Jesse Green Furrier

By Erin Doane, senior curator

On May 4, 1943, the Gorton Coy introduced their new furrier to customers in Elmira through an advertisement in the Star-Gazette. Mr. Jesse Green had recently taken charge of their fur restyling and fur storage departments. Fur fashions were his specialty, with 25 years of experience, and he was ready to restyle customers’ older furs. As mentioned in the ad, restyling was part of the war-conservation program. Jesse Green was happy to furnish estimates without any cost or obligation to the customer.

Jesse Green, Gorton Coy ad, Star-Gazette, May 4, 1943

Jesse Green was born in New York City in 1900 into a family of furriers. His grandfather and father ran a fur manufacturing business and both Jesse and his brother learned the craft. Jesse married Shirley Ehrlich in 1928 and the couple had two sons, Howard and Myron. In 1943, the family moved to Elmira where Jesse took the job as furrier at the Gorton Coy. He stayed there for three years before he and Shirley opened a store of their own at 513 Park Place.

Jesse Green Furrier, 513 Park Place, Star-Gazette, July 30, 1950

Inside Jesse Green Furrier, 513 Park Place, Star-Gazette, August 13, 1950

Jesse Green Furrier made and sold furs and offered insured, certified cold storage of fur coats. In 1953, Jesse became a member of the Master Furriers Guild of America, Inc. By that time, it was reported that he had cared for and handled at least 150,000 fur coats during his 35 years in the fur business. He sold his wares not only in Elmira but to customers in 45 states as well as Tokyo and the Philippine Islands. In both 1956 and 1957 he won American Fur Fashion Awards at the annual Master Furriers’ Guild conventions. He was also elected to the Guild’s board of directors in 1958.

Coat made by Jesse Green from pelts trapped near Williamsport, Pennsylvania

In 1964, the Greens moved their business to 208 W. Water Street. The newly renovated store was decorated in a baby blue and off-white color scheme and featured wall to wall carpeting, floor to ceiling mirrors, and air conditioning. They added womenswear to the store and their son, Howard, joined the business. Howard had worked with his father before enlisting in the military in 1950. He was a member of the 465^th Signal Construction Company and served in Manila.

In 1968, Jesse Green Furrier moved to a new store just next door at 210 W. Water Street. The new space was four times the size of the other store. This time, the décor was done in powder blue and eggshell. There was a separate fur salon to the rear with off-white carpeting and a fully mirrored back wall. By this time, Howard Green had taken over as president of the company. His focus was on trying to get younger women interested in fur. They still sold fur coats but also had cloth coats, both trimmed with fur and untrimmed, as well as suede and leather coats. There was also a new young miss, or junior, section. In 1969, they started advertising fake furs for sale.

Howard Green at Jesse Green Furrier, 210 W. Water Street, Star-Gazette, November 24, 1976

In the late 1960s, the anti-fur moment was beginning to get traction. On July 26, 1970, the Star-Gazette reported on the “Fur Coat Furore” caused by a Women’s Wear Daily advertisement. The ad from the Friends of the Earth included a pledge to no longer purchase products made from wild or endangered animals signed by 100 “well-known personalities.” Other furriers in Elmira said that they didn’t expect the ad to affect their sales at all but Jesse Green had concerns. While the pledge was not to purchase rare, wild furs, he worried that it would still affect the sales of domesticated and specially-raised furs because the public would not understand the difference. “Through advertising, you have to make women want to purchase [a fur],” said Jesse. “They want to but they’re afraid to – ashamed to. A woman who can’t afford one, now has an excuse.”

Mink capelet made by Jesse Green Furrier, 1950s

While the anti-fur activists got some attention, by 1976 fur sales were increasing nationally and Elmira furriers and merchants were enjoying greater profits. New garments in contemporary styles made with longer fur and leather were increasingly popular with younger women. Prices were also increasing, but that didn’t slow the demand.

By the 1980s, however, the animal rights movement was much more active. Bob Barker led anti-fur protests in New York City in 1988. Ricki Lake was arrested after storming the Fifth Avenue offices of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld with anti-fur protesters in 1994. Super models Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Tyra Banks were part of PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) anti-fur campaigns in the mid-1990s.

