Begun in 1850 as a merger of three smaller courier companies - Wells and Co., Livingston, Fargo and Co., and Wells, Butterfield and Co. - in Buffalo, New York, the company quickly expanded its operations. They immediately purchased the headquarters for their stables and in 1854 they purchased a lot in New York City. In 1874, American Express was strong enough to rent a building in New York City's prosperous and prestigious financial district.
From the beginning, American Express controlled 71,000 miles of railroad track, enabling them to dominate the courier industry. Changes were made in the early 1900's, though, due to the Interstate Commerce Commission's anti-trust rulings. The "express" division had to be given up and a new company, the American Railway Express was born. By the time the United States government took away the track in 1917, to facilitate the movement of troops and supplies during World War I, American Express's railroad division employed over 30,000 people.
In 1882, American Express began to compete with the US Postal Service, by making mail orders available as part of their services. After one of American Express's founders, J.C. Fargo took a trip to Europe and discovered that he had a difficult time getting cash outside the larger cities, the company began to offer its traveler's checks in denominations of $10, $20, $50 and $100. This division turned out to be very profitable for American Express, benefiting by not only charging upfront fees but by investing the money they collected from their customers. While a customer's traveler's check remained uncashed, they had access to the funds for investments. To further increase their traveler's services, American Express began offering luxury steamship travel to all over the world. You could see the world and pay for it, too, all through American Express.
American Express issued its first credit card in 1957, to directly compete with the Diner's Club card. Despite the fact that the card was simply a piece of stiff paper with your account number on it, demand for it resulted in a pre-launch issue of 250,000 cards. The Diner's Club card carried an annual fee of $6, while American Express charged $7. This was seen, however, as a sort of superiority over the Diner's Club card and made American Express customers that much more exclusive.
The prestige of American Express cards grew even more in 1966, with the introduction of the Gold card. (There's a Platinum card, now too, for the elitest of the elite.) These cards come with an unlimited spending limit, and interest-free charges, provided the full balance is paid in full every month. The prestige and honor associated with the American Express cards is so high that certain high-end retailers like Neiman Marcus will only accept American Express or cash. Only the very best is good enough for the very best, it seems.
In the 1980's a short lived partnership with Warner Communications saw American Express venture into television media. With Warner, they developed Nickelodeon, MTV and The Movie Channel. American Express sold its interests to Viacom in 1984, and while the partnership dissolved, the networks live on.
American Express is undoubtedly a leader and innovator in the credit card industry. In addition to its Gold and Platinum cards, it now offers a variety of cards for business and consumer alike. These cards allow one to carry a monthly balance while charging interest fees, making them direct competition for the likes of MasterCard and Visa.
American Express has a long and storied history over its 150 years. It has evolved and adapted itself and its services over time, allowing it to survive even the toughest of economic times. From courier to travel service to multi-billion dollar financial institution, American Express has stood the test of time to become an icon of American business.
Many records of the early American pottery do not many evidence to prove their existence, but some of the written names and some pieces of the potteries shows that the American potters were very skilled and artistic. Some newspapers even showed that American used to imports in quantity from England and from the Far East, which handicapped the local potters.
SOME of the earliest inhabitants of both North and South America were skilled and artistic potters, and examples of their work are to be found in museums; occasionally, they can be bought. In more modern times, in the days of John Smith and Pocahontas, there were still potters at work in America, and it would not have taken the European settlers long to find a suitable clay from which to make domestic pieces. In 1641 there is a record of James Pride, a potter at Salem, Massachusetts, and it is believed that others were operating in Jamestown, Virginia. Of these first craftsmen, and many that followed in their wake, there is a little to show except a written record of some of their names. They made useful everyday wares that served their purpose, were broken and discarded, and there was no particular reason to treasure them.
The picture changed little in the first three-quarters of the eighteenth century. The Crolius and Remney families were established at Potters' Hill, New York City; while at Burlington, New Jersey, Daniel Coxe made what he described as 'White Chiney Ware'. Newspapers of the period show that pottery and porcelain were imported in quantity from England and from the Far East, and the local potters were left to make little other than 'butter, water, pickle, oyster and chamber pots; milk pans of several sizes; jugs, mugs, bowls, porringers, cups, etc.
Very little has survived that can be dated positively as having been made before 1800, and in America. A bowl in the Brooklyn museum, of Pennsylvania red earthenware incised with the date 1775 is outstanding; in the same museum is a white pottery sauceboat, copied probably from a Liverpool imported example, decorated with Chinese landscapes in blue, made in Philadelphia. Examples of red clay domestic ware include baking dishes, which are indistinguishable from their English originals; likewise, Pennsylvania dishes with sgraffito decoration closely similar to German country-made ones.
Salt-glazed stoneware was made for suitable articles, and a tall round butter churn by Clarkson Crolius Senior, made about 1800, belongs to the New York Historical Society. At about the same date a pottery was set up to make cream ware to compete with imported Wedgwood, gave it the name of Tivoli Ware and advertised for orders and apprentices.
Authentic pieces of the early wares are extremely scarce; as it was purely utilitarian in purpose it was seldom, if ever, marked. The demand for anything sophisticated was met from abroad, until in the early nineteenth century, when conditions grew more settled in the land, and manufactories were started to supply the home market on a large scale.
A man named Andrew Duche, born in Philadelphia in 1710, made porcelain in about 1740. A small bowl with Oriental-style under glaze blue decoration was discovered in 1946 and is assumed to be one of his experimental pieces. It is in a private collection in the United States. Thirty years later, two partners named Gouse Bonnin and George Anthony Morris started a factory in Philadelphia, but it is doubtful whether they made much true porcelain. The first successful commercial making of the ware was again in Philadelphia and owed its inception to a Quaker, William Ellis Tucker, who began to experiment in 1826. Tucker's porcelain was of good quality and included tea sets, vases and other pieces, many of which won awards at exhibitions in New York and elsewhere. The factory closed in 1838.
The imports from England and other Far East Asian countries left the local potters only to make things like 'butter, water, pickle, oyster and chamber pots; milk pans of several sizes; jugs, mugs, bowls, porringers, cups, etc. But some of the potteries in different museums of American states prove that they also made potteries in their own styles and designs.
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