Collection Guide
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Emporium Company Records
SFH 555
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Table of contents
Title: Emporium Company Records
Date (inclusive): 1895-1980s
Date (bulk): 1896-1974
Identifier/Call Number: SFH 555
Creator:
Emporium Department Store
Physical Description:
2 cartons, 1 flat box, 1 pamphlet box, 3 scrapbooks/wrapped news clips
(5.25 Cubic Feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: The Emporium was a San Francisco department store that operated from 1872-1995. Originally opened as the "Davis Brothers Golden
Rule Bazaar" in 1872 it was renamed the Emporium in 1896 when it merged with its namesake. The company was eventually acquired
by Federated Department Stores in 1995.
Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
The collection is available for use during San Francisco Histoy Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
[Identification of item], The Emporium Company Records (SFH 555), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
During processing, the collection was re-foldered and re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes. Some staples remain.
Polariod camera removed to the Historical Photograph Collection.
The Emporium was a San Francisco department store that operated from 1872-1995. Originally opened as the "Davis Brothers Golden
Rule Bazaar" in 1872 it was renamed the Emporium in 1896 when it merged with its namesake. The store survived the 1906 earthquake
after loosing its inventory in the fire but the shell of the building survived. By 1908 new construction was complete and
the retailer reopened on Market Street in its flagship store. The company purchased the H.C. Capwell Company of Oakland in
1927 taking the name Emporium Capwell Company and began expanding to several bay area cities. By 1980 Emporium dropped the
name Capwell from its company name and was eventually acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1995. In 2006 the former
flagship store on Market Street reopened as the Westfield San Francisco Center.
The collection constists of a history of the company, internal newsletters (1916-1974), news clips and scrapbooks, photographs
of exhibits and early store locations, pamphlets, ephemera, correspondence and two corbels from the Market Street flagship
location.
The collection is arranged in 5 series: Series 1: Business Records, Series 2: Internal Newsletters, Series 3: Newsclips /
Scrapbooks, Series 4: Photographs, Series 5: Artifacts
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Department stores -- California -- San Francisco -- History
Department stores -- California -- History.
Emporium Department Store -- San Francisco, CA -- History