Stroock was a family-owned business manufacturing luxury textiles. Established by Samuel Stroock (1829-1883), who came to the US in the 1840s from Germany. He started a textile company in Newburgh, New York, at the end of the Civil War, producing the “Stroock Carriage Robe”, a lap blanket for use in carriages and later, automobiles. After his death in 1883, Samuel’s son Louis became President of S. Stroock & Co. The company expanded during World War l, to produce blankets and military uniforms.
Known as an innovator, Louis’s brother Joseph started a division named Stroock Felt in order to produce felt material that would set their products apart from others in the marketplace. This vision included building a large factory in Wisner Avenue in Newburgh, and later adding a secondary mill on Walsh Avenue near River Road.
By the late 1920s, Stroock had made a name for itself in the luxury fashion textile market, most notably supplying high-quality fabric for luxury outerwear. Louis’s son Bertram oversaw the production of camel hair fabric, establishing partnerships in the Andes in pursuit of the highest quality fabric sources, including llama, alpaca, camel and vicuna. Meanwhile, Bertram’s son Sylvan implemented what Stroock is most widely associated with – the blending of luxury fibers in order to create new and different fabrics, all registered and trademarked By Stroock.
Written by Ranch Queen Vintage
