Title: Willson Monarch Laboratory Records
Inclusive Dates: 1889-1966

Creator:

• Willson Monarch Laboratory

Call Number: Whitewater Mss BJ; PH 3819

Quantity: 12.6 c.f. (24 archives boxes and 10 flat boxes), and 35 photographs and 6 negatives

Repository:

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

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records, mainly 1911-1959, of a manufacturer of patent medicine, cosmetics, and animal remedies located in Edgerton, Wisconsin, from 1889 until the late 1960s. Included are articles of incorporation and stock records; administrative correspondence; exchanges with the numerous salesmen and women who sold the firm's products door-to-door throughout the Midwest concerning their day-to-day activities and problems; photographs of sales staff; files on product labeling problems; motivational newsletters and other company publications; and miscellaneous financial, employment, and manufacturing records.

Note:

Forms part of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy Archives Collection

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-whit00bj

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Willson Monarch Laboratories of Edgerton, Wisconsin (variously known as Willson Brothers, Monarch Laboratory, and Willson's Monarch Laboratory) was founded in 1882 by Dexter I. and Benjamin C. Willson, two brothers from Elmira, New York. Because the majority of the company's records were destroyed in a fire in 1928, very little is known about its early history. According to a sales manual published during the 1930s, the brothers possessed a thorough education in chemistry and drugs, and they built their early success upon the pain reliever “Monarch Oil,” later called “Olozon.” The company operated from a small pharmaceutical shop, and the brothers manufactured a diverse line of patent medicines and products including flavorings, extracts, spices, soaps, perfumes, and stock and poultry minerals.

The Willsons emphasized the rural market, employing salespeople to sell their goods on consignment from door to door throughout the Midwest. In an attempt to meet changing market conditions, in 1932 a branch store was opened in Milwaukee at 1231 W. State Street to distribute goods for the salespeople in the urban area. A similar branch store was located in Madison. The Milwaukee operation did not prove profitable, however, and the store was closed in 1936.

In 1927, Maybelle Willson Shearer, daughter of Benjamin Willson, became president of the Willson Monarch Laboratories corporation. In 1930, a merger with Swift Manufacturing Company of Saint Louis, Missouri, was considered but rejected by Monarch's stockholders.

Two of the most prominent individuals associated with the company during this period were Les Hall and Guy Johnson. Les Hall, the general manager of Willson Monarch until 1946, performed the largest share of the work involved in the daily operation of the company. His responsibilities included ordering supplies, handling customer correspondence, dealing with federal regulations, and supervising the salespeople. Hall was also treasurer and secretary of the Albion Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Guy Johnson, who was responsible for recruiting and training salespeople, served as the general sales manager until 1935. In addition, Johnson assisted in the operation of the Milwaukee branch store.

In 1946, Dr. F. E. Shearer, husband of Maybelle, became president of Willson Monarch, while still continuing to maintain his medical clinic in the same building as the laboratory. During the following year, he bought all of the Willson Monarch interests. In 1958, the company underwent liquidation. The business was transferred to Otto Bartz in 1960 and ceased operations sometime prior to 1970.

The Willson Monarch collection contains information on the company primarily from the 1920s through the 1950s, with only a limited amount of information present for either the earlier or the final years of its operation. The laboratory fire that occurred in 1928 was responsible for the destruction of many of the records. However, many important aspects of Willson Monarch history are still well represented by the collection. For example, the sales department files contain a good deal of information on the company's agents, a surprisingly large number of whom were women. Also well documented are the various products sold by Willson Monarch, the manner in which they were promoted, and problems concerning their packaging. Unfortunately, while the types of financial files are diverse, they are not complete. There is as well, very little correspondence or policy-level exchanges between the officers in the Edgerton office.

The collection consists mainly of financial reports and records, correspondence, advertising materials, and a few photographs. The records are organized as: Incorporation Records, Financial Records, Sales Department Records, General Correspondence, and Publications and Advertising.

The INCORPORATION RECORDS are limited in scope, consisting only of the articles of incorporation, incomplete stock records, and information on the liquidation of assets that took place in 1958. The capital stock certificates (1927-1930) and journal (1894-1896) list Willson Monarch shareholders and the amounts of their ownership. Information on the value of the stock, although only for the years between 1933 and 1945, can be found in the capital stock tax returns.

The FINANCIAL RECORDS, which are arranged with general, summary types of records preceding the more specific files, are also incomplete, with little material dating from the company's early years. Beginning with a guide to account classifications, this section encompasses federal and state tax returns, audit reports, ledgers, journals, balance sheets, and sales records, as well as federal and state reports, manufacturing statistics and charts, employment information and figures, and some legal records.

