National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Search this
Extent:
270 Cubic feet (233 boxes, 850 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Linen tracings
Paper flimsies
Business records
Design drawings
Blueprints
Patents
Specifications
Reports
Photograph albums
Photographs
Trade literature
Date:
1784-2004, undated
bulk 1915-1930
Summary:
The engineering firm that became Lockwood Greene was founded by David Whitman, a mill engineer, in 1832. Amos D. Lockwood, a consultant, succeeded Whitman and entered a partnership with Stephen Greene in 1882. The firm specialized in industrial engineering and construction; they designed and built a wide variety of structures and work environments worldwide over the next century. Lockwood Greene was acquired by CH2M HILL in December, 2003. Before its acquisition by CH2MHILL it was reportedly the oldest industrial engineering, construction, and professional services firm in the United States.
Scope and Contents:
The Lockwood Greene records are a comprehensive range of documents related to the appraisal, building, construction, design, evaluation, and engineering of facilities for a variety of clients. The material covers the entire period of industrialization of the United States, and, provides a thorough record of the textile industry, both in New England and the South. Some of the textile mills are documented with unusual completeness, showing water and steam power layouts, factory village plans, and landscaping schedules. A broad range of other building typologies is also covered, including projects with public or retail functions, such as early automobile showrooms, hospitals, apartments and private dwellings, churches, and schools.
In-depth study of the company's earliest history is hampered by a scarcity of records, many of which were lost in the great fire that destroyed Boston's city center in 1872. Nevertheless, graphic and textual evidence does exist within the collection that illuminates these early projects, in addition to the fabric of surviving buildings. The Lockwood Greene records document several commissions that the firm would return to again and again over the course of many decades as clients requested plant additions, upgrades to mechanical and operating systems, and other substantive changes. Researchers are encouraged to examine the blueprints, elevations, and plans for these later additions in order to find illustrations of the firm's earlier interventions at the site. In addition to drawings, other visual evidence for nineteenth-century projects can be found in the company's extensive photo files, which often document structures for which drawings do not exist.
The Lockwood Greene records contain an abundance of graphic and textual evidence for structures designed after 1910 until the 1930s. After this period, visual documentation becomes much more limited. This is partially due to the evolution of drafting tools and information management technologies within the architecture and engineering profession. Lockwood Greene was an early adopter of technological innovations in rendering and data capture, beginning with the introduction of aperture cards and microfilm and extending to the adoption of computer-aided design (CAD) programs. These more modern formats were not part of the acquisition, and, at the time of writing, still reside with the company.
The Lockwood-Greene collection will be of interest to historians of architecture and engineering, as well as those that study the history of business and labor relations. It provides extensive textual and documentary evidence on the evolution and growth of American engineering and the increasing professionalization of the discipline through specialization during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Rich holdings of architectural drawings, photographs, and specifications provide unparalleled resources that trace the evolution of industrial buildings and their typologies; experimentation with building materials and systems, particularly with regards to fireproofing; and the history of textile manufacture in the United States. In addition, there is also rich visual and documentary evidence of the changing relationships between corporations and their employees through photographs, plans, and designs for company towns and mill villages, as well as through corporate records that illustrate the work culture of Lockwood Greene itself. The Lockwood-Greene collection will be of special interest to historic preservationists as the awareness of the significance of industrial and vernacular buildings continues to grow, and detailed design drawings and other visual material will be of especial value for restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive-reuse projects.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.
Series 1, Project Drawings, Renderings, and Plans, 1784-1969, undated
Series 2, Photographs and Slides, 1881-2001, undated
Series 5, Non-Lockwood Greene Publications, 1910-1984, undated
Series 6, Audio-Visual, 1964
Biographical / Historical:
Lockwood Greene, one of the nation's oldest engineering firms, traces it roots to 1832, when Rhode Island native David Whitman began a machinery repair service. Riding the wave of the early industrial revolution in textile manufacturing, Whitman added mill design services to his repertoire, which formed the backbone of a flourishing consulting business for the rest of the century. Whitman was one of the first itinerant mill engineers or "doctors" that traveled throughout New England advising various industrialists on the placement, design, and construction of their factories and the layout of the complicated system of machinery and shafting that they contained. His largest commission was the design of the Bates Manufacturing Company complex in Lewiston, Maine, which was incorporated in 1850 and soon became one of the largest textile producers in New England.
