I have a silver spoon with the engraving of a building and the years 1876–1906 on the bowl. Along the handle is printed Louisville, KY and at the tip of the handle is cursive John C. Lewis Co. I have searched the internet for information as to the address (location) of this company and when it went out of business. The only information I can find is Mr. Lewis listed in Fetter's "Notable Men of KY" 1901–1902 that is in the NY Public Library, a newspaper article from Grayson County, KY dated July 14,1899 in news from Leitchfield that a J. T. Aubry spent July 4th in Louisville where he sold $1,000 of childrens's suits to the John S. Lewis Co, advertisements from several KY newspaper stating that R. N. Rasmussen, Asst. Manager of the Optical Department of John C. Lewis Co of Louisville would be in town on certain dates to perform optical services, and notices in the New York Times of dates that buyers from the John C. Lewis Co of Louisville, KY would be in NY. The names of the buyers and which departments they worked in were listed. The dates range from 1901, 1917, 1918, 1991, 1920, and 1930 and some of buyers listed were: J. J. Crotty, George Russell, T. H. Reilly, P. J. Reath, W. D. Eckert, and J. J. Bilks. The only other information pertaining to John C. Lewis was an article on May 6, 1896 about the dedication of the Confederate Memorial and that a Mrs. John C. Lewis had donated flowers (along with several other ladies) to be placed at the tombstones of Confederate soldiers at Cave Hill later that day. I would like to find out more about this company and its location since the spoon I have is 106 years old it has aroused my curosity. I purchased this spoon at an auction in an odd lot several years ago, but just recently polished it and discovered all the engraving and how old it actually is, but no where can I find an address

Sue Hall
Shelbyville. KY

Sue,

I checked The Encyclopedia of Louisville and there's no mention of a John C. Lewis Co. In the Encyclopedia entry for "Department Stores" there is this sentence: "A 1907 pamphlet published by the Retail Merchants Association listed three department stores in Louisville: J. Bacon & Sons, Stewart's and Kaufman-Strauss."

The main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library has City Directories going back to the period you reference. I might suggest you check the directories and if the business is listed, you'll have its address. Many times the directories will include advertisements taken out by various businesses, so maybe you could find an ad from John C. Lewis Company. Before you drive to Louisville, you might want to call the library and ask if the Caron or Polk City Directories are available. The library had some flood damage a couple of months ago, and it's possible the directories are not available right now.

Found the address for the John C. Lewis Co at a web site for a 1922 American Book Trade Directory printed by R. R. Bowker Co, Office of the Publishers Weekly in New York. It lists the company as being a bookseller in Louisville at 450 So. 4th Ave. and lists it as a D.S. which stands for Department Store in this directory along with Kaufman-Straus and Stewarts Dry Goods as D.S. I also noted on the back of the handle of the spoon NF Silver Co 1877 and discovered that the company that used this mark was the Onieta Silversmiths & Onieta Ltd. of New York and Connecticut. When entering 450 So. 4th this is the Red Star Tavern. When I looked the address image up on bing.com I compared the engraving on the spoon with the picture and yes that is the building. I just hope I can find out more about the owner and the history of the company. I do know from the buyers listed in the NY Times that they sold silks, velvets, ribbon, leather, jewelry, art goods, and other dry goods.

Hi,
I was searching for any online information regarding the John C. Lewis Co. and came across your post. John C. was my maternal great grandfather. I am not sure of the exact year the store closed, but the family lost it during the depression. I believe my dad has one of the same spoons you mention — sounds familiar. I would be happy to send you some family history. I have the geneology — the Lewis' are related to George Washington — via his sister Betty. My mother, Thelma Camille Lewis (maiden name) passed away in May of 2008. We no longer live in Louisville, but we brought her home to be buried in the family plot at Cave Hill. I am in the process of moving my dad close to my home and will be busy this next week, but will be happy to give you more history if you like. I will need to pull out the information, but have been sorting through many things at my parent's house. Just last night I found a photo of the home where my grandfather was born on Brownsboro Road. We of course have photos of John C. and family, photo or drawing of the store, family heirlooms, etc.