Philadelphia Bourse Records

 

HISTORICAL NOTE
 

The Philadelphia Bourse, also known as the Merchant’s Exchange, opened in 1895 and was the first commodities exchange in the United States. It simultaneously housed a stock exchange, a maritime exchange, a grain trading center and an exhibition hall. The building was designed by George and William Hewitt and constructed between 1893 and 1895. Under the guidance of Exchange President, George E. Bartol, a wealthy grain and commodities trader, the one-stop commerce and trade center brought together such tenants as: Moore and McCormick Steamship Lines, American Telephone and Telegraph, the Maritime Exchange, Commercial Exchange and assorted grain and export agents. The records in this collection span 31 years from 1895 to 1922 during which the Bourse thrived.

Beginning in the 1950s the Philadelphia business community began moving westward into more modern facilities and the Bourse closed in the 1960s. Kaiserman enterprises purchased the building in 1979.

The Philadelphia Bourse is located on what is now Independence Mall and the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


ACQUISITION INFORMATION

Obtained from Samuel T. Hess in June of 1983.

ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT
 

The collection is arranged into three series:

I. Administration (Boxes 1-6)

II. Financial (Boxes 7-26)

III. Correspondence (Boxes 27-38)

 

Series I: Administration: this series consists of monthly department reports from the Secretary’s Office and various documents relating to the annual meetings. The monthly reports (1901-1921) come from the following departments: Chief Engineer, Mechanical and Electrical, Treasurer, Exhibition, Real Estate and Office, Bourse and News Department, Publicity, and President. The following months are missing: April 1901, July 1902, August, 1903, January 1904-December 1905, June 1914, February-May 1915, January-February 1916, October-December 1917. The annual meetings include materials used in preparation (department reports) and forms from the meetings (voting lists, proxies, ballots and memos for minutes). In 1913 a special meeting for preferred stockholders was held : "RE: refund or mortgage".

Series II: Financial: Materials in the Financial Series includes: monthly Treasurer’s reports, with occasional intermediate reports at the sixth month, ninth month and end-of-year intervals (1900- 1916); documents relating to the mortgage bonds renewal attempt of 1912 –1913, the successful mortgage with the Trust Company of North America in 1913 and the refunding of the first mortgage bonds, partial runs of bank vouchers (1891-1922), a sampling of renters’ cards showing monthly rent paid by office and exhibition tenants arranged alphabetically (1896-1912), a copy of the lease from the Philadelphia Bourse to A.W. Lauer and Co. (February 1915) and several miscellaneous treasurer’s documents (1899-1901, 1909-1910).

Series III: Correspondence: Consists of correspondence to the Secretary’s Office which are ordered chronically and then alphabetically by sender. Materials include thank you notes, requests for information, solicitations from advertising agencies, solicitations for money, business receipts, information about members and stock and reports from various departments and other interoffice correspondence. Of special note: Box 29 contains a solicitation for funds from the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute signed by Booker T. Washington. Correspondence about the construction of the building from George and William Hewitt, the building’s architects as well as from David Evans, the engineer/architect originally hired are in Box 27.

INVENTORY

SERIES I. ADMINISTRATION

BOX 1

Secretary’s Office
1 Department Reports Jan.-March 1901
2 Department Reports May-July 1901
3 Department Reports Aug.-Oct. 1901
4 Department Reports Nov. 1901-Jan. 1902
5 Department Reports Feb.-April 1902
6 Department Reports May-June, Aug. 1902
7 Department Reports Sept.-Nov. 1902
8 Department Reports Dec. 1902-Feb. 1903
9 Department Reports March-May 1903
10 Department Reports June-July, Sept. 1903
11 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1903
12 Department Reports Jan.-March 1906
13 Department Reports April-June 1906
14 Department Reports July-Sept. 1906
15 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1906
16 Department Reports Jan.-March 1907
17 Department Reports April-June 1907
18 Department Reports July-Sept. 1907
19 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1907

BOX 2

1 Department Reports Jan.-March 1908
2 Department Reports April-June 1908
3 Department Reports July-Sept. 1908
4 Department Reports October 1908
5 Department Reports Jan.-March 1909
6 Department Reports April-June 1909
7 Department Reports July-Sept. 1909
8 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1909
9 Department Reports Jan.-March 1910
10 Department Reports April-June 1910
11 Department Reports July-Sept. 1910
12 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1910
13 Department Reports Jan.-March 1911
14 Department Reports April-June 1911
15 Department Reports July-Sept. 1911
16 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1911

