Finding aid for the Taylor Chair Company Records and Photographs


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Taylor Chair Company
Title: Taylor Chair Company Records and Photographs
Dates: 1824-2012
Extent: 17.40 linear feet (15 containers and 45 oversize volumes)
Abstract: The Taylor Chair Company was founded in Bedford, Ohio. It was established in 1816 by Benjamin Franklin Fitch and William O. Taylor. The company began by manufacturing sitting chairs and rockers and eventually expanded into office furniture. By the 1980s, the company had expanded to include additional factories in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and Los Angeles, California. At one time, the company was the oldest continually-operating business in Northeast Ohio. In 2012, the company announced its closing and in September of that year, the Gasser Chair Company, of Youngstown, Ohio, purchased the rights to continue using the Taylor brand name and customer list. The collection consists of corporate records, correspondence, reports, marketing literature, a large number of early accounting ledgers, scrapbooks, and photographs.
MS Number MS 5402
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

History of the Taylor Chair Company

The Taylor Chair Company, headquartered in Bedford, Ohio, at one time was the oldest business still in existence in Northeast Ohio and was believed to be the oldest company in the United States still owned by the same family. Taylor Chair originated in 1816 when Benjamin Franklin Fitch (1784-1865) began making split-bottom, slat-backed chairs by hand at his cabin located at what is now the corner of Libby and Warrensville Center Roads. Fitch's chairs were superior to others, partly because he used preshrunk materials combining green and dry lumber so that they would not creak. Later he invented the strap lathe, which subsequently became a standard machine in the furniture industry. As demand increased, Fitch added workmen to his staff, including William O. Taylor (1814-1894), who had come to the Western Reserve from Charlemont, Massachusetts, in 1831. Taylor soon became Fitch's assistant and in 1841, his son-in-law, following Taylor's marriage with Fitch's daughter Harriet. These developments began a long succession of continuous family ownership. Fire destroyed the Libby Road sheds in 1850, leading the company to move its operations to Bedford, Ohio, adjoining Tinkers's Creek.

By 1879 the company produced 40 different styles of single- and double-seated cane chairs; it was incorporated in 1885 as the Taylor Chair Co. Vincent A. Taylor (1845-1922), son of William O. Taylor, was named treasurer. Vincent Taylor was a Civil War veteran, served in the Ohio senate, and was a United States Congressman between 1891 and 1893. He was company president between 1895 and 1922.

Mrs. Moselle Taylor Meals (1909-1978) assumed the presidency in 1953 after the death of her father, Joseph F. Taylor (1888-1953). She introduced the company's first "high style" designer chairs, receiving patents for her contemporary furniture design in the 1950s and 1960s. This trend represented a change for the company, as it embarked on designer lines for business offices. This shift also marked the beginning of a period of expansion for the company. In 1973, Taylor Chair built a 40,000 square feet manufacturing facility in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and in 1986 it acquired a desk company in Los Angeles, California. That same year, Joseph Taylor Meals (d.1972) died suddenly and Fred J. Baldassari (b. ca.1933), who joined the firm in 1972, became Chief Executive Officer. Baldassari, who became the only CEO who was not a direct descendant of the Taylor family, headed the firm until 1994, when he was replaced by J. Taylor Meals, Jr. (b.1956). In 1995 Taylor Chair employed 100 people in the Cleveland area. In 2012, the company announced that it was closing. Intellectual property, including its brand name and customer lists, was purchased by the Gasser Chair Company, of Youngstown, Ohio.

Additional information and material may be found at the Bedford, Ohio, Historical Society.

Click here to read the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry on the Taylor Chair Company

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Scope and Content

The Taylor Chair Company Records and Photographs, 1824-2012 and undated, consist of financial records (including over 30 ledgers and journals), legal and organizational documents, marketing literature, scrapbooks, and over 500 photographs.

This collection will be useful to researchers of business and industry in Northeast, Ohio, between the mid-1800s through the early twenty-first century. Specifically, those interested in the Taylor Chair Company, and those firms specializing in furniture design and manufacture will find this collection of note. Catalogs and brochures will be of interest to those researching marketing techniques and presentations. Early accounting ledgers will be of interest to not only accounting students, but to those interested in tracking the company's customer base and revenues brought in by sales. Along with product literature, a very large and extensive collection of product sketches and photographs will be of interest to students of interior design, furniture, and architecture, particularly for the period from the 1920s through the 1960s. The photograph collection includes not only images of products, but of furniture at customer settings and offices. The journal of Charles Plesnick provides particular insight into product design and manufacture, specifically for the period between 1915 and 1922.

