to his brother Winthrop and George moved his tea business to 129 Front Street. Initially, Gilman & Company was a wholesaler. In early 1863 the firm became a retailer calling itself the Great American Tea Company. Quickly, Gilman opened five stores and moved his office and warehouse to 51 Vesey Street. Gilman proved to be a master at promotion. One source referred to Gilman as "in the mold of P. T. Barnum." Another source characterized Gilman as a "flambouyant, incurable high-flyer." The A&P Historical Society describes early stores as "resplendent emporiums" painted in vermilion and equipped with a large gas light T sign. Interiors included crystal chandeliers, tin ceilings, and walls with gilt-edged Chinese panels. A clerk stood behind a long counter to serve customers (self-service did not become common until the 1930s) and the cashier's station was shaped like a Chinese pagoda. In 1865, Gilman located his coffee roasting plant at Broadway and Bleecker Street in the prime Manhattan shopping and entertainment district so that the smell of roasting coffee encouraged sales. The business quickly expanded by advertising low prices. The firm was able to offer low prices by acting as both the wholesaler and retailer. Gilman also built a nationwide mail order business. In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed; Gilman starting using the trade name Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company to market the then-new concept of prepackaged tea under the Thea-Nector brand. The tea company continued to use the Great American name for mail order purposes. In 1871, A&P introduced another marketing concept when it offered premiums with the purchase of coffee and tea at its stores. While Gilman continued to provide the marketing concepts, he came to rely on the management skills of George Huntington Hartford (1833–1917). Hartford worked for the tanning company in the St. Louis office and joined Gilman & Company in New York as a clerk in 1861. He was later promoted to bookkeeper, then cashier in 1866. Contrary to the founding myth promoted by his sons, Hartford was not a founder of A&P. However; by 1871 Hartford was in a position of authority and was dispatched by Gilman to open a store in Chicago after the great fire. This was A&P's first store outside New York City. By 1875, A&P had stores in 16 cities. In 1878, Gilman retired and left the active management of the firm to Hartford. By then,