Background
He was the second son of Miller Christy (1748–1820) and Ann Rist.
He was the second son of Miller Christy (1748–1820) and Ann Rist.
The Christy family had a hat-making business at 35 Gracechurch Street, and Christy himself was apprenticed to a hatter.
He is credited with the invention of the penny receipt-stamp. The immediate challenge of the panic of 1825 was handled with the support of Hanbury & Company, the bank"s London associates. The bank was sold in 1829, and Christy acquired capital, with which he entered the cotton business, in Stockport and then Droylsden.
The enterprise later made a major success of the Christy towel.
In 1841 the Christy Bermondsey works was reputedly the largest manufacturer of hats in the world and had 500 employees. Silk coverings for hats were made in Stockport, and the factory there had more workers.
The business dropped off later in the century, as the beaver hat went out of style. The second son was Henry Christy.