Male

1792

1860

Litchfield, CT

Boston, MA
Baltimore, MD
Litchfield, CT

Charlotte Dorman Lord (unknown)

Erastus Lord was born in Litchfield in 1792. He was trained as a bookbinder and began his career in Boston, Massachusetts. Unable to open his own shop, he worked out of the general goods story of family friend John Neal. When Neal and Lord’s brother in-law John Pierpont decided to open a store in Baltimore, Maryland, Lord followed.

He returned to Litchfield a few years later in 1822 and opened a “pocket book manufactury” on North Street where he advertised all type of leather covered goods including portfolios, pocket books or wallets, sewing cases and jewelry cases. He quickly expanded moving his shop into the town center on West Street and renaming his business Lord’s Book and Variety Shop. His stock increased in variety as Lord attempted to appeal to a broader audience of ...consumers.

The attempt to grow his business proved catastrophic for Lord. By 1838, he was over extended and his creditors were calling for payment. Lord was declared an insolvent debtor and forced to liquidate his assets.

Lord ended his career by worked for his son Augustus who continued his father’s leather goods business in Litchfield. Augustus was able to achieve the success that eluded his father. Under his ownership, the business flourished during the 1840s and Augustus sold wallets to dry goods merchants across the east coast.

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Manufacturer; Other