Summary Information
Kohlbeck's, Inc. Records
1881-2000
Green Bay Mss 174; PH 6375
9.6 c.f. (5 archives boxes, 12 flat boxes) and 16 photographs
UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of Kohlbeck's, Inc., a tailor shop and clothing store established in 1876 by Frank Kohlbeck, Sr. in Algoma, Wisconsin. The business was managed by four generations of the Kohlbeck family until it closed in 2000. The collection consists of general business papers including advertising materials and correspondence, customer measurement books and financial records including cash books, day books, ledgers, banking materials, and expense and customer account records as well as tax, insurance and other legal documents. The collection also includes sixteen photographs of the business and members of the Kohlbeck family.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0174 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Born in Fuchsberg, Austria in 1845, Frank Kohlbeck, Sr., came to Wisconsin with his wife Mary and their first two sons, Joseph and John, in 1873. After losing his job working at a tailor shop in Algoma he secured financial backing from a friend to open his own shop. The business opened on Steele Street in Algoma in 1876 as F. Kohlbeck and Sons. The company was truly a family business with all of the Kohlbeck's five sons and three daughters working at the shop in some capacity over the ensuing years. Frank Kohlbeck, Sr., died in 1921 and a few years later in 1925 the business was incorporated as Kohlbeck's, Inc. Frank's son Michael became president of the company in 1939 and managed the business for many years. When he retired the business was taken over by his son Norbert who had been working at the store since 1928. Norbert's daughter and her husband ran the store from about 1966 until their retirement and the closing of the business in 2000.
Scope and Content Note
The records are composed of papers related to and generated by the daily business of the store and are divided into four series: GENERAL BUSINESS RECORDS, CUSTOMER MEASUREMENT BOOKS, FINANCIAL RECORDS, and PHOTOGRAPHS.
The GENERAL BUSINESS RECORDS (1894-2000) consist of business papers and correspondence, materials related to the store's advertising and products, and clippings and scrapbook materials related to the history of both the business and the Kohlbeck family.
The CUSTOMER MEASUREMENT BOOKS (1881-1909, 1927-1957) contain detailed information about the measurements and styles of suits ordered from the shop. Other details listed in these books are the names of customers, styles of coats purchased, and the price paid for the suits and other accessories.
The FINANCIAL RECORDS (1885-1970) comprise the bulk of the collection and consist of ledgers, day books, and cash books from the first three decades of the 20th century as well as financial statements, tax records, and other miscellaneous records. The various books and ledgers from the same periods are connected by a system of page numbers created by the company bookkeepers. For example the entries in the Cash Books from 1901 and 1902 correspond to entries in the Day Books from the same years. Next to each Cash Book entry the page number of the corresponding entry in the Day Book is recorded. The information in the Day Books is in turn similarly linked to the Customer Ledger/Income & Expense Ledger for 1901-1905. This linking of entries occurs again across the Customer Purchase Journal from 1907-1909, the Customer Ledger of 1907-1915 and the Credit Payment Ledgers from 1907-1918. The information is not always complete and some of the Cash Books and Day Books have connections to ledgers and journals that are not part of the collection. The later financial records are more general and do not cover the business at the individual customer level, with the exception of the outstanding debt records from the 1940s. These records include financial statements and summaries as well as tax and insurance materials.
The PHOTOGRAPHS consist of 16 images of members of the Kohlbeck family including the family members from the four generations that managed the clothing store as well as photographs of company employees and the shop and work areas from around 1900.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Fran Grasley, Algoma, Wis., 2003. Accession Number: M2003-143
Processed by Jacob Esselstrom, 2005.
Contents List
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Green Bay Mss 174
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Series: General Business Records
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Advertisements and Clippings--Kohlbeck, 1914-1999, undated
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Advertisements--Other Companies, 1906-1940, undated
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Correspondence, 1897, 1920-1999, undated
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Miscellaneous, 1923-1992, undated
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Scrapbook (photocopies), 1894-2000, undated
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Series: Customer Measurement Books
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Box
2
Volume
1-2
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1881 Feb.-1884 Aug.
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Box
3
Volume
10-19
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1884 Aug.-1894 May
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Box
4
Volume
20-23
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1898 Mar.-1904 Aug.
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Box
5
Volume
24-25
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1906 Dec.-1909 Jan.
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Box
2
Volume
3-4
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1927 Mar.-1940 Jan.
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Box
2
Volume
5-7
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1942 Apr.-1948
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Box
2
Volume
8-9
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1953 Oct.-1957 June
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Box
6
Volume
26-28
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Undated (circa 1890s-1905)
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Series: Financial Records
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable, 1961
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Balance Sheet, 1956-1962
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Bank Deposit Books, Oct. 1923-Dec. 1957
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Box
6
Volume
29
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Bank of Algoma--Checkbook, 1923
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Cash Books
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Box
6
Volume
30
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1898 Nov.-1900 Jan. and Customer Measurements, , 1903 Feb.
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Box
6
Volume
31-39
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1900 Feb.-1906 July
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Box
7
Volume
40-42
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1906 July-1909 Feb.
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Box
8
Volume
45
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1909 Feb.-March
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Box
7
Volume
43
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1909 May-1910 Nov.
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Box
7
Volume
44
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1912 July-1914 June
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Box
8
Volume
46
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1917 Jan.-1929 Nov.
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Box
9
Folder
1-2
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Cash Receipts and Distribution, 1969-1970
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Box
9
Folder
3-4
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Check Records Summaries, 1969-1970
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Box
9
Volume
47
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Customer Ledger, circa 1893-1895
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Box
10
Volume
48
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Customer Ledger/Income & Expense Ledger, 1901-1905
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Box
11
Volume
49
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Customer Ledger, 1907-1915
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Box
12
Volume
50
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Customer Ledger Index, undated and , 1907-1915 Customer Ledger
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Box
12
Volume
51
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Customer Purchase Journal, June 1907-June 1909
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Box
12
Volume
52
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Customer Purchase Journal, April 1922-June 1922 and Customer Measurements, , April-June 1928
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Box
13
Volume
53-54
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Credit Payment Ledgers, 1907-1918
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Box
14
Volume
55-56
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Day Books, Feb. 1900-July 1904
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Deed
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Box
15
Volume
57
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Expense Ledger, circa 1900-1901
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Financial Statements, 1922-1960
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Box
15
Folder
1
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Insurance Policies, 1928-1940
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Box
15
Volume
58
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Insurance Policies--Expiration Book, 1929-1932
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Box
16
Volume
59
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Outstanding Debt Record Book, 1940-1944
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Box
1
Folder
11
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Outstanding Debt Records, 1905-1945
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Box
17
Folder
1
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Outstanding Debt Correspondence, 1928-1959, undated
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Box
17
Folder
2
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Outstanding Debt-- National Ratings Association, undated
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Box
1
Folder
3-6
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Payroll Record, 1943-1970
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Box
16
Volume
60
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Profit and Expense Ledger (“B”), 1907, 1909-1939
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Box
17
Folder
7
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Profit and Loss Statements, 1957-1962
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Box
17
Folder
8
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Tax and Legal Documents, 1924-1975
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Box
17
Folder
9-13
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Taxes--Forms, Records and Correspondence, 1931-1968
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Box
16
Folder
1
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Inventory and Accounts, 1885, 1924-1945, undated
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Series: Photographs
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Box
17
Folder
14
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16 photographs, 1900, 1903, 1973, undated (photocopies)
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PH 6375
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16 photographs, 1900, 1903, 1973, undated (originals)
14 b&w, 2 color
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