Riddle Coach and Hearse Company collection
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 1606 AV
Scope and Contents
The Riddle Coach and Hearse Company Collection contains information documenting the history of the Riddle Coach and Hearse Company and the Riddle family across the course of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Included in the collection are advertisements, circulars, information concerning the funeral processions of Presidents William McKinley and Warren G. Harding, hearse photographs and informational sheets, contact lists, work orders, catalogs, scrapbooks compiled by donor Tom Riddle, photographic reproductions, and digitized information available on a Digital Video Disc (DVD) and flashdrives.
Dates
- 1856-1977
Creator
- Riddle Coach & Hearse Company (Ravenna, Ohio) (Organization)
Language of Materials
English Spanish
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
The donor has transferred all copyrights as they possess in the collection to the Ohio History Connection. Consideration of copyright is the responsibility of the author or publisher.
Biographical / Historical
During the 1850s, Henry Warner Riddle and his brother-in-law Charles Merts learned the art of coach building from a shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After leaving Pittsburgh, Merts went to work for N.D. Clark & Company, a coach builder that had opened in Ravenna, Ohio, in 1831. The owner offered Merts and Riddle an opportunity to buy his business. They took the offer, renaming the business Merts and Riddle, and assigning Charles Merts to the shop while Riddle went on the road to sell their products. Unfortunately in August 1872, disaster struck Merts and Riddle when a fire burnt their entire shop. Investors in Warren, Ohio, attempted to lure the company to rebuild outside of Ravenna, but with help from Ravenna banks, Merts and Riddle were eventually able to rebuild. As the nineteenth century drew towards a close, hearse building became a focus of the company. In 1891, Charles Merts chose to sell his shares of the company to his partner, Riddle, and the company's name changed to become the Riddle Coach and Hearse Company. The company continued to stay at the forefront of their field with the creation of the Palace Pallbearers' Coach and a switch to motorized coaches and hearses in the early twentieth century. Riddle even made the hearses that carried Presidents William McKinley and Warren G. Harding. The firm needed to reorganize in the 1920s as Henry Warner Riddle fell upon poor health, and in 1926, the Riddle Manufacturing Company officially closed its doors.
Extent
2.5 Cubic Feet (7 boxes)
Arrangement
The Riddle Coach and Hearse Collection has been organized in four series as seen below. Series I. Papers contains archival material concerning the Riddle Coach and Hearse Company including contact lists and advertisements. This series also contains a large volume of contact letters and orders that has been placed in a separate box with concern for condition. This volume is located in Box 5. Series I is organized chronologically. Series II. Catalogs includes multiple catalogs of coaches and hearses created by the firm over its course of business. These catalogs are arranged chronologically. Series III. Scrapbooks includes two scrapbooks compiled by the donor, Tom Riddle, and one scrapbook of advertising circulars. The pages of these scrapbooks are housed in archival sleeves that have been labeled with page numbers so as to maintain the original order of the scrapbooks. These scrapbooks include many items that are similar in type to those found in other series. They also include many informational notes from the donor. Series IV. Audiovisual includes photographs, many being reproductions, and a digitized archive on Digital Video Discs (DVD) and flash drive as provided by the donor. Photographs are largely organized by subject matter and chronology, except where separated due to size. Series I. Papers [Box 1, 5] Series II. Catalogs [Box 2] Series III. Scrapbooks [Box 3-4] Series IV. Audiovisual [Box 6-7]
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
A computer will be needed to view the digital archive saved on both a Digital Video Disc (DVD) and two flash drives.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Ohio History Connection acquired the Riddle Coach and Hearse Company Collection from Thomas A. Riddle and Betsy Riddle Whitmore of Ravenna, Ohio in June 2015.
Legal Status
The Ohio History Connection holds the property rights to this collection.
General
cuadra_id: *000003045*.
- Advertising -- 19th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Carriage and wagon making -- Catalogs Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Carriage industry -- Ohio -- Ravenna Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- DVDs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923 -- Death and burial Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Hearses (Vehicles) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- McKinley, William, 1843-1901 -- Death and burial Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Merts, Charles, 1834-1910 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Ravenna (Ohio) -- History Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Riddle Coach & Hearse Company (Ravenna, Ohio) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Riddle family Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Riddle, Henry Warner, 1838-1920 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- account books Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- advertisements Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- black-and-white photographs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- broadsides (notices) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- computer files Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- ledgers (account books) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- photographs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- scrapbooks Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Creator
- Riddle Coach & Hearse Company (Ravenna, Ohio) (Organization)
- Title
- Riddle Coach and Hearse Company collection
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Ohio History Connection Repository
