Horton’s

If you look back at the photograph of a Brooklyn candy store I posted a couple of days ago, you might notice the name Horton’s prominently displayed. An indefatigible reader did. The J.M. Horton Ice Cream Company, maker of “The Premier Ice Cream of America,” was a venerable name in cool treats. Ephemeral New York and Forgotten New York provide some history. And here’s an excerpt from King’s Handbook of New York City: An Outline History and Description of the American Metropolis, by Moses King (1892):

The J.M. Horton Ice Cream Co. is a name familiar to all New-Yorkers, Brooklynites, and neighboring residents; for its delicious creams have been enjoyed by all. To the epicureans of the table they are indispensable. Their cool and soft flavors lie upon the palate with a delicacy that only experience can appreciate. Upon transatlantic liners; upon the luxurious dining-cars that speed from city to city; at balls, at parties, at festivals, at all private or public gatherings in or about our great metropolis where delicacies vie with one another, Horton’s cream is welcomed as an old friend. Always at its best, it stands without an equal. And Mr. Horton’s name has been so closely associated with the purest ice cream for many years that the two have become synonymous. Indeed, a little girl on being asked how to spell ice cream, said, "H-o-r-t-o-n.“

You can see that name, still bright and clear, at 302 Columbus Avenue in Manhattan, a building that housed a Horton store (Horton called it an “ice cream depot”), with apartments above.

Here’s what an indefatigible reader discovered: Horton’s also made charlotte russe. I found large-scale proof:

[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 27, 1923. Click for a larger view.]

At some point Horton’s got out of the charlotte russe business. The Horton name, though, still carried enough weight with eaters of the appealing dainty to inspire fakes:

[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 22, 1928. Click for a larger view.]

And the name continued to carry weight after the company was absorbed by Borden (1928? The late ’20s? 1930? Accounts vary.) You can see the name on this item, a gallonage card for candy stores and soda fountains:

[Ron Case, Images of America: Ramsey (Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2001). Click for a larger view.]

Thanks, reader.

[The hyphen in New-Yorkers is a rabbit hole I’m choosing to walk around.]