Jackson & Curtis

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Jackson & Curtis began in Boston in 1879, founded by Charles Cabot Jackson and Laurence Curtis. The firm operated as brokers and bankers from Congress Street, putting it squarely in the buttoned-up, ticker-tape bloodstream of old Boston finance.

The firm survived the financial shocks of its early decades and the Wall Street crash, then joined fellow Boston house Paine, Webber & Co. The merger was sealed on June 29, 1942, creating Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis—a name with enough commas to intimidate a ledger.

The combined operation grew after World War II, expanding from 23 offices at the merger to 45 by 1965. Its head office moved from Boston to New York City in 1963, and the firm later broadened through acquisitions including Abacus Fund in 1972, F.S. Smithers & Co. in 1973, and Mitchell Hutchins in 1977.

In 1984, Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis was renamed PaineWebber Incorporated, retiring the Jackson & Curtis name after more than a century of use. The PaineWebber business was acquired by UBS in 2000.

Our Jackson & Curtis collection celebrates the era when Boston brokers wore serious suits, moved serious paper, and apparently considered a five-word corporate name a sign of efficiency.