European Purchases, various countries - also grouped by Carl Schon, Inc., 1928

The collection consists of fifteen boxes old receipts, orders, and correspondence from 1927 to the 1960's, arranged alphapetically as to the company or person involved. The dates within each group are various. Within each alphabetical letter designation are separate folders of correspondence with people and correspondence with dealers and suppliers most often dealt with. Included also is United States Treasury Department information and reports, tax information, replacements estimates for insurance purposes, and other categories. The inventory list shows all the designations. The rest of the collection is 69 volumes of accounts in books and ledger volumes. There are also three scrapbooks of Carl Schon's jewelry creations and advertisements.



There are a few letters of a personal nature to and from John W. Frech, president of the firm from the 1930's on. Generally these refer to business, as they were perhaps an order from a personal friend, or from a relative. Many, many letters are inquiries and further inquiries as to why an order was taking so long. Occasional orders were lost in the mail. People wrote to express their pleasure at the jewelry made for them; others complained of the high prices. Some orders the firm said it could not do, or could not do for the price the customer wanted to pay. They did copy antique rings, they made rings larger and smaller, repaired and replaced stones, and they made molds to create certain animals, flowers, and other designs requested. A lot of the designs seem rather horrible to modern taste, such as Brahma bull earrings, a boa constrictor belt buckle (with the rest of the snake as the belt), many designs of dragon and snake rings, and a vertebrae brooch, made for a chiropractor.