Perdue Manufacturing Company records
Scope and Contents
The first series of this collection contains the business records including correspondence to purchasers, reports, employee records, bank information and other documents related to the Perdue Manufacturing Company. Other information included is letters from local Athens government and the federal government, information regarding patents and trademarks from the mid-1950s, and customer letters. Also included is information on suppliers and shipping product from the mid-1950s to the 1970s. The records were kept in file folders alphabetically and are therefore kept in this arrangement for the ease of the researcher. Some files may be inaccessible due to personal information of employees. The second series of this collection also contains various materials from Sears, J.C. Penney, and other sellers, as well as other related business files that were found at the bottom of the initial donation. These have been placed into folders based on their contents.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1960-1980
- 1940-1992
Creator
- Perdue Manufacturing Company (Organization)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Selected files may be restricted due to sensitive information. This collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required. Apply in the Heritage Room for access. Selected files are restricted because of sensitive information.
Biographical
Little is recorded about the Perdue Manufacturing Company founded in Athens, Georgia. The company began as Perry Brothers Manufacturing, a shirt manufacturer, in approximately 1940. The company’s name was changed as of 1947 to Perdue Manufacturing Company. They vacated their location at 269-271 N. Hull St. between 1990 and 1992 and were formally listed as inactive as of August 1996.
Perdue Manufacturing Company was a part of the textile manufacturing business that thrived in Georgia throughout the World War II era. Throughout the state, textile manufacturers rose to the challenge of producing fabric and textiles for the war effort. Perdue Manufacturing was no exception, producing materials for the Air Force and other military branches.
According to the materials, Perdue Manufacturing Company was owned by the Perry family, including E. George Perry, A.H. Perry, and G.H. Perry. They operated branches in multiple locations, including Winder, Georgia. The company did not just produce military textiles, but produced other items like shirts, their original product as noted by their original designation as “shirt manufacturer,” cloth diapers, bandages, and other household materials. They were most known for their snap-on diapers. The company distributed their products to diaper services, hospitals, and retailers such as JC Penney, Sears and Roebucks, and McRaes.
Extent
5.42 Linear Feet (13 boxes)
Overview
This collection collects the records and other files of the Perdue Manufacturing Company, also known as the Perry Brothers Manufacturing company, over the course of their time in business which spans roughly 1940 to 1992. The collection contains business receipts and other pieces of correspondence detailing the sale of items to purchasing companies like Sears and Roebuck, JC Penney, and McRaes. The collection contains two series; the first is filed alphabetically, retaining the order of the original records. The subsequent series contains other items related to regular business proceedings of the company, filed based upon their contents.
Arrangement
The collection is organized in the following series: I. Company Records, Alphabetical II. Additions
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collected by Laura Carter, 2010
Bibliography
Physical Description
Fair to poor.
Processing Information
Folders 163-184 contain materials that were not in file folders but were loose in the original boxes. These file names were assigned to describe the materials within and are not original labels from the Perdue Manufacturing Company.
Some folders with the same title were condensed for researcher clarity.
- Title
- Perdue Manufacturing Company records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jennifer Sirotkin, Revised Mikaela LaFave
- Date
- October 2016, Revised August 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- August 2019: More detail added to existing Finding Aid, some folders reordered.
Repository Details
Part of the Heritage Room, Athens-Clarke County Library Repository
2025 Baxter Street
Athens GA 30606