WAUCooperLevyFamily2366.xmlGuide to the Cooper and Levy Families Papers 1890-1959 1890-1959Cooper and Levy Families PapersFunding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries© 2007 (Last modified: 1/10/2017)
Box 352900Seattle, WA 98195-2900
Finding aid is in EnglishFinding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard).University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections2366 (Accession No. 2366-001)Cooper familyCooper and Levy families papers1890-195917.46 cubic feet (42 boxes)Collection materials are in English.Papers of two related pioneer Jewish families from Seattle, Washington.

In 1892 Isaac Cooper and his wife's brother, Louis Levy, formed a partnership and established the firm of Cooper & Levy, a retail and mail order grocery, hardware, and woodenware business. They supplied most of the prospectors during the Alaska-Klondike gold rush and acquired a considerable fortune by the time they sold out ten years later to the Bon Marché department store.

In the same year, 1892, Esther Levy and her daughter, Lizzie Levy Cooper, organized Seattle's first Jewish welfare society, the Ladies' Hebrew Benevolent Society, to provide aid to needy families. Esther Levy became its first president, serving until 1900. Lizzie Levy Cooper was president from 1900 to1915. She was also president of the Seattle Council of Jewish Women, 1903-1906; vice president of the state council during the same period; and president of the Ladies Auxiliary to Temple De Hirsch, 1913-1914. She died in 1915.

Two of Lizzie Levy Cooper's brothers, Aubrey Levy, a lawyer, and Eugene Levy, a motion picture theater promoter, in partnership with Isaac Cooper (Lizzie Levy Cooper's husband) formed the Republic Operating Company and in 1927 built the Republic Building at Third Avenue and Pike Street. All of the income from this building was willed in 1945 and 1959 to three service organizations: the Jewish Welfare Society, the Caroline Kline Galland Home for the Aged, and the Seattle Children's Orthopedic Hospital of Seattle.

The papers have been arranged into 10 series:

General family papersIsaac Cooper papersLizzie Levy Cooper papersAubrey Levy papersEugene Levy papersRepublic Operating Company recordsRepublic Building recordsHenry Broderick, Inc. recordsBonham Galland papersVisual and other materials

The Cooper and Levy families papers are the records of two pioneer Seattle Jewish families and include the records of Isaac Cooper; his wife, Lizzie Levy Cooper; her brothers Louis, Aubrey, and Eugene Levy; and their mother, Esther Levy. The papers contain correspondence, business records, financial records, legal documents, memorabilia, scrapbooks, and some photographs.

339 photographs were relocated to the Cooper and Levy Families Photograph Collection, PH Coll. 722, in Special Collections in 1977, 1979, 1982, and 1987.

2 scrapbooks of Eugene Levy relating to theater in Seattle from 1917 to 1920 were relocated to the Special Collections' Pacific Northwest Scrapbook Collection in 1977.

The papers are open to all users.

Request at UW

The creators' literary rights have not been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Cooper and Levy families papers, Accession No. 2366-001, University of Washington Libraries.

Gift of the Levy Memorial Trust, Bank of California, Seattle, November 14, 1974; and of Eugene Levy, Seattle, 1975.

Processing completed circa 1977-1979. Accession Nos. 2366-001 and 2366-002 were merged.

Levy, Aubrey, 1945Levy, EugeneGalland, BonhamCooper familyLevy familyLevy familyCooper & Levy (Firm : Seattle, Wash.)Henry Broderick, IncSeattle (Wash.)--Economic conditionsSeattle (Wash.)--Buildings, structures, etcJewish families--Washington (State)--Seattle--ArchivesJews--Washington (State)--SeattleJewish businessmen--Washington (State)--SeattleJews--Charities--Washington (State)--SeattlePhilanthropists--Washington (State)--SeattleJewish pioneers--Washington (State)--SeattleGrocery trade--Washington (State)--SeattleReal estate investment--Washington (State)--SeattleBuilding management--Washington (State)--SeattleGeneral stores--Washington (State)--SeattlePersonal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)City and Town LifeHome and FamilyJewish AmericansPioneersRetail TradeSeattlePhotographsScrapbookscorrespondencebusiness recordsfinancial recordsmemorabiliatax recordsletterpress copybooksproperty recordsLegal documentsPhotographsScrapbooksClippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)Washington State Jewish Archives (University of Washington)

 

