Materials are arranged alphabetically by folder titles.
Accession No. RARE.2025.0201: Purchased, 2021 September.
[identification of item], Butler Manufacturing Company Building Photographs and Advertisements, SPEC.RARE.0372, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processed by: Casey Blackmore, 2025 December; Finding aid written by: Casey Blackmore, 2025 December.
Emanuel Norquist, along with brothers Charles and Newton Butler, founded Butler Manufacturing Company in Kansas City, Missouri in 1901. The brothers had previously worked together on building an improved livestock watering tank and during the early 1900s designed and built several agricultural products, particularly grain storage bins. Norquist and Charles Butler's work on the grain bins eventually led to the company’s creation of the pre-engineered metal building with rigid frame technology. These buildings, now known as Butler buildings, offered a faster, more cost-effective, and highly customizable alternative to traditional construction. The post World War II era fostered the need for the rapid exapansion of more buildings, factories, and warehouse to keep up with the demand of the growing economy. The versatility of the pre-engineered buildings made them popular for a variety of uses. As of 2026, Butler Manufacturing Company is still in business.
The Butler Manufacturing Company Building Photographs and Advertisements collection contains two binders of photography featuring buildings constructed by Butler, including restaurants, manufacturing companies, recreation centers, and other examples of public architecture and one folder of print advertisements featuring buildings engineered by Butler. Each binder is divided into business names, starting with A-H and then I-P, with a corresponding index for each binder. The majority of the photographs were taken in St. Louis, Missouri of public and private businesses, recreation centers, and warehouses. Materials are dated circa 1950s-1963.
Forms part of the Herman J. Albrecht Library of Historical Architecture.