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Maidenform Collection

Creator:
Maidenform, Inc.  Search this
Photographer:
Avedon, Richard  Search this
Names:
Coleman, Beatrice  Search this
Coleman, Joseph  Search this
Inventor:
Rosenthal, Ida  Search this
Rosenthal, William  Search this
Extent:
35 Cubic feet (87 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertisements
Newsletters
Tear sheets
Photographs
Videotapes
Clippings
Business records
Date:
1922-1997
Scope and Contents:
Patent and trademark documents, advertisements, sales and marketing material, market research, photographs, packaging, company newsletters and magazines, and business records documenting the history of the Maidenform Company from 1922 to1997.
Arrangement:
Collection organized into eleven series.

Series 1, Company History, 1922-1990

Series 2, News Articles, 1941-1997

Series 3, Patents, Trademarks, and Registrations, 1871-1979

Series 4, Publications, 1931-1997

Series 5, Sales and Marketing Materials, 1929-1997

Series 6, Advertising, 1929-1997

Series 7, Photographs, 1927-1993

Series 8, Patterns, circa 1950s

Series 9, World War II Activities, 1941-1946

Series 10, Labor Relations, 1937-1990

Series 11, Miscellaneous Unprocessed Materials
Biographical / Historical:
The history of Maidenform, Incorporated began at Enid Frocks, a small dress shop in New York City owned and operated by Enid Bissett. Ida Rosenthal was a Russian Jewish immigrant and seamstress at Enid's shop. In 1922, Ida and Enid decided that the fit and appearance of their custom-made dresses would be enhanced if improvements were made to the bandeaux style bras then in vogue. They gathered the bandeaux in the middle in a design modification that provided more support in a manner they believed enhanced, rather than downplayed, a woman's natural figure. Ida's husband, William, added straps and further refined the style. The called their bras "Maidenform", in counterpoint to the "Boyish Form" brand then in vogue. Initially, the bras were given away with each dress they sold. As the bras gained popularity they began selling them, and eventually the bras became so popular they stopped making dresses altogether and shifted to full-scale brassiere manufacturing. The first Maidenform plant opened in Bayonne, N.J. in 1925. After World War II, the company began marketing heavily in Europe and Latin America. Eventually, Maidenform operated plants in West Virginia, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Documentation for the development and manufacture of a "pigeon vest" is also included in the collection. The pigeon vest allowed troopers to carry homing pigeons with them as they parachuted behind enemy lines. During World War II, Maidenform manufactured these pigeon vests and silk parachutes for the war effort.

Maidenform advertising campaigns were enormously successful, and generated controversy as well as praise. The now famous "I Dreamed" campaign was launched in 1949; this campaign ran for 20 years, making it one of the longest running campaigns in the history of advertising. The advertisements featured models in everyday or fantastic situations, elaborately costumed but wearing only a Maidenform bra above the waist. This campaign was followed by the "Maidenform Woman" campaign which was credited with boosting sales by 200 percent in some stores. The "Dares to Dream" campaign played off the "I Dreamed" tagline in 1984, and in 1987, the "Celebrity" campaign began. The "Celebrity" ads were notable for the absence of women in lingerie; instead, well-known male actors discussed their feelings about women and lingerie in print and commercial advertisements. The tone of the advertising shifted in 1992 with a series of ads called "The Women's Advocacy" campaign.

Maidenform was family owned and operated until 1997. After the death of William Rosenthal in 1958, his wife, Ida, became the president of their company. In 1963, she suffered an incapacitating stroke. At this time, son-in-law Dr. Joseph Coleman became head of the company. Upon his death in 1968, his wife (the only surviving child of Ida and William) Beatrice Rosenthal Coleman, gained complete control over the business until her death in 1990.

The Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation, a philanthropic and charitable institution founded in 1953, is run by granddaughter Catherine Brawer.
Related Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds Maidenform artifacts including brassieres, girdles, and "long-lines," and two of the costumes used in the "I Dreamed" campaign.

Other Resources

Undergarment ads in the United States, 1947-1970
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Maidenform, Incorporated in May 1997.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Only reference copies of audiovisual materials may be used for research.
Rights:
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.

The donor has imposed restrictions on reproduction, broadcast or use of the collection for commercial purposes of any kind by third parties. Reproduction, broadcast or other use of the collection for commercial purposes of any kind by third parties is subject to prior written consent. These permissions will be required until July 2047. Please see the repository for further details.
Topic:
Advertising campaigns  Search this
Sex in advertising  Search this
advertising -- 20th century  Search this
Women in advertising  Search this
Brassieres -- 20th century  Search this
Parachutes -- 1940-1950  Search this
Symbolism in advertising  Search this
Homing pigeons -- 1940-1950  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertisements
Newsletters -- 20th century
Tear sheets
Photographs -- 20th century
Videotapes
Clippings
Business records -- 20th century
Citation:
Maidenform Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0585
See more items in:
Maidenform Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84cb6d644-c876-42a4-8825-697caee580c6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0585
Online Media:

Advertising Council 1990 Census Advertising Collection

Creator:
Ad Council  Search this
Names:
Ad Council  Search this
Castor GS & B  Search this
Mingo Group.  Search this
Muse Cordero Chin.  Search this
Ogilvy & Mather.  Search this
Extent:
2 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Videotapes
Advertisements
Tear sheets
Date:
1990
Summary:
This collection documents the multilingual advertising campaigns created by the Advertising Council to promote the 1990 Census.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of advertising materials produced to promote the 1990 census. It contains proof sheets, correspondence, three quarter inch videotapes, and storyboards.
Arrangement:
Materials in this collection have been arranged alphabetically by the title of the advertising campaign.
Biographical/Historical note:
Since 1790, the Department of Commerce has conducted a decennial Census to document the demographic characteristics of the American population, and to establish the proportional distribution of political representation . For the 1990 Census, advertising agencies under the aegis of the Advertising Council volunteered their creative efforts to promote the United States Census through public service announcemnts in newspapers, magazines, and the business press, and on radio and television.