General family papers1/1-2Biographical dataundated1/3-5Financial records1936-19453 itemsLegal documents1/6Congregation Ohaveth Sholomundated1 item1/7Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Societyundated1 item1/8-9Cooper-Levy Company catalogs1896, 1897, 18983 items2/1-3/15/40PhotographsIsaac Cooper papers5/1Incoming letters1913-192212 items5/2Outgoing lettersundated1 itemLetterpress copy book of Isaac Cooper1907-1924598 pages5/3-4Financial records1918-19465/5Tax records1939-194115 items6/1Legal documents19127 items6/2-4Estate of Isaac Cooper1945-194680 itemsLizzie Levy Cooper papers6/5Biographical material1915, 19513 items6/6Writingundated3 items6/7-8Clippings1886-1911130 items6/9Memorabiliaundated1 itemAubrey Levy papers7/1Incoming letters1900-19215 itemsLetterpress copy book of Aubrey Levy1907-1914560 pages7/2Miscellaneous financial records1916, 1945, 194710 items7/3Tax records1939-19448 items7/4Speechundated1 item7/5-6Legal documentsundated8/1Court docket1909-1920145 pages8/2Memorabiliaundated4 items8/3-4Estate of Aubrey Levy1945-1946100 itemsEugene Levy papers9/1-10/8General correspondence1905-1959300 itemsBusiness correspondence and related papers

This series contains not only the business correspondence of Eugene Levy, but correspondence concerning his charitable contributions.

11/1-4Church1948-195911/5-7Estate charities1946-1959200 items12/1-3Investments1945-1959200 items12/4-6Jewish Family and Child Service1945-1959300 items13/1John Carefoot Charity195030 items13/2Jonas and Bronson1947-194840 items13/3Preston, Thorgrimson, Horowitz and Turner1944-194830 items13/4Price Waterhouse and Company1946-194920 items13/5-8Seattle First National Bank1945-1959300 items14/1-5Terry and Pike property1947-1954400 items15/1-3Yates, Riley and MacDonald1946-1954200 items15/4-514th and East Madison property1948-1955150 items15/61704 14th Avenue property1944-195140 items16/1-3Tax records1939-1958150 items16/4Writingsundated5 items16/5Radio broadcast transcripts1952-195330 items17/1Will of Eugene Levy19591 item17/2-10Newsletters1954-1958100 items18/1-19/2Cards1948, undated200 items19/3Listsundated8 items19/4-20/2Memorabilia1949-195540 items20Scrapbook1907-19111 item21Scrapbooks1912-1933, 1950-195722Appointment, address, autograph books, and passport1950-195920 items22/1Notesundated30 items22/2-23/4Clippings1901-1959150 items23/5-6Programs1899-191830 items23/-24/1Ephemeraundated100 itemsRepublic Operating Company records24/2-5General correspondence1922-1943200 items24/6Minutes19261 item24/7Reports1937, 19392 items24/8-25/3Financial records1934-1938200 items25/4-7Legal documents1927-194440 items25/8Lease formsundated2 items25/9Insurance policies1926, 19282 items25/10Lists1936, 19422 items25/11Notesundated7 items25/12Miscellanyundated4 itemsRepublic Building records26/1-2General correspondence1942-1959100 items26/3Financial records1947-1948, 1959120 items26/4Payroll records195914 items26/5-7Tax records1948-195970 items26/8-10Agreements1943-194515 items26/11Vacate notices194310 items26/12Insurance analysis195732 pages26/13Lease between Cooper and Levys and Republic Building Company192680 pages26/14Mandatory wording and standard clauses of Republic Building leases1940, undated7 items27/1Expired leases1957-19584 items27/2 -28/6Leases1945-195960 items29/1-10Newsletters: Building Owners and Managers Associationundated30/1 -34/5Statements1943-1954, 1956500 items35/1-36/7Miscellaneous building management materials1950-1959200 items37/1Clippings1909-192912 items37/2-4Ephemera1955-195770 items37/5-8Henry Broderick, Inc. papers1946-1959150 itemsBonham Galland papers

The Bonham Galland papers are from the disposition of the estate of Bonham Galland. Galland was a Seattle pioneer and well-known Jewish philanthropist whose will established a trust for the construction and maintenance of an orphanage for homeless Jewish children. Isaac Cooper was executor and Aubrey Levy was the attorney for this trust.

The papers, formerly housed in the Republic Building, were willed to the University of Washington by Eugene Levy.

38/1Incoming letters1915-191830 items38/2Outgoing letters19151 item38/3-7Financial records1907-191960 items38/8-9Legal documents1915-191750 items38/10Clippings19151 itemVisual and other materials39Photograph of a banquetundated39Scrapbook of Isaac Cooperundated39Scrapbook of Eugene Levyundated39Memorabilia of Eugene Levyundated40Certificatesundated