Page 69 - Industries_of_San_Antonio

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COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES.
ERASTUS REED—Furniture, Howe Furnishing Goods, Carpets, Oil
Cloths and Mattings ; Commerce Street.
The progress, during the last quarter of a century, in the mechanic
arts, as applied to household furniture, ranks among the most remarkable
improvements of our times. The manufacturers and finishers have, with
true artistic genius and scientific skill, not only brought their products up
to a point nigh unto perfection, but, by the invention and introduction of
machinery, cheapened them and placed them within the reach of all
classes. To ornament and beautify our homes is, after providing the
necessaries of life, the first impulse of civilized and uncivilized man. This
sentiment, implanted by nature in the mind of man, produces refinement
and a desire for elegance, even though it be plain, simple and inexpensive;
and it is to this refinement and cultured taste, going hand in hand, are
due the fame and greatness of all communities and renowned cities. The
citizen is proud of the beauty of his city, punctilious about her claims to
respect, ambitious of her trade and opulence, boastful of the palace-like
and comfortable appearance of her homes, and zealous for her welfare.
Still, while he is vain of her streets, her warehouses, her factories and her
shops, it is home alone which he regards with affection, and to its embell-
ishment, ornamentation and comfort, he turns to find his greatest pleasure
and satisfaction. For the great excellence and perfection attained in the
ornamentation and comforts of our homes, we are, in the main, indebted
to the enterprising and enlightened furniture dealers. San Antonio, while
well supplied with most branches of trade and their accessories, has but
one truly metropolitan furniture establishment, that of Erastus Reed, and
it is the most extensive in magnitude and quality of stock carried, and in
extent of transactions, in the State of Texas. This business was estab-
lished in 1869, by Erastus Reed, Sr., with ample capital. The trade of the
house was pushed with energy and enterprise, its transactions annually
augmented, and it gradually assumed a position in the front rank of repre-
sentative mercantile establishments, in this, a position which it has since
maintained and strengthened. In 1881, Mr. Reed, Sr., died and the per-
sonnel of the establishment was somewhat changed, without in the least
impairing the elevated principles and sound mercantile policy with which
its operations had always been conducted, Erastus Reed, Jr., succeeding
in 1881. The business premises occupied are among the handsomest, most
convenient and commodious in the city, situated in the very center of trade,
consisting of a large, double, three-story brick building, fronting on Com-
merce street, 62 feet, by a depth of 185 feet, giving him 34,410 square feet
of floor surface. He carries a large and complete stock of furniture, in
chamber, dinning room, parlor, sitting room, hall and office sets, with the
many ornamental and beautifying accessories so necessary in neat and
elegant arrangements, from plain and inexpensive to the most elaborate
and costly. Carpets in grades and styles, all kinds of floor covering, and
a full line of house furnishing goods—all selected with that taste and judg-