| Title |
Lehman & Bolton |
| Date |
fl. 1873-1920 |
| Description |
Lehman & Bolton was the lithographic and letterpress business of Norristown, Pennsylvania-natives William H. Lehman and Mahlon
Bolton, Jr. established in 1873 at 418-422 Library Street. The firm, formerly Jacob Haehnlen's establishment at Goldsmiths'
Hall, specialized in commercial lithographs such as billheads, letterheads, and advertisements. During the 1870s, according
to credit reports, the average estimated worth of the business was $30,000. They also produced genre scenes and commemorative
prints, including a ca. 1876 print for the Roxborough Baptist Sunday School featuring vignettes of Centennial Exhibition buildings
as well as received an award for their work exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition.
|
|
In November 1878 Lehman passed away following an unsuccessful retreat to Colorado to improve his health. Despite Lehman's
death, the firm continued as Lehman & Bolton. Within three years tragedy again struck the business when a fire on December
20, 1882 destroyed the Goldsmiths' Hall. Lehman & Bolton lost three floors of machinery and products worth about $150,000
with allied businesses and fellow tenants Markley & Co., prints, and A. C. Farley, lithographer and stationer, suffering losses
as well.
|
|
Soon after the fire, Lehman & Bolton relocated to the upper floors of 715-719 Arch Street, a building (sixty feet wide and
seventy-five feet deep) recently erected by Quaker real estate developer Elliston P. Morris. In the early morning hours of
January 26, 1886, fire again struck the building of the lithographic establishment that also housed wholesale shoe dealers
Monroe Brothers & Co., lithographers Butler & Partridge, and photo-engravers Crosscup & West. The opposing establishment
of lithographer George S. Harris (720-724 Arch Street) suffered damage as well. All total, Lehman & Bolton lost approximately
$100,000 in this second disaster, for which they were fully insured unlike the 1882 fire.
|
|
As a testament to the success of the company, Lehman & Bolton was able to resume business at 125 North Fifth Street by September
1886. The same year, "Sennefelder" union lithograph printers in their employ and other large establishments, including Geo.
S. Harris & Sons, Ketterlinus Printing House, Thomas Sinclair & Son, Wells & Hope Company, and Hofstetter's went on strike
to reduce the work week from 54 1/2 to 53 hours. Newspaper reports indicated a few firms conceded immediately, but the affect
on Lehman and Bolton was unrecorded.
|
|
Around 1890 Lehman & Bolton relocated to 525 Arch Street, which the firm tenanted for thirty years. The company operated until
at least 1945.
|
| Is part of |
Philadelphia on Stone Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers |
| References |
Se Bolton, Mahlon, Jr.; Haehnlen, Jacob; and Lehman, William H. |
| Has format |
Smithsonian-ArchivesCenter-LehmanBolton.jpg |
|
Smithsonian-ArchivesCenter-LehmanBolton2.jpg |
|
LCP-LehmanBolton-1975-F-4.jpg |
|
LCP-LehmanBolton-P-9349-363.jpg |
| Call number |
Philadelphia on Stone Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers |
| Bibliographic citation |
Last, 90 |
|
Library Company of Philadelphia research file |
|
Peters, 264 |
|
North American, November 7, 1878 |
|
Pennsylvania, Vol. 151, p. 188, R.G. Dun & Co. Collection, microfilm, Hagley Museum & Library |
|
Philadelphia Business and City Directories, 1873-1945 (intermittently) |
|
Philadelphia Inquirer, December 4, 1876; November 7, 1878; December 22, 1882; January 26, 1886; January 28, 1886; September
7-8, 1886 and February 5, 1914
|
|
St. Alban's Daily Messenger, December 21, 1882 |
| Image file |
Smithsonian-ArchivesCenter-LehmanBolton |
|
Smithsonian-ArchivesCenter-LehmanBolton2 |
|
LCP-LehmanBolton-1975-F-4 |
|
LCP-LehmanBolton-P-9349-363 |
