The collection is comprised of public relations records from the Famous-Barr Company, including some records relating to the May Department Stores Company and to Macy’s, Inc. There are three series in the collection arranged alphabetically: Administrative, 1905-2007; Events, 1963-2003; and Stores, 1955-2002. The bulk of the records date from 1955 to 1994. The files came from the office of Famous-Barr vice president for public relations and special events, Helen Weiss. She inherited some records from her supervisor, Joan Van de Erve, along with some 1990s records that belonged to Sherri Gwinnup, vice president of special events. Please also consult the Famous-Barr Photograph Collection.

The Administrative series is comprised of subject files arranged alphabetically by topic and dates from 1905 to 2007, the bulk of the series dates from 1966 to 2007. The earliest item in the series is a general ledger from an unidentified department store, most likely the May Company Store which operated from 1904 to 1908. Or, it might possibly be from the Famous Department Store, 1892-1911. The May Company operated both stores in St. Louis until it moved the Famous Department store into the May Company Store’s building in 1908. The ledger contains financial entries arranged by department from February 1905 to July 1908.

The Famous-Barr subject files contain a variety of items (B2/f.3-8). The earliest item, a training manual regarding handkerchief sales entitled, The Handkerchief Story, dates from circa 1920 and explains various attributes of the merchandise and sales strategies. Another early item, a menu and review of the store’s Forum restaurant, is dated circa 1929. In 1967, Famous-Barr apparently sent greeting cards to remind its customers to pay their bills. There are also a few employee newsletters from the St. Louis area stores dating from 1969 to 1977.

Other administrative topics comprised of several files include: donations, employees, and the May Company. The files concerning donations contain letters asking Famous-Barr for donations of money or goods. While most of the donation files pertain to St. Louis, there are a few letters from Indiana and one file concerning both community events in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The employee files concern anniversaries, retirements, biographies, and the planning of the “15 Plus Banquet,” a club celebrating employees who worked with the company 15 or more years. The May Company files contain several employee newsletters and some information on stores other than Famous-Barr within its holding company, such as Dayton’ and Kaufmann’s, and an issue of Coast to Coast magazine published by Macy’s in 2007 after it changed the names of the Famous-Barr stores to Macy’s. There is also a file on Morton D. May regarding his bequest to the St. Louis Art Museum and the amphitheater named in his honor in Kiener Plaza, downtown St. Louis.

Beginning in the fall of 1966, the Teamsters Union Local 688, attempted to unionize Famous-Barr Employees. The union distributed many flyers, leaflets, and brochures to the employees from 1966 to 1968. Famous-Barr also produced letters and leaflets to its employees, however, the literature from the Teamsters outnumbers that produced by the department store. The union filed a lawsuit alleging that Famous-Barr attempted to block union access to its employees. There is also a small amount of correspondence, notes, and newspaper clippings from 1966 to 1968. The Teamsters subject files are arranged chronologically to show the progression of the union’s efforts with the department store’s employees.

There are four binders arranged chronologically and dating 1990, 1993, and 1994, which contain memos, press releases about events and staff appointments, and various publications associated with store events and promotions (B2/f.23 – B4). Three of the binders belonged to Helen Weiss: 1990 (Jan-Aug), 1993, and 1994 (Jan-Aug). The 1993 and 1994 Weiss binders also contain copies of checks paid by Famous-Barr for either services provided at events or to local non-profits/charities as their portion of money raised during events co-sponsored by the department store. The second of the 1993 binders belonged to Sherri Gwinnup and contains event planning calendars in addition to memos and press releases.

The Events series is a mixture of civic events, such as Fourth of July and art shows, and promotional/sales events, such as Back to School and celebrity personal appearances by such notables as Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren, planned by Famous-Barr. The files are arranged alphabetically by event type or title and date from 1963 to 2006. When there are several files included in a single topic, such as Art and Christmas, the files are arranged chronologically. The files contain memos, correspondence, calendars and timelines used in planning the events, and newspaper clippings.

