Bowman Dairy Company collection of visual materials, [1885-1

Collection ID 1986.0049

Creator Names Bowman Dairy Company.

Title Bowman Dairy Company collection of visual materials [graphic].

Dates [1885-1965, bulk 1900-1952]

Physical description

2 albums (106 photographic prints) ; 22 x 30 cm. (8 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.)
728 photographic prints : b&w ; 8 x 10 in.
23 photographs : card photograph ; 18 x 25 cm. (6 3/4 x 10 in.) or smaller.
12 photographic prints : col. ; 24 x 35 cm. (9 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.) or smaller.
734 negatives : b&w ; 11 x 14 in. or smaller.
187 negatives : cellulose nitrate negative ; 4 x 6 in.
56 negatives : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
5 transparencies : filmstrip ; 35 mm.
3 pictures ; 35 x 26 cm. (13 1/2 x 10 in.) or smaller.
5 motion picture films : cellulose nitrate negative.
1 folder of non-graphic material.

Collection arrangement Photoprints arranged alphabetically by topic and most negatives arranged by number assigned by office of origin.

Access and usage restrictions

Nitrate negatives restricted from access, see reference copies instead.
To consult the glass negatives, color material in cold storage or negatives in cool storage in this collection in the Research Center it is necessary to make an advance appointment (email: research@chicagohistory.org). However, the collection may include prints of many of them.
In order to view an original motion picture film, it is necessary for a research copy to be made.

Collection summary

Visual materials relating to the Bowman Dairy Company, processor and distributor of dairy products in the Chicago area, 1891-1966. Includes pictures of advertisements, advertising personalities and premiums, dairy operations, interior and exterior of Bowman owned buildings (distribution sites, milk and egg processing plants, offices) in Chicago and the surrounding Illinois and Wisconsin countryside. Also includes formal and informal portraits or executive staff, first Board of Directors, salesmen, office personnel, drivers, dairy operators (including some women after the 1940s), pictures of company delivery vehicles from horse drawn carts to large trailer trucks. One group of photos relates to the slaying of a delivery man. A few photographs show company employees preparing to receive chest x-rays for tuberculosis detection, and a Bowman dairy driver receiving an award from Richard Nixon for rescue efforts in the Our Lady of Angels school fire (1958 : Chicago).
Some negatives unprinted, but most nitrate negatives were printed in snapshot form.

Location of Other Archival Materials Note Related material at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, includes the Bowman Dairy Company records and publications cataloged separately.

Finding Aids Note Unpublished inventory available online (1986-049).

Acquisition information Gift of D.H. Baldwin Co./Baldwin Piano & Organ Co., 1981 (1986.0049).

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Credit photographer.

Names