0.47 Cubic feet (consisting of 1 box, 1 oversize folder, plus digital images of some collection material.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business ephemera
Ephemera
Date:
circa 1845-1928
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Adhesives forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents note:
This material consists primarily of advertising cards, bills/receipts, pamphlets, patents, shipping documents, envelopes, catalogues, scattered correspondence on letterhead stationery and printed advertisements from manufacturers and distributors of adhesives. These adhesives include glue, mucilage, cement and rubber cement, tape, paste and sealing wax. The adhesives were used for a number of trades such as glues for the carriage and furniture trades, rubber cements for the shoe, automobile, bicycle, engraving, millinery, harness and saddlery trades. There are a number of references to linoleum cements and glues for attaching linoleum to wood, steel, tile and cement floors. Most of the companies also tended to sell other products. Such products include sealing machines, gelatin, emery papers and cloths, sandpapers, curled hair, Neats foot oil, ink, soap and rubber slicing compounds.
There are a number of publications included among the materials. The Russia Cement Company, manufacturers of Le Page 's glue, produced pamphlets for the homemaker. "Home Workshop Book" (1928) demonstrated how to make attractive pieces of wood furniture. The "Craft Book" (1924) provided instructions for making doll furniture, shoe trees, wallpaper, waste paper baskets, broom holders, book ends and hat boxes and the "Gift Book" (1926) supplied information needed to make plagues jewelry and other gift items. Articles relating to adhesives include "Sticky Miracle in a Tube" written by Don Wharton and published in Reader' s Digest which discusses a handy new adhesive which does scores of household jobs. An undated article "Glue, Sand-Paper, Curled Hair, Cow-Hide Whips" discusses a variety of topics including the history of glue making, modern uses, the process of manufacture, the effect of glue making on the public health, the amount of business in the United States for the manufacture of these products. There are two reports including "Jeffery's Marine Glue, General advantages to the Royal Navy." and the "Report of the Commission Charged to Make Experiments on the Marine Glue at the Port Toulon" ( February 19, 1845).
Arrangement note:
Materials are organized in alphabetical order by name of company. There are four folders of material grouped by type: patents, shipping documents, related articles and miscellaneous items.
Materials in the Archives Center:
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Adhesives is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
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.
Genre/Form:
Business ephemera
Ephemera
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Adhesives, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
