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Coon Chicken Inn Records and Graham Family Papers

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Creator
Graham, Adelaide
Provenance
The collection was purchased by the Museum from Maxon and Adelaide Graham's grandson in 2009.
Creator
Graham, Adelaide
See more items in
Coon Chicken Inn Records and Graham Family Papers
Summary
The collection consists of materials relating to the creation and operation of the restaurant chain known as the Coon Chicken Inn.
Biographical / Historical
Coon Chicken Inn was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, by Maxon Lester Graham and his wife Adelaide Burt Graham. At only sixteen years of age, Mr. Graham was already an established businessman, having secured the ownership of a Metz automobile dealership in 1913. Newly married and in possession of both an easily-prepared fried chicken recipe and two thousand dollars from a recent business deal, the couple went into the restaurant business and opened the first Coon Chicken Inn in 1925. Initially it was a simple lunch counter that served hamburgers, chili, sandwiches, cakes, pies and their signature "southern fried Coon Chicken sandwich." The chicken was a big hit. The restaurant expanded after a 1927 fire, completely rebuilding on a larger scale. In 1929, the Grahams opened another Coon Chicken Inn in Seattle, Washington. The couple moved to Seattle, retaining the Salt Lake City restaurant. Business boomed, and a cabaret, dance floor, and orchestra were added to both restaurants along with larger dining rooms and delivery trucks for catering. In 1930, a third restaurant opened in Portland, Oregon. The Grahams operated their small chain successfully into the 1950s, when they closed the restaurants and leased out the properties. This small restaurant chain is memorable, unfortunately, because of the image the Grahams choose as the logo, sign, and symbol to distinguish their establishments¬--a round, toothy, grinning face of an African American man wearing a porter's cap and a winking eye. The mouth of this huge head formed the entrance to the restaurants; customers literally walked in through the gaping mouth. According to an account written by Scott Farrar, the Graham's grandson, his grandfather decided "if a gimmick were added for the children it would help bring in the parents." The image appeared on every menu, napkin, utensil, and dish used in the restaurants; the Grahams may have seen the grinning face as representing persons skilled in the art of "southern" cooking, a highly-regarded cuisine until then virtually unavailable in Utah and the Pacific Northwest. Today, Coon Chicken Inn artifacts and other stereotypical images of African Americans are highly collectible items. See website: http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/links/chicken/ for more information about Coon Chicken Inn.
Extent
2 Cubic feet (6 boxes)
Date
1914-1973, undated
Archival Repository
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier
NMAH.AC.1153
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Citation
Coon Chicken Inn Records and Graham Family Papers, 1913-1973, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series. Series 1, Coon Chicken Inn Business Records, 1926-1948, undated Series 2, Maxon L. Graham Personal Papers, 1933-1942, undated Series 3, Photographs, 1925-1930s, undated Series 4, Scrapbooks, 1917-1973, undated
Processing Information
Processed by Anne Jones, volunteer, 2010; supervised by Vanessa Broussard- Simmons, archivist.
Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of materials collected by Maxon L. Graham, the founder and operator of Coon Chicken Inn. The restaurants were located in Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon and operated from the 1920s into the 1950s. There were materials in a loose leaf notebook consisting of personal papers, business ephemera and photographs. These materials are arranged by type. For preservation purposes the scrapbooks were dismantled and the covers and pages were placed in folders while still maintaining the original order. Series 1, Coon Chicken Inn Business Records, 1926-1948, undated, consists of agreements, bills, checks, contracts, receipts, promotional materials and other business ephemera. There are also menus, matchbooks, postcards, placemats, table cards, sales checks, and recipes. The materials are arranged in chronological order. Series 2, Maxon L. Graham Personal Papers, 1933-1942, undated, relates primarily to his professional activities and gun collection. The materials are arranged in chronological order. Series 3, Photographs, 1925-1930s,; undated, primarily documents interior, exterior, and aerial views of Coon Chicken Inns in Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. There is also a photograph of Mr. Graham's gun collection and an unidentified group. Series 4, Scrapbooks, 1917-1973, includes, two scrapbooks created to document the Coon Chicken Inn restaurants and the Graham family. Scrapbook One, 1917-1941, undated, includes a front cover, thirty eight loose sheets, seventy six pages and a back cover. The materials in this scrapbook are not arranged in any particular order and consist of menus, table cards, business cards, advertisements, brochures, photographs, newspaper clippings and publications. Some pages have small objects attached to them, including meal tokens, a belt buckle and a pointing hand. Materials relating to the Graham family include Maxon Graham's draft card, a wedding announcement and photographs of their homes. In addition there is an autographed photograph of entertainer Webb Holmes. The pages are numbered and divided into folders in the original order. Scrapbook Two 1914-1973, undated, includes a front cover, thirty six loose sheets seventy two pages and a back cover. Materials in this scrapbook are not arranged in any particular order and consist of menus, table cards, checks, a survey for a building lot, advertisements, annual reports, a liquor permit, photographs of restaurant staff, newspaper clippings and publications. Personal materials relating to the Graham family include an obituary for Adelaide Graham, articles about the purchase of a private residence, realtor's advertisement for new home, a telegram about a party, M. L. Graham's international driver's license, Christmas cards and M.L. Graham's high school report card. The pages are numbered and divided into folders in the original order.
Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Collection is open for research.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1562715046729-1562715046736-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8d332d04d-c29e-462f-95ef-e0affd29aa2b

In the Collection

Pages

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  • Page 69, party invitations, 1940 March 17; Society news clippings

  • Page 48, Pacific Motor Sales order of Citroen for M. L. Graham, 1945 April 15; Mr. and Mrs. Graham and others, 1920s-1940s; newspaper clipping of Shriners, undated; Coon Chicken Inn takeout boxes, undated

  • Page 52, blank

  • Page 12, Coon Chicken Inn, Seattle, 1930s; article, Western Restaurant, 1934 April; article, Western Restaurant about Club Cotton addition to Seattle restaurant

  • Page 68, brochure and photographs of M. L. Graham's gun collection, undated

  • Leasing documents, Associated Poultry Company, Seattle

  • Menu, Restaurant Association meeting

  • Page 53, invitation to wedding of Adelaide Burt to Maxon Lester Graham, 1924 November 19; newspaper clippings about wedding

  • Certificate for record of trademark, "Cre-Made," state of Utah

  • Page 26, blank

  • Page 42, advertising for Dort automobiles

  • Page 39, newspaper clippings about airport restaurant, 1963 January and undated

  • Page 55, article featuring Mr. Graham hosting event at airport, undated; photographs of oil truck driven into side of building, location unknown, undated

  • Page 47, documents for filing articles of incorporation, state of Nevada, 1944 June 25; letter concerning dissolution of Nevada Distributors

  • Page 10, photographs of Salt Lake City restaurant, undated

  • Page 3, menus and menu cards

  • Page 32, attorney's letter, 1928 February 17; patent sales contract, 1937 January 30; receipt for purchase of Victrola, 1926 July 1928; bill of sale for piano, 1928 April 3

  • Affidavit for surrender of firearms

  • Page 39, blank

  • Page 56, "Jupiter Rex" certificates from Panagra Airways, inscribed to Mr. and Mrs. Graham

  • Page 37, woman at jukebox, Portland restaurant; Coon Chicken Inn die-cut menus

  • Page 11, Seattle Sunday Times, 1930 August 31; Coon Chicken Inn advertisement and article about the restaurant opening

  • Page 40, Coon Chicken Inn blank checks, undated; newspaper clipping, Mrs. Graham in Palm Springs, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1960 March 6; Coon Chicken Inn napkin and business card

  • Sales checks

  • Receipt for sale of cash register to Associated Inns

  • Page 25, Coon Chicken Inn delivery van, Seattle; unidentified log house, unidentified couple

  • Unidentified group in touring vehicle

  • Back cover

  • Page 27, Associated Poultry, Seattle, undated; Associated Poultry, Seattle, undated; Club Cotton, Seattle, undated

  • Scrapbook Two

  • Inside back cover, newspaper clipping about stage show, 1923; guest ticket for Republican Party convention, 1892; metal sign for Coon Chicken Inn; brass plaque; four Coon Chicken Inn meal tokens, metal; belt buckle and metal pointing hand

  • Page 38, blank

  • Page 41, Coon Chicken Inn die-cut menus

  • Page 44, incorporation agreement for Coon Chicken Inn in Spokane, Washington, 1936 August 25; land purchase agreement, Spokane, Washington, 1936 August 25; letter concerning Spokane land purchase, 1936 September 23

  • Brochure relating to Graham's gun collection

  • Page 5, Coon Chicken Inn, Salt Lake City, exterior; Coon Chicken Inn, Seattle, interiors with bandstand and dance floor; Coon Chicken Inn delivery vehicles

  • Page 32, Trolley Times

  • Page 7, handwritten confession of theft at restaurant, 1926; police document, 1926; cancelled checks, 1926, 1928, 1929; safe combination card

  • Food wrappers

  • Page 54, blank

  • Calling cards

  • Page 2, blank

  • Page 73, advertisements for Gray and Dort automobiles, undated; letter from Rafael Valiente

  • Page 36, blank

  • Letter from M.L. Graham regarding patent

  • Page 61, Clucks, Coon Chicken Inn newsletter 1939 February, May, June; Clucks, 1939 August, September, October

  • Page 51, Coon Chicken Inn takeout box

  • Page 68, car and M. L. Graham at M. L. Graham Company Motor Cars; advertisements for cars, 1923

  • Page 60, Clucks, Coon Chicken Inn newsletter 1939 February, May, June

  • Page 23, bar and bandstand areas and dance band, undated; hand-painted tie with smiling face

  • Page 44, Salt Lake City restaurant, signage and parade float, undated; Chicken Inn sign at Long Beach, California, undated

  • Page 59, aerial photograph of Seattle restaurant, 1930s; unidentified group photographs; bill of sale for automobile, 1937 December 19; Coon Chicken Inn flyer

