The Lowman & Hanford Stationery and Printing Company, later the
Lowman & Hanford Company, was a printing company and retail stationery
business operating in the Pioneer Square area of Seattle beginning around 1885.
James Lowman and Clarence Hanford were business and civic leaders in
early Seattle, each with ties to Seattle's pioneer settlers. James D. Lowman
(1856-1947) was born in Maryland and arrived in Seattle in 1877 at the
invitation of his uncle, founding Seattle settler and sawmill owner Henry
Yesler. Lowman worked as assistant wharf master on Yesler's wharf for four
years, using his savings to purchase a half interest in the book store owned by
W.H. Pumphrey in 1881, and buying out his partner two years later.
Clarence Hanford (1857-1920) was a Seattle native, the youngest son of
Washington Territory pioneers. When Hanford was 13, he began learning the
printing trade at the office of the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which was published by his
older brother, Thaddeus Hanford, eventually becoming foreman of the printing
department. Hanford later bought out the job-printing department and
established a job-printing office with a partner, J.H. McClair, in 1879, buying
out McClair’s interest in 1881.
Around 1885, J.D. Lowman and Clarence Hanford consolidated their
stationery and printing businesses into the Lowman & Hanford Stationery and
Printing Company, with Lowman as President and principle stockholder, and
Hanford as vice-president and manager of the printing and bookmaking
department. The firm advertised as booksellers, stationers, printers and
binders but also sold typewriters, sewing machines, pianos and organs. The new
company added large presses and printed all the city's newspapers until their
establishment was destroyed in the Great Fire of June 1889. The company
returned to the "burnt district" after the fire, probably in temporary quarters
at first, then building both the Lowman & Hanford Printing and Binding
building (now the Washington Park Building) on Washington Street, along
Railroad Avenue (now Alaskan Way), which they moved into in 1890, and the
Lowman & Hanford building at 616 First Avenue, designed by Emil DeNeuf.
Within months of the fire, they had erected and operated in the first two
floors of the latter building, continuing operations during construction of the
upper floors. The four-story building was completed in 1892, with three more
upper floors added around 1902. Immediately next door, the 10-story Lowman
Building at 107 Cherry Street was completed in 1906. These two buildings, along
with the Howard Building and the Pioneer Building, forms the eastern edge of
the area’s original public square.
Judging by entries in city directories, the retail store appears to
have gone out of business in the 1960s, with the printing company ceasing
operations some years previous.
Content Description
Records include stockholder and Board of Trustees meeting minutes;
Lowman & Hanford Company stock certificates; materials related to
investments held by Lowman & Hanford Company; a file related to financial
transactions regarding their Washington Street property; and correspondence and
legal documents regarding the effect of Alaskan Way viaduct construction on
Lowman & Hanford businesses.
The photographs include portraits of J.D. Lowman and Clarence Hanford
and views of Lowman & Hanford buildings over the years, showing the
expansion of the store at 616 First Avenue from two stories, to four and
finally seven stories. A series of mounted and captioned photographs depicts
operations in the printing and bindery building on Washington Street.
Use of the Collection
Alternative Forms Available :
Three of the images are available at
King County Snapshots or by
clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.
Restrictions on Access :
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
Restrictions on Use :
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in
the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research,
publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI
before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to
all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may
require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation :
Lowman & Hanford Company Records, Museum of History &
Industry, Seattle
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Arranged in 5 series:
Business records
Investments
Properties
Alaskan Way condemnation
Photographs and drawing
Acquisition Information :
Gift of Arthur R. Cook, December 3, 1970
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in
the collection.
Business records, 1894-1946
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Minutes
Minutes of stockholders and Board of Trustees meetings.
Box
1
Lowman & Hanford S. &
P. Co.
1 bound volume
Includes the Trustees Oath of Office from March 2, 1885,
signed by J.D. Lowman, Clarence Hanford and John N. Jackson; 1899 documents
about the purchase of 2 lots in "D.S. Maynard's Plat of Seattle" for $12,000;
and documents about the change of the company name to Lowman & Hanford
Company (1909).
1894 March-1909
July
1
Lowman & Hanford
Co.
1 bound volume
Includes oaths of trustees after the death of Clarence Hanford
and the retirement of Mary Jackson.
1910-1930
1
Lowman & Hanford
Co.
1 bound volume
1930-1942
2
Pacific Blue Print Paper Co.
Inc.
1 bound volume
The Pacific Blue Print Company of New York, New York purchased
the Commercial Blue Print Company of Seattle and consolidated with it in 1915,
moving operations to Seattle. The company name was changed to Pacific
Commercial Blue, Inc. The relationship between this company and the Lowman
& Hanford Company is unclear; possibly Lowman & Hanford owned Pacific
Commercial Blue Inc. at some point. City directory listings for Pacific
Commercial Blue end in 1926.
1914-1920
Box
1
Lowman & Hanford Company
capital stock certificates
1 bound volume
Bound volume of stock certificates of $100 each. The majority of
the certificates are in the names of Clarence Hanford, J.D. Lowman, J.H.
Jackson and Bernard Pelly.
