Buffum Family Papers
Finding aid created by Sherman Library and Gardens staff using
RecordEXPRESS
Sherman Library and Gardens
614 Dahlia Ave.
Corona del Mar, California 92625
(949) 673-1880
library@slgardens.org
http://www.slgardens.org/
2017
Descriptive Summary
Title: Buffum Family Papers
Dates: 1913-1991
Collection Number: 2006_01
Creator/Collector:
Buffum
Buffums' (department store)
Extent: 1 document box and 2 flat oversize boxes
Repository:
Sherman Library and Gardens
Corona del Mar, California 92625
Abstract: The collection consists of materials related to the business
interests and activities of various members of the Buffum family and the Buffums’
Department Store.
Language of Material: English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Buffum Family Papers. Sherman Library and Gardens
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated to the Sherman Library by Richard Buffum, 2001.
Biography/Administrative History
Brothers Charles Abel Buffum and Edwin Emery Buffum came to Long Beach, California,
in 1904 and co-founded The Mercantile Company, which they renamed Buffums’
Department Store in 1912. C.A. Buffum also served as mayor of Long Beach from
1921-1924, and he died in 1936; his brother, E.E. Buffum, died twenty years later.
It was under the leadership of C.A. Buffum’s son, Harry Buffum, that the company
expanded into Santa Ana with an additional store in 1950, later growing to become a
chain of sixteen department stores throughout Southern California. David Jones Ltd.,
an Australian retailer, acquired Buffums’ in 1974, and due to financial difficulties
Buffums’ closed its doors in 1991.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of correspondence, reports, ephemera, photographs and
clippings related to the business interests and activities of various members of the
Buffum family and the Buffums’ Department Store. A majority of the materials in the
collection relate to Harry Buffum, the son of Charles Abel Buffum, who served as
president of the company for thirty years. Of note in the collection are a large
number of photographs and 35 mm slides depicting various window displays, models,
and stores. There is also a sizeable leather-bound scrapbook filled with clippings
which span the years 1935-1960.
Indexing Terms
Department stores - California, Southern - History - Sources
Buffum, Charles Abel
Buffum
Buffums'(department store) - History - Sources
Long Beach (Calif.) - History - 20th century
Additional collection guides
Box:Folder 1:2
Buffum, Harry. “Destiny” [poem]
1913
Box:Folder 1:3
Reports - Annual reports
1964-1965
Box:Folder 1:4
Reports - Buffums’ spring 1954 fashion campaign
1953
Box:Folder 1:5
Reports - 50th anniversary audit report
1954
Box:Folder 1:6
Reports - Rotary Club of Long Beach, Calif.
1955
Box:Folder 1:7
Anniversary card for Harry Buffum
n.d.
Box:Folder 1:8
California Retailers Association. Resolution of Appreciation to Harry Buffum
n.d.
Box:Folder 1:9
Christmas greetings from Harry Buffum
1957-1965
Box:Folder 1:10
City of Hope. The Torch of Hope Award - Harry Buffum
1961
Box:Folder 1:11
Photograph of Harry Buffum
n.d.
Box:Folder 1:12
Photographs - Buffums’
1953
Box:Folder 1:13
Photographs - Buffums’ - Window displays - 1940s
1940s
Box:Folder 1:14
Photographs - Buffums’ - Window displays - 1950s
1950s
Box:Folder 1:15
Photographs - Buffums’ - Window displays - n.d.
n.d.
Box:Folder 1:16
Photographs - Buffums’ - Interior views
1946-195?
Box:Folder 1:17
Photographs - Buffums’ - Interior views of holiday decorations
n.d.
Box:Folder 1:18
Photographs - Buffums’ - Exterior views
n.d.
Box:Folder 1:19
Photographs - Buffums’ delivery cars
n.d.
Box:Folder 1:20
Architectural renderings - Buffums’
1978
Box:Folder 1:22
Buffums’ scrapbook – Part 1 [disbound]
1963-1986
Box:Folder 2:1
Buffums’ scrapbook – Part 2 [disbound]
1985-1989
Box 3
Newspapers and oversize clippings (Long Beach Independent, Long Beach Press, Long Beach Press-Telegram, and the Los Angeles
Times)
1917-1991
