Information Regarding Bunde & Upmeyer Co. of Milwaukee

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Bunde & Upmeyer announce that Louis W. Bunde and Frederick H. Osterwald have acquired William H. Upmeyer’s interest in the New York copartnership and will continue the business under the new firm name of Bunde & Osterwald at 542 Fifth Ave.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular-Keystone - June 1935

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The Milwaukee jewelry trade contributed nearly $10,000 toward the Milwaukee County War Chest fund, again exceeding by a considerable percentage its quota. The campaign, conducted from Nov. 11 to 25, was part of the National United War Work drive. Milwaukee’s minimum allotment was $1,850,000. The jewelry group was again led by William H. Upmeyer, of the Bunde & Upmeyer Co., Plankinton Arcade, who is a fixture as head of various Liberty Loan and war fund campaigns because of his excellent work in the first campaign, more than a year ago.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 11th December 1918

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Bunde & Upmeyer Co. - Milwaukee - 1925

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Charles Hufschmidt, for several years traveling representative of Bunde & Upmeyer Co., Milwaukee, is receiving the condolences of his many friends upon the death of his father, Charles Hufschmidt, at Prairie du Chien, where for 30 years the deceased had conducted the famous old Dousman Hotel.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 5th February 1908

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Fred Osterwald of Bunde & Upmeyer, dealers in pearls, 542 Fifth Ave., is sojourning at Deerland Lodge, Long Lake, N. Y. He is expected to return to New York in early August.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 25th July 1929

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Bunde & Upmeyer Co. - Milwaukee - 1929

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Bunde & Upmeyer Co. - Milwaukee - 1906

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William Henry Upmeyer celebrated his 80th birthday and 65 years in the jewelry business recently at Milwaukee, Wis. He started as a jeweler’s apprentice in 1872 and in April of 1880 he and the late Louis Bunde started the partnership which now bears their name. Mr. Bunde died July 31, last year, Mr. Upmeyer’s father, Henry, came to Milwaukee in 1848 and opened a jewelry store in a frame building on old W. Water St. In the store, Adam Bloedel, founder of Bloedel’s Jewelry Inc., now located at 200 E. Wisconsin Ave., learned the jewelry business from Henry. When Henry died, William worked for Adam Bloedel, later forming the partnership with Mr. Bunde. Mr. Upmeyer boasts that he still has his own tonsils, his appendix and his own teeth. Outside of an occasional attack of the “flu,” he has not been ill.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular-Keystone - July-1937

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PIONEER JEWELER OF MILWAUKEE PASSES ON

Milwaukee, Aug. I —(AP)—Louis W. Bunde, 78, a pioneer jeweler and partner in the firm of Bunde and Upmeyer for 56 years, died at his home yesterday after an illness of several months. On its 50th anniver­sary the company was the largest manufacturing wholesale and retail jewelry establishment in Wisconsin. The widow and a son survive.

Source: Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune - 1st August 1936

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$10,000 FOR AN AMERICAN PEARL

The largest perfect peart ever found in the Mississippi river has been purchased by Bunde and Upmeyer of Milwaukee. -The gem Is nearly a perfect sphere, three-quarters of an Inch in diameter. It was recently found in the river north of Prairie du Chlen by a pearl fisher. It weighs 121 grains and the price was over £10,000.

Source: The Janesville Daily Gazette - 16th July 1902

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Bunde & Upmeyer Co. - Milwaukee - 1928

The progressive firm of Bunde and Upmeyer, Milwaukee, Wis., has just issued an exceptionally attractive little folder featuring Valentine gifts. The prices are all so modest as to be irresistible to the reading public, and the urge to buy from a retail jewelry establishment with genuine prestige behind it is made especially strong. The cover page on the folder is of paper representing a crocheted doily, pleasantly recalling the favorite type of Valentine used in the days of old.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 9th February 1928

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Pioneer Milwaukee Jewelers Announce Retirement From Retail Business in that City

MILWAUKEE, Wis., Dec. 20—The Bunde & Upmeyer Co., pioneer Milwaukee jewelers, 135 W. Wisconsin Ave., announces retirement from business after 52 years of successful jewelry merchandising here and is conducting a complete close-out sale of its stock. According to William H. Upmeyer, vice-president and treasurer of the firm, the decision to liquidate the stock came suddenly. Future plans of the principals are still indefinite and will not be available until early next year. The sale to close out the stock will be continued possibly three or four months.

