William F. Lucas family papers

Collection

Identifier: PIMS-0057

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The William F. Lucas family papers, 1839-1938, contain personal papers relating to the everyday life of the family and their printing and stationery business. Included are correspondence, account books, journals, and five photo albums with tintypes, cartes de visite, and cabinet photos of family members and friends. Among their closest friends were the Frick and the Jenkins families. Bertha E. Lucas' notebooks during the time of her studies in Misses Hall's School include personal letters to her close friends. The seven scrapbooks reveal the Lucas family's interests in poetry, the American Civil War, and clocks, as well as the family's involvements in and invitations to events in Baltimore during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Dates

Creation: 1839-1940

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for use at the Peabody Archives. Contact peabodyarchives@lists.jhu.edu for more information.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright. All requests for permission to publish or perform materials in this collection must be submitted in writing to the archivist of the Arthur Friedheim Library.

Biographical / Historical

Fielding Lucas Jr. (1781–1854) founded a printing and stationery business in Baltimore in 1804. The firm, located at 116 East Baltimore Street, passed to his sons William F. Lucas, Edward Lucas, and Henry A. Lucas, who renamed it Lucas Brothers. William F. Lucas became the sole proprietor in 1866. George A. Lucas (1824–1909), brother of William F., became an art dealer in Paris in the later 19th century.

In 1886, William F. Lucas was elected president of the Mechanics National Bank. The Lucas Brothers business was passed down to his three children, William F. Lucas Jr., John Carrell Lucas, and Bertha E. Lucas, in 1897. In 1929 T.A. Steinmueller became the president of the Lucas Brothers Inc., with Jesse G. Kaufman as vice president and John Carrell Lucas as treasurer.

Extent

4.48 Cubic Feet (6 medium flat boxes, 1 small flat box, 1 large flat box, 3 full-size legal boxes, 1 half-size legal box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

William F. Lucas and family owned the Lucas Bros. printing and stationery business in Baltimore in the 19th century. The Lucas family papers include correspondence, diaries, financial documents, photographs, and scrapbooks relating to the family and their business, including writing books by William F. Lucas' daughter, Bertha E. Lucas, and papers related to William's brother, art collector George A. Lucas.

Other Finding Aids

A detailed finding aid, containing lists of subjects in writing books and scrapbooks, exists offline. Please contact peabodyarchives@lists.jh.edu for more information.