Those investigating the financial aspects of a company operating and selling across the country will find accounting records, ledgers, and financial reports dating back to the 1880s through the 1970s. Researchers interested in United States tax collecting will find a complete collection of the company's tax returns from 1918 through 1932. Balance sheets and reports completed during the late 1920s through the early 1930s will show how the company operated and survived between the stock market crash of 1929 through the early years of the Great Depression. In addition, finance and accounting students and legal researchers will find the records relating to the company's bankruptcy and reorganization in 1940 to be of particular interest.

For those interested in labor activities and unionization, there are labor agreements between the company and its skilled laborers for the period of 1920-2007, as well as information about the early unionization and a strike during the mid-1950s. Internal policies and newsletters provide insight into how the company operated and perceived itself and its interaction with its employees. Payroll registers from 1904-1919 will allow organization and management students to analyze employment size and structure, as well as allow genealogists to track relatives who worked at the company during this time frame.

Also included in this collection are scrapbooks related to the political career of Vincent O. Taylor, as well as a set of broadsides from 1890, specifically announcing Ohio Republican Party rallies, events, and the election. Overall, the materials included in this collection will appeal to those interested in the operation and dynamics of a large, national company that was built on the entrepreneurial spirit of several Northeast Ohio families.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in twelve series. Series XII (Oversize Volumes), contain the following groups of bound records: Accounting and Finance, Ownership and Shareholders, Production, and Marketing.
Series I: Accounting and Finance is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series II: Buildings, Facilities, and Production is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series III: Legal is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series IV: Ownership and Shareholders is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series V: Marketing and Public Relations is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series VI: Product Development and Applications is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series VII: Organizational is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series VIII: Employment and Labor is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series IX: Taylor Family is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series X: Photographs is arranged in four sub-series.
Sub-series A: Buildings, Facilities, and Production is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Sub-series B: Marketing and Public Relations is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Sub-series C: Product Development and Applications is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Sub-series D: People, Places, and Events is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series XI: Certificates and Awards is arranged in original order.
Series XII: Oversize Volumes is arranged by record type and then chronologically..

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Chair industry -- Ohio -- Bedford.
Furniture industry and trade -- Ohio -- Bedford.
Industries -- Ohio -- Bedford.

Organizations/Corporations:

Taylor Chair Co. (Bedford, Ohio) -- Photographs.
Taylor Chair Co. (Bedford, Ohio) -- Records and correspondence.

Places:

Bedford (Ohio) -- Industries.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5402 Taylor Chair Company Records and Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Taylor Chair Company in 2012.

Processing Information

Processed by Robert Suriano in 2017.

Other Finding Aid

None.