The full campaign was designed to run from February 1 through April 7, 1990. The "blitz run" period ran from March 4 through April 7, 1990. The collection consists of proof sheets, storyboards, video tapes, audio reels and an introductory letter from Secretary of Commerce Robert Mosbacher. The volunteer agencies were The Mingo Group, Castor GS & B, Muse Cordero Chin, and Ogilvy & Mather. Slogans for the campaign included "Answer the Census. It Counts for More Than You Think", "Stand Right Up. Answer the Census", "Any Way We Add It - It Makes Good Sense to Answer the Census", and "Esta Es La Nuestra! Participe En El Censo". To reach the broadest audience possible, ads were created in English, Spanish (including dislects in Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban and Nortera), Cambodian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Laotian and Vietnamese.
Related Materials:
National Museum of American History

Division of Political and Military History (now Division of Political and Military History)

The Division of Political and Military History holds posters, pins, and three-dimensional objects promoting the 1990 Census.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Census Promotion Office, Bureau of the Census, 1990.
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:
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes
Videotapes
Advertisements -- 1950-2000
Tear sheets
Citation:
Advertising Council 1990 Census Advertising Collection, 1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0372
See more items in:
Advertising Council 1990 Census Advertising Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep871c80e41-8e7a-41ed-9dfe-ddb30f303a63
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0372

[Staged household kitchen with family for J & L Steel Co. advertising campaign : color transparency]

Photographer:
d'Arazien, Arthur  Search this
Advertiser:
Jones & Laughlin  Search this
Collection Creator:
d'Arazien, Arthur  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (8" x 10".)
Type:
Archival materials
Advertising
Photographs
Place:
Pennsylvania
Aliquippa (Pa.)
Date:
1960
Scope and Contents:
Staged kitchen scene inside J & L Steel Co. plant in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
Local Numbers:
AC0314-0000005.tif (AC Scan)
General:
In Box 8, Folder 6.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Collection 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:
Iron and steel industry -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Kitchens -- 1940-1960  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertising
Photographs -- 1950-1960 -- Color transparencies -- Acetate
Collection Citation:
Arthur d'Arazien Industrial Photographs, ca. 1930-2002, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
See more items in:
Arthur d'Arazien Industrial Photographs
Arthur d'Arazien Industrial Photographs / Series 2: Photographs / 2.1: Color Phototransparencies / Classroom with teacher and children (2 versions)
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c6c2353c-db7c-46aa-baee-908f037dc6a0
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0314-ref1182

The Federal Express Advertising History Collection

Interviewer:
Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.  Search this
Creator:
Smithsonian Institution  Search this
Fallon McElligott Advertising Agency  Search this
Federal Express Corporation  Search this
Names:
Ally & Gargano, Inc.  Search this
Collector:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History  Search this
Interviewee:
Ally, Carl  Search this
Altenburg, Nancy  Search this
Burnham, Patrick  Search this
Frazier, Sharon  Search this
Gargano, Amil  Search this
Kelly, Patrick  Search this
Miller, William B.  Search this
Moschitta, John (actor)  Search this
Oliver, Tom  Search this
Presley, Carol  Search this
Sedelmaier, Joe (filmmaker)  Search this
Smith, Fred  Search this
Tesch, Mike  Search this
Williams, Carl  Search this
Extent:
6.6 Cubic feet (20 boxes)
Container:
Map-folder 5
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Oral history
Commercials
Videotapes
Clippings
Storyboards
Posters
Audiocassettes
Abstracts
Advertisements
Audiotapes
Place:
Memphis (Tenn.)
Minneapolis (Minn.)
Chicago (Ill.)
Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Date:
1972-1989
Summary:
Created in 1971, the Federal Express Corporation, an overnight air freight delivery system was an innovative company known for its memorable advertising campaigns. The core of the Federal Express Advertising History Collection is a series of interviews conducted in 1988 by Dr. Scott Ellsworth. Twenty-five individuals associated with Federal Express advertising were interviewed about the company and its award-winning advertising.
Scope and Contents:
The Federal Express Advertising Collection documents the dvelopment of the overnight air freight delivery company with particular emphasis on the innovative advertising campaigns used to introduce and promote the company's services. The oral histories with individuals associated with both Federal Express Corporation and the advertising agencies form the core of the collection. Abstracts that provide biographical information and summaries of the interviews supplement the oral histories. Research files and company publications provide background information. Television commercials and print advertising contain examples, particularly illustrating the campaigns discussed in the interviews.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1, Research Files, 1972-1988

Subseries 1.1, Federal Express Clippings Files

Subseries 1.2, Federal Express Research Reports

Subseries 1.3, Research Files

Series 2, Interviewee Files, 1988

Series 3, Oral History Interviews, 1988

Subseries 3.1, Original Interviews

Subseries 3.2, Researcher Copies

Subseries 3.3, Masters

Series 4, Television Advertising, 1973-1989

Subseries 4.1, Television Commercials

Subseries 4.2, Storyboards

Subseries 4.3, Slides and Photographs

Series 5, Print Advertising, 1972-1988

Subseries 5.1, Federal Express Print Advertising

Subseries 5.2, Federal Express Mechanicals

Subseries 5.3, Slides of Mechanicals and International Marketing

Subseries 5.4, Federal Express Posters

Subseries 5.5, Print Reference Materials

Series 6, Public Relations Materials, 1973-1988

Series 7, Company Publications, 1973-1988

Series 8, Miscellaneous, Undated
Biographical / Historical:
In 1971, Fred Smith of Memphis, Tennessee created the Federal Express Corporation, an overnight air freight delivery system. He based his idea for a new approach to the air freight delivery service on the "hub and spoke system." According to Smith's innovative model, a fleet of airplanes would fly packages from cities across the nation each evening to a central "hub" in Memphis, where the parcels would be unloaded, sorted, and re-loaded onto other planes for travel to their final destinations. Smith's objective was two-fold: to expedite delivery of the parcels and to ensure their security in the process.

In 1977, Congress passed the Air Cargo Deregulation Act. This enabled Federal Express to fly much larger planes and to expand its business without substantial capital investment. During its first decade of existence, the corporation achieved remarkable success, enjoying its first billion-dollar revenue in 1981.

Federal Express originally employed two advertising agencies: Ally & Gargano, Inc. of New York City (1974-1987) and Fallon McElligott of Minneapolis (1987 - 1994). In its early years, Federal Express was attracted to Ally & Gargano due to the agency's small size and its entrepreneurial spirit. Fred Smith believed these traits would foster the creativity necessary for original and effective advertising to introduce Federal Express. It was the responsibility of the agency to convince customers not only to abandon such incumbants in the industry as Emery, United Parcel Service and the U.S. Postal Service, but also to trust Federal Express, a newcomer.

