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Charles Giese Tailoring Shop - Historic site in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 1910s

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Charles Giese Tailoring Shop

208 South Main Street, Poplar Bluff, Missouri

From September 1912 until at least 1919, Charles Giese kept his merchant tailoring establishment at 208 South Main Street, in a renovated storefront earlier associated with jeweler August Winkler. Giese's tailoring business, documented from about 1884, was among the longest-running of its kind in Poplar Bluff.

Did You Know?

Giese advertised himself as "That Exclusive Tailor" and promised that no two of his suits would be alike.

The Story

Fourth Street, before Main

Charles Giese's tailoring business was already long established when he moved to Main Street. An 1898 newspaper advertisement called him the oldest merchant tailor in Poplar Bluff, and by October 1909 a newspaper account credited him with roughly twenty-five years at the trade, dating the beginning of his Poplar Bluff career to about 1884.

The early shop stood on Fourth Street, listed in the city directories of 1906, 1908, 1909-1910 and 1911 at 415 South Fourth. There Giese promoted new shipments of fall and winter suitings, promising fine materials and garments cut to the individual customer.

The move to 208 South Main

In September 1912 Giese relocated to 208 South Main Street, taking a renovated storefront previously associated with jeweler August Winkler. The move placed the business on one of the city's principal commercial streets.

A large advertisement published September 2, 1913, promoted him as "That Exclusive Tailor." It promised custom workmanship, distinctive materials and the employment of skilled union workers, and it invited customers to inspect the fabrics and commission suits made to their own measurements. Giese's claim that no two suits would be alike spoke to the way a merchant tailor competed with ready-made clothing.

City directories continued to note the business through the 1910s. The 1914 directory confirmed the establishment at 208 South Main Street, and the 1919 directory still listed Charles Giese among local cleaning and pressing businesses, showing that the shop had broadened beyond tailoring.

After Giese

Charles Giese died in 1921. The date on which his tailoring establishment ceased operating has not been established.

What the photographs do and do not show

A storefront photograph preserved in Walter H. Kennedy's souvenir publications is signed "CHARLES GIESE — ARTISTIC TAILOR," and a second shows a shop marked "CHAS. GEISE — TAILOR." beside the Parson Furniture House. Neither has been matched to a specific address, so neither can be assigned to South Main Street or to the earlier Fourth Street shop on present evidence. Two views of a frame house inscribed "CHAS. GEISE" belong to the family home at 625 Poplar Street, catalogued separately as the Charles Giese Residence; the inscriber's spelling is preserved as written.

The present condition of the building at 208 South Main Street has not been verified.

Two names, two businesses

A second tailor and cleaner, Charles Gierse, opened his own establishment at 410 Vine Street in April 1914. The two men shared a nearly identical name, a trade and a downtown address, and their records are frequently confused. Gierse's advertising slogan, "The Name With the R," may have been intended to help customers tell the two establishments apart.

Additional Source References

Mentions of this site found in historical sources. These excerpts are auto-extracted and unverified — presented for research purposes until an editor confirms them.

According to The Daily Republican, September 2, 1913, page 4 (1913)Verified

Giese's largest known advertisement gives this address as the location of his tailoring establishment in 1913, a year after he moved there from Fourth Street.

“That Exclusive Tailor CHARLES GIESE 208 South Main Street”

Gallery

People Connected to This Site

Charles William Giese

Merchant tailor

Charles William Giese was a German-born merchant tailor who operated one of Poplar Bluff's longstanding clothing establishments during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1861, Giese immigrated to the United States as a young man. Genealogical records give differing immigration years, including 1874 and 1880. By the early 1880s, he had established family connections in Missouri, marrying Jonnie Cole in Iron County on December 6, 1882. Giese became an established figure in Poplar Bluff's clothing trade. A December 8, 1898, profile in the Poplar Bluff Republican described him as the city's oldest merchant tailor and identified his establishment on Fourth Street. His business offered custom-made clothing using imported and domestic fabrics. In October 1909, Giese advertised new fall suitings at his establishment at 415 South Fourth Street. An accompanying newspaper account stated that he had been conducting business in Poplar Bluff for approximately twenty-five years, suggesting a business history reaching back to the mid-1880s. In September 1912, Giese moved his tailoring establishment from Fourth Street to a renovated storefront on Main Street, previously occupied by August Winkler's jewelry business. By 1913, advertisements identified his business as Charles Giese, That Exclusive Tailor, at 208 South Main Street. His advertisements emphasized fashionable clothing, skilled workmanship, and custom tailoring. Contemporary city directories also associate several other tailors with his establishment, suggesting an operation employing multiple skilled workers. Giese and his wife maintained a family home on Poplar Street, documented specifically as 625 Poplar Street in early twentieth-century city directories. Their household appears frequently in local records, including newspaper reports concerning their daughters and social gatherings. Giese died in Poplar Bluff on July 15, 1921, according to the genealogical information identified during this research. His widow Jonnie continued to be associated with the family residence at 625 Poplar Street in subsequent directories. City directories and later histories add further detail. The 1906 and 1908 Poplar Bluff directories list C. W. Giese under Tailors at 415 Fourth Street, and the 1909-1910 Dunham directory again places him at 415 South Fourth Street, with the family residing at 625 Poplar Street. A 1911 directory records Charles Giese at 415 South Fourth. An early promotional account of the city states that Giese came to Poplar Bluff in January 1882 with Frank Gierse and that the two established the city's first merchant tailoring firm; in May 1883 Gierse's interest was purchased by Henry C. Cole, and the business continued as Giese & Cole, merchant tailors and dealers in gents' furnishing goods at the corner of Fourth and Maple Streets, offering made-to-order clothing, cleaning, and repairing. Goodspeed's History of Southeast Missouri likewise identifies him as a merchant tailor in Poplar Bluff.

Businesses Connected to This Site

Charles Giese — Merchant Tailor

Charles Giese — Merchant Tailor

Active c. 1884–1919 (documented; closing date not established)

Charles Giese operated one of Poplar Bluff's longstanding merchant-tailoring establishments during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, specializing in custom-made clothing, fashionable suitings, and the craftsmanship associated with the traditional tailoring trade. An 1898 newspaper advertisement identified Giese as the oldest merchant tailor in Poplar Bluff, indicating that he was already well established in the community. By October 1909, a newspaper account credited him with approximately twenty-five years in business, placing the likely beginning of his Poplar Bluff career around 1884. Giese's early establishment stood on Fourth Street, later documented at 415 South Fourth Street. Contemporary advertisements promoted new shipments of fall and winter suitings, emphasizing fine materials, fashionable styles, and individually tailored garments. In September 1912, Giese relocated to 208 South Main Street, occupying a renovated storefront formerly associated with jeweler August Winkler. The move placed the business on one of Poplar Bluff's principal commercial streets. A large advertisement published September 2, 1913, promoted Giese as "That Exclusive Tailor." It emphasized custom workmanship, distinctive clothing materials, and the employment of skilled union workers, inviting customers to visit the establishment, inspect the fabrics, and commission suits made to their individual requirements. In addition to custom tailoring, city directories listed the business under clothing cleaning and pressing. The 1914 directory confirmed the establishment at 208 South Main Street, while the 1919 directory continued to list Charles Giese among local cleaning and pressing businesses. Period photographs preserved in Walter H. Kennedy's souvenir publications depict a storefront identified with Charles Giese's tailoring business, providing a rare visual record of the establishment and its workers. The storefront has not been matched to a specific address. Giese died in 1921. The precise date on which his tailoring establishment ceased operating has not yet been established. Historical significance: The establishment represents Poplar Bluff's traditional merchant-tailoring industry during a period when professionally made clothing remained an important part of downtown commerce, and its advertising documents changing fashions, the importance of skilled labor, and competition among clothing merchants in the growing city. The business is also historically notable because another tailor and cleaner, Charles Gierse, established a separate business in Poplar Bluff in 1914; their nearly identical names and overlapping services present an unusual challenge in identifying early twentieth-century business records. Other tailors appear in period accounts in connection with the establishment — Sullivan A. Belew, Frank R. Eichler, George W. Murphy, and Charles E. Petree — though their employment dates and roles have not yet been verified against their respective directory entries.

Quick Facts

Era

1910s

Area

Downtown

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