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Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company records, 1898-1962
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company (Portland, Or.)
- Title
- Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company records
- Dates
- 1898-1962 (inclusive)18981962
- Quantity
- 2 cubic feet, (3 legal document cases; 1 flat box (11x14); 1 flat box (13x16))
- Collection Number
- Mss 1436
- Summary
- Records of the Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company of Portland, Oregon, including materials from its predecessor firm, Willamette Tent & Awning. Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company was an apparel company named for brothers Max S. Hirsch (1871-1959) and Leopold Hirsch (1868-1961) and their business partner Henry Weis (1874-1940). It became famous for its White Stag line of skiwear, created by Max S. Hirsch's son Harold S. Hirsch (1907-1990). The firm was renamed White Stag Manufacturing Company in 1946.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Ernest Henry Wemme (1861-1914) founded Willamette Tent & Awning Company in the 1880s in Portland, Oregon. In 1907, he sold the firm to brothers Max S. Hirsch (1871-1959) and Leopold Hirsch (1868-1961), who partnered with the firm's secretary, Henry Weis (1874-1940). By 1914, the company had renamed itself Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company. The company specialized in outdoor clothing and supplies.
In the 1930s, Max S. Hirsch's son, Harold S. Hirsch (1907-1990), began designing skiwear. He named this line of clothing White Stag, after the fact that the name "Weis" is similar to the German word for "white" (weiß), and the name "Hirsch" is the German word for "stag." The White Stag line became popular, and eventually expanded to other types of casual sportswear. In 1946, the company as a whole renamed itself White Stag Manufacturing Company.
The firm was purchased by Warner Brothers Company (later Warnaco) in 1966. Under Warnaco's management, White Stag was moved out of Portland. In 1986, financial difficulties led to a hostile takeover of Warnaco, and White Stag was spun off into part of a new company named Authentic Fitness Corporation. In 2003, Wal-Mart purchased the White Stag trademark.
Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top
Contains material previously designated Mss 1436-1.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of records of the Portland, Oregon, apparel firm Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company, including records from after its rebranding as White Stag Manufacturing Company. Also included are records from its predecessor firm, Willamette Tent & Awning Company. Records include: account books; payroll books; fabric samples and design worksheets; sales catalogs; and correspondence. Other materials in the collection include a script and photographs from a Richfield Oil Company "Success Story" television special about White Stag; some personal account books of firm owner Max S. Hirsch; speeches by Hirsch's son and White Stag Manufacturing Company owner Harold S. Hirsch, and poems collected by Harold S. Hirsch.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company records, Mss 1436, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in five series: Series 1. Willamette Tent & Awning Company records; Series 2. Administrative records; Series 3. Product designs; Series 4. Sales catalogs and promotional materials; Series 5. Personal papers of Max S. Hirsch and Harold S. Hirsch.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Harold S. Hirsch, April 1972 (Lib. Acc. 12207); and materials acquired in the mid or late 20th century (Lib. Acc. 29014).