Ally & Gargano targeted the professional community and the general public through print advertisements and television commercials. Especially in the latter medium, the agency used humor as its primary marketing technique, emphasizing competitors' "slowness" and "unreliability." In 1981, the agency launched a series of widely acclaimed ads with John Moschitta as the "Fast Talking Man." The slogan "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight" seen at the close of most commercials served as a practical reminder of Federal Express' function.

Federal Express moved its account from Ally & Gargano to Fallon McElligott in 1987. Fallon McElligott's first television campaign used the phrase "It's more than just a package -- it's your business" and depicted scenes of different work environments. The campaign stressed the seriousness with which Federal Express handled its customers' parcels. In 1988, Federal Express was a sponsor of the Winter Olympics.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Ally and Gargano, Inc. Print Advertisements (AC0938)
Provenance:
Made by the Smithsonian Institution and donated by the Federal Express Corporation, 1988.
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:
Television advertising  Search this
Advertising campaigns  Search this
advertising -- History  Search this
Broadcast advertising  Search this
Service industries  Search this
Overnight delivery service  Search this
Aeronautics, Commercial -- Freight  Search this
Business -- History  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews -- 1970-1990
Oral history
Commercials
Videotapes
Clippings
Storyboards
Posters
Audiocassettes
Abstracts
Advertisements
Audiotapes
Citation:
The Federal Express Advertising History Collection, 1972-1989, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smiithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0306
See more items in:
The Federal Express Advertising History Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86973c74c-876d-4304-bf50-71019342f829
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0306

The "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documentation Collection

Topic:
Pepsi-Cola World
Pepsi-Cola (soft drink)
Creator:
Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.  Search this
Archives Center, National Museum of American History  Search this
Extent:
7.7 Cubic feet (32 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiocassettes
Commercials
Interviews
Oral history
Videotapes
Date:
1938-1986
Summary:
The Pepsi Generation Collection is the result of an oral history and documentation project conducted in 1984 and 1985 by the Center for Advertising History and supported in part by a grant from the Pepsi Cola Company.
Scope and Contents:
At the core of the "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documention Collection are oral history interviews with individuals involved with Pepsi-Cola and its advertising campaigns. In addition to the oral histories there are research files which include an almost complete run of Pepsi-Cola World, interview abstracts, print advertising, and television commercials from Pepsi's best-known advertising campaigns.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series

Series 1: Research Files, 1943-1985

Series 2: Interviewee Files, 1984-1985

Series 3: Oral History Interviews, 1984-1985

Subseries 3.1: Reference Copies, 1984-1985

Subseries 3.2: Master Tapes,1984-1985

Subseries 3.3: Original Tapes, 1984-1985

Series 4: Pepsi-Cola Video, 1946-1988

Subseries 4.1: Reference videos

Subseries 4.2: Master Copies

Series 5: Pepsi Cola Audio, circa 1970, undated
Biographical / Historical:
In 1983, as part of the 20th anniversary of the "Pepsi Generation" advertising campaign, Pepsi-Cola donated to the Archives Center approximately 200 advertising and promotional items (see collection AC0092). The Archives Center accepted these items and proposed an oral history project to document the "Pepsi Generation" story.

The Archives Center embarked upon this project in the spring of 1983. A professional oral historian, Dr. Scott Ellsworth, conducted twenty-nine interviews during 1984 and 1985 with twenty-six people involved in Pepsi advertising, including bottlers, advertising executives, producers, directors, a songwriter, a performer, a publisher, the president of Pepsi, the chairman of the board, and two former Pepsi presidents.

The interviews focus primarily on the "Come Alive, You're In The Pepsi Generation" advertising campaign, Pepsi's adoption of youth-oriented advertising, campaign execution, television commercial production, background of the idea for the "Think Young" campaign, and the company's response to the "Pepsi Generation"campaign.

The Pepsi Generation Collection is the result of this oral history and documentation project conducted in 1984 and 1985 by the Center for Advertising History and supported in part by a grant from the Pepsi Cola Company.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Beverages

N.W. Ayer Advertising Agency Records

Pepsi-Cola Advertising Collection
Provenance:
Collection donated by Pepsi-Cola Company through Rebecca Madiera in 1983. Interviews made for the Smithsonian Institution in 1984 and 1985.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. One oral history is restricted. Only reference copies of the audiovisual materials may be used. Several reels of television commercials have been digitized and are available in the Smithsonian Institution's Digital Asset Management System (DAMS).
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:
Advertising agencies  Search this
Ambiguity in advertising  Search this
Marketing  Search this
Music in advertising  Search this
Prize contests in advertising  Search this
Broadcast advertising  Search this
advertising -- Beverages -- 1930-1990  Search this
Advertising writing  Search this
Television advertising  Search this
Product demonstrations  Search this
Youth-oriented advertising  Search this
Slogans  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiocassettes
Commercials
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Oral history
Videotapes
Citation:
The "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documentation Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0111
See more items in:
The "Pepsi Generation" Oral History and Documentation Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8642412ae-81a3-4bd2-8080-c1a3ce4f732f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0111
Online Media:

"No on Knight" advertising campaign

Collection Collector:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History  Search this
Collection Donor:
Becker, John M.  Search this
Gay Officers Action League. GOAL  Search this
Heritage of Pride (HOP)  Search this
Rohrbaugh, Richard  Search this
Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Hirsch, Leonard  Search this
Guest, Barbara  Search this
Barna, Joseph T.  Search this
Guest, Michael E.  Search this
Cruse, Howard, 1944-2019  Search this
Container:
Box 87, Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1999
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.

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

Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection / Series 14: Will & Grace
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8672bb60d-daab-44dc-bce6-92f90c13ced9
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1146-ref1196

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:

Breck Girls Collection

Creator:
Williams, Ralph William  Search this
Breck Company.  Search this
Dial Corporation.  Search this
American Cyanamid Company  Search this
Sheldon, Charles  Search this
Names:
Basinger, Kim  Search this
Gray, Erin  Search this
Hamill, Joan  Search this
Shields, Brooke  Search this
Tiegs, Cheryl  Search this
Extent:
6.5 Cubic feet (16 boxes, 188 pieces of original artwork)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Black-and-white photographic prints
Pastels (visual works)
Advertisements
Business records
Date:
circa 1936-1995
Summary:
The collection documents the development and evolution of the Breck Girl, a highly successful and long-lived advertising campaign whose hallmark was its vision of idealized American womanhood through correspondence, photographs, paintings, and print advertisements.
Scope and Contents:
188 pieces of original advertising art (mostly pastel drawings), and photographs, correspondence, and business records, documenting the development and evolution of the Breck Girls advertising campaign. Original advertising art includes portraits of famous models, such as Cheryl Tiegs, Brooke Shields, Kim Basinger, and Erin Gray. Artists represented include Charles Sheldon and Ralph William Williams. The 2006 addendum consists of approximately one sixth of one cubic foot of papers relating to Cynthia Brown's selection as a Breck Girl, 1988 and her induction into the Breck Hall of Fame.
Arrangement:
Collection divided into four series.

Series 1: Company history, 1946-1990

Series 2: Photographs, 1960-1995

Series 3: Print ads, 1946-1980

Series 4: Original artwork, 1936-1994
Biographical / Historical:
Dr. John Breck is credited with developing one of the first liquid shampoos in the United States, in Springfield Massachusetts in 1908; Breck is also credited with introducing the first ph-balanced shampoo, in 1930. During the early years of the business, distribution remained localized in New England, and the product was sold exclusively to beauty salons until 1946. Advertising for the brand began in 1932, but appeared only in trade publications, such as Modern Beauty Shop.

Edward Breck, son of the founder, assumed management of the company in 1936. Breck became acquainted with Charles Sheldon, an illustrator and portrait painter who is believed to have studied in Paris under Alphonse Mucha, an artist noted for his contributions to Art Nouveau style. Sheldon had achieved some measure of fame for his paintings of movie stars for the cover of Photoplay magazine in the 1920s, and had also done idealized pastel portraits for the cover of Parents magazine. He created his first pastel portraits for Breck in 1936, launching what would become one of America's longest running ad campaigns. When the company began national advertising (and mass distribution) in 1946, the campaign featured Sheldon's 1937 painting of seventeen-year old Roma Whitney, a spirited blonde. Ms. Whitney's profile was registered as Breck's trademark in 1951. When he retired in 1957, Sheldon had created 107 oil paintings and pastels for the company. Sheldon was known to favor ordinary women over professional models, and in the early years of the campaign, the Breck Girls were Breck family members, neighbors or residents of the community in which he worked; company lore holds that nineteen Breck Girls were employees of the advertising agency he founded in 1940. A Breck advertising manager later described Sheldon's illustrations as, "illusions, depicting the quality and beauty of true womanhood using real women as models." The paintings and pastels form a coherent, if derivative, body of work which celebrates an idealized vision of American girlhood and womanhood, an ideal in which fair skin, beauty and purity are co-equal.

Ralph William Williams was hired to continue the Breck Girls campaign after Sheldon's retirement. Between 1957 and his death in 1976, Williams modified the Breck Girl look somewhat through the use of brighter colors and a somewhat heightened sense of movement and individuality. The advertising manager during his tenure recalled that at first Williams continued in Sheldon' manner, but in later years, as women became more independent, he would take care to integrate each girl' particular personality; he studied each girl and learned her special qualities. During these years, Breck Girls were identified through the company's sponsorship of America's Junior Miss contests. Williams work includes pastels of celebrities Cybil Shepard (1968 Junior Miss from Tennessee), Cheryl Tiegs (1968), Jaclyn Smith (1971, 1973), Kim Basinger (1972, 1974) and Brooke Shields (1974) very early in their careers.

By the 1960s, at the height of its success, Breck held about a twenty percent share of the shampoo market and enjoyed a reputation for quality and elegance. Ownership of the company changed several times (American Cyanamid in 1963; Dial Corporation in 1990). The corresponding fluctuations in management of the company and in advertising expenditures tended to undermine the coherence of the national advertising campaign. In addition, despite William's modifications, the image had become dated. Attempts to update the image misfired, further limiting the brand's coherence and effectiveness. Finally, increased competition and an absence of brand loyalty among consumers through the 1970s and 1980s helped push Breck from its number one position into the bargain bin. The Breck Girl campaign was discontinued around 1978, although there have been at least two minor revivals, first in 1992 with the Breck Girls Hall of Fame, and again in 1995 when a search was begun to identify three new Breck Women. Scope and Content: The 188 pieces of original advertising art (62 oil paintings on board, 2 pencil sketches on paper, and 124 pastels on paper) and related photographs, correspondence and business files in this collection document the development and evolution of the Breck Girl, a highly successful and long-lived advertising campaign whose hallmark was its vision of idealized American womanhood. The collection is a perfect fit with other 20th century Archives Center collections documenting the efforts of American business to reach the female consumer market. The Estelle Ellis Collection (advertising and promotions for Seventeen, Charm, Glamour and House & Garden and many other clients) the Cover Girl Collection (make-up), the Maidenform Collection (brassieres), and the Tupperware Collections offer a prodigious body of evidence for understanding the role women were expected to play as consumers in the 20th century.

These advertising images also offer fertile ground for research into the evolution of popular images of American girlhood and womanhood. The research uses of the collection derive primarily from its value as an extensive visual catalog of the ideal types of American women and girls, arising and coalescing during a period in which 19th century ideals of womanhood were being revisited (the depression, the war years, the immediate post-war period) and continuing, with slight modifications and revisions, through several decades during which those historical ideals were being challenged and revised.
Related Materials:
Several items of packaging, 1930s-1980s are held in the former Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life); an 18k gold Breck insignia pin is in the former.
Provenance:
The Dial Corporation through Jane Owens, Senior Vice President, Gift, June 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Shampoos -- advertising  Search this
Hair -- Shampooing  Search this
advertising -- 20th century  Search this
Feminine beauty (Aesthetics)  Search this
Beauty contestants  Search this
Beauty culture  Search this
Genre/Form:
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Pastels (visual works)
Advertisements -- 20th century
Business records -- 20th century
Citation:
Breck Girls Collection, circa 1936-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0651
See more items in:
Breck Girls Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8391c0d4c-0f44-4123-acb3-bd54f8a86aa3
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0651
Online Media:

Ally and Gargano, Inc., Print Advertisements

Creator:
Gargano, Amil  Search this
Ally & Gargano, Inc.  Search this
Ally, Carl  Search this
Names:
Bank of New York  Search this
Canadair  Search this
Dunkin' Donuts, Inc.  Search this
Federal Express Corporation  Search this
Fiat.  Search this
Hertz Corporation.  Search this
International business machines corporation  Search this
Karastan.  Search this
Kobrand Corporation.  Search this
MCI Communications Corporation.  Search this
Northeast Airlines  Search this
Pan American World Airways, Inc.  Search this
Pearl Brewing.  Search this
Pentax Precision Instrument Corporation.  Search this
Pharmacraft.  Search this
Piper Aircraft Corp.  Search this
Saab (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget AB)  Search this
Scandinavian Airlines System  Search this
Volvo.  Search this
Extent:
14.6 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertisements
Print advertising
Date:
1962-1987
Summary:
In 1962, Carl Ally, a rising star in the advertising business, established his own firm, Carl Ally, Inc., with colleague Amil Gargano as art director. In 1976 they changed the business name to Ally and Gargano, Inc. Known for its aggressive advertising style, Ally and Gargano represented approximately ninety clients, fifty-two of which are represented here, including Hertz, Federal Express, and IBM.
Scope and Contents:
Advertising portfolios including copies of print advertisements published for fifty-two accounts over a twenty-five year period. Some clients include Hertz, Federal Express, International Business Machines Corporation.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
After seven years as a rising star in the advertising business, Carl Ally (1925-1999) created his own advertising agency in 1962, bringing with him former colleague and art director Amil Gargano. In 1976, Carl Ally, Inc., became Ally and Gargano, and three years later, Ally withdrew from active participation in the firm. In 1983, the agency, with a roster of nearly 300 employees, went public; in 1986 the Marketing Corporation of America (MCA) purchased Ally and Gargano for $26.6 million; in 1991 Amil Gargano left the firm which went out of business in 1995.

During its years as an independent advertising agency, (1962-1987), Ally and Gargano created highly successful and widely recognized advertising campaigns for over ninety clients. Carl Ally was especially known for an aggressive advertising style, most notably his work for Hertz in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which he used in a competitor's name, Avis, in advertisements.

Ally and Gargano also made invaluable contributions to two new firms that quickly became leading American businesses --Federal Express and MCI. Founded in 1971, Federal Express had accrued $26 million in losses by 1974, after only eighteen months in operation; its nightly package delivery count was 210 items. Ally and Gargano advertising, beginning with a budget of only $150,000, was critical to the rapid Federal Express turnaround. MCI selected Ally and Gargano to introduce its residential long distance service in 1979. Within a year, new customer enrollment reached three times the expected level, and four years after the launch of the advertising campaign, MCI's total sales rose from $95 million to $2.7 billion.
Related Materials:
Advertising documentation may be found in the following collections in this repository: N.W. Ayer Advertising Agency Records and the Federal Express Advertising History Collection.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Emil Gargano, a partner in Ally and Gargano, Inc.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Advertising agencies  Search this
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertisements
Print advertising
Citation:
Ally and Gargano, Inc., Print Advertisements, 1962-ca. 1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0938
See more items in:
Ally and Gargano, Inc., Print Advertisements
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8121d9e24-64f2-42fc-a341-da7c3ddbfe0e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0938
Online Media:

Superman Comic Book Collection

Illustrator:
Austin, Terry  Search this
Creator:
Siegel, Jerry (cartoonist)  Search this
Shuster, Joseph (cartoonist)  Search this
Author:
Salkind, Alexander  Search this
Lowther, George  Search this
Publisher:
D.C. Comics Inc.  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Community Life  Search this
Names:
Superman (Fictitious character)  Search this
Extent:
0.3 Cubic feet (2 boxes, 1 map-folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Novels
Scripts (documents)
Screenplays
Letters (correspondence)
Date:
1923-1984
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes numerous newspaper clippings of the Superman comic strip, 1940-1950, promotional material using the Superman character, Superman comic books, 1944-1978 and illustrations of Superman drawn by Terry Austin in 1984. Dramatic scripts for TV and movie portrayals of Superman in 1977 and 1982 as well as a novel by George Lowther about Superman published in 1942 are also parts of the collection.
Arrangement:
Collection organized into six series.

Series 1: Superman illustrations by Terry Austin, 1984

Series 2: Superman motion picture scripts by Alexander Salkind, 1977-1982

Series 3: Superman comic books, 1944-1978

Series 4: Superman (novel) by George Lowther, 1942

Series 5: Superman promotional material, 1947-1985

Series 6: Superman newspaper clippings and comic strips, 1940-1950
Biographical / Historical:
The Superman character was created and illustrated in the 1930s by two Cleveland high school students, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. At first unable to achieve publication as a comic strip, they got the character incorporated into a 1938 comic book, which was an immediate success. Since then Superman has been syndicated widely in newspapers, books, radio and TV programs, movies and animated cartoons. The character has been extensively used in commercial and public interest advertising campaigns.
Related Archival Materials:
Superman artifacts and additional documentary material from D.C. Comics in Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) collections (separate transaction, accession no. 1987.0213). See also AC0106, Mrs. Curtis B. Patterson Comic Book Collection, 1901-1917.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by D.C. Comics Incorporated, through Paul Levitz, Vice President, Spring, 1987.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research use.
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:
Cartoonists -- 1930-1990  Search this
Topic:
Heroes -- 1930-1990  Search this
Comic strips -- 1930-1990  Search this
Superman (Fictitious character) in mass media  Search this
Genre/Form:
Novels -- 1940-1950
Scripts (documents)
Screenplays -- 1970-1980
Letters (correspondence) -- 1920-1930
Citation:
Superman Comic Book Collection, circa 1930s-1985, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0274
See more items in:
Superman Comic Book Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8e98486ad-ee8d-4cc3-bd1f-1b3f5ac7dbec
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0274

Rumors Are Spreading Faster than AIDS (advertising campaign folder)

Collection Creator:
Kondratas, Ramunas A.  Search this
Ott, Katherine  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 19
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1988
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow. Please ask staff to remove any staples before copying.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
Collection Citation:
Division of Science, Medicine, and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
See more items in:
Division of Science, Medicine and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection
Division of Science, Medicine and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection / Series 1: Educational Material and Advertisements / 1.1: American Red Cross
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8e0f13f7d-9a8b-4c35-be4e-5cc39f518254
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1134-ref31

AIDS Prevention Program for Youth (advertising campaign folder)

Collection Creator:
Kondratas, Ramunas A.  Search this
Ott, Katherine  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 20
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1988
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow. Please ask staff to remove any staples before copying.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
Collection Citation:
Division of Science, Medicine, and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
See more items in:
Division of Science, Medicine and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection
Division of Science, Medicine and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection / Series 1: Educational Material and Advertisements / 1.1: American Red Cross
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a85d1b06-8879-4f6e-b173-1883c2c796d0
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1134-ref32

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, René  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
Online Media:

Interviews relating to the Container Corporation of America, 1984-1985

Creator:
National Museum of American Art (U.S.)  Search this
Norelli, Martina Roudabush  Search this
Subject:
Coiner, Charles T.  Search this
Denes, Agnes  Search this
Lionni, Leo  Search this
Massey, John  Search this
Paepcke, Elizabeth  Search this
Warwick, Edward  Search this
Paepcke, Walter Paul  Search this
Container Corporation of America  Search this
N. W. Ayer and Son  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Interviews relating to the Container Corporation of America, 1984-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art and industry  Search this
Designers -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
Art organizations  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)10316
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213518
AAA_collcode_natiaaiv
Theme:
Art organizations
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_213518

Oral history interview with Arthur Espenet Carpenter, 2001 June 20-2001 September 4

Interviewee:
Carpenter, Arthur Espenet, 1920-2006  Search this
Interviewer:
Hanna, Kathleen, 1943-  Search this
Subject:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Arthur Espenet Carpenter, 2001 June 20-2001 September 4. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Woodworkers -- California -- Interviews.  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Furniture making  Search this
Theme:
Craft  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11648
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)227987
AAA_collcode_carpen01
Theme:
Craft
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_227987
Online Media:

"Hide/Seek" 2012 Scholarly Symposium: Q & A on Archives - National Portrait Gallery

Creator:
National Portrait Gallery  Search this
Type:
Symposia
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2011-02-04T12:14:04.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Portraits  Search this
See more by:
NatlPortraitGallery
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
YouTube Channel:
NatlPortraitGallery
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_B1sj3-DsPkI

Bilum (net bag); Yarn

Collector:
Dr. Joshua A. Bell  Search this
Donor Name:
National Museum of Natural History  Search this
Length:
82 cm
Width:
44.5 cm
Length - Body:
28 cm
Length - Handle:
53 cm
Culture:
Pangia  Search this
Object Type:
Bag
Place:
Port Moresby, Boroko Market, New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia
Accession Date:
17 May 2017
Collection Date:
27 Jan 2011
Topic:
Ethnology  Search this
Accession Number:
2058627
USNM Number:
E435180-0
See more items in:
Anthropology
Data Source:
NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3744f210b-041e-4c01-8427-6d6549e65624
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_13851269

Andy Granatelli Collection

Creator:
Granatelli, Andy, 1923-2013  Search this
Grancor Automotive Specialists  Search this
Hurricane Hot Rod Association  Search this
Studebaker Corporation  Search this
Donor:
Granatelli, Vincent, 1944-2022  Search this
Names:
Indianapolis Speedway Race  Search this
Soldier Field (Chicago)  Search this
Studebaker Corporation. STP Division  Search this
Afrons, Arthur Eugene "Art", 1926-2007  Search this
Afrons, Walter Charles "Walt", 1916-2013  Search this
Agajanian, Joshua C. James , 1913-1984  Search this
Agnew, Spiro T., 1918-1996  Search this
Andretti, Mario, 1940-  Search this
Banks, Henry, 1913-1994  Search this
Bishop, Joey  Search this
Bridges, Lloyd  Search this
Carson, Johnny, 1925-2005  Search this
Carter, Jimmy, 1924-  Search this
Chapman, Anthony Colin Bruce , 1928-1982  Search this
Clark, Jim, 1936-1968  Search this
Cole, Hal, 1912-1970  Search this
Cooper, Earl, 1886-1965  Search this
Cooper, Leroy Gordan, 1927-2004  Search this
DePaolo, Peter, 1898-1980  Search this
Derr, Ernest Virgil "Ernie" , 1921-  Search this
Egbert, Sherwood, 1920-1965  Search this
Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006  Search this
Foyt, A. J., 1935-  Search this
Gable, Clark, 1901-1960  Search this
Garagiola, Joe  Search this
Grissom, Virgil I.  Search this
Guerrero, Roberto, 1958-  Search this
Hartke, Vance, 1919-2003  Search this
Hill, Graham, 1929-1975  Search this
Holland, Willard, 1907-1984  Search this
Hurtubise, Jim, 1932-1989  Search this
Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009  Search this
Kladis, Danny, 1917-2009  Search this
LaMotta, Jake  Search this
Lasorda, Tommy  Search this
Leno, Jay (comedian)  Search this
Leonard, Joe, 1932-2017  Search this
Lorenzen, Fred, 1934-  Search this
Luyendyk, Arie  Search this
Malone, Art, 1936-2013  Search this
Marcenac, Jean  Search this
Marciano, Rocky  Search this
Mays, Rex Houston, 1913-1949  Search this
McCain, John  Search this
McElreath, Jimmy, 1928-2017  Search this
Miller, Chet, 1902-1953  Search this
Murphy, Paula, 1928-  Search this
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994  Search this
Palin, Sarah, 1964-  Search this
Parsons, Johnnie, 1918-1984  Search this
Petty, Richard, 1937-  Search this
Pickens, T. Boone (Thomas Boone)  Search this
Pollard, Artle Lee, 1927-1973  Search this
Quayle, Dan, 1947-  Search this
Rathman, Royal Richard "Jim", 1928-2011  Search this
Reagan, Ronald  Search this
Robbins, Marty  Search this
Russo, Paul, 1914-1976  Search this
Tremulis, Alex S.  Search this
Unser, Bobby  Search this
Weld, Greg, 1944-2008  Search this
Williams, Carl, 1930-1973  Search this
Actor:
Anderson, Eddie "Rochester", 1905-1977  Search this
DeVito, Danny  Search this
Douglas, Kirk, 1916-2020  Search this
Goulet, Robert, 1933-2007  Search this
Extent:
66 Cubic feet (108 boxes, 16 map-folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertisements
Business records
Clippings
Correspondence
Design drawings
Drawings
Financial records
Legal records
Minutes
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Speeches
Date:
1932-2008
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Granatelli's lifelong involvement with automobiles, from his youth through his career as an auto industry executive, and as a racing car owner, designer and promoter. The collection consists primarily of files, photographs, scrapbooks, and drawings. Some of the earliest files relate to Grancor, a company founded by Granatelli and his two brothers in 1945, which customized cars for clients. Other things contained in the files include meeting minutes, articles of association, business and financial records, legal records and profit and loss statements. Also included are papers relating to an organization he started called the Hurricane Hot Rod Association.

A large portion of the files relate to Granatelli's term as President of STP, a division of the Studebaker Corporation, from 1961-1974. These files detail the internal workings of the company during this period, and include papers relating to such things as strategic planning, sales, marketing, advertising and competitors' products. Additionally, this portion contains STP's Board of Directors' minutes, documents on policies and procedures, papers documenting advertising campaigns, comparative sales figures, sales manuals, and Granatelli's business correspondence. The largest part of the files relate to the Indianapolis 500 race. There are detailed files on the drivers and race teams he assembled for the annual race, but these files also include design drawings, specifications, test data, lap logs, performance statistics, and reports documenting the implementation of design changes. The scrapbooks in the collection contain clippings, biographical materials, and other documents relating to auto racing in America and especially the Indianapolis 500. Finally, the collection contains a large number of photographs covering all aspects of Granatelli's career.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into nine series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1946-2006

Series 2: Granatelli Corporation, 1943-1975

Series 3: Studebaker Corporation, 1935-1991

Series 4: United States Auto Club (USAC)

Series 5: Novi Engine, 1949-1971

Series 6: Product Literature, 1949-1972

Series 7: Racing Programs, Publications, and Ephermera, 1940s-2007

Series 8: Photographs, 1932-2008

Series 9: Audiovisual Materials, 1960-2001
Biographical / Historical:
Andy Granatelli (1923-2013) was an automobile racing promoter, a race car engine designer and an automotive innovator. Two of his cars, a 1967 turbine engine race car and the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner, are in National Museum of American History's Division of Work & Industry collection. More than any other racing figure, Granatelli bridged the realms of garage tinkerers and professional motorsports, and he stimulated public interest in auto racing on a national level. His STP Corporation became a high-profile sponsor of Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR race cars, with Granatelli appearing in ads and commercials. His larger-than-life personality and flair for the dramatic made him an American cultural phenomenon. His career is well summed up in the profile written for his 2003 induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Racer, entrepreneur, engineer, promoter, business executive. This is how one begins to describe the career of Andy Granatelli. But the title Mister 500 is the one that befits him most, for it describes a lifelong dream to conquer the famous 500-mile race in Indianapolis.

It was a preposterous dream for the scrappy kid growing up in the slums of Chicago, whose mother had died when he was twelve, and two years later, at the age of fourteen, dropped out of school to help his father feed the family. Andy Granatelli began his quest for Indy 500 fame at the age of 20 in 1943, when he and his brother pooled their meager, hard-earned money and purchased a Texaco gas station on the north side of Chicago, which he called Andy's Super Service. Andy, always the promoter, needed a gimmick to set himself apart from other service stations. His gimmick? Granatelli initiated the first pit stop service station, utilizing four or five mechanics to work on a car at one time.

Customers appreciated the true super service experience and would often wait in line for this unique treatment. With this unique service and Andy's P.T. Barnum style it was no wonder that the station was prosperous, and just two years later, in 1945, he formed the Granatelli Corporation, known as Grancor Automotive Specialists. As the head of Grancor, Andy Granatelli pioneered the concept of mass merchandising performance products and power and speed equipment to a generation of Americans who were discovering the joys of hot rodding.

Andy quickly learned that if you give the customer what he needs, you can make a living; give him what he wants, and you can make a fortune! Granatelli's racing career began in 1946, when he built the first rocket-powered car to race on an oval track. That same year, he took his first car to the Indianapolis 500--a pre-war Harry Miller--designed Ford.

When Andy Granatelli wasn't burning up tracks, he was tearing up the business world. In 1958, Andy and his brother Joe purchased Paxton Products, a failing engineering firm that made superchargers. With Andy at the helm, Paxton Products became profitable in seven months. In 1961, Andy sold Paxton Products to Studebaker Corporation and stayed on as Paxton's CEO. Two years later, Studebaker management wanted Granatelli to work his magic on an under-performing division called Chemical Compounds Corporation. Chemical Compounds had only one, little known product . . . STP Oil Treatment. With virtually no advertising budget, Andy created a four-pronged approach to turn the company around: a recognizable corporate logo (the STP oval), a product (oil treatment), a product spokesman (himself) and a reason for existence (racing). The STP logo became one of the best recognized in history. STP could be found in virtually every venue of speed: on land, on the water or in the air. Andy Granatelli once said that in the 1960s, virtually every kid in America had an STP sticker on his bedroom door, his notebook or his lunchbox, and he was probably right!

Back at Indianapolis, Granatelli entered a revolutionary race car of his own design - one with a turbine engine in 1967 and 1968. Even though the car failed to finish both years due to mechanical failure, the cars demonstrated superior speed and performance. At the end of the 1968 season, the U.S. Auto Club revised engine specifications, effectively outlawing Granatelli's turbine car. Undeterred, Granatelli returned to Indy the following year with a conventional car and proceeded to win his first Indianapolis 500 with Mario Andretti at the wheel. Four years later, in 1973, Andy won his second and last Indy 500 with a car driven by Gordon Johncock. Andy Granatelli's childhood dream of conquering Indy was fulfilled, not once, but twice.

Source

Andy Granatelli Biography, Automotive Hall of Fame (last accessed January 29, 2020 https://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/andy-granatelli/)
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business American, Series: Automobile Industry (NMAH.AC.0060)

Winton-Anderson Scrapbook Collection (NMAH.AC.0122)

Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 1: Transportation (NMAH.AC.0300)

Evan Rangeloff Collection of Punchboards and Liggett & Myers Tobacco Sales Materials (NMAH.AC.0716)

Materials at the National Museum of American History, Division of Work and Industry

The Divison holds artifacts related to STP and the STP-Paxton Turbo Car. Included are key chains, trophies, STP stickers, TuneUp Masters stickers, belt buckle, and patch. See accession 2017.3043.

STP-Paxton Turbocar, 1967. See accession 1978.0418.

Materials at the National Museum of American History, Division of Cultural and Community Life

Division holds artifacts related to Andy Grantelli's racing career such as helmets, goggles, trophies, and coveralls and vests with the STP logo. See accession 2017.0092.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Vincent J. Granatelli, 2017.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Viewing film and audio portion of collection requires special appointment. See repository for details.
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:
Automobile driving  Search this
Automobile industry and trade  Search this
Automobile industry executives  Search this
Automobiles  Search this
Automobiles -- Design and construction  Search this
Automobiles, Racing  Search this
Engines, automobile  Search this
Hot rods  Search this
Publications  Search this
Slides  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertisements -- 20th century
Business records -- 20th century
Clippings -- 20th century
Correspondence -- 20th century
Design drawings -- 20th century
Drawings
Financial records -- 20th century
Legal records -- 20th century
Minutes -- 20th century
Photographs -- 20th century
Scrapbooks
Speeches
Citation:
Andy Granatelli Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1403
See more items in:
Andy Granatelli Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b8ed345f-7459-4956-9875-900f8585af74
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1403
Online Media:

STP, Corporation

Collection Creator:
Granatelli, Andy, 1923-2013  Search this
Grancor Automotive Specialists  Search this
Hurricane Hot Rod Association  Search this
Studebaker Corporation  Search this
Collection Donor:
Granatelli, Vincent, 1944-2022  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1935-1991
Scope and Contents:
"STP" was originally invented by German scientists during WW-2 as a response to Germany's need for lubrication of the German war-machine vehicles. It was alleged by WW-2 U.S. Army divisions in Africa that overtook German infantry vehicles (mostly of the original Volkswagen design) that the Germans employed "engine oil" that is now known as STP formulation full-strength in the VW air-cooled 4-cylinder engines, which successfully traveled through the hot African Desert war-front without seizing due to friction and extreme heat. How the German's original chemical synthesis formulation found its way to the U.S. after WW-2 is not known, but most likely came along with many of the other German inventions.

Chemical Compounds was established in St. Joseph, Missouri, on May 1, 1954 by three businessmen, Charles Dwight (Doc) Liggett, Jim Hill and Robert De Hart, with $3,000 in start-up capital in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Their sole product was STP Oil Treatment; the name was derived from "Scientifically Treated Petroleum." In 1961, the company was acquired by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation.

Granatelli became CEO of STP Corp in 1963. Chemical Compunds Divisions main product was STP oil. STP was marketed as an oil additive that would make the engine's tuneup unnecessary. By 1975, the Federal Trade Commission declared that STP oil treatment was of no siginifcance. Granatelli built STP through a promotional advertising campaign that used the support of racing teams.

Source

STP Company History, STP Corporation Public Information press release, 1974.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Viewing film and audio portion of collection requires special appointment. See repository for details.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Andy Granatelli Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1403, Subseries 3.3
See more items in:
Andy Granatelli Collection
Andy Granatelli Collection / Series 3: Studebaker Corporation
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8d21c9e4d-d90a-4e95-84f4-330dd0e9c1ee
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1403-ref604

Delegate

Published by:
MelPat Associates, American, 1965 - 1986  Search this
Created by:
C. Melvin Patrick, American, died 1985  Search this
Subject of:
Charles Rangel, American, born 1930  Search this
The Links, Incorporated, American, founded 1946  Search this
Avon, founded 1886  Search this
Vice President Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, American, 1908 - 1979  Search this
National Urban League, American, founded 1910  Search this
National Association of Black Social Workers, American, founded 1968  Search this
Interracial Council for Business Opportunity, American, founded 1963  Search this
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry  Search this
National Association of Market Developers, American, founded 1953  Search this
National Medical Association, American, founded 1895  Search this
Prince Hall Freemasonry, founded 1784  Search this
National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc., founded 1919  Search this
Opportunities Industrialization Center of America, Inc., American, founded 1964  Search this
Chi Delta Mu Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1913  Search this
National Newspaper Publishers Association, American, founded 1827  Search this
Sovereign Military Order of Malta, founded 1099  Search this
Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1932  Search this
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909  Search this
Universal Network Television, American, founded 1950  Search this
Freedom National Bank, American, 1964 - 1990  Search this
Jarobin Gilbert Jr., American, born 1946  Search this
Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1937  Search this
National United Church Ushers Association of America, Inc., American, founded 1919  Search this
National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., American, founded 1935  Search this
National Dental Association, American, founded 1913  Search this
National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., American, founded 1923  Search this
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1906  Search this
National Pharmaceutical Association, American, founded 1947  Search this
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1911  Search this
Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1929  Search this
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, American, founded 1913  Search this
Shriners International, American, founded 1870  Search this
Daughters of Isis, American, founded 1910  Search this
Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, American, 1922 - 2016  Search this
Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), International, founded 1844  Search this
New York Yankees, American, founded 1901  Search this
Reggie Jackson, American, born 1946  Search this
The Doll League, Inc., American, founded 1958  Search this
National Urban League Guild, American, founded 1946  Search this
Morehouse Alumni Association, American, founded 1900  Search this
Congressional Black Caucus, American, founded 1971  Search this
National Bar Association, American, founded 1925  Search this
National Business League, American, founded 1900  Search this
National Bankers Association, American, founded 1927  Search this
Alliance for Women in Media, American, founded 1951  Search this
369th Veterans Association, American  Search this
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry  Search this
The Salvation Army, American, founded 1865  Search this
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, American, founded 1914  Search this
One Hundred Black Men, Inc., American, founded 1963  Search this
Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World, American, founded 1898  Search this
Written by:
Anti-Bakke Decision Coalition, American, founded 1977  Search this
Medium:
ink on paper
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 10 13/16 × 8 7/16 × 7/16 in. (27.5 × 21.4 × 1.1 cm)
Type:
magazines (periodicals)
Place made:
Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted:
Sag Harbor, Southampton, Suffolk County, New York, United States, North and Central America
Martha's Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
Date:
1979
Topic:
African American  Search this
Advertising  Search this
Associations and institutions  Search this
Black Press  Search this
Business  Search this
Communities  Search this
Fraternal organizations  Search this
Fraternities  Search this
Government  Search this
HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)  Search this
Journalism  Search this
Labor  Search this
Mass media  Search this
Men  Search this
Political organizations  Search this
Politics  Search this
Professional organizations  Search this
Radio  Search this
Religion  Search this
Social life and customs  Search this
Sororities  Search this
Television  Search this
U.S. History, 1969-2001  Search this
Urban life  Search this
Women  Search this
Women's organizations  Search this
Credit Line:
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Anne B. Patrick and the family of Hilda E. Stokely
Object number:
2012.167.13
Restrictions & Rights:
Public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
See more items in:
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification:
Documents and Published Materials-Published Works
Data Source:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5cc6b172d-2d13-4670-95ea-2e52493801a5
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmaahc_2012.167.13
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