Gold & Company (Lincoln, Neb.) [RG2018.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG2018.AM: Gold & Company (Lincoln, Neb.)

Records: 1902-1990, mostly 1937-1965
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb.: Retail store
Size: 3.5 cu. ft.

BACKGROUND NOTE

On March 2, 1902 Coen and Gold, located at 110 N. 10th Street, opened for business. Partners William Gold and Martin Coen stocked the store with yard goods, furnishings and shoes. After a year, Gold bought out Coen’s interest in the business, and renamed it “The People’s Store.” By 1912, Gold required more space, and in the first of many expansions over the years, acquired an adjacent building. In 1919 the store relocated to a four story building at 1029 O Street. Five years later, in 1924, the company moved to a newly constructed six-story building at the southwest corner of 11th and O Streets, beginning its 40 year tenure at that location. Building additions and property purchases followed in 1929, 1931, 1936, 1947, and 1951 to accommodate the growing business. When William Gold died in 1940, his son Nathan, who had joined the business in 1913, was already serving as company president. Under his direction, Gold’s continued to flourish.

Gold & Company was an active sponsor of community programs and groups. The company hosted annual banquets for both the 4-H club, and for the Knighthood of Youth, a program designed to improve the character of school children.

In 1964, Gold & Company merged with the larger Brandeis retail chain. For a time the store continued to operate under the Gold name as a division of J.L. Brandeis & Sons, Inc. A new Brandeis store opened in the Gateway Mall at 66th and O Street in 1977. By July 1980, Brandeis management announced that the downtown Lincoln store would be phased-out over a period of months, then closed permanently in November 1980. In 1981 William Gold II sold the Gold’s building, which had been retained by the Gold family under the terms of the Brandeis merger.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of records relating to Gold & Company, which have been arranged in nine series: 1) Newsletters, 1937-1980; 2) Employee materials; 3) Advertising Department; 4) Financial records; 5) Service activities; 6) Blueprints; 7) Articles, news releases, and clippings; 8) Scrapbooks; and 9) Miscellaneous.

Note: Approximately 3,000 Gold’s photographs are located in the photo component of this collection. Sound recordings in the collection include six audio cassettes, five with radio ads for Brandeis, and one of an employee skit done in 1978. Please ask a Reference staff member for assistance with the photographs and sound recordings.

INVENTORY

Series 1 – Newsletters

Box 1
Folder

1. Gold Tips, 1937
2. Gold Tips, 1938
3. Gold Tips, 1939
4. Gold Tips, 1940
5. Gold Tips, 1941
6. Gold Tips, 1942
7. Gold Tips, 1943, Jan. – Feb.
8. Gold Tips, 1948, Sept. 18 – Dec.
9. Gold Tips, 1949
10. Gold Tips, 1950
11. Gold Tips, 1951
12. Gold Tips, 1952
13. Gold Tips, 1953
14. Gold Tips, 1954
15. Gold Tips, 1955
16. Gold Tips, 1956
17. Gold Tips, 1957
18. Gold Tips, 1958
19. Gold Tips, 1959
20. Gold Tips, 1960
21. Gold Tips, 1961

Box 2
Folder

22. Gold Tips, 1962
23. Gold Tips, 1963
24. Gold Tips, 1964
25. Gold Tips, 1965
26. Brandeis Friends, 1965
27. Brandeis Friends, 1969-1971
28. Brandeis Friends, 1972-1974
29. Brandeis Friends, 1975-1976
30. Brandeis Friends, 1977-1978
31. Brandeis Friends, 1979-1980
32. The Gold Beacon, 1943, Nov. – 1946, Feb.?

Series 2 – Employee materials

Box 2
Folder

1. Gold’s 15 Year Club rosters, 1955-1968, and undated
2. Manuals
3. Benefits
4. Reunions
5. Miscellaneous

Series 3 – Advertising Department

Box 2
Folder

1. Promotional materials – General
2. Promotional materials – Fashion
3. Gustav Kopta materials
4. Drawings

Series 4 – Financial records

Box 2
Folder

1. Journal, 1902-1903 [1 volume]
2. Mortgage Bonds Brochure, c.1930

Series 5 – Service activities

Box 2
Folder

1. Knighthood of Youth, 1938-1955
2. 4-H banquet [Photograph]
3. Chemurgic Research Fellowship Award
4. “Tribute to the Unconquerables,” 1943-1944
5. Certificates, 1943-1944
6. Lincoln Army Airfield Hospital [c.1943-1944?]

Series 6 – Blueprints (see oversize)
Folder

1. Blueprints, Gold’s Building
2. Blueprints, Gold’s Building
3. Blueprints, Gold’s Building
4. Blueprints, Gold’s Building

Series 7: Articles, news releases and clippings

Box 2
Folder

1. Articles about Gold’s, including:
   “A Store That Opens with Prayer,” Christian Business Magazine, Sept. 1930
   “Shirt Sleeve Religion,” Guideposts, Dec. 1952
   “At the Sound of the Gong,” 1954
2. News releases
3. Clippings, 1905-1906
4. Clippings, 1920-1921
5. Clippings, 1927

Box 3
Folder

6. Clippings, 1928
7. Clippings, 1929-1930
8. Clippings, 1937-1938
9. Clippings, 1939
10. Clippings, 1940
11. Clippings, 1941
12. Clippings, 1942
13. Clippings, 1943
14. Clippings, 1945
15. Clippings, 1946
16. Clippings, 1947-1948
17. Clippings, 1950
18. Clippings, 1951
19. Clippings, 1952
20. Clippings, 1953
21. Clippings, 1954
22. Clippings, 1955
23. Clippings, 1956
24. Clippings, 1957
25. Clippings, 1960
26. Clippings, 1964
27. Clippings, undated
28. Special issue newspapers (see OB086)

Series 8 – Scrapbooks

Box 4
Folder

1. 1949-1964 [disbound for preservation]
2. 1949-1964 [disbound for preservation]
3. 1949-1964 [disbound for preservation]
4. 1949-1964 [disbound for preservation]
5. 1930-1941, fragments (see OB086)

Shelved with Photographs:

1946 [Photos – Group 4]
1946-1952 [Photos – Group 5]
1953 [Photos – Group 6]
1959 [Photos – Group 7]

Series 9 – Miscellaneous

Box 4
Folder

1. Miscellaneous
2. Gold’s wrapping paper (see OB086)

Subject headings:

Architecture — Designs and plans
Gold, Nathan J. (Nathan Jules), 1894-1970
Gold, William, -1940
Gold & Company (Lincoln, Neb.)
J.L. Brandeis & Sons, Inc.
Lincoln (Neb.) — Businesses

03-21-2007 TMM/tmm