The records of the Corry Hide and Fur Company are housed in five archival boxes and are arranged in two series. The first series contains business records, consisting mainly of correspondence and invoices, of three Berliner family businesses: M. Berliner and Co. (c.1888-1893), The Corry Hide and Fur Company (c.1900-c.1916), and the Berliner Company (1916-c.1929). Also included in this series are market reports and promotional material from the Corry Hide and Fur Company, auction catalogs from several London auction houses, and market reports published by other companies in the industry. The materials in this series illuminate the day-to-day activities of the Corry Hide and Fur Company/Berliner Company as well as the early 20th century fur and hide industry.
The second series houses personal material from the Berliner family. Consisting mainly of correspondence sent to Lawrence, this series also holds records pertaining to his father Jacob, mother Emily, brother Manfred J., uncle William, nephew Manfred Jacob, and sister-in-law Celia Levene Berliner.
Series I: Berliner Family Business Records, 1888-1947
The bulk of the material in this series consists of correspondence between the Corry Hide and Fur Company/Berliner Company and its trading partners, which included individual trappers, tanneries, other hide and fur businesses. There is also correspondence originating from financial institutions, railroads and newspaper publishers. The correspondence is mostly incoming mail, though there is a small amount of letters originating from the company as well. The correspondence pertains to customer orders (including a number of disagreements over the quality or price of goods), the prices and availability of materials, advertisements placed in publications, and disputes with railroad companies over damaged shipments and overcharges. Some letters that were sent to traders were returned with handwritten responses on the back, providing a glimpse into the interaction between the Berliners and their customers. Additional corporate material includes circulars and copies of advertisements containing pricing information, testimonials, and shipping instructions. Also included in this series are price lists, receipts and invoices, canceled checks, market reports, and auction catalogs that document the fluctuations in the fur and hide market during this time.
Series II: Berliner Family Papers, 1871-1967
This series contains correspondence, receipts, and ephemera from the Berliner family. The bulk of the series consists of correspondence addressed to Lawrence Berliner. The letters concern business activities not officially conducted by Corry Hide and Fur Company or Berliner Company, rental properties owned by Berliner, information regarding stocks, travel arrangements, and numerous complaints made against railroads and other various companies. Some of the correspondence is from periodicals, such as Variety, The Cleveland Plains Dealer, and The Jamestown Morning Post and concerns freelance reporting jobs that Lawrence Berliner undertook, usually covering entertainment news and activities in the Corry area. There is also some correspondence received from family members, including his brother Manfred and his uncle David Taylor of New York. Because the Corry Hide and Fur Company and Berliner Company were family-run businesses, some of what has been classified as personal correspondence also contains information about the family businesses. In particular, letters from Lawrence’s older brother Manfred contain specific instructions to be followed when one was away from the other. These letters also contain candid observation about other businessmen in the industry.
There are much smaller groups of correspondence connected to the other members of the Berliner family. Manfred J. Berliner’s correspondence includes letters from the early car manufacturers Petrel Motor Car and Imperial Automobiles. The correspondence of Emily Berliner (née Taylor) , the only other sizeable subgroup of family correspondence in the collection, includes letters from members of the Taylor family.
Among the assorted family documents is an 1875 deed ascribed to Rosalie Berliner and an 1899 summons for William Berliner. Also in the collection is a series of military press releases documenting events in the final months of the Pacific Theater of World War II, though their connection to the creators of the collection remains unclear.
