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3. Provenance 5. Inventory 6. Subjects |
La Luz Clay Products Company Records Pottery and tile plant, La Luz, N.M. Records, 1930-1950 Size: 4 linear feet Catalog number: MSS 483 sg 27 Processed by: Rick Stattler and Steve Dalpe, January 1999 ©Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts Division |
Historical note:
The La Luz Clay Products Company was located in La Luz, New Mexico, near Alamogordo. It produced clay floor tiles, roof tiles and pottery. Rowland Hazard III (1881-1945) was the founder and served as president until his death in 1945, when his brother Thomas P. Hazard took over as acting president. Rowland Hazard became interested in the aesthetic qualities of the flesh-colored La Luz clay after purchasing a ranch in the area in 1928. Despite a marketing survey that predicted very poor commercial prospects, La Luz Clay Products was in operation by 1930. It was set off from Hazard's Aguadero Corporation, and managed by his holding company, Rowland Third Incorporated. The other officers for most of the company's existence were Vice President Wallace Campbell Jr., Secretary Thomas Walker and Treasurer Earl W.G. Howard. L.M. Richard was the original plant manager, and upon his resignation in March 1932 was replaced by Thomas Walker, who remained with the firm until the end. As of March 1932, the Aguadero Corporation owned 4000 of the 6000 shares of La Luz stock, with most of the remainder owned by Campbell, Walker and Richard.
The New Mexico facility was strictly a production site, and was not involved in marketing. It never grew into a large business, perhaps because of the poor condition of the national economy at the time, and generally employed only a manager and one to four local artisans. La Luz products were sold throughout the United States, mostly through a sales agent in New York City. Pottery was shipped to antique shops, greenhouses, department stores and small galleries. Their floor and roof tiles were sold to interior decorators, hardware suppliers and liquor manufacturers. After 1933, control of the company passed on to Rowland Hazard's brother Thomas P. Hazard (1892-1968) and brother-in-law Wallace Campbell Jr. At that time, the corporate offices were moved to Peace Dale, R.I., where many of the other Hazard family businesses were based.
In 1944, La Luz contracted with Gazda Engineering of Rhode Island to produce a ceramic part for an engine device known as an octanator, but apparently had difficulty producing to industrial specifications. All plant operations were suspended on March 1, 1948, and the property was put up for sale. It was bought in 1950 by the Royal Hickman Corporation.
Bibliography:
Downs, Winfield Scott, ed. Men of New England, vol. IV. New York: American Historical Company, 1947.
"Rowland Hazard Dead in 65th Year", Providence Journal, 12/21/1945.
Scope and content:
The collection consists of records kept by the company's officers and office staff in New York and Rhode Island. The bulk of the collection covers 1930 through 1933, though there are many records through the firm's dissolution in 1949. The records are divided into three series: correspondence, financial, and miscellaneous. One letter to Rowland Hazard, dated 5/26/1932, is from U.S. Rep. Richard S. Aldrich.
Provenance:
These papers were donated by the Hazard family as part of the Hazard Family Papers in 1985. They had been deposited in 1975.
Processing note:
This collection is part of the Hazard Family Papers, which were processed with support from the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities, the Beinecke Foundation, and the extended Hazard Family.
The original order of this collection was for the most part maintained. The correspondence was found arranged in subject files rather than chronologically; these files are arranged in order of the first year covered, but they overlap considerably.
Inventory:
Series 1, subseries 1: Rowland Hazard III files
Files as president, including correspondence of his New York secretary, Mrs. Kathryn R. Young.