Detailed Description of The Collection

Series I: Accounting and Finance 1885-1967 undated

Box Folder
1 1 Annual financial statements prepared for The Guardian Trust Co., Cleveland, Ohio 1923-1933
1 2-3 Appraisal report of plant assets prepared by the American Appraisal Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1967
1 4 Balance sheets and comparative statements 1926-1928
1 5 Balance sheets prepared for investment rating firms 1922 1929
1 6 Chair control assemblies and labor prices, including shipping costs 1951
1 7 Chart of accounts 1954
1 8 Corporate income and profits tax return for the calendar year 1918 1919-1922
1 9 Corporate income and profits tax return for the calendar year 1920 1921-1923
1 10 Corporate income and profits tax return for the calendar year 1921 1922-1924
1 11 Corporation income and excess profits tax return for the calendar year 1933 1934 1935
1 12 Corporation income and excess profits tax return for the calendar year 1934 1934 1935
1 13 Corporation income and excess profits tax return for the calendar year 1935 1935
1 14 Corporation income tax return for the calendar year 1922 1923-1927
1 15 Corporation income tax return for the calendar year 1923 1924
1 16 Corporation income tax return for the calendar year 1924 1925
1 17 Corporation income tax return for the calendar year 1925 1926 1927
1 18 Corporation income tax return for the calendar year 1926 1927 1928
1 19 Corporation income tax return for the calendar year 1928 1929
1 20 Corporation income tax return for the calendar years 1927, and 1929-1932 1928 1930-1933
1 21 Correspondence 1938 1958
1 22 Correspondence related to income tax reporting 1913 1919
1 23 Cost and profit and loss analysis 1944
1 24 Financial, production, and profit and loss budgets 1926
1 25 Factory operating statement and administrative and sales expenses 1933 1935
1 26-29 Financial reporting binder 1936-1943
1 30 Financial statement prepared for Cleveland Trust Co., Cleveland, Ohio 1923
1 31 Financial statements for the Bedford Restaurant as prepared by the B.L. Marble Chair Co., Bedford, Ohio 1920 1921
1 32 Income tax for the calendar year 1917 1918-1921
1 33 Income tax for the calendar years, 1910-1916, aand 1919 1911-1917 1920
1 34 Indirect labor expense 1926 undated
1 35 Instructions for the use of the monthly cost summary and monthly comparative cost graph as prepared by Cooley & Marvin Co., Boston, Massachusetts 1923
1 36 Letter from Cyrus P. Flick to Alonzo Draske, Esq. regarding interest payment on loan 1885
1 37 Letter to LG. Cattermole, Cooley & Marvin Co., relaying changes in production averages to be incorporated in a new report 1920
1 38 Letter to the Reconstruction Refinance Corporation regarding the reduction of expenses 1935
1 39 List of accounts as prepared by W.H. Bozell, Chicago, Illinois 1914
1 40 Material and labor cost summaries for Higbee Co. furnishings 1931 1932
1 41-43 Monthly balance sheets 1930 1931 1935 1936 undated
1 44 Monthly chair shipments, 1919-1931 and 1937-1941 1931 1941
1 45-46 Monthly comparative operating statment 1939-1941
1 47 Monthly comparative operating statement and balance sheets 1942
1 48-54 Monthly financial statements 1937-1943
1 55 Monthly fiscal statements, including assets, liabilities, profit and loss, manufacturing and factory expenses, and comparative analysis 1945-1947
Box Folder
2 1 Monthly manufacturing statement, balance sheet, and comparative operating statements 1919-1921
2 2 Monthly payroll reports 1920-1926
2 3 Monthly shipments, 1940-1946 1946
2 4 Payroll register 1904-1907
2 5 Payroll register 1907-1909
2 6 Payroll register 1909-1911
2 7 Payroll register 1911-1912
2 8 Preliminary report for the twelve months ending June 30, 1939 1939
2 9 Profit and loss analysis 1926 undated
2 10 Profit and loss statement 1935
2 11 Report and accounts for the year ended November 30, 1920 1920
2 12 Report of examination, including balance sheet, statement of income and surplus, statement of goods sold, and statement of expenses prepared by Laubscher and Smith, Accountants, Cleveland, Ohio 1942
2 13-14 Reports and analysis of company financial health, including budgets, expenses, material and labor costs, and productivity for 1948-1954 1948-1954
2 15 Return of annual income 1909
2 16 Sales by salesmen 1923 1924 1935
2 17 Schedule of Accounts Payable, February 29, 1935 1935
2 18 Statement of profits for last five years, 1918-1923 1923
2 19 Summary of operating reports 1922 1923
2 20 Year-ending financial statements 1936
2 21 Year-ending financial statements 1947

Series II: Buildings, Facilities, and Production 1876-1952 2001 undated

Box Folder
2 22-24 Annual manufacturing statements, 1935-1952 (from binder) 1939 1951 1952
2 25 Bedford, Ohio, factory interior views (photocopy) undated
2 26 Bedford, Ohio, factory layout and building designations 1944 undated
2 27 Facilities report 1943
2 28 Inventory journal 1876-1883
2 29 Inventory journal 1884-1886
2 30 Inventory journal 1887-1894
2 31 Inventory journal 1895-1909
2 32 Letter from John A. Zangerle, Cuyahoga County Auditor to W.D. Hopkins regarding sublots 11 to 18, Bedford, Ohio 1942
2 33 Topographical survey of the Bedford, Ohio, factory property (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 1) ca. 1920s 2001

Series III: Legal 1824-1944 1964

Box Folder
2 34 Abstract of titles for Bedford Village property, 1824-1875 1824-1875
2 35 Agreement with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for the lease of piece of land along the factory property 1922
Box Folder
3 1 Articles of incorporation 1885
3 2 Chattel mortgage with E. Keder Company, Williamsport, Pennsylvania 1944
3 3 Lease agreement with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for the site of a siding platform 1933
3 4 Property titles and supplemental mortgage deed of trust on the Bedford Village, Ohio, property 1889 1924 1935 1964
3 5 Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan application Number LBE-1278, May 30, 1940 1940 1941
3 6-7 Reorganization of Taylor Chair Co. according to Chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act 1940 1941
3 8 Settlement papers for the injury claim by Emily Davies on behalf of William A. Davies 1921 1922

Series IV: Ownership and Shareholders 1885-1975

Box Folder
3 9 Board of Directors meeting, November 24, 1941 1941
3 10 Capital stock certificates issued to Andrew J. Hensey 1885
3 11 Correspondence 1943 1944 1946 1952 1975
3 12 Horrocks Desk Company stock certificates issued to Joseph F. Taylor 1930 1932
3 13 Investors ledger 1885-1900
3 14 Investors ledger 1885-1901
3 15 List of preferred and common stockholders 1943 1944
3 16 Lyon-Red book report 1935
3 17 Notice to S.S. Drake, Esq. from William O. Taylor regarding a meeting of company stockholders 1887
3 18 Purchase of Taylor Chair Company stock by the corporation 1965
3 19 Record of proceedings of the incorporators, stockholders and directors of the Taylor Chair Company of Bedford, Ohio 1885-1922
3 20 Taylor Chair Company stock certificates number 1 through 22 1941 1942 1944 1945

