ALBRECHTS (MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.).:

The firm was established in Saint Paul in 1855 by Ernst Albrecht, an immigrant from Coburg, Germany. The Albrecht family first entered the fur business in 1725 in Coburg.

In 1951 Albrechts became the first store in the United States to manufacture coats made of Borgana, a synthetic which resembles fur.

The family-owned firm(s) operated under various names over the years, including E. Albrecht & Bro.; Charles A. Albrecht; Albrecht Bros.; E. Albrecht and Son Co.; Albrecht Furs; and Albrechts (or Albrecht's or Albrechts'). For many years the stores in Saint Paul and Minneapolis were apparently separately-owned and operated. John R. Jerrard, husband of Ernst Albrecht’s granddaughter Marguerite, took over the stores at about the time of the death of her uncle, Robert Albrecht (1963). Jerrard combined both the Saint Paul and Minneapolis operations and moved the firm's headquarters from Saint Paul to Minneapolis. In 1981 the firm was known as Albrecht of Minneapolis, Inc., and operated stores in downtown Minneapolis, Edina, and the Highland Park area of Saint Paul. It was at that time said to be the oldest and largest manufacturing and retail furrier in the United States.

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The collection consists primarily of large scrapbooks into which are pasted and taped newspaper and magazine advertisements from both local and national publications, primarily the Twin Cities' daily newspapers. There are also some product catalogs, manuals and other materials for Albrecht's sales staff, historical information, a few photographs of store interiors and exteriors, and some fur samples. There is also a ledger of customer accounts (1874-1880) that for many years was cataloged separately in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.

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These records are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Albrechts Company Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 4244; 8575; 15,520

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, September 1999

Catalog ID number: 990017319550104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Advertising.

Clothing and dress.

Coats.

Family-owned business enterprises -- Minnesota.

Fashion merchandising.

Fur -- Prices.

Fur garments.

Fur trade -- Accounting.

Fur trade -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Fur trade -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

German Americans -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Manufactures -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Merchants -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Retail trade -- Minnesota.

Women's clothing industry -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Albrecht, Charles A., 1850-1918.

Albrecht, Ernst, 1829-1915.

Albrecht, R. E. (Robert E.), 1901-1963.

Albrecht family.

Jerrard, John R.

Organizations:

Albrecht Bros. (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Albrecht Furs (Firm : Saint Paul, Minn.).

E. Albrecht & Son (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Ernst Albrecht and Bro. (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Types of Documentation:

Advertisements.

Catalogs.

Scrapbooks.

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