Photographs taken by Alixa Naff between 1957 and the early 1970s on trips to England, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, and open reel audio tapes of interviews regarding Syrian-Lebanese folklore that Naff conducted in 1965 in the Lebanese Village of Rashaya al-Wadi. Comprising this collection are images of cities, structures, art, people, activities, and scenery, and two folders of Dr. Naff's notes relating to the recorded interviews. Photographic formats include 35mm slides, black and white prints, and 35mm negatives. Naff annotated many of the slide mounts or verso of prints with descriptions and identifications.
Biographical Note:
Alixa Naff began collecting Arab folklore in 1962 when she visited 16 communities in the U.S. and eastern Canada. After earning her MA and PhD, she taught at California State University, Chico, and at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Naff left academia in 1977 to research and collect material relating to the Arab immigrant experience (particularly Syrian and Lebanese immigrants from the turn of the 20th century). In 1984, with prompting from Richard Ahlborn, curator of the Smithsonian Institution Community Life Division (now the Department of Cultural Affairs), Naff donated her collection of Arab immigrant material. Naff eventually became the archivist of the "Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection", named in honor of her parents, at National Museum of American History Archives Center.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 2011-02
Location of Other Archival Materials:
One reel of 8mm film of Zahle, Lebanon was donated with this collection. It has been relocated to the Human Studies Film Archives.
Archives Center, National Museum of American History holds the Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection and several other Naff accessions.
The National Anthropological Archives also holds a 1950 map of Cairo donated by Alixa Naff (MS 7449).
Restrictions:
Negatives are not available for viewing. Some restrictions on open reel audio tapes.
Photo Lot 2011-02, Alixa Naff photographs of Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean and audio tapes on Mediterranean folklore, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Color snapshots of family groups, with contest entry forms; also, copy of CD-ROM used in exhibition.
Arrangement:
1 series. Arranged alphabetically by family name within four separate regional groupings.
Biographical/Historical note:
Photographs solicited in a nationwide contest organized by Discover card in connection with a Smithsonian exhibition. For example, Barbara (Mrs. George D.) Derry of Melbourne, Florida submitted a color photograph of her family group.
General:
Paper prints, mostly 3.5 x 5" and 4 x 6". Color dyes
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Individual photographers hold copyrights. Copyright and privacy restrictions on reproduction.
The collection includes Arthur d'Arazien's professional work in industrial photography from the late 1940's through about 1981; personal creative photography and other types of professional work were retained by Mr. d'Arazien or placed elsewhere. Thus this collection is a very cohesive, unified body of work, which documents primarily American (and some Canadian) business and industry during a period of expansion a golden age of American industry. Although it represents the photographer's creative and artistic style and skill, the subject matter is appropriate to the National Museum of American History from several viewpoints the visual documentation of industry and technology, as well as advertising, public relations, and business history.
The photographs include black and white negatives and prints from the negatives, as well as color negative and transparency materials, up to 8" x 10" in size. Probably the majority of the transparencies were made in the large size. The black and white materials include pictures of d'Arazien at work some made by famous Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, a colleague at the Famous Photographers School. A number of Dye Transfer prints mounted on illustration board were made by master color printer Don Browning.
In addition to frequently extensive caption information on all of d'Araziens original envelopes and enclosures, many enclosures for color negatives and transparencies bear d'Arazien labels with technical information or instructions for color printing, such as filter pack designations and local printing controls. These enclosures therefore have been retained in the collection, although usually they are not of archival quality.
Of secondary significance are 62 large color prints, mostly Type C, with a few Cibachromes, which were made from the original transparencies for exhibition purposes. Most were made either by K & L laboratories, New York City (stickers on back) or Eastman Kodak professional laboratories, Rochester, N.Y., and have been wet mounted to non archival Masonite. At the time of acquisition, several had faded and/or changed color. These are available for research and exhibition purposes, but are not expected to survive as long as the original transparencies.
The collection contains Mr. d'Arazien's files of printed materials. These include reproductions which indicate how his photographs were used by clients. Included are annual reports, promotional pieces, magazine tearsheets from advertising and editorial uses, and other biographical items.
Series 1: Professional industrial photographs.
Photographs document primarily American business and industry (including some taken in Canada). Black-and-white negatives with prints from these negatives, also color negative and transparency materials. Most transparencies are 8" x 10". The photographs demonstrate the photographer's reputation as a master of dramatic lighting and the coordination of large-scale, complex industrial setups in factories, steel mills, and even outdoor settings. Also 65 color prints, mostly Type C with a few Cibachromes, made from the original transparencies for exhibition purposes, mostly wet-mounted to Masonite. Black-and-white photographs include pictures of d'Arazien at work--some by Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.
Series 2: D'Arazien's files of printed materials, some of which include photomechanical reproductions of his work, indicating how the photographs were used by clients; also annual reports, magazine tearsheets from advertising and editorial uses, and other promotional items, in addition to biographical materials.
2007 addendum: Transparencies, slides, prints and negatives of additional photographs by Arthur d'Arazien, including industrial subjects as well as travel, architectural, agricultural, portrait, art, still life and personal photographs. Also included are miscellaneous papers, mostly relating to d'Arazien's photographic work.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Paper Documents
Subseries 1.1: Publications and Reproductions.
Subseries 1.2: Photographer's Labels, Envelopes, Etc.
Series 2: Photographs
Subseries 2.1: Color Phototransparencies
Subseries 2.2: Color Photonegatives and Color Photoprints
Subseries 2.3: Black and White Photonegatives and Photoprints
Subseries 2.4: Color Photoprints: Enlargements Mounted on Masonite
Material is arranged in each sub-series primarily by client names, in alphabetical order.
Series 3: Oversize prints
Biographical / Historical:
Arthur d'Arazien began his photographic career as an assistant to a famous theatrical photographer, documenting Broadway shows. A distinctive emphasis on dramatic lighting in his later work suggests the heavy influence of the theater. He did fashion and commercial photography, as well as photographing the 1939 World's Fair, for Underwood & Underwood Illustration Studios, East 44th St., New York City, in 1938 1939. He was described in a U.S. Camera Annual article as Aan architect whose interest in photography has caused him to make a profession of it.
D'Arazien taught aerial photography for the U.S. Air Corps Technical Training Command at Lowry Field, Denver, during World War II. He began his career in industrial photography with the De Laval Separator Company, New York City. His energy and creativity led to assignments which often were judged too difficult for lesser photographers. His growing reputation as an industrial photographer kept pace with the dynamic growth of the industrial and technological activities he was photographing during the 1950s through the 1980s.
Robert Vogel, former Curator of Mechanical and Civil Engineering for the National Museum of American History, wrote that d'Arazien:
...became internationally known for his dramatic color views of the American industrial scene at a time when our industry can be said to have been at the height of its powers....He was commissioned by the giants of steel, paper, chemicals, machinery, transportation, automobiles, mining, metal refining, textiles, and the other heavy (and medium) industries. ...He developed a number of special techniques for obtaining the grand, sweeping views that became his trademark, including multiple exposures to achieve dramatic lighting effects, elaborate lighting setups involving multiple flashes from several vantages employing a number of assistants intercommunicating by radio, complex arrangements with transportation lines and the various departments of the subject organization to produce the desired juxtaposition of elements in the photograph, and the like. His MO was anything but that of simply walking onto the scene and snapping the shutter; for many of his breathtaking views he appears to have been more producer and impresario than photographer.
Arthur d'Arazien describes the growth of his spectacular style as an eager response to new subjects, challenges, and photographic materials:
...knowing that color was the coming thing in corporate advertising, I pursued that line. I did lots of experimenting; every assignment gave me an opportunity to try something new, such as combination day and night exposures on a single sheet of film, multiple flash bulbs to light large interiors, multiple exposures on the same film, such as...moving objects ...automobiles, trains...to build up excitement in a picture. Colored gels to change colors. I even used old fashioned flash powder to light ...steel mills, because there were no flashbulbs powerful enough to light these dark, cavernous interiors: this idea was borrowed from the Air Corps night time aerial photography with magnesium flash powder.
A skilled painter and metal sculptor as well as photographer, d'Arazien came from a family of artists. His photographs were made primarily on assignment from industrial corporations for advertising, editorial, and public relations purposes, but have been exhibited and collected as works of art in the Smithsonian Institution (Division of Photographic History), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum. His work was included in the Photography in the Fine Arts exhibitions organized by Ivan Dimitri, and he was a founding faculty member of the Famous Photographers School, Westport, Connecticut, in the early 1960's.
D'Arazien married Margaret Scott and has two sons. He had a studio in Waterside Plaza, New York, and made his home in New Canaan, Connecticut, until moving to Naples, Florida, upon his retirement in 1988. The collection was brought to the Smithsonian's attention by his son Steven, and was donated to the Archives Center before this move. In anticipation of this gift, Mr. d'Arazien spent several months inspecting his collection, eliminating duplicate and technically unsuccessful images, and captioning photographs.
Sources
American Aces, U.S. Camera Annual 1939. Clipping in scrapbook no. 1, box 24, first page.
Robert M. Vogel, memorandum, undated, but written after a December 1987 visit to d'[Arazien's home.
In Archives Center collection control file.
Letter to the author, 26 February 1992, in collection control file.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Arthur d'Arazien, December 24, 1988.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the majority of the collection is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
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.
Topic:
Industry -- Photographs -- 1940-1980 -- Canada Search this
Industry -- Photographs -- 1940-1980 -- United States Search this
The Bobcat Company Records document a post-war invention process and American manufacturing system through the case study of a dynamic machine, the Bobcat skid-steer loader. The records focus primarily on Bobcat's products, marketing, and advertising through product literature, photographs, advertisements, posters, newsletters, and audiovisual materials.
Scope and Contents:
The records are divided into ten series which document a post-war invention process and American manufacturing system, through the case study of a dynamic machine, the Bobcat skid-steer loader. The records focus primarily on Bobcat's products, marketing, and advertising through product literature, photographs, advertisements, posters, newsletters, and audiovisual materials.
Series 1, Historical Background, 1965-2007 and undated, is divided into nine subseries: Subseries 1, Company Histories, 1965-1996 and undated; Subseries 2, Organizational Materials, 1970s-2003 and undated; Subseries 3, Factories/Plants, 1965-1996; Subseries 4, Union Materials, 1971, 2005-2007; Subseries 5, Kaizen Materials, 2003-2004 and undated; Subseries 6, Company Christmas Cards, 1965-1974 and undated; Subseries 7, Company Picnics, 1966-1979; Subseries 8, Awards, 1969-1988; and Subseries 9, Subject Files, 1963-1985.
Subseries 1, Company Histories, 1965-1998 and undated, consists of published and unpublished accounts of the early history of Melroe Manufacturing and its corporate evolution. Of note is the undated A Modern Guide to North Dakota. This guidebook is intended for "foreign" visitors (anyone from Minneapolis, Chicago, New York, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Seattle, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia or outside the city limits of Gwinner, North Dakota) and provides historical background as well as information on the many diverse and interesting aspects of North Dakota.
Subseries 2, Organizational Materials, 1970s-2003 and undated, consists of mission statements, codes of conduct, a corporate directory, organizational charts, and letterhead. The organizational chart, while marketing and sales specific, does provide an overview of the company's administrative functions.
Subseries 3, Factories/Plants, 1965-1996, includes information about each plant.Factories represented include Belcourt, Bismarck, Cooperstown, and Gwinner, North Dakota; and Fort Benton, Montana. The materials document each plant and consist of a range of formats from articles and clippings to birthday cards, highway maps, fact sheets, field trip schedules, histories of the plant, service awards, product literature, guides, press releases, and employee information.
