Brooks Brothers
On April 7, 1818, at the age of 45, Henry Sands Brooks opens H. & D.H. Brooks & Co. on the Northeast corner of Catherine and Cherry Streets in New York City in what is now the South Street Seaport. His guiding principle: "To make and deal only in merchandise of the finest quality, to sell it at a fair profit and to deal with people who seek and appreciate such merchandise."
In 1850, Henry's grandsons Daniel, John, and Elisha inherit the family business, and Brooks Brothers was born. Brooks Brothers introduced America to the ready-to-wear suit. The last member of the Brooks family to head the company was Winthrop Holly Brooks, who ran the company from 1935 until its sale in 1946. The company was acquired by Julius Garfinckel and Company, and the store's director was John C. Wood who supposedly made "Brooks even Brooksier." By 1969, the ten Brooks Brothers stores in operation were located in New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, DC. The firm was acquired by U.K. based Abraham Lincoln was wearing when he was assasinated by John Wilkes Booth. John F. Kennedy was another customer of their's.
The Golden Fleece symbol was adopted as the company's trademark. A sheep suspended in a ribbon had been a symbol of British wool merchants. In ancient Greek mythology, a magical flying ram, or Golden Fleece, was sought by Jason and the Argonauts. Ralph Lauren bought the Polo trademark from Brooks Brothers around twenty years ago, and went on to forge an image of preppiness that Brooks Brother's had long possesed for a narrower clientele and brought it to the mass market. Lauren was a former Brooks Brother's salesman.
Some information taken from the Brooks Brother's site.
http://www.brooksbrothers.com/aboutus/founding.tem?&CP=null
