Object Details
- Creator
- Hardart, Paul
- Hardart, Tom
- Horn and Hardart.
- Topic
- Food industry and trade
- Restaurants
- Retail trade
- Provenance
- Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History by Paul and Tom Hardart in 2006.
- Creator
- Hardart, Paul
- Hardart, Tom
- Horn and Hardart.
- See more items in
- Horn and Hardart Records
- Summary
- The collection documents the Horn and Hardart chain of restaurants and retail stores.
- Biographical/Historical note
- Horn and Hardart was co-founded by Frank Joseph Hardart, Sr. and Joseph V. Horn, who became restaurant partners in 1886. They opened the first automat in the United States in Philadelphia in 1902. It opened in New York between 1010 and 1920, eventually becoming, for a period of time, the world's largest restaurant chain. It also had retail stores. Automats were popular well into the 1960s, but they began to decline with the rise of fast-food restaurants. Horn and Hardart did expand their operations in 1981, by acquiring Bojangles' Famous Chicken n' Biscuits restaurants, but they sold it in 1990. The last Horn and Hardart automat closed in April 1991. Joseph V. Horn was born in Philadelphia in 1861 and died in Philadelphia in 1941, aged 80. Frank Joseph Hardart, Sr. was born in Sondernheim in 1852, and he emigrated to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in 1858. He married Marie Bruen in 1878, and they had six children. Their eldest child Frank Joseph Hardart, Jr., born 1884, graduated from St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia in 1905, and he took over for his father at Horn and Hardart. Frank Joseph Hardart, Jr. married Evelyn Marie Roche, and they had four children. Their eldest child Thomas R. Hardart was born in New York, Queens, New York, in 1918. He was the president and chairman of Horn and Hardart from 1967 to 1972. Frank Joseph Hardart, Sr. died in 1918, at the age of 66. Frank Joseph Hardart, Jr. died in New York, New York, on September 15, 1972, when he was 88 years old. Thomas R. Hardart died on November 1, 1988, at the age of 70.
- Extent
- 2.5 Cubic feet (9 boxes)
- Date
- 1895-2002
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0922
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Newsletters
- Annual reports
- Photographs
- Magazines (periodicals)
- Manuals
- Correspondence
- Clippings
- Business records
- Citation
- Horn and Hardart Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of Paul and Tom Hardart.
- Arrangement
- Materials are arranged in chronological order. The collection is arranged into 8 series. Series 1: Administrative Files, 1895-1987 Series 2: Financial Records, 1911-1979 Series 3: Horn and Hardart Family Papers, 1901-1987 Subseries 3.1: Joseph V. Horn, 1937-1941 Subseries 3.2: Frank Hardart, Sr., 1901-1918 Subseries 3.3: Frank Joseph Hardart, Jr., 1905-1962 Sub-series 3.4: Thomas R. Hardart, 1938-1987 Series 4: Employee Materials, 1927-1972 Series 5: Company Publications, 1938-1961 Series 6: Automats and Eating Establishments, 1912-1987 Series 7: Magazine Articles and Newspaper Clippings, 1918-2002 Series 8: Miscellaneous Materials, 1957-2002
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Bryanna Bauer, intern, 2018; supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2018.
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Genre/Form
- Newsletters -- 20th century
- Annual reports -- 20th century
- Photographs -- 20th century
- Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century
- Manuals
- Correspondence -- 20th century
- Clippings -- 20th century
- Business records -- 20th century
- Scope and Contents note
- The collection includes the business records for the Horn and Hardart chain of restaurants and retail stores. The records include business correspondence, photographs, annual reports, operating manuals, sales materials, and printed materials, such as employee newsletters and clippings. The collection documents changes in marketing, in restaurant technology, in customer feedback and in editing habits in urban areas in the United States. Documents changes in marketing, restaurant technology and service styles, evolution of food options based on customer feedback and eating habits in urban areas in the United States.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Record ID
- ebl-1503511625927-1503511625930-0
In the Collection
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