Guide to the Edison Brothers Stores Advertising Photographs for QualiCraft Shoes and 5-7-9 Clothing, circa 1970 SPEC.RARE.MMS.0400 Finding aid prepared by David Mezick Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections

1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210

2024 December This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2025-01-03T11:23-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Edison Brothers Stores Advertising Photographs for QualiCraft Shoes and 5-7-9 Clothing SPEC.RARE.MMS.0400 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections MMS 17 0.02 Cubic feet circa 1970 Edison Brothers Stores, Inc., incorporated in 1926, was a major footwear, apparel, and entertainment retailer based in St. Louis Missouri. The company owned stores and brands across the United States, including Leed’s shoe stores, 5-7-9 Shops clothing stores, and its shoe brand Qualicraft. The Edison Brothers Stores Advertising Photographs for QualiCraft Shoes and 5-7-9 Clothing, dated circa 1970, contain advertising photographs of shoes and clothing sold by Edison Brother Stores with typed text to be used in advertisements. The shoes in the photographs were sold by Leed’s shoe stores and are mostly QualiCraft brand, and the clothing was sold by 5-7-9 Shops. (1) letter file folder English Edison Brothers Stores, Inc. Acquisitions Information

Accession No. RARE.2024.0093: Purchased, 2016 April

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Edison Brothers Stores Advertising Photographs for QualiCraft Shoes and 5-7-9 Clothing, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0400, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

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Processing Information

Processed by: David Mezick, 2024 December; Finding aid written by: David Mezick, 2024 December

Historical Note

Edison Brothers Stores, Inc. was a major retailer, specializing in footwear, apparel, and entertainment. In 1922, the Edison brothers opened their first store together in Atlanta, Georgia, called Chandler’s, selling affordable women’s shoes. The brothers then opened more women’s shoe stores, expanding to other states, and incorporated as Edison Brother Stores, Inc. in 1926. In 1929, the company’s stock started to be traded publicly, and its headquarters was moved to St. Louis, Missouri.

Edison Brothers Stores continued to expand across the United States in the following decades and had four main chains of shoe stores: Baker's, Chandler's, Leed's, and Burt's. The company started opening stores with name Leed’s on the West Coast since there was already another chain of shoe stores with the name Baker in that region. QualiCraft shoes was the company’s in-house shoe brand that was sold primarily at Baker’s and Leed’s stores. Edison Brothers Stores eventually sold things besides footwear, like clothing. In 1970, the company acquired 5-7-9 Shops, a clothing store for young women.

Edison Brothers Stores was one of the biggest retailers of women’s shoes by the early 1980s, but the company filed for bankruptcy multiple times in 1990s, and its stores and other holdings were sold or closed by 2001.

Scope and Contents

The Edison Brothers Stores Advertising Photographs for QualiCraft Shoes and 5-7-9 Clothing, dated circa 1970, contain advertising photographs of shoes and clothing sold by Edison Brother Stores with typed text to be used in advertisements. The shoes in the photographs were sold by Leed’s shoe stores and are mostly QualiCraft brand. The clothing was sold by 5-7-9 Shops. Each photograph is a composite of two images: a woman modeling shoes and clothing and a close-up of one of the shoes. The text includes descriptions of the products and their prices. The text does not include the location of any specific stores.

Edison Brothers Stores, Inc. Advertisements Advertising copy--United States--20th century Advertising photographs Advertising--United States--20th century Black-and-white prints (photographs) Chain stores--United States--20th century Fashion photography--United States--20th century Retail trade--United States--20th century Shoe stores--United States--20th century Women’s clothing--Marketing--20th century Women’s clothing--United States--20th century Women’s shoes--Marketing--20th century Women’s shoes--United States--20th century