Morton D. May, grandson of founder David May, led the May Company in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was an avid art collector and brought his passion to the Famous-Barr stores. Under his direction art shows took place at the Clayton and downtown stores. Several shows also included sales of art as well. The City of St. Louis celebrated its bicentennial in 1964 and Famous-Barr connected its art shows to the year-long celebration. On two occasions, the art show and sales culminated in Famous-Barr sponsoring a give-away of art to cultural institutions. In 1964, members attending the American Association of Museums annual meeting in St. Louis were invited to attend the Museum Grab Bag and claim New Guinea art. In 1968, the invitation for an African Art Give Away held at Washington University’s Steinberg Hall went to members of the College Art Association and the Society of Architectural Historians. In 1975, Famous-Barr mounted an exhibition of George Caleb Bingham drawings from The Mercantile Library at the downtown store, charging a $1 entrance fee to help raise funds for the state of Missouri to purchase the Bingham drawings from the library (B6/f6).

In 1964, in cooperation with the St. Louis Bicentennial Corporation (August Busch, president), Famous-Barr sponsored the first Fourth of July celebration held on the Arch grounds. Joan Van de Erve spearheaded the planning with the assistance of Helen Weiss. Files contain an event synopsis including reports, meeting agenda, and a cost breakdown; and many newspaper clippings with advertisements and details of the event and planning on both sides of the Mississippi River (B7/f.14-16).

Famous-Barr sponsored more Fourth of July riverfront celebrations, however, there are no files for the event between 1965 and 1975. There are multiple files taken from a planning binder used by Van de Erve and Weiss in 1976 (dismantled for preservation; B7/f.18-B8/f.1-2). The binder is subdivided by topic, such as “Air Show” and “Vocalist.” The files contain correspondence and memos, 1974-1976; permits; applications, including to the Department of Defense regarding the air show; insurance certificates; meeting minutes; and agreements and contracts. The binder reveals the many details requiring attention for such a large event, including water stations and securing St. Louis resident, Robert McFerrin (1921-2006) to sing the national anthem. In addition to the events of July 4th, Famous-Barr also participated in the 1976, July 3rd Midnight Carnival sponsored by Downtown St. Louis, Inc. This evening event used music commissioned by Bicentennial Horizons of America (BHAM) and written by Lejaren Hiller.

Famous-Barr Christmas promotions were obviously a very important element of the retail business and there are newspaper clippings and/or press releases for the years, 1963, 1975, 1990, and 1991. In 1975, the store sponsored a competition for St. Louis Angels. The angels were people who performed good deeds to help others and nomination were sought from community health and welfare councils. There are also nominations from police departments describing the good deeds. The 1975 files also include invoices and correspondence regarding the purchase and cleaning of many Santa costumes for the St. Louis area stores.

In the 1960s, Famous-Barr sponsored promotions that transported its customers around the world with foreign festivals. Apparently, this was a trend with large retailers, the earliest correspondence about the September 1966 Scandia promotion are letters of inquiry from Macy’s about sharing expenses in shipping goods and exhibits from Europe (B8/f.21). For example, the Viking ship replica that sailed from Chicago to St. Louis was scheduled to go to Macy’s in Kansas City when it left St. Louis. The correspondence with various consulates, artists, and business interests relating to the Scandinavian countries in the files of Van de Erve and Wiess date from 1964 to 1966. Joan Van de Erve also traveled to Europe as part of the festival planning.

The Stores series is arranged alphabetically by store location and dates from 1954 to 2006. The files contain correspondence, memos, newspaper clippings, press releases, and schedules relating to the events planned for the opening of new Famous-Barr stores in Missouri and Illinois, and L.S. Ayres stores in Indiana; the re-opening of remodeled or renamed stores; and fewer files on store closings in Clayton, Northwest Plaza, and Indiana. Many of the events included contests for store gift certificates, various goods, cars, and vacations.

There are no files about the opening of the Clayton Famous-Barr store in 1948 or to the Southtown store in 1951. The earliest files in the series relate to the new Famous-Barr store in the Northland Shopping Center, built in 1955, and belonged to Arthur Buckland and Leonard Hornbein, who worked in sales and promotion. Later Missouri store locations include: Chesterfield, Crestwood, the Galleria, Joplin, Mid Rivers Mall, Northland Shopping Center, Northwest Plaza, St. Louis Centre (downtown), South County Shopping Center, Springfield, West County Shopping Center, and West Park Mall (Cape Girardeau). Other store locations include: various stores in Indianapolis, Merrillville, and Muncie, Indiana; Alton, Carbondale, Peoria, and Springfield, Illinois; and Oak Park, Kansas.