Guide to the Mayer Body Corporation Photographic Collection, 1917-1966 AIS.1987.04
- Repository
- ULS Archives & Special Collections
- Title
- Mayer Body Corporation Photographic Collection
- Creator
- Mayer Body Corporation
- Collection Number
- AIS.1987.04
- Extent
- 3469 items (17 boxes: photographic prints and negatives)
- Date
- 1917-1966
- Abstract
- Mayer Body Corporation was a manufacturing operation founded by Fred Mayer, Jr. and his brother George Mayer in 1880 on Auburn St. in the neigborhood of East Liberty in Pittsburgh, as the "Mayer Brothers Wagon Builders." It began as a wagon and coach making company but gradually became involved with truck bodies in the early 1900s. In the 1930s they began specializing in refrigerated truck bodies, used mostly by ice cream trucks. In the 1960s they moved their headquarters to Monroeville, Pa., but returned to the Auburn Street location in the 1980s. The business was liquidated in 1986.
- Language
- English .
- Publisher
- ULS Archives & Special Collections
- Address
- University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
History
The Mayer Body Corporation has always been a family run operation since 1868, when Fred Mayer came from Germany to Pittsburgh, Pa. and continued his trade of making wagons and coaches. His son, Fred, Jr. (b 1861) married the daughter of an East Liberty blacksmith and became proprietor of his father-in-law's business on Auburn Street. By 1880 Fred, Jr. and his brother George established the "Mayer Brothers Wagon Builders" business at the Auburn St. location.
Around the turn of the century the Mayers began moving from making wagons and coaches to truck bodies. From other manufacturers, the Mayer Brothers bought truck cabs and chaises on which they installed their bodies made by their woodworkers and blacksmiths. The Mayer Brothers business was incorporated in 1905, and in 1919 they issued shares to family members.
Throughout the 1920s the business continued to make the truck bodies by hand. The only aspects of the trucks that were not made were the "Rain or Shine" cabs, Heil mechanical hoists for dump bodies and miscellaneous hardware. They mostly made school buses and tank bodies during this decade. The sons of Fred, Jr., William G. and Ralph began to manage the business, when George retired around 1925.
During the Depression decade of the 1930s, the business greatly expanded due to William G. Mayer's development of a patented dry ice bunker ("Drikul" conductor plate) used in the refrigerator bodies, especially ice cream trucks. During this time the company had the largest labor force: 30 employees in the shop and 5-6 in management. Like the refrigerator bodies, the many panel bodies made at this time were constructed most of wood with some steel reinforcements.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s the company bought hydraulic hoists from the Galion Trucking Company in Ohio. During World War II, Mayer Body Corporation aided the U.S. Army by repairing some of their trucks. In 1947 William G. Mayer, Jr. joined the business. Also at this time the company began moving away from manufacturing the "Drikul" conductor plate and other patented parts.
In the 1950s the company moved from manufacturing bodies to distribution. The high costs of labor and materials contributed to this decrease in manufacturing custom built bodies. By 1952 the company began to buy completed body parts made on production lines and installed them onto the chaises. Also the building on Auburn Street with 52,000 square feet on three floors went up for sale during this decade.
In the 1960s only 5% of the company's business was devoted to manufacturing some specialized van bodies. Mayer Body Corporation moved their location to Monroeville, Pa. Around 1965 they began to stop taking photographs of the trucks, and in this year William G. Mayer, Jr. became president.
During the 1970s and 1980s very few improvements were made. New government regulations and high gas prices contributed to the downfall of the company's profitability. They moved back to the Auburn building in East Liberty from Monroeville, Pa. Due to personal and economic problems, in August 1986 William G. Mayer, Jr. sold the building on Auburn Street and liquidated the 118 year old family run business.
For further information on the Mayer Body Corporation, see the synopsis of an interview with William G. Mayer, Jr. conducted by Ellen Manyon, which is kept as an appendix to the item level inventory available in the ASC Reading Room. An audiotape of this interview is also available in the ASC.
Scope and Content Notes
This collection consists of photographs and negatives of the various truck bodies made by the Mayer Body Corporation. Most of the photographs are not dated, yet some dates have been surmised from license plates appearing in the photographs. Alhtough the bulk of the collection consists of photographs from the 1930s, the earliest dated truck is from 1917 and the latest is 1966.
The collection has been organized by format, which include; resin coated B&W prints; color photographic prints labelled either "Favelle color print or Ansco print," "Ansco Safety Film", "Agfa Safety Film", or "Chronilt" on their borders or stamped on the back; cellulose (diacetate) negatives; and, nitrate negatives. The collection is further subdivided into truck body categories. The bulk of truck bodies documented include refrigerator, dump and panel bodies.
Other materials contained in the collection include promotional materials containing the Mayer Body Corporation's logo and B&W photographic prints of truck bodies made by manufacturers other than the Mayer Body Corporation. Among these maufacturers are Hell Dumps and Autocar.
In addition to providing a diverse pictorial history of the Mayer Body Corporation, these photographs provide insight into other Pittsburgh businesses. The majority of the trucks represent both public and private business concerns in Pittsburgh. Each truck contains the customer's name and sometimes their address and phone number. A small number of photographs illustrate trucks used by out of state business as far away as Dallas, Texas.
Acquisition Information
Gift of William G. Mayer, Jr., 1987.
Arrangement
The collection has been organized by format, which include; resin coated B&W prints; color photographic prints labelled either "Favelle color print or Ansco print," "Ansco Safety Film", "Agfa Safety Film", or "Chronilt" on their borders or stamped on the back; cellulose (diacetate) negatives; and, nitrate negatives. The collection is further subdivided into truck body categories. The bulk of truck bodies documented include refrigerator, dump and panel bodies.
Copyright
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
Processing Information
This collection was inventoried by Ellen Manyon in April 1988.
Previous Citation
Mayer Body Corporation Photographic Collection, AIS.1987.04, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Preferred Citation
Mayer Body Corporation Photographic Collection, AIS.1987.04, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh
Subjects
- Mayer Brothers Wagon Builders
- Mayer Body Corporation
- Mayer family
- Pittsburgh (Pa.)
- Monroeville (Pa.)
- East Liberty (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Negatives (Photographic)
- Photographs
- Business and Industry
- Trucks -- Photographs
- Automobiles -- Photographs
- Truck industry -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Transportation -- Pennsylvania
- Business enterprises -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
- Transportation