Frederic A. Blank papers

The papers of centenarian and retired wall covering entrepreneur Frederic Blank, spanning close to 150 years (1866-1991), are illustrative of Blank's long life and career. The collection includes materials related to three broad components of Blank's life: 1) his time served as a World War I field artillery officer-in-training at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, 2) his career as an independent industrialist with the import/export business turned wall covering distributor Frederic Blank & Co., and 3) his personal life as a civic-minded and socially engaged French immigrant to the United States.

The collection contains news clippings, published books, U.S. court records, personal and professional correspondence, membership cards, articles, booklets, memoranda, pamphlets, wall covering sample books, metal printing plates, class notes and exams, business cards, passports, wall covering advertisements, maps, and periodicals. Though the collection is small - less than three linear feet - the diversity of the materials within the collection provides the researcher with a rounded glimpse of the varied life of a twentieth-century businessman and provides important sample books of iconic mid-twentieth-century American wall coverings.

The collection is organized into three main series. Series I. World War I, contains documents relating to Blank's time in the U.S. Army, specifically his training manuals from Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky (Folders 4-7). Additional material relates to his recollections about another Army facility, the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania (Folder 9).

The second (and by far the largest) series details Blank's business career and his company, Frederic Blank & Co., in particular. The company, which started out in New York as an import/export business in 1913, went on to become a supplier of synthetic wall coverings to mid-century businesses and industries across the nation. Much of the material included in this series is trade advertising and sample books that hail from this later period in the company's development. Also included are several trade articles written by Blank that appeared in publications such as Direct Reflections , Sales Management , and Hotel World (Folder 13). Earlier materials include two large transcripts from U.S. circuit court cases in which Blank was involved. The first, Warner Moore and Thomas L. Moore, Dunlop Mills, Warner, Moore & Co. vs. Steamship "Sif," Jacob R. Olsen , details a case in which Blank testified as export manager for The Dunlop Mills (Folder 10). The latter case, Frederic Blank against United States of America and the International Mercantile Marine Corporation , arose out of a dispute that Blank had with a shipping company (Folder 11).

The final series pertains to Blank's personal life. A good deal of this material consists of Blank's personal correspondence with politicians, newspapers, and benefactors during his later years of retirement (Folder 35). A few folders of material reflect his strong anti-union position; his views stemmed, in large part, out of a boycott of Frederic Blank & Co. by the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America that occurred early on in his career (Folders 37-41). Other items of particular interest in this series are two of Blank's passports from the early twentieth century (Folder 34). As an international trader, Blank had cause to travel extensively prior to and following the First World War. He obtained his first U.S. passport in 1913 prior to becoming an American citizen. This passport - the low-numbered #188 - was signed by then-Secretary of State William Jennings Bryant.

The three series of this collection include material that would be of interest to many different researchers. The first series is of particular use to individuals wishing to research artillery officer training programs, Camp Zachary Taylor, or those with an interest in published handbooks, textbooks, manuals, and learning aids for World War I officers. The second series includes materials that may be useful to both scholars of industrial design, interior decorating, printing processes, and color theory as well as those with a much broader interest in American businesses from the 1910s to 1960s. The personal memorabilia found in the final series helps tie the collection together and provides a nice glimpse into the interests of Frederic A. Blank - immigrant, soldier, industrialist, and businessman.