Braslan, Charles P.–Minneapolis, Minnesota–Along with Jesse E. Northrup established a seed business called Northrup, Braslan & Co. in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1884. They believed in the hardiness, earliness, and productivity of northern grown seed, and they saw Minneapolis as a natural distributing point for a vast undeveloped but promising agricultural region.  The polar bear became a symbol of their business, and represented their “Polar Brand Seeds.”  Their first annual catalog was published in 1885.
Sources: SW2