Series V: Marketing and Public Relations 1879-2012 undated

Box Folder
3 21 Advertisements (from binder, separated by magazine) 1953-1955
3 22 Advertisements and advertising concept sketches (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 2) 1989 1990 undated
3 23 Advertisements that appeared in Interior Design Magazine (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 3) 1958 1959 undated
3 24-25 Advertising 1951-1958 undated
3 26 Advertising 1962 1966 1977 undated
3 27 Advertising 1998 2000-2002 undated
3 28 Advertising displays (laminated) (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 4) ca. 1990s-2000s
3 29 Advertising for Comfortable Rockers (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 5) undated
3 30 Advertising scrapbook (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 6) 1925 ca. 1930s undated
3 31 Advertising that appeared in Interiors Magazine 1952-1954
3 32 Advertising that appeared in Office Appliance Magazine 1953-1955 1959 undated
3 33 Advertising used for wall display panels at Bedford, Ohio, offices 1907 1910
3 34 Advertising used for wall display panels at Bedford, Ohio, offices 1952 1954
3 35 Announcement of the merger between Taylor Chair Company and Horrocks Desk Company 1930
3 36 Announcements of executive elections and promotions 1953 1958 1967 1980 1984
3 37 Brochures 1948
3 38 Brochures 1953
3 39 Brochures for Flexus and Classics collections, and conference tables undated
3 40 Brochures for sofas and living room components 1964 1978 undated
3 41 Brochures for tables 1966 1975
3 42 Catalog 1936
3 43 Catalog 1976
3 44 Catalog Number 38 ca. 1904
3 45 Catalog Number 108-R 1924
3 46 Catalog Number 117, 119, and 123 1936 1939 undated
3 47 Catalog Number 125, 131, and 133 1941 1947 undated
3 48 Catalog Number 133 supplement ca. 1940s
3 49 Catalog Number 136, 140, and 143 1956 1959 undated
3 50 Catalog Number 137 supplement ca. 1950s
3 51 Catalog Number 146, and Structil Line catalog 1962 1966
Box Folder
4 1 Catalog Number 146, including edits to be inserted regarding pricing, comparisons, and additional sales talking points 1962
4 2 Catalog sections ca. 1915-1920
4 3 Catalogs (photocopies) 1879 1881
4 4 Catalogs and brochures for Taylor's Comfortable Rockers 1905 1908 1923 undated
4 5 Catalogs for Taylor's Master Line of office chairs 1917 1919 1924
4 6 Catalogs, including Clarksdale Collection literature 1978 1979
4 7 Chair images and other pages for marketing literature undated
4 8 Chairs and closeouts sales pricing binder pages ca. 1930s
4 9 Christmas window display contest notice 1952
4 10 Company history literature 1929 1948 1951 1976 1982
4 11 Company informational brochure and mock-up ca. 1954
4 12 Company logos and branding undated
4 13 Correct Posture advertising used for wall display panels at Bedford, Ohio, offices undated
4 14 Correspondence 1906 1919 1927 1928 1950 1955
4 15 Correspondence 1988 1997 1998
4 16 Correspondence from Moselle Meals, Inc. to interior decorators regarding advertising and selling 1958
4 17 Correspondence from school and institutional furniture manufacturers 1938 1939
4 18 Correspondence with customers (bound volume) 1906-1907
4 19 Cover of Michigan Artisan 1907
4 20 Dealer Bulletins, notifying about product line and pricing changes, promotions, shipping updates, and marketing literature 1966-2001
4 21 Description panel to accompany original chair made by Benjamin Fitch (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 7) 1958
4 22 Destandardized patterns pricing sales binder pages 1934
4 23 Draft collection of sketches of courthouse furniture (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 8) undated
4 24-25 Early chair image portfolio undated
4 26 Early product catalog mock-up undated
4 27 Executive suites and commercial furniture, Catalog Number 118, and pages for distributor catalogs and bank plates (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 9) ca. 1930s
4 28 Fall Season catalog of cane seat chairs and rockers 1885
4 29 Horrocks-Taylor Commercial Suites catalog 1932
4 30 In thousands of banks brochure ca. 1920s
4 31 Informational booklet 1991
4 32 Internal memoranda from Joseph Meals to salesmen regarding quality, October 6, 1960 1960
4 33 Internal memoranda from R.L. Randolph related to catalog and photographs 1939
Box Folder
5 1-2 Internal sales information binder, including memoranda, pricing notices, and sales territories 1942 1944-1955 1957
5 3 Introduction of company logo for Taylor Companies 1988
