Martin Maier (January 20, 1840 – November 9, 1893) was founder and proprietor of Martin Maier Trunk and Bag Company (est. 1865) which specialized in making specialty and sample trunks. His company, which was based in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, Michigan, was one of the largest distributors of luggage and leather goods in the

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Early life

Martin Maier was born January 20, 1840 in Langensteinbach,

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, Germany. He learned the saddler's trade, eventually becoming a master saddle maker. At age twenty-one, he migrated to the United States, living with his sister in

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Monroe had a population of 20,462 in the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonom ...

. Later, he moved to

where he joined the Wolfe Brothers in the trunk and saddlery business. Maier moved to St. Louis in 1863 and, when the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

broke out, joined the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

. He participated in the March to the Sea Campaign from

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and mustered out in 1865. During his time in the war, he fashioned a saddle for General Tecumseh Sherman. After the war, Maier moved back to Detroit where he married Elizabeth Dorman on May 3, 1866. They had six children.

Trunk and Bag Company

In 1865, Maier established his company at 55 Monroe Avenue in Detroit. He helped coordinate the construction of a business block with two friends, each occupying one-third of the block. The building contained a shoe store, a mortuary, and Maier's trunk and harness shop. After a fire, Maier moved his store to 102 Woodward Avenue and, later, expanded the business to a four-story block on Twelfth Street, where the trunks were constructed. Maier was prolific in producing patented designs that made his trunks unique. A distinguishing high-quality feature was the issuing of uniquely built oak slat trunks. On much of his trunks, two M's would be stamped in pieces of the metal hardware, particularly his dome-tops.

Death and legacy

On November 9, 1893, Maier died and was buried in Woodmere cemetery. After his death, his wife took over presidency of the trunk company, but rented it to the Scotten Tobacco Company. Later, she would give proprietorship to Frederick Paquette, who had joined the MM Company at the age of sixteen.

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References

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