JULIUS BLUMBERG

In 1887, eighteen year old Julius Blumberg opened a small two room store on Division Street in New York City's lower eastside. That event, marked the beginning of a business that would become the oldest and largest nationwide supplier of specialized law products.

The original store sold newspapers, magazines, candy, stationery and related items. Concerned with social and political reform, Julius Blumberg often lent the back room of his store to various civic groups in the community, occasionally serving as secretary to the organizations. His civic mindedness was the catalyst for the foundation of today's Julius Blumberg, Inc.

Besides wanting to become more efficient in his duties as secretary to these groups, Julius Blumberg became aware of the needs of the lawyers who regularly attended the meetings in the back room. They quickly recognized young Julius' ingenuity and discussed their office problems with him. These discussions resulted in the publishing of standardized law forms, then called "law blanks." Today, the more than 1300 different law forms are the cornerstone of Julius Blumberg, Inc.'s reputation in the legal community.

Of course, since typewriters were not yet in use, printed law forms were a valuable innovation for law office administration.

With the enthusiastic acceptance of his "law blanks" by the legal community and courts in New York, Julius Blumberg's business began to grow. In 1890 the company moved to 216 Grand Street in New York where "law blanks" could be manufactured on the premises. Five years later the company moved to new quarters in one of New York's most fashionable addresses in 1893, 262 Grand Street, opposite Lord and Taylor.

Among the landmark events in the company's history in the 1920's was the purchase of John Polhemus Printing Company, one of the country's oldest and largest printers and law form suppliers, a company founded in 1831.

At the time of Julius Blumberg's incorporation in 1927, it was capable of manufacturing a complete line of specialty law products and had established sales and distribution networks in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

As the company continued to expand, it acquired the prestigious Pax Company in 1933 and in 1941 one of the country's leading legal stationers, Excelsior Stationery Co., Inc. Excelsior was also a manufacturer of corporate outfits (a packaged binder that contains items required for incorporation including corporate seals, custom printed stock certificates, minutes and by-laws and a transfer ledger), which together with Excelsior's legal printing and supply capabilities meshed well with Julius Blumberg, Inc.

In 1961, Excelsior, Inc. acquired Legal Stationery Company and as Excelsior-Legal Stationery, Inc. became the principal nationwide outlet for Blumberg Law Products. This division now operates, under the name BlumbergExcelsior, Inc., wiht regional branch plants in Albany, NY, Atlanta, GA, and Arlington, TX.

Recognizing the growing need of attorneys for informational and research services, Julius Blumberg, Inc. formed a Corporate Services division in 1973 with representatives in every state and a core staff in Albany, NY, New York City and Austin, TX, BlumbergExcelsior Corporate Services today is one of the nations premier providers of public record information to the legal, corporate, financial and investigative markets.

Today BlumbergExcelsior, Inc. is divided into 2 major areas; Blumberg Law Forms, BlumbergExcelsior, Inc. and BlumbergExcelsior® Corporate Services, Inc. The company's growth from the two room store first opened by Julius Blumberg in 1887, to the national prominence it now holds, is a tribute to the visionary management of the company's presidents, Julius Blumberg, Edward Blumberg, and now Robert Blumberg.

The third generation of the Blumberg family to manage the company Robert (Bob) Blumberg joined the company in 1966 with the principal assignment of broadening the company's share of the national market. Bob's law training and experience gave him invaluable insight into the special requirements of the legal community.

Under Bob's leadership, the company now has a network of nearly 300 dealers, and is represented in every state, offering more than 6,000 different products. Sensitive to the changing needs of law offices, the company now offers specialized software designed for law office administration. Its web-based proprietary electronic forms applications utilized the most advanced forms technology on the internet. Web and computer related products will probably become an increasingly vital part of the company's business.

With more than 600,000 new corporations being formed annually; the increasing number of new lawyers entering practice; the continuously changing structure of law firms; the increasing number of laws and the continuing shift of office locations by lawyers; the outlook for the future of BlumbergExcelsioir, Inc., appears very bright.