Foster Brothers records, 1875-1973, bulk 1893-1942

This series contains stock cards, inventory records, and price lists in addition to blueprints, drawings, and stencils and designs for wood carving.

Stock cards (mostly 8" x 10" pieces of mat board) describe merchandise produced or sold by Foster Brothers, including frames for pictures and mirrors, candlesticks, glove boxes, moldings, painted glass and stands. Each card contains at least one image (drawing, photograph, or printed reproduction) of the item and its stock or style number, and sometimes notes dimensions and prices. Some loose images are interfiled with the cards.

A large number of paper stencils that were used to transfer carving designs to frames survive, although many are fragile. Many stencils are annotated with the corresponding stock or style number; other designs for woodcarving are merely drawn on paper. In addition, there are extensive drawings of frames and moldings, loose and in bound volumes, including finished, colored drawings by master craftsman C. F. Richter.

One volume titled "Cost on Mirrors" (1929) analyzes the amount of time needed to carve, gild, and polish frames, the cost of materials, and prices of frames #1001-1308.