The Belcourt Plant was home to Melroe Manufacturing's welding division. Dedicated in 1975 at the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation (Chippewa Tribe), this plant was established to relieve the Bismarck Plant of a heavy workload in welding requirements. The plant closed in the 1980s.
The Fort Benton Plant manufactured thirty-two different models of chisel plows under Clark Equipment Company's Melroe Division for Ag Products. The Fort Benton Plant closed in 1982.
The Bismarck Plant served as Melroe Manufacturing's headquarters for the three Ag Product Plants: Bismarck, Benton, and Cooperstown. Opened in 1973, the Bismarck Plant made grain drills, the windrow pick-up combine attachment, the automatic reset plow and plow packers, and crop sprayer (the Spra-Coupe). The Bismarck Plant closed in 2009.
The Cooperstown Plant also manufactured Ag products such as grain augers, swathers, field sprayers, machinery trailers, raw crop harvesters, grain drill packers, steel buildings, and aluminum grain boxes. The best known products produced at this plant were the steel teeth for making hay stacks and the automatic reset moldboard plow. The plant also fabricated parts and components for the Bobcat skid-steer loader. Of note in the Cooperstown Plant materials are a black-and-white advertisement and programmatic brochures for Clark Equipment Company's 1975 International Teenage Exchange Program. Five teenagers from "Clark North America" were selected to live with Clark families in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, or Germany. The Cooperstown Plant closed in 1977.
The Gwinner Plant remains open today and is the main manufacturing facility for Bobcat of North America. The Gwinner folder contains a high school paper title "Melroe" by Craig Allen Knudson, undated, and remarks given at a Dealer Advisory Council Meeting by Jim Strande about the "B Series" from the Engineering Department.
Subseries 4, Union Materials, 1971, 2005-2007, includes information about the United Steel Workers Local 560, the union that is currently in place at the Bobcat Company. Employees formally voted to unionize on April 2, 1970, under the Allied Industrial Workers (A.I.W.). In the early 1990s, the A.I.W. was becoming too small and could no longer provide the best financial backing or representation to Melroe employees, and therefore the employees decided to merge with the United Paperworkers International Union (U.P.I.U.). In 2005, the U.P.I.U. decided to merge with the delegates of the United Steel Workers of America and form the United Steelworkers (U.S.W.). Today, the Bobcat Company is represented by the U.S.W. in District 11 which includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The materials in this subseries consist of United Steel Workers Local 560 handbooks and agreements as well as authorized announcements from the local union members and Bobcat management that were posted for employees to read. These announcements/fliers were placed in authorized areas at the factory in Gwinner. There is one grievance record from 1971 detailing the request that certain jobs be posted so personnel can bid for the position.
Subseries 5, Kaizen Materials, 2003-2004 and undated, contains materials related to the Kaizen process, which is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management and from the chief operating officer to the assembly line workers. These materials include An Introduction to the Bobcat Production System ( BPS), undated, and a booklet that provides a road map to all Bobcat employees in utilizing "lean" concepts versus traditional mass production manufacturing. The BPS is intended to redesign production systems, machinery and labor to be as efficient as possible. Other documents include copies of power point slides and materials from a Kaizen workshop.
Subseries 6, Company Christmas Cards, 1965-1974 and undated, includes Christmas cards sent by the Bobcat Company as well as "mock-ups" of cards created by Flint Communications. The Bobcat Company purchased merchandise from companies that specialized in promotional and specialty gifts. Additonal information from those companies is included in this subseries.
Subseries 7, Company Picnics, 1966-1979, contains information about the company's annual family picnic or "family feast" at Lisbon Park in Lisbon, North Dakota. The picnics typically included a program (musical entertainment), games for children, prizes, and a softball game. The documentation includes fliers announcing the picnic, tickets, and receipts and memos detailing the prizes available and the associated costs. Prizes included, but were not limited to, portable televisions, drills, binoculars, cookware, cameras, bicycles, camping equipment, vacuums, and clocks.
Subseries 8, Awards, 1969-1988, contains information about awards given to the Bobcat Company from external organizations as well as individual awards given by the company to its employees. The Export "E" Award is bestowed by the United States Department of Commerce. Awarded for success in boosting sales of American products abroad, Melroe Manufacturing won this honor in 1969 for its increased sales of farm implements and industrial equipment to Canadian and European markets. Material about the 'E" Award includes newspaper clippings and articles, presentation remarks, and photographs. The United States Senate Productivity Award is administered through the United States Senate Commerce Committee. Each United States senator is allowed to select one winner every year. The program was established to encourage competiveness in American industry and ensure its survival in the international marketplace through increased productivity. In 1984, Senator Mark Andrews (R) announced that the Melroe Division of Clark Equipment Company was a recipient of the Productivity Award. The file contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, black-and-white photographs of the presentation, a tour of the factory in Gwinner, North Dakota, and the medal itself. There are other files about awards that recognize employees: Employee Recognition Service Awards, Patents Awards Recognition Dinner, and the 1000 Club. These materials contain lists of awardees, award programs, invitations, and napkins.
Subseries 9, Subject Files, 1963-1985, captures a varity of documentation associated with the company's corporate structure such as testimonials from owners and users of Bobcat skid-steer loaders, the first invoice for the Bobcat skid-steer loader (1963), the celebration of the 100,000th Bobcat skid-steer loader being produced and the "Melroe Mission to Japan." In 1985, a cross-sectional group of Melroe employees were selected to tour Japanese manufacturing plants and examine new concepts in both manufacturing and engineering. The lessons learned from this valuable trip were implemented at Bobcat and ultimately manifested themselves in the Kaizen materials. See Series 1, Subseries 4. The report, Bobcat Reports: The Melroe Mission to Japan contains employee observations about the trip, insights into similarities and difference between Japanese plants and Melroe plants; life style differences; and what it meant individually to the employee.
Series 2, Clark Equipment Company, 1965-1994, contains documentation about the Clark Equipment Company, one of the largest producers of material handling equipment. There are three subseries: Subseries 1, Company Histories, 1965-1978, (not inclusive); Subseries 2, Annual Reports, 1974-1994 (not inclusive); and Subseries 3, Employee Information, undated. The histories consist of typescript documents that were used for various presentations as well as a printed history, "Growing Up with Clark," Clark Magazine, spring 1978, by Steve Lokker. The employee information contains an employee handbook titled "Your Circle of Security" detailing total compensation of pay, benefits, and career opportunities at Clark, and a Guide to Maintaining Non-Union Status and Combating Union Organizational Attempts, undated. The annual reports, 1974-1994, also include information about quarterly report and annual meeting summaries.
Series 3, Newsletters, 1965-2009, consists of published newsletters for both internal and external distribution. Arranged alphabetically by title, the newsletters represent a variety of Bobcat Company news items aimed at specific audiences such as current employees, former employees (alumni), dealers, prospective customers, and the industry. For example, Bobcat Briefs, a monthly publication, contains information for and about Melroe Manufacturing Company employees. The Summit (Bobcat Sales Masters) a monthly newsletter designed for salesmen at varying levels, allowed them to stay up-to-date on their progress in the Sales Masters Program. It was created to recognize the achievements of retail salesmen. Additional newsletters targeted at salesmen/dealers include the Bobcat's Pajamas, Feller Buncher Toppers, Melroe Scoop, Winners Circle, Territory Tales and Worksaver. Worksaver is published four times a year and sent directly to a dealer's mailing list of customers and prospects. Worksaver is part of the Bobcat Company's co-op advertising program, with the single most important feature being the ability to target the Bobcat sales message. Newsletters aimed at employees include Bobcat Briefs, Bobcat Messages, Melroe Pick-up, Clark Pick-up, Melroe and Messages. The only newsletter not represented in this series is the Spra-Coupe Reporter. See series 8 for this newsletter.
Series 4, Photographs, Negatives, Slides and Transparencies, 1960-2003 and undated, contains photographs, negatives, slides, and transparencies. The materials are arranged in alphabetical order following the original filing scheme created by the Bobcat Company. The only exception to this order is "Products" which are filed numerically by model number. For example, the B300 (Loader Backhoe), 2005, is filed before the 310 (Skid Steer Loader), 1977. Each model is identified parenthetically. The bulk of the materials consists of photographs, both black-and-white and color prints documenting the company's activities. They were created and assembled by Ernie Feland, the company's photographer for 37 years.
The images document almost every aspect of the company and its culture. Included are: products, employees, company picnics and outings, factory activities, trade shows, and dealerships. Well documented are the various company outings and activities that involved dealers and vendors. Elaborate theme-based activities were created for the dealers/vendors which were the highlight of the year. The company fostered a "family friendly" atmosphere and this is evident in the images. Many of the photographs documenting company products show the product in use in various industries and with various attachments. For example, there are photographs of skid-steer loaders removing snow, moving fertilizer, drilling holes, and hauling dirt.
Series 5, Dealer Materials, 1964-2003, documents the valuable connection between the customer, dealer, and the company. Dealers are an important part of the Bobcat success story. This series is further divided into eight subseries: Subseries 1, Dealer Advisory Council Meetings, 1967-1996; Subseries 2, Sales Meetings, 1964-1999; Subseries 3, District Manager Meetings, 1971-1990; Subseries 4, Conferences, 1973, 1974,1993; and Subseries 5, Specific Dealers, 1978, 1979, 2003; Subseries 6, Dealer Advertising and Sales Promotion Kits, 1967-1996; Subseries 7, Co-op Advertising Materials for Dealers, 1979-1982; and Subseries 8, Subject Files, 1965-2003.
Subseries 1, Dealer Advisory Council Meetings, 1967-1996, documents Dealer Advisory Council (DAC) activities and meetings. The first DAC was held in 1965 at the Ash Forks Camp on Lake of the Woods, Canada. Dealers competed in a sales contest prior to the meeting to determine which twelve of them would attend. Over the years the roster of dealers attending grew, and those chosen to serve on the council had an outstanding sales record. The company sought these dealers' advice on all aspects of Bobcat marketing, engineering and manufacturing, and both dealers and company management were encouraged to share their ideas and experiences. It is through a strong dealership system that the company sells its products and many times, it was a solid demonstration that sold the product. Dealers frequently were invited to the Bobcat Boot Camp in Lisbon, North Dakota, where they spent one week training on various Bobcat Company products as well as competitors' products.
To this day, dealers meet annually in different locations throughout the United States with particular emphasis on North Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Wisconsin, and parts of Canada. The meetings were well planned and followed a structure with receptions, orientations, dinners, plant tours, presentations, group discussions, and award presentations.
These records provide insight into the relationship between the company and its dealers with dealer distributor materials such as the dealer kits. The photographs in Series 4 document this aspect of the company well. Among one of the boot camp's first trainers was none other than inventor Cyril Keller.
The materials are arranged chronologically by meeting date and contain correspondence, agendas, memos, lists of dealers (in some instances with profiles), certificates (recognizing outstanding sales achievement), invitations, licenses for fishing, invoices for airline tickets, presentation scripts, photographs (the majority document fishing and hunting trips), and brochures. Many of the meetings also had programs for "ladies" since many of the dealer's wives accompanied them.