  • Page 38, newspaper clippings about proposed Seattle airport restaurant Seattle Sunday Times, 1963, 1965; loose page from a memo about Allied Foods and airport restaurant,1960 February 8; Coon Chicken Inn business forms; airport courtesy card

  • Coon Chicken Inn, 8500 Bothell Way, Seattle, Washington

  • Menu, Suttons

  • Page 50, Coon Chicken Inn order forms; newspaper clippings about burglary at Seattle restaurant, 1939 May 8; unidentified group

  • Recipes, handwritten and typed

  • Page 13, Club Cotton addition to Seattle Coon Chicken Inn, 1934; advertisement for Club Cotton

  • Page 58, newspaper clipping about Mrs. Graham, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1962 April 6; photographs of the Grahams in Egypt, of Mr. Graham as a Shriner and of Mrs. Graham with others, undated

  • Page 4, correspondence regarding trademarks, 1926, 1932; receipt, 1927; business card

  • Page 65,Waldorf-Astoria menu autographed by Ole Olsen and others, undated

  • Page 20, blank

  • Page 22, Washington State Restaurant, Tavern and Tobacco News, cover, 1940 May; article from Soda Fountain, 1935 May; photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Graham

  • Page 9, photographs of Salt Lake City restaurant, undated; autographed photograph of entertainer Webb Holmes

  • Page 55, wedding announcement for Adelaide Burt and Maxon Lester Graham; caricature "Kurt 10-10-38 New Orleans"

  • Pages 34-35, snapshot of unidentified people, 1930s; photographs of people at a party, 1960s; newspaper clipping, undated

  • Page 45, hand-painted tie with smiling face; Coon Chicken Inn playing cards; letters requesting recipes, 1928, 1931; letter regarding cook, Seattle 1931; newspaper clipping of Kingston Marina, undated

  • Page 7, Coon Chicken Inn checks, used and blank, 1926; Coon Chicken Inn sales checks and letterhead, undated; shopping center under construction, 1960s?

  • Page 33, full page advertisement for restaurant opening in Portland, Oregon Daily Journal, 1931 September 11

  • Menus, die-cut

  • Page 12, photographs of poultry farm and bakery, Salt Lake City, undated; holiday dinner menu; business card; receipt for piano purchase

  • Universal Match Company order

  • Pages 34-36, full-page advertisement for restaurant opening in Portland, Oregon Daily Journal, 1931 September 11; Portland restaurant exterior and kitchen; Salt Lake City restaurant interiors

  • Page 47, Coon Chicken Inn take out bags and matchbooks; miscellaneous business cards; Pacific Motor Sales order of Citroen for M. L. Graham, 1945 April 15

  • Menu cards

  • Page 72, advertisements for Dort and Gray automobiles; newspaper clipping about Mrs. Graham; photographs of the Grahams and others

  • Page 19, News clippings about pickets at Seattle restaurant

  • Page 14, newspaper clippings, 1930 and undated; fryer advertisement, undated; permit for cigarette sales, Salt Lake City, 1929 January; business card for Seattle restaurant

  • Page 61, newspaper clippings about Graham residence, undated; social newspaper clippings about the Grahams

  • Page 17, holiday menus, business cards; war ration book

  • Page 42, Coon Chicken Inn envelopes and business cards; Salt Lake restaurant and signboards; phonographs displayed in a store window

  • Page 64, obituary for Mrs. Graham, undated; article about Graham's home purchase, undated; realtor's advertisement about new home, 1936; telegram regarding Graham party, 1958; photograph of Olsen and Johnson, undated

  • Page 17, articles, Washington State Restaurant-Tavern News, about M.L. Graham's election to presidency of Washington State Restaurant Association

  • Page 37, Christmas cards

  • Page 6, restaurant license, Salt Lake City, 1926; agreement with builder, 1927 September 27; shopping center, 1960s

  • Page 30, Coon Chicken Inn placemat and business card; Associated Poultry Company circulars

  • Page 26, Seattle restaurant; "Christmas Party of the Hoover Company," 1936

  • Page 70, society newspaper clippings, telegram and song sheet

  • Page 71, advertisement for Gray automobiles, 1922; newspaper clippings about Dort automobiles, 1923; M. L. Graham Company letterhead and business card

  • Page 29, advertisement for opening of restaurant at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, Seattle Times

  • Page 40, full-page advertisement for Automobile Show, Salt Lake Telegram,

  • Newspaper clipping about picketers at Coon Chicken Inn, Seattle

  • Page 72, blank

  • Article, "M. L. Graham elected Association President," Washington State Restaurant and Tavern News, page 3

  • Page 41, blank

  • Coon Chicken Inn, 2950 Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • Page 46, first meeting of incorporators of Nevada Distributors, Incorporated, 1944 June 5; certificate of dissolution for Nevada Distributors, Incorporated, State of Nevada, 1949 June 14-15; newspaper clipping, undated

  • Page 45, blank

  • Page 75, metal pointing hand; photographs of Graham family and Graham residences, 1940s

  • Page 20, Western Restaurant articles, 1933 May and 1934 April; menus

Pages

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Pages 1 and 2, promotional folder, inside spread and outside spread; die-cut for shape of smiling face logo
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