5 4 Invitations to anniversary events 1966 1991 2006
5 5 Invitations to marketing events and product shows 1957 1958 1965 1970 1988-1990 undated
5 6 Invitations to Moselle Meals, Incorporated events 1959 undated
5 7 Letter to school supply dealers about pricing 1941
5 8 Library chairs undated
5 9-10 Marketing literature binder, including information, fabric swatches, and price lists 1962-1964
5 11 Marketing sketches featuring children, used for wall display panels at Bedford, Ohio, offices undated
5 12 Memoranda to dealers 1983-1996
5 13 Moselle desks and chairs ca. 1950s
5 14 Moselle Meals, Incorporated product literature ca. 1960s undated
5 15 Newspaper clippings regarding company acquisitions and promotions, open house, factory fire, the merger with Horrocks Desk Company, and Bedford, Ohio (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 10) 1930 1975 1986 1987
5 16 Office chairs and furniture brochures 1963 1965 1968 ca. 1970s
5 17 Portfolio Collection 5-fold brochure undated
5 18 Postcards ca. 1990s 2000s
5 19 Posture chairs brochures undated
5 20 Press releases 1988 1990 1995
5 21 Press releases, including announcement of the closing of the company 1980 2012
5 22 Price Book Number 167 1970
5 23-24 Price list binder, including updates, supplements, correspondence and memoranda, markups, and notes 1937-1959
5 25-26 Price lists (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 11) 1884 1891 undated
5 27 Price lists for Moselle Desks, Moselle Meals, Incorporated 1957 1963 1965
5 28 Price lists for Taylor-Horrocks Executive Suites and Horrocks desks 1938
5 29 Price lists for the Bedford Chair Series 1949 1950
5 30 Price lists for Tuba II Series, sofa systems, tables, and Contemporary 2 Series 1964 1966
5 31 Price lists Number 49, and 53 through 59 1904-1907
5 32 Price lists Number 106 through 129 (bound volume) 1921-1937
5 33 Price lists Number 111 through 119 1923-1929
5 34 Price lists Number 128 through 130 1937 1938
5 35 Price lists Number 132 through 143 1940-1949
5 36 Price lists Number 139, 140, and 150 with mark-ups and discounts 1946 1947 1950
5 37 Price lists Number 144 through 157 1950-1959
5 38 Price lists Number 158, 160, 161, and 166 1961 1963 1965 1969
5 39 Research material and drafts for "Sesquicentennial: The Taylor Chair Company" publication 1966
Box Folder
6 1-2 Sales force and distribution newsletter, Taylor Chair Chat 1945-1953
6 3 Sales force and distribution newsletter, Taylor Chairmanship 1953
6 4 Sales portfolio binder inserts for chairs, desks, and office suites ca. 1990s
6 5 Sales portfolio binder inserts for chairs, desks, and tables ca. 1990s-2000s
6 6 Sales portfolio binder inserts for chairs, sofas, and loungers undated
6 7-9 Sales pricing binder, including lists of changes, notes, and shipping information and costs 1937-1966
6 10 Scrapbook of advertisements 1904-1908 undated
6 11 Scrapbook of advertisements 1915 1916 1922 undated
6 12 Scrapbook of advertisements 1921-1924
6 13 Scrapbook of advertisements 1951 1952
6 14 Scrapbook of advertisements appearing primarily in Grand Rapids Furniture Record 1914-1920
6 15 Scrapbook of advertisements appearing primarily in Office Application 1914-1920 undated
6 16 Scrapbook of form letters 1905-1920
Box Folder
7 1-2 Seating and Casegoods Solutions sales binder ca. 2007
7 3 Sesquicentennial: The Taylor Chair Company, 1816-1966 1966
7 4 Sketches of office suites and furniture in contemporary settings, some colorized (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 12) undated
7 5 Sketches of office suites and furniture in office and courtroom settings (oversize material removed to Box 13, Folder 1) ca. 1928
7 6 Sketches of Taylor-Horrocks office suites and furniture in contemporary settings (cardboard-backed with notations) (oversize material removed to Box 13, Folder 2) undated
7 7 Sustainable Green program ca. 2007
7 8 Taylor Desk Company, Lynwood, California, product literature ca. 1980s
7 9 Taylor-Horrocks Executive Suites and office furnishings brochures 1932 undated
7 10 Taylor-Horrocks Executive Suites catalog 1938
7 11 Tempo and Futura furniture product lines ca. 1938-1940s
7 12 Upholstered and leather chairs and sofas sales pricing binder pages, including swatches undated
7 13 Victory chairs and wood-screw swivel chairs ca. 1942-1945
7 14 Vintage marketing literature used for wall display panels at Bedford, Ohio, offices ca. 1920s
7 15 Vinyl swatches brochure undated
7 16 Weekly Mail Orders Reports 1943
7 17 Wood office chair potentials for 1955, by trading areas 1954

