|
Born in Hanover Germany, Buermann apprenticed with a locksmith there before sailing to New York in 1864. He initially worked for Alexander Barclay who was one of the earliest saddlery hardware manufacturers in Newark. In September of 1864 he joined the 9th infantry regiment of New Jersey Volunteers. Shortly after the war he returned to Newark and purchased Barclay’s business. Early on Buermann began to patent features on his bits, and spurs. His special attention to California and Southwestern trade set the standard for such work. The August Buermann Mfg. Co. became the largest firm in the business. The last catalog, #35, listed 441 spur types, and 496 bit styles. Beurmann’s sons eventually took over the business, and tried to transition into the motorcars, and truck business, but eventually sold out to their longtime competitors, North & Judd, who honored the old firm by keeping the Buermann line separately in their catalogs for over a decade. North & Judd was eventually spun off in the early 1990′s, and is now a boat accessory import company called Buckles International.
|