Subseries 2, Sales Meetings, 1964-1999, documents the annual gathering of all Bobcat dealers. Unlike the DAC Meetings, the annual sales meetings were larger in scale and had more programmatic functions. Meetings were held in a variety of locations throughout the United States, and almost all of the meetings were held either in January or February. The meetings are arranged chronologically and contain the location of the meeting if known. There is unevenness to the type and amount of documentation for each meeting. Many files include agendas, memos, correspondence, name tags, meeting programs, banquet programs, and presentation remarks. Some meetings contained more unusual materials. The 1974 Kona, Hawaii Meeting had a "Clark Money Tree Mid-Term Quiz" designed for dealers and dealer salesmen as a means of testing their knowledge of the Clark Retail Finance programs. The quiz was graded, and if the individual passed, a doctor of finance was issued along with a cash prize. Additionally, an audio disc from the 1974 Kona, Hawaii Meeting, Swing and Sway The Bobcat Way with Bobcat- The One and Only and Cattin Around was intended for use by dealers for a wide variety of promotional and selling situations: background music for radio and TV commercials, local fairs, exhibits, and conventions.
Subseries 3, District Manager Meetings, 1971-1990, consists of documentation for district managers' meetings which dealt with the "how" of demonstrating, advertising, financing, and servicing and the "why" of compact size, maneuverability, all-wheel drive, visibility, time, and labor for Bobcat products. These meetings appear to have been held in conjunction with the annual sales meeting.
Subseries 4, Conferences, 1973, 1974, 1993, includes speeches, photographs, agendas, invoices, memos, programs, and notes. The bulk of the materials consists of Clark Executive Conference materials from 1973.
Subseries 5, Specific Dealers, 1978, 1979, 2003, contains files for specific Bobcat dealers in the United States. The files are arranged alphabetically by dealership name and include advertisements, announcements, correspondence, and other branded materials with the Bobcat logo.
Subseries 6, Dealer Advertising and Sales Promotion Kits, 1967-1996, consists of folders filled with a memo or letter to the dealer, dealer lists, newsletters, logo types, line drawings, price lists, brochures, product information sheets, specifications, and posters designed to assist dealers in promoting a certain product, campaign, or sale. Reg Stansfield served as the dealer development manager (regional, European and worldwide) from 1978 to 1988. It's clear that the company was interested in measuring performance, seeking room for improvement, and knowing about problems. Stansfield had a great interest in training and in helping salesmen avoid making unnecessary mistakes. He created "Sales Success Strategy" cards with sales tips which were included in the dealer promotion kits. These tips were part of the "Melroe Success Formula," which was to promote, demonstrate, sell, and support. Arranged chronologically, these kits provide valuable information on what the company was sending its dealers and the accompanying instructions. The kits also provide a comprehensive overview of the types of industries using Bobcat products, such as colleges, cemeteries, landscapers, stockyards, rendering, and the poultry industry.
Subseries 7, Co-op Advertising Materials for Dealers, 1979-1982, includes materials that were assembled into binders and were distributed to dealers as a way to assist them in promoting and advertising Bobcat products. The binders were organized into categories: direct mail, newspaper, radio, television, Yellow Pages, specialties, signs and displays, and fairs and shows.
Subseries 8, Subject Files, 1965-2003, are arranged alphabetically by topic. These files include topics such as dealer financial profiles, golf tournaments, review guidelines, motivational concepts, sales specialist's guides, website programs, and Y2K compliancy. The dealer-initiated materials include examples of specific materials developed by dealers for promoting Bobcat products and sales. For example, the J.S. Equipment Company of Sacramento, California, developed a Bobcat Bulletin and the K.C. Bobcat of Kansas City, Missouri, developed a mailer card touting their Bobcat Center with equipment and accessories. Proper use of the Bobcat brand name adds value, helps develop customer loyalty and presents a consistent identity. Spelled out in a brochure of Brand Identity and Standards for Bobcat Dealers are the four trade name categories used by dealers: "Bobcat of (location);" "Bobcat (Name);" "(Name) Bobcat;" and "An Independent Trade Name." Additionally, it details unacceptable uses of the Bobcat trademark logo and the associated color standards.
The Melroe Annual Sands Hill One Invitational Engolfment (MASHIE) files chronicle the establishment of an annual golf tournament designed for the company (Melroe) and its dealers to get to know each other better and have fun while doing it. The golf tournament included visits to the factory and offices as well as an awards dinner.
The motivational concepts file contains a variety of notes and lists detailing motivational concepts for dealers. There is an untitled poem about Christmas, Santa, and a Bobcat as well as a 1977 planning session document from Flint Advertising. The Y2K compliancy materials consist of memos, correspondence, spreadsheets, and questionnaires for dealers about their computer compliancy for the year 2000.
Series 6, Marketing and Promotional Materials, 1954-2007, are divided into ten subseries: Subseries 1, Correspondence of Ferd Froeschle, 1974-1976, 1990; Subseries 2, Budget/Finances, 1961-2000 (not inclusive); Subseries 3, Advertisements, 1964-2001; Subseries 4, Artwork/Storyboards, undated; Subseries 5, Advertising Proof Books, 1954-1993; Subseries 6, Surveys/Profiles, 1977, 1979, 1990-1991; Subseries 7, Promotional Ideas/Retail Sales, 1970s-2007; Subseries 8, Sales Campaigns and Programs, 1972-2001; Subseries 9, Contests, 1965-1999, undated; and Subseries 10, Posters, 1977-2005, undated.
Almost all of the promotional pieces were created by Flint Communications of Fargo, North Dakota, under the direction of the Bobcat Advertising/Marketing Department. Flint was established in 1946, by Harold Flint. Today, Flint consists of a network of six companies, known as the Flint Group, serving a diverse list of businesses, industries, government entities, and not-for-profit clients. The Flint Group includes Flint Communications, Fargo, North Dakota; HatlingFlint, St. Cloud, Minnesota; SimmonsFlint, Grand Forks, North Dakota; WestmorelandFlint, Duluth, Minnesota; AadlandFlint, Anchorage, Alaska; and Flint Interactive, an online services firm with staff in multiple locations. In some instances the marketing and promotional pieces have a Knight Printing Company tag affixed to them. This tag provided critical information to both Flint and the Bobcat Company for reordering purposes and dating. For example KN-500-397-#650152-F translated means Knight Printing Company-quantity 500-March 1997-Bobcat Company job number, and the F equals Flint.
The marketing and promotional materials were intended for dealers in the Bobcat dealership network. Many of these pieces were distributed through targeted promotional programs which were designed to maintain regular contact with all existing users, to foster rental customers, and generate new inquiries. The promotional pieces consisted of giveaways, sponsorships, machine displays on dealership frontage, special displays at shopping centers, casual machine displays at stockyards and auctions, presentations and lectures to associations and colleges, group demonstrations, and highway billboards. The promotional methods included permanent advertisements, building and truck designs, ads in newspapers, local television and radio spots, envelope stuffers and stickers for correspondence, fairs, shows, and customer service schools, open houses at dealerships, handouts for salesmen and mechanics, and special telephone canvassing campaigns. These methods maximized the "Worksaver" Program.
Basic markets for the Bobcat include agriculture, agri-business (feed, fertilizer, grain elevators, meat packing), construction (excavating, landscaping, paving, utility, sewer, roofing, concrete, sand and gravel, snow removal, asphalt, and brick), industry (foundries, glass, steel mills, chemicals, coal and coke, lumber, papers, smelters and refiners, castings), forestry, rental yards, and miscellaneous (garbage, rubbish removal, waste paper, nurseries).
Subseries 1, Correspondence of Ferd Froeschle, 1974-1976, 1990, contains correspondence of Ferd Froeschle, the advertising manager and public relations director at Melroe Manufacturing from 1964 to 1981.
Subseries 2, Budget/Finances, 1961-2000 (not inclusive), includes budgets, price lists, advertising schedules (with proposed ad expenditures). There are monthly budget spreadsheets with actuals, budget, and variation for media, production, printing, film and photo, travel, conventions, co-op advertising, sales aids, and miscellaneous.
Subseries 3, Advertisements, 1964-2001, documents advertisements (both color and black and white), color proofs (used to evaluate the ads' final appearance), some examples of the four-color process-a printing process that combines different amounts of the four colors red, yellow, blue and black, copies and/or originals torn from trade and industry magazines. The advertisements are arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by language. There is some clip art with Bobcat Company logos and an advertising manual for the international market. The manual was intended to help dealers prepare their own advertising.
Subseries 4, Artwork/Storyboards, undated, include artwork-the visual components of many advertisements-with and without typeset text for a variety of Bobcat Company products. Many are black and color ink on tracing paper or a transparency such as a photographic image on clear plastic. Also included is documentation on the development of the Bobcat Company logo and storyboards for the Bobcat of Futureville with plans on how to set-up/lay out a Bobcat dealership.
Subseries 5, Advertising Proof Books, 1954-1993, consists of advertisements that were placed in newspapers or various industrial, construction, and farming publications. The proofs are arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by product or the industry in which the product was used; for example, agriculture, contruction, forestry, industry, and rental. In some instances, the alphabetical heading is further refined such as construction (regional) versus construction (national). This distinction was drawn to distinguish the type of advertisement and where it would appear. Advertisements appeared in publications such as The Dakota Farmer, Montana Farmer- Stockman, The Farmer, Canadian Machinery and Metalworking, and Heavy Construction News.
Subseries 6, Surveys/Profiles for Skid-Steer Loaders, 1977, 1979, 1990-1991, contains survey and summaries from research services that conducted interviews and analysis for the company on the use of skid-steer loaders. The testimonials contained within this section are from employees at Central Bi-Products, (a meat processing facility) in Long Prairie, Minnesota.
Subseries 7, Promotional Ideas/Retail Sales, 1972-2001, include pamphlets, brochures, point-of-purchase ads, stickers, calendars, and greeting cards (Christmas, birthday, and Thanksgiving).
Subseries 9, Contests, 1965-1999 and undated, contains documentation illuminating the company's many and varied contests. Held company-wide and worldwide, the contests were intended for dealers to promote the sale of new products. Incentives included cash, prizes, or attachments for various Bobcat skid-steer loaders. The Let's Do It! contest and campaign of 1972-1973, was a competiton for all employees to think more about their productivity efforts. Employees competed quarterly for corporate awards which were given to divisons and plants with the best nine month performance. Employees were judged on return on investment, inventory control, sales volume, and forecasting while the plants were judged on productivity improvement and inventory control.
Subseries 10, Posters, 1977-2005 and undated, consists of posters created by the company for dealers to use in conjunction with various campaigns, programs, and contests.
Series 7, Product Information, 1967-2008, contains brochures, specification sheets, and catalogs detailing the various products offered for sale by the Bobcat Company. Melroe product history file consists of histories of Melroe Ag products, memorable dates in the Melroe company history and speeches about Melroe Manufacturing.
Series 8, Melroe Ag Products/Spra-Coupe Materials, 1972-1998, is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, Melroe Ag Products Division, 1973-1983 and Subseries 2, Spra-Coupe, 1972-1998, undated. Melroe Ag Products was a division of Melroe Manufacturing which specialized in farm equipment. The products included reset plows, multi-weeders, rock pickers, chisel plows, grain drills, harroweeders, windrow pick-ups and the Spra-Coupe. The Spra-Coupe materials consist primarily of advertisements, product information, and promotional materials. The Spra-Coupe was first built in 1963 by John D. Kirschmann and brought to market in 1965. In the spring of 1972, Melroe Manufacturing acquired the Spra-Coupe, which was designed to apply chemicals using a self-propelled sprayer. The Spra-Coupe was sold primarily to custom operators and was used to replace the airplane as a means of applying liquid spray.
Series 9, Press Related Materials, 1969-2005, is arranged chronologically and divided into four subseries: Subseries 1, Press Clippings, 1969-2005; Subseries 2, Scrapbook of clippings, 1977-1978; Subseries 3, Press Releases, 1972-1999, undated; Subseries 4, Press Conferences, 1978, 1989, 1994; and Subseries 4, Articles, 1967, 1979, 1993. The press releases were used by the company as "organizational announcements" and were released internally to announce promotions, new positions, scholarship recipients, and service awards. In some instances there are black-and-white photographs found in this series as well as "special" releases from 1972-1974 containing correspondence with television stations and industry specific publications such as the Montana Farmer- Stockman and Fertilizer Solutions.
Series 10, Audiovisual Materials, 1963-2007, is divided into seven subseries: Subseries 1, Corporate documentation, circa 1960s-2007, undated; Subseries 2, Promotional, 1967-2007, undated; Subseries 3, Sales, 1963-2003, undated; Subseries 4, Safety/training, circa 1970s-1983, undated; Subseries 5, Commercials, 2004, undated; Subseries 6, Spra-Coupe, 1988-1993, undated; and Subseries 7, Supplemental documentation, 1974-1975, 1983, undated.
Of note are the commercial films made by William Snyder. Snyder was born and raised in North Dakota, and after working in Hollywood, California, for Technicolor he returned to Fargo to form Bill Snyder Films, Inc. Most of Snyder's output was 16 mm film format in color and black-and-white for industrial programs produced by corporate entities and non-profit groups. Snyder supplemented this work by producing television commercials and commercial movies for industry, including Melroe Manufacturing. Melroe hired Snyder in the early 1960s to make a "short" demonstrating the company's skid-steer loader. Eventually more movies were made: The Story of the Bobcat Kid, Bobcat a Go- Go, and Farm Boy at Heart. The movies provide an insight into the marketing strategy of a small company looking for a new and creative marketing effort called the "info-mercial." Aired on local television in the five-state area (Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming) and using Melroe employees, these movies boosted sales for the company.
Subseries 1, Corporate documentation, circa 1960s-2007 and undated, contains footage of corporate events (primarily National Dealer Meetings), the manufacturing process in the two North Dakota factories, employees at work, and other company-related moving images.
Subseries 2, Promotional, 1967-2007 and undated, consists of films that promote various models of Bobcats and attachments to consumers and dealers. Many films highlight the features, capabilities, and different uses of specific models and associated attachments. CD-ROMs were probably given to potential customers based on their interest in Bobcat products or could have been used in dealerships for customers to access the same information.
Subseries 3, Sales, 1963-2003 and undated, documents the material shown to salesmen and dealers of Bobcats for sales purposes. Methods for improving sales, techniques for selling against competitors' machines, and detailed information about Bobcats' capabilities and features are highlighted to educate salesmen on the products. Numerous motivational and instructional videos were made with Reg Stansfield, Regional Sales Manager, offering strategies to improve sales and increase productivity. Some films in this subseries may have been shown to customers.
Subseries 4, Safety/training, circa 1970s-1983 and undated, documents education of the safe operation of Bobcat machines.
Subseries 5, Commercials, 2004 and undated, contains tapes of thirty second television commercials promoting Bobcat skid-steer loaders.
Subseries 6, Spra-Coupe, 1988-1993 and undated, consists of material relating to the Melroe Spra-Coupe and its electrostatic spraying process. Customer testimonials, descriptions of the use of the machine, and the features and capabilities of the Spra-Coupe are included.
Subseries 7, Supplemental documentation, 1974-1975, 1983, and undated, consists of brochures, scripts, and descriptions for some of the audio visual materials.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into ten series.
Series 1, Historical Background, 1965-2007
Subseries 1.1, Company Histories, 1965-1998 and undated
Subseries 1.2, Organizational Materials, 1970s-2007 and undated
Subseries 1.3, Factories/Plants, 1965-1996; 2007
Subseries 1.4, Union Materials, 1971, 2005-2007
Subseries 1.5, Kaizen Materials, 2003-2004 and undated
Subseries 1.6, Company Christmas Cards, 1965-1974 and undated
Subseries 1.7, Company Picnics, 1966-1979
Subseries 1.8, Awards, 1969-1988
Subseries 1.9, Subject Files, 1963-1985
Series 2, Clark Equipment Company, 1965-1994 and undated
Subseries 2.1, Company Histories, 1965-1978
Subseries 2.2, Annual Reports, 1974-1994
Subseries 2.3, Employee Information and undated
Series 3, Newsletters, 1965-2009 and undated
Subseries 3.1, Bobcat Alumni Newsletter, 1984 fall; 1987 spring
Subseries 3.2, Bobcat Brief, 1985-1993
Subseries 3.3, Bob Cat's Pajamas, 1965-2008
Subseries 3.4, Bobcat Messages, 2000
Subseries 3.5, Bobcat System, 1993
Subseries 3.6, Clark Pickup, 1975-1976
Subseries 3.7, Feller Buncher Toppers, 1984-1985
Subseries 3.8, Melroe Farm Reporter, 1973-1977
Subseries 3.9, Melroe Messages, 1987-1996, 1999
Subseries 3.10, Melroe Pickup, 1969-1975
Subseries 3.11, Melroe Scoop, 1970
Subseries 3.12, Newsloader, 1979-1982 and undated
Subseries 3.13, Scoop, 1991
Subseries 3.14, The Summit, 1990-1992
Subseries 3.15, Territory Tales, 1974-2002
Subseries 3.16, The Winner's Circle, 1983-1989
Subseries 3.17, Worksaver, 1977-2008
Series 4, Photographs, Negatives, Slides, and Transparencies, 1960-2003 and undated
Subseries 4.1, Alphabetical, 1960-2003 and undated
Subseries 4.2, Miscellaneous, 1963-1986 and undated
Series 5, Dealer Materials, 1964-2003
Subseries 5.1, Dealer Advisory Council Meetings, 1967-1996
Subseries 5.2, Sales Meetings, 1964-1999
Subseries 5.3, District Managers Meetings, 1971-1990
Subseries 5.4, Conferences, 1973, 1974, 1993
Subseries 5.5, Specific Dealers, 1978, 1979, 2003
Subseries 5.6, Dealer Advertising and Sales Promotion Kits, 1967-1996
Subseries 5.7, Co-op Advertising Materials for Dealers, 1979-1982
Subseries 5.8, Subject Files, 1965-2003
Series 6, Marketing and Advertising Materials, 1954-2007
Subseries 6.1, Correspondence of Ferd Froeschle, 1974-1976, 1990
Series 10, Audiovisual Materials, circa 1960s-2007, undated
Subseries 10.1, Corporate documentation, circa 1960s-2007 and undated
Subseries 10.2, Promotional, 1967-2007 and undated
Subseries 10.3, Sales, 1963-2003 and undated
Subseries 10.4, Safety/Training, circa 1970s-1983 and undated
Subseries 10.5, Commercials, 2004 and undated
Subseries 10.6, Spra-Coupe, 1988-1993 and undated
Subseries 10.7, Supplemental documentation, 1974-1975 and undated
Biographical / Historical:
The Bobcat Company Records document the evolution of the Bobcat skid-steer loader from a simple agricultural machine into a versatile and widely recognized tool. The Company's loaders, mini track loaders, and product attachments improved productivity in many industries such as shipping, landscaping, and construction. In 1958, approximately 20 loaders were built, and by the 1960s, the total number of units was in the few thousands. In the 1970s, 10,000 loaders were being manufactured a year. Today, Bobcat produces approximately 40,000 loaders a year and celebrated its 750,000th loader in 2008. Other companies, such as Caterpillar, Case, John Deere and New Holland all make loaders, but Bobcat dominates the market and its name is synonymous with the compact construction equipment industry. The records focus primarily on Bobcat's products, marketing, and advertising through product literature, photographs, advertisements, posters, newsletters, and audiovisual materials.
The Bobcat Company is a story of individuals, simple ingenuity, independence, and innovation and improvement. The Kellers' problem of removing turkey manure from a barn was solved with a can-do, make-do ethos of the farm which spawned a global industry. The early roots of the Bobcat machine lie in the farming heritage of central Minnesota and the North Dakota plains with two blacksmith brothers, Louis (b. 1923-) and Cyril (b. 1922-) Keller. Out of farming necessity to make manual labor easier, a story of technology grew into a world-wide industry that would become known as the compact equipment industry and would be identified with the name Bobcat.
In the fall of 1947, Louis Keller formed Keller Manufacturing (sometimes known as Keller Welding) in Rothsay, Minnesota, which provided a wide range of general repair services to customers, especially blacksmithing and welding services. In 1953, Cyril Keller joined his brother Louis as an equal partner in the business. The small family business noted that they "weld anything except a broken heart." In the summer of 1956, Eddie Velo, a local turkey farmer, approached the Kellers with the problem of cleaning manure out of his turkey barns after the turkeys had been taken to slaughter. Standard loader tractors could not be utilized because of their limited maneuverability, and they were too heavy to operate on the second story of a barn. Velo needed a tractor that could maneuver around the posts in his barn, move backwards and forward, and make sharp turns. The Kellers developed a drive system that was designed to provide the maneuverability required by Velo. A bucket was placed in the front, and a motor in the back. A third castor wheel was added to permit sharp turning. They employed a pulley-and-chain system to switch back and forth. They found that this system was too dangerous, and they abandoned it for a clutch system. The result was a system for "transmitting power from a power unit to propulsion wheels, drive shafts and the like, and in particular to a transmission system for self-propelled vehicles having independently rotatable propulsion or drive wheels."0F[1] A completed loader was delivered to Velo in fall 1957, but the Kellers continued to refine and test it. They manufactured six additional models on speculation and ultimately sold them to area poultry farms. To address the instability issues of having three wheels, they added a counter weight at the back. Additionally, they introduced attachments for the loader-snow blade, sweeper, a bucket, and a manure fork. The Kellers sought to mass-produce their loader. After pursuing various avenues, their uncle, Anton Christianson, a dealer with Melroe Manufacturing Company of Gwinner, North Dakota, introduced them to Melroe Manufacturing. Melroe Manufacturing Company was founded in 1947 by Edward Gideon "E.G." Melroe (d. 1955), a pioneer in agricultural technology.
The Kellers were invited to bring their loader to the Melroe booth at the 1958 Minnesota State Fair, to determine the amount of interest in the loader. The interest was so great that Melroe decided to manufacture the loader. After the State Fair, an agreement was reached-Melroe would have exclusive manufacturing rights on a royalty basis. The Kellers would be employed by Melroe to further develop the loader. Access to the Melroe facilities allowed the Kellers' work to progress and be widely marketed. In the fall of 1958, Louis and Cyril Keller moved to Gwinner, North Dakota, to begin work. Louis worked on the manufacturing floor from 1958 to 1967 developing the loader, and Cyril worked from 1958 to 1980 as a salesman promoting and selling Melroe products and training dealers.
Development of the first Melroe loader prototype (M60) began in November 1958 and was completed in early 1959. The prototype utilized the Keller patented drive design, which was used on various Melroe and later Bobcat models until 1982. The name "Bobcat" originated in 1962 with Lynn Bickett, of Gould, Brown and Bickett, a marketing agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Allegedly, Bickett found the word "bobcat" in the dictionary, and noted that it was a North American mammal that is "tough, quick, and agile." These traits perfectly described the Melroe loader to them, and the Bobcat slogan, "Tough, quick, and agile," was born.
