About This Collection Guide
In 2002, Lehman Brothers donated an extensive collection of company deal books and business records to Harvard Business School's Baker Library. One of the oldest investment banking firms in the United States, Lehman Brothers was known for its vision, innovation, and history. This collection is an important contribution to the study of modern business history and provides scholars with a rare opportunity to access twentieth-century corporate records.
It is important to note that the Lehman Brothers Collection is not the comprehensive historical archive of the Lehman Brothers, but rather a subset of materials selected from the company’s historical record.
In order to facilitate access to the collection, Baker Library has created this site as a guide to what researchers can find in both the deal books and the business records that make up the Lehman Brothers Collection. The site is rich in detail about the resources in the collection as well as the historical background of Lehman Brothers and the companies represented in the deal books. It does not provide digital access to the content of the collection.
The deal books form the core of the collection. They range in date from 1925 to 1986, with the bulk dating from 1960 through 1979. The companies represented in the deal books are extremely diverse, from small companies that survived only a few years to Fortune 500 companies that still exist today. A wide variety of industries are documented in the investment deals, illustrating the impact of new technology on American business and the development of such industries as commercial aviation, radio, television, motion pictures, and electronics. A particular area of expertise for Lehman Brothers was the retail industry and the many deal books from major department stores and retailing enterprises reflect the growth of this investment trend in the twentieth century.
The Lehman Brothers Collection project staff prepared company histories for all companies represented in the deal books. Individually, these histories provide a framework for understanding the deals. As a group, they offer a record of the growth of modern corporate America. Print resources consulted included company histories, annual reports, prospectuses, The International Directory of Company Histories, Moody's Industrials, and Notable Corporate Chronologies. Electronic sources included The Capital Changes Reporter, Factiva, Hoover's Online, Lexis/Nexis, and ABI/ProQuest.
The Lehman Brothers Collection project staff included Liz Slade, Lehman Archivist; Jennifer Moore, Lehman Assistant; Nora Brennan Morrison, Lehman Assistant; and Jeff Cronin, Business Information Analyst.