Charles Hellmuth Printing Ink, 154 W. 18th St. (1986)

When I moved to New York City in 1957 my first job was for a company called Sleight and Hellmuth, Inc. They made printing ink and occupied the basement and first two floors in this building. It certainly never occurred to me that 29 years later I would be taking a photograph of the sign on the side of the building!

Actually, Sleight and Hellmuth, Inc. had only come into existence earlier that year, 1957, from a merger of Charles Hellmuth Printing Ink Corp. with the Sleight Metallic Ink Co. Charles Hellmuth began his printing ink company in 1891 in New York City at 30 Platt St. and moved into 154 W. 18 St. in 1906 (see 1906 ad for Charles Hellmuth). The Hellmuth slogan was "Inks for every system of printing." The Sleight Metallic Ink Co. was begun in Philadelphia. They had a New York branch at 154 Nassau St. in 1911, moved to 131 E. 23 St. in 1921, to 75 West St. in 1937 and had another location on Canal St. from 1944 (see 1950 ad for SMICO inks).

A vintage photograph from early 1940s shows this wall with a much smaller Hellmuth sign. Above Hellmuth at that time was a larger sign for Hayes Printing Co. Click for image. (Photo courtesy NYC Dept. of Records / Municipal Archives)

Sleight and Hellmuth left their 18th St. location in 1973 and went out of business around 1980.

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T. J. Hayes Printing Co. was founded in 1907 by Timothy J. Hayes (1853-1925). Hayes was an immigrant from Ireland (his entry in the 1900 U. S. Census says he immigrated in 1873, but the entry in 1920 gives this as 1886). The company was located at 154 W. 18th St. from 1913 to 1944. Their specialty seems to have been printing posters. They were known as T. J. Hayes Printing Co. until around 1936, then became Hayes Printing Co. until going out of business around 1960. The Hayes sign in the Municipal Archives photo, then, should date approx. 1936 to 1941.

Timothy Hayes had a number of associates in his business, including Jeremiah Keever Rettenberg (1873or75-1952). He was an immigrant from England, and appears in the U. S. Census of 1900 where his occupation is listed as "Engraver (wood)." Rettenberg's involvement with T. J. Hayes began around 1910 and continued into the 1930s. Another associate was Thomas F. Ahearn (1885-1916). Thomas Ahearn was the son of John F. Ahearn (1853-1920) who was a prominent figure in New York politics. John F. Ahearn was elected state senator several times and became Manhattan Borough President (1904 to 1909). His tenure as Borough President was rife with scandal, however, and New York's governor ordered him removed from office. On the death of his son in 1916, John F. Ahearn assumed the position of treasurer at T. J. Hayes Printing Co. Another figure at T. J. Hayes was William John Murray (1884-1966). He married John F. Ahearn's daughter, Anna Marie Ahearn (1887-1967), approx. 1910, and seems to have joined T. J. Hayes in the 1930s. Like his father-in-law William J. Murray was elected a state senator (serving from 1937 to 1944). He was president of Hayes Printing at the time of his retirement in the mid-1950s.

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