BOX 3

1 Department Reports Jan.-March 1912
2 Department Reports April-June 1912
3 Department Reports July-Sept. 1912
4 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1912
5 Department Reports Jan.-March 1913
6 Department Reports April-June 1913
7 Department Reports July-Sept. 1913
8 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1913
9 Department Reports Jan.-March 1914
10 Department Reports April-May, July 1914
11 Department Reports Aug.-Oct. 1914
12 Department Reports Nov. 1914-Jan. 1915
13 Department Reports June-Aug. 1915
14 Department Reports Sept.-Nov. 1915
15 Department Reports Dec.1915, Mar. 1916
16 Department Reports April-June 1916
17 Department Reports July-Sept. 1916
18 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1916

BOX 4

1 Department Reports Jan.-March 1917
2 Department Reports April-June 1917
3 Department Reports July-Sept. 1917
4 Department Reports Jan.-March 1918
5 Department Reports April-June 1918
6 Department Reports July-Sept. 1918
7 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1918
8 Department Reports Jan.-March 1919
9 Department Reports April-June 1919
10 Department Reports July-Sept. 1919
11 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1919
12 Department Reports Jan.-March 1920
13 Department Reports April-June 1920
14 Department Reports July-Sept. 1920
15 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1920
16 Department Reports Jan.-March 1921
17 Department Reports April-June 1921
18 Department Reports July-Sept. 1921
19 Department Reports Oct.-Dec. 1921

BOX 5

1 17 Annual Report 1908
2 17 Annual Meeting 1908
3 18 Annual Meeting 1909
4 18 Annual Meeting 1909
5 19 Annual Meeting 1910
6 19 Annual Meeting 1910
7 20 Annual Meeting 1911
8 20 Annual Meeting 1911
9 Special Meeting 1913
10 22 Annual Meeting 1913
11 22 Annual Meeting 1913

BOX 6

1 Special Meeting 1914
2 23 Annual Meeting 1914
3 24 Annual Meeting 1915
4 25Annual Meeting 1916
5 26Annual Meeting 1917
6 27 Annual Meeting 1918


SERIES II: FINANCIAL

BOX 7

1 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1900
2 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1901
3 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1902
4 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1903
5 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1904
6 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1905
7 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1906
8 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1907
9 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1908
10 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1909
11 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1910
12 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1911
13 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1912
14 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1913
15 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1914
16 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1915
17 Monthly Treasurer’s Reports 1916
18 Miscellaneous Treasurer’s Documents 1899-1901,
19 Documents Relating to Mortgage Bonds renewal attempt 1912-1913
20 Mortgage – Trust Co. of North America 1913
21 Documents relating to refunding First mortgage bonds 1913
22 Lease, Philadelphia Bourse to A.W. Lauer & Co. February 1, 1915 to February 28, 1915

BOX 8

Vouchers August 1891 - February 1894

BOX 9

Vouchers March 1896 - December 1895

BOX 10

Vouchers September 1897 - February 1898

BOX 11

Vouchers July 1902 - November 1902

BOX 12

Vouchers February 1907 - May 1907

BOX 13

Vouchers May 1907 - September 1907

BOX 14

Vouchers December 1911 - April 1912

BOX 15

Vouchers April 1912 - September 1912

BOX 16

Vouchers January 1917 - March 1917

BOX 17

Vouchers July 1917 - December 1917

BOX 18

Vouchers March 1920 - July 1920

BOX 19

Vouchers March 1922 - July 1922

BOX 20

Renters’ Cards (A – Central Stamping Co.) 1896-1912

BOX 21

Renters’ Cards (Chandler & Co. – Gelber, Wm. A.) 1896-1912

BOX 22

Renters’ Cards (General Chemical Co. – LaVergne Machine Co.) 1896-1912

BOX 23

Renters’ Cards (Lavino, E.J. – Or. Fibre Brush Co.) 1896-1812

BOX 24

Renters’ Cards (Paine & Co. – J. Overton – Shredded Wheat Co.) 1896-1912

BOX 25

Renters’ Cards (Sibley, Wm. H. – Werner and Pfleiderer) 1896-1912

BOX 26

Renters’ Cards (West, Chas. F. – Zungola, Rosaria) 1896-1912


SERIES III. CORRESPONDENCE

BOX 27

A – Z Prior to 1896

BOX 28

A – Z 1896

BOX 29

A – Z September 20, 1896 – March 1, 1897

BOX 30

A – Z March 1, 1897 – September 30, 1897

BOX 31

A – Z October 1, 1897 – March 31, 1898

BOX 32

A – Z April 1, 1898 – December 31, 1899

BOX 33

A – Z May 1, 1899 – December 31, 1900

BOX 34

A – Z January 1, 1900 – July 1900

BOX 35

A – Z July 1, 1900 – December 31, 1900

BOX 36

A – Z January 1901 – August 21, 1901

BOX 37

A – Z August 21 – April 1, 1902

BOX 38

A – Z April 1, 1902 – December 31, 1902