Series VI: Product Development 1893-1960 1985 undated

Box Folder
7 18 Harley Edward Luky designs 1985
7 19 Journal of Charles Plesnick, recording chair production, and design sketches 1915-1922
7 20 Patents for various chairs, a seat, and chair construction 1893 1929 1937 1957 1958 1960
7 21 Sketches and concepts for office furniture designated as A-100 (oversize material removed to Box 13, Folder 3) undated
7 22 Sketches for various office furniture and suites, including Gothic Suite, and those proposed for specific customers (oversize material removed to Box 13, Folder 4) undated
7 23 Sketches of accessories, including cabinets, bookcases, sideboards, chests, and armoires 1929 undated
7 24 Sketches of accessories, including side and end tables, coat racks, telephone stands, and waste baskets 1934 undated
7 25 Sketches of benches undated
7 26 Sketches of bookcases and cabinets 1934 undated
7 27 Sketches of chair models with corresponding swivel versions and accompanying chairs undated
7 28 Sketches of court house office suite furniture undated
7 29 Sketches of desks undated
7 30 Sketches of desks and table pieces 1923 1924 undated
7 31-32 Sketches of furniture for Supreme Court offices and courtroom undated
7 33 Sketches of Horrocks-Taylor courtroom furniture, including witness stands, desks, chairs, and judges bench (oversize material removed to Box 13, Folder 5) undated
7 34 Sketches of Horrocks-Taylor specialty furniture, primarily designed for statehouse offices (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 1) undated
7 35 Sketches of living room configurations undated
7 36 Sketches of nonupholstered chairs (oversize material removed to Box 15, Folder 1) undated
7 37 Sketches of sofas, settees, davenports, and loveseats undated
7 38 Sketches of swivel chairs undated
7 39 Sketches of tables (oversize material removed to Box 13, Folder 6) 1931 undated
7 40 Sketches of upholstered and covered chairs undated
7 41-42 Special chair sketches and image binder pages undated
7 43 Trademark registration for chairs, rockers, settees, and sofas 1907

Series VII: Organizational 1920-2000 undated

Box Folder
7 44 Biographical sketch of Charles Plesnick by William J. Plesnick 1984
7 45 Employee list and payroll classifications for Clarksdale, Mississippi, plant 1987
7 46 Gasoline rationing coupons 1943-1945
7 47 Job evaluation guidelines and manual undated
7 48 Letter from Joseph F. Taylor to Gordon Meals regarding start date for new executive position 1934
7 49 Material handling analysis notes and internal memoranda 1950 1952 1953
7 50 Newsletter, Taylor News 1947 1948
7 51 Newsletter, Taylor Talk 1993-2000
Box Folder
8 1 Newsletter, Taylor Topics, June 1920 1920
8 2-5 Retirement plan actuarial reports 1973-1976
8 6 Taylor Chair coat of arms undated
8 7 Vacation policy for office employees 1969

Series VIII: Employment and Labor 1953-2010

Box Folder
8 8 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried Machine & Furniture Workers, Local 282 1990
8 9 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and National Bedding & Furniture Industries, Inc., and United Furniture Workers, Local 282 1990
8 10 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers, Local 48U 2010
8 11 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and United Steelworkers of America (Upholstery and Allied Industries Division), Local 48U 1986
8 12 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and United Steelworkers of America, Local 48U 2007
8 13 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1958
8 14 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1960
8 15 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1962
8 16 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1965
8 17 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1968
8 18 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1971
8 19 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1974
8 20 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1977
8 21 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1980
8 22 Agreement between Taylor Chair Company and Upholsterers' International Union, Local 48 1983
8 23 Collective bargaining agreement between Industrial Relations Council of Furniture Manufacturers in Southern California and Cabinet Makers, Millmen, and Industrial Carpenters, Local 271 1988 1994 2006
8 24 Union organization and strike 1953 1954

Series IX: Taylor Family 1864-1890 1930

Box Folder
8 25 Broadsides announcing Ohio Republican Party rallies, events, and voting (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 2) 1890
8 26 Civil War journal of Vincent A. Taylor, 177th Ohio Voluntary Infantry Regiment 1864 1865
8 27 Scrapbook of newspaper clippings relating to the political career of Vincent O. Taylor 1887 1888
8 28 Scrapbook of newspaper clippings relating to the political career of Vincent O. Taylor 1888
8 29 Scrapbook of newspaper clippings relating to the political career of Vincent O. Taylor 1889-1890
8 30 Scrapbook of newspaper clippings relating to the political career of Vincent O. Taylor 1890
8 31 Scrapbook of newspaper clippings relating to the political career of Vincent O. Taylor 1890
Box Folder
9 1 Taylor family genealogy, with forward by William O. Taylor 1930

