Title: Kohlbeck's, Inc. Records
Inclusive Dates: 1881-2000

Creator:

• Kohlbeck's, Inc.

Call Number: Green Bay Mss 174; PH 6375

Quantity: 9.6 c.f. (5 archives boxes, 12 flat boxes) and 16 photographs

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

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.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0174

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.

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.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Fran Grasley, Algoma, Wis., 2003. Accession Number: M2003-143

Processing Information

Processed by Jacob Esselstrom, 2005.

Green Bay Mss 174	Series: General Business Records
Box   1 Folder   1	Advertisements and Clippings--Kohlbeck, 1914-1999, undated
Box   1 Folder   2	Advertisements--Other Companies, 1906-1940, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	Correspondence, 1897, 1920-1999, undated
Box   1 Folder   4	Miscellaneous, 1923-1992, undated
Box   1 Folder   5	Scrapbook (photocopies), 1894-2000, undated
	Series: Customer Measurement Books	⇧
Box   2 Volume   1-2	1881 Feb.-1884 Aug.
Box   3 Volume   10-19	1884 Aug.-1894 May
Box   4 Volume   20-23	1898 Mar.-1904 Aug.
Box   5 Volume   24-25	1906 Dec.-1909 Jan.
Box   2 Volume   3-4	1927 Mar.-1940 Jan.
Box   2 Volume   5-7	1942 Apr.-1948
Box   2 Volume   8-9	1953 Oct.-1957 June
Box   6 Volume   26-28	Undated (circa 1890s-1905)
	Series: Financial Records	⇧
Box   1 Folder   6	Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable, 1961
Box   1 Folder   7	Balance Sheet, 1956-1962
Box   1 Folder   8	Bank Deposit Books, Oct. 1923-Dec. 1957
Box   6 Volume   29	Bank of Algoma--Checkbook, 1923
	Cash Books
Box   6 Volume   30	1898 Nov.-1900 Jan. and Customer Measurements, , 1903 Feb.
Box   6 Volume   31-39	1900 Feb.-1906 July
Box   7 Volume   40-42	1906 July-1909 Feb.
Box   8 Volume   45	1909 Feb.-March
Box   7 Volume   43	1909 May-1910 Nov.
Box   7 Volume   44	1912 July-1914 June
Box   8 Volume   46	1917 Jan.-1929 Nov.
Box   9 Folder   1-2	Cash Receipts and Distribution, 1969-1970
Box   9 Folder   3-4	Check Records Summaries, 1969-1970
Box   9 Volume   47	Customer Ledger, circa 1893-1895
Box   10 Volume   48	Customer Ledger/Income & Expense Ledger, 1901-1905
Box   11 Volume   49	Customer Ledger, 1907-1915
Box   12 Volume   50	Customer Ledger Index, undated and , 1907-1915 Customer Ledger
Box   12 Volume   51	Customer Purchase Journal, June 1907-June 1909
Box   12 Volume   52	Customer Purchase Journal, April 1922-June 1922 and Customer Measurements, , April-June 1928
Box   13 Volume   53-54	Credit Payment Ledgers, 1907-1918
Box   14 Volume   55-56	Day Books, Feb. 1900-July 1904
Box   1 Folder   9	Deed
Box   15 Volume   57	Expense Ledger, circa 1900-1901
Box   1 Folder   10	Financial Statements, 1922-1960
Box   15 Folder   1	Insurance Policies, 1928-1940
Box   15 Volume   58	Insurance Policies--Expiration Book, 1929-1932
Box   16 Volume   59	Outstanding Debt Record Book, 1940-1944
Box   1 Folder   11	Outstanding Debt Records, 1905-1945
Box   17 Folder   1	Outstanding Debt Correspondence, 1928-1959, undated
Box   17 Folder   2	Outstanding Debt-- National Ratings Association, undated
Box   1 Folder   3-6	Payroll Record, 1943-1970
Box   16 Volume   60	Profit and Expense Ledger (“B”), 1907, 1909-1939
Box   17 Folder   7	Profit and Loss Statements, 1957-1962
Box   17 Folder   8	Tax and Legal Documents, 1924-1975
Box   17 Folder   9-13	Taxes--Forms, Records and Correspondence, 1931-1968
Box   16 Folder   1	Inventory and Accounts, 1885, 1924-1945, undated
	Series: Photographs	⇧
Box   17 Folder   14	16 photographs, 1900, 1903, 1973, undated (photocopies)
PH 6375	16 photographs, 1900, 1903, 1973, undated (originals) Physical Description: 14 b&w, 2 color