Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company Records

Collection

Identifier: 1980-0040

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The records in this collection document the business proceedings of the Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company from 1865 to about 1937, with the bulk dating between 1874 and 1930. The types of materials include correspondence, inventories, business directories, and financial records. There are no materials documenting the founding and early years of the company. The materials are arranged in six series.

The collection is incomplete and there are many gaps. The records were originally transferred from the company to Yale University in 1941. These records did not include the original minute meeting book, which is presumed lost.

Dates

undated, 1837-1937

Access

The collection is open and available for research.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from the owner(s) of the copyright.

History

The Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company, one of many companies that composed Connecticut's thriving brass industry in the 19th century, was established as the Waterbury Jewell Company in 1851 and soon changed its name to the Steele and Johnson Button Company. In 1865 the company established its New York store, and in 1875 this manufacturer of brass buttons and various metal goods changed its name to the Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company. Steele and Johnson produced and sold items primarily to brass companies and other businesses in Connecticut and Massachusetts, with customers in New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and California. During World War I it produced goods for the army and the government.

Although two-thirds of the nation's brass was produced in and around Waterbury by 1926, the company ceased its business operations in 1933, when it employed between five hundred and six hundred employees. In 1941 the capital stock of Steele and Johnson was purchased by the Waterbury Button Company.

Extent

195 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company was established as the Waterbury Jewell Company in 1851 and soon changed its name to the Steele and Johnson Button Company. In 1865 the company established its New York store, and in 1875 this manufacturer of brass buttons and various metal goods changed its name to the Steele and Johnson Manufacturing Company. Steele and Johnson produced and sold items primarily to brass companies and other businesses in Connecticut and Massachusetts, with customers in New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and California. During World War I it produced goods for the army and the government.

Arrangement

Series I: Correspondence (1866-1937) consists of four subseries: Incoming, Letters from Connecticut and New York Store, Outgoing, and Outgoing: Store. Incoming Correspondence consists mainly of credit reports, complaints, and information about the company's financial difficulties and dissolution. Outgoing Correspondence includes information about a 1905 industrial accident at the company. The incoming correspondence constitutes the bulk of the entire collection. It was heavily concentrated for a short time period. Since most of this correspondence was routine orders and inquiries, the Archives staff conducted a sampling process, which preserves representative examples of the files. The series is arranged chronologically.

Series II: Administrative Records (undated, 1837-1909) contains such items as stock data, federal reserve charts, address books, contracts, creditor and bankruptcy reports, employee data, insurance information, summonses, and tax data. This series is arranged alphabetically.

Series III: General Accounting (1903-1933) includes ledgers, journals, and check registers, as well as volumes of expense analysis, cash journals, and general ledgers. This series is arranged chronologically.

Series IV: Labor (undated, 1882-1922) contains payroll sheets, salary information, and employee data. Three are also several volumes of payroll analysis and contract labor records.

Series V: Production (1874-1879, 1930) consists of inventory and stock on hand ledgers as well as analyses of supplies ledgers.

Series VI: Sales (undated, 1865, 1884-1885) consists of volumes of sales data, as well as price quotations, salesmen's reports, price lists, and orders. With the exception of the final items in the listing, Hitchcock & Castle oversized sales ledger sheets, the materials in the series are arranged alphabetically.