Series X: Photographs ca. 1875-1990 undated

Sub-series A: Buildings, Facilities, and Production 1880 ca. 1920s-1960s 1975 undated

Box Folder
9 2 Aerial photograph of the Bedford Ohio, factory ca. 1950s-1960s
9 3 Artist rendition of the Bedford, Ohio, factory (oversize material removed to Box 12, Folder 1) ca. 1920s
9 4 Bedford, Ohio, factory 1963
9 5 Bedford, Ohio, factory addition 1969
9 6 Bedford, Ohio, factory exteriors 1880 1938 1968
9 7 Chair assembly (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 3) ca. 1940s 1954
9 8 Chair assembly (photographic negatives) undated
9 9 Chair assembly machinery undated
9 10 Chair construction and assembly images for marketing literature, cardboard backed undated
9 11 Chair parts and partial assembly views undated
9 12 Clarksdale, Mississippi, plant 1975
9 13 Construction of Bedford, Ohio, factory addition 1968
9 14 Construction of Bedford, Ohio, factory addition (photographic negatives) 1968
9 15 Factory interior, showing various departments and chair and furniture assembly ca. 1940s 1949 1965 1966
9 16 Niagara 36" foot-power squaring shear undated
9 17 Possible Taylor house on Libby Road, Bedford, Ohio, with chair factory in the background undated
9 18 Wall display panels from Bedford, Ohio, offices of factory and lumber yard undated
9 19-20 Wall display panels from Bedford, Ohio, offices of factory scenes and chair assembly undated

Sub-series B: Marketing and Public Relations 1879 1941-1969 1988 1990 undated

Box Folder
9 21 Customer portfolio (photographic negatives) undated
9 22 Customer portfolio (unidentified) 1954 undated
9 23 Customer portfolio album showing furniture products at individual client locations undated
9 24 Customer portfolio of corporate office suites undated
9 25 Customer portfolio of furniture and office suites, broken down by type of office function (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 4) undated
9 26 Customer portfolio of furniture purchased by companies and organizations in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 5) undated
9 27 Customer portfolio of furniture purchased for government offices and courthouses 1941 1945 1954
9 28 Customer portfolio of furniture purchased by companies and organizations outside of Ohio (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 6) undated
9 29 Customer portfolio of office furniture purchased by banks and life insurance companies 1953 1954 undated
9 30 Customer portfolio of office suite purchased by Compania de Recaudadora de Impuistos, Lima, Peru undated
9 31 Customer portfolio of office suites purchased by banking organizations, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, National Shawmutt Bank, and Haddington Title & Trust Company undated
9 32 Dillon showroom (8x10mm slides) 1961
9 33 Images accompanying press releases of July 6, 1988 and June 12, 1990 1988 1990
9 34 Moselle Meals product line customer portfolio (8x10mm slides) 1960
9 35 Page layouts for office suites literature (oversize material removed to Box 15, Folder 2) undated
9 36 Price list for chairs and rockers 1879
9 37-39 Product portfolio including specialty chairs, Moselle Meals, Incorporated groups, parts, and factory views ca. 1960s
9 40 Structil seating in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1966
9 41 Suniland (Houston, Texas), Marshall Fields (Chicago, Illinois), and Itkin Brothers (New York City, New York) retail outlets 1954
9 42 Trade show booth displays (photographic negatives) 1955 1957
9 43 Welcome sign for the National Stationary and Office Equipment Association Manufacturers conference, Atlanta, Georgia 1969

Sub-series C: Product Development and Applications ca. 1920s 1933 undated

Box Folder
9 44 Chair inventory undated
9 45 Desk and side chair models (photographic negatives) undated
9 46 Office suite showrooms and displays undated
9 47 Office suites (photographic negatives) undated
9 48 Providence, Rhode Island, County Courthouse 1933 undated
9 49 Providence, Rhode Island, County Courthouse (photographic negatives) 1933 undated
9 50 Showrooms and displays undated
9 51 Typewriter desk ca. 1920s
9 52 Various chair models undated

