KULLBERG MANUFACTURING COMPANY (MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.).:

An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator: Kullberg Manufacturing Company (Minneapolis, Minn.), creator.
Title:Company records.
Dates:1910-1996 (bulk 1921-1983).
Abstract:Records of a family-owned, Minneapolis-based manufacturer and wholesaler of fine built-in cabinetry, moldings, millwork, and stair parts.
Quantity:1.0 cubic feet (1 box).
Location:See Detailed Description section for shelf location.

Expand/CollapseHISTORICAL NOTE

The company was founded as Central Wood Turning Company in 1894 by Swedish immigrant Gustaf A. Kullberg. Kullberg took his sons A. T. (Arlence T). and W. L. (Wallace L.) Kullberg into the firm in 1902, and from that time until 1925 it was known as G. A. Kullberg and Sons. In 1925 the name was changed to Kullberg Manufacturing Company. Ray E. Kullberg, a son of A. T. Kullberg, served as president of the company from 1947 until 1985, when he sold the company to Paul Blackwell and retired. The firm was later known as Kullberg-White Inc., and apparently failed later in the 1980s.

Kullberg Manufacturing Company was for many years a manufacturer of high-quality custom hardwood moldings and cabinets used in churches and in fine custom-built homes in the Twin Cities and Chicago. After World War II it broadened its product lines and became a distributor of doors, window units, softwood moldings, and related building supplies.


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Expand/CollapseSCOPE AND CONTENTS

The collection includes financial statements, product catalogs and detail drawings, photographs, and historical and background information. Much of the collection focuses on the products produced by the company. There is also information about the North West Woodwork Association, of which W. L. Kullberg served as secretary.


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

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

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,482

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, September 1999

Catalog ID number: 990017358230104294


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

LocationBox
144.E.7.7B1Financial statements, 1948-1983. 6 folders.
Issues wanting.
Historical and background information, 1910, 1957-1996.
North West Woodwork Association: Corporate record book, 1933-1935.
Photograph album, 1925.
Photographs of Kullberg millwork jobs in fine homes, apartments and office buildings, a church, and other structures in Chicago and nearby communities. Exterior views of the company's plant(s) in Northeast Minneapolis, and interior views showing workers operating equipment within the plant, lumber stocks, and some projects in progress.
Photographs:
Undated.
Includes 3 mounted photos of Kullberg built-in buffets, a photo showing a bowling alley floor under construction, and a photo showing Kullberg door and window displays at an unidentified trade show.
Central Wood Turning Company picnic, 1923.
Fourth annual company picnic at Spring Park, Aug. 4, 1923. Rolled and torn wide-angle panorama, housed in a small gray box.
Product catalogs, undated.
Built-in Furniture (Central Wood Turning Co.); Standardized Built-in Cabinet Work [and] Interior Trim (Kullberg Manufacturing Co.); and Built-In Conveniences. There are also two catalogs from Premiere Standardized Woodwork, of El Paso, Texas, featuring built-in cabinets.
Project detail drawings:
LocationBox
144.E.7.7B1Undated and 1938-1940.
A book of blueprint drawings of moldings, fireplace mantels, built-in cabinets, and similar products produced by Kullberg Manufacturing Company. There are also magazine advertisements featuring these products.
Built-In Furniture, 1921.
A book of blueline drawings of colonnades, brackets, built-in buffets, sideboards, dining room ends (paneled walls), kitchen cupboards, a breakfast nook, a medicine cabinet, a window seat, and similar products produced by Central Wood Turning Company.

Expand/CollapseRELATED MATERIALS

A videotape compilation of the home movies of Ray Kullberg is contained in the Minnesota Historical Society sound and visual collections.

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Expand/CollapseCATALOG HEADINGS

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:
Built-in furniture.
Cabinetmakers -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
Cabinetwork.
Carpentry.
Family-owned business enterprises -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
Manufactures -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
Millwork (Woodwork).
Moldings.
Swedish Americans -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
Woodwork.
Woodworking industries -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
Persons:
Holloway, Jane Kullberg.
Kullberg, Ray.
Kullberg family.
Organizations:
Central Wood Turning Company (Minneapolis, Minn.).
A. Kullberg & Sons (Minneapolis, Minn.).
North West Woodwork Association (Saint Paul, Minn.).
Types of Documentation:
Photographs.

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