Dayton Display Fixture Company grocery store displays album
Creation: circa 1931Abstract
The Dayton Display Fixture Company manufactured and sold grocery store display equipment. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, the firm operated between 1919 and World War II, selling metal shelving and refrigerated and electrified fruit and vegetable displays. This collection consists of a single album containing sales sample photographs that show product and floor displays for grocery store fruits and vegetables and dry goods in the 1930s.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1931
Creator
- Dayton Display Fixture Company (Organization)
Extent
1 volume(s)
Physical Description
1 album, green ; 9 x 11.25 in. (closed) containing 32 photographic prints : b&w ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller.
Historical Note
The Dayton Display Fixture Company manufactured and sold grocery store display equipment. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, the firm operated between 1919 and World War II, selling metal shelving and refrigerated and electrified fruit and vegetable displays.
The company was established by brothers Frederick Olt (1874-1958) and Oscar Cleveland Olt (1884-1964), owners and operators of the Olt Bros. Brewing Co., which shut down during Prohibition. During Prohibition, the brothers decided to diversify into various businesses (e.g., real estate and insurance), including investing in a company that manufactured electrical and refrigerated grocery store displays. Charles R. Freer (1890-1958) was the firm's sales manager and business partner.
They hired Erhard Allen (1883-1951), a Swedish-American mechanical engineer and inventor who designed, produced, and patented Dayton Display Fixture Company equipment with a streamlined Art Deco design emphasizing cleanliness, preserving freshness, and style. Allen worked for twenty-three years as the company's factory manager.
Dayton Display Fixture Company filed for bankruptcy in 1939 and was placed in trusteeship. The company was liquidated in 1942.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of a single album containing sales sample photographs that show product and floor displays for grocery store fruits and vegetables and dry goods in the 1930s. The images show how the firm's refrigerated cases aided in preserving the freshness of products. These photographs of sample equipment show baked-enamel-coated metal displays for fruits and vegetables with bins below holding other products, fitted with water-misting fixtures, and in use in the mid-West and western United States regions. Stores include: Depperman Bros. AG stores in Owensville, Missouri; Holmberg and Son grocery in Washougal, Washington; Fred Lariccia in Cleveland, Ohio; and several styles for the Drummond & Sloan stores in Dayton, Ohio.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Dayton Display Fixture Company grocery store displays album
- Author:
- Laurie Sather
- Date:
- 2023
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