Officially designated the Bobcat Company in 2000, the company previously operated under the names: Melroe Manufacturing (1958-1969); Clark Equipment Company (1969-1995); and was also known as Ingersoll-Rand Company (1995-2007). In 1969, Clark Equipment Company of Buchanan, Michigan, acquired Melroe Manufacturing and pushed the Bobcat loader to even greater sales. Clark was a leader in forklifts, but adding the Bobcat product line expanded Clark's range and marketing potential. In 1995, Clark was acquired by Ingersoll-Rand (IR), a leading manufacturer of construction equipment and industrial machinery. IR wanted a strong brand name and the top market share that accompanied it, and Bobcat was just the thing. The IR Company provided Bobcat with a platform to focus on product innovation (front end attachments) and it encouraged global manufacturing and development. The Bobcat Company was acquired by Doosan Infracore International of South Korea in October 2007.
2 Louis Keller. Transmission system. US Patent 3,151,503, filed Dec. 1, 1958, and issued Oct. 6, 1964.
Related Materials:
These records complement many of the Archives Center's agricultural holdings such as the William C. Kost Farm Records (documenting a 20th century family-owned farm in Illinois); the Robinson-Via Family Papers (documenting daily farm life in Prince George's County, Maryland); the Everett Bickley Collection (documenting agricultural technology of bean sorting) and the Southern Agriculture Oral History Project Records (documenting the disappearing farm). These papers also complement the Archives Center's holdings of industrial equipment such as Caterpillar, Page Tractors, and B.B. Brown (documenting tractor engines). Construction related papers include the Clyde Learned Papers (documenting a highway engineer); Lloyd F. Rader Papers (documenting civil engineering); the Leon Struck Photo Album (documenting road building) and many of our collections of civil engineering materials.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry holds one magnetic lifter, Accession 2007.0196.01-.02
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Scott Nelson, President of the Bobcat Company of North America on June 23, 2008.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire. Do not use original materials when available on reference video, DVD, or audio tapes. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. The Archives Center does not own rights to these photographs. All requests for permission to use these photographs for non-museum purposes must be addressed directly to the Bobcat Company. Potential users must receive written permission from appropriate rights holders prior to obtaining high quality copies.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Natalie Finney Mallard in memory of her Uncle Onie Burnett Granville
Object number:
2016.33.4
Restrictions & Rights:
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
The collection documents the life and career of ice skater Dick Price, with emphasis on the 1940s and 1950s, when he was in the prime of his career performing ice shows throughout Europe. Included are photograph albums, letters, most sent from Europe by Price to his parents describing performances and his travel adventures; programs from various ice shows; personal financial records; school report cards, and work-related permits, contracts, and insurance.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the life and career of ice skater Dick Price, with emphasis on the 1940s and 1950s, when he was in the prime of his career and performing ice shows throughout Europe. Included are several photograph albums featuring portraits and action shots of Price and other skaters, some autographed, highlights of his travels, his friends and family. Also included is a scrapbook containing clippings and other printed materials; letters most sent from Europe by Price to his parents describing performances and his travel adventures; printed materials, especially programs from the various ice shows; personal financial records; school report cards, and work-related permits, contracts and insurance.
Series 1, Personal Materials, 1936-1999, consists of school report cards, personal financial materials (blank checks and passbook), work-related permits, contracts, membership cards and insurance, ephemera, newspaper clippings, publications, and correspondence. The correspondence constitutes the bulk of the material and consists of handwritten and typescript letters, with some postcards, telegrams, and radio grams, written by Richard "Dick" Price to his parents, Alfred and Mary Price of New York City. Some materials are written by Mary Price and Virginia and Bob Price, sister-in-law and brother to Dick Price. Other materials in this series are addressed to Peter Haener, a friend, particularly Christmas cards from the 1990s. Price describes his ice skating performances, friendships (especially with a woman named Kim), and travels throughout Europe. Additional materials include hotel and air cargo invoices. A series of Trans World Airlines certificates issued to Mary Price, Dick Price's mother, document her travels across the Atlantic Ocean from 1953-1956. The Hawaii materials (maps, postcards, and menus) relate to a trip Price took in July 1948. Price is listed as a passenger on the S.S. Lurline.
Series 2, Programs, 1945-2002, consists of color programs and brochures for ice skating shows Price appeared in or attended. Some of the programs are autographed. Price appears on the cover of Garmisch This Week, 1955, a publication of the United States Army Leave and Rest Center. There are several programs for Holiday in Garmisch/Ice Revue for the Casa Carioca, a night club built by General George S. Patton. The club was located at the U.S. Army base in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and operated from 1945-1970. The club was an important venue for professional ice skaters. The programs are arranged alphabetically by the name of the ice skating show and then chronologically. Other programs include musical and theatrical productions that Price organized and/or produced in Austria. All of these programs are in German.
Series 3, Photographs and Scrapbook, 1940s-1990s, consists of black-and-white and color prints both in albums and loose. The majority of the photographs are black-and-white. They document Price's professional ice skating career primarily in Europe and depict both images of Price and other skaters performing. Leisure time sight-seeing and touring throughout Europe is well-documented. Many of the photographs are unidentified. The photographs are arranged chronologically. There is one scrapbook, 1948-1953, which consists of postcards, ice skating programs, newspaper and magazine articles, telegrams, Christmas cards, and hotel ephemera documenting Price's ice skating career primarily in the United States.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1, Personal Materials, 1936-1999
Series 2, Programs, 1945-2002
Series 3, Photographs and Scrapbooks, circa 1940s-1990s
Biographical / Historical:
Richard "Dick" S. Price was born on March 27, 1928 to Mary Schweitzer Price and Alfred Price. He had one brother, Robert Ira Price. He was raised in the New York City area and attended local schools (Columbia Grammar, Junior High School 165, Pratt Institute, and Parsons School of Design) as well as a brief period at the Admiral Farragut Academy, a boarding school in New Jersey. Price took skating lessons at Lake Placid, New York, circa 1934 and dance lessons in New York City as a young boy. According to Price's "memoirs" he was hired as a replacement skater for the Hollywood Ice Revue (regular skaters went on strike) and he convinced his father to sign the contract since he was underage. Price enlisted in the United States Coast Guard on March 19, 1946. He was a Seaman second class and served on the Cutter Pequot. Price was dishonorably discharged on October 17, 1946.
Price's first skating performances were with Sonja Henie's ice show company in 1947. He later performed with other companies such as Holiday on Ice and Ice Vogues. His ice skating career took off and by 1948, he was known as the "Bombshell of the Ice." Later in life he produced Las Vegas-style nightclub shows, and he translated and presented many significant Broadway musicals in the German theatre. Price died on June 5, 2005, in a senior care facility in Mondsee, Austria.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Andrea Stevens on June 17, 2010.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
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.
The rights to the published programs remain with the publishers.
1 Exhibition catalog (includes essays and photographs)
1 Item (exhibition post card, black and white, 11 x 35 cm)
2 Photographs (color, 20 x 25 cm)
Container:
Box 1
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Letters
Exhibition catalogs
Photographs
Chromogenic color prints
Correspondence
Place:
China
Canada -- Ontario -- Toronto
Date:
1986-1988
Scope and Contents:
This collection was created and collected by the late Dr. Marcus Jacobson. It consists of materials relating to contemporary Chinese artist Gu Wenda, whom Dr. Jacobson supported in Gu's early days (mid-1980s) by purchasing works and trying to interest fellow US and Canadian academics (Dr. Jacobson was a well-known neuroscientist) in Gu's works. This collection includes an original catalogue of Gu's first exhibition in North America at York University in Toronto to which Marcus contributed. Along with a few other items of similar nature including: correspondence from Gu to Dr. Jacobson, a letter from Dr. Jacobson to his art colleagues, and 2 photographs of Gu.
Arrangement:
Organized by document type: correspondence, notes, catalog, photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Dr. Marcus Jacobson biographical note
Local Numbers:
FSA A2009.05
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Dr. Marcus Jacobson Papers of 20th Century Contemporary Artist Gu Wenda. FSA.A2009.05. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Identifier:
FSA.A2009.05
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
60 Prints (color, various sizes, all mounted on board.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Prints
Photographs
Color prints (photographs)
Place:
India
Date:
circa mid-20th century
Scope and Contents:
60 color photographic prints, mounted on board, from the mid-20th century by Lewis S. Callaghan. Images depict various scenes of India, including people, architecture and the landscape.
Arrangement:
Organized in 2 flat boxes.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographs were originally part of the Freer Gallery Art Study Collection and were transferred to the Freer-Sackler Archives in 1991.
Local Numbers:
FSA A1991.02
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Color prints (photographs) -- 20th century
Citation:
Emily Callaghan photographs. FSA.A1991.02. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Identifier:
FSA.A1991.02
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
The papers of modernist painter and printmaker George Constant measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1912-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1932-1978. They consist of biographical material, inventories of artwork, audio interviews and recorded statements on art, personal and business related correspondence, holiday cards, printed material, an exhibition related video recording, and photographs of Constant, his family and friends, and his work.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of modernist painter and printmaker George Constant measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1912-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1932-1978. They consist of biographical material, inventories of artwork, audio interviews and recorded statements on art, personal and business related correspondence, holiday cards, printed material, an exhibition related video recording, and photographs of Constant, his family and friends, and his work. A small portion of the correspondence and printed materials are written in Greek.
Biographical material includes artist statements written and recorded by Constant, two audio interview recordings discussing his philosophies on art and his work, inventories of artwork, personal property deeds and legal correspondence, and other miscellaneous material.
Correspondence is predominantly in the form of business and personal letters, postcards, and holiday cards received from family and friends. These include correspondence from Constant's daughter, Georgette Preston, and extended family members. Other frequent personal correspondents include Milton and Sally Avery, Lewis Balamuth, Margaret Brunning, David Burliuk, Nathaniel Burwash, Rhys Caparn, Julia Shaw Patterson Carnell, Phillip Cavanaugh, Morris Davidson, Charles Eaton, Vilko Gecan, Marchal Landgren, Roy Neuberger, Walter Pach, Nell Perret, Constantine Pougialis, Wallace Putnam and Consuelo Kanaga, Hi Simons, and Helen Slosberg. Business related correspondents include Audubon Artists, Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Institute, Dayton Art Institute, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Ferargil Galleries, Guild Hall, Heckscher Museum, Lyman Allyn Museum, Metropolitan Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Spanish Refugee Appeal, and the Whitney Museum. Other business correspondence related to Constant's work with the WPA are also included in the series.
Printed material includes books and booklets on American and Greek art, including a limited print edition of George Constant by George Constant, clippings and articles reviewing Constant's work, exhibition announcements and catalogs of Constant's shows, periodicals profiling his artwork, and dance and theater related programs that Constant consulted on.
Photographs include black and white prints of Constant and his family and friends in St. Louis, Missouri, Dayton, Ohio, and in and around his studio in Shinnecock Hills, New York. The collection also includes photo stills from his 1965 exhibition at the Parrish Art Museum and a comprehensive set of black and white prints, a handful of color prints, and several color slide sheets of Constant's artwork from the 1920s to 1978.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged into 4 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1923-2007 (Box 1; 17 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1930-1979 (Box 1-2; 1.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1927-2005 (Box 2-3; 2 linear feet)
Series 4: Photographic Material, 1912-1978 (Box 4-6; 1 linear foot)
Biographical/Historical note:
Greek American George Zachary Constant (1892-1978) worked from his studios in Shinnecock Hills, and New York City, New York as a painter and printmaker. A founder and lifelong member of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Constant worked for the Work Projects Administration (WPA) during the Depression and early years of World War II, and exhibited regularly at major galleries and museums from the 1920s to 1970s.