Two years ago Louis Bunde, who is now 74, and Mr. Upmeyer, 75, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the firm. Many friends in the trade from all parts of the country came to Milwaukee for this occasion. Both are well known nationally. Mr. Upmeyer has for many years been active in State and National retail jewelers associations and the National Jewelers’ Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Since 1901 the firm has maintained a New York office, dealing principally in Wisconsin fresh water pearls, but the decision to liquidate retail stocks in Milwaukee will not affect operations there, Mr. Upmeyer said.

Messrs. Bunde and Upmeyer opened their original shop in 1880, having previously worked as journeymen. In 1887 they opened their first store, which was enlarged five years later. In 1897 they moved into the Pabst building, taking space in the Mack Block six years later, and moving into the present location in the Plankinton building in 1917. The business was operated as a partnership until 1902 when it was incorporated under the present name. Mr. Bunde is president, Mr. Upmeyer is vice-president and treasurer, and Miss Caroline Bender, secretary. There are many veteran employes in the organization, some of them having been with the firm as long as 40 years.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - January 1933

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Mr. and Mrs. Louis Bunde have left for Pine Lake where they will occupy their country home for the Summer. The members of the Summer colony among Milwaukee jewelers are preparing to open their homes within the next few weeks. William Upmeyer, who also has a Summer place at Pine Lake, on a recent trip out found that wild ducks had laid a number of eggs in a nest built in one of his boathouses. Both Messrs. Bunde and Upmeyer are members of the local retail firm of Bunde & Upmeyer Co.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 25th May 1921

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Bunde & Upmeyer Co. - Milwaukee - 1927

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The Bunde & Upmeyer Co., which recently moved into its beautiful new store in the new Plankinton Arcade, Grand Ave. and W. Water St., has presented the large street clock of its former store at Wisconsin and E. Water Sts. to the city of Milwaukee for the use of the board of park commissioners in equipping the famous zoological gardens in Washington Park. The clock is known to practically every man, woman and child in the city, having been stationed on the busy corner for more than 14 years, and being regarded as a landmark.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 12th December 1917

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Bunde & Upmeyer Co. - Milwaukee - 1948

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An interior image of the premises of Bunde & Upmeyer Co.:



This image was published in 1948.

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Bunde & Upmeyer Co. - Milwaukee - 1948

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Twofold Selling Plan Widens Store’s Scope

Bunde & Upmeyer, Milwaukee, Wisc., directs its appeal not only to those who can afford the finest in jewelry and silverware but, also. to customers who may require time payment terms.

by SILVIA SCHUSTER

A high quality store in a budget priced neighborhood is what you might call the Bunde and Upmeyer Company at 633 N. Plankinton Avenue, in Milwaukee. It is set right in the heart of the busy downtown shopping district where the men and women who have to watch their budgets go to look for the best values for their money.

So Mr. Louis Bunde, the head of this firm, has skillfully adapted the policy of this sixty-seven year old concern to suit both those customers who can afford the finest in jewelry and silverware, and also to those who his customers’ needs is one of the reasons for the continued growth of this store.

The newspaper ads which Mr. Bunde places in the city’s top newspapers all contain a mention of this time payment plan. This is a special setup whereby those customers who ask credit are checked up by the Marshall and Isley Bank. If this bank okays the person’s credit standing, Mr. Bunde extends the terms that person wants.

Another way of catering to his customer’s convenience lies in the free parking lot which is situated directly across the adjacent alley to the store. This fact, too, is mentioned in all the newspaper ads since a parking lot downtown is a decided convenience to shoppers, and especially to these who drive downtown.

This newly-remodeled store is easy to find. It is set in one of Milwaukee’s most famous buildings, the Plankinton Arcade. This historic landmark is a mecca for out- of-town visitors as well as for Milwaukee shoppers. A long inside promenade is lined with shops, both medium-priced and exclusive firms, so that any needs can be satisfied.

