Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Riter Brothers Drug Company records, 1903-1918
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Riter Brothers Drug Company.
- Title
- Riter Brothers Drug Company records
- Dates
- 1903-1918 (inclusive)19031918
- Quantity
- 4 books and 1 box, (2.25 linear feet)
- Collection Number
- UUS_COLL MSS 224
- Summary
- Consists of prescriptions filled by Riter Brothers Drug Company, pasted in four large ledger books, letterheads, and price lists.
- Repository
-
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Riter Brothers Drug company owned retail stores in Logan and Garland, Utah and in Franklin, Preston, and Montpelier, Idaho. The Logan store was located at 33 North Main. In addition, Riter Brothers did business as a wholesale distributor throughout northern Utah, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming.
The officers of the company were members of the Riter family. According to the 1904 Polk Directory for Logan, William W. Riter was president, Benjamin Franklin Riter was general manager, and Samuel W. Riter was secretary and treasurer.
The history of the company can be told in large part by tracing the career of Benjamin Franklin Riter (1859-1925). The son of Levi Evans and Rebecca Wollerton Riter, B. F. was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 31, 1859. After studying chemistry at the University of Utah, Riter started work in 1876 as a pharmacist for retail druggists Taggart and Son in Salt Lake City. In 1878, he worked for George W. Hoyt in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In 1880 Riter formed a partnership with Dr. O. C. Ormsby and went into business in Logan, Utah as Ormsby & Riter. The company filled an important niche as it was the only drug store between Ogden, Utah and Helena, Montana. Finally, in 1891, Riter Brothers Drug company was incorporated in Logan.
The Utah State Historical Society holds related records in the Franklin Riter Manuscript Collection. Franklin, as he preferred to be called, was Benjamin Franklin Jr. the son of Benjamin Franklin Riter. Although most of the collection documents Franklin's life, box one contains Riter Brothers Drug Company financial ledgers for 1882-1905.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Prescriptions filled by Riter Brothers Drug Company pasted in four large ledger books for the years 1903-1904, 1905-1907, 1913-1914, and 1915-1918. The prescriptions are arranged numerically according to a prescription number.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Riter Brothers Drug Company Records must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Preferred Citation
Initial Citation: The Riter Brothers Drug Company Records USU_COLL MSS 224, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.
Following Citations:USU_COLL MSS 224, USUSCA.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Arranged by chronological order.
Processing Note
Processed in February of 1998
Acquisition Information
The Riter Brothers Drug Company ledger books were donated by Darrin Smith in 1992. The letterheads and price list were purchased by USU Special Collections and Archives from Ken Sanders Rare Books in 2000.
The ledger book in box 1, folder 3 was purchased by USU Special Collections and Archives from Ken Saunders Rare Books in 2014.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| book | |||
| 1 | Book 1 | 1903-1904 | |
| 2 | Book 2 | 1905 October 2 – 1907 March 11 | |
| 3 | Book 3 | 1913 October 7 – 1914 June 17 | |
| 4 | Book 4 | 1915 October 15 – 1918 September | |
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Riter Brothers Drug Company Letterheads and Business Cards | 1900 |
| 1 | 2 | Riter Bros. Paints and Oils Price Lists | 1900 |
| 1 | 3 | Riter Brothers Logan Drugstore ledger book | 1891-1892 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Business records--Utah--Logan.
- Drugstores--Idaho--Records and correspondence.
- Drugstores--Utah--Records and correspondence.
- Manuscripts, American--Idaho.
Personal Names
- Riter, Benjamin Franklin, 1859-1925.
Corporate Names
- Riter Brothers Drug Company--Records and correspondence.
Finding aid/Register created by John Powell
2011
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
