Maryland Historical Society Library - Potthast Brothers Collection

Collection finding aids of Photograph Collections
in the Prints and Photographs Division
of the Maryland Historical Society Library

POTTHAST BROTHERS COLLECTION

ca. 1900

PP7

PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION
MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
201 W. MONUMENT ST.
BALTIMORE, MD 21201

Finding aid created by Katherine Cowan
with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
March 2000

History

The Potthast Brothers Furniture Company was founded in 1892 by Potthast brothers Vincent, John A. (1871-1962), Theodore, and William A. (1863-1935), who came to Baltimore from Westphalia, Germany. A fifth Potthast brother who remained in Germany was also a furniture maker. The business was located at 924 N. Charles St. in Baltimore, specializing in reproducing antiques as well as designing its own furniture.

Collection Origin

Gift of Theodore J. Potthast, 1975 (71550).

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of 3 boxes containing 30 modern prints and 80 glass negatives from ca. 1900. Subjects include furniture made by the Potthast Brothers Company, unidentified family portraits, crews of the Bremen Line ships, Baltimore shipping and the B and O Railroad Pier, and ships Lynata and Shawmut. Other subjects are the Knights of the Maccabees in regalia and soldiers of the Spanish-American War.

Note: Related materials are found in the Manuscripts Department of the Maryland Historical Society: MS. 2183, the Potthast Brothers Letterbooks; and MS. 2659, the Potthast Brothers Incorporated Correspondence.

Arrangement

Modern prints housed in 1 folder. For glass negatives, only partial inventory is available and has not been correlated with individual items. Negatives are housed individually in folders, each of which is labelled.

Note: Some of the glass negatives are mutilated (scratched across the center).

Container List

3 Boxes

Box 1
30 modern prints

Boxes 2-3
Partial inventory from accession document

Glass negatives, 8 x 10 in.
Knights of the Maccabees. 3 items.

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. Pier. 3 items.

Soldiers, Spanish-American War. 3 items.

Ship Shawmut and crew members. 1 item.

Men aboard various ships of the Bremen Line. 8 items.

Interior, (ship’s store?). 1 item.

Roofers applying tin roof. 1 item.

Copy photograph of large print of steam-sailing vessel. 1 item.

Portraits of people, unidentified. 10 items.

Potthast furniture. 11 items.

Glass negatives, 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.
Potthast furniture. 19 items.