–1917
Known forFounder of Abercrombie & Fitch

David Thomas Abercrombie[1] (June 6, 1867 – August 29, 1931) was the founder of the American lifestyle brand Abercrombie & Fitch. A topographer and expert in the outdoors, Abercrombie opened the company as New York's outfitter for the elite and later partnered up with co-founder Ezra Fitch – both men managed the Company through great years of success.

Today, his company, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. remains as a prominent American clothing brand. A brand in his name was released by the company in 1998 – abercrombie.

Life and career

Birth, studies, and family

David T. Abercrombie was born in

Norfolk & Western Railroad, notably mapping out uncharted wilderness areas in the coal and timber lands of West Virginia and the Carolinas
. While surveying the wilderness areas, Abercrombie came to realize that the gear, both clothing and equipment, was wholly inadequate to withstand the rigorous demands. He started designing his own gear which was more rugged and versatile, and better designed to meet the wilderness environment.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

Further information: Abercrombie & Fitch

On June 4, 1892, he founded Abercrombie Co. as a small waterfront shop at No.36 South Street in downtown

Manhattan, New York
;

On April 25, 1896, Abercrombie married Lucy Abbot Cate in

Ossining, New York
.

In 1900, wealthy New York lawyer Ezra Fitch, a regular customer of Abercrombie's,[6] bought into the successfully growing Abercrombie retail establishment. In 1904, it was incorporated and renamed "Abercrombie & Fitch Co." Abercrombie later entered into disputes with Ezra Fitch over Fitch's visions of expanding the company to appeal to the general public, as Abercrombie sought to maintain the company's standing as an elite store for the elite outdoorsman. Possibly as a result of this rift, Abercrombie left the Company in 1907, selling his share of it to Fitch.

Post A&F and death

In 1917, Abercrombie joined Baker, Murray & Imbrie ("The Sporting Goods Store of Expert Personal Service") as vice president. He later founded the "David T. Abercrombie Company", a

intestate, in 1931.[8][9]

Abercrombie & Fitch's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City

Legacy

David Abercrombie's influence in his company has remained as a greater part of it, even after Abercrombie's departure and the company's 1960s-1970s financial issues. Repositioned in the 1980s as a lifestyle brand for the collegiate, Abercrombie & Fitch remains today as a cultural American brand. Although altered to accommodate its promoted image of "Casual Luxury", Abercrombie & Fitch continues to reference to its original image of its early years with the Abercrombie moose and "sexy" male ruggedness. Abercrombie's name is often used as an abbreviated form of the company's name and is used frequently more than Ezra Fitch's "Fitch" (e.g. "Abercrombie Christmas 2007", "abercrombie.com", "the Abercrombie lifestyle...", etc.). When the Company released a children's version of the A&F brand, abercrombie kids (all lowercase, as a metaphor for their diminutive clientele), it chose to name it after Abercrombie.

See also

References

Bibliography

  •  "Abercrombie, David T." . Men of 1914 .
    OCLC 49777827
    .
  • "D.T. Abercrombie, Sportsman, is Dead; Originator of Noted Firm Dealing in Sporting Goods--Was Explorer, Hunter, Fisherman." The New York Times (August 30, 1931), p. N6
  • "Abercrombie Left Estate of $10,793; Founder of Sporting Goods Firm Bequeathed Property to Widow and Three Children", The New York Times (March 12, 1932) p. 6

Notes

  1. ^ Abercrombie, Ronald Tayler The Abercrombies of Baltimore Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1940. p.19
  2. ^ Hall, Clayton Colman (1912). "Baltimore: Biography".
  3. ^ "Relatives of John Morrision Abercrombie". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  4. ^ "Relatives of Thomas DANIEL". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  5. ^ "Relatives of Elizabeth Sarah Daniel". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  6. ^ "History". Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Archived from the original on 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  7. ^ "Look Around the Abandoned Abercrombie Castle in Ossining". Westchester Magazine. 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  8. ^ "D.T. Abercrombie, Sportsman, is Dead; Originator of Noted Firm Dealing in Sporting Goods--Was Explorer, Hunter, Fisherman". New York Times. 30 August 1931. p. N6.
  9. ^ "David Thomas Abercrombie". Find a Grave. Retrieved 8 November 2021.

External links


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