Sub-series D: People, Places, and Events ca. 1875 ca. 1885 1909-1965 1975

Box Folder
9 53 Baldassari, Frederick J. undated
9 54 Bedford, Ohio, facility employees and management (35mm slides) 1946
9 55 Bedford, Ohio, facility managers and staff 1946 undated
9 56 Bedford, Ohio, facility officers and management ca. 1960s
9 57 Bedford, Ohio, office and plant staff ca. 1960s
9 58 Bedford, Ohio, Town Hall with Mr. & Mrs. William O. Taylor ca. 1875
9 59 Coolly & Marvin ca. 1960s
9 60 Factory employees (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 7) ca. 1880s 1936 undated
9 61 Fitch, Benjamin Franklin (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 8) undated
9 62 Flick, Cyrus A. undated
9 63 Freeman, John undated
9 64 Hensey, Andrew W. undated
9 65 Hopkins, W. Dean and Moselle Taylor Meals undated
9 66 Horrick, Joseph, Vincent A. Taylor, and families with Ford Model S ca. 1909
9 67 Hunter, John A. undated
9 68 Lambert, Paul R. undated
9 69 Meals, Gordon Daniel ca. 1940s
9 70 Meals, Gordon Daniel Jr. ca. 1960s
9 71 Meals, Joseph Taylor 1967 ca. 1970s
9 72 Meals, Joseph Taylor and Gordon Daniel Meals, Jr. undated
Box Folder
10 1 Meals, Moselle T. at meetings, conferences and trade shows 1951-1953
10 2 Meals, Moselle T. on vacation and travelling 1949 ca. 1950s undated
10 3 Meals, Moselle T. (oversize material removed to Box 14, Folder 9) 1947 1951 1953 1956-1960 1962 1965 1975 undated
10 4 Mr. Fairbank and unidentified management ca. 1920s-1930s undated
10 5 Plesnick, Charles 1917
10 6 Riggs, Anne undated
10 7 Taylor, Hon. Vincent Albert ca. 1931 undated
10 8 Taylor, Joseph F. and Gordon D. Meals (35mm slides) 1946
10 9 Taylor, Joseph Fitch undated
10 10 Taylor, Joseph Fitch II (oversize material removed to Box 15, Folder 3) ca. 1920s
10 11 Taylor, Moselle undated
10 12 Taylor, William O. with parents and brothers undated
10 13 Taylor, William Orville ca. 1885
10 14 Tinker's Creek, Bedford, Ohio ca. 1930s

Series XI: Certificates and Awards 1862-1877 1961

Box
11 Certificates awarded from the U.S. Centennial Commission at the International Exhibition held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, the Northern Ohio Fair Association, the Cuyahoga County Agricultural Society, and the American Institute of Decorators 1862 1871-1877 1961

Series XII: Oversize Volumes 1879-1973 undated

Volume
1 Accounting Journal [A] 1879-1884
Volume
2 Accounting Journal B 1884-1886
Volume
3 Accounting Journal C 1886-1887
Volume
4 Accounting Journal D 1887-1889
Volume
5 Accounting Journal E 1889-1891
Volume
6 Accounting Journal F 1891-1893
Volume
7 Accounting Journal [G] 1893-1895
Volume
8 Accounting Journal H 1895-1900
Volume
9 Accounting Journal I 1905-1907
Volume
10 Accounting Journal J 1907-1909
Volume
11 Accounting Journal K 1909-1910
Volume
12 Accounting Journal L 1910-1911
Volume
13 Accounting Journal M 1911-1912
Volume
14 Accounting Journal N 1912-1915
Volume
15 Accounting Journal O 1915-1917
Volume
16 Accounting Journal 1917-1921
Volume
17 Accounting Journal 1921-1924
Volume
18 Accounting Journal 1924-1928
Volume
19 Accounting Journal 1932-1937
Volume
20 Accounting Ledger D 1883-1886
Volume
21 Accounting Ledger E 1886-1889
Volume
22 Accounting Ledger F 1889-1891
Volume
23 Accounting Ledger G 1895-1904
Volume
24 Accounting Ledger H 1905-1907
Volume
25 Accounts ledger 1930-1934
Volume
26 Accounts Payable journal 1903-1904
Volume
27 Cash and accounts payable 1917-1921
Volume
28 Accounts receivable 1917-1924
Volume
29 Accounts receivable 1920-1924
Volume
30 Accounts receivable, Vol. 1 1941
Volume
31 Accounts receivable, Vol. 2 1941
Volume
32 Dead accounts ledger, A-D 1908-1912
Volume
33 Chart of accounts undated
Volume
34 Chart of accounts undated
Volume
35 Payroll register 1914-1916
Volume
36 Payroll register 1916-1917
Volume
37 Payroll register 1917-1918
Volume
38 Payroll register 1918-1919
Volume
39 Voucher Record (expense accounts) 1913-1916
Volume
40 Voucher Record (expense accounts) 1916-1918
Volume
41 Analysis of financial statements 1949-1973
Volume
42 Taylor Chair Company stock certificates 1941-1947 1950-1972
Volume
43 Inventory ledger 1889 undated
Volume
44 Production journal 1913-1914
Volume
45 The Book of Horrocks-Taylor executive suites in authentic period designs undated