Collection Guide
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Guide to the Sinsheimer Collection
MS 036
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Table of contents
Description
The Sinsheimer Collection contains nineteenth- and early twentieth-century business, personal, and political papers of the
Sinsheimers, a prominent and pioneering mercantile family of San Luis Obispo, California. Of German-Jewish extraction, Sinsheimer
brothers Bernhard and Henry and half-brother A. Z. migrated to California following the Civil War, starting a general merchandise
store in San Luis Obispo in 1876. One of A.Z.'s sons, Louis F. Sinsheimer, served as mayor of San Luis Obispo from 1919-1939,
a period of great advances in the city's infrastructure. Spanning four generations, this is an unusually rich collection,
documenting the family's business, political, and personal interests. The collection is comprised of roughly 105 linear feet
of family correspondence and memorabilia; business correspondence and ledgers; financial records and invoices; business, personal
and political ephemera; personal diaries, daybooks, notebooks and calendars; photographic prints and negatives; newspapers,
blueprints, maps, and artifacts.
The collection was donated by the Sinsheimer heirs in 1987.
Background
The Sinsheimer Brothers
Extent
124 Paige boxes, 530+ financial ledgers, and 400 rolled maps and plans
Restrictions
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
In order to reproduce, publish, broadcast, exhibit, and/or quote from this material, researchers must submit a written request
and obtain formal permission from Special Collections, Cal Poly, as the owner of the physical collection. Researchers should
also consult with an appropriate staff member regarding literary or other intellectual property rights pertaining to this
collection.
Photocopying of material is permitted at staff discretion and provided on a fee basis. Photocopies are not to be used for
any purpose other than for private study, scholarship, or research. Special Collections staff reserves the right to limit
photocopying and deny access or reproduction in cases when, in the opinion of staff, the original materials would be harmed.