Coathanger

Object Name:

Coathanger

Object ID:

2026.006

Creator:

Phoenix Products Co. -- Manufacturer

Place of Origin:

Milwaukee, WI

Date:

1921-1930

Description:

Coathanger from the American Dye House, Dover, NH, c. 1921-1930. Inscribed on both sides of the bottom rail, "Patented / PHOENIX PRODUCTS CO. / Milwaukee, Wis. / Telepone 403 / AMERICAN DYE HOUSE / T.P. MALO, Prop. / DOVER, N.H."

Material:

Wood
Metal

Dimensions:

H-9.75 W-18 D-0.625 inches

Provenance:

This coathanger was used at the American Dye House in Dover, NH. Tancrede Pete Malo was born in Quebec in 1878 to Philomene Muir Malo and Leon Malo. The family emigrated to the United States in 1882 according to the 1900 US Census, and soon settled in Somersworth, New Hampshire. Malo was working as a tailor in a millinery store when he married Lilianne Breault in 1901. After her death in 1903 he married Virginie Demers in Somersworth in 1910. The couple would have three children who lived to adulthood: Guy Malo (1911-1999), Gaetane Malo (1913-2006), and Gertrude Malo Behan (1921-2008). By 1921 the family had moved to Dover where Tancrede opened the American Dye House. Located at 47 Waldron Street, the business offered cleaning, dying, repairing, and pressing of textiles (carpets, rugs, drapes, linens, clothing). The name, aside from being among the first in an alphabetical list of city businesses, was also a demonstration of the Malo family embracing an American identity. After Tancrede's death in 1948 the business continued under his widow, son, and daughter. Around 1955 they changed the name to American Cleaners, Inc. to focus on dry cleaning but also offered fur storage. A fire started by an arsonist on February 12, 1960 caused extensive damage to the building, machinery, and clothing.

Credit Line:

Gift of the Theriault Family

People:

Malo, Tancrede P. (1878- 1948)

Subjects:

Clothing closets, Clothing and dress, Clothing stores