Wah Kiu Wet Wash Co. collection
Scope and Contents
The collection mostly contains administrative and business records of Wah Kiu Wet Wash Co., such as bills, insurance documents, laundry tickets, ledgers, operating licenses, and payroll records. In addition, there are photographs of the salvaging day of one of the laundromats and a few objects, including a clip, stapler, and various pins. Most of the documents are from the 1970s-1990s, but some of the ledgers date back to 1949. Objects are also searchable via PastPerfect Online System at http://mocanyc.pastperfectonline.com/randomimages.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1949-2001
Language of Materials
Some materials in Chinese.
Conditions Governing Access
Some of the material in the first series, business documents, is restricted due to sensitive financial information.
Conditions Governing Use
For reference use only; not for reproduction, distribution, or deposit in another collection. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Director of Collections. If publishing, cite: Wah Kiu Wet Wash Co. Collection, Museum of Chinese in America.
Biographical / Historical
Wah Kiu Wet Wash Co. operated about twenty different laundry services in New York (Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens) and New Jersey. The headquarters were located at 14-47 28th Avenue in Long Island City, New York. A payroll register is labelled with the name "Lin Hop Co.," which may have been the name of the business which ran all of the laundries. Based on the operating licenses in the collection, the business appeared to have started around 1967 and ended in 2001.
Extent
5 Linear Feet : 5 linear feet (4 boxes; 2 small boxes) of paper documents, ledger books, objects, and a few photographs
Arrangement
Organized into 4 series, alphabetically: (1) Business documents, (2) Objects, (3) Personal items, and (4) Photographs
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donation.
General
This finding aid was created with grant support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Title
- Wah Kiu Wet Wash Co. collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Lauren Stark
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Museum of Chinese in America Repository