Abstract:

American Marvelle Company was a manufucturer of mannequins used in display windows for merchants in the 1920s. The company moved their plant and offices from from Saginaw to Bay City, Michigan in 1928. This small collection consists of six photographs featuring mannequins or pieces of mannequins manufactured by the American Marvelle Company.

Abstract:

Bailey, Banks & Biddle (BB&B) was a renowned upscale jewelry firm that made and sold high quality merchandise in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Bailey Banks & Biddle records were collected and maintained in-house as a combination of archival documents and historical research files and used primarily for public relations purposes. The collection primarily documents the sales and remounting of diamonds between 1879 and 1962.

Abstract:

Rose, Kimball & Baxter, Inc. is a wholesale hardware distributor headquartered in Elmira, New York. This item is a scrapbook titled, "Full of Household Hints for the Whole Family," compiled by Barker, Rose & Kimball. It contains circulars that the store considered to be valuable resources for up-to-date hardware information.

Abstract:

Vicary’s Clothing Store was a men’s clothing store located in Canton, Ohio founded by C.N. (Charles Newell) Vicary (1858-1921) in 1905. This album contains brochures, reports, stock certificates and photographs of the clothing store and its employees. There are exterior views of the store front at various locations, interior views of the store showing different fixtures, different departments, including staff members in the store and individual portraits of staff members.

Abstract:

The Eastern Store Fixtures Corporation was a manufacturer, supplier, and designer of fixtures and interiors for commercial establishments. The company was founded in or around 1953 by Louis Deitz (1919-2007) and was located at 19-21 South Orange Avenue in Newark, New Jersey. This collection consists of fifty one photographic prints showing soda fountains and store interiors presumably installed or supplied by the corporation.

Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The Fabrics and Finishes Department produced DuPont's consumer lines of paints and finishes. Duco was a durable, quick-drying lacquer used for appliances. It was the standard finish for GM vehicles. Dulux was glossier, which made it more popular than Duco. Lucite paint was introduced in the 1950s and was less expensive and more durable than its predecessors. This small collection consists of one album of photographs of finishes facilities (i.e., Refinish Service Warehouses/wholesale) and retail paint stores.

Abstract:

F. Weber & Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer and supplier of artists' materials. Ernest Gustav Weber (1888-1965) was owner Frederick Theodore Weber (1845-1919)'s son. After their father's death, Weber and his brother, Frederick William Weber (1890-1972), were business partners running the supply store. This item is Ernest Gustav Weber's journal. The journal contains income and expenses from 1905 and 1906. There are also some lists of correspondence, addresses, and travel information.

Abstract:

Francis Bannerman Son was a major purveyor of military goods to sportsmen and collectors in New York City over three generations. The collection consists of miscellaneous photographs, negatives, postcards and ephemera pertaining to the weapons and military memorabilia business run by Francis Bannerman and to Bannerman's philanthropic and leisure activities.

Abstract:

The Greenwood Book Shop was an independent bookseller founded by Alice Steinlein (1880-1965) in 1920 after her husband died from tuberculosis. That same year, she hired Gertrude Kruse (1900-1981) as a clerk. Steinlein retired in 1945 and the business was eventually bought by Kruse. These photographs document the interior of the Greenwood Book Shop in the Delaware Trust Building, 917 Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware.

Abstract:

John Krider (1813-1886) was one of Philadelphia's most prominent gunsmiths during the nineteenth century. This collection consists of two bank books and a ledger.

Abstract:

John Krider (1813-1886) was one of Philadelphia's most prominent gunsmiths during the nineteenth century. This collection consists of fifty-nine account books (1840-1939), including wage accounts (1853-1857), accounts for the repairs of guns (1904-1909), records of daily powder sales (1891-1893), and the treasurer's record for an unidentified gun club.

Abstract:

Owl Drug Company was a chain of apothecary retail stores that sold drugs and patent medicines at a reduced cost. The company also sold candy, soda, Kodak film, stationery, cosmetics, perfumes, and other toiletries. The first store opened in June 1892 at 1128 Market Street, San Francisco, California, advertised as the "Drug Palace of the Pacific Coast." The album consists of images of displays of items sold in the drug store, specifically the 5th and Broadway location in Los Angeles, which opened for business on January 2, 1904. The 5th and Broadway location was the fifth store of the company. The photographs are countertop and shop window merchandise displays. A few images consist of print advertisements and operational charts.

