Ken's Man's Shop Collection
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No requestable containers
Scope and Contents
This collection is composed of papers, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, personal ephemera, and 44 scrapbooks belonging to Ken Helfman and spanning the majority of the history of Ken’s Man’s Shop. The scrapbooks are labeled with dates, but the contents are not organized within the scrapbooks. The papers consist of certificates, licenses, receipts, architectural plans, correspondences, sale reports, ticket register reports, daily summary reports and mailing lists. The clippings include advertisements in newspapers and magazines, titles of publications, articles that are about Ken or that mention Ken’s Man’s Shop, and occasionally small clippings denoting the page that an advertisement or article can be found on. Many of the photographs are unlabeled. The majority of these are of Ken Helfman with presumably customers or events taking place at the shop, but others seem to be of travel or of friends and family. In the scrapbooks and albums they are most likely arranged by event. The publications, personal ephemera and artifacts consist of cards and postcards, mailers, catalogs, obituaries, event invitations and programs, a key, fabric samples and clothing tags.
Dates
- Creation: 1910-2014
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1964-2014
- Acquisition: Date acquired: 09/17/2021
Creator
- Helfman, Ken (Person)
- Helfman, Kory (Person)
- Horvath, Joni (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is not restricted.
Conditions Governing Use
Reproduction and publication of materials in this collection are subject to the policies of the UNT Special Collections department. Copyright restrictions may apply.
Biographical or Historical Information
Ken Helfman opened Ken’s Man’s Shop in Garland, Texas in 1964. An English-style haberdashery, it quickly gained a customer base through personalized service, eye for detail, treating customers like family, and training young employees into accomplished salespeople. Ken’s has dressed the Dallas Cowboys, and at one time sponsored an award for the player who made the most significant play in a home game. Ken’s moved from Garland to Dallas in 1993, and Ken’s son Kory joined the staff in 1994. Ken also does a great deal in charity work, especially for the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, and the Bill Hunt Memorial Scholarship in memory of one of his first employees.
In 1999, to celebrate 35 years in business, Ken's hosted the Benefit By Design event, a silent auction of luxury goods to benefit the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. A catalog was created and sent out to thousands of people, and the results were that $87,000 were raised for charity.
To this day, Ken’s Man’s Shop continues to be one of the top specialty stores in the southwest due to its top-notch customer service, attention to detail, and its ability to innovate with the times while still maintaining its original business philosophies.
Note written by
Extent
15.00 boxes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains scrapbooks of personal memorabilia of Ken Helfman as well as professional advertisements, correspondences, artifacts, and ephemera related to Ken’s Man’s Shop.
Arrangement Note
The collection is arranged into series based on format. Series 1 contains loose papers, documents, and clippings, and has been divided into subseries based on size. Series 2 contains photographs. Series 3 contains publications and ephemera, which includes event programs, mailed advertisements, invitations, and holiday cards. Series 4 contains audiovisual media. Series 5 contains scrapbooks. Series 6 contains oversized items that are stored in map drawers separately from the collection.
Physical Access Requirements
This collection is stored off-site and requires a minimum of 24 hour notice prior to use.
Source of Acquisition
Kory Helfman
Method of Acquisition
Gift.
Accruals and Additions
2021-143
Processing Information
Processing completed 2022-06-09 by Lindsey Witt.
- Title
- Ken's Man's Shop Collection
- Author
- Lindsey Witt
- Date
- 06/17/2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of North Texas Special Collections Repository
University of North Texas, Willis Library
1155 Union Circle # 305190
Denton TX 76203 US