Box 1, folder 1. 1930, general correspondence
Box 1, folder 2. 1930, marketing
Box 1, folder 3. 1930, marketing (Handerson survey)
Box 1, folder 4. 1930, Cowan Potters
Box 1, folder 5. 1930-1931, plant personnel
Box 1, folder 6. 1930-1931, Ancho property
Box 1, folder 7. 1930-1931, freight rates
Box 1, folder 8. 1930-1931, water supply
Box 1, folder 9. 1930-1933, New York office (sales)
Box 1, folder 10. 1931, general
Box 1, folder 11. 1931, general
Box 1, folder 12. 1931, general
Box 1, folder 13. 1931, general
Box 1, folder 14. 1931, Sutphin Machine Works
Box 1, folder 15. 1931, re W.H. Coote
Box 1, folder 16. 1931, re Herbert Mundt
Box 1, folder 17. 1931, freight claims
Box 1, folder 18. 1931, accounting procedures (Hatton survey)
Box 1, folder 19. 1931, sales
Box 1, folder 20. 1931-1932, cash requirements and remittances
Box 1, folder 21. 1931-1932, insurance
Box 1, folder 22. 1931-1932, notes payable
Box 1, folder 23. 1931-1932, George A. Shipley
Box 1, folder 24. 1931-1932, stockholders and finance
Box 1, folder 25. 1931-1932, trade mark
Box 1, folder 26. 1931-1932, Wallace Campbell
Box 1, folder 27. 1931-1933, taxes
Box 1, folder 28. 1931-1933, plant personnel
Box 1, folder 29. 1932, general
Box 1, folder 30. 1932, general, January - June
Box 1, folder 31. 1932, general, July - December
Box 1, folder 32. 1932, L.M. Richard
Box 1, folder 33. 1932, Rep. Richard S. Aldrich / Fort Stanton job
Box 1, folder 34. 1932-1933, insurance
Box 1, folder 35. 1932-1933, African pottery
Box 1, folder 36. 1933, general
Series 1, subseries 2: General New York files
Mostly the correspondence of sales agent Marie A. Schuster, and vice-president Wallace Campbell, from the New York marketing offices at 52 West 52nd Street, New York City. These files were originally filed under a loosely organized alphabetical system, which remains somewhat unpredictable. All files cover 1931 and 1932 only.
Box 1, folder 37. Floor tile
Box 1, folder 38. Freight
Box 1, folder 39. Local sales
Box 1, folder 40. Plant, general
Box 1, folder 41. Pottery production
Box 1, folder 42. Production - L.M. Richard
Box 1, folder 43. Production - Lyman Allen and L.M. Richard
Box 1, folder 44. Roofing tile sales
Box 2, folder 1. Tile production
Box 2, folder 2. Consignment, A-C
Box 2, folder 3. Consignment, Dove & Distaff
Box 2, folder 4. Consignment, D-H
Box 2, folder 5. Consignment, I-L
Box 2, folder 6. Consignment, M-R
Box 2, folder 7. Consignment, S-Z
Box 2, folder 8. Miscellaneous, A-B
Box 2, folder 9. Miscellaneous, C-G
Box 2, folder 10. Miscellaneous, Rowland Hazard (to and from)
Box 2, folder 11. Miscellaneous, H
Box 2, folder 12. Miscellaneous, I-K
Box 2, folder 13. Miscellaneous, L-M
Box 2, folder 14. Miscellaneous, M-O
Box 2, folder 15. Miscellaneous, P-R
Box 2, folder 16. Miscellaneous, S
Box 2, folder 17. Miscellaneous, T-Z
Series 1, subseries 3: Wallace Campbell Jr. files
Files as vice-president, 1933-1947. Earlier correspondence can be found interspersed in general New York files. A small amount of Campbell correspondence can also be found interspersed in the general Peace Dale files.
Box 2, folder 18. 1933-1935
Box 2, folder 19. 1936
Box 2, folder 20. 1944-1945 (re Gazda / Octanator)
Box 2, folder 21. 1945-1947
Box 2, folder 22. 1946
Box 2, folder 23. 1947
Box 2, folder 24. 1947 (re Gazda / Octanator)
Box 2, folder 25. 1947 (re Gazda / Octanator)
Series1, subseries 4: General Peace Dale files
Includes correspondence of Earl W.G. Howard, Wallace Campbell, Thomas P. Hazard, and others from the corporate offices in Peace Dale, R.I.
Box 2, folder 26. 1933-1934
Box 2, folder 27. 1935-1936
Box 3, folder 1. 1937
Box 3, folder 2. 1938-1940
Box 3, folder 3. 1941
Box 3, folder 4. 1942-1946
Box 3, folder 5. 1947
Box 3, folder 6. 1947
Box 3, folder 7. 1948
Box 3, folder 8. 1948
Box 3, folder 9. 1949
Box 3, folder 10. 1949
Box 3, folder 11. 1950
Series 2: Financial
Account books.
