The Lincoln plant of Gladding McBean Company kept track of their terra-cotta product orders from ca. 1888 to ca. 1966 by assigning a job order number to each new order, with subsequent orders for the same job using the assigned number. Initially large ledgers were used to record each job order and the following information can be found in these ledgers: Order number, Project (usually a building), Location (usually city), Architect, Shipping address, Product description -- including name, size, color, quantity ordered, and often a sketch of the product. Starting ca. 1897, the plant began keeping job order information in file folders which have now been transferred into archival boxes arranged by job order number. Usually there is an initial job order form with the following information: Building name, location, address, owner, architect, contractor, order specifications and shipping/financing information. Subsequent correspondence between the Lincoln Office and local branch offices tracks the completion of the order. Most of this correspondence is internal within the company but there is some correspondence directly with client companies for some job orders. In addition, some order folders include photographs of the product. Although reference is often made to architectural drawings, none are included in the folders nor are any included with other materials at the California State Library. The California History Room of the California State Library has an in-house database which provides basic information for each of the job orders, accessible online at http://www.library.ca.gov/calhist/gladdingmcbean.html. Researchers should consult this database before requesting material from the collection in order to locate job order number(s) of interest. Search terms include: project name, city, state, country, architect and year the project began. The record will indicate what material is available and where it is located -- in a ledger book or a folder in a manuscript box or, in some cases, in both.