Abstract:

Philadelphia Bookstore Company was a wholesale and retail bookseller incorporated in 1902 in New Jeresey. The store was located on the 1000 block of Race Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This item is one volume of meeting minutes dating from 1902 to 1903. By-laws are included.

Abstract:

The Soo Hardware Company was a full-service hardware wholesale and retail store located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It carried a complete line of building materials, plumbing and electrical supplies, stoves and furnaces, major and minor domestic appliances, housewares, sporting goods, and bicycle and auto parts. The records consist of inbound correspondence received between the years 1911 and 1918. The bulk of the correspondence consists of sales letters and invoices from manufacturers and wholesalers, covering the wide range of semi-finished and manufactured goods sold by the Soo Hardware Company. A large number appear to be unsolicited mailings from salesmen, while others document a long working relationship.

Abstract:

Strawbridge & Clothier was the last family-owned major department store chain in the Greater Philadelphia area. The store was founded as a partnership by Justus C. Strawbridge (1838-1911) and Isaac H. Clothier (1837-1921) on July 1, 1868 at 8th and Market Streets in Center City Philadelphia. This collection contains photographs, negatives, transparencies, lantern slides, glass negatives, slides, audio tapes, videotapes, and films from Strawbridge & Clothier. It is valuable to those researching all aspects of retail: history, architecture, department stores, shopping malls, employment, operations, promotion, advertising, fashion, and merchandising. Other topics include family-owned businesses, distinguished Quaker families, business response on the homefront during World War II, the Gallery and Market East, and Philadelphia and its environs. There are also proposal albums from the Pavlik Design Team of store design for the Cherry Hill, King of Prussia, and Willow Grove stores and from Neil/Carter Design Associates for Heritage Hall in the Market Street store.

Scope and Content: The Strawbridge & Clothier records are not a complete corporate archive but rather a mix of corporate and legal documents and materials collected for a two-volume anniversary history. Nevertheless, they give a good overall picture of the evolution of retailing in the Philadelphia area, particularly in the twentieth century.The Corporate records include incorporation papers, board and committee minutes, and annual reports, which give an overall view of the firm's operations.The Management records are limited to very fragmentary correspondence of the corporate secretaries and president Herbert J. Tily. Much of it concerns bank financing, authorizations, and accounts. There are also executive payrolls (1931-1950), employment contracts for top executives, and notes on executive development programs.Financial and accounting records include fragmentary runs of journals and ledgers, including a sales ledger (1881) and a sales & salaries ledger (1903-1906); financial statements for S&C and the rival Lit Brothers chain; and tax papers.Legal records include trial records relative to the failed hostile takeover attempt made by Ronald Baron in 1985-1986. There are transcripts of testimony from the major parties on both sides. This subgroup also contains a variety of miscellaneous legal papers, including settlements with S&C's foreign offices and various suppliers in London, Paris, and Berlin (1921-1926); merchandising agreements with domestic and foreign manufacturers (1896-1907); and claims case files (1906 and 1911).Real estate records include title papers for the company's flagship store at 8th & Market Streets (1793-1922); contracts for store construction; and some plans for twentieth century construction. Four linear feet of store appraisals for the flagship store are detailed lists for insurance purposes of the store, its fixtures, and contents (1948-1970).Branch store records include plans, publicity articles, brochures, and scrapbooks, plus leases, mortgages, contracts, and insurance appraisals of store and contents for the following branch stores beginning in 1930: Ardmore, Jenkintown, Springfield, Neshaminy, Plymouth Meeting, and Exton, Pennsylvania; Cherry Hill and Echelon, New Jersey; and Wilmington and Christiana, Delaware. This subgroup documents the growth of suburban shopping strips and shopping malls during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, including malls...

Abstract:

Tee Vee Corp. was a retail appliance store in California that sold televisions and other household appliances. This small set of photographs shows the Tee Vee Corp store's exterior and interior views.