Finding Aid to the Frederick W. Dohrmann Family Papers, 1896-1936
Processed by Robin Tremblay-McGaw
The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu
© 1996
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the Frederick W. Dohrmann Family Papers, 1896-1936
Collection number: BANC MSS 91/29 c
The Bancroft Library
University of
California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Contact Information:
- Processed by:
- Robin Tremblay-McGaw
- Encoded by:
- Campbell J. Crabtree
© 1996 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Frederick W. Dohrmann Family Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1896-1936
Collection Number: BANC MSS 91/29 c
Collector:
Dohrmann, F. (Frederick)
Extent:
Number of containers: 3 cartons, 1 oversize folder, and 1 oversize volume.
Linear feet: 3.75
Repository: The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please
consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Collection contains incomplete corporate records from various companies the
Dorhmanns were involved in; containing portions of each company's and Mr. Dorhmann's personal records
relating to his business interests. These early California department store companies reflect San
Francisco business history and the management and personnel tensions of the day. Collection includes a
commemorative scrapbook documenting F.W. Dohrmann's career.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English and German
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Manuscripts Division. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is
not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by
the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], F. W. Dohrmann family papers, BANC MSS 91/29 c, The Bancroft Library,
University of California, Berkeley.
Related Collection
Title: Dohrmann Family Papers, 1914-1915,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 79/22 c
Materials Cataloged Separately
- Printed materials have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library.
- Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The F. W. Dohrmann Family Papers were donated to The Bancroft Library in two installments, on May 15
and July 5, 1991, by Mrs. Ava Jean Brumbaum.
Biography
Frederick W. Dohrmann was born in Germany in 1842 and came to Davenport,
Iowa in 1858. In April of 1862, he settled in San Francisco where he
worked as a clerk in a grocery store located at Fifth and Howard. He became involved in the general
merchandise business in Oakland and in the manufacturing of breakfast foods.
In 1868, Mr. Dohrmann gave up the milling business and entered into a partnership with Bernard
Nathan of B. Nathan Company, engaged in the selling of fine
crockery. From this organization, in 1887, evolved Nathan, Dohrmann & Company.
At the helm were Mr. B. Nathan, who spent most of his time abroad scouting suppliers of fine
china, and Mr. Dohrmann, who remained as manager in San Francisco. The Dohrmann Commercial
Company, with Mr. Dohrmann serving as president, appears to be contemporaneous with the
Nathan Dohrmann Company. In 1898, Mr. Dohrmann's son, A. B. C. Dohrmann, became a
partner in the Nathan Dohrmann Company. From this time forward, he was closely connected with and played
an important role in the various Dohrmann stores.
The Emporium, the first department store in California, was founded in 1896. It
operated for a year as a group of individually-owned shops in a building owned by the Parrott
estate. However, in 1897, due to difficulties ensuing from the lack of centralized
management, the Emporium merged with the Golden Rule Bazaar, becoming the
Emporium and Golden Rule Bazaar. In 1898, Mr. Dohrmann's son, A. B. C. Dohrman
became officially involved in Mr. Dohrmann, along with others, was instrumental in the reorganization of
the new Emporium and was president of the company at the time of his death in 1914. In 1927, the
Emporium merged with the Oakland store, H.C. Capwell.
Mr. Dohrmann was also one of the organizers of the San Francisco Hotel Company,
which operated the St. Francis Hotel, and one of the founders and
president of the Merchants' Association. He held a directorship in the
Savings Union Bank and Trust Company of San Francisco and served, at various
times, as a director for several of the Dohrmann Commercial Company's syndicate stores.
In addition, Mr. Dohrmann was involved in a number of civic activities, including serving as a member of
the Park Commission and as a University of California regent.
He worked in the Relief and Red Cross effort at the time of the San Francisco 1906 earthquake and fire,
and was deeply interested in the Red Cross Society, the German Benevolent
Society and the German Altenheim and served in a number of
capacities on various charitable committees.
Scope and Content
The Frederick W. Dohrmann Family Papers contain materials from Mr. F. W. Dohrmann's personal files and
consist of materials remaining after family members retained various items of personal interest. As a
result, the records are spotty and incomplete, with the collection containing only a portion of each
company's and Mr. Dohrmann's personal records. These consist of correspondence, memoranda, meeting
announcements (nearly all addressed to either Mr. F. W. or his son, A. B. C., Dohrmann), minutes, legal
agreements, financial records and reports, inventory and supplier notebooks, personal papers, printed
ephemera, and clippings.
The collection contains files of interest to researchers of San Francisco business history and includes
records documenting the origin and various reorganizations of the Emporium,
California's first department store. The records document the several crises experienced by
the fledgling department store, including a dispute between the departments and the Emporium over the
sharing of expenses and the difficulties of defining management responsibilities and fair compensation.
Also of interest are numerous files pertaining to personnel matters, specifically related to women
employees and their compensation and opportunities for growth in the Emporium where, prior to 1911,
there were only male sales clerks.