Born in Arahova, Greece, Constant was raised by his two uncles after the death of his parents in 1896. In school and at the monestary one of his uncles led, Constant showed an early interest in classical Greek aesthetics. At the age of eighteen, he immigrated to the United States and continued his art studies at Washington University before transferring to the Art Institute of Chicago. From 1918 to 1922, Constant taught at the Dayton Art Institute and continued to produce and exhibit his work locally. In 1922, he moved to New York, joined the Society of Independent Painters, and became close friends with Society founder and art critic Walter Pach. During the 1920s, his etchings were shown at the Valentine and Downtown Galleries, and at the New Art Circle of J.B. Neumann, where he presented his first one man gallery show in 1929.
From the 1930s to 1940s, Constant produced prints, watercolors, and oil paintings for the WPA, many of which were purchased by museums and public institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum. During this same period, Constant exhibited his work at the Boyer Gallery in the late 1930s, and at the Ferargil Gallery from the 1940s to early 1950s. In the decade between 1955 and 1965, Constant also worked on color and set design for seventeen dance productions created by the choreographer Alwin Nikolais. In the last two decades of his career, Constant produced works from his studio in Shinnecock Hills, New York and continued to exhibit at numerous galleries, including Grace Borgenicht Gallery, Guild Hall, Mari Galleries, Tirca Karlis Gallery, and Artium Gallery.
Provenance:
The papers of George Constant were donated by the artist in 1969 and 1978. Additional materials were donated in 2001 and 2007 by his daughter Georgette Preston.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Community Life Search this
Extent:
5 Cubic feet (22 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Manuscripts
Audiotapes
Scrapbooks
Slides (photographs)
Place:
Carmel (Calif.)
Panama Canal (Panama)
California
Date:
1896-1981.
Summary:
Collection documents Sims's activities as a traveler and his interest in historic restoration. It includes forty-one notebooks, 6,000 color slides, a smaller number of photographic prints, forty-one stereo view cards, and three boxes of personal papers and ephemera. While some images are personal, the majority form a documentary record of various subjects and places and provide biographical information on Sims.
Scope and Contents:
These papers document Sims's activities as a traveler and his interest in historic restoration. They consist of forty-one notebooks, Series 1-4; and three boxes, Series 5-9, of personal papers and ephemera. Series 5-7 are particularly valuable for biographical information. Series 10 includes 6,000 color slides, a smaller number of photographic prints, and forty-one stereo view cards. The total volume of the collection is approximately eleven linear feet.
The notebooks cover the years 1896, 1908-1913, 1918, and 1934-1976. The notebooks are written in a documentary styles that is enhanced by literary touches and perceptive details. The subjects include visits to several national parks, the Boronda adobe, and travel on most continents.
The 6,000 35mm slides that Sims took between 1944 and 1976 portray the use of the automobile in travel, national and international touring, and family travel. They are organized by either trip or location. They document his collecting, research, and restoration interests, and complement his written and artistic work. In technique, Sims's photographs are at least a cut above amateur photography. The slides remain in the order in which the Archives Center received them. In some cases they are organized, captioned, and numbered as a slide program. In other cases, while they are captioned they are not part of a specific slide program that Sims organized. Usually the identification in the Detailed Container List represents Sims' s own captions, which have been copied from the slide sleeves.
While some images are personal, the majority form a documentary record of various subjects and places. All the slides are dated and labeled or captioned, either on box inserts or on the slides themselves. The slides are generally organized by trip. Of particular interest is the documentation of Sims's restoration of the Boronda adobe. These slides are well captioned and show the step by step process.
The slides include many early Kodachromes from the 1940s in excellent condition. These represent the few examples of this type in the Museum. Although these slides are not extraordinarily rare, they are a very early example of the color process.
There are also black and white prints and a few color prints. Some of these document an automobile trip along the California coast in the 1930s. All the black-and-white prints portray the photographer for Sims's concern to document his travels adequately and in a meaningful way.
The three document boxes of supplemental material includes articles, correspondence (for example, a letter to Sims from the Henry Ford Museum thanking him for donating an oral history of a motoring trip he had taken), business cards, certificates of achievement, hotel ephemera, news clippings (Series 12), published travel accounts, printed travel brochures, and audio tapes (Series 11), in which Sims recounts many of his trips over the years. This material is valuable because it provides biographical information on Sims. It also may be useful for exhibits and research. Much of the material—the hotel ephemera and the printed travel brochures and accounts—is similar to ephemera in the Warshaw Collection.
Sims's photographs are similar in content to two other collections in the Archives Center. The Clyde W. Stauffer Family Photographic Album portrays family automobile trips across the United States between 1935 and 1940. The Donald Sultner Welles Collection of travel slides documents locations throughout the United States and around the world.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 12 series.
Series 1:Notebooks, 1896-1975
Series 2: Political Notes, 1964-1976
Series 3: Comments on Vietnam, 1954-1975
Series 4: Moon Landings, 1969-1976
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1896-1981, undated
Series 6: Correspondence, 1920-1987
Series 7: Biography, 1911-1938
Series 8: Published Material, 1927-1966
Series 9: Artifacts, 1913-1937
Series 10: Photographs, circa 1936-1962
Series 11: Audio Materials
Series 12: Newsclippings, undated
Historical:
Boronda Adobe
In 1946 George W. Sims purchased the old Boronda adobe in the Carmel Valley of California, and over the next ten years he restored it.
The Boronda adobe was built above the Carmel River in 1832 by José Manuel Boronda on his 7,000 acre Rancho de Los Laureles land grant. José was the son of Don Manuel Boronda, the first schoolteacher in California. José was married to Juana Cota of Santa Barbara. The sixty-four foot long house has adobe walls twenty-seven inches thick and hand-hewn redwood beams. Senor and Senora Boronda lived there with their fifteen children. It was in this house that Senora Boronda reputedly made a new cheese much liked by her neighbors and today known as Monterey Jack cheese. She eventually produced enough to sell to the surrounding community.
The Boronda family sold the ranch and adobe to Nathan W. Spaulding in the late 1860s or early 1870s. He was a mayor of Oakland, California. The next owner was the Pacific Improvement Company in the early 1880s, the forerunner of Del Monte Properties Company. A small cheese factory was built to commercialize the product under the name "Monterey Jack." Nevertheless, the adobe eventually became abandoned as a house. Before Sims purchased it the adobe was used as a shelter for dairy cows.
Sims plastered the outside walls to protect the soft adobe bricks and whitewashed the interior walls. The original dirt floor was covered with a floor of two-inch clear, heart redwood, random planks. It slopes downhill as does the roof of the house. The entire house follows the topography of the site. Sims left several cables stretching across the crudely raftered ceiling to support the walls.
Sims reroofed the house with one hundred year old roof tiles from the old Vasquez adobe in Monterey, California. He also constructed a workshop on the cement foundation of the old cheese factory and milk barn, added a carport, and built a fence protected patio of the Mexican type, adjacent to a Spanish garden with gravel paths. The patio walls were made of adobe created from Carmel Valley soil.
The first floor of the adobe consists of a long living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bath. An inside staircase was added and leads to the second floor living room, two bedrooms, and a bath. All of the rooms on the main floor are on a different level. The kitchen at one end of the house is thought to date to the 1790s when the land belonged to the Carmel Mission.
Biographical / Historical:
George W. Sims (1896-1986) was a tax lawyer, certified public accountant, world traveler, and collector of pre-Columbian objects. He spent his childhood in Fairfax County, Virginia. At age seventeen he began the study of law at the Washington College of Law (now American University), and worked at night as a telephone company traffic manager. He was employed as a clerk in the Panama Canal Zone by the Panama Railroad Company, Commissary Branch, from 1915-1916. Sims left Washington, DC, because he needed money for school and received a better salary in Latin America. "The pay was 25% higher there [Panama] than in the U.S.A., because the risks of Yellow Fever were great, and work and living conditions less satisfactory than at home." (Box 8, folder 6) This was the first of his many trips to other countries. He then returned to Washington and graduated from law school.
Between 1918-1919 he served as sergeant first class in the aviation section of the Signal Corps. He was stationed for a time at the Vichy (France) Hospital Center, a part of the United States Base Army Hospital, No. 115. After the war Sims did graduate work in accounting at Benjamin Franklin University in the District of Columbia, studying at night. During the day he worked in the Navy Department's communications section.
In 1919 Sims and a few friends traveled west on one of the early automobile trips across the United States. In July he visited Fresno, California. He returned that same year to Washington, DC, and "made plans for making the West (and Fresno) his permanent home." In January, 1924, Sims returned with his wife to fulfill those plans and thus began his long time love affair with the West and California." (Scrapbooks: Vol. 38, Box 8, folder 2)
After his first wife Katherine died in 1946, Sims spent much time on world cruises. His destinations included North, South, and Central America, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Between 1946 and 1956 he also purchased and restored the 1832 Boronda adobe in Carmel, California.
Sims married Emma Marenchin Sims on her birthday November 2, 1971 in Santa Barbara, California. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Sims (1914-? ) worked in the public health field after graduating from Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She remarked, "My world opened up when I married George." Sims died in 1986.
Provenance:
Collection donated by George W. Sims, January 10, 1985.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
Original photographic negatives, prints (black-and-white and color), and color slides and transparencies by Fishback, reflecting his career in advertising, calendar, and editorial photography; drafts of articles and correspondence by Fishback (typescripts), and incoming correspondence; copies of publications, such as magazines and annual reports, with reproductions. Lessons, assignments, outlines, and meeting minutes related to his school of photography.
Subjects of the photographs include children, sports, circuses, stage performers, landscapes, the Far East, the Air Force, industrial, female nudes and glamour, etc. Many photos were used in advertisements for photographic manufacturers such as Ansco, Kodak, Kalart, Rolleiflex, etc. His photos appeared in articles and on covers of popular camera periodicals and in Life, Look, Colliers, Saturday Evening Post, and Holliday.
Most of his pictures have cheerful, optimistic themes or subjects, such as his laughing daughter, Judy, posing with circus clowns.
Arrangement:
Divided into twenty-two series.
Series 1: Fishback Career and Biography
Subseries 1.1: Writings and Personal Materials
Subseries 1.2: Glen Fishback School of Photography
Series 2: Photographs--Advertisements and Contests
Series 3: Numbered and labeled envelopes in Glen Fishback's numbering system
Series 4-17: Photographs by Subject
Series 4: Air Force
Series 5: Animals
Series 6: Circus
Series 7: Far East
Subseries 7.1: Places
Subseries 7.2: People
Series 8: Landscapes and places
Subseries 8.1: Architecture
Subseries 8.2: Grand Tetons
Subseries 8.3: Nature
Series 9: Industrial
Series 10: Kids
Subseries 10.1: Babies
Subseries 10.2: Children
Series 11: Men
Subseries 11.1: Glen Fishback
Subseries 11.2: Other
Series 12: Mixed Groups
Subseries 12.1: Men and Women
Subseries 12.2: Men, Women, and Children
Series 13: Nudes
Series 14: Sports
Series 15: Stage Performers
Series 16: Transportation
Series 17: Women
Series 18: Reproductions
Series 19: Duplicates
Series 20: Magazines
Series 21: Ephemera
Series 22: Slides
Series 23: Audio Visual Materials
Biographical / Historical:
Glen Fishback was born in Orange, California in 1912. He became interested in photography in the early 30s after his friend took a photograph of him diving. He bought his first camera, a 39 cent univex camera, in 1934. He began his professional career as a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee from 1937 until 1939. He owned his own portrait and commercial studio for the next 17 years; he sold the studio in the mid-1950s in order to devote his time to free-lancing. In 1958, flew over the Far East with the U.S. Air Force as a brigadier general on a special assignment sponsored by U.S. Camera magazine, Ansco, Rolleiflex, and the Air Force. Fishback and his wife also established the Glen Fishback School of Photography in the 1950s. It was the only school at the time which taught how to become a freelancer. The school lasted until the 1990s, even after Fishback's death.
