Ketterer and related families papers
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Language of Materials
Abstract
Papers of the Ketterer and related families of New York, focused primarily on the business dealings of C. P. Ketterer Co., manufacturers of horse-drawn wagons during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Biographical / Historical
Philip Ketterer (1821–1877), a manufacturer of express wagons, did business from 90–92 Thompson Street, Manhattan. He was succeeded by his son, Charles, who operated as C. P. Ketterer Co. In addition to factories in Pennsylvania, C. P. Ketterer occupied a building at 214–216 West 17th Street The company—later reorganized as Ketterer & Kobler when Charles took his brother, Philip, and brother-in-law, S. Percival Kobler, into the firm—outgrew this space. In 1905 it purchased property at 211–215 West 19th Street, where the architects Ross & McNeil designed a five-story red brick and cast-iron factory that stands today. At the time, motorized vehicles were rapidly replacing horse-drawn delivery wagons. Although Ketterer & Kobler tried to adapt, even publishing an illustrated brochure of the commercial automobile bodies they could produce, the company soon folded. [For further information, see The Ketterer & Kobler Wagon Factory—Nos. 211-215 West 19th St. at the blog Daytonian in Manhattan.]
Philip Ketterer and his wife, Ann Margaret Kling (1828–1908), had a son, CHARLES PHILIP KETTERER (1847–1915), who married in 1873 Prudence Salome Kobler (1848–1943), daughter of Henry George Kobler (1823–1884) and Caroline Estella Jordy (1819–1904). Prudence's brother was SAMUEL PERCIVAL KOBLER (1859–1949). Charles Philip and Prudence Salome (Kobler) Ketterer had a son, PERCIVAL CHARLES KETTERER (1876–1962), who married in 1902 LETITIA HASLETT KING (1880–1924), daughter of DAVID H. KING (1822–?) and LETITIA H. THOMPSON (circa 1847–1913). Percival Charles and Letitia Haslett (King) Ketterer had a daughter, LETITITA HASLETT KETTERER (1904–2000), who married in 1951 HARRY ABRAHAM CROWN (1887–?). [Capitalized names are represented by items in the collection.]
Arrangement
The collection is organized by surname, with a map and miscellaneous photographs and ephemera following the alphabetical sequence.
Scope and Contents
Although the collection includes materials one would expect to find in any cache of nineteenth and twentieth century family papers—scrapbooks, photographs, and ephemera—the strength of the Ketterer and Related Families Papers lies in the items produced by C. P. Ketterer Co. Charles P. Ketterer, continuing the trade of his father, Philip, manufactured delivery wagons, eventually expanding in the early 1900s to include commercial automobile bodies, as the age of horse-drawn vehicles came to a close. Of chief interest are the photographs of delivery and freight wagons and automobiles constructed by the Ketterer firm (later reorganized as Ketterer & Kobler), most of which bear the names and advertisements of their commercial clients on the sides (see Box 1, Folders 11, 12, 14, and 15). The collection includes a number of mechanical drawings for these vehicles (Box 3, Folders 2–5), as well as some incorporation papers and deeds (Box 1, Folder 8).
Subjects
Organizations
Families
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Access Restrictions
This collection may be stored offsite. To arrange to consult it, please go to www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org.
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as the "Ketterer and related families papers, MS 3213, New-York Historical Society."
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Rhonda M. James, 2020 (accession no. MS-2020-014).
About this Guide
Processing Information
Processing of this collection was begun by intern Michelle D. Novak in 2022 and completed by New-York Historical Society staff in 2024.