The collection has been arranged, as nearly as possible, to duplicate Mr. Dohrmann's arrangement which
was largely subject oriented. In addition, an effort has been made to identify the company to which the
records pertain. This has presented certain difficulties since both Mr. Dohrmann and his sons, A. B. C.
and F. W. Jr., served simultaneously in numerous capacities at a number of the companies. In fact, this
is also the case with a number of the other key employees, with fathers and sons and brothers often
engaged, in some fashion, in the same area of business. It should be noted that correspondence for which
there is an index or on which can be found pencilled notations, indicating an order or an arrangement,
has been kept together, despite differences in salutation and address, suggesting that the material had
been addressed to Mr. F. W. or A. B. C. Dohrmann in their varying roles.
Carton 1, folders 1-72; Oversize folder 1
Series 1: Emporium Files, 1869-1933.
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged hierarchically.
Encompassing the greatest bulk of the collection, this series includes correspondence and
memoranda, meeting announcements, financial records, printed material, and clippings which
document the Emporium's various mergers and reorganizations as well as personnel and other
business matters. These have been divided into six sub-series: Board of Managers/Directors,
Correspondence and Memoranda, Subject Files, Stock and Stockholders Records, Financial Records,
and Miscellaneous. The chronological, correspondence and Emporium and H.C. Capwell merger files
were A. B. C. Dohrmann's.
Board of Managers/Directors Records, ca.1895-1926
Ctn. 1, folder 1
Meeting announcements
1896-97
folder 2
Special meeting announcements
1913-26
folder 3
Synopses of Board meetings
1896
folder 5
Committees of the Board
1896
folder 6-7
Finance committee
1896-97
folder 8
Prospectus,
Plan of Operation
ca. 1895
folder 9
Management Force listing
1899-1908
Correspondence and Memoranda, 1895-1930
Ctn. 1, folder 10
Correspondence and notes
1895-96
folder 11
Notes and memoranda re departments
1896
folder 12-18
Chronological files
1925-30
folder 19
Miscellaneous correspondence
1911-26
Ctn. 1, folder 20-22
Morton Brothers Suit
1895-97
folder 23
Emporium Tenants meeting minutes
1896
folder 24
Department Owners' Association meeting announcements
1896-97
folder 25-33
Expenses and reorganization
1896-98
folder 34-38
Emporium and Golden Rule Bazaar merger
1896-98
folder 39-44
General and Merchandise Managers miscellaneous
1905-13
folder 45
Mr. Schlesinger's talks
1909-10
folder 46-48
Leases and property
1896-1927
folder 54-56
Emporium and H.C. Capwell merger
1925-27
Stock & Stockholders Records, 1908-1933
folder 58
Notice of special meeting
1917
folder 59
Annual meeting announcements
1926-33
folder 60
List of stockholders
undated
Financial Records, 1869-1914
Ctn. 1, folder 64
Cost and ProfitChart
1896
folder 65
Accounts and Sales Records by department
1869-97
folder 66
Totals and Averages
1896-97
Ctn. 1, folder 69
Printed material by F. W. Dohrmann
1897
Carton 2, folders 1-20
Series 2: Emporium Capwell Corporation Files, 1913-1937
Scope and Content Note
Arranged hierarchically in three sub-series, consisting mostly of meeting announcements, and
printed annual and quarterly reports. Also includes some correspondence pertaining to
stockholders and the corporate structure, clippings, and printed material on the Oakland Capwell
store.
Administrative Records, 1913-1936
Ctn. 2, folder 1-2
Board of Directors meeting announcements
1913-29
folder 3
General Executive Board meeting announcements
1929
folder 4
Subsidiaries of Emporium Capwell Corporation annual meeting announcements
1929
folder 5
Syndicate Managers meeting announcement
1929
folder 6-8
Finance Committee meeting announcements
1928-29
folder 9-10
Stockholders meeting announcements
1928-36
Financial Records, 1931-1937
folder 12
Quarterly Reports
1935-36
Carton 2, folders 21-49; Oversize folder 1
Series 3: Nathan Dohrmann Company Files, 1869-1921
Scope and Content Note
Arranged hierarchically. The first sub-series, Administrative Records, contains early partnership
Papers of Bernard Nathan, F. W. Dohrmann, and A. B. C. Dohrmann, with various memoranda written
by F. W. Dohrmann in his role as President. Correspondence files, detailing a dispute between
Nathan Dohrmann and the Emporium and Golden Rule Bazaar, include a memo detailing the executive
organization of the company and notes about its reorganization. Early financial records and
ledgers are found in the second sub-series, with personnel forms and inventory notebooks.
Advertisements are found in Oversize folder 1.
