Search

Start Over Organization United States. Navy. Form Financial records Year 1910 to 1914

Main content

John E. Hand & Sons Co. records, 1865-2002, undated [bulk dates: 1900-1980]

Extent:
26.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The John E. Hand & Sons Company was founded in Philadelphia in 1873. The Hand Company built navigational equipment for all varieties of floating vessels, and operated a chain of retail outlets with “service stations” in numerous port cities, including Baltimore and New Orleans, until 1956. Service stations sold Hand instruments as well as other nautical paraphernalia and provided compass adjusting services. The collection documents the business activities of the John E. Hand & Sons Company from its institution in 1873 to 1997, when the company was sold. The collection boasts a wide breadth of material that includes legal documents, financial records, patents, correspondence, contracts, reports, catalogs and other ephemera, photographs, and engineering plans. Together, the records provide a thorough account of the firm’s operations.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Main content

George Sproule papers, 1884-1944 (bulk) 1784-1947 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.16 linear feet (3 boxes, 17 volumes)
Abstract:
George F. Sproule (1867-1928), known as an authority on the Port of Philadelphia, served on the Board of Port Wardens of Philadelphia from 1884 to 1907, as Secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Navigation for the Delaware River from 1907 to 1920, and as Director of Wharves, Docks and Ferries from 1920 to 1928. His son, Samuel Jackson Sproule served as Port Representative for the United States Shipping Administration, Recruitment and Manning Organization during World War II. This collection documents the professional life of George F. Sproule in the Philadelphia shipping and maritime industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the history of the Port of Philadelphia, and the World War II career of his son. The collection includes clippings, correspondence, appointment books, a scrapbook, business records, photographs, ephemera, and writings. The collection also includes a large number of maritime-related newspaper clipping volumes dating from 1891 to 1928.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]