THE HEART OF THE CITY

ADAM HOPE & CO.

123 King Street East
(pre-1890 address 102 King Street East)

Adam Hope & Company, metal merchants, dealt in such things as aluminum, antimony, copper, pig iron, lead, zinc, spelter, and tin. "Adam Hope and Company, an old and thoroughly reliable firm, enjoys a business which extends throughout the length and breadth of the continent and it is deserving of such fame, for it has been attained after much push, energy, and admirable business tact being exerted."  The company was noted for its great contribution to the coffers of the railway companies. According to the Dominion Annual Register and Review 1883, the Adam Hope Company suffered $5,000 in damage to their storehouse after a fire broke out.

The company was also noted for doing something that is rare in business cycles – it paid back all its debts to creditors. On May 21, 1897, the firm called its creditors together and presented a statement showing liabilities amounting to $52,617. The company offered fifty cents on the dollar payable in nine months. The offer was accepted by the creditors. Adam Hope was last listed in the Hamilton Directory for 1893.

REFERENCES:
Gardiner Scrapbook, Vol. 67. Special Collections, HPL.
Gardiner Scrapbook, Vol, 90. Special Collections, HPL.
Morgan, Henry, J. Dominion Annual Register & Review 1883. Toronto: Hunter, Rose & Company, 1884.
Woman’s Century. Special Collections, HPL.