Administrative Records, 1887-1910
Ctn. 2, folder 21-22
Partnership Papers
1887-98
folder 23-27
President's Letters
1908-10
folder 28-30
Plans & Problems Memos
1905
Financial Records, 1869-1907
folder 38
Appendices to Analysis and Review
1903-07
folder 40
Table of Profit and Loss
1869-92
folder 41
Percentage of Sales Estimated as Gross Profits
1900-03
folder 42
Increase and Decrease of Purchases, Sales and Expenses
1888-91
folder 43
Business Statistics
1869-98
folder 44-45
Cash Sales Comparison
1883-97
folder 46
Disbursements Ledgers
1898
folder 47
Profit and Loss Ledger
1869-90
Miscellaneous, 1910-1921 &
undated
Ctn. 2, folder 48
Inventory Notebook
undated
Carton 2, folders 50-65
Series 4: Dohrmann Commercial Company Files, 1869-1936
Scope and Content Note
Arranged hierarchically in three sub-series containing memoranda and correspondence written by F.
W. Dohrmann, in his capacity as president of the company, to A. B. C. Dohrmann, vice-president.
Also includes financial correspondence and records, including a comparison of syndicate stores,
and invitations and menus for company anniversary dinners.
General Correspondence, 1879-1934 &
undated
folder 52
To the Hotel Department
1909
folder 53
Company history
1879, undated
folder 54
Report on Trip to Sacramento
undated
Financial Correspondence and Records, 1869-1935
Ctn. 2, folder 55-56
Correspondence and reports
1907-09
folder 57
Stock correspondence
1917-18
folder 58
Tax correspondence
1917-19
folder 59
Comparison of syndicate stores
1913
folder 60
Financial program memo
1935
Ctn. 2, folder 62
Convention of the Affiliated Stores
1913
folder 63
Notes of the Dohrmann Hotel Supply Company, Credit Men's
Conference
1936
folder 64
Testimonial Reception Invitations and Menus
1927
folder 65
Golden Jubilee Dinner Invitation
1934
Cartons 2, folders 66-68; Carton 3, folders 1-4; Oversize folder 1
Series 5: B. Nathan Company Files, 1863-1928
Scope and Content Note
Arranged hierarchically and consisting of early agreements, annual balance sheets, various
financial ledgers, supply notebooks organized by country, and printed advertisements.
folder 67
Annual balance sheets
1874-81
folder 68
Capital Stock Ledger
1869-74
Carton 3, folders 5-20
Series 6: Files Regarding Related Organizations, 1894-1922
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged hierarchically.
The first sub-series contains correspondence pertaining to syndicate stores and their leases.
Numerous files for unidentified companies include financial records, comparative building
information, and a lovely, early inventory book with pen and ink sketches of crockery and
crystal. The third sub-series consists of correspondence and memos of various merchant
associations.
Records Of Syndicate Stores, 1906-1922
folder 8-10
Parmelee Dohrmann Company
1906-22
folder 11
Yost Dohrmann Company
[1920?]
Records Of Unidentified Companies, 1894-1911 &
undated
Ctn. 3, folder 12
Miscellaneous correspondence
undated
folder 14
Miscellaneous financial records
1894-99
folder 15
Financial charts
1897-1911
folder 17
Comparative Building Information
undated
Records of Merchant Associations, 1908-1911 &
undated
Ctn. 3, folder 18
Retail Merchants of San Francisco
1910-11
folder 19
Merchants' Association
1908
folder 20
Retail Association of Greater San Francisco
undated
Carton 3, folders 21-38; Oversize v. 1
Series 7: Personal Papers of F. W. Dohrmann Family, 1841-
1938
Scope and Content Note
The bulk of the records in this series consists of items pertaining to F. W. Dohrmann's death and
funeral, including obituaries and clippings, lists of clippings and flower arrangements
received, as well as estate and personal ledgers, various memos written by F. W. Dohrmann about
estate and business planning, and speeches. Also included are a brief biography of A. B. C.
Dohrmann, ledgers for the memorial account established in the name of Mr. Dohrmann's deceased
son, W. F. Dohrmann, and the papers, including letters of introduction, wills, and passports of
various other family members—Josephine (F. W. Dohrmann's wife), Julius Dohrmann (F.
W. Dohrmann's father) and Blanca Dohrmann Paulsen (F. W. Dohrmann's sister). Some of the latter
records are in German.
Ctn. 3, folder 21
Biography of A. B. C. Dohrmann
1938
folder 22-23
F. W. Dohrmann memos
1905-06
folder 24
F. W. Dohrmann Plans and Problems—estate planning
1914
folder 25
Unitarian Club Dinner Speech
1909
folder 29
Obituaries and Clippings
1914-15
folder 31
Accounts procedure ledger
1893
folder 34-35
W. F. Dohrmann Memorial Account ledgers
1905-15
folder 36
Beneficiaries of Blanca Dohrmann Paulsen
1928
folder 37-38
Dohrmann Family personalia
1841-1924
Advertisements
[1869]-1901
Annual Balance sheets
1882-1886
folder v. 1
Resolutions of the Merchants' Association upon the Retirement of
President F. W. Dohrmann—scrapbook
1901