Available for use in the Manuscripts Division reading room. Advance notice is requested.
There are no restrictions on the use of materials in this collection. Copies can be requested if the condition of the originals warrants it.
Flour City Ornamental Iron Works Company records (N 120), Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.
The photographs are assembled into three groups. Each group is arranged in alphabetical order.
The Flour City Ornamental Iron Works Company was founded by Eugene Tetzlaff in 1893 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company was originally a blacksmith shop, but later became a manufacturer of wrought and cast iron. During World War II, Flour City produced aluminum bridge pontoons and aircraft parts. In 1945, Henry J. Neils, first president of the Flour City Ornamental Iron Works Company, began production of aluminum boats. The first aluminum boat produced by Flour City subsidiary, Alumacraft, came off the production line in 1946. Hupp Corporation bought Alumacraft from Flour City in 1960.
Flour City Ornamental Iron Works, later known as Flour City Architectural Metal Works, continued its production of ornamental and architectural metal products. In the early 1990s(?), Flour City became a part of Flour City International, Inc., and its headquarters moved from Minnesota to Tennessee.
The collection contains photographs, certificates and account books of the Flour City Ornamental Iron Works Company. Two xeroxed account books (1893-1895) contain sketches with dimensions, names, job numbers and charges. Six certificates (1945-1971) are also included in the collection.
The bulk of the collection consists of five boxes of photographs, assembled into three groups. The first three boxes comprise the first group and include buildings or subjects for which 8 x 10" photographs and/or negatives may also be included. The second group is contained in Box 4. These are exclusively small format (usually 4 x 5") prints and negatives. The prints are mounted on needle-indexed cards and cannot be removed in most cases without recourse to a professional conservator. The third group is contained in Box 5. These are large format photographs mounted on boards stock, probably made for display or presentation purposes in the company. Most of these are duplicates of photographs to be found in the other four boxes.
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An unpublished finding aid with detailed contents is available in the Manuscripts Division.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.