J.C. Whitney & Co. 1915 T-Shirt

J.C. Whitney & Co. began in 1915 as The Warshawsky Company, a scrap metal yard on the South Side of Chicago, founded by Lithuanian immigrant Israel Warshawsky. Israel’s son Roy come onboard, and his first contribution was to create a catalog, advertising it in national magazines. For 25-cents, customers would receive their catalog, chock-full of parts to help them work on and customize their cars. Response to the ad was overwhelming, and the company soon began shipping more parts through the mail than over their Chicago sales counter. The name changed to J.C. Whitney & Co. to give it a more American sound. Post WWII was an incredibly profitable time for J.C. Whitney as returning G.I.s got the hot rod bug, and needed parts in droves.