Sans titre

In 1866, Meyer Berliner, a Jewish tradesman, and his family moved from Wellsville, New York, to Corry, Pennsylvania. Along with his son, Jacob, Meyer started a tallow rendering business, M. Berliner & Co., in the late 1880s, which would only last five years before failing. Meyer and Jacob were also organizers of the Ahaveth Sholem Lodge, no.160 Independent Order of B’nai Brith in Corry.

In 1900, five years after the death of Meyer, Jacob and his two sons, Lawrence and Manfred J., launched the Corry Hide and Fur Company, a mail-order hide and fur business with offices located on West Main Street in Corry. The company purchased a variety of furs, skins, and hides from trappers located across North America, often selling the material through representatives based in London and Leipzig, Germany. The company also sold scent lures for trapping, tallow, beeswax, and a guide for trapping. During the summer, when the quality of fur decreased, the company would buy ginseng root from trappers, which would be sold for its medicinal value in Asia.

By 1912, the company was thriving, with a larger warehouse and a force of 15 employees responsible for sending out pricelists and answering correspondence. In January of that year, the company made headlines in a local paper when it sold a silver grey fox skin to a Russian Grand Duchess. During World War I, prices for hides and skins increased, as the demand for leather in Europe grew. The market for furs was more unstable, as the market in Leipzig was shutdown and spending on luxury items decreased.

In 1914, the brothers started the Berliner Leather Company (shortly thereafter known as the Berliner Company), which they billed as the “successors to the Corry Hide and Fur Company,” though for a number of years the two companies seemed to run concurrently. Following the death of Manfred J. Berliner in 1924 at age 43, Lawrence moved with his mother, Emily, to New York City. At some point, Celia and Manfred Jacob Berliner, the wife and son of his late brother, would also relocate to New York City. The Berliner Company’s operations slowed considerably following the move. However, Lawrence Berliner remained active in the industry, becoming a member of the New York Hide Exchange. In the 1930s, Berliner returned to Corry before relocating to Florida with Celia and Manfred Jacob Berliner in the 1940s.

In addition to the family businesses, Lawrence Berliner worked occasionally as a freelance journalist, providing news about Corry and the entertainment industry for a several publications.

Lawrence Berliner passed away on June 29, 1969.