Horn and Hardart Records
name: label: Creator
content: Hardart, Paul
label: Creator
content: Hardart, Tom
label: Creator
content: Horn and Hardart.
topic: label: Topic
content: Food industry and trade
label: Topic
content: Restaurants
label: Topic
content: Retail trade
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History by Paul and Tom Hardart in 2006.
creator: label: Creator
content: Hardart, Paul
label: Creator
content: Hardart, Tom
label: Creator
content: Horn and Hardart.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Horn and Hardart Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The collection documents the Horn and Hardart chain of restaurants and retail stores.
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Horn and Hardart was co-founded by Frank Joseph Hardart, Sr. and Joseph V. Horn, who became restaurant partners in 1886. They opened the first automat in the United States in Philadelphia in 1902. It opened in New York between 1010 and 1920, eventually becoming, for a period of time, the world's largest restaurant chain. It also had retail stores. Automats were popular well into the 1960s, but they began to decline with the rise of fast-food restaurants. Horn and Hardart did expand their operations in 1981, by acquiring Bojangles' Famous Chicken n' Biscuits restaurants, but they sold it in 1990. The last Horn and Hardart automat closed in April 1991.

Joseph V. Horn was born in Philadelphia in 1861 and died in Philadelphia in 1941, aged 80.

Frank Joseph Hardart, Sr. was born in Sondernheim in 1852, and he emigrated to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in 1858. He married Marie Bruen in 1878, and they had six children. Their eldest child Frank Joseph Hardart, Jr., born 1884, graduated from St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia in 1905, and he took over for his father at Horn and Hardart. Frank Joseph Hardart, Jr. married Evelyn Marie Roche, and they had four children. Their eldest child Thomas R. Hardart was born in New York, Queens, New York, in 1918. He was the president and chairman of Horn and Hardart from 1967 to 1972.

Frank Joseph Hardart, Sr. died in 1918, at the age of 66. Frank Joseph Hardart, Jr. died in New York, New York, on September 15, 1972, when he was 88 years old. Thomas R. Hardart died on November 1, 1988, at the age of 70.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2.5 Cubic feet (9 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1895-2002
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0922
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Newsletters
label: Type
content: Annual reports
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Magazines (periodicals)
label: Type
content: Manuals
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Clippings
label: Type
content: Business records
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Materials are arranged in chronological order. The collection is arranged into 8 series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, 1895-1987

Series 2: Financial Records, 1911-1979

Series 3: Horn and Hardart Family Papers, 1901-1987

Subseries 3.1: Joseph V. Horn, 1937-1941

Subseries 3.2: Frank Hardart, Sr., 1901-1918

Subseries 3.3: Frank Joseph Hardart, Jr., 1905-1962

Sub-series 3.4: Thomas R. Hardart, 1938-1987

Series 4: Employee Materials, 1927-1972

Series 5: Company Publications, 1938-1961

Series 6: Automats and Eating Establishments, 1912-1987

Series 7: Magazine Articles and Newspaper Clippings, 1918-2002

Series 8: Miscellaneous Materials, 1957-2002
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Bryanna Bauer, intern, 2018; supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2018.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Newsletters -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Annual reports -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Manuals
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: The collection includes the business records for the Horn and Hardart chain of restaurants and retail stores. The records include business correspondence, photographs, annual reports, operating manuals, sales materials, and printed materials, such as employee newsletters and clippings. The collection documents changes in marketing, in restaurant technology, in customer feedback and in editing habits in urban areas in the United States. Documents changes in marketing, restaurant technology and service styles, evolution of food options based on customer feedback and eating habits in urban areas in the United States.