Upon Whitman's death in 1858, his unfinished work was assumed by Amos D. Lockwood, a prominent mill agent and astute businessman who had built a name for himself in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The successful completion of the projects at Lewiston brought enough additional demand for Lockwood's services to prompt him to relocate to Boston, where he formally opened an independent consulting office with partner John W. Danielson in 1871. For the next ten years, A.D. Lockwood & Company was involved in a least eight major mill design projects, half of which were for new construction. One of these projects, the design and construction of the Piedmont Manufacturing Company in Greenville (now Piedmont), South Carolina was especially significant and is considered to be a prototype for the Southern textile industry.
In 1882, Lockwood established a new business, Lockwood, Greene and Company, with Stephen Greene, a professionally-trained civil engineer who had joined the firm in 1879. As the firm grew, it expanded its scope as consultants supplying all of the necessary architectural and engineering services a prospective owner needed to initiate, equip, and run a complete plant. Acting as the owners' representative, the company supervised construction and installation but did not directly act as builders or contractors. Lockwood
Greene's objective expertise was legendary and made it a leader in this emergent field. As Samuel B. Lincoln explains in his history of the company:
"The new firm's knowledge and experience in the textile industry enabled it to analyze samples of cloth and, from such samples, to provide everything necessary for a completed plant to make such goods in any desired quantity. It did not at any time act as selling agents for machinery or equipment, neither did it accept commissions or rebates from suppliers: by this policy it maintained a position as impartial and independent engineer." (pages 105-107)
Greene became president of the company upon Lockwood's death in 1884. Under his leadership, the company expanded into additional industries and designed an array of other industrial building types that would prefigure the diversity of later work. In 1893, the company revolutionized American industry by designing and constructing the first factory whose operating power was provided entirely over electric wires from a remote power plant, rather than relying upon a water source or a stockpiled fuel supply. The Columbia Mills project created a great deal of publicity for the firm and was a signal to other manufacturers that there were viable alternatives to the use of steam power.
As changing economic conditions led Lockwood Greene to move away from its traditional reliance upon the textile manufacturing industry, it was very successful at soliciting projects for a wide variety of structures, from newspaper plants and automotive factories to convention halls and schools. After 1900, Lockwood Greene expanded its operations and opened branch offices in other cities, including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, and Charlotte. In 1915, Edwin F. Greene, president and son of Stephen Greene, reorganized the firm as Lockwood, Greene & Company, Incorporated This new entity served as the parent company and controlled three subsidiaries: one to own and operate cotton mills that Greene had acquired; one to manage other companies' textile mills; and one to provide engineering services.
Lockwood Greene expanded its operations tremendously as the textile industry boomed under wartime demand and in the years following. The severe textile depression from 1923 to 1928 caused the collapse of this structure, however, as Lockwood Greene continued to suffer deep losses in the textile mills that it owned. The parent company was dissolved in 1928 and the engineering subsidiary, which had remained profitable, was salvaged as Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated.
After a rocky start with the onset of the Depression, the company began to prosper during the Second World War and its growth continued steadily throughout the next several decades. In the late 1960s, as a result of declining business, the company's headquarters was transferred from Boston to Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 1981, Phillipp Holtzman USA, a subsidiary of Phillipp Holtzman AG of Frankfurt, Germany, acquired a majority interest in Lockwood Greene. In 2003, CH2M Hill, a global provider of engineering, construction, and operations services based in Denver, Colorado, acquired the company.
From its beginnings under David Whitman, Lockwood Greene has become one of the most diversified engineering firms in the United States. The firm is best known as a designer of industrial and institutional buildings, but the company has become a leader in many additional areas in recent years. Lockwood Greene dominates the market in the design and production of the germ- and dust-free "clean room" facilities required by the pharmaceutical industry and micro-electronics manufacturers. The company has also developed expertise in designing integrated security and networking systems for industrial plants, international port facilities, and military installations worldwide.
Banham, Raynor. A Concrete Atlantis: U.S. Industrial Building and European Modern Architecture, 1900-1925. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1986.
