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Philadelphia Board of Realtors Records
Notifications
Held at: Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The Philadelphia Board of Realtors (PBR) was a professional organization established as a non-profit corporation on April 21, 1908 to "encourage trade and commerce in Real Estate, to inculcate just and equitable principles in trade, to [protect] against imposition and fraud, to bring about greater uniformity and certainty in business practices, and to establish closer ties of business association among the members."
Originally comprised of Center City realtors, the Board steadily incorporated chapters from outlying wards within the city of Philadelphia. By 1957 a formal amalgamation agreement ensured that all chapters would participate in the nomination and election of officers to the Board.
The Board worked closely with state and national organizations, the Pennsylvania Board of Realtors and the National Association of Real Estate Boards (NAREB), respectively. During the late 1950s through the 1960s, the Board enjoyed considerable influence on the national level. John E. "Jack" Teller, who served the Board in an administrative capacity for over twenty years, was an active member of the NAREB Executive Officers Council (EOC), and served as President of the Secretary's Council (the predecessor to the EOC) in 1958.
Major activities included training and certification of members, conducting appraisals of property, and hearing and adjudicating complaints against Board members brought either by other Realtors or by consumers.
During the mid- to late-1960s, the Board's self-policing functions were steadily superseded by governmental action as community organizations and civic groups pressed for greater oversight of real estate activities. These issues became particularly salient in the wake of major civil rights legislation that sought to end discriminatory practices in real estate. The Board resisted these efforts for a time but were forced to accommodate to the changing times under the threat of costly litigation and through the active involvement of federal, state and local governments.
The collection includes the minutes from executive committee and general membership meetings, correspondence and general office files, financial records, over one thousand property appraisals conducted between 1925 and 1959 (indexed separately by appraisal number and property name), Arbitration and Ethics Committee files including the formal records of cases adjudicated by the panel, publications from both the PBR and state and national organizations, and files from educational courses offered by the Board. Photographs include images of organization activities, realtor and other portraits, and other images used in the organization's magazine, The Realtor. Photographers represented in the collection include Philip B. Wallace and Elias Goldensky among others.
The collection is arranged into 9 series as follows:
- Series 1: Administration, 1924-1976
- Subseries 1.1: Minutes of Meetings, 1924-1970
- Subseries 1.2: Correspondence and General Office Files, 1942-1976
- Series 2: Financial Records, 1952-1972, undated
- Series 3: Property Appraisals, undated
- Series 4: Arbitration and Ethics, 1943-1949, undated
- Series 5: The Realtor (Magazine), 1948-1962
- Series 6: Education, 1949-1963, undated
- Series 7: Photographs (PC-72), undated
- Series 8: Membership Applications, undated (Restricted)
- Series 9: Miscellaneous, 1922-1949, undated
Deposited by John E. Teller, Executive Vice President, through the Philadelphia Board of Realtors in May 1972 and May 1977. Photographs (PC-72) deposited in December 1971.
Inventory compiled by Christopher Preble in June 1996. Finding aid revised according to contemporary archival standards in June 2016.
Organization
Subject
- Housing -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Real estate agents -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Real estate business -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Place
- Publisher
- Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center
- Finding Aid Author
- Machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan, Sky Global Services India (P) Ltd.
- Finding Aid Date
- April 2023
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research; Series 8, Membership Applications, is restricted. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.
- Use Restrictions
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The Philadelphia Board of Realtors Records are on deposit at the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated.
Collection Inventory
Series 3 is arranged by Appraisal Number.
(25 folders)
(24 folders)
Selected Membership Applications, C-D, K-M. 3 Boxes, unprocessed as of July 1996. Series 8 is restricted. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.
Several Annual Banquet programs and pamphlets relating to local properties.