The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Crerar, Adams & Co. Collection 1922-1957
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Crerar, Adams & Co. Collection |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1922-1957 |
| Size: | .75 linear feet (2 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Founded by John Crerar and J. McGregor Adams ca. 1868, Crerar, Adams & Co. was a leading supplier to the railroad industry. This small collection contains trade catalogs from the early and mid-twentieth century, as well as documents relating to the estates of one of the firm's partners, Edward S. Shepherd, and his wife Julia M. Shepherd. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Crerar, Adams & Co. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Founded by John Crerar and J. McGregor Adams ca. 1868, Crerar, Adams & Co. was a leading supplier to the railroad industry. Crerar and Adams soon brought in a third partner, Edward S. Shepherd, and the firm enjoyed enormous financial success as Chicago became the primary railway hub of the United States.
As an active philanthropist, John Crerar gave the city of Chicago a large sum of money in his will to found a public library. The Crerar Library was developed as a collection of science and medicine, and expanded throughout the twentieth century. In the 1980s, the Crerar Library was consolidated with the University of Chicago’s science collections, re-opening to the public in 1984.
This collection contains Crerar, Adams & Co. trade catalogs from 1922 and 1938, as well as a ca. 1957 reprint of a 1948 catalog. Also found in this collection is a variety of correspondence and other documentation of the management of the estates of Edward S. and Julia M. Shepherd.
John Crerar Library. Records
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Trade catalog, 1922 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Trade catalog, ca. 1957 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Estates of Edward S. and Julia M. Shepherd, correspondence and financial material, 1929-1931 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Proposed construction on Shepherd property, correspondence and contractors' drawings, 1929 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Trade catalog, 1938 |