yacht orion forstmann

• Other Sites of Interest
• Textile Companies
• Textile Industry History
• Textile Industry People
• Textile Places
• Wilson College of Textiles
• Textile Bookmarks 1960-2017
• NC State University Faculty
• Give Now 

Julius Forstmann

Forstmann worsted mills passaic, new jersey.

Forstmann & Huffmann, Passaic, New Jersey was founded in 1904 by German entrepreneurs who came from a long line of prosperous and skilled woolworkers dating back to 1563. The Forstmann family was descended from citizens of Flanders in today’s Belgium.  The family  was one of the original members of the Weavers Guild, the oldest of guilds, which had been established during medieval times by artisans to form merchant guilds to protect and maintain the high standards of their crafts. Julius Forstmann, of the Ruhr Valley near today’s Essen, emigrated to America to recreate the quality woolens then known in Germany.  Forstmann decided to form a new venture in Passaic. Other Mills in Passaic .

Interview with Mr. Forstmann Posselt’s Textile Journal , April 1909 Courtesy of Peter Metzke

Forstmann &Huffmann Mill Courtesy Mark S. Auerbach

The woolens and worsteds coming from this mill were legendary and the company prospered.  Workers were  brought from Germany and all across Western Europe to work in the mills of Passaic.  One such worker was  Gerhard Wiegand who emigrated in 1912 and sent for his fiancée in 1916.  The family survived the war and the  difficulties imposed by the US government on anyone who was of German birth whether they were citizens or  resident aliens.  Read the Wiegand story elsewhere in the site. And read the story of a girl who grew up with the  Forstmann Mills – and received a Forstmann Scholarship – Alice E. Johansen .

Bernard A. Rosenberg was hired to select styles, shades and finishes while working closely with major  customers like Bergdorf Goodman.

Once the US entered the war against Germany, many of the German-owned properties were seized and sold to  Americans.  The New York Times headline on April 3, 1918, reported, “ Forstmann Denies Any German Taint,  Declares He Never Saw Compromising Letters, and Bought Wool at Metz’s Suggestion.”  Julius Forstmann,  president of the $2,000,000 Forstmann-Huffmann Woolen Mills of Passaic… a loyal citizen of the United States  … the mill was recently seized.  In 1914, Mr. Forstmann was approached by the Hon. Herman A. Metz, then a  member of Congress from New York City, and now wearing the uniform of an officer of his country… and Mr.  Metz told him that unless some arrangement could be made to get wool and cotton into Germany the dye  industry would suffer tremendously.” Such was the case for many German properties that openly did business  in the US and were in no way connected with the war in Europe.  On December 18, 1918, the  Times reported  further sales: The Garfield Worsted Mills, The Gera Mills, The Passaic Worsted Spinning Company, and The  New Jersey Worsted Spinning Company, were sold even though “the enemy holdings in these mills are small.” 1

The war was difficult for these businesses, which struggled to restore their former business after the war.  They  eventually thrived in the Roaring Twenties.  Gerhard Wiegand was promoted and worked side by side with  Julius Forstmann to develop colors for the famous Forstmann Woolens.  The Forstmann business grew and  he became wealthy almost beyond measure.  In 1923, Forstmann built a five-story mansion at 22 71st Street  between Fifth and Madison Avenue.  The five-story Italian Renaissance-style limestone survives to this day.

In 1928, Mr. Forstmann had amassed a fortune estimated at $50 million.  In 1929, Forstmann had a custom  yacht, the 333-foot Orion , constructed in the Kiel shipyards of Krupp.  The ship arrived in September and, after  seven weeks, the Forstmann family cruised around the world for seven months with a crew of over 50 while  radioing orders back to his factory, business office in Manhattan, and his customers. An account was  published by son, Julius. 5

Julius Forstmann 1871-1939 Image: www.Essen.de

SS Orion1929, USS Vixen 1940 Image: US Navy Archives

His interest in wool manufacture led him into many tariff and quality-related discussions following WWI.   He  was the author of a flexible provision of The Tariff Act of 1923 which called for scientific  evaluations of woolens.    During the Depression, he founded the National Quality Maintenance League to assure quality and maintain  reputable production. 7

Forstmann became one of the leading companies on the strength of its employees.  One, Werner von Bergen,  emigrated from Switzerland in 1926 and joined Forstmann.  An excellent scholar, von Bergen established an  international reputation as an expert in wool and other protein fibers.  He published articles and books, taught  at Columbia University and was honored as the 1952 Olney Medalist by AATCC. 8,9

Portrait of Julius Forstmann, Passaic Public Library

Werner von Bergen 1946 AATCC Olney Medal winner 1952

In 1938, Julius Forstmann became ill and died unexpectedly Oct. 27, 1939.   Photo of Grave  His son, Curt E.,  assumed the presidency and carried the business forward until his death in 1950. Obituary of Julius   Forstmann

As war approached, the US Navy acquired the Orion in 1940 and re-commissioned her as the USS Vixen  (PG53), a patrol gunboat.  She served as flagship for four admirals, serving in World War II as the ship that kept  the Atlantic coast defense coordinated.

Following the Second World War, business as usual resumed for these mills.  In 1957, Forstmann  Woolens  became a part of J.P. Stevens & Co.

“Inside End” is embroidered on this skirt fabric.

A black worsted skirt-weight fabric from 1945 with the Forstmann Woolens truthmark printed in yellow. Courtesy Irene Tyburski Kopens

In 1999, Victor Woolen Products acquired Forstmann & Co. and two plants in Dublin, GA.. Forstmann, like other  woolen companies and divisions of larger companies went to Chapter 11 several times during the 1990s. 6.  The company currently does business as Victor Innovatex .

Forstmann Cashmere Sweater Courtesy Alan Rosenberg Revere, grandson of Bernard A. Rosenberg, Chairman of Forstmann until 1956.

Forstmann Fabrics Life Magazine 1944

Life Magazine 1952 Courtesy: TJS Labs

Forstmann Brand Name Labels Image: Textile Brand Name Dictionary

• http://www.fabrics.net/print/joan404.asp Joan Kiplinger 2004. Accessed December 29, 2007
•  New York Times, April 3, 1918; December 18, 1918.
•  www.navsource.org/archives/12/09053.htm Orion, then USS Vixen, Accessed January 7, 2008
• http://www.essen.de/Deutsch/Rathaus/Aemter/Ordner_41/Stadtarchiv/Geschichte_Forstmann_Julius_Junior. asp 1871-1939 Accessed 8 January 2008.
• Forstmann, Julius George. 1930. World Cruise of the Motor Yacht Orion November 5th  1929 – June 11th  New York: William Edwin Rudge.
• Textile World , December 1999, p17.
• “J. Forstmann Dies; Textile Leader, 68,” New York Times , October 28, 1939. p15.
• “Ninth Olney Medal Awarded to Werner von Bergen,” American Dyestuff Reporter , Dec. 22, 1952, p866-873.
•  Werner von Bergen, “Twenty-Five Years Progress in Woolen and Worsted Dyeing and Finishing Machinery,”  American Dyestuff Reporter , Vol 31, No. 25, Dec. 7, 1946, p662-668.