Woolf Brothers Company Records (KC0282)

Woolf Brothers Company Records (KC0282)

The Woolf brothers, Samuel and Alfred, arrived in Leavenworth, Kansas at the end of the Civil War from their native New York. There they established a store where shirts were made and sold. They prospered in Leavenworth for a number of years, but with the rise of Kansas City as the region's urban center, they moved their operation there in June of 1879. When Samuel Woolf died in 1895, Alfred carried on the business, and his son, Herbert M. Woolf, succeeded him in 1913. For more than thirty years, Herbert oversaw Woolf Brothers' tremendous growth in popularity, the addition of women's and boy's departments, and expansion of its stores in Kansas City and other Midwest cities. Herbert's nephew, Alfred Lighton, took over the presidency of the stores in 1962. Due to many changes in the retail clothing industry and other economic factors, Woolf Brothers closed its doors permanently in the winter of 1992.

Included are the records of the company including orders, patterns, advertisements and other financial, legal, and sore related data. Known for the innovative use of advertising, the Woolf Brothers Company maintained a collection of scrapbooks of their newspaper ads. The microfilmed scrapbooks contain examples of the advertisements dating from 1910 to 1970 which appeared local newspapers and magazines in Kansas City, as well as other cities where the Company had stores. Some of the advertisements were made into slides. 1910-1970.

19 cubic feet; 1 3-foot box; 4 flat boxes; 6 oversize boxes of scrapbooks; 20 rolls (MICROFILM)

updated: Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Kansas City
(816) 235-1543 WHMCKC@umkc.edu