Biggs, Lindy. The Rational Factory: Architecture, Technology, and Work in America's Age of Mass Production. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Bradley, Betsy Hunter. The Works: The Industrial Architecture of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Greene, Benjamin Allen. Stephen Greene: Memories of His Life, with Addresses, Resolutions and Other Tributes of Affection. Chicago, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company, 1903.
Heiser, William J. Lockwood Greene, 1958-1968, Another Period in the History of an Engineering Business. Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated, 1970.
Lincoln, Samuel B. Lockwood Greene: The History of an Engineering Business, 1832-1958. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press, 1960.
Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated The Lockwood Greene Story: One-Hundred-Fifty Years of Engineering Progress. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated; undated.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Smithsonian Instituion Libraries
"[Trade catalogs from Lockwood, Greene & Co.]", Trade Literature at the American History Museum
Books, Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Lockwood Greene, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1997 (original drawings). An addendum to the collection was donated by CH2M HILL in 2007.
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.
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.
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)
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.
J. I. Case Plow Works Co.; Wallis Tractor Co.; Tenneco; International Harvester. J.I. Case Plow Co. ; Case Corp. ; J.I. Case Threshing Machine Co.,Inc. ; Search this
Notes content:
Three containers OVERSIZE. Includes Case chronological history, 1819-1941. Early 20th century pieces include large pastoral images, images of Greek goddesses, Native Americans representing naturalism, development, bounty ; unique ;
Societa anonima Fabbrica Italiana automobili Fiat ; Fiat Stabilimento Grandi Motori ; Fiat Distributors, Inc. ; Fiat Motor Co., Inc. (New York, NY) ; Fiat (England) Ltd. (Wembley, Middlesex, United Kingdom) ; Fabbrica Automobili Lancia e Cia Search this
Notes content:
one item OVERSIZE ; some catalogs in Italian ; Bulldozers ; tractors ; shovels ; plows ; Diesel engines ; Ships and ships engines ; Rail cars ; Automobiles ; "Technical Bulletin" (1963-1966 scattered issues) ; "Fiat Grandi Motori News" (1965-1966 scattered issues) ; Two-stroke Fiat Turbocharged Engines of Medium and Large Bore ; Fiat Service Stations booklet for Asia, Africa, America, and Oceania
Includes:
Trade catalog, price lists, manual and histories
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
97 pieces; 3 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Torino, Italy
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Automobiles and automotive equipment (including trucks and buses) Search this
Boats and ships (including marine hardware and supplies) Search this
Construction and earth-moving machinery Search this
Engines and motors: steam; oil; gas; etc. Search this
Railroad; streetcar; subway and tramway equipment and supplies Search this
In 1985 Tenneco acquired the major assets of International Harvester's Farm Equipment Division. These included plants in E. Moline, IL (combines, cotton pickers, planters), Hamilton, ON (tillage and seeding), Croix, France (cabs), Neuss, Germany (tractors) and Doncaster, UK (tractors) plus parts distribution facilities worldwide. Also included were most modern machine tools and production assets from the Farmall Works which were transferred to the J.I.Case Racine Transmission and Assembly Plants. Other assets that were sold over time by IH were Cub Cadet to MTD, Construction Equipment Division to Dresser Industries and Solar.(Gas Turbine) Division to Caterpillar. The remaining part of International Harvester is the former Truck Division, which is now, renamed Navistar and which markets commercial trucks under the International brand. Search this