1909
July 13-1929 August 27
Box/Folder
2/1-2
Trademark and patents
Trademark registration (1932), and documents related to problems
with a patent agreement (1924, 1933).
1924, 1932-1933
2/3
Miscellaneous business
records
Inventory of "Cars received in Commercial Warehouse Bldg" on
Alaskan Way, a Corporation License, and a group medical contract
Documents related to investments owned by Lowman & Hanford
Company, including stocks and bonds, as well as documents related to claims on
unpaid investments.
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
2/3
Pacific Steamship
Lines
Documents related to claims for payment on investments,
including correspondence, court records and income notes
1933-1941
2/4
Pacific Coast Golfer
Includes correspondence and articles of incorporation of a
company in which all stock was owned by Lowman & Hanford and Western
Engraving & Colortype Company
1935-1941
2/5
Seattle Steam Corp.
Correspondence regarding sale of Lowman & Hanford Company
shares of stock in Seattle Steam Corp.
1954-1955
2/6
Northwest Toll Bridge
Company
Correspondence regarding payment of interest on bonds
1931-1932
2/7
Central Public Service
Corp.
Includes company's financial statements and correspondence about
stock purchase.
1932
3/1
Miscellaneous stocks and
bonds
approximately 60
items
Certificates purchased by Lowman & Hanford Company for
shares in a wide variety of businesses, and bonds for loans to various
entities.
1886-1938
2/8
Claims on investments
Correspondence and court records regarding claims and other
issues with investments.
Documents were removed from envelope inscribed "Deed and papers
pertaining to Washington St. investment."
Documents regarding the property at "Lot 4, Block 1 of D.S.
Maynard's Plat of the City of Seattle, and Lot 4, Block 197 of the Plat of
Seattle Tide Lands." Includes investigation of title (1906); quitclaim deeds
from various parties to Lowman & Hanford for the property (1906); a
warranty deed between Dexter Horton Bank and Lowman & Hanford for purchase
and assignment of mortgage to Margaret Denny; agreement between Denny and
Lowman & Hanford regarding the mortgage (1911);correspondence and
statements regarding payments made to Margaret Denny (1914-1916); and
accounting records regarding the Washington Street building (1906-1929).
Includes correspondence (1946-1950) regarding Lowman &
Hanford Company's claims against the city for damages that will result from
improvements on Alaskan Way (Lowman & Hanford owned two buildings on
Alaskan Way -- the printing plant and a sales office-- and used the railroad
spur for shipping). Also includes an agreement between Lowman & Hanford and
Northern Pacific Railway Company related to the relocation of trackage
resulting from the construction of the Alaskan Way viaduct (1953). Includes
Northern Pacific Railroad blueprints of the area in question.
1946-1953
Box/Folder
2/12
Ordinance copies
1950 copies of an ordinance and its amendments from 1882, 1883,
1900 and 1909. The ordinance involves the rights of the Oregon &
Transcontinental Railroad Company (later the Northern Pacific Railroad Company)
and the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad Company to construct a railroad
along the Seattle waterfront. These documents were probably reproduced in
relation to Lowman & Hanford claims regarding Alaskan Way construction.
.1-.2: Portraits of Clarence Hanford and
J.D. Lowman
Printed reproductions
undated
3/3
.3: Men in front of Lowman &
Hanford Stationery & Printing Co. building at First Avenue and Cherry
Street
early 1880s
3/3
.4: Men in front of Lowman &
Hanford Stationery & Printing Co. building at First Avenue and Cherry
Street
1888
3/3
.5: Men outside storefront with
Lowman and Hanford S&P Co. sign
This photograph probably depicts a temporary store location as a
result of the June 1889 Seattle fire. Caption on mount reads "Site of Present
County-City Building" (the King County Courthouse at 3rd Avenue and James
Street in Pioneer Square).
circa 1890
3/3
.6: Four-story Lowman & Hanford
Stationery & Printing Co building at 616 First Avenue at Cherry Street
Copy negative on file
1898
3/3
.7: Seven-story Lowman & Hanford
Co. building at 616 First Avenue
circa 1906
3/4
.8: Ten story Lowman & Hanford
Co. building at 107 Cherry Street
1920
3/4
.9: Lowman & Hanford Co. store at
1514 3rd Ave.
circa 1930
3/5
.10-.12: Lowman & Hanford Co.
buildings on Washington Street and view of Alaskan Way
circa 1950
Printing plant and bindery
operations
Set of seven black and white prints mounted on cardboard with
hand-lettered captions, showing various operations within the printing plant
and bindery buildings on Washington Street.
circa 1908
Box/Folder
3/6
.13: Man and woman working at
monotype keyboards
circa 1908
3/6
.14: Women working in
bindery
circa 1908
3/6
.15: Men at linotype
machines
circa 1908
3/6
.16: Men working in composing
room
circa 1908
3/7
.17: Men working at
presses
circa 1908
3/7
.18: Men at monotype type-casting
machines
circa 1908
3/7
.19: Exterior of printing plant and
bindery at Washington Street and Railroad Avenue (Alaskan Way)
circa 1908
folder:oversize
1
.20: Copy of architect's concept
drawing of a Lowman and Hanford building
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings.