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Bedman Brothers Company records

Owner:
Bedman, John  Search this
Bedman, James  Search this
Bedman, Joseph  Search this
Bedman, Frank  Search this
Bedman, Charles  Search this
Founder:
Bedman, William  Search this
Creator:
Bedman Brothers Rahway, New Jersey.  Search this
Bedman Brothers  Search this
William Bedman Seed Company (Rahway, New Jersey)  Search this
Investor:
Thorburn, James  Search this
Names:
Bedman Brothers  Search this
Extent:
8.5 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives
Brochures
Price lists
Account books
Administrative records
Correspondence
Photographs
Artifacts
Leaflets
Clippings
Ledgers (account books)
Scrapbooks
Purchase orders
Pamphlets
Date:
1859 - 1984
Summary:
The Bedman Brothers Company Records collection focuses primarily on the business and financial transactions of Bedman Brothers seed company of Rahway, New Jersey, and includes accounting ledgers, purchase orders, price lists, miscellaneous business and family correspondence, and various brochures, pamphlets and leaflets related to horticultural topics. Other holdings in the collection include World War II ration stamps and two scrapbooks, one of which contains many late nineteenth and early twentieth century chromo-lithographed trade cards (primarily from the sewing, clothing, and floral industries). The other scrapbook holds news clippings from the Civil War period. Seperated materials include seed gathering equipment used by field workers.
Historical note:
The William Bedman Seed Company of Rahway, New Jersey was established in 1843 by William Bedman with the support of James Thorburn, a Manhattan seed purveyor. The firm, later called Bedman Brothers, was principally a wholesale mail order seed company that sold to consumer-end seed houses such as Vicks, W. Atlee Burpee, and George J. Ball. Bedman Brothers became known for its production of salvias (sage), including the development of 'Bonfire' or Clara Bedman sage variety. The company continued after William Bedman's tenure under the leadership of his sons Charles, James and John. The business ended after the death of Joseph Bedman, William's grandson, in 1962.
Separated Materials:
Assorted nursery and trade catalogs and price lists from the Bedman Brothers records were transferred to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History Library, Horticulture Trade Catalogs Collection.
Provenance:
Donated to the Smithsonian Office of Horticulture (later Horticulture Services Division) in 1984 by Gladys and Florence Whitehead, great-granddaughters of William Bedman.
Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Mail-order business  Search this
Seed industry and trade  Search this
Seeds -- Processing -- Equipment and supplies  Search this
Salvia  Search this
Flowers  Search this
Horticulture  Search this
Genre/Form:
Negatives
Brochures
Price lists
Account books -- 19th century
Administrative records
Correspondence
Photographs
Artifacts
Leaflets
Clippings
Ledgers (account books)
Scrapbooks
Account books -- 20th century
Purchase orders
Pamphlets
Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Bedman Brothers Company Records.
Identifier:
AAG.BED
See more items in:
Bedman Brothers Company records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb694e03bc2-1a56-4061-9ca9-d71a422025d5
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aag-bed
Online Media:

8c Mail Order Business single

Title:
Scott Catalogue USA 1468
Medium:
paper; ink
Type:
Postage Stamps
Place:
United States of America
Date:
September 27, 1972
Topic:
U.S. Stamps  Search this
Object number:
1980.2493.5885
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm848c198ab-a9d1-489e-a486-2830e8bf01fb
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_1980.2493.5885

Kiehl's Pharmacy Records

Creator:
Kiehl's Pharmacy  Search this
Morse Laboratories. Kiehl's Pharmacy  Search this
Extent:
6.5 Cubic feet ( 8 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Formulae, chemical
Prescriptions
Card files
Date:
1920-1973
bulk 1960-1970
Summary:
The collection consists of formulas and prescriptions for Morse Laboratories and Kiehl's Pharmacy products.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents formulas and prescriptions for Morse Laboratories and Kiehl's Phramacy products.

Series 1, Formulas, 1954-1973, consists of specific formulas developed by Kiehl's Pharmacy and Morse Laboratories, Inc. Individual files are loosely arranged by lot number order. The information includes drug name, date and form (e.g. cream, tablet). In some instances, the ingredients and quantity are provided. In addition to formula cards, there are requests for pharmaceutical certification, penicillin certificates, invoices, and some correspondence.

Series 2, Prescriptions, 1920-1922, 1935-1936, contains written prescriptions from local doctors, primarily the New York City metropolitan area, that were filled at Kiehl's Pharmacy between 1920-1922. These materials also contain order forms for opium and other-habit forming drugs, an envelope that once contained a packet of medicinal herbal tea, and cancelled prescription blank forms that were produced in accordance with the National Prohibition Act.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1, Formulas, 1954-1973

Series 2, prescriptions, 1920-1922, 1935-1936
Biographical / Historical:
Kiehl's Pharmacy, located on the corner of Third Avenue and East 13th Street, New York, New York, was originally owned by German immigrant Louis Brunswick, who sold herbs and oils at his Brunswick Apotheke in 1851. About thirty years later, Brunswick sold the store to apothecaries Englehardt and Huber. When John Kiehl (born 1868) was around twenty years old, he began working at the Englehardt & Huber Apothecary, eventually taking ownership of the company. Kiehl was known for his unique tonics and remedies inspired by old-world, botanical recipes, including virility creams, medicinal salves, curative oils, baldness cures, and exotic concoctions like Attraction Powder, Life Everlasting, Money Drawing Oil, and Love Oil. Beginning in 1921, Kiehl's offered a variety of essences that were blended by hand for customers, including Musk Oil, Grapefruit, Amber, Gardenia, Cucumber, and Pour Homme.

The Morse family immigrated to the United States from Russia before World War One, and son Irving A. Morse, or "Doc Morse," (died 1980) worked as an apprentice to John Kiehl while also serving in the U.S. Army during World War One and earning a pharmacology degree from Columbia University. In 1921, Morse bought the company from Kiehl, continuing his tradition of providing homeopathic cures and herbal remedies from the old country while expanding the company into a full-service, modern pharmacy. Like Kiehl, Morse valued the personal relationships he had with his customers and encouraged them to experiment with the products before choosing which would best suit their needs. "Try before you buy" became the company motto, and this principle of personalized customer service established by Irving Morse continues to this day.

Irving Morse's son Aaron (1923-1996) followed in his father's footsteps in business, studying pharmacology at the Columbia University School of Pharmacy and joining the army as a pilot during World War Two. After graduation, Aaron began Morse Laboratories Inc. in Hoboken, New Jersey to develop manufactured products for Kiehl's Pharmacy. Morse Laboratories operated from the late 1940s until 1961, and its first product was Ostrocal, a fluoride therapy product sold at Kiehl's. Starting in 1948, Morse expanded the company's product line to include a variety of penicillin and antibiotic products. Morse Laboratories Inc. supplied the New York City Hospital System and sanatoriums throughout New York State with paramino salicylic acid for the treatment of tuberculosis and supplied the U.S. government with aloe vera cream "for use against radiation burns."

In 1961, Aaron Morse took over Kiehl's Pharmacy from his father and sold Morse Laboratories Inc. in 1964. Pharmacy operations moved to Paterson, New Jersey, and were renamed Biocraft Laboratories. Aaron Morse shifted the purpose of Kiehl's Pharmacy from providing homeopathic cures and chemicals to developing and selling natural skin and hair care products. In 1988, after having been diagnosed with cancer, Aaron Morse gave ownership of the company to his daughter, Jami Morse Heidegger. Jami and her husband Klaus modernized the company and computerized the mail-order business, in addition to developing marketing strategies, including brochures and newsletters. Like her father, Jami Morse also expanded the product line, introducing baby, equine, and athletic products to the company's inventory.

In 2000, L'Oréal purchased the company from Jami Morse who, along with her husband, continued to serve as co-presidents until 2001.

References

Berger, Meyer, "About New York; 3d Ave. Apothecary Shop Does Big Business in Love Philters and Conjure Medicines," New York Times, January 7, 1959, 30.

"Brunswick Apotheke, Englehardt & Huber, Kiehl's Since 1851," Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, http://gvshp.org/blog/2011/03/11/brunswick-apotheke-englehardt-huber-kiehl%E2%80%99s-since-1851/ (accessed July 8, 2011).

Frank, Deborah, "Shopping at the Original Kiehl's," Departures.com, http://www.departures.com/articles/shopping-at-the-original-kiehls, last accessed July 8, 2011.

"Her Hair Turned Green," New York Times, December 25, 1900.

"Kiehl's," BlueMercury.com, http://www.bluemercury.com/brandFC.asp?qid=4&brand=50, last accessed July 8, 2011.

"Kiehl's Since 1851, Inc.," FundingUniverse.com, http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Kiehls-Since-1851-Inc-Company-History.html, last accessed July 8, 2011.

"Our Story," Keihl's.com, http://www.kiehls.com/Our-Story/history,default,pg.html, last accessed July 8, 2011.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records (AC0001)

Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Records (AC0329)

Syntex Collection of Pharmaceutical Advertisements (AC0821)

Materials in the Division of Medicine and Science

Artifacts related to this collection include glassware and a homeopathic medicine chest (Accession #1981.0589).
Provenance:
Donated by Aaron Morse of Kiehl's Pharmacy on November 19, 1989.
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:
Copyright status unknown. The collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Pharmaceutical industry  Search this
Pharmacies  Search this
Laboratories  Search this
Penicillin  Search this
Herbs -- Therapeutic use  Search this
Herbal medicine  Search this
Genre/Form:
Formulae, chemical
Prescriptions
Card files
Citation:
Morse Laboratories, Kiehl's Pharmacy Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0819
See more items in:
Kiehl's Pharmacy Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85b4e28f7-ba3b-4a6d-b5b5-032e9aadac9c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0819

Pickett N901-ES Simplex Slide Rule

Maker:
Pickett & Eckel, Incorporated  Search this
Physical Description:
aluminum (overall material)
plastic (cursor material)
leather (case material)
paper (case material)
Measurements:
overall: 3.6 cm x 33.8 cm x 9 cm; 1 13/32 in x 13 5/16 in x 3 17/32 in
Object Name:
calculating rule
slide rule
Place made:
United States: California, Santa Barbara
Date made:
after 1965
Date received:
1995
Subject:
Mathematics  Search this
Rule, Calculating  Search this
Education  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Lawrence J. Kamm
ID Number:
1995.0126.02
Accession number:
1995.0126
Catalog number:
1995.0126.02
See more items in:
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Slide Rules
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-1576-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_690074
Online Media:

Lillian Vernon's Kitchen Table, Circa 1951

Physical Description:
wood; metal (overall material)
Measurements:
overall: 31 1/2 in x 25 1/2 in x 40 in; 80.01 cm x 64.77 cm x 101.6 cm
Object Name:
table, kitchen
Date made:
ca 1951
1951 circa
General subject association:
Women  Search this
Manufacturing  Search this
Business  Search this
ID Number:
2019.0306.03
Accession number:
2019.0306
Catalog number:
2019.0306.03
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Work
Work
Exhibition:
American Enterprise
Exhibition Location:
National Museum of American History
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b5-089c-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_1968912

sign, informational

Physical Description:
wood; plastic (overall material)
black; white; beige (overall color)
Measurements:
overall: 1 1/4 in x 12 1/2 in x 10 1/2 in; 3.175 cm x 31.75 cm x 26.67 cm
Object Name:
sign, informational
General subject association:
Business  Search this
Women  Search this
Manufacturing  Search this
ID Number:
2019.0306.04
Accession number:
2019.0306
Catalog number:
2019.0306.04
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Work
Work
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b5-089d-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_1968914

Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974

Creator:
Jacques Seligmann & Co.  Search this
Subject:
Hauke, Cesar M. de (Cesar Mange)  Search this
Glaenzer, Eugene  Search this
Haardt, Georges  Search this
Seligman, Germain  Search this
Seligmann, Arnold  Search this
Parker, Theresa D.  Search this
Waegen, Rolf Hans  Search this
Trevor, Clyfford  Search this
Seligmann, RenĂ©  Search this
Seligmann, Jacques  Search this
De Hauke & Co., Inc.  Search this
Jacques Seligmann & Co  Search this
Eugene Glaenzer & Co.  Search this
Germain Seligmann & Co.  Search this
Gersel  Search this
Type:
Gallery records
Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Mackay, Clarence Hungerford, 1874-1938 -- Art collections  Search this
Schiff, Mortimer L. -- Art collections  Search this
Arenberg, duc d' -- Art collections  Search this
Liechtenstein, House of -- Art collections  Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- France -- Paris  Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
La Fresnaye, Roger de, 1885-1925  Search this
Art, Renaissance  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Art treasures in war  Search this
Art, European  Search this
Theme:
Art Gallery Records  Search this
Art Market  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9936
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212486
AAA_collcode_jacqself
Theme:
Art Gallery Records
Art Market
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_212486
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Online Media:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Instruments

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Extent:
4.56 Cubic feet (consisting of 10 boxes, 1 folder, 1 oversize folder, 1 map case folder.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Ephemera
Printed ephemera
Sales letters
Business cards
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Sales catalogs
Sales records
Manufacturers' catalogs
Publications
Receipts
Commercial catalogs
Surveying instruments
Trade cards
Catalogs
Manuals
Invoices
Business ephemera
Advertisements
Mail order catalogs
Advertising cards
Advertising
Advertising mail
Business records
Print advertising
Business letters
Correspondence
Letterheads
Periodicals
Advertising fliers
Catalogues
Printed material
Date:
circa 1800-1965
bulk 1830-1930
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Instruments forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
The Instrument category covers devices and tools used in arts and sciences, including but not limited to architecture, biology, medicine, geography, physics, chemistry and related laboratory investigation, navigation, in industry with machinery, astronomy, and a variety of optics including reading glasses. An emphasis on engineering and survey work is evident in the volume of Drawing and Surveying catalogues present.

Materials include a small sampling of business records, particular invoices and receipts, with also some advertisement, correspondence, financials, import/export documents. The bulk of material is comprised of product catalogues, many with detailed descriptions, specifications, and illustrations, plus pricing information. A number of catalogues are in German. A small portion of the catalogues are not instruments per se, but are accompaniments used with instruments. For example, specimen slides for microscopes. A few company publications are present as well. Several guides on the use of or history of some apparatus are present, as are a few stand-alone illustrations, though most catalogues are heavily illustrated.

No extensive runs or complete records exist for any single company, brand, and no particular depth is present for any singular subtopic though some publications may provide general and historical overviews of a person, company, or facet of industry. Separate folders were used for a few companies which have a small bulk of material. Companies of note: Bausch & Lomb, Sperry Corporation and Wheelco Instrument Company.

With the industries and trades represented in this category, there is overlap with Hardware, Tools, and Mensuration.
Arrangement:
Instruments is arranged in two subseries. Researchers are advised to look both under the company name and under the category of catalogue of products it produces.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Instruments is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Surgical instruments and apparatus  Search this
Surveying -- Instruments -- 1800-1810  Search this
Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this
Engineering instruments  Search this
Wild flowers -- Specimens  Search this
Magnetic instruments  Search this
Surveying -- Instruments -- 1870-1940  Search this
Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this
Specimens -- list of  Search this
Mathematical instruments  Search this
Spectrum analysis -- Instruments  Search this
Retail trade  Search this
Architectural design  Search this
Scientific apparatus and instruments industry  Search this
Architectural drawing  Search this
Artists' materials  Search this
Microscopes  Search this
Scales (Weighing instruments)  Search this
advertising -- Specimens -- 1840-1950  Search this
Industrial productivity -- measurements  Search this
Drawing  Search this
Dental instruments and apparatus -- 1880-1940  Search this
Laboratories  Search this
Optics  Search this
Dental instruments and apparatus -- 1930-1970  Search this
Dental instruments and apparatus  Search this
Scientific apparatus and instruments  Search this
Medical instruments and apparatus  Search this
Zoological specimens -- Collection and preservation  Search this
Specimens -- catalog of  Search this
Measuring instruments industry  Search this
Measuring instruments  Search this
Plant specimens  Search this
Tools  Search this
Architecture  Search this
Chemistry -- 19th century  Search this
Chemistry -- Distillation  Search this
Medical Equipment  Search this
advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this
Medical supplies  Search this
Surveying and surveying instruments  Search this
Chemistry  Search this
Function:
Scientific instruments manufacturing
Genre/Form:
Ephemera
Printed ephemera
Sales letters
Business cards
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Sales catalogs
Sales records
Manufacturers' catalogs
Publications -- Business
Receipts
Commercial catalogs
Surveying instruments
Trade cards
Catalogs
Manuals
Invoices
Business ephemera
Advertisements
Mail order catalogs
Advertising cards
Advertising
Advertising mail
Business records
Print advertising
Business letters
Correspondence
Letterheads
Periodicals
Advertising fliers
Catalogues
Printed material
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Instruments, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Instruments
See more items in:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Instruments
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8ef756e5f-7043-48e1-8f5e-cdf07d39cee8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-instruments

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Iron

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Extent:
4.82 Cubic feet (consisting of 10 boxes, 1 folder, 5 oversize folders, 2 map case folders, 1 flat box (partial).)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuals
Printed ephemera
Mail order catalogs
Manufacturers' catalogs
Trade cards
Printed material
Letterheads
Advertising fliers
Technical manuals
Advertising cards
Advertising mail
Publications
Sales catalogs
Trade catalogs
Illustrations
Sales letters
Correspondence
Advertisements
Trade literature
Commercial catalogs
Advertising
Sales records
Catalogs
Catalogues
Technical reports
Business letters
Business records
Ephemera
Invoices
Annual reports
Reports
Print advertising
Receipts
Business cards
Business ephemera
Date:
1803-1967
bulk 1830-1915
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Iron forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
Iron and steel are companion industries so there is overlap in the products and goods manufactured and sold, which is evident in the documents. Iron was commonly used in construction as well as ornamental application in architecture and art, especially facades and sculptures, in addition to landscape and cemetery design, particularly in fencing. Some applications include bridges, concrete supports, joists, grating, casements, stairs, railings, trellises, doors, seats and other furniture, vases, vanes, shutters, posts, and fire escapes. Bar, plates, pig iron, cast iron, ore, and steel are commonly referred to in the collection materials. The emphasis is on products rather than production methods.

Materials represent a sampling of business records such as invoices, financial sheets, correspondence and a small number of advertising and promotional circulars. There are price sheets and a few product catalogs. Several company/foundry histories and prospectus documents are present. There is a large volume of import/export documents (European) present.

No extensive runs or complete records exist for any single company or brand, and no particular subtopic is represented in detail, although for any singular subtopic though some publications may provide general and historical overviews of a person, company, or facet of industry.
Arrangement:
The materials are arranged into three series.

Business Records and Marketing Materials

Genre

Subject
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Missing Title

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Iron is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060, purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this
Benches, iron  Search this
Fences -- wrought iron  Search this
Iron and steel industry  Search this
Gates -- Iron  Search this
Iron and steel bridges  Search this
Public works  Search this
Wrought-iron  Search this
Periodicals  Search this
Ironwork  Search this
Sales promotion  Search this
Iron industry and trade -- United States  Search this
Iron and steel workers -- 1920-1930 -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Public buildings  Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuals
Printed ephemera
Mail order catalogs
Manufacturers' catalogs
Trade cards
Printed material
Letterheads
Advertising fliers
Technical manuals -- 20th century
Advertising cards
Advertising mail
Publications
Sales catalogs
Trade catalogs
Illustrations
Sales letters
Correspondence
Advertisements
Trade literature
Commercial catalogs
Advertising
Sales records
Catalogs
Catalogues
Technical reports
Business letters
Business records
Publications -- Business
Ephemera
Invoices
Annual reports
Reports
Print advertising
Receipts
Business cards
Business ephemera
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Iron, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Iron
See more items in:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Iron
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8feadb922-cd2c-4736-ba8f-2e992b118056
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-iron

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Leather

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Extent:
1.9 Cubic feet (consisting of 4 boxes, 1 folder, 3 oversize folders, 1 map case folder.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertising cards
Advertising
Letterheads
Advertisements
Catalogs
Sales catalogs
Correspondence
Advertising mail
Publications
Invoices
Reports
Advertising fliers
Periodicals
Catalogues
Printed materials
Manuals
Mail order catalogs
Receipts
Printed ephemera
Manufacturers' catalogs
Business ephemera
Trade catalogs
Illustrations
Trade cards
Business letters
Business records
Print advertising
Ephemera
Printed material
Trade literature
Business cards
Commercial catalogs
Date:
circa 1845-1953
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents note:
The leather industry serves both commercial and consumer needs. The preparation and treatment of leather includes tanning, oiling, and dressings as well as tools and equipment used in working with it.

The business records are in the form of operational transactional documents, mostly in the form of bookkeeping, bills, receipts, and correspondence, with a significant volume of import/export documentation. Advertisements and catalogues cover consumer goods such as luggage, bags, accessories likesuch as wallets, handbags, shoes, bookbinders, harnesses and saddles used for or with livestock, plus raw or semi-processed leather, hide, and tanning goods and services made by or sold to manufacturers of finished leather products. Also present is a small quantity of product samples.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged into three subseries.

Business Records

Genre

Subjects
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Leather is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this
Hides and skins  Search this
advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this
Hide preparation  Search this
Patents  Search this
Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertising cards
Advertising
Letterheads
Advertisements
Catalogs
Sales catalogs
Correspondence
Advertising mail
Publications -- Business
Invoices
Reports
Advertising fliers
Periodicals
Catalogues
Printed materials
Manuals
Mail order catalogs
Receipts
Printed ephemera
Manufacturers' catalogs
Business ephemera
Trade catalogs
Illustrations
Trade cards
Business letters
Business records
Print advertising
Ephemera
Printed material
Trade literature
Business cards
Publications
Commercial catalogs
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Leather, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Leather
See more items in:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Leather
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep80ae14fa7-6b4a-4da8-8032-6dedaf0c6d51
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-leather

Lillian Vernon Collection

Creator:
Vernon, Lillian, 1927-2015  Search this
Extent:
12 Cubic feet (37 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audio cassettes
Cd-roms
Dvds
Sales catalogs
Videotapes
Date:
1974-2008
Summary:
Collection documents Lillian Vernon, entrepreneur who started a catalog business on her kitchen table. Materials include video and audio cassettes, awards, certificates, clippings, and sales catalogs.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 12 cubic feet of material relating to Lillian Vernon, entrepreneur, who started her catalog business at her kitchen table. Materials include video and audio cassettes, awards, certificates, clippings, and sales catalogs, 1987-2008.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged in three series.

Series 1: Lillian Vernon Bound Catalogs, 1987-2007

Series 2: Biographical Material, 1989-2004

Series 3: Audio Visual Materials, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Lillian Vernon, born Lilli Menasche (1927-2015), immigrated with her family to the United States from Germany after escaping the Nazi regime of the 1930s. Vernon inherited her family's entrepreneurial spirit and in 1951 when pregnant with her first child, she searched for a way to stay home and yet augment the family budget. Using her combined wedding gifts, Vernon invested $2,000 in the business and placed her first advertisement in Seventeen for monogrammed accessories for teenagers. She received an overwhelming response and her business was launched. In the early years, the size of the business was limited to Vernon and her kitchen table, where she sorted and filled orders.

Vernon grew her enterprise into one of the nation's most successful mail-order catalogs and a major corporation. The Lillian Vernon Catalog, which the company launched in 1956, became an iconic shopping resource for American women. Produced monthly, the catalog was typically 120 pages and usually featured 750 items. In response to a catalog and shopping mall boom in the United States in the 1980s, the company produced a number of specialty catalogs in order to broaden its market, including ones targeted for children and homemakers.

In 1987, Vernon's company became the first business founded by a woman to be publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Responding to the increasingly important online market in the early 1990s, the Lillian Vernon Corporation opened a storefront on AOL in 1995 and followed with an online catalog and website. However, by the end of the 1990s, the company began to struggle to meet online needs, especially after the collapse of the dot-com bubble. Vernon sold the company to Zelnick Media in 2003, but retained the symbolic title of non-executive chairman.
Related Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Work and Industry holds related objects: engravo-graph machine, engraving blocks, kitchen table, wood sign, purse, and belt. See accession 2019.0306.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Fred P. Hochberg and David Hochberg, 2019.
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.
Topic:
American woman entrepreneur  Search this
Business -- History  Search this
Direct marketing  Search this
Mail-order business  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audio cassettes
CD-ROMs
DVDs
Sales catalogs
Videotapes
Citation:
Lillian Vernon Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1495
See more items in:
Lillian Vernon Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b38cef11-ceea-4f69-b3d7-dad9c94b334b
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1495
Online Media:

W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records - Accretion 2

Creator:
W. Atlee Burpee Company  Search this
Burpee, W. Atlee (Washington Atlee), 1858-1915  Search this
Burpee, David, 1893-1980  Search this
Wm. Henry Maule (Firm)  Search this
James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.).  Search this
Extent:
200 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Trade catalogs
Business records
Commercial correspondence
Instructional materials
Ledgers (account books)
Date:
circa 1873-1980
Summary:
The W. Atlee Burpee & Company records, dated circa 1873-1986, document the firm's business activities developing plant varieties, working with contract seedsmen, and marketing and selling seeds. They include seed trial records, seed contracts, sales and acccounting records, inventories, office correspondence, seed catalogs, promotional and instructional materials, advertisements and advertising reports, contest letters, daybooks, photographs, reference materials, and other items relating to the company and some of its competitors. The collection also includes Burpee family papers.
Content Description:
This collection documents W. Atlee Burpee & Co., a mail-order seed company based in Philadelphia, from its early beginnings in 1876 when its founder, W. Atlee Burpee, started in the agricultural business, to the 1970s when his son, David Burpee, sold the firm. The collection also includes personal papers of the Burpee family dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.

Business-related content in the collection consists of crop propagation and management records; company correspondence; administrative and personnel records; advertising files; legal papers; property records and plans; reports, studies, and technical data; notes and drafts; files on professional outreach activities and events; trade literature (published by both the Burpee company and a number of its competitors); and awards and certificates received by the company. Significant topics documented in these files include the development of notable flower and vegetable varieties introduced by the company; the impact of World Wars I and II on gardening and the global seed trade; advertising strategies, technology, and innovation; and David Burpee's advocacy of the marigold as the national floral emblem of the United States.

The Burpee family papers consist of personal files unrelated to the company's business operations. These include records generated by W. Atlee's father (David Burpee, 1827-1882) and grandfather (Washington L. Atlee, 1808-1878), as well as W. Atlee's wife, Blanche (1863-1948); David Burpee (1893-1980) and his wife, Lois (1912-1984); and W. Atlee Burpee II (1894-1966). There are genealogical surveys conducted on both the Atlee and Burpee families as well as clippings about family members. W. Atlee and David Burpee's series are the most extensive, and cover their involvement with numerous social and philanthropic clubs and organizations. The series include personal correspondence; financial, accounting, and tax records; travel-related files; reference material; and will and estate papers.

The Burpee collection also has a large number of images related to the Burpee business and family in a variety of formats including photographs, film and glass plate negatives, and advertisement mock-ups. Other formats include architectural and site plans, original artwork for advertisements, films, cassettes, audio tapes, and ephemera.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into six series:

Series 1: Plant/Farm Related Material Series 2: Business Records Series 3: Material Published About the Burpee Company Series 4: Awards and Certificates Series 5: Photographic and A/V Materials Series 6: Burpee Family Papers

The collection's original order was maintained wherever possible, though many records were found scattered throughout the collection and artificial files were necessarily created for them.

Most files are arranged chronologically or alphabetically by person or topic.

Various photographs interspersed in correspondence files were kept where they were originally found. All other photographic and audio/visual materials found on their own were grouped in Series 5 Photographic and A/V Material which documents aspects of both the Burpee company and Burpee family.
Biographical / Historical:
Washington Atlee Burpee (1858-1915) began a mail-order poultry and livestock business in 1876 in Philadelphia, which he soon expanded to include corn seed for chicken feed. In 1878, he founded W. Atlee Burpee & Co. to sell livestock and vegetable, fruit, and flower seeds through the mail. His company went on to become one of the most notable seed distributors in the world.

In 1888, W. Atlee bought a tract of land named Fordhook Farms in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It was initially established as an experimental farm to test and evaluate new varieties of vegetables and flowers and to produce seeds for the mail-order market. Burpee spent many summers traveling throughout the United States and Europe visiting farms and searching for the best flowers and vegetables. Certain plants he found were shipped back to the firm for testing and propagation; other seeds were obtained through contracts with growers throughout the U.S., a practice common in the seed industry at that time. Promising varieties were bred with healthier specimens to produce hardier hybrids that were more resistant to disease. Other Burpee trial grounds were later established at Sunnybrook Farm near Swedesboro, New Jersey, and at Floradale Farms in Lompoc, California (1909/1910). The company went on to purchase more land for farming in California, and established sales branch headquarters in Sanford, Florida (circa 1930s), Clinton, Iowa (1942), and Riverside, California (1949).

W. Atlee Burpee married Blanche Simons (1863-1948) in 1892. They had three sons: David (1893-1980); W. Atlee Jr. ("Junior") (1894-1966); and Stuart Alexander (1901-1934). Both David and Junior attended the Blight School in Philadelphia for elementary school and Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana for preparatory school. While they both attended Cornell University as undergraduates, they left before graduating due to W. Atlee's poor health. Junior married Jeanetta Lee (1893-1981) in November, 1916, and they had two children: W. Atlee III (1917-1971) and Jeanette (1919-2002). David married Lois Torrance (1912-1984) in 1938, and they had two children: Johnathan (b. 1941) and Blanche (b. 1943). Stuart Alexander was apparently born with a disability; according to census records he worked on farms during his lifetime.

David Burpee took over the family business upon his father's death in 1915; W. Atlee Burpee, Jr. served as treasurer of the firm once he returned from serving in the military. At that time, the Burpee company had 300 employees and was the largest mail-order seed company in the world. It distributed over one million catalogs a year and received on average 10,000 orders a day. Under David's tutelage, the company adapted to contemporaneous shifts in business and advertising methods, advancements in plant science, ever-changing consumer demands, and two World Wars. In response to food shortages experienced during World War I, the Burpee company helped promote a "war gardens" campaign that evolved into a "victory gardens" campaign during World War II.

Both W. Atlee and David used their position as head of a major seed house to lobby congressional debates in regard to two topics: postage rates (W. Atlee) and the designation of a national floral emblem for the United States (David). Both men belonged to The Union League of Philadelphia and The Canadian Society of Philadelphia (which W. Atlee helped found), and served on the boards of directors for hospitals and other charitable organizations. Both father and son were politically aligned with the Republican Party.

The firm reorganized its governing structure in 1917 at which time it changed its name from W. Atlee Burpee & Co. to W. Atlee Burpee Co. Burpee's acquired three seed companies between 1878 and 1970: Luther Burbank Seed Company, James Vick's Seeds, Inc., and the William Henry Maule Company. David Burpee sold the company to the General Foods Corporation in 1970 and served as a consultant for the business until 1973. The Burpee brand was bought by its current owner, George J. Ball, Inc., in 1991.
General:
The project to arrange and rehouse the W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Records received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The project to digitize select Burpee records originating from Burpee Co.'s Sanford branch that had been affected by water damage and mold received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Related Materials:
Burpee seed catalogs donated to the Smithsonian in 1982 by the W. Atlee Burpee Co. can be found in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' Trade Literature Collection at the National Museum of American History.

The Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division includes a series of images of Burpee company operations taken in 1943.

The Black Gold Cooperative Library System's Asian/Pacific - Americans on the Central Coast Collection includes images dated 1933-1939 of Japanese employees of the Burpee Co. working at Floradale Farms in Lompoc, California.
Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Seed industry and trade  Search this
Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this
Gardens -- United States  Search this
Horticulture  Search this
Vegetables  Search this
Trial gardens  Search this
Victory gardens  Search this
Prize contests in advertising  Search this
Advertising, Newspaper -- 20th century  Search this
Advertising, magazine -- 20th century  Search this
Flower shows  Search this
Genre/Form:
Trade catalogs
Business records
Commercial correspondence
Instructional materials
Ledgers (account books)
Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records
Identifier:
AAG.BUR2
See more items in:
W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records - Accretion 2
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb697bb6243-1e96-416d-b552-0925a2866fbc
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aag-bur2
Online Media:

W. Atlee Burpee & Company records

Creator:
W. Atlee Burpee Company  Search this
Burpee, W. Atlee (Washington Atlee), 1858-1915  Search this
Burpee, David, 1893-1980  Search this
James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.).  Search this
Wm. Henry Maule (Firm)  Search this
Extent:
201 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertising
Business records
Correspondence
Account books
Pamphlets
Trade catalogs
Date:
circa 1873-1986
bulk 1890-1930
Summary:
The W. Atlee Burpee & Company records, dated circa 1873-1986, document the firm's business activities developing plant varieties and marketing and selling seeds. They include accounting records, seed trial records, seed contracts, sales records, inventories, office correspondence, seed catalogs, promotional and instructional materials, advertisements and advertising reports, contest letters, daybooks, photographs, reference materials, and other items relating to the company and some of its competitors.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents W. Atlee Burpee & Co., a mail-order seed company based in Philadelphia, from its early beginnings in 1876 when its founder, W. Atlee Burpee, started in the agricultural business, to the 1970s when his son, David Burpee, sold the family's then-global company. The collection also includes personal papers of the Burpee family dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.

Business-related content in the collection consists of crop propagation and management records; company correspondence; administrative and personnel records; advertising files; legal papers; property records and plans; reports, studies, and technical data; notes and drafts; files on professional outreach activities and events; trade literature (published by both the Burpee company and a number of its competitors); and awards and certificates received by the company. Significant topics documented in these files include the development of notable flower and vegetable novelties introduced by the company; the impact of World Wars I and II on gardening and the global seed trade; advertising strategies, technology, and innovation; and David Burpee's involvement in the national floral emblem congressional debate.

The Burpee family papers consist of personal files unrelated to the company's business operations. This includes records generated by W. Atlee's father (David Burpee, 1827-1882) and grandfather (Washington L. Atlee, 1808-1878), as well as W. Atlee's wife, Blanche (1863-1948); David Burpee (1893-1980) and his wife, Lois (1912-1984); and W. Atlee Burpee II (1894-1966). There are genealogical surveys conducted on both the Atlee and Burpee families as well as clippings about family members. W. Atlee and David Burpee's series are the most extensive and cover their involvement with numerous clubs and societies such as the Canadian Society of Philadelphia, the Union League of Philadelphia, and, for David Burpee, his involvement with Pearl S. Buck's Welcome House charity. The series include personal correspondence; financial, accounting, and tax records; files generated during vacations; reference material; and will and estate papers.

The Burpee collection also has a large number of images related to the Burpee business and family in a variety of formats including photographs, film and glass plate negatives, and advertisement mock-ups. Other formats include architectural and site plans, original artwork for advertisements, films, cassettes, audio tapes, and ephemera.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into six series:

Series 1: Plant/Farm Related Material

Series 2: Business Records

Series 3: Material Published About the Burpee Company

Series 4: Awards and Certificates

Series 5: Photographic and A/V Materials

Series 6: Burpee Family Papers
Biographical / Historical:
Washington Atlee Burpee (1858-1915) began a mail-order poultry and livestock business in 1876 in Philadelpia, which he soon expanded to include corn seed for chicken feed. In 1878, he founded W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the primary focus of which was to sell vegetable, fruit, and flower seeds through the mail. This company would go on to become one of the most notable seed distributors in the United States.

By 1888, Burpee's family home, Fordhook Farms, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was established as an experimental farm to test and evaluate new varieties of vegetables and flowers, and to produce seeds. Burpee spent many summers traveling throughout the United States and Europe, visiting farms and searching for the best flowers and vegetables; certain plants he found were shipped to Fordhook Farms for testing. Plants that survived were bred with healthier specimens to produce heartier hybrids that were more resistant to disease. Other Burpee trial gardens were established in Lompoc, California and near Swedesboro, New Jersey.

Burpee's son David took over the family business upon his father's death in 1915. At that time, the Burpee Company had 300 employees and was the largest mail order seed company in the world. It distributed over one million catalogs a year and received as many as 10,000 orders a day. In response to food shortages caused by World War I, the Burpee Company helped promote a "war gardens" campaign that evolved into a "victory gardens" campaign during World War II. Both were aimed at city dwellers and instructed them on how to grow vegetables for their own consumption to aid in the war effort.

Sometime in the 1930s, the Burpee Company entered into a business relationship with the James Vick's Company of Rochester, New York. In 1947, Burpee purchased the assets of and rights to the use of the name of the Wm. Henry Maule Co. In 1970, Burpee was sold to General Foods; the corporate headquarters moved from Philadelphia to Warminster, Pennsylvania in 1974. David Burpee remained a consultant for the company until his death in 1981. In 1991, the Burpee Company was acquired by George J. Ball, Inc.
Related Materials:
Burpee seed catalogs donated to the Smithsonian in 1982 by the W. Atlee Burpee Co. can be found in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' Trade Literature Collection at the National Museum of American History.

The Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division includes a series of images of Burpee company operations taken in 1943.

The Black Gold Cooperative Library System's Asian/Pacific - Americans on the Central Coast Collection includes images dated 1933-1939 of Japanese employees of the Burpee Co. working at Floradale Farms in Lompoc, California.
Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Seed industry and trade  Search this
Mail-order business  Search this
Gardens -- United States  Search this
Business  Search this
Agriculture  Search this
Horticulture  Search this
Vegetables  Search this
Flowers  Search this
Trial gardens  Search this
Victory gardens  Search this
Contests  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertising
Business records
Correspondence
Account books -- 19th century
Account books -- 20th century
Pamphlets
Trade catalogs
Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records.
Identifier:
AAG.BUR
See more items in:
W. Atlee Burpee & Company records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb61614fe59-fe73-49f7-a297-a129d1ef0c0a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aag-bur
Online Media:

N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records

Creator:
Ayer (N W) Incorporated.  Search this
Names:
American Telephone and Telegraph Company -- Advertisements  Search this
Cunningham & Walsh.  Search this
Hixson & Jorgenson  Search this
United Air Lines, Inc. -- Advertisements  Search this
Ayer, Francis Wayland  Search this
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this
Extent:
270 Cubic feet (1463 boxes, 33 map-folders, 7 films)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Interviews
Oral history
Print advertising
Proof sheets
Proofs (printed matter)
Scrapbooks
Trade literature
Tear sheets
Advertisements
Date:
1817-1851
1869-2006
Summary:
Collection consists of records documenting one of the oldest advertising agencies created in Philadelphia. The company then moves to New York and expanses to international markets. During its history NW Ayer & Sons acquires a number of other advertising agencies and is eventually purchased. The largest portion of the collection is print advertisements but also includes radio and television. NW Ayer is known for some of the slogans created for major American companies.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists primarily of proof sheets of advertisements created by NW Ayer & Son, Incorporated for their clients. These materials are in series one through thirteen and consist primarily of print advertisements. There are also billboards, radio and television commercials. The advertisements range from consumer to corporate and industrial products. The majority of the advertisements were created for Ayer's New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and international offices. Printed advertisements created by Cunningham & Walsh, Hixson & Jorgensen and Newell-Emmett are also included among these materials. Researchers who are interested in records created by Ayer in the course of operating an advertising agency will find these materials in Series fourteen-nineteen.

Series fourteen consists of advertisements created by NW Ayer & Son to promote their services to potential clients.

Series fifteen are scrapbooks of some of the earliest advertisements created by the company. Series sixteen are publications. Some of the publications were created by Ayer while others were about Ayer or the advertising industry in general. Provides good background materials and puts the company in perspective. Series eighteen are the legal records. Materials relating to employees including photographs, oral histories etc. are found in series nineteen.

Series twenty is one of the smallest amounts of materials and includes information relating to the history of NW Ayer & Son.

The container lists for series one-thirteen are part of a database and are searchable. The list has been printed for the convenience of the researcher and is included in this finding aid. Series fourteen-twenty container lists are also a part of the finding aid but are not in a searchable format.

Series 1, Scrapbooks of Client Advertisements, circa 1870-1920, is arranged into three boxes by chronological date. There are two bound scrapbooks and one box of folders containing loose scrapbook pages. NW Ayer & Son compiled an assortment of their earliest ads and placed them into scrapbooks. Besides the earliest advertisements, the scrapbooks contain requests to run advertisements, reading notices and listings of papers Ayer advertised in. The early advertisements themselves range from medical remedies to jewelry to machines to clothing to education and more. Most of the advertisements in the bound scrapbooks are dated.

Series 2, Proofsheets, circa 1870-1930, NW Ayer was fond of creating scrapbooks containing proofsheets. The series contains proofsheets created between 1892 and 1930, organized into 526 boxes. For convenience of storage, access and arrangement, the scrapbooks were disassembled and the pages placed in original order in flat archival storage boxes. The proofsheets are arranged by book number rather than client name. Usually the boxes contain a listing of the clients and sometimes the dates of the advertisements to be found within the box.

Series 3, Proofsheets, circa 1920-1975, is organized into 532 oversize boxes, and contain proofsheets and tearsheets created between 1920 and 1972. Within this series, materials are arranged alphabetically by company name (occasionally subdivided by brand or product), and thereunder chronologically by date of production. Many major, national advertisers are represented, including American Telephone & Telegraph, Armour Company, Canada Dry, Cannon Mills, Carrier Corporation, Domino Sugar, Caterpillar tractor company, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, Goodyear, Hills Bros. Coffee, Ladies Home Journal, National Dairy, Plymouth (Chrysler Corporation), Steinway, TV Guide, United Airlines and the United States Army. Also contained in this series are three scrapbooks of client advertisements including Canada Dry, Ford Motor, and Victor Talking Machine.

Series 4, 2001 Addendum, circa 1976-2001, is organized into ninety three oversized boxes,one folder and contains proofsheets for select Ayer clients, created between 1975 and 2001. Within this series, materials are arranged alphabetically by client name and there under chronologically by date of production. Major national advertisers represented include American Telephone & Telegraph, Avon, the United States Army, DeBeers Consolidated Diamond Mines, Dupont, TV Guide, Sealtest, Kraft Foods, Gillette, General Motors, Cannon Mills.

Series 5, Billboards, circa 1952-1956, consists of mounted and un-mounted original art/mock-ups. Twenty-two pieces of original art created as mock-ups for Texaco billboards.

Series 6, Film and Video Commercials, 1967-1970,

Series 7, Radio and Television Materials, 1933-1993, undated, is arranged into eight boxes and includes radio scripts, television scripts, and story boards for commercials.

Subseries 7.1, Scripts and storyboards for Radio and Television Commercials, dates Scripts for radio and television commercials includes title, date, length of commercial, advertising agency, client information

NW Ayer's radio and television materials mainly focus on the American Telegraph and Telephone account. Some of Ayer's materials relate to Bell Telephone Hours.

Storyboards are used in television and film to assist the director in working with crew to tell the story. To show the viewer through the use of figures, visual effects and camera angles. When directors first start thinking about their storyboard they create a story in their mind. They think of all the camera angles, visual effects and how the figures will interact in their mind. They try to create an extraordinary story in their head to attract the viewer (YOU) In order for the storyboard to be entirely effective it can't be a passive document. When done properly, a storyboard serves as a central design, meeting the needs of many team members including graphics artists, video personnel and programmers.

Another function of a storyboard is to help the team communicate during the training development process. This communication is very important in working with a large team as in the movie King, produced in 1996. Figures help the director explain to the crew how they are going to record the film and how to present it to the audience. Sometimes the director wants special effects to be added to the film, but his budget might not be that big so the director will have to change the story to fit their budget.

The Visual Effects are an important part in the storyboards it adds a special touch of creativity to your film. Camera angles are an important expects in your film because the camera angles determine where the viewing audience will look. If you want your audience to look at a certain object you must turn their attention to it by focusing on that object and maybe you might try blocking something out. Then you will have your audience's attention and you may do whatever else you have to, it could be scaring them are just surprising them or whatever you do.

Also included is talent information and log sheets relating to the storage of the commercials.

Bell Telephone Hour Program, 1942-[19??], The Bell Telephone Hour, also known as The Telephone Hour, was a five minute musical program which began April 29, 1940 on National Broadcasting Company Radio and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone showcased the best in classical and Broadway music, reaching eight to nine million listeners each week. It continued on television from 1959 to 1968.

Earlier shows featured James Melton and Francia White as soloists. Producer Wallace Magill restructured the format on April 27, 1942 into the "Great Artists Series" of concert and opera performers, beginning with Jascha Heifetz. Records indicate that the list of talents on the program included Marian Anderson, Helen Traubel, Oscar Levant, Lily Pons, Nelson Eddy, Bing Crosby, Margaret Daum, Benny Goodman, José Iturbi, Gladys Swarthout and .The series returned to radio in 1968-1969 as Bell Telephone Hour Encores, also known as Encores from the Bell Telephone Hour, featuring highlights and interviews from the original series.

National Broadcasting television specials sponsored by the Bell System, 1957-1987includes information relating to Science series, Bell system Theshold Series, Bell telephone hour and commercial and public sponsored programs

Series 8, Chicago Office Print Advertisements, 1954-1989, is arranged alphabetically by the name of the client in ninety boxes and six oversize folders. Clients include Illinois Bell Telephone (1955-1989), Microswitch (1969-1989), Teletype (1975-1984), John Deere (1974-1989) and Caterpillar (1966-1972) are particularly well represented. Other clients of interest include Dr. Scholl's shoes (circa 1968-1972), the Girl Scouts (1976-1980), Sunbeam Personal Products Company (1973-1981), Bell and Howell (1974-1983) and Alberto Culver shampoos (1967-1971), Honeywell, Incorporated, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Associations, Kraft, Incorporated, Sears, Roebuck and Company, and YMCA.

Series 9, Los Angeles Office Materials, 1950s-1987, include printed advertisements created by this office and information relating to the employees.

Subseries 9.1, Print Advertisements, 1977-1987, printed advertisements arranged in one box alphabetically by client. There is a sparse sampling of clients from this particular Ayer branch office. The majority of the advertisements contained within this series are from Pizza Hut (1986-1987). Also included are Computer Automation (1977-1978), State of the Art, Incorporated (1982) and Toshiba (1986).

Subseries 9.2, Personnel Files, 1950s-1970s, includes cards of employees who worked in the Los Angeles office. Information on the cards includes name, address, telephone number, birthday, date hired, departure date and why (retired, terminated, resigned, etc) and position. Not all cards have all information. There is also a photograph of the employees on the cards.

Series 10, Foreign Print Advertisements, 1977-1991, undated, NW Ayer maintained partnerships with international companies such as Sloanas Ayer in Argentina, Connaghan & May Paton Ayer in Australia, Moussault Ayer in Belgium, NW Ayer, LTD. in Canada, GMC Ayer in France, Co-Partner Ayer in Germany, Wong Lam Wang in Hong Kong, MacHarman Ayer in New Zealand, Grupo de Diseno Ayer in Spain, Nedeby Ayer in Sweden, and Ayer Barker in United Kingdom. This group of material is a small sampling of advertisements created from these International offices. It is arranged alphabetically by client. There are quite a few automobile advertisements (i.e. Audi, Fiat, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen). In addition there are numerous advertisements for various personal items from MacLean's toothpaste to Quick athletic shoes to Labello lip balm, etc. Most of the advertisements have the creator's name printed on the advertisements.

Series 11, Cunningham & Walsh, Incorporated Materials, 1915-1987, undated contains 98 boxes 11 folders materials from the New York advertising agency acquired by NW Ayer in the 1960s. The company began with Newel-Emmett, an agency of nine men which broke up in 1949. Two of the men Fred Walsh and Jack Cunningham formed this agency in bearing their names in 1950. The agency created "let your fingers for the walking campaign for American Telephone & Telegraph, Mother Nature for Chiffon, and Mrs. Olson for Folgers's coffee and let the good times roll for Kawasaki motorcycle. In 1986, NW Ayer Incorporated purchased Cunningham & Walsh Incorporated.

Subseries 11.1, Print Advertisements, 1915-1987, are contained in ninety eight boxes of primarily print advertisements arranged alphabetically by client name. Clients that are particularly well represented are Graybar (electrical implements, circa1926-1937), Johns-Manulle (circa1915-1971), Smith and Corono typewriters (circa 1934-1960), Sunshine Biscuit Company (circa 1925-1961), Texaco Company (circa 1936-1961), Western Electric (circa 1920- 1971) and Yellow Pages (circa 1936-1971). Cunningham and Walsh also represented several travel and tourism industry clients, including Cook Travel Services (circa 1951-1962), Italian Line (circa 1953-1961), Narragansett and Croft (circa 1956-1960) and Northwest Airlines (circa 1946-1955). There are photographs of Texaco advertisements dating from 1913-1962. There is also a scrapbook of advertisements from the Western Electric Company dating from 1920-1922.

Subseries 11.2, Radio and Television Advertisements, 1963-1967, consist of materials created for Western Electric. Materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 11.3, Company Related Materials, 1962-1986, undated include client lists, information relating to NW Ayer purchase and annual report 1962.

Series 12, Hixson & Jorgensen Materials, 1953-1971, a Los Angeles advertising company, merged with Ayer in 1969. This series is housed in one box. Within the box are four scrapbooks and folders with a hodgepodge of materials relating to advertising. Of most interest are the scrapbooks. Two scrapbooks deal with Hixson and Jorgensen's self promotion ad campaign "the right appeal gets action" (1953-1957). The other two scrapbooks contain news clippings about the company and its activities (1959-1971).

Series 13, Newell-Emmet, 1942-1957, founded in 1919 and governed in the 1940s by a partnership of nine men. The partnership broke up in 1949 when the men went their separate ways. The materials consist of print advertisements for one of client, Permutit Company, a water conditioning company. The materials are arranged in one box in chronological order.

Series 14, House Print Advertisements, 1870-1991, 16 boxes consists of advertisements or self-promotion advertisements to campaign for new clients. The series is arranged chronologically by date into fifteen boxes. Within the series are two scrapbooks containing self promotion ads from 1888-1919 and 1892-1895. Numerous house ads relate to Ayer's "Human Contact" campaign. In addition to the self promotion ads, Ayer ran advertisements expounding about particular concepts or themes for example, one month the concept would "understand" while another month would be "teamwork" and yet another would be on "imagination". Some of the self promotion ads target specific groups like Philadelphia businessmen. Other advertisements incorporate the fine arts.

Series 15, Scrapbooks, 1872-1959, relates to company events, records and news clippings about Ayer's history. The six boxes are arranged by chronological date. Two of the boxes focus solely on the death of founder F.W. Ayer (1923). Another box houses a scrapbook that showcases Ayer's annual Typography Exhibition (1931-1959). One box contains a scrapbook that specifically deals with correspondences relating to Ayer's advertising. Yet another box's contents are folders of loose pages from scrapbooks that have newspaper clippings, order forms, correspondences and other company records. In one box, a bound scrapbook houses a variety of materials relating to Ayer and advertising (i.e. newspaper clippings, competitor's advertisements, NW Ayer's advertisements, correspondences for advertisements, clippings regarding the "theory of advertising."

Series 16, Publications, 1849-2006, are housed in thirty four boxes and are arranged into three main categories.

Subseries 16.1, House Publications, 1876-1994, covers diverse topics; some proscriptive works about the Ayer method in advertising, some commemorating people, anniversaries or events in the life of the agency. Materials consist of scattered issues of the employee newsletter The Next Step 1920-1921. The materials are arranged in chronological order by date of publication. Ayer in the News, The Show Windows of an Advertising Agency, 1915, book form of advertisements published on the cover of Printer's Ink, highlighting Ayer's relations with advertisers. The Story of the States, 1916, Reprint in book form of a series of articles published in Printer's Ink for the purpose of adding some pertinent fact, progressive thought and prophetic vision to the Nationalism of Advertising highlights major businesses, manufacturer, natural resources and other qualities or attractions of each state. The Book of the Golden Celebration, 1919, includes welcome address and closing remarks by founder F. Wayland Ayer, The Next Step, 1920 employee newsletter with photographs, employee profiles, in-house jokes, etc., Advertising Advertising: A Series of Fifty-two Advertisements scheduled one time a week. Twenty-seven, thirty and forty inches, a day of the week optional with publisher, 1924

Subseries 16.2, Publications about NW Ayer, 1949-2006, includes a book first published in 1939. Includes articles, documenting events and is arranged chronologically by date of publication.

Subseries 16.3, General Publications about Advertising, 1922-1974, are arranged chronologically by date of publication and relate primarily to the history of advertising.

Subseries 16.4, Publications about Other Subjects, 1948-1964, include four books about the tobacco industry primarily the history of the American Tobacco Company and Lorillard Company from the Cunningham and Walsh library.

Series 17, Business Records, circa 1885-1990s

Subseries 17.1, Contracts, 1885-1908, undated, are arranged alphabetically and span from 1885-1908. The majority of the contracts are with newspaper and magazine publishers from around the country.

Subseries 17.2, General client information, 1911-1999, undated, including active and cancelled lists with dates, client gains, historical client list, (should move this to series 20) Ayer Plan User Guide Strategic Planning for Human Contact, undated

Subseries 17.3, Individual Client Account Information, 1950s-1990s, undated, contain information used by Ayer to create advertisements for some of its clients. American Telephone &Telegraph Corporate Case History, American Telephone &Telegraph Corporate advertisement memo, commissioned artists for DeBeers advertisements, DeBeers information relating to the creative process and photography credits, a case history for DeBeers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., The Diamond Engagement Ring, Managing Communication at all levels, DuPont publications, JC Penny Marketing Communication Plan Recommendation, Leaf, Incorporated, Saturn presentation, and USAREC oral presentation.

Subseries 17.4, Potential Clients, 1993, includes grouping has a questionnaire sent to Ayer by a potential client. Questionnaire response for Prudential Securities, 1993 Prudential Securities advertising account review, 1993.

Subseries 17.5, Financial Records, 1929-1938, includes balance sheet, 1929 May 1 Balance sheet and adjustments Consolidated statement of assets and liabilities, Expenses 191936-37 Business review and expenses, 1937 and 1938 Business review and expenses comparative statement, 1937 and 1938.

Series 18, Legal Records, circa 1911-1982, Ayer's legal records are arranged by twelve subject groupings within four boxes. The twelve groupings are advertising service agreements (circa 1918-1982), bylaws, copyright claims, correspondences, international correspondences, dissolution of trusts, stock information, agreements between partners, incorporation materials, reduction of capital, property information and miscellaneous materials. The bulk of the materials are the advertising service agreements. These agreements are between Ayer and their clients and state the services Ayer will offer and at what cost. The bylaws are Ayer's company bylaws from 1969 and 1972. The copyright claims are certificates stating Ayer's ownership over certain published materials (i.e. "Policy", Media Equalizer Model, and Don Newman's Washington Square Experiment). The correspondences relate to either the voting trust and receipts for agreement or the New York Corporation. The international correspondences are from either Ayer's Canadian office or London office. The dissolutions of trusts contains materials about the dividend trust of Wilfred F. Fry, the investment trust of Winfred W. Fry, the voting trust, and the New York corporation. The stock information has stock certificates and capital stock information. The agreements between partners (1911-1916) specify the terms between F.W. Ayer and his partners. The incorporation materials (circa 1929-1977) deal with Ayer advertising agency becoming incorporated in the state of Delaware. The reduction of capital grouping is a notification that shares of stock have been retired. The property information grouping contains property deeds and insurance policy (circa 1921-1939), a property appraisal (1934), and a bill of sale (1948). The miscellaneous grouping contains a house memo regarding a set of board meeting minutes and a registry of foreign companies in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1929-1954).

Subseries 18.1, Advertising Service Agreements, 1918-1982

Subseries 18.2, Bylaw Materials, 1969-1972

Subseries 18.3, Copyright Claims, 1962-1969

Subseries 18.4, Correspondence, 1928-1933

Subseries 18.5, International Office Correspondence, 1947-1948

Subseries 18.6, Dissolution of Trusts, 1934-1937

Subseries 18.7, Stock Information, 1934-1974

Subseries 18.8, Agreements between Partners, 1911-1916

Subseries 18.9, Incorporation Materials, 1929-1977

Subseries 18.10, Certificates of Reduction of Capital, 1937; 1975

Subseries 18.11, Property Information, 1921-1948

Subseries 18.12, Miscellaneous Materials, 1929-1977

Series 19, Personnel Records, circa 1889-2001, are arranged into eight groupings within eight boxes. The groupings are employee card files, photographs, Ayer alumni, biographies, speeches, recollections, oral histories, and miscellaneous. Typed manuscript of book A Copy Writer Speaks by George Cecil, NW Ayer, Incorporated copy head 1920s-1950s

Subseries 19.1, Employee card files, circa 1892-1915; 1929-1963, consists of index cards with the name, age, job title, date and wage increases, date of hire/fire, as well as remarks about the employee's service and/or reasons for seeking or leaving the job. Materials are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the employee within three boxes.

Subseries 19.2, Photographs, circa 1924-1984, undated, are housed in two boxes. The photographs grouped together by subjects i.e. personnel, company events, Ayer buildings, and miscellaneous. This grouping primarily consists of personnel photographs. Includes a glass plate negative dated 1924 of NW Ayer.

Subseries 19.3, Ayer Alumni, circa 1989-98, include employees who have left Ayer. There is a listing of Ayer "graduates" and their current job. Emeritus, Ayer's alumni newsletter 1989-1996, makes up the majority of materials in this grouping. The newsletter keeps the alumni up to date with the happenings of Ayer and what has become of former Ayer employees. Emeritus is a quarterly newsletter devoted to the activities, thoughts and feelings of Ayer alumni a body of people who consists of retirees and former employees.

Subseries 19.4, Biographical Information, circa 1889-1994, undated, prominent members of Ayer's operations had biographical sketches completed of them. This was true for the bio sketches of Robert Ervin, Louis T. Hagopian, and George A. Rink. There is a substantial file on Dorothy Dignam ("Mis Dig"), a leading woman in the advertising world from the 1930s to the 1950s. Also of interest is a video ("The Siano Man") compiled by Ayer employees to commemorate Jerry Siano's retirement from Ayer in 1994. The series is arranged alphabetically by last name.

Subseries 19.5, Speeches, circa 1919-1931; 1975, contains speeches made by Wilfred W. Fry and Neal W. O'Connor. Wilfred W. Fry had various speaking engagements connected with Ayer. Contained in this group is a sampling of his speeches from 1919 to 1931. Neal O'Connor's speech "Advertising: Who Says It's a Young People's Business" was given at the Central Region Convention for the American Association of Advertising Agencies in Chicago on November 6, 1975. The speeches are arranged alphabetically by the speaker's last name.

Subseries 19.6, Recollections, 1954-1984, undated, are arranged alphabetically by last name. These are recollections from Ayer employees about the company and its advertisements. Some recollections are specifically about certain types of advertisements, like farm equipment while others reflect on F. W. Ayer and the company.

Subseries 19.7, Oral History Interview Transcripts, 1983-1985; 1989-1991, include interviews with key NW Ayer personnel, conducted by Ayer alumnae Howard Davis, Brad Lynch and Don Sholl (Vice President creative) for the Oral History Program. The materials are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the interviewee.

Subseries 19.8, Oral History Interview Audio Tapes, 1985-1990, include interviews on audiotape the materials are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the interviewee.

Subseries 19.9, Internal Communications, 1993-1999, includes information sent to employees relating to retirements, management changes, awards won by the company, promotions, potential new accounts, free items, grand opening of Ayer Café, donation events, sponsorship programs, holiday schedules, discounts for employees from clients, Ayer joins MacManus Group.

Subseries 19.10, General Materials, 1940; 1970, includes agency directory entry including a list of the employees, 1970s, annual banquet program for the Curfew Club May 22, 1940 a group formed by the Philadelphia employee in 1938. It sponsored numerous sports, social and educational activities. Groups were formed in public speaking, music appreciation and a series of talks on Monday evenings title the modern woman. The front page was a series of talks for general interest. A list of officers, 1991, Twenty five year club membership, 1973 December 1, List of NW Ayer graduates, 1970, List of Officers, 1991 May 31, Obituary for Leo Lionni, 1999 October 17, List of photographers of advertisements, 2001

Series 20, Background and History Information, 1817-1999, undated includes a chronology, 1817-1990, quick reference timeline, 1848-1923, loose pages from a scrapbook containing examples of correspondence, envelopes, advertisements dating from 1875-1878; slogans coined by NW Ayer & Sons, Incorporated, 1899-1990, history of management, 1909-1923, articles and photographs about the building and art galleries, 1926-1976, publications about the Philadelphia building, 1929, pamphlet relating to memories of NW Ayer & Sons, Incorporated, 1930s-1950s, television history, 1940-1948, Article about the history of the company, 1950 January, pocket guide, 1982, AdWeek reports about standings for advertising agencies, information relating to Human Contact which is NW Ayer's Information relating to Human Contact, undated which is their philosophy on advertising.

Series 21, Materials Created by other Advertising Agencies, 1945-1978, undated, consists of print advertisements collected by Ayer from other major advertising companies. The companies include Doyle Dane Bernback, Incorporated, Leo Burnett Company, Grey Advertising Agency, D'Arcy Ad Agency, Scali, McCabe, Sloves, Incorporated and Erwin Wasey Company. The materials are arranged in alphabetical order by client and include products from Ralston Purina and Van Camp (Chicken of the Sea), Kellogg, American Export Lines and No Nonsense Fashions.

Series 22, 2010 Addendum of Print Advertisements, circa 1879s-1999, undated, includes material given to the Archives Center in 2010. It is organized into seventy one oversized boxes and contains proofsheets of print advertisements for select Ayer clients. These are arranged alphabetically by client name and include substantial quantities of materials from American Telephone &Telegraph (1945-1996), Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (1967-1987), Carrier (1971-1981), Citibank (1973-1991), DeBeers (1940s-1960s and1990s), Electric Companies Advertising Program [ECAP] (1942-1970s), General Motors (1989-1998), J.C. Penney (1983-1986), Newsweek (1966-1975), and Proctor and Gamble (1980s-1890s). There are also numerous other clients represented by smaller quantities of materials.

Subseries 22.1, Print Advertisements, 1930-1990, undated

Subseries 22.2, Print Advertisements on Glass Plate Negatives, 1879-1881, undated, include Cannon towels, Cheny Brothers silks, Cornish & Company organs and pianos, Enterprise Manufacturing Company, 1879 sad iron, an ad from Harper's Weekly 1881 for ladies clothing, Ostermoor & Company mattresses, Pear's soap, Porter's cough balsam, Steinway pianos.

Series 23, Microfilm of Print Advertisements, circa 1908-1985, consists of three boxes of printed advertisements for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Some of the same advertisements might also be found in series two, three and four.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into twenty-three series.

Series 1: Scrapbooks of Client Print Advertisements, circa 1870-1920

Series 2: Proofsheets, circa 1870-1930

Series 3: Proofsheets, circa 1920-1975

Series 4: 2001 Addendum, circa 1976-2001

Series 5: Billboards, circa 1952-1956

Series 6: Audiovisual Materials

Series 7: Radio and Television Materials, 1933-1993, undated

Series 8: Chicago Office Print Advertisements, 1954-1989

Series 9: Los Angeles Office Materials, 1950s-1987

Subseries 9.1: Printed Advertisements, 1977-1987

Subseries 9.2: Personnel Files, 1950s-1970s

Series 10: Foreign Print Advertisements, 1977-1991, undated

Series 11: Cunningham & Walsh Incorporated Materials, 1915-1987, undated

Subseries 11.1: Printed Advertisements, 1915-1987

Subseries 11.2: Radio and Television Advertisements, 1963-1967

Subseries 11.3: Company Related Materials, 1962-1986, undated

Series 12: Hixson & Jorgensen Materials, 1953-1971, undated

Series 13: Newell-Emmet, 1942-1957

Series 14: House Print Advertisements, 1870-1991

Series 15: Scrapbooks, 1872-1959

Series 16: Publications, 1849-2006

Subseries 16.1: House Publications, 1876-1994

Subseries 16.2: Publications about NW Ayer, 1949-1995

Subseries 16.3: General Publications about Advertising, 1922-2006

Subseries 16.4: Publications about other Subjects, 1948-1964

Series 17, Business Records, circa 1885-1990s

Subseries 17.1: Contracts, 1885-1908, undated

Subseries 17.2: General Client Information, 1911-1999, undated

Subseries 17.3: Individual Client Account Information, 1950s-1990s, undated

Subseries 17.4: Potential Clients, 1993

Subseries 17.5: Financial Records, 1929-1938

Series 18: Legal Records, circa 1911-1984

Subseries 18.1: Advertising Service Agreements, 1918-1982

Subseries 18.2: Bylaw Materials, 1969-1972

Subseries 18.3, Copyright Claims, 1962-1969

Subseries 18.4: Correspondence, 1928-1933

Subseries 18.5: International Office Correspondence, 1947-1948

Subseries 18.6: Dissolution of Trusts, 1934-1937

Subseries 18.7: Stock Information, 1934-1974

Subseries 18.8: Agreements between Partners, 1911-1916

Subseries 18.9: Incorporation Materials, 1929-1977

Subseries 18.10: Certificates of Reduction of Capital, 1937; 1975

Subseries 18.11: Property Information

Subseries 18.12: Miscellaneous Materials, 1929-1977

Series 19: Employee Materials, circa 1889-2001

Subseries 19.1: Employee Card files, circa 1892-1915; 1929-1963

Subseries 19.2: Photographs, circa 1924-1984, undated

Subseries 19.3: Alumni Publications, circa 1989-1998

Subseries 19.4: Biographical Information, circa 1889-1994

Subseries 19.5: Speeches, circa 1919-1931; 1975

Subseries 19.6: Recollections, 1954-1984, undated

Subseries 19.7: Oral History Interview Transcripts, 1983-1985; 1989-1991

Subseries 19.8: Oral History Audiotapes, 1985-1990

Subseries 19.9: Internal Communications, 1993-1999

Subseries 19.1: General Materials, 1940-2001

Series 20: History and Background Information about the Company, 1817-1999, undated

Series 21: Materials Created by other Advertising Agencies, 1945-1978, undated

Series 22: 2010 Addendum of Print Advertisements, circa 1879s-1990s, undated

Subseries 22.1: Print Advertisements, 1930-1990, undated

Subseries 22.2: Print Advertisements on Glass Plate Negatives, 1879-1881, undated

Series 23: Microfilm of Print Advertisements, circa 1908-1985
Biographical / Historical:
Founded in Philadelphia in 1869, NW Ayer & Son is one of the oldest and largest advertising agencies in America. For most of its history, it was the undisputed leader and innovator in the field of advertising. In 1876, NW Ayer & Son pioneered the "open contract", a revolutionary change in the method of billing for advertising which became the industry standard for the next hundred years. NW Ayer pioneered the use of fine art in advertising and established the industry's first art department. It was the first agency to use a full-time copywriter and the first to institute a copy department. The agency relocated to New York City in 1974. During its long history, the agency's clients included many "blue-chip" clients, including American Telephone & Telegraph, DeBeers Consolidated Diamond Mines, Ford Motor Company, Nabisco, R. J. Reynolds and United Airlines. However, in later years, the Ayer's inherent conservatism left the agency vulnerable to the creative revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the advertising industry restructuring of the 1980s and the economic recession of the early 1990s. The agency was bought out by a Korean investor in 1993. In 1996, NW Ayer merged with another struggling top twenty United States advertising agency, Darcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles, under the umbrella of the McManus Group. Ayer continues to operate as a separate, full-service agency.

Through a series of buyouts and mergers, Ayer traces its lineage to the first advertising agency founded in the United States, a Philadelphia agency begun by Volney Palmer in 1841. Palmer began his career in advertising as a newspaper agent, acting as middleman between newspaper publishers and advertisers across the country. By 1849, Palmer had founded his own newspaper, V. B. Palmer's Register and Spirit of the Press, and had developed a complete system of advertising which included securing advertising space and placing ads in scores of commercial, political, religious, scientific and agricultural journals across the country. Palmer went one step further than the "space jobbers" of the day when he began offering "advertisements carefully drawn for those who have not the time to prepare an original copy." Always an enthusiastic promoter of advertising as an incentive to trade and American economic growth, Palmer promised advertisers that "every dollar paid for advertising in country newspapers will pay back twenty-fold" and encouraged skeptical consumers that "he who wishes to buy cheap should buy of those who advertise." When Palmer died in 1863, the agency was bought by his bookkeeper, John Joy, who joined with another Philadelphia advertising agency to form Joy, Coe & Sharpe. That agency was bought out again in 1868 and renamed Coe, Wetherill & Company. In 1877, Coe, Wetherill and Company was bought out by the newly formed NW Ayer & Son.

Francis Wayland Ayer was an ambitious young schoolteacher with an entrepreneurial streak. Having worked for a year soliciting advertisements on a commission basis for the publisher of the National Baptist weekly, Francis Ayer saw the potential to turn a profit as an advertising agent. In 1869, Ayer persuaded his father, Nathan Wheeler Ayer, to join him in business, and with an initial investment of only $250.00, NW Ayer & Son was born. Notwithstanding a smallpox epidemic in Philadelphia in 1871 and the general economic depression of the early 1870s, the agency flourished. The senior Ayer died in 1873, leaving his interest in the agency to his wife, but Francis W. Ayer bought her out, consolidating his interest in the company's management. In 1877, with Coe, Wetherill & Company (the successor to Palmer's 1841 agency) on the verge of bankruptcy and heavily indebted to Ayer for advertising it had placed in Ayer publications, Ayer assumed ownership of that agency. Thus did NW Ayer lay claim to being the oldest advertising agency in the country.

Both Nathan Wheeler and Francis Wayland Ayer began their careers as schoolteachers, and one of their legacies was a commitment to the cause of education: correspondence schools and institutions of higher learning were historically well-represented among Ayer clients. Just after World War I, the agency was heralded as "co-founder of more schools than any citizen of this country" for its conspicuous efforts to advertise private schools. Well into the 1960s, an "Education Department" at Ayer prepared advertisements for over three hundred private schools, camps and colleges, representing almost half the regional and national advertising done for such institutions. In fact, to its clients Ayer presented advertising itself as being akin to a system of education. In 1886, Ayer began promoting the virtues of the Ayer way advertising with the slogan, "Keeping Everlastingly at It Brings Success."

The agency's goals were simple: "to make advertising pay the advertiser, to spend the advertiser's money as though it were our own, to develop, magnify and dignify advertising as a business." Initially, Ayer's fortunes were tied to newspapers, and the agency began to make a name for itself as compiler and publisher of a widely used American Newspaper Annual. During the first years, Ayer's singular goal was "to get business, place it [in newspapers] and get money for it"; after several years as an independent space broker, however, Francis Ayer resolved "not to be an order taker any longer." This decision led NW Ayer and Son to a change in its mode of conducting business which would revolutionize the advertising industry: in 1876, Ayer pioneered the "open contract" with Diggee & Conard, Philadelphia raised growers and agricultural suppliers. Prior to the open contract, NW Ayer & Sons and most agencies operated as "space-jobbers," independent wholesalers of advertising space, in which the opportunities for graft and corrupt practices were virtually unlimited. In contrast, the open contract, wherein the advertiser paid a fixed commission based on the volume of advertising placed, aligned the advertising agent firmly on the side of the advertiser and gave advertisers access to the actual rates charged by newspapers and religious journals. The open contract with a fixed commission has been hailed by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker as one of the "three great landmarks in advertising history." (The other two were Lasker's own development of "reason-why" advertising copy and J. Walter Thompson's pioneering of sex appeal in an advertisement for Woodbury's soap.) Although the transition to the open contract did not happen overnight, by 1884, nearly three-quarters of Ayer's advertising billings were on an open contract basis. Since Ayer was, by the 1890s, the largest agency in America, the switch to direct payment by advertisers had a significant impact on the advertising industry, as other agencies were forced to respond to Ayer's higher standard. Just as important, the open contract helped to establish N W Ayer's long-standing reputation for "clean ethics and fair dealing" -- a reputation the agency has guarded jealously for over a century. The open contract also helped to establish Ayer as a full service advertising agency and to regularize the production of advertising in-house. From that point forward, Ayer routinely offered advice and service beyond the mere placement of advertisements. Ayer set another milestone for the industry in 1888, when Jarvis Wood was hired as the industry's first full-time copywriter. Wood was joined by a second full time copywriter four years later, and the Copy Department was formally established in 1900. The industry's first Art Department grew out of the Copy Department when Ayer hired its first commercial artist to assist with copy preparation in 1898; twelve years later Ayer became the first agency to offer the services of a full time art director, whose sole responsibility was the design and illustration of ads.

Ayer's leadership in the use of fine art in advertising has roots in this period, but achieved its highest expression under the guidance of legendary art director Charles Coiner. Coiner joined Ayer in 1924, after graduating from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Despite early resistance from some clients, Coiner was adamant that "the use of outstanding palette and original art forms bring a greater return in readership, in impact and prestige for the advertiser." To this end, Coiner marshaled the talents of notable painters, illustrators and photographers, including N.C. Wyeth and Rockwell Kent (Steinway), Georgia O'Keefe (Dole), Leo Lionni (DuPont), Edward Steichen (Steinway, Cannon Mills), Charles Sheeler (Ford), and Irving Penn (DeBeers). Coiner believed that there was a practical side to the use of fine art in advertising, and his success (and Ayer's) lay in the marriage of research and copywriting with fine art, an arrangement Coiner termed "art for business sake." Coiner's efforts won both awards and attention for a series completed in the 1950s for the Container Corporation of America. Titled "Great Ideas of Western Man" the campaign featured abstract and modern paintings and sculpture by leading U.S. and foreign artists, linked with Western philosophical writings in an early example of advertising designed primarily to bolster corporate image. In 1994, Charles Coiner was posthumously named to the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Fame, the first full time art director ever chosen for that honor.

Coiner and fellow art director Paul Darrow also created legendary advertising with the "A Diamond Is Forever" campaign for DeBeers; ads featured the work of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and other modernist painters. The "A Diamond is Forever" tagline was written in 1949 by Frances Gerety, a woman copywriter at Ayer from 1943 to 1970. In 1999, Ad Age magazine cited "A Diamond is Forever" as the most memorable advertising slogan of the twentieth century.

Coiner also earned respect for his volunteer government service during World War II; he designed the armbands for civil defense volunteers and logos for the National Recovery Administration and Community Chest. As a founding member of the Advertising Council in 1945, Ayer has had a long-standing commitment to public service advertising. In the mid-1980s, Ayer became a leading force in the Reagan-era "War on Drugs". Lou Hagopian, Ayer's sixth CEO, brokered the establishment of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, a media coalition which generated as much as a million dollars a day in donated advertising space and time to prevent the use and abuse of illegal drugs. Famous names appear among NW Ayer's clientele from the very earliest days of the agency. Retailer John Wanamaker, Jay Cooke and Company, and Montgomery Ward's mail-order business were among the first Ayer clients. The agency has represented at least twenty automobile manufacturers, including Cadillac, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Plymouth, and Rolls-Royce. Other major, long-term clients through the years have included American Telephone & Telegraph, Canada Dry, Cannon Mills, Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Kellogg's, R. J. Reynolds, Steinway and Sons, United Airlines, and the United States Army. By the time of Ayer's hundredth anniversary in 1969, some of these companies had been Ayer clients for decades if not generations, and the longevity of those relationships was for many years a source of Ayer's strength.

But the advertising industry began to change in the late 1960s and 1970s, due in part to a "creative revolution." Small advertising agencies won attention with provocative copywriting and art direction that more closely resembled art than advertising. Advances in market research allowed clients to more narrowly tailor their advertising messages to distinct groups of consumers, and this led to a rise in targeted marketing which could more readily be doled out to specialized small agencies than to larger, established firms like NW Ayer & Son. The civil rights and anti-war movements also contributed to increasing public skepticism with the values of corporate America, and by extension, with some national advertising campaigns. Older, more conservative firms like Ayer were hard pressed to meet these new challenges.

About 1970, in an effort to meet these challenges and to establish a foothold on the West Coast, Ayer bought out two smaller agencies--Hixson & Jorgenson (Los Angeles) and Frederick E. Baker (Seattle). The agency relocated from Philadelphia to New York City in 1974 in an attempt both to consolidate operations (Ayer had operated a New York office since the 1920s) and to be closer to the historic center of the advertising industry. Riding the wave of mergers that characterized the advertising industry in the late 1980s and 1990s, Ayer continued to grow through the acquisition of Cunningham & Walsh in 1986 and Rink Wells in 19xx.

During this transitional period, Ayer received widespread acclaim for its work for the United States Army, which included the widely recognized slogan "Be All You Can Be". Ayer first acquired the Army recruitment account in 1967 and with help from its direct marketing arm, the agency was widely credited with helping the Army reach its recruitment goals despite an unpopular war and plummeting enlistments after the elimination of the draft in 1973. Ayer held the account for two decades, from the Vietnam War through the Cold War, but lost the account in 1986 amid government charges that an Ayer employee assigned to the account accepted kickbacks from a New York film production house. Despite Ayer's position as the country's 18th largest agency (with billings of $880 million in 1985), the loss of the agency's second largest account hit hard.

NW Ayer made up for the loss of the $100 million dollar a year Army account and made headlines for being on the winning end of the largest account switch in advertising history to date, when fast food giant Burger King moved its $200 million dollar advertising account from arch-rival J. Walter Thompson in 1987. Burger King must have had drive-thru service in mind, however, and Ayer made headlines again when it lost the account just eighteen months later in another record-breaking account switch. Another devastating blow to the agency was the loss of its lead position on the American Telegraph and Telephone account. Ayer pioneered telecommunications advertising in 1908, when the agency was selected to craft advertising for the Bell System's universal telephone service. Despite valiant efforts to keep an account the agency had held for most of the twentieth century, and for which they had written such memorable corporate slogans as American Telephone &Telegraph "The Voice with a Smile" and "Reach Out and Touch Someone", the agency lost the account in 1996.

After a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the late 1980s, the economic recession of the early 1990s hit Madison Avenue hard, and Ayer was particularly vulnerable. Despite the agency's long history and roster of "blue-chip" clients, Ayer was not known for cutting-edge creative work. Moreover, though the agency had offices overseas, Ayer had never built a strong multinational presence, and many of the smaller international offices were sold during the financial turmoil of the 1980s. This left a real void in the new climate of global marketplace consolidation. By about 1990, earnings were declining (although Ayer was still among the top twenty United States agencies in billings), and the agency was suffering from client defections, high management turnover, expensive real estate commitments and deferred executive compensation deals, all fallout of the high-flying 1980s. This was the atmosphere in 1993, when W.Y. Choi, a Korean investor who had already assembled a media and marketing empire in his homeland, began looking for an American partner to form an international advertising network. Jerry Siano, the former creative director who had recently been named Ayer's seventh CEO, was in no position to refuse Choi's offer of $35 million to buy the now floundering agency. The infusion of cash was no magic bullet, however. Choi took a wait-and-see approach, allowing his partner Richard Humphreys to make key decisions about Ayer's future, including the purging of senior executives and the installation of two new CEOs in as many years.

The agency's downward trend continued with the loss of another longtime client, the DeBeers diamond cartel in 1995. Adweek reported that Ayer's billings fell from $892 million in 1990 to less than $850 million in 1995. Several top executives defected abruptly, and the agency failed to attract major new accounts. Ayer was facing the loss not merely of revenue and personnel, but the loss of much of the respect it once commanded. Ayer remained among the twenty largest U.S. agencies, but an aura of uncertainty hung over the agency like a cloud. A new CEO was appointed, and Mary Lou Quinlan became the agency's first woman CEO in 1995. A year later, Ayer and another struggling top twenty agency, D'arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles, combined as part of the McManus Group of companies. In 1998, the McManus Group had worldwide billings of more than $6.5 billion.

Under the McManus Group, Ayer was able to expand its international operations and begin to rebuild a stronger global presence. Several important new clients were won in 1997 and 1998, including Avon, General Motors, Kitchenaid, several Procter & Gamble brands and, most notably, Continental Airlines worldwide accounts. Born in the nineteenth century, Ayer may be one of a very few advertising agencies to successfully weather the economic and cultural transitions of both the twentieth and twentieth first centuries. Ayer was eventually acquired by the Publicis Groupe based in Paris, France which closed down the N.W. Ayer offices in 2002.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC0060)

Hills Bros. Coffee Incorporated Records (AC0395)
Provenance:
The collection was donated by N W Ayer ABH International, April 15, 1975 and by Ayer & Partners, October 30, 1996.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Researchers must use microfilm copy. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audiovisual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Technical Access: Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire; listening to audio discs requires special arrangement. Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Rights:
Publication and production quality duplication is restricted due to complex copyright, publicity rights, and right to privacy issues. Potential users must receive written permission from appropriate rights holders prior to obtaining high quality copies. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Advertising agencies  Search this
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Business records -- 1840-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Oral history -- 1980-1990
Print advertising
Proof sheets
Proofs (printed matter)
Scrapbooks -- 1840-1990
Trade literature
Tear sheets
Advertisements
Citation:
NW Ayer & Sons, incorporated Advertising Agency Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0059
See more items in:
N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8920ed035-d211-4a58-9047-b31fa79464bd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0059
Online Media:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Office Equipment

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Names:
IBM (International Business Machines)  Search this
Xerox Corporation  Search this
Extent:
3.21 Cubic feet (consisting of 7 boxes, 3 oversize folders.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertising
Advertisements
Catalogues
Advertising fliers
Advertising mail
Sales letters
Print advertising
Invoices
Ephemera
Commercial catalogs
Printed materials
Printed ephemera
Publications
Sales catalogs
Photographs
Business records
Advertising cards
Sales records
Mail order catalogs
Business letters
Printed material
Reports
Commercial correspondence
Correspondence
Trade cards
Business ephemera
Catalogs
Business cards
Trade literature
Letterheads
Trade catalogs
Receipts
Periodicals
Manufacturers' catalogs
Illustrations
Date:
1833-1975
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Office Equipment forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes devices and systems such as typewriters, calculation machines, mimeographs and copiers, punches and canceling machines, coin counters, telephonics, addressing and indexing systems, recording and message transmission, stamping, perforating, records storage and files, and also some consumable products like fasteners, ledgers, erasures. A few product samples are present.

Some product information contains suggestions and information on good business business practices or increasing efficiency and accuracy in the office or workplace environment.

A small amount of material related to furnishings, such as desks, bookcases, lockers, and trade show displays is present.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Materials

Genre

Subject
Brand Name Index:
The following is a list of brand names for various office equipment and related names that appear on this list is a compilation of those found on materials in the vertical document boxes. It is not a complete list of all the brand names for office equipment. The list is intended to assist researchers locate desired materials when only the brand name is known.

Brand Name Index

Efficiency -- Watson Mfg. Co.

Flatpakit -- American

Multigraph -- American Multigraph Sales Co.

Portland -- Southworth Machine Co.

Wiz -- American Sales Book Co.

Y & E -- Yawman & Eube Mfg. Co.
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Missing Title

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Office Equipment is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Mail-order business  Search this
Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this
Punched card systems -- Machinery  Search this
Filing cabinets  Search this
Furniture  Search this
Information display systems  Search this
Typewriters -- 1890-1900  Search this
Office equipment and supplies  Search this
Office equipment and supplies industry  Search this
Office equipment and supplies industry -- United States  Search this
Printing machinery and supplies  Search this
Patents  Search this
Display of merchandise  Search this
Sound recording machines  Search this
Retail trade  Search this
Bookkeeping  Search this
Calculators  Search this
Accounting -- Data processing  Search this
Sales accounting -- 19th century  Search this
Pneumatics  Search this
Telephone answering and recording equipment industry  Search this
Account books  Search this
Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this
Business  Search this
Typewriters -- 1880-1910  Search this
Magnetic recorders and recording  Search this
Typewriters  Search this
Merchandise displays  Search this
advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertising
Advertisements
Catalogues
Advertising fliers
Advertising mail
Sales letters
Print advertising
Invoices
Ephemera
Commercial catalogs
Printed materials
Printed ephemera
Publications -- Business
Sales catalogs
Photographs
Business records
Advertising cards
Sales records
Mail order catalogs
Business letters
Printed material
Reports
Publications
Commercial correspondence
Correspondence
Trade cards
Business ephemera
Catalogs
Business cards
Trade literature
Letterheads
Trade catalogs
Receipts
Periodicals
Manufacturers' catalogs
Illustrations
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Office Equipment, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Office
See more items in:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Office Equipment
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a014f2d6-ae66-4884-a2d4-47a74284270b
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-office
Online Media:

Foster Brothers records, 1875-1973, bulk 1893-1942

Creator:
Foster Brothers (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Subject:
Osborne, Helen Foster  Search this
Osborne, S. W.  Search this
Richter, C. F.  Search this
Foster, John Roy  Search this
Foster, Stephen Bartlett  Search this
Type:
Stencils
Photographs
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Foster Brothers records, 1875-1973, bulk 1893-1942. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Picture frames and framing  Search this
Art -- Economic aspects  Search this
Picture frame industry -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Theme:
Art instruction and services  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8122
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210293
AAA_collcode_fostbrot
Theme:
Art instruction and services
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210293
Online Media:

H. Weber & Sons Co. records

Nurserymen:
H. Weber & Sons Co.  Search this
Names:
H. Weber & Sons Co.  Search this
Extent:
7 Boxes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Ledgers (account books)
Medals
Photographs
Account books
Floral frames
Place:
United States of America -- Maryland -- Garrett County -- Oakland
Date:
circa 1879-1962
Summary:
The H. Weber & Sons Co. records document the professional activities of The H. Weber & Sons Company, a florist business consisting of a florist shop and greenhouse which was located in Oakland, Maryland. The collection contains business records, photographs, horticultural medals and wire frames used for floral displays.
Scope and Contents Note:
The H. Weber & Sons Co. Collection documents the professional activities of The H. Weber & Sons Company. The collection contains business records, photographs, horticultural medals and wire frames used for floral displays. The bulk of the collection consists of business records dating from 1903-1907 in the form of accounting journals and ledgers with handwritten entries of sales and payments.

The ledger entries are quite detailed and include the date, customer name and sometimes the location, items purchased (with specific information related to quantity and item description), and unit and total prices. In the case of payments received, the entries include the client, date, amount paid and the method of payment, such as cash, check, money order or p.o. stamps. Some of the journals include sections in which monthly and annual account information was tallied. One ledger appears to contain names of employees, along with information such as hourly wages, hours worked and rent received.

The collection of horticultural medals spans from 1879 to 1905. Most are in their original cases and are engraved. The floral frame collection is extensive; a sampling of the motifs that are represented includes a banner, open book, harp, train, four-leaf clover, cross, star, clock and Masonic symbols. These frames were typically used for funerary flower arrangements.

This collection contains only a sampling of the records of The H. Weber and Sons Co. and should not be considered comprehensive.
Historical note:
Henry Weber (1935-1904) was born in Germany and later immigrated to the United States in the 1860s. He was raised on a farm; this experience influenced the course of his life and career. Weber showed an affinity for flower growing and in 1870, he founded his own firm, H. Weber & Sons, a florist shop and greenhouse. In 1866, he married Catharine Schutz. Together they had eleven children; six later joined him in the company, which sold cut flowers (especially carnations and roses), annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetable plants. In 1880, Weber purchased an additional one hundred acres of land for the company. At the height of his business, he held a total of five hundred acres.

Weber sold to a variety of clients, including private individuals and large companies. At the turn of the century, the small town of Oakland, Maryland, where his company was based, was prosperous because of the influence of the railroad, agriculture and summer vacationers. H. Weber & Sons' customer base, however, extended far beyond the boundaries of Oakland and the state of Maryland. Customers were located in Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, North Carolina, and as far away as Illinois, Michigan and Toronto, Ontario.

Henry Weber died in 1904; his sons continued the business until 1978.

Timeline

1870 -- H. Weber & Sons Florists, founded by Henry Weber.

1879-1905 -- H. Weber & Sons wins numerous horticultural medals.

1880 -- One hundred acres of land purchased for business.

1904 -- Henry Weber dies; his sons continue the company.

1905 -- The company is incorporated. Company stationery identifies the name of the firm as The H. Weber & Sons Co.

1978 -- The company is dissolved.
Related Archival Materials note:
The Smithsonian Institution's Botany and Horticulture Library includes two albums of floral designs from The H. Weber & Sons Co. Additional florist trade catalogs compiled by the Weber firm can be found in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Branch Library Trade Literature Collection.
Provenance:
In 1979, a descendent of Henry Weber donated the The H. Weber & Sons Co. Records to the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Horticulture.
Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Horticulture  Search this
Florists  Search this
Floristry  Search this
Mail-order business  Search this
Greenhouses  Search this
Genre/Form:
Ledgers (account books)
Medals
Photographs
Account books
Floral frames
Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The H. Weber & Sons Co. Records.
Identifier:
AAG.WBR
See more items in:
H. Weber & Sons Co. records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6d40aa567-a12b-4e30-9303-6a06a95ec3a4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aag-wbr

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Glassware

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Extent:
4.89 Cubic feet (consisting of 10.5 boxes, 2 folders, 5 oversize folders, 2 map case folders.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Business cards
Publications
Trade catalogs
Advertisements
Sales catalogs
Business letters
Printed materials
Receipts
Printed material
Invoices
Illustrations
Business ephemera
Letterheads
Design patents
Advertising mail
Patents
Print advertising
Catalogs
Sales records
Advertising
Trade cards
Advertising fliers
Periodicals
Catalogues
Manufacturers' catalogs
Advertising cards
Commercial correspondence
Ephemera
Printed ephemera
Manuals
Reports
Commercial catalogs
Trade literature
Sales letters
Legal documents
Correspondence
Mail order catalogs
Date:
1804-1967
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Glassware forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
Covers glassware in its many forms and application including in building design and sculpture, both as a structural and an aesthetic component, in lighting, in art as a medium and as a method to protect and display art (picture frames, cases, etcetera.), in industry (insulators, electronics), in transportation (lighthouses, railroad signal glasses, headlamps), and in science with medical and lab supplies and instruments, and equipment such as telescopes. Daily and practical use consumer products feature prominently in the form of household and decorative goods (jarring, canning, dish and serving ware, daily and special use), windows, lamps and lighting, storage of liquids and solids, including detergents, medicine storage, plus beverages and foodstuffs, and cleaning of glass. Colored, ornamental, ground, etched, leaded, stained, and mosaic glasswork related material appears sporadically. China and other ceramic and pottery breakable wear is sometimes categorized along with clear, cut, opaque, and colored glass. Related aspects, such as stoppers, are also included.

Collection materials represent a sampling of businesses and products. The Patent and Design folder has numerous submission summaries, along with schematics, some hand drawn, and a few blueprints, mostly related to bottle design. A limited amount of industry publications and union documents are present, especially for the Glass Workers.
Arrangement:
Glassware is arranged in three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Subject
Partial List of Companies in the Oversize Materials:
Oversize materials include, but are not limited to the following companies:

Averbeck, M.J., New York, NY

Cleveland Glass Works, Cleveland, NY

Cold Spring Distilling Company Cincinatti, OH

Craft House Williamsburg Restoration, Inc. Williamsburg, VA

Cullen & Newman Knoxville, TN

French, Richards, and Company Philadelphia, PA

Glassware: Union Wages and Rules

Jones, Thomas New York, NY

Libby Owens Ford Class Company Manufacturers of Safety Glass Location unknown

Metropolitan Plate Glass Insurance Company New York, NY

Morgantown, WV

New Jersey Plate Glass Insurance Company Newark, NJ

New York Plate Glass Insurance Company New York, NY

Seneca Glass Company

Smalley, A.G. and Company Boston, MA

Woods, Sherwood and Company Lowell, MA
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Glassware is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Occupation:
Glass artists  Search this
Stained glass artists -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Stained glass artists  Search this
Topic:
Glass manufacture  Search this
Glassware  Search this
Glassware -- Catalogs  Search this
Glass art -- United States -- 20th century  Search this
Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this
Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this
Retail trade  Search this
Sales promotion  Search this
Trade associations  Search this
advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this
Mosaics  Search this
Etching -- Technique  Search this
Windows  Search this
Genre/Form:
Business records
Business cards
Publications -- Business
Trade catalogs
Advertisements
Sales catalogs
Business letters
Printed materials
Receipts
Printed material
Invoices
Illustrations
Business ephemera
Letterheads
Design patents
Advertising mail
Patents
Print advertising
Catalogs
Sales records
Advertising
Trade cards
Advertising fliers
Periodicals
Catalogues
Manufacturers' catalogs
Advertising cards
Commercial correspondence
Ephemera
Printed ephemera
Manuals
Reports
Commercial catalogs
Publications
Trade literature
Sales letters
Legal documents
Correspondence
Mail order catalogs
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Glassware, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Glassware
See more items in:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Glassware
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep848334d1c-96ef-473b-a00e-1652210d56e6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-glassware
Online Media:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Hardware

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Extent:
6.14 Cubic feet (consisting of 13.5 boxes, 1 folder, 2 oversize folders.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Publications
Advertisements
Commercial correspondence
Advertising
Trade catalogs
Receipts
Ephemera
Periodicals
Manufacturers' catalogs
Commercial catalogs
Manuals
Invoices
Sales records
Advertising cards
Trade literature
Advertising fliers
Legal documents
Letterheads
Reports
Advertising mail
Correspondence
Mail order catalogs
Printed material
Business cards
Illustrations
Print advertising
Sales catalogs
Catalogues
Printed ephemera
Business ephemera
Labels
Sales letters
Catalogs
Business letters
Trade cards
Business records
Printed materials
Date:
1776-1967
bulk 1830-1930
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Hardware forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
Hardware covers a broad scope of products, tools, and equipment made of metal, and both functional (nails, bolts) and ornamental (drawer pulls, plates) uses of metals.

The majority of materials in this series are business transaction records related to the sale and transport of hardware items. There is also a sampling of advertisements and illustrated product guides. A few patent documents are present. However, there are no extensive runs or complete records exist for any single company or brand, and no particular depth is present for any singular subtopic, though some publications may provide general and historical overviews of a person, company, or facet of industry.

With the industries and trades represented in this category, there is significant overlap with Tools, Instruments, and Mensuration.
Arrangement:
Hardware is arranged in three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Subject
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Missing Title

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Hardware is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Decoration and ornament, Architectural  Search this
advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this
Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this
Hardware stores -- 1870-1880  Search this
Tools  Search this
Decoration and ornament  Search this
Patents  Search this
Hardware stores -- 1860-1870 -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Trade associations  Search this
Sales promotion  Search this
Retail trade  Search this
Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this
Genre/Form:
Publications
Advertisements
Commercial correspondence
Advertising
Trade catalogs
Receipts
Ephemera
Periodicals
Manufacturers' catalogs
Commercial catalogs
Manuals
Invoices
Sales records
Advertising cards
Trade literature
Advertising fliers
Legal documents
Publications -- Business
Letterheads
Reports
Advertising mail
Correspondence
Mail order catalogs
Printed material
Business cards
Illustrations
Print advertising
Sales catalogs
Catalogues
Printed ephemera
Business ephemera
Labels
Sales letters
Catalogs
Business letters
Trade cards
Business records
Printed materials
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Hardware, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Hardware
See more items in:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Hardware
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep832f5ee2f-5bbf-4397-8f60-b38df09cae0d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-hardware

Successful Farming Letter Contest

Collection Creator:
W. Atlee Burpee Company  Search this
Burpee, W. Atlee (Washington Atlee), 1858-1915  Search this
Burpee, David, 1893-1980  Search this
Wm. Henry Maule (Firm)  Search this
James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.).  Search this
Extent:
1 File
Container:
Box 333, Folder 24
Type:
Archival materials
Files
Date:
1915
General:
In 1915, Successful Farming magazine announced a letter-writing contest asking the public to answer the question, 'Which seed, tree, or plant advertisement in the March issue of Successful Farming contains the best offer and the most valuable information?' This file is comprised of letters written in support of W. Atlee Burpee & Co.'s advertisement.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records
See more items in:
W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records - Accretion 2
W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records - Accretion 2 / Series 2: Business Records / 2.3: Advertising / Customer Testimonials and Contests
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6a507434c-f01f-407f-9e12-61a159a62472
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aag-bur2-ref2296
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