Inventor Name
Freiman, A. J.
Repository
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4
CANADA
Reference: 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 (toll free in Canada and the US)
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html
Physical Description
25.57 m of textual records.
Summary
Fonds consists primarily of financial records which include journals, ledgers, sales and refund records, cheque records, and legal records as well as advertising, management files and Pembroke-North Bay-Renfrew reports. In 1899, Archibald Jacob Freiman (1880-1944) and Moses Cramer opened the "Canadian House Furnishing Company" in downtown Ottawa, Ont. By 1902, the partnership had dissolved and Freiman and his father established "H. Freiman and Son", an enterprise which expanded its home furnishing business to include men's and women's merchandise. Freiman bought out his father's share in 1917 and by 1918 opened "The Archibald J. Freiman Department Store". The business was incorporated in 1923 as "A. J. Freiman Limited" with Freiman as president and his wife, Lillian (1885-1940), as vice-president. Their son, Lawrence (1909-1987), joined the business in 1931 and by 1939, had taken over its president and general manager. Under Lawrence Freiman, the business continued to expand its downtown operation but also opened up in suburban locations including Westgate Shopping Centre, 1955; Shopper's City, Blair Road (East End), Base Line Road (West End), 1966 and 1967; St. Laurent Shopping Centre, 1967. The business also expanded into North Bay, Renfrew and Pembroke, Ont., the latter being the location of a Lawrence Freiman invention, "Vis-o-matic" shopping, 1950. In 1971, "A. J. Freiman Limited" was sold to the Hudson's Bay Company.
