The founder of this in- 

 THE FOUNDER. dustr> , a native of Phila- 

 delphia, com meni:eJ busi- 

 '^^ in Ci^mpnny with Mr. Henry Hirst at 

 •V years. The Jirst store 

 m was located at 97 Chest- 

 \ie of numbers). The site 

 V the handsome building 

 \merica. The illustra- 

 . f-rn .111 old print, 

 iipse of the 

 •f than half 

 iRo. The changes ol the intervening 

 !• been so great that not one of the 

 ■V n in the picture now exists. 



. a of Mr. Hirst with the enterprise was 



rt. Mr. Oreer continued to push the business with 



come into being within the period named, none of which may properly 

 claim a more uniform or substantial ratio of growth than that of the Seed, 

 Plant and Bulb House of Henrv A. Dreer. 



;;r.c...,;ence a" ! ^ '>' 



THE STORY OF A SUCCESS. 



the number vt the 

 to fortv-fivc; the 

 wh - - 



ha- 

 has >;' ■Ml, \<-.-:..u 



Within the period embraced in the 

 existence of the house of Henr\' A. 

 Dreer as a firm and a corporation, 

 ur national flag have increased from thirty 

 . which in, 1858 was i3,ocx3,ooo souls, of 

 J in the states bordering the Atlantic Ocean, 

 -ed per cent., and the City of Philadelphia 

 n a like ratio as regards population and to a 

 far greater extent in material wealth and power. 



In the initial year of this business the first steamship crossed the 

 Atlantic Ocean from Great Britain. The canal-boat and stage-coach 

 represented t: s for travel as the lumbering 



Conestoga w;i^ of freightage. 



Coincident v, .tn Uit ma:. ci us ci.anges wrought by the progress of 

 these years all over the land stand the histories of thousands of successful 

 business enterprises devoted to a great variety of specialties which have 



THE PRESENT STORE 

 AND WAREHOUSE. 



in 1848 the store was removed to No. 59 



Chestnut Street ; in 1858 to No. 117 Chestnut 



Street (new number, 327), and in 1863 tlie 



present roomy and attractive Iniilding, No. 



714 Chestnut Street, was bought and adapted to the needs of the rapidly 



increasing business. Thus for sixty years the house has been located 



on the principal business street of Piiiladelphla. 



Mr. Henry A. Dreer died in December, 1873, leaving to his son, Mr. 

 William F. Dreer, the lasi< of developing the Seed and Nursery Establish- 

 ment and of fostering the valuable trade created by a lifetime of patient 

 and conscientious effort. 



The quarter century which has since intervened has been full of busy 

 years, and the illustrations which depict the present magnitude of this 

 establishment bear witness of the faithfulness with which the trust has 

 been fulfilled. 



The four-story warehouse, with two extra floors in half stories, is filled 

 from roof to cellar with stock used in 

 the business, besides potatoes and onion 

 sets carried in cold storage. The first 

 floor is devoted to the retail sales and 

 sample rooms and shipping department 

 on the rear street. An electric elevator 

 carries one to a half floor of miscella- 

 neous stock, then to the first floor. The 

 general and private offices are in the 

 front, while the rear is used for the 

 storageof Flower and Vegetable Seeds. 

 Another half story is then reached, 

 loaded with goods of all kinds. On the 

 third floor the work of filling seed bags is 

 done by a corps of girls : large and small 



/ 