Separated Materials
Photographs were separated to Photo Collections, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Related Materials
Related collections at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library include Mss 1819, Harold S. Hirsch papers; Mss 2871, White Stag Manufacturing Company records; Coll 850, Hirsch family papers, which includes some materials relating to the Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company; and Coll 817, Harry E. Bell and Faye Bell papers, which also includes some Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company and White Stag materials.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Willamette Tent & Awning Company records, 1898-1912Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Receipts and work orders |
1905-1908 |
| 1 | 2 | Account book |
1907-1912 |
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence about lawsuits against H. Felitz |
1898-1900 |
| 1 | 4 | Manager's statements and president's reports |
1908-1911 |
| 4 | 2 | Scrapbook of product illustrations |
circa 1900 |
Series 2: Administrative records, 1911-1968Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 5 | Receipts, work orders, and tent specifications |
1915-1918 |
| 1 | 6 | H. Seller Building Fund account book |
1911-1922 |
| 1 | 7 | Account book |
1915-1922 |
| 1 | 8 | Account book |
1921-1938 |
| 1 | 9 | Annual reports and statements |
1957-1964 |
| 1 | 10 | Correspondence |
1929; 1947 |
| 1 | 11 | Correspondence about sportswear |
1952-1953 |
| 1 | 12 | Correspondence about 1958-1959 skiwear |
1957 February-1958 March |
| 1 | 13 | Merchandise Committee records |
1952 |
| 1 | 14 | Newsletters and memos |
1962-1968 |
| 1 | 15 | Office of Price Administration document |
1945 |
| 1 | 16 | Semi-monthly payroll book |
1923-1932 |
| 2 | 1 | Monthly payroll book |
1932-1938 |
| 2 | 2 | Wage schedules and policies |
1941 |
Series 3: Product designs, 1944-1967Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 5 | 1 | Clippings of design ideas for skiwear |
circa 1955-1960 |
| 2 | 3 | Clippings of design ideas for skiwear |
circa 1956-1967 |
| 2 | 4-5 | Fabric swatches |
1951-1956 |
| 2 | 6 | Junior Division sweaters, finished measurements |
1962 |
| 2 | 7 | Women's ski parka work pages |
1944-1945 |
| 2 | 8 | Women's ski pants work pages, including fabric samples |
1957-1958 |
| 2 | 9 | Women's 1958-1959 season ski parka work pages, including fabric samples |
1958 |
| 2 | 10 | Women's 1958-1959 season ski parka discards, including fabric samples |
1958 |
| 2 | 11 | Women's 1959-1960 season ski parka discards, including fabric samples |
1959 |
| 3 | 1 | Men's 1958-1959 season ski parka work pages, including fabric samples |
1959 |
| 3 | 2 | Men's 1958-1959 season ski parka discards, including fabric samples |
1958 |
| 3 | 3 | Men's 1959-1960 season ski parka discards, including fabric samples |
1959 |
Series 4: Sales catalogs and promotional materials, 1935-1974Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 5 | 2 | White Stag ski togs advertisement |
circa 1942 |
| 4 | 1 | Price lists |
1947-1948 |
| 3 | 4 | Promotional cards for Olympic medalist and White Stag skiwear fashion counselor Penny Pitou |
1960 |
| 3 | 5 | Sales catalogs |
1935-1963 |
| 3 | 6 | Sales catalogs |
1963-1964 |
| 3 | 7 | Sales catalogs |
1974 |
| 5 | 3 | White Stag scrapbook for contributional advertising and dealer helps |
1942 |
| 5 | 4 | Promotional fabric sample scrapbook, "About Basic Classic" |
1944 |
| 3 | 8 | Skiwear guide, "Winter Wisdom," by Hirsch-Weis designer Hannah Little |
circa 1940 |
| 3 | 9 | Photographs from Richfield Oil Company "Success Story" television special about White Stag |
1962 |
| 3 | 10 | Script for Richfield Oil Company "Success Story" television special about White Stag |
1962 |
Series 5: Personal papers of Max S. Hirsch and Harold S. Hirsch, 1906-1963Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 3 | 11 | Personal account book of Max S. Hirsch |
1906-1908 |
| 3 | 12 | Ledger for real estate partnership between Max S. Hirsch and Joseph Friedenthal |
1910-1912 |
| 3 | 13 | Poems collected by Harold S. Hirsch |
circa 1946-1957 |
| 3 | 14 | Speeches by Harold S. Hirsch |
1962-1963 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Business enterprises--Oregon--Portland
- Clothing trade--Oregon--Portland
Personal Names
- Hirsch, Harold S., 1907-1990
- Hirsch, Max S., 1871-1959
Corporate Names
- Hirsch-Weis Manufacturing Company (Portland, Or.)
- White Stag Manufacturing Company
- Willamette Tent & Awning (Portland, Or.)
Form or Genre Terms
- financial records
- sales catalogs