Box 4, folder 1. Journal, 1931-1937
Box 4, folder 2. Cost account ledger, 1931-1932
Box 4, folder 3. General ledger, 10/1930 - 3/1931
Box 4, folder 4. General ledger, 4/1931 - 3/1932
Box 4, folder 5. General ledger, 12/1933 - 12/1937
Box 4, folder 6. Plant ledger, 4/1931 - 3/1932
Cash accounts. Monthly accounting from New Mexico of money received and spent.
Box 4, folder 7. 1934-1941
Box 4, folder 8. 1943-1948
Checking accounts
Box 4, folder 9. Checkbooks, National City Bank of New York: 1931, 1931-1933
Box 4, folder 10. Bank statements and canceled checks, misc., 1947-1948
Financial statements.
Box 4, folder 11. 1931, auditor's reports
Box 4, folder 12. 1931-1932, balance sheets
Box 4, folder 13. 1931-1932, misc.
Box 4, folder 14. 1933-1934, misc.
Box 4, folder 15. 1935-1937, misc.
Box 4, folder 16. 1938-1947, misc.
Invoices. Not a complete file.
Box 4, folder 17. 1935-1943.
Payroll.
Box 4, folder 18. 1933. Summary.
Box 4, folder 19. 1933-1936. Daily reports.
Box 4, folder 20. 1937-1940. Monthly slips listing each employee and their total pay.
Box 4, folder 21. 1941-1948. Monthly slips; includes tax records on Adrian Allison.
Purchase orders. For pottery sold or put out on consignment.
Box 4, folder 22. 1931-1932
Box 4, folder 23. 1933-1934
Box 4, folder 24. 1935
Box 4, folder 25. 1936
Box 4, folder 26. 1941
Box 4, folder 27. 1942
Box 4, folder 28. 1943
Box 4, folder 29. 1944
Box 4, folder 30. 1945
Box 4, folder 31. 1946
Box 4, folder 32. 1947-1948
Receipted bills.
Box 4, folder 33. 1930-1933 (complete?)
Box 4, folder 34. 1934-1947, misc.
Sales reports.
Box 4, folder 35. 1931-1932
Box 4, folder 36. 1944-1948
Series 3: Miscellaneous
Box 5, folder 1. Agreements, 1931-1949
Box 5, folder 2. Code translations, undated
Box 5, folder 3. Dun & Bradstreet report, 1943
Box 5, folder 4. Earthenware Manufacturing Industry Code Authority notices, 1933
Box 5, folder 5. Earthenware Manufacturing Industry Code Authority notices, 1934
Box 5, folder 6. Incorporation certificate, 10/1930
Box 5, folder 7. Insurance policies, 1943-1947
Box 5, folder 8. Plant log, July 1931, kept by L.M. Richard
Box 5, folder 9. Plant log, 4/1932 - 10/1932, kept by Thomas Walker
Box 5, folder 10. Plant log, 7/1935, kept by Thomas Walker
Box 5, folder 11. Plant office routine, 10/1931
Oversized box 7, folder 4. Pottery inventory, 1931
Box 5, folder 12. Pottery inventories, 1931
Box 5, folder 13. Pottery inventories, 1932
Box 5, folder 14. Pottery inventories, 1933-1935
Box 5, folder 15. Pottery inventories, 1936-1948
Box 5, folder 16. Printed catalogs and price lists, undated
Box 5, folder 17. Production capacity charts, 10/1931
Box 5, folder 18. Sales prospect lists and reports, 1931-1932
Subjects:
Aldrich, Richard S. (1884-1941)
Campbell, Wallace Jr. (1878-1950)
Clay industries - New Mexico
Gazda Engineering
Hazard, Rowland III (1881-1945)
Hazard, Thomas P. (1892-1968)
New Mexico - Business records
Pottery - New Mexico
Walker, Thomas
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RIHS1822