Title: Racine Paper Goods Company Records
Inclusive Dates: 1902-1968

Creator:

• Racine Paper Goods Company (Wis.)

Call Number: Parkside Mss 48

Quantity: 0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)

Repository:

Housed at the Archives & Area Research Center, Library/Learning Center, University of Wisconsin-Parkside; 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-Parkside Library / Parkside Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Records of a small manufacturing firm specializing in protective paper packaging for cigars, glass items, eggs, candy, and the like. Incorporated in 1902, the company was owned and operated by descendants of founder Orville L. Parmenter until 1968 when it closed due to declining production and competition from larger companies. The collection consists mainly of corporate financial records and tax returns. Included are a minute book, stock certificate book, order and account book, miscellaneous correspondence, and scattered financial and production records.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-pks0048

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The Racine Paper Goods Company was organized in 1894 by Orville L. Parmenter (1846-1929), Lucius J. Elliott, Byron R. Blake, and Richard J. Robinson. The firm began operations in 1896, and was incorporated in 1902 with Elliott as president, Robinson as vice-president, and Parmenter as secretary/treasurer. Its major product was a wax-lined coupon cigar pocket, which was manufactured until the introduction of cellophane in 1929 rendered it obsolete. Subsequently, the company manufactured protective paper packaging for glass items, particularly medical equipment, eggs, candy, and other fragile goods. Its most productive period was from 1920 to 1950, when the Racine company at times employed as many as 75 individuals, and a branch printing plant and factory was in operation in Toronto. After World War II, production declined and the numbers of employees decreased. Finally, unable to compete with larger and more efficient firms, the company ceased operations in 1968.

The Parmenter family owned and managed the Racine Paper Goods Company throughout its history. Orville Parmenter was succeeded as president in 1929 by his son, James M. (1878-1943). James, with his brother Henry Austin Parmenter, then ran the business until his death, when his daughter, Ruth E. Lorence (1907-1962), became president and treasurer. Her husband, Leonard F. Lorence (1906- ), served as production manager, and from 1962 to 1968, as company president.

The collection consists primarily of corporate financial records and tax returns. Included are a minute book, with minutes of meetings of the board of directors and stockholders; a stock certificate book; and an order and account book, listing companies, orders received and filled, and prices. Miscellaneous financial and production records contain scattered balance sheets, inventories, and similar material. The folder of correspondence is also fragmentary, and is financial in nature.

Acquisition Information

Presented by James J. Lorence, Wausau, Wisconsin, 1978. Accession Number: M78-97

Processing Information

Processed by Menzi Behrnd Klodt, June 26, 1979.

Box   1 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1919-1927, 1942, 1944
Box   1 Folder   2	Minute Book, 1925-1967
Box   1 Folder   3	Stock Certificate Book, 1902-circa 1963
Box   1 Folder   4	Order and Account Book, 1948-1968
Box   1 Folder   5	Miscellaneous Financial and Production Records, 1914, 1936, 1946-1961
Box   1 Folder   6	Company History, 1968
	Corporate Tax Returns
	Federal
Box   2 Folder   1	1911-1919
Box   2 Folder   2	1920-1924
Box   2 Folder   3	1925-1930
Box   2 Folder   4	1931-1940
Box   2 Folder   5	1941-1960
	Wisconsin
Box   2 Folder   6	1913-1930
Box   2 Folder   7	1931-1960