Case IH (Racine, WI) ; J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co., Inc. (Racine, WI) ; Tenneco Inc. (Huddersfield, United Kingdom) ; American Seeding Machine Co. (Richmond, IN) ; Wm. Deering & Co (Chicago, IL) ; Deering Harvester Co. (Plano, IL) ; Frank G. Hough Co. (Libertyville, IL) ; Kemp Co. ; J. S. Kemp Mfg. Co. (Newark Valley, NY) ; Keystone Co. (Rock Fall, IL) ; McCormick Harvester Co. (Chicago, IL) ; Milwaukee Harvester Co. (Milwaukee, WI) ; D. M. Osborne Co. (Auburn, NY) ; Parlin & Orendorff Co. (Canton, OH) ; Plano Mfg. Co. (Chicago, IL) ; Solar (San Diego, CA) ; Wain-Roy Corp. (Fitchburg, MA) ; Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Co. (Springfield, OH) ; Weber Wagon Co. (Chicago, IL) ; Longenecker, Charles I. (Milwaukee) ; Navistar ; Navistar International Harvester Corp. ; Osborne Div. (Indianapolis, IN) ; International Harvester Co. of America ; International Harvester Co. of Gt. Britain Ltd. (London, United Kingdom) ; International Harvester Co. of Canada, Ltd. Search this
Notes content:
OVERSIZE. Organized as follows: construction equipment ; Deering Harvester Co. (1880s-1890s) ; early farm equipment (before 1930) ; farm equipment (after 1930) ; engines ; farm tractors (before 1930) ; farm tractors (after 1930) ; Cub Cadet tractors ; history ; industrial tractors ; publications, e.g., "Harvester World," "International Harvester World," "IH Farm," "IH Farm Forum," "International Trail" ; trucks, motor coaches, and school buses ; "Red Power Round-Up Seventh Collector's Edition Show Book" (2002) ; 'Heavy Tractor MI (IHC TD-18) Power Train, track frame assembly and seats' (U.S. War Dept. ,1943) ; 'Ordnance Maintenance...IHC TD-18 equipment' (U.S. War Dept.,1943) ; Motor Trucks (Federal Contract TPS-47785)
James Cunningham, Son and Company (Rochester, New York) Search this
Extent:
10 Cubic feet (18 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Rochester (N.Y.)
Date:
1908-1964
bulk 1908-1929
Summary:
The collection consists of glass plate negatives and photographic prints of the glass plate negatives depicting horse-drawn hearses (funeral wagons), carriages, and ambulances and motorized vehicles produced by James Cunningham, Son and Company from approximately 1908 to 1929. The majority of the glass plates and photographic prints depict horse-drawn hearses, but there are some motorized vehicles.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of glass plate negatives and photographic prints of the glass plate negatives depicting horse-drawn hearses (funeral wagons), carriages, and ambulances and motorized vehicles produced by James Cunningham, Son and Company from approximately 1908 to 1929. The majority of the glass plates and photographic prints depict horse-drawn hearses, but there are some motorized vehicles.
There are approximately 335 glass plate negatives and the same number of photographic prints. It is unknown who created the photographic prints, but some of the glass plates were originally held at the Free Library of Philadelphia.
The glass plates are in three sizes: 5" x 7" 8" x 10" and 11" x 14". The glass plates and the photographic prints are arranged by an alpha-numeric system that was presumably developed by the company. In some instances, J.L. Hill is identified as a photographer.
In some instances, the model number, style and date are provided. Most images are side views, although there are some rear and interior views. Some glass plates are unidentified or missing. Some of the descriptions include lamp number information. Many carriages had mounted lamps or lanterns that were oil or battery powered. if a carriage was built for a specific person or company, such as W. H. Graham Company, this information is listed.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1, Glass Plates, A1 to A55, 1908-1929 and undated
Series 2, Glass Plates, B1 to B159, [1913?] and undated
Series 3, Glass Plates, C1 to C50, undated
Series 4, Glass Plates, D1 to D64, undated
Series 5, Glass Plates, E1 to E8, undated
Series 6, Photographic Prints, undated
Series 7: Background Materials, 1930s-1964
Biographical / Historical:
James Cunningham (1815-1886) was born in County Down, Ireland to Arthur and Ann Cunningham. He came to the United States in 1833 from Canada seeking work in the New York City area, where he had an uncle practicing architecture. In Canada, Cunningham had worked in woodwork design in a carpenter's shop east of Toronto in Cobourg, Ontario. Cunningham returned to Canada via Rochester, New York. While in Rochester, he was introduced to George Hanford and J.H. Whitbeck, entrepreneurs who set up the first coach-making shop in Rochester in 1834.
From 1834 to 1838 Cunningham worked as an apprentice and journeyman for George Hanford and J.H. Whitbeck. He formed a partnership with two of his fellow-workers, James Kerr and Blanchard Dean. Together they bought out Hanford and Whitbeck and made cutters, known as one-horse open sleighs and buggies. In 1842 Kerr and Blanchard resigned, and James Cunningham assumed full responsibility.
Cunningham married Bridget Jennings in 1838, and they had three children: Augustine, Joseph, and Margaretta. Cunningham's son, Joseph (1842?-1914) joined his father in the company and as a result, the company reorganized in 1866 as James Cunningham and Son. Joseph Cunningham became a full partner in 1868. Rufus Dryer (1846-1937) became a partner in 1875 when he married Margaretta Cunningham in the same year. There were branch offices with display rooms in Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Chicago, Des Moines, Kansas City, Topeka, Denver, and San Francisco. In 1876, Cunningham carriages and a hearse won prizes at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
In 1882, the firm was incorporated as James Cunningham, Son and Company. It was the largest industrial enterprise in Rochester, New York, both in its plant area and in capital. The firm continued to make carriages until 1915. Joseph Cunningham and Rufus Dryer retired in 1909, and the company, which had become a partnership, was reincorporated. Augustine Cunningham, son of Joseph Cunningham, was president, James Dryer (son of Rufus Dryer) vice-president, and Francis Cunningham (son of Joseph Cunningham) was secretary and general manager.
In 1908 the company began automobile production, not for the popular market, but for the type of customer that bought its carriages. The company did not mass-produce their automobiles. Intially, it made only automobile bodies and assembled the rest of the car from engines, transmissions, axles, and radiators made by proprietary companies. By 1910 it produced the entire automobile. In 1916 Cunningham produced a V-8 engine, and the Cunningham car became outstanding for its clean, classic lines. It was the first car to not have running-boards, using instead steps of brass-framed aluminum.
In the late 1920s Cunningham entered the aviation business and created a subsidiary, the Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation. The primary aim of the corporation was to build an airplane that would combine stability with speed. The first Cunningham-Hall plane designed with these requirements was a modified biplane: the lower wing was considerably larger than the upper and slotted, so that a current of air could be made to flow between its surfaces. This enabled the plane to land at low speeds. It was first tested in the small town of LeRoy, New York. Cunningham-Hall continued to make aircraft until 1938. Its X-14324, produced in 1934, was a low-wing monoplane made entirely of metal. The company also produced primary trainers, a six-place cabin plane, other passenger and cargo craft, and experimental planes for the Army and Navy. By the early 1930s the company had ceased to produce automobiles and funeral carriages/hearses.
Over the years Cunningham made a wide variety of products. During World War II, Cunningham found a temporary role in defense production. Prior to the war the compaay had produced a variety of odd products: safety belts for aircraft, diving helmets, even belt buckles for Boy Scout uniforms. During the Civil War the company made carriages for the Union armies, and the First World War, ambulances and automotive windlasses for observation balloons. More significant had been its experience of producing armored and tracked vehicles. In March 1928, Cunningham's first tank was tested at Aberdeen, Maryland. Equipped with a revolving turret and armed with a 37 millimeter cannon and a .30 caliber machine gun, it traveled twenty miles an hour, faster than any tank produced up to that time. In 1933, Cunningham developed a tank track, with light-weight rubber-block treads that allowed for even greater speeds. Cunningham also developed experimental half-tracks, cargo carriers, armored cars, and a weapons carrier for a 75 millimeter Howitzer.
In 1940 James Dryer retired. The corporation was dissolved in 1941 and replaced by a partnership, with Augustine and Francis Cunningham as co-partners. After World War II, the firm produced small farm and garden machines such as sickle-bar mowers, tractors, and rotary tillers. Cunningham also designed and produced a complete line of plumbing fixtures for house trailers in a constant effort to retool and redefine itself in the post-war years.
By 1952, the firm met Andrew W. Vincent, an electrical engineer with Stromberg-Carlson in Rochester. Vincent devoted himself to perfecting a small dial telephone system. The heart of this system was the crossbar switch. The company acquired Vincent's initial designs and patent applications and hired him as a consultant. The company restricted its production to creating prototypes of switching devices. The Cunningham crossbar was versatile. It had the ability to switch electrical information from low-level DC signals to 100 megacycles, reliably and at high speeds.
In 1968, Peter F. Cunningham, then president of the company, sold controlling interest to the Gleason Works, a Rochester-based manufacturer of machine tools. Under Gleason Works, the company was renamed Cunningham Corporation. In 1977, all Cunningham-related activities ended.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History, Division of Work & Industry
1929 Cunningham touring car. See accession #:310671.
Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Trade Literature Collection
Trade catalogs from James Cunningham Son & Company (See SILNMAHTL_12462)
Materials in Other Organizations
Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages
Includes drawings, a trade catalog, a cart, and a buggy from James Cunningham and Sons.
Detroit Public Library
Papers of the James Cunningham Company, 1902-1964 (bulk 1909-1946)
Includes notebooks of G. Carson Baker, chief designer and David Fergusson, chief engineer, patent applications, correspondence, drawings and blueprints related to Fergusson's work, parts and instruction books for early automobiles (including electric automobiles), photographs of Cunningham factories, military vehicles and motor trucks.
Rochester Museum and Science Center, Libraries and Collections Department
Local Business History vertical files hold items related to James Cunningham, Son and Company as well as books.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1973 by the Cunningham Company to the National Museum of American History, Division of Transportation.
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.
Photographs, publications and correspondence related to D. Ward King's invention the King Road Drag, or the Split-Oak drag, which improved rural travel in the early 20th century by introducing a simple design and low-effort system for grading poor-quality roads. The King Road Drag was promoted heavily across the United States and Canada via the "Good Roads Campaign" originally sponsored by the railroad companies in the early decades of the twentieth century.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains photographs, correspondence and articles documenting the road drag that D. Ward King invented to grade, drain water from, and improve the condition of rural roads in the early 20th century. Included are photographs of King, his family, the road drag, and the conditions of roads before and after treatment; a scrapbook containing letters and photographs; a blueprint of the road drag; as well as articles and reprints from various publications praising King's invention.
This collection would be of interest to researchers of the Good Roads movement, rural life and development in the early 20th century, and agricultural invention.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1907; 1909
Series 2: Publications, 1903; 1907-1917; 1999
Series 3: Photographs, circa 1905-1915; 1908-1910; 1919-1920
Series 4: Miscellaneous, 1907-1915
Biographical / Historical:
Born and educated in Springfield Ohio, David Ward King (1857-1920), who was known as D. Ward King, moved to rural Maitland, Missouri after his marriage in 1881 and began life as a farmer. In 1896, he demonstrated the use of his simple invention, dubbed the "King Road Drag" or the split-oak drag, which consisted of two split logs attached by crossbeams and hitched with a loop of chain to horses, to be dragged along a stretch of rutted muddy road until it was smooth. His rudimentary road grader had the effect not only of flattening and compacting muddy soil, but creating a crest in the center of the road, sloping down at each side, so that the next rain would run off the packed surface into the ditch. This basic scheme had a revolutionary effect on rural life--farmers were often mired in mud on the roads to their fields or into town, their most powerful draft horses unable to contend with wagon wheels sunken into deep ruts after heavy rains. Use of King's drag soon made their roads not only passable, but faster and safer to travel, which saved time and money for all in the community.
In 1903, King was employed by the Chicago and North Western Transportation Co. to promote his product across the country as part of their "Good Roads Campaign," giving lectures and demonstrations. King patented the King Road Drag (US Patent 884,497 and US Patent 1,102,671) in 1908 and later improved it in 1914. The United States Patent Office called his invention a "Road Grader," but King referred to it as a "split log drag," the "King Road Drag,"
Although King patented his invention, the simple design made it difficult to enforce patent rights, so farmers were encouraged to build and make use of their own versions of the road drag. Even after the railroads withdrew their support (the road drag's success had the effect of sending more potential passengers on the roads with their bicycles and cars, rather than riding the train), King made a decent living for years on the lecture circuit, presenting in 46 of the 48 then- existing states and Canada. His midwestern education made him an eloquent, dynamic speaker, and his talks were often sold out. The invention of the road drag and its almost evangelical use across the country has been credited for increased automobile use in the early part of the century, as well as the advent of parcel post delivery and mail-order catalogue supply to rural areas.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Helene W. King and Amy Burbank King in 2014.
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.
The collection documents the inventive career of physicist and engineer Robert W. Kearns. Kearns invented and patented in 1967 the windshield wiper system with intermittent operation (US 3,351,836), among other inventions. The papers include notebooks, correspondence, reports, memoranda, photographs, patents, drawings, and trade literature.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes notebooks, correspondence, reports, memoranda, photographs, patents, drawings, and trade literature. Kearns held patents related to circuