Weiss & Klau Co. records
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Corporate, financial, legal, personnel, and real estate records of The Weiss & Klau Co., a distributor of oilcloth, plastic-coated fabrics, window shades, and related products. The collection also includes the records of a subsidiary, Standard Coated Products, Inc., a manufacturer of these products. Photographs and memorabilia of company social functions are also present, as is some personal correspondence.
Historical Note
Chronology
Arrangement
The collection is organized into the following eight series:
Missing Title
- Series I. Corporate Documents, 1896-1968, n.d.
- Series II. Financial Documents, 1902-1969
- Series III. Real Estate Documents, 1912-1981
- Series IV. Personnel Documents, 1936-1981
- Series V. Standard Coated Products, Inc., 1922-1971, n.d.
- Series VI. Sale and Liquidation, 1890-1973
- Series VII. Social Functions, 1915-1988, n.d.
- Series VIII. Scrapbooks, Photographs, and Ephemera, 1896-1966, n.d.
The materials are arranged chronologically within each series, unless otherwise noted.
Scope and Content Note
The records of The Weiss & Klau Co. consist primarily of corporate, financial, legal, personnel, and real estate records. The company, along with its subsidiaries, including Standard Coated Products, Inc., Airex Venetian Blind Co., and 462 Broadway Corporation, was engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution, of oilcloth, window shades, plastic coated fabrics and tiles, venetian blinds and related products. Many of the records deal with the dissolution and sale of the company following the partial collapse of the Weiss & Klau offices at 462 Broadway in 1966. The collection also contains materials related to various social functions held by the company. There are numerous photographs of annual dinners and company outings. In addition, there is material relating the The Quarter-Century Club, an employee social organization which held annual meetings until 1988.
The collection supports research in New York City business administrative history from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century. In addition, materials relating to employee relations and social functions provide insight into organizational culture and the environment of the work place in this time period.
Subjects
Organizations
Families
Genres
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Certain materials in Series I and IV are restricted for 75 years. See the Scope and Content Notes for details.
Materials in this collection are stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as The The Weiss & Klau Co. records, MS 687, New-York Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donation, 2003.
Separated Material
A metal plaque commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of The Weiss & Klau Co. is owned by The New-York Historical Society Museum.