University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department.

John Pritzlaff Hardware Company (Milwaukee, Wis.).

Records, 1839-1868, 1884-1949.

Milwaukee Manuscript Collection CQ and Milwaukee Micro Collection 9

1.5 cubic ft. (2 archives boxes, and 7 volumes) + 1 microfilm reel (35 mm)

ABSTRACT: The papers of the John Pritzlaff Hardware Company consist of twelve volumes: eleven ledgers and one inventory, one folder of miscellaneous material and one reel of microfilm. The inventory covers the years from 1861 through 1865 showing the stock that the company carried. The ledgers consist of four volumes of accounts receivable of which three are indexed and cover the period 1850 to 1861; the fourth one covers the period from 1864 to 1867 and also contains suppliers names and a list that seems to record deposits to the Second Ward Bank. The ledgers also include three day books from 1859 through 1861 and one cash book for the period 1867 to 1868. There are two volumes of Annual Statement of Affairs which cover the years 1884 to 1943. There is also one Trial Balance ledger for the period 1940 through 1949.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

ARRANGEMENT: Volumes 1-3 are located in box 1, volumes 4 and 6 are located in box 2, and volumes 5 and 7-12 are loose.

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: The John Pritzlaff Hardware Company was founded in 1850 by John Pritzlaff (1820-1900), in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. John Pritzlaff was born in 1820 in Trutzlatz, a province of Pomerania, Prussia. He emigrated to America in 1839 and worked his way westward by maintaining various jobs along the way, such as, a laborer on the Genesee Canal in Pennsylvania. By 1841 he reached Milwaukee and became a teamster for $9.00 a month. In 1842 he was a cook on a lake steamer and the following year supported himself by cutting timber at the site of Schlitz Park. In 1843 he entered the hardware field where he was employed by Shepardson and Farwell as a porter, earning $200 a year. The following year Shepardson sold out to Nazro and King and Mr. Pritzlaff continued in the latter's employment. He remained with Nazro and Company until 1850.

In the year 1850, John Pritzlaff, along with August F. Suelflohn and Henry J. Nazro, opened a small retail hardware store called John Pritzlaff and Company. Nazro was a silent partner, but carried the financial burden. In 1853 Suelflohn was bought out by Pritzlaff and in 1866 Nazro withdrew, leaving the entire business with John Pritzlaff as proprietor of a large and rapidly growing business. By 1884 Pritzlaff incorporated the John Pritzlaff Hardware Company. The company kept growing and moving until it became the largest hardware store in Milwaukee and the entire region. When John Pritzlaff died in 1900, his son, Frederick C. Pritzlaff, took over the company. The John Pritzlaff Hardware Company appears in the Milwaukee City Directory for the last time in 1958.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

John Pritzlaff Hardware Company (Milwaukee, Wis.). Records, 1839-1868, 1884-1949. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection CQ and Milwaukee Micro Collection 9. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

ACQUISITION: Presented by Edward Pritzlaff in Hartland, Wisconsin on September 9, 1958, and October 23, 1958.

PROCESSING: Processed by CB on February 4, 1969.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

Business records--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Hardware stores--Wisconsin--Milwaukee--Records and correspondence.
Milwaukee (Wis.)--History--Sources.
Pritzlaff, John, 1820-1900.

MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION CQ MILWAUKEE MICRO COLLECTION 9	BOX
Inventory, 1861-1865 [volume 1]	1
Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Indexed, 1850-1853 [volume 2]	1
Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Indexed, 1852-1855 [volume 3]	1
Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Indexed, 1856-1861 [volume 4]	2
Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Suppliers, Deposits, 1864-1867 [volume 5]
Ledger, Annual Statement of Affairs, 1884-1923 [volume 10]
Ledger, Annual Statement of Affairs, 1924-1943 [volume 11]
Ledger, Cash Book, 1867-1868 [volume 9]
Ledger, Day Book, 1859 [volume 6]	2
Ledger, Day Book, 1860 [volume 7]
Ledger, Day Book, 1861 [volume 8]
Ledger, Trial Balance, 1940-1949 [volume 12]
Letters in German, John Pritzlaff to his Brother, 1839-1847 [Milwaukee Micro Collection 9, reel 1]
Miscellaneous Material, undated	1