File:Valparaiso, Indiana, R. P. Wolfe, Tailor and Men's Furnisher, May 5, 1911 - Postal Cover.jpg

English: Postal Date: May 5, 1911, Valparaiso, Indiana

Scott Catalog Number of Postage Stamp: 332 Collection: Steven R. Shook

SENDER: R. P. WOLFE TAILOR and MEN'S FURNISHER 5 East Main Street VALPARAISO, INDIANA

RECIPIENT: C. E. Brooks Marshall, Mich.

REMARK: The recipient of this mailing was Charles Esselstyn Brooks. Charles was the proprietor of the Brooks Rupture Appliance Company located in Marshall, Calhoun County, Michigan. The company manufactured and sold a medical appliance, referred to as a truss, used to isolate, support, and cushion hernias. The appliance, at the time this postal mailing was sent, was sold exclusively through mail order. For a short period of time, Brooks had the largest mail order company in the world, with offices located in London, Paris, and New York.

Brooks was born on August 16, 1843, at Cape Vincent, Jefferson County, New York. He died on April 5, 1913, at Marshall, Michigan, and was interred in the Oakridge Cemetery in that community.

Richard P. Wolfe was engaged in the occupation of selling men's furnishings in Valparaiso beginning in 1890. Wolfe appears in the 1893 Valparaiso City Directory published by Kraft & Radcliffe; at that time Wolfe was employed as a sales agent for the Chicago Suit and Pants Company and operated a sample room at the Express Office in Valparaiso. Wolfe located in Valparaiso because of the opportunities to furnish clothing to students at the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute (later known as Valparaiso University).

By 1898, Wolfe's annual gross sales revenue had grown to $8,000 and he was serving as the exclusive sales agent for the entire state of Indiana for the Joseph Husak Merchant Tailoring Company of Chicago. Wolfe would open numerous sample rooms throughout Indiana.

Richard P. Wolfe was born on November 18, 1856, at De Graff, Logan County, Ohio, one of twelve children born to Ohio pioneers John and Nancy Wolfe. Richard married Ida McGee on May 10, 1892. Wolfe was very active in the First Methodist Church in Valparaiso. He passed away at his home located at 408 Erie Street in Valparaiso at 4:45 am on November 7, 1947, 11 days short of his 91st birthday. Wolfe was buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Valparaiso.

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