Benjamin Pike Jr.
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Benjamin Pike Jr. | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1809 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 7th, 1864 (aged 53) Astoria, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Optician |
| Spouse |
Frances Matilda Hope
(m. 1838) |
| Parent |
|
Benjamin Pike Jr. (1809-May 7, 1864) was a manufacturer of philosophical and optical instruments. He was the eldest son of Benjamin Pike Sr., whom he joined in business in 1831-1841, creating the firm Benjamin Pike & Son.[1][2]
Early Life
Benjamin Pike Jr. was born into an English immigrant family in New York City, New York, in 1809, the son of an optician who had created his own optical, scientific, and engineering business just three years earlier in New York, Benjamin Pike Sr.[3] Very little is known about Pike’s early life, but it is known he grew up in the Pike family home on North Moore Street, Manhattan, as did his siblings.[3] It is presumed that he studied to be an optician like Pike Sr., and records show that around 1831 he joined his father in business, with the firm being renamed Benjamin Pike & Son.[1] This name would change quite frequently as family members came and went from the business. Daniel Pike joined his brother and father as an optician in 1839, and the business was renamed Benjamin Pike & Sons.[4][5]
Career
By 1840, the firm was viewed in high regard by patrons and experts alike, with Benjamin Pike & Sons going on to win a Silver Medal at the Fifth Annual Fair of the Mechanics’ Institute, being commended for their “surveying and drawing instruments”.[3] The Thirteenth Annual Fair of the American Institute would mark another victory for the firm after receiving a second place Diploma for “specimens of surveyors compasses and levels, beautiful finish”
In 1843, Benjamin Jr. separated from his family’s business and formed his own firm, known simply as Benjamin Pike Jr. & Co., located at 294 Broadway, that also served as his family’s home until 1858. [3]
It is here where both Pike Jr.’s optical knowledge and marketing genius propelled his business to new heights through the 1840s through both innovative strategy and market expansion. He is known to have issued two 2-volume catalogs, in 1848 and in 1856, that exploded his popularity and shared the expanse of his instruments' quality and reputation. Benjamin Jr. had evidently learned the field extremely well as he won countless awards for both the quality and use of his many instruments. His firm would go on to win three silver medals at American Institute Fairs shortly after going into business. Two of which were for his remarkably “superior air pumps” and one other for his innovative and galvanic battery and its corresponding apparatus. It was again at the American Institute Fairs that he would win two diplomas that demonstrated his firm’s proficiency in both purely mathematical and scientific instruments.[6]
Rather than simply restricting himself to the market of New York City and those who physically came to his firm, Pike created and published a massive catalog of over 750 items, fitted with illustrations and lengthy descriptions of countless scientific instruments manufactured by his company. An innovation not only revolutionary for his business but for the entire scientific world and the diaspora of its knowledge. It was seen as the most comprehensive collection of scientific instruments to ever be conceived that acted as a near-universal catalog of countless devices and products.[7] This allowed orders to flow in from all across the United States, which brought Pike and his company to new heights of fame and prestige. He then massively expanded his business to accommodate the new influx of customers, which further grew the expanse and reach of his firm.[6]
With such a quantity of both patrons and corresponding fame, the Pike family desired an escape from the busy and crowded life of the city where they had been living on the upper floors of their shop for over a decade. So using the vast riches collected as a result of their massive surge in business, Pike constructed an $85,000 built a 27-room mansion in Northern Queens in what is today Astoria, New York.[8] He was seen here in the 1860 U.S. Census, and despite his famous optical firm, Pike had his occupation listed as a farmer.[3] The home was later sold to William Steinway of the piano-making Steinway family in 1870 after the death of Benjamin Pike Jr., and is today known as the Steinway Mansion.
Personal life
Pike married Frances Matilda Hope on April 14, 1838, with whom he had a son and two daughters.[7]
Death
Pike died suddenly and without known cause on May 7th, 1864, in Astoria, New York, around the age of 53.[6][9] His widow subsequently sold the mansion, which it would be bought by William Steinway in 1870. It is unknown where Pike's wife and children moved after this.
According to directories, the Pike Jr. firm was permanently closed shortly after.[3]
See also
Citations
- ^ a b "Benjamin Pike, Jr. | People | The Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments". waywiser.rc.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
- ^ "Benjamin Pike Surveying Instrument Maker". compleatsurveyor. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
- ^ a b c d e f "Benjamin Pike". www.microscopist.net. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
- ^ Institution, Smithsonian. "Protractor Retailed by Benjamin Pike & Son". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
- ^ "Benjamin Pike & Sons". www.surveyhistory.org. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
- ^ a b c "Who Was Benjamin Pike?". www.queensbuzz.com. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
- ^ a b "Benjamin Pike & Sons Opticians at Historic Camera". historiccamera.com. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
- ^ Jim Sabastian (2016-10-12). The Steinway Mansion Documentary. Retrieved 2024-07-12 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Benjamin Pike Jr". www.surveyhistory.org. Retrieved 2024-07-11.