Large catalog entitled "The Price Wrecker" selling everything from air pressure systems to groceries to windmills ; they secured the contract to demolish the Columbian Exposition structures . Sometime in the early 1900's, they began offering house plans and selling the material and lumber to construct these. In 1913, the company name was changed to Harris Brothers, and they published their first catalog of pre-cut homes in 1912. The company remained in business until 1960, moving to Wisconsin, where they produced doors and windows. Harris apparently stopped selling homes during the depression. Harris, Leo. "Wrecking to Save: The Chicago House Wrecking Company." Journal of the West 38:4(October 1999):65-74. Russian immigrant Moses Harris established a successful salvage business that reused materials from world's fairs. His companies included the Chicago House Wrecking Company and the Columbia Exposition Salvage Company in which he pioneered techniques for preserving historical materials by reusing them.(from SIL website: Revisiting the World's Fairs and International Expositions)
Includes:
Trade catalog and price lists
Black and white images
Physical description:
3 pieces; 2 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Date range:
1800s-1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Architectural designs and building materials Search this
Department store; dry goods and mail order catalogs Search this