For the most part, the SALES DEPARTMENT RECORDS contain correspondence regarding agents and their accounts; the remaining files document the hiring of a new sales executive and the operation of the Milwaukee branch. Taken as a whole, the sales department records yield a good deal of information on how Willson Monarch marketed its products, primarily during the 1920s and 1930s, and how it conducted business through its salespeople. Also evident is the role of the large number of women agents.

The files are subdivided into Prospective Agents' Correspondence, Agents' Correspondence, Collections, Agents' Records, Sales Executive Applications, and Milwaukee Store Files.

The majority of the Prospective Agents' Correspondence consists of exchanges between L. G. Hall or E. T. King (field manager, 1929-1931) and people wishing to become agents for Willson Monarch. The letters have been grouped alphabetically, although some individual files have been established for more extensive correspondents. Also included are newspaper want ads, applications, references, surities, contracts, field reports from a few salesmen, initial orders, and some business propositions from agents. The field reports of E. T. King and C. G. Faas, which discuss their attempts to recruit and train agents, reveal the type of person for which Willson Monarch was looking.

The Agents' Correspondence, which primarily consists of orders and questions about products, quotas, and applications, has been arranged alphabetically, with the more complete individual files of agents followed by less extensive, general files. This section provides perhaps the most complete information on how the company sold its products. The Collection files contain information on agents with delinquent accounts, including their initial applications, correspondence, and information on Willson Monarch's attempts to collect on their accounts through the services of Dun & Bradstreet. There is also a small file of photographs of Willson Monarch salespeople, often with the vehicles or horse-drawn wagons they used to sell their wares. Sales Executive Applications and information on the management and personnel of the Milwaukee Store comprise the remainder of the category.

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, which mainly dates from the period 1930-1942 and which largely documents the work of L. G. Hall and later Helen Short and Otto Bartz, consists of files on diverse topics such as customer orders, applications for various company positions, orders for manufacturing materials, correspondence with the firm's analytical chemist (A. H. Tiegen), correspondence with state agencies, and letters of product appreciation. Other important areas include the proposed merger with the Swift Manufacturing Company, Willson Monarch's membership in the Inter-State Manufacturers Association (which supplied advice on how to train and motivate salespeople, market products, and deal with increasing governmental regulation), and state licensing of agents by Nick Neupert. The effects of the Depression on business and the difficulties of obtaining supplies during World War II are frequently evident.

PUBLICATIONS AND ADVERTISING is comprised of printed materials intended for internal use by agents and other company employees and files related to product labels.

Included are extensive files of two newsletters (Monarch News and Weekly Punch), form letters, a company sales manual, and tips for new dealers, all of which supplement the agents' correspondence and which provide an additional source of information on how Willson Monarch marketed its products. Monarch News began as an internal newsletter concerning the lives and activities of various employees. After changing title in 1932, it was used to inform and motivate agents and to increase sales. Documentation of the actual operation of the Willson Monarch printing department, however, is marginal, consisting of only a small amount of correspondence.

The citations for improper labeling and related correspondence illustrate the effects of increasing governmental regulations on Willson Monarch during the 1930s. In addition, the file of product labels and catalogs provides information such as formula, uses, and directions that cannot be found elsewhere in the records.

The only material in the collection from the company's very early history may be found here in a file concerning problems with trademarks.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Willson Monarch Laboratories, Edgerton, Wisconsin, 1969-1970. Accession Number: M69-71, M70-393

Processing Information

Processed by James Russo and Carolyn J. Mattern, 1988.

Whitewater Mss BJ	Series: Incorporation Records
Box   1 Folder   1	Articles of incorporation, 1927-1929
	Stock records
Box   1 Folder   2	Capital stock journal, 1894-1896
Box   1 Folder   3	Capital stock certificates, 1927-1930
Box   1 Folder   4	Capital stock tax returns, 1933-1945
Box   1 Folder   1	Liquidation papers, 1958
	Series: Financial Records	⇧
Box   1 Folder   5	Accounting classifications guide, undated
	Corporate tax returns
Box   3 Folder   1	Federal, 1927-1958
Box   1 Folder   6-7	State, 1927-1959
Box   2 Folder   1-3	Audit reports, 1926-1937
Box   2 Folder   4	Financial statements, 1928-1935, undated
Box   3 Folder   2	Trial balance sheets, 1915-1958
Box   4-5	Ledgers, 1894-1897, 1927-1958
Box   6	Expense ledger, 1926-1928
Box   6	Expense ledger and journal, 1950-1958
Box   7 Folder   1	Journal (unidentified), 1927-1928
Box   34 Folder   1	Voucher register, 1927-1928
Box   8	Cash receipts and disbursements records, 1926-1928, 1950-1959
	Agents accounts and consignment records
Box   9	1919-1925
Box   10 Folder   1	1919-1925
Box   10 Folder   2	1927
Box   11	1928-1949
Box   12 Folder   1	Sales record, 1927-1928
Box   12 Folder   2	Sales record, returns, and allowances, 1954-1957
	Bank statements
Box   7 Folder   2	1911, 1918-1921
Box   13 Folder   1-2	1949-1958
	Employment reports
Box   13 Folder   3-4	1934-1961
Box   13 Folder   5	Miscellaneous salary records, 1931-1958
	Federal and state reports
Box   14 Folder   1	Census of manufacturers, 1929-1958
Box   14 Folder   1	Census of business, 1935
Box   14 Folder   1	Manufacturer's statement of property, 1928-1959
Box   14 Folder   1	Annual reports of domestic corporations to Wisconsin Secretary of State, 1928-1961
	Manufacturing records
Box   7 Folder   3	Product profit and loss records, 1930-1931
Box   14 Folder   2	Production costs, 1937-1947
Box   14 Folder   3	Dollar volume of output, 1947-1966
Box   14 Folder   4	Supplies and materials, undated
	Purchasing contracts, 1927-1941
Box   15 Folder   1	Old
Box   15 Folder   2	Active
	Inventories
Box   34 Folder   2	Finished goods sold, 1929-1947
Box   34 Folder   3	Finished goods, 1936-1968
Box   34 Folder   4	Laboratory supplies, 1940-1968
Box   34 Folder   5	Raw materials, 1940-1968
Box   15 Folder   3	Supplies used, 1941-1947
Box   15 Folder   4	Record of drums shipped and returned, 1935-1939
Box   16 Folder   1-5	Monthly inventory sheets, 1942-1958
Box   15 Folder   5	Miscellaneous inventories, 1932-1938, undated
	Miscellaneous legal and financial records
Box   15 Folder   6	Agreements, 1931-1939
Box   15 Folder   7	Building construction costs, 1928-1931
Box   15 Folder   8	City and county taxes, 1940-1943
Box   15 Folder   9-10	Excise tax reports, 1932-1941
Box   15 Folder   11	Insurance, 1942-1955
Box   15 Folder   12	Leases, 1931-1934
Box   15 Folder   13	Notes and forms, 1928-1935
Box   15 Folder   14	Agents, customers, supplies, inventory lists at time of fire, undated
Box   7 Folder   4	Miscellaneous financial records
	Series: Sales Department, 1911-1959	⇧
	Prospective agents' correspondence, 1928-1939
Box   17 Folder   1	A-B
Box   17 Folder   2	Alley, W. H., applications
Box   17 Folder   3-4	C-F
	Faas, C. G., 1931
Box   17 Folder   5	Daily Reports
Box   17 Folder   6	Special Reports
Box   17 Folder   7	Correspondence
Box   17 Folder   8-9	G-H
Box   18 Folder   1	I-K
	King, E. T., 1928-1932
Box   18 Folder   2	Daily Reports
Box   18 Folder   3	Reports
Box   18 Folder   4	Special Reports
Box   18 Folder   5	Correspondence
Box   18 Folder   6-7	L-M
Box   18 Folder   8	Mahoning County, Ohio, and other prospects
Box   18 Folder   9	Miscellaneous prospects
Box   18 Folder   10-14	N-Z
	Agents' correspondence, 1911-1959
Box   19 Folder   1	Blickem, A. E.
Box   19 Folder   2	Chase, Edythe
Box   19 Folder   3-7	DeJean, Harry
Box   19 Folder   8	Delaney, Gilbert
Box   19 Folder   9	Higgins, F. F.
Box   20 Folder   1	Holtzinger, Ed
Box   20 Folder   2	Holy, John
Box   20 Folder   3	Huxsaw, Albert
Box   20 Folder   4	Leahy, Ed
Box   20 Folder   5	Madison Branch
Box   20 Folder   6	Miller, E. H.
Box   20 Folder   7	Smith, Alvia
Box   20 Folder   8	Smith, George
Box   20 Folder   9	Thoenes, Ed
	General files
Box   21	A-N
Box   22 Folder   1-2	0-Z
	Collections, 1926-1944
Box   22 Folder   3	Dove, Israel
Box   22 Folder   4	Diehl, Roy
Box   22 Folder   5	Dunham, Glen
Box   22 Folder   6	Hanson, Roy
Box   22 Folder   7	Hart, W. A.
Box   22 Folder   8	Huxsaw, Fred
Box   22 Folder   9	Reiter, W. B.
Box   22 Folder   10	Sustachek, August
Box   23 Folder   1	Tarrant, R. G.
Box   23 Folder   2	Whitacre, A. H.
Box   23 Folder   3-4	Miscellaneous collections
Box   23 Folder   5	Agreement with Dun & Bradstreet and summaries
	Agents' records
Box   23 Folder   6	Agents' suggestions for sales
Box   23 Folder   7	Photos and write-up from agents
PH 3819	Photographs of salesmen
Whitewater Mss BJ Box   23 Folder   8	Sales record cards, 1932-1939
Box   23 Folder   9	Quotas, 1932-1933, undated
Box   23 Folder   10-11	Miscellaneous records of agents
Box   24 Folder   1-2	Sales executive applications, 1934
	Milwaukee store, 1932-1940
Box   24 Folder   3-5	Correspondence
Box   24 Folder   6	Prospective agents
Box   24 Folder   7	Agents applications
Box   24 Folder   8	Agents hired
Box   24 Folder   9	Financial records
	Series: General Correspondence, 1922-1961	⇧
Box   24 Folder   10	A
Box   24 Folder   11	Agriculture, Department of
Box   25 Folder   1	Alcohol
Box   25 Folder   2-3	B-F
Box   25 Folder   4	Fidelity & Casualty Co., steam boiler
Box   25 Folder   5	Ford Construction Co. bills
Box   25 Folder   6	Freight claims
Box   25 Folder   7	G
Box   25 Folder   8	Grohe, Mr. A. (Swift Mfg. Co.)
Box   25 Folder   9	H
Box   25 Folder   10	Hall, L. G. (personal file)
Box   25 Folder   11	I
Box   25 Folder   12	Industrial Commission
	Inter-State Manufacturers Association
Box   25 Folder   13	Bulletins
Box   26 Folder   1-3	Sales aids
Box   26 Folder   4	J
Box   26 Folder   5	Jeffris, Mouat, Oestrich, et al. (attorneys)
Box   26 Folder   6-8	K-M
Box   27 Folder   1	N
Box   27 Folder   2	Neupert, Nick (salesmen's licenses)
Box   27 Folder   3	0-P
Box   27 Folder   4	Product testimonials
Box   27 Folder   5	Q-R
Box   27 Folder   6	Remington Rand
Box   27 Folder   7-8	S
Box   27 Folder   9	Social Security Board
Box   27 Folder   10	Spencer, G. K.
Box   27 Folder   11	Swanson, Earl H. (advertising)
Box   27 Folder   12	T-V
Box   28 Folder   1-2	Tiegen, A. H. (chemist)
Box   28 Folder   3	Treasury Department
Box   28 Folder   4	W
Box   28 Folder   5	Wangerin, O. A.
Box   28 Folder   6	Weights and scales
Box   28 Folder   7	West Bend Aluminum Company
Box   28 Folder   8	Wisconsin
Box   28 Folder   9	X-Z
	Series: Publications and Advertising	⇧
Box   29 Folder   1	Printing department correspondence, 1928-1935
Box   29 Folder   2-3	Monarch News, 1928-1932
Box   29 Folder   3-6	Weekly Punch, 1932-1935
Box   29 Folder   7-8	Materials for Weekly Punch, undated
Box   29 Folder   9	Weekly bulletin materials (Guy Johnson)
Box   29 Folder   10	Catalogue text, undated
Box   30 Folder   1-2	Form letters (and contest results)
Box   30 Folder   3	Sales manual, undated
Box   30 Folder   4	Weekly sales tips for new dealers, 1-52, undated
Box   30 Folder   5	Soap promotion, undated
	C. F. Bunker card account
Box   30 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1931-1932
Box   30 Folder   7	Sales records, 1931
	Product labeling
Box   31 Folder   1-2	Proposed labels
Box   31 Folder   3-5	Revised labels
Box   32 Folder   1	Food and Drug Administration correspondence
	Violations
Box   32 Folder   2	Buchu compound tablets
Box   32 Folder   3	Camphor ointment
Box   32 Folder   4	Chlorine crystals
Box   32 Folder   5	Cough syrup
Box   32 Folder   6	Dusting powder
Box   32 Folder   7	Healing salve
Box   32 Folder   8	Louse powder
Box   32 Folder   9	Moth-proofing compound
Box   32 Folder   10	Worm powder
Box   32 Folder   11	Miscellaneous
Box   32 Folder   12	Correspondence re violations
Box   32 Folder   13	Corrections suggested by J. M. George, 1929
Box   32 Folder   14	Special denatured alcohol, 1938-1961
Box   32 Folder   15	Poison registration, 1948-1965
Box   32 Folder   16	Stock remedy registration, 1930-1933
Box   7 Folder   5	Miscellaneous labels and brochures
Box   33 Folder   1-2	Trademarks, 1889-1929
Box   33 Folder   3	Price lists
Box   33 Folder   4	Sample contracts