The biggest protests took place in major cities – Macy’s was a particularly popular target for animal rights activists in New York City – but smaller cities and businesses were not forgotten. In 1987, 50 animal rights protesters confronted 30 people wearing furs at a photoshoot by the Clifford Fur Co. in Rochester, New York. Trans-Species Unlimited, an animal rights organization, held a protest at the Trapper and Dealers Convention in Hughesville, Pennsylvania (about 80 miles south of Elmira) in 1986. On the day after Thanksgiving in 1990, animal rights protesters were out in force around the country, including in Albany, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse, and Binghamton. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a protester dressed as the grim reaper led 40 others in chants against the killing of animals for fur coats. While I couldn’t find any reports of protests in Elmira or other local shopping districts, a letter to the editor of the Star-Gazette on Mach 7, 1990 written by Jack Sincock, president of the Chemung County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Inc., mentioned that a billboard on Lake Road had been purchased by animal rights activists.

Marcher protesting the use of animals for furs on Central Park West in New York City, Star-Gazette, November 24, 1990

On July 19, 1990, the Star-Gazette reported on the end of Jesse Green Furrier after 44 years of business in Elmira. It’s unclear whether the anti-fur moment played any part in the business closing. As owner and president of the company, Howard Green declined to provide any details. He merely said, “I’ve had enough of the retail business.” His parents, Jesse and Shirley, had retired in the early 1970s and moved to Coral Springs, Florida. Shirley passed away in 1986 and Jesse died just three years later. The couple is interred side-by-side in the Franklin Street Cemetery in Elmira.

Jesse and Shirley Green, 1978, Star-Gazette, May 7, 1978

Baby It's Cold Outside

by Erin Doane, curator

Child in fur-lined coat and hat, 1880s

From pretty much the beginning of human existence, we have been wearing fur to stay warm. The museum has a fairly large collection of items made with fur, from coats and stoles to muffs and fur-lined boots. Some pieces were made for functionality, like the coat and mittens Ross Marvin wore on his first Arctic expedition, while others were obviously made only for fashion, like this hat decorated with ermine tails.

Hat decorated with ermine tails and veil, 1950

In the Victorian era, fur was used on all sorts of clothing and accessories. Both winter and summer dresses were decorated with fur trim. Coats and capes with fur cuffs and collars were popular with both men and women. Wide fur stoles and plush muffs provided warmth and style.

Voided velvet cape with fur trim, 1880

Fur-lined carriage boots, 1890s

Woman wearing a wide fur stole, 1860s

Over the years, nearly every type of fur has been used in fashionable clothing and accessories. Furs from mink, sable, and fox never go out of fashion while furs from monkeys, dogs, and skunks were only trendy for short periods of time. Perhaps one of the most disturbing furs that seems to stay in fashion is known as astrakhan. The beautiful tight, curly fur is taken from fetal karakul lambs.

Astrakhan and velveteen muff, 1910s

The “modern fur coat,” with fur worn on the outside rather than as a lining, first appeared in the mid-19th century but did not gain popularity until the early 20th century. In the 1920s, people wore large, full fur coats to stay warm while traveling in open motorcars. Similarly, college men wore raccoon coats while attending football games. By the middle of the century, new techniques of processing and dying furs made it possible for more people than ever before to own fur coats.

Man's fur coat, late 19th-early 20th century

Ladies in fur coats, 1946

The museum has collected many pieces of fur, not only because they are examples of historic fashion but also because of the stories they tell. The coat pictured below was made by Jesse Green Furrier, Elmira. The donor told the story of how his wife took pelts that were trapped-locally to Jesse Green to have them made into a coat.  He remembered her traveling several times to Elmira for fittings while it was being made. Then she came home with the truly one-of-a-kind, hand-made fur coat.

Front and back views of coat made by Jesse Green Furrier

One other fur in our collection has a very interesting story that I just learned several weeks ago. This fur pelt brings us back to arctic explorer, Ross Marvin. The museum has many of his items including clothing and personal souvenirs from his voyage. Among his things is what I assumed to be a wolf’s pelt, as there was little documentation in our records. A short time ago, Kelli came across a 1931 Elmira Star-Gazette article about Marvin’s collection with a list of items. On that list was “one Eskimo dog skin (taken from a dog eaten by Marvin on his first expedition to keep from starving.)”

Eskimo dog skin brought back by Ross Marvin, 1905