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Meier and Frank Company collection, 1855-2006

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Meier and Frank (Portland, Or.)
Title
Meier and Frank Company collection
Dates
1855-2006 (inclusive)
Quantity
25 cubic feet, (35 document cases, 7 flat boxes, 6 custom boxes, 11 oversize folders)
Collection Number
Mss 2866
Summary
Records of and relating to the Meier and Frank Company, a prominent department store in Portland, Oregon. Includes selections from the company's financial and administrative records; photographs; advertising materials; issues of the store's employee newsletter, The daily bulletin; ephemera; land records; plaques for Rose Parade floats; and Safety Program records from 2002-2006.
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

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Meier & Frank was the premier department store in Portland, Oregon, from the late 1800s to 2006. The store originated in 1857, when Aaron Meier opened a small mercantile establishment on SW Front and Yamhill. In 1873 Sigmund Frank became a partner in the enterprise, and the store expanded rapidly as the city grew. In 1898 Meier & Frank moved to a large new five-story building at SW Fifth Avenue and Morrison Street, and between 1909 and 1915 this original structure was replaced with the complex that currently (in 2007) fills the entire block. Even greater expansion took place beginning in the 1950s, as branches were opened in Salem (1955), Portland’s Lloyd Center (1960), Eugene (1969), Vancouver, Washington (1977) and elsewhere. But by the mid 1960s the store was faced with competition from nation-wide chains, and the firm was sold to the May Company (later Robinsons-May) in 1966. The store continued to bear the Meier and Frank name, but with the merger of Robinsons-May with Macy’s in the mid-2000s, the Meier & Frank name was finally superseded by the Macy’s trademark in 2006.

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Content Description

The collection consists of a wide variety of materials, although it represents only a relatively small selection of the company's overall records. Included are a small number of photographs, primarily documenting the 75th anniversary of the store in 1932 and various events in the mid-1990s. Among these are: a set of images by noted Portland photograph Walter Boychuk showing the interior of the Portland store in 1932, shortly after an extensive remodeling; a group of photographs showing the store's display windows in 1912; and a photo album featuring displays and events relating to the store's 75th anniversary in 1932.

Among the general files is an important notebook, 1904, listing the members of Congregation Beth Israel, Portland's most prominent Jewish synagogue. Also among the general files is a notebook of Julius L. Meier from 1916, scrapbooks, and other ephemera. A run of the store's employee newsletter, The daily bulletin from 1928-1966 (with gaps) provides details of the day-to-day running of the enterprise. War advertising materials illustrate the store's publicity activities during World War II. Financial records date primarily from the 1920s through the 1940s and include extensive indexes of people holding Meier and Frank charge accounts, as well as a collection of the company's stock certificates issued between 1937 and 1944. The collection also includes award plaques for the store's Portland Rose Festival parade floats, with pictures of the floats; and saftey program manuals from 2002 to 2006.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Meier and Frank Company collection, Mss 2866, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

  • Series A: photographs, 1855-2000
  • Series B: General files, 1887-2005
  • Series C: Daily bulletins, 1928-1965
  • Series D: War advertising program, circa 1941-1945
  • Series E: Land records, 1880-1938
  • Series F: Financial records, 1871-1965
  • Series G: Catalogs and other printed books, 1917-1953
  • Series H: Safety program notebooks, 2002-2006
  • Series "I": Plaques, 1972-2002

Custodial History

The bulk of the collection was found in the store's offices when it was acquired by Macy's in 2006. These materials were given to a descedant of one of the firm's original founders, who passed them on to the Oregon Historical Society in 2007.

Acquisition Information

Acquired in 1990 and 2007, Library Accessions 19930 and 26379

Processing Note

Accessions from 1990 and 2007 were integrated into a single collection at the time of processing.

Separated Materials

A plastic holder for charge account forms, circa 1965, and framed portraits of Aaron Meier and Sigmund Frank, were transferred to the Artifact Collections of the Oregon Historical Society.

Related Materials

A collection of photographs of the Meier and Frank Portland store is designated Org. Lot 695 in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Additional images of the store and its personnel can be found in the Library's Self-Indexing photograph files.

Personal papers of Julius L. Meier are designated as Mss 2683 in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Advertising--Oregon--Portland
  • Department stores--Oregon--Portland
  • Display of merchandise--Oregon--Portland
  • Portland Rose Festival.

Personal Names

  • Boychuk, Walter, 1886-1967 (creator)

Corporate Names

  • Meier and Frank (Portland Or.)--Archives. (creator)
  • Meier and Frank (Portland, Or.)--Photographs.

Family Names

  • Frank family
  • Meier family

Geographical Names

  • Portland (Or.)--History.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photograph albums
  • Photographs
  • Plaques (flat objects)
  • Scrapbooks

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Meier, Julius L., 1874-1937 (creator)

    Corporate Names

    • Congregation Beth Israel (Portland, Or.) (creator)

Finding aid prepared by Geoffrey B. Wexler
2007

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