Found this 8x10 glossy at my grandma's house today:
(http://home.comcast.net/~cartoonistaaron/old%20jax%20photo.jpg)
She says my (deceased) grandpa ran this business in the 50s or 60s. My dad doesn't remember anything about it, and I can't find anything and am not sure where to look. I was able to find a later business incorporated by grandpa in 1967 but nothing to do with insulation, and this photo looks earlier than that. Grandpa's not in the photo though one of the guys kind of looks like my (deceased) great Uncle Rufus...
Any idea where I might be able to find more info??
Wow, 537 East Duval Street has surely changed in the days since this picture. You could contact the City's Preservation group, ask for Joel McEachin and see if he can help with some ideas on the company. You can also go to the Main Library and look up the company from some of the old phone books, see if you can find the number, on the car, and match it. The Jax Historical Society would be another great place to look, Contact Emily Lisska there. Great photo!
Fast response! Thanks Mtrain, I'll do some digging tomorrow.
Library and COJ Historic Preservation Offices are closed today but you should be able to find a decent amount of information at these sources:
1. Polk's Jacksonville City Directories - Main Public Library Special Collections Department, 4th floor
Since the photograph contains the business street address, you can use the city directories to identify the exact years of operation. The city directories will also list the names of company owners, managers, etc. Sometimes the old directories will also include business advertisements.
2. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps - Main Public Library Special Collections Department, 4th floor
Since the photograph contains the business street address and the building's front facade, you should be able to find it on Sanborn maps. The library has them from the 1920s through the 1960s. UF has Jax Sanborn maps only from the late 1800s through 1913. While there, provide the librarian with the company name, address, industry and specific neighborhood. Sometimes, you can get lucky because they could have a vertical file on hand with detailed information on the business or people behind them.
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/sanborn/results/?t=jacksonville
3. COJ Historic Preservation Office - Ed Ball Building, 3rd Floor
http://www.coj.net/departments/planning-and-development/community-planning-division/default.aspx
If the building still exists or has been torn down in recent years, they may have a file on it history. All you need is the name or building address to get started.
Then you can plug in gaps through a variety of sources, once you have identified key information from the sources above. Start searching those key words in google because sometimes old newspaper articles, industry magazines will pop up. While researching for Reclaiming Jacksonville, I found a ton of information from Google searches of businesses that had little information elsewhere. Scans of 80-year-old industry magazines, etc. routinely contained building permit, business expansion, hiring/promotion, information, etc. It was a critical way to tie in gaps of history for several sites. Also check with Lauren at the Jax Historical Society's archives at old St. Luke's.
http://www.jaxhistory.com/archives.htm
Sometimes you can get lucky with info and images there that may not have surfaced at COJ and the public library. Good luck.
Wow, more great resources! Thanks! (And I forgot about everything being closed today so it looks like my search starts tomorrow.)