Local History Collections

(Description ID: 595550)

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums 

U. B. Lust

LH-128

Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory

Biographical Sketch
Uri B. Lust was born January 17, 1887 in Crawford County, Ohio the first child of John Lust. At an early age he exhibited exceptional mechanical ability by using the tools from his mother’s sewing machine to make his own toys. At age eleven he repaired his uncle’s alarm clock. When he was fourteen he went to work full-time at the Bucyrus, Ohio store of Samuel Lesher, a German watchmaker.

U.B. Lust moved to Fremont, Ohio in 1909. He worked in different jewelry stores until 1925 when he opened his own watch and jewelry store at 496 Croghan Street where he had the tools and skills to make parts for clocks as needed. The stock market crash of 1929 led to such a difficult business environment that Mr. Lust turned to buying and selling old gold and other precious metals. That, combined with his work repairing watches and clocks, allowed his business to survive the Great Depression. He sold his store in 1947 and operated a small clock and music box repair business from his home. While working in Fremont, U.B. Lust designed and built several clocks which generated a good deal of attention for him, especially his ‘astronomical regulator’ and the ‘second U.B. Lust clock’.

U.B. Lust had a variety of other interests besides jewelry and watches: he played violin in the Fremont Symphony, he was an avid photographer, he was a member of the Fremont Motorcycle Club, he was a Mason, and he was involved in match-rifle-shooting at Camp Perry, Ohio.

U.B. Lust married Theresa Hauler in 1946 and the couple had no children. He died January 29, 1964 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery at Fremont, Ohio. 

Scope and Content
The majority of this collection consists of business records of Uri B. Lust’s jewelry store in Fremont, Ohio from 1925 to 1947 and then his repair business until 1963. He also sold and repaired watches, clocks, and music boxes. These business records cover the daily sales and purchase of merchandise, repair work done, and tax records. Because he bought and sold gold and precious metals during the Great Depression, the required licenses are included. Other business material includes correspondence as well as catalogs of clock and watch parts.

The collection also contains items from U. B. Lust’s personal life. These include his activities as a Mason, his involvement with rifle shooting competitions, and a scrapbook. Many interesting photographs found here show organizations and events of Fremont, Ohio in the years prior to World War I. An album of photos from Theresa Lust’s retirement dinner from the Hayes Presidential Center is also included. 

Inventory
Ac. 5961

Box 1

Folder:

1 Insurance
2 Business Documents
3 Business Correspondence
4 Licenses – Gold, Jewelry, Firearms
5 Inventory Records
6 Sales Records
7 Bank Books, Checks
8 Purchases by Lust
9 Appraisals
10 Business Miscellaneous
11 Taxes – County
12 Taxes – State
13 Taxes – Federal
14 Taxes – Personal Income
15 Correspondence
16 Theresa Lust
17 Masons
18 Fremont – Special Police Officer
19 Miscellaneous – Personal
20 Articles re U. B. Lust
21 German Publications
22 Clock Parts Catalogues, Flyers, etc.
23 Music Boxes
24 Shooting Match Targets, etc.
25 Shooting Medals
26 Post Cards

Box 2

Preview – Advertisement campaign for Swiss watch makers, 1952

Badische Uhrenfabrik clock catalog, n.d.

Gibbs, James W., The Dueber-Hampden Story, 1954

Catalogues of watch and clock parts, tools

• George Jacob G.M.B.H., 1936
• Paulson Tool & Supply Catalog, 1953
• ludwig & Fries G.M.B.H., 1947
• Art Monograms and Lettering by J. M. Bergling
• Dos Flume Buch, 1937
• The Watch Craftsman, C. & E. MarshallCo., 1957

Illustrated London News – The Death of King George VI, February 16, 1952

Articles regarding Lust’s Astronomical Clock:

• Deutsche Uhrmacher – Gehilfein-Zeitung (4 copies)
• The Jewelers’ Circular, December 1932

Fliegende Blatter, 1900

American Horologist & Jeweler, December 1963

Ford Times, July 1963

Gibbs, James W., The Life and Death of the Ithaca Calendar Clock Company, 1960

Daily Journals:

• 6/20/1925 – 5/4/1926
• 5/5/1925 – 10/25/1926
• 10/26/1926 – 6/4/1927
• 6/6/1927 – 12/13/1927
• 12/14/1927 – 6/29/1929
• 7/1/1929 – 6/13/1931
• 6/15/1931 – 9/30/1933
• 10/2/1933 – 11/28/1933
• 12/1/1933 – 8/27/1934
• 7/4/1944 – 7/8/1947

Venders’ Records:

• 1925 – 1926
• 1928
• 1929
• 1930
• 1931
• 1932
• 1934
• 1935
• 1947-1963

Box 3

General Records 1928 – 1947

Tax Records – Ohio and Federal 1938-1943

Daily Records 1928 – 1954

Daily Journal 1942 – 1943; 1943 – 1944

Jewelry Repairs 1937 - 1945

Box 4

Repair Records   4/30/1945 – 12/11/1952

Sales Records   6/22/1925 – 7/3/1928

Venders’ Record   1927

Charge Accounts   1925 – 1926

Watches Bought and Sold   1925 – 1947

Watch Repair Records:

• 6/25/1925 – 5/20/1927
• 5/20/1927 – 10/8/1928
• 10/15/1928 – 6/19/1930
• 6/23/1930 – 6/24/1935
• 6/24/1935 – 2/29/1940
• 3/1/1940 – 10/6/1945
• 3/13/1946 – 5/30/1947
• 10/5/1945 – 6/22/1962
• 2/15/1947 – 6/14/1954

Purchase Order Books:

• 8/17/1925 – 10/27/1925                                             
• 6/17/1929 - 9/14/1929                                                
• 12/28/1929 – 3/25/1930
• 3/29/1930 – 7/24/1930
• 7/30/1930 – 12/1/1930
• 12/1/1930 – 5/25/1930
• 6/3/1931 – 9/19/1931
• 9/23/1931 – 12/29/1931
• 12/29/1931 – 5/31/1932
• 5/31/1932 – 10/8/1932
• 10/11/1932 – 1/21/1933
• 1/26/1933 – 5/22/1933
• 5/22/1933 – 9/18/1933
• 9/21/1933 – 12/21/1933
• 12/26/1933 – 3/30/1934
• 4/3/1934 – 7/28/1934
• 10/31/1934 – 12/14/1934
• 12/14/1934 – 4/15/1935
• 4/15/1935 – 8/22/1935
• 11/25/1935 – 1/27/1936
• 1/27/1936 – 4/27/1936
• 4/30/1936 – 7/13/1936
• 7/16/1936-10/14/1936
• 10/14/1936-1/7/1937

Box 5

General Ledger 1958 – 1963

Daily Sales 1925 – 1926
                   1926 – 1927

Daily Record 1947 – 1962

Scrapbook

Box 6

Photographs

Box 7

Photographs