Fishback also wrote technical and popular articles for photographic magazines and publications.
Fishback won 10 first places in major national and international photography contests; at the time of his death, he had reportedly won more money in contests than any other photographer.
He developed an accurate and reliable exposure system which Pentax included with each of their spotmeters. Fishback's system worked for both black and white and color photography.
Fishback and his wife were friends with Edward Weston Fishback took photographs of Weston at Point Lobos. The two exchanged photos and correspondence. Fishback supplied his photos for a film on Edward Weston's Daybooks; He also wrote an article "Edward Weston, A Legend in His Own Time" for Petersen's Photographic. Fishback and his wife named their son, Kurt Edward Fishback, in honor of their friend.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Fishback's daughter, Judy White, who, with her brother Kurt, inherited it on her father's death. Ms. White made the availability of the collection known on an Internet listserv, where the archivist saw the description and contacted Ms. White.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some materials are restricted until 2050 and are noted in the container list.
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.
Goya Foods, Inc., supported the cultural life of various communities in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company's current headquarters is in Secaucus, New Jersey. Photographs, calendars, sales promotional materials, cookbooks, packaging, and news clippings. Photographs depict primarily company sponsored events, but a few are family pictures.
Scope and Contents:
The Goya Foods, Incorporated Collection documents the history of the company from the 1960s to 2000. (A few earlier documents pertaining to Unanue and Sons and family photographs can be found in the collection, as well.) Materials include photographs, calendars, sales promotional materials, cookbooks, recipe packages, point-of-purchase items, and box and can labels, scrapbooks, and clippings files. Sound recordings, televisions advertisements, and anniversary video productions are also included. The material documents sales meetings, plant activities, and workers' events as well as the office life of the company and the philanthropic efforts and community activities of Goya Foods, Incorporated.
Series 1, History and Biography 1960s-1990s, includes photographs and biographies of the Unanue family members. Also includes company anniversary programs.
Series 2, United States Publicity Materials, 1970-2000, undated, contains extensive files of news clippings (compiled by an outside agency) arranged in chronological order. Also, press releases and publicity materials and copies of the newsletter La Voz Femenina[2], 1982-1989.
Series 3, United States Photographs, 1960s-1990s, includes photographs of Goya "sponsored" activities, which took place in the United States. The majority of the photos are unlabeled and undated. The series is divided into twelve subseries.
Subseries 3.1, Parades and Festivals, 1966-1999, include parades and festivals which Goya participated in, mainly in New York City and New Jersey. For many parades, Goya created a special float for participants to ride on. Many parades feature pageant contestants (see Subseries D). Tito Puente is a frequent performer.
Subseries 3.2, Parties and Banquets, 1970s-1990s, include many of the banquets and parties included are related to the various parades and pageants, this may or may not be obvious from looking at the photographs. Also included are employee parties.
Subseries 3.3, Community Events, 1970s-1990s, Goya prides itself on its civic work within the Hispanic communities of the United States. This subseries reflects many of the events Goya has sponsored or been a part of, including its support of the Manhattan Valley Golden Age Senior Center and Casa de Don Pedro, a home for children.
Subseries 3.4, Pageants, 1980s-1990s, include beauty pageants sponsored throughout the 1980s and 1990s, usually associated with a community parade (for example, a Dominican Parade Pageant). Sometimes the photos from the pageants and related events are included, though the parades themselves can be found in Subseries A.
Subseries 3.5, Employees, Plants, and Offices, 1960s-1990s, include photographs of Goya employees (both line workers and executives), offices, and plant facilities. Events in which employees participated (dances, parties, and picnics) are included here.
Subseries 3.6, Awards, 1970s-1990s, include awards given to the Unanues or Goya Foods, Incorporated by various organizations and awards given to others by Goya.
Subseries 3.7, Celebrities, 1980s-1990s, mainly events with celebrities in attendance. Prominent people include: Cardinal Cooke, Gloria Estefan, Michael J. Fox, Ed Koch, Spike Lee, David Letterman, Olga Elena Mattei, and Tito Puente.
Subseries 3.8, Sporting Events, Teams, and Awards, 1970s-1990s, soccer, baseball, bowling, volleyball, and softball teams are included, as well as little league teams and sporting workshop participants (mainly children with "professional" players). Teams are mostly Goya sponsored, though some professional players appear.
Subseries 3.9, Concerts, 1980s-1990s, include Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, and Willie Colón concerts at Penns Landing, plus multi-city Festival de Musica Goya, 1990.
Subseries 3.10, Trade Shows, 1966, 1980s, include Food expositions, trade shows, and demonstrations.
Subseries 3.11, Travel, 1970s-1990s, trips taken by [presumably] Goya employees. Santo Domingo, Peru, and Haiti were destinations.
Subseries 3.12, Unidentified, 1970s-1990s
Sub-subseries 3.12.1, Parade related events, 1980s-1990s
Sub-subseries 3.12.2, Other, 1970s-1990s
Series 4, United States Corporate Materials, 1960s-1990s, includes product labels and packaging, advertising materials, press kits, and memos.
Series 5, Puerto Rican Publicity Materials, 1980s-2000, consists of publications arranged chronologically within each title.
Series 6, Puerto Rican Photographs, 1960s-2000; undated, include photographs documenting events sponsored by Goya in Puerto Rico. The majority of the photographs were not identified or dated. The items that could be identified were arranged by subject including parades, parties, banquets, community events, employees, plants, offices, award ceremonies, sporting events, travel and products.
Subseries 6.1, Parades, 1977, include images from one parade, Reina el Dario la Prenza.
Subseries 6.2, Parties and Banquets, 1970-1996, primarily document employee parties.
Subseries 6.3, Community Events, 1972-1999; undated, documents Goya's involvement with the Puerto Rican community and some of the events that the company sponsored.
Subseries 6.4, Employees, Plants, and Offices, 1961-1999, undated, include images of Goya employees (both line workers and executives), offices, and plant facilities. Events in which employees participated (dances, parties, and picnics) are included here.
Subseries 6.5, Awards, 1970s-1996; undated, awards given to the Unanues or Goya Foods, Incorproated by various organizations and awards given to others by Goya.
Subseries 6.6, Sporting Events, Teams, and Awards, 1970s, contains one (1) folder of sporting events and teams sponsored by Goya.
Subseries 6.7, Travel, 1960s; undated, document trip(s) taken by [presumably] Goya employees primarily to Boca Cagrejos and Puerto Rico.
Subseries 6.8, Products, 2000, undated, contain images of Goya products and of a photograph shoot for an advertisement.
Series 7, Puerto Rican Corporate Materials, 1970s-2000, included are office forms, blank letterhead, advertising materials, press kits, annual reports, and newsletters.
Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1990s; undated, consists of commercials and biographical programs on the Unanues. ** No reference copies exist for most audiovisual materials; please see the Reference Archivist for availability in viewing.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in eight (8) series:
Series 1, History and Biography 1960s-1990s,
Series 2, United States Publicity Materials, 1970-2000; undated
Series 3, United States Photographs, 1960s-1999; undated
Subseries 3.1, Parades and Festivals, 1966-1999
Subseries 3.2, Parties and Banquets, 1970s-1990s
Subseries 3.3, Community Events, 1970s-1990s
Subseries 3.4, Pageants, 1980s-1994
Subseries 3.5, Employees, Plants, and Offices, 1960s-1990s
Subseries 3.6, Awards, 1970s-1990s
Subseries 3.7, Celebrities, 1980s-1990s
Subseries 3.8, Sporting Events, Teams, and Awards, 1970s-1990s
Subseries 3.9, Concerts, 1987-1990; undated
Subseries 3.10, Trade Shows, 1966-1994; undated
Subseries 3.11, Travel, 1970s-1996
Subseries 3.12, Unidentified, 1970s-1990s
Sub-subseries 3.12.1, Parade related events, 1983-1993
Sub-subseries 3.12.2, Other, 1970s-1992; undated
Series 4, United States Corporate Materials, 1960s-1990s
Series 5, Puerto Rican Publicity Materials, 1980s-2000
Series 6, Puerto Rican Photographs, 1960s-2000; undated
Subseries 6.1, Parades, 1977
Subseries 6.2, Parties and Banquets, 1970-1996
Subseries 6.3, Community Events, 1972-1999, undated
Subseries 6.4 Employees, Plants, and Offices, 1961-1999, undated
Subseries 6.5, Awards, 1970s-1996, undated
Subseries 6.6, Sporting Events, Teams, and Awards, 1970s
Subseries 6.7, Travel, 1960s, undated
Subseries 6.8, Products, 2000, undated
Series 7, Puerto Rican Corporate Materials, 1970s-2000; undated
Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1990s, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Prudencio Unanue (1886-1976) was born in the Basque region of northern Spain. He immigrated to the island of Puerto Rico in 1902 and married Carolina Casal (1890-1984) in 1921. In 1916, he moved to New York where he studied business and worked for a customs agency. Missing the tastes and smells of home cooking, the Unanues believed that there was an expanding immigrant market for the ingredients of "authentic Spanish cuisine." In 1936, they opened Unanue, Incorporated, a warehouse on Duane Street in lower Manhattan, to supply corner stores or bodegas. Over thirty years, the Unanue and Sons import business grew tremendously. Eventually, the business began to do its own food processing, canning, and packaging. In 1958, Goya Foods bought its first factory in Brooklyn, New York.
The Unanues and Sons Company purchased the name "Goya"[1] in 1936 from a Moroccan sardine supplier for one dollar. In 1946, the company changed its name to Unanue and Sons, Incorporated. It assumed the name Goya Foods, Incorporated in 1961, although it had used the name Goya for its products since 1936.
Goya Foods Company continued to innovate, pioneering television advertising in Puerto Rico. During the 1960s, Goya Foods sought out opportunities to expand its customer base as larger numbers of Caribbean immigrants moved into the United States. By sponsoring music festivals, sports teams, and other activities Goya Foods supported the cultural life; parades, beauty pageants, festivals, of various communities in the United States and Puerto Rico.
In 1974, Goya Foods moved to its current office headquarters and factory building in Secaucus, New Jersey. By 2000, Goya owned factories in upstate New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, as well as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Spain.
Footnotes:
[1] Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) was an influential Spanish artist whose paintings reflected the historical upheavals of his time. For many, the art of Francisco de Goya truly revealed Spain because he painted all of its people.
[2] Note that words in Spanish are set off in italics; periodical titles are underlined.
Related Materials:
Government of Puerto Rico Division of Community Education Posters, Teodoro Vidal Collection, and Tito Puente Papers.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds items related to this collection including promotional items, display props, a neon sign, products and containers, and clothing. See accession number, 1999.3017.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the National Museum of American History in 1999 by Goya Foods, Inc. through Rafael Toro, Director of Public Relations.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Technical Access: Do not use when original materials are available on reference video or audio tapes.
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.
The collection contains business records and photographic materials documenting the International Salt Company. The business records include correspondence, account and ledger books, a payroll book, patent and trademark information, print advertising and marketing materials, and a salesman salt display kit. The photographic materials include a series of photographs by William M. Rittase, a series of photographs by Harold Haliday Costain, a small photograph album, snapshots, and slides. The images cover all facets of the salt manufacturing and packaging operations, and include photographs taken in New York State, Michigan, and Louisiana.
Scope and Contents:
The collection contains business records and photographic materials documenting the International Salt Company. The business records include correspondence, account and ledger books, a payroll book, patent and trademark information, print advertising and marketing materials, and a salesman salt display kit. The photographic materials include a series of photographs by William M. Rittase, a series of photographs by Harold Haliday Costain, a small photograph album, snapshots, and slides. The images cover all facets of the salt manufacturing and packaging operations, and include photographs taken in New York State, Michigan, and Louisiana.
The scrapbooks contain advertisements for the International Salt Company's Sterling Salt label and other leading salt companies, especially Morton's. Much of the ephemera consists of labels, but there are also small pamphlet cookbooks. The cookbooks, prepared and marketed by various salt companies, tout recipes for tasty dishes using specific salts and expound upon the merits of salt in general, especially the medical benefits. Other clever salt-related advertising appears in conjunction with maps, buttons, song books, calendars, and health exercises.
Series 1, Business Records, 1894-1937, consists primarily of financial materials--ledgers, cash books, monthly statements, timekeeping and payroll information--for the Avery Rock Salt Mining Company (A.R.S.M.Co.), Detroit Rock Salt Company, Detroit Salt Company, International Salt Company, and the Restof Mining Company. Additionally, there is one annual report for the International Salt Company (1957) and the newsletter Saltmaker, 1964.
There are two A.R.S.M.Co. ledgers, 1898-1907 and 1907-1922. The first ledger, 1898-1907, predates the founding of the International Salt Company, and it is likely that A.R.S.M.Co was absorbed by International Salt during a merger. Documentation recorded including inventories, merchandise, labor, surplus, insurance, office expenses, legal expenses, taxes, bills receivable, directors' committee fees, fuel, candles, oil, waste and packing, rental, repairs and maintenance, interest, labor, feed, outside salary account, Cuban consignment account, and loan account. Specific persons, such as superintendents F. Rundio and Sidney Bradford, are mentioned and specific companies including Restof Mining, Joy Morton Company, Havana Mill, G. Lawton Childs & Company, International Salt of New York and various others (pages 193-212), are listed with expenses.
The Detroit Salt Company (general ledger), 1911-1913, consists of one bound volume documenting the company's assets, liabilities, expenses, earnings, advance accounts, and old accounts.
Detroit Rock Salt Company (cash record), 1912 October-1913 January, consists of one bound volume documenting cash received and cash disbursed.
International Salt Company, Inc., Independent Salt Company Division (monthly statements), 1933 October-1937 December, consists of one bound volume of general ledger trial balance sheets organized chronologically. Detailed documentation includes general expenses, assets, capital assets, liabilities, special reserves, net worth, profit and loss statements, warehousing costs and tonnage purchased.
Restof Mining Company (time and payroll), 1894 July 1-1895 March 31, consists of one bound volume of 400 pages, documenting the time and payroll for employees. The volume contains the name of the employee, the number of days worked, hourly wage earned per day, the amount earned, advances, board due, store (supplies due), rent, and any balances due. A portion of the volume is severely water-damaged.
Series 2, Trademarks, 1881-1935, consists of copies of issued trademark declarations from the United States Patent Office. The trademarks are for company names, logos, salt containers and packages, and various salt products. The trademarks are arranged alphabetically by the name of the trademark. For example, Amaessa, a trademark for baking powder and salt is filed with other trademarks beginning with the letter "A." Additional materials consist of one file folder of correspondence and printed materials about patents, trademarks and copyright laws. The correspondence relates specifically to the ownership of certain trademarks by International Salt Company, and there is correspondence from John L. Ryon, assistant sales manager and W.T. Chisolm, vice-president of International Salt Company. There are compiled lists of brand names, trademarks, and package designs for which International Salt registered at the United States Patent Office, 1926-1927. There are two examples of small cloth bags branded with "Ideal Salt" and some packaging, such as "White Lily High Grade Salt" and labels such as "Purex Free Running Table Salt." The Peter J.L. Searing trademark for salt (No. 52,963) and Chicago Sawed Salt-Block Company (No. 15,174) provide examples of ethnic imagery. A trademark is a brand name. A trademark or service mark includes any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish the goods/services of one seller or provider from those of others, and to indicate the source of the goods/services. Although federal registration of a mark is not mandatory, it has several advantages, including notice to the public of the registrant's claim of ownership of the mark, legal presumption of ownership nationwide, and exclusive right to use the mark on or in connection with the goods/services listed in the registration.
Series 3, Photographs, 1934-1993, is divided into five subseries: Subseries 1, Harold Haliday Costain, 1934; Subseries 2, William Ritasse, circa 1934; Subseries 3, Loose Photographs, 1969-1993; Subseries 4, Slides, circa 1970s; and Subseries 5, Album (unidentified), undated.
Subseries 1, Harold Haliday Costain, circa 1934, consists of three photographs (approximately 10 1/2" x 13") black-and-white prints mounted to 16" x 20" boards. The prints are numbered #6, #42, and #44 and depict a salt mine and equipment used in salt manufacturing located in Avery Island, Louisiana.
Subseries 2, William Ritasse, circa 1934, consists of black-and-white prints (10" x 14") signed by Ritasse which are mounted on 18 1/2" x 20" boards. The photographs are arranged numerically from #350 to #480. Many of the photographs are captioned. American photographer William Rittase (1887-1968), active in the 1920s-1930s, is known for his industrial photography. Rittase's images provide insight into International Salt Company activities such as salt manufacturing, packaging operations, general factory processes, printing salt bags, can labeling, brine storage, exteriors of buildings, crushing salt, men in the salt mines, machine shop views, and equipment.
Subseries 3, Loose Photographs, 1969-1993, consists of black-and-white and color prints, as well as transparencies depicting salt mines and related activities. Some of the photographs document a visit by International Salt Company executives to the Jefferson Island, Louisiana salt plant.
Subseries 4, Slides, circa 1970s, consists of seventeen color slides documenting salt plants, equipment and salt miners.
Subseries 5, Album (damaged mine), undated, consists of twenty-two 4" x 6 1/2" black-and-white photographs documenting the damage to a salt manufacturing plant. The photographs are captioned, but there is no indication of the geographic location of the salt plant.
Series 4, Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1920-1948, consists of two scrapbooks (14" x 17" and 11" x 16") that contain primarily tear sheets, unbound periodical pages showing an advertisement as printed, or as a proof, newspaper clippings, magazine clippings, correspondence, pamphlets, price lists, recipes, labels, periodicals, and other ephemera.
The scrapbook, 1920-1931, consists primarily of advertisements and newspaper clippings related to advertising salt products, especially for Morton's Salt and Diamond Crystal Salt. Other companies represented include Colonial Salt Company, Carey Salt Company, Jefferson Island Salt Company, Kerr Salt Company, Mulkey Salt Company, Myles Salt Company, Ohio Salt Company, Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company, Remington Salt Company, Star Salt Corporation, Union Salt Company, Worcester Salt Company, and Watkins Salt Company.
The scrapbook from 1945-1948 is devoted to advertisements for the International Salt Company and Sterling Salt, which promoted salt uses for the home (table salt, curing meats, and brines), industry (rock salt for winter weather) and agriculture (killing weeds). Many of the advertisements were part of the "Pass the Salt" campaign and were featured in publications such as Woman's Day, National Provisioner, Food Industries, Hide, Leather and Shoes, Chemical Previews, and Public Works. The scrapbook is divided into three sections: institutional, weed prevention, and Lixate, a process developed by the International Salt Research Laboratory for making brine. Many of the advertisements were prepared by J.M. Mathes Incorporated.
Also included is a traveling salt kit for Sterling Salt Company salesmen, undated, featuring small glass vials of sterling salt from mines in Detroit, Avery Island, Louisiana, and Restof, New York. Each vial notes the types of salts--purified, softener, iodized, medium flake, coarse flake, granular flour, and meat.
Series 5, Posters, circa 1920s, consists of oversize advertising posters for Worcester Salt Company. There is one set of labels from an exhibit titled "I Eat Rocks! Salt of the Earth."
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series.
Series 1, Business Records, 1894-1937
Series 2, Trademarks, 1881-1935
Series 3, Photographs, 1934-1993
Subseries 1, Harold Haliday Costain, circa 1934
Subseries 2, William Ritasse, circa 1934
Subseries 3, Loose Photographs, 1969-1993
Subseries 4, Slides, circa 1970s
Subseries 5, Album (damaged mine), undated
Series 4, Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1920-1948
Series 5, Posters, circa 1920s
Biographical / Historical:
The International Salt Company incorporated on August 22, 1901, and in 1902, the company purchased the stock and assets of the National Salt Company, which had failed. By 1934, International Salt was a holding company for six subsidiaries: Avery Salt Company (West Virginia), Detroit Rock Salt Company (Michigan), Eastern Salt Company (Massachusetts), Independent Salt Company (New York), International Salt Company, Inc. (New York), and Retsof Mining Company (New York). All of the subsidiaries operated rock salt mines and evaporated salt plants and distributed salt. In 1940, the International Salt Company decided to sell four of its subsidiaries--Avery Salt Company, Detroit Rock Salt Company, International Salt Company, Inc., and Retsof Mining Company.
John M. Avery discovered rock salt at Petite Anse, Louisiana in 1862. Petite Anse Island was renamed Avery Island in the late 19th century. Ownership and mining of salt at Petite Anse involved numerous parties until 1886, when New Iberia Salt Company took over operations. In 1896, the Avery family began operating the mine, and they founded the Avery Rock Salt Mining Company. In 1899, the International Salt Company leased the mine.
The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company was founded in 1906. The company quickly went bankrupt during construction of a shaft and was acquired in 1910 by the Watkins Salt Company, which incorporated the new organization under the name Detroit Rock Salt Company. The company experienced success and the International Salt Company purchased the mine circa 1914. In 1983, International Salt closed the mine's operations and in 1985, Crystal Mines, Inc., purchased the mine as a potential storage site.
In 1885 the Empire Salt Company of New York was renamed the Retsof Mine Company, and the Village of Retsof was founded near the mine shaft. During the next 110 years, the mine grew to become the largest salt-producing mine in the United States and the second largest in the world. Before the initial collapse in March 1994, the mine encompassed an underground area of more than 6,000 acres, and the mine footprint (outer edge of mined area) extended over an area of nearly ten square miles. At the time of the collapse, the Retsof Mine was owned by Akzo-Nobel Salt Incorporated (ANSI) and, during the winter of 1993--994 operated at full capacity to meet demands for road salt throughout the northeastern United States. The Retsof Mine ceased operations on September 2, 1995, and by December, twenty-one months after the initial collapse, the mine was completely flooded.
Related Materials:
Materials held at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution Libraries, National Museum of American History
Trade catalogs from International Salt Company Inc., 1900s
Materials held at Other Organizations
Harvard University Archives
Ritasse, William M., 1894-1968. Photographs of Hardvard University campus and environs taken by William M. Ritasse, circa 1930.
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs
Avery Rock Salt Mining Company, Plan. June 16, 1924 (AKZO No. 7-77-02) - Avery Island Salt Works, Akzo Salt Incorporated, Avery Island, Iberia Parish, LA
Salt Mine Village, Salt Workers' Houses No. 6, Avery Island, Iberia Parish, LA
Avery Island Sugarhouse, Avery Island, Iberia Parish, LA
State Library of Louisiana
Historic Photograph Collection contains images of salt mining at Avery Island, Louisiana.
University of North Carolina, Southern Historical Collection at the Louis Round Wilson Library
Papers for the Avery Family of Louisiana, 1796-1951
Provenance:
Tom Maeder donated the collection on June 13, 2009.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
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.