Bunde and Upmeyer have one entrance facing this interior shopping block, and one facing the busy traffic street. Thus all its windows are valuable for displaying goods and attracting customers. Starting with the smaller windows facing the Arcade, Mr. Bunde and his window decorator devote them all to different merchandise so as to give passers-by a complete idea of what the store handles.

The two smaller windows on either side of the hall entrance show fine leather goods as gifts and individual hollowware pieces. The next longer window leading out to the Arcade’s main exit on Plankinton Avenue, a three-angled one, is devoted to incidental jewelry such as interesting lapel pieces and bracelets and brooches, as well as a few watches. Everything is laid out in as orderly a manner as possible, giving window shoppers a chance to see each item easily without being distracted by too much other merchandise on display.

The first long window on the Plankinton Avenue side is always decorated with a central theme in mind. Sometimes it is given over to silverware, at other times to pearls, and still other times to silver hollowware. This window is close to twelve feet in length and is set rather low so that people going by can look over everything shown at a glance.

This unity of display is an excellent selling trick for the idea gets driven home and inspires many impulse sales.

Two small, curved-front windows on either side of the street entrance show individual silver items which are in a class by themselves. Often one of these is devoted to a civic affair, such as the Red Feather Community Fund Drive, or Red Cross appeals. So this touch of good citizenship has helped build up the solid reputation of this old Milwaukee firm.

One more long window completes the display space of this store. The back wall of this window is left open so that passersby can look right into the store and see the activity going on inside. And there is usually much of that, for the store was recently enlarged to twice its former size. A small balcony now houses the main office, a coat room, and the air conditioning unit.

The main floor is laid out with fixtures so as to give an impression of roominess. Here the customer can relax with plenty of elbow room. The display cases run along the walls with the merchandise bathed in a beam of light thrown directly downward from the 150-watt spotlight bulbs set into the recessed lighting pockets in the a very high, accoustically-treated ceiling. |

The sixty feet of wall cases with their all-glass fronts display silver items, and those along the west wall where Miss Alma Upmeyer, daughter of one of the original founders, sells the world-famed patterns which this store handles, show trays and flatware place settings.

Right before the winding walnut stairs that lead up to the little balcony stands a display case for clocks and weather instruments. A repair department nestles into the rear corner of the store, and two desk-type cases show fine pen and pencil sets near the center of the store. A small room off to one side is one that Mr. Bunde calls the “Diamond Room.” In here he transacts all business connected with the diamond part of his business, using the latest and most modern instruments available.

Another point of pride with Mr. Bunde is the fine portraits of the original founders, W. H. Upmeyer and L. W. Bunde, painted by the eminent artist, Armin O. Hansen, which are hung prominently on the walnut wall.

All of the fixtures in this store are of natural walnut, designed along strictly modern lines and thus matching the long, sleek lines of the outside windows.

There are eight people on the selling staff, many of whom have been with the company for a long time. As a matter of fact, three assosciates have been with this firm over thirty-five years! They are Carl A. Hahn. Harry P. Manthey, and Fred Gillomen. All three began as errand boys, and are now officers in the company.

As Mr. Bunde puts it, “When you keep a staff so long, they are bound to grow right along with the company. And it proves how substantial that company is. People get to have more confidence in a firm when they see friendly, familiar faces there every time they go shopping.”

Several other practical ideas which this firm carries out includes the use of a little cart set with trays upon which the jewelry containers can be placed for a quick trip to the storage vault every night. In this way, this cart saves many steps, for before, the staff carried the small trays to safekeeping by themselves. Now, however, this cart takes everything in one trip.

Another idea was placing the Bunde & Upmeyer crest around the large clock on the wall. Customers naturally looked up to see the time, and this made it a natural spot for effective advertising. Still a third idea was to display the “Buy jewelry from your jeweler” plaque in the windows and in every newspaper ad. A card boosting their credit plan is also effective in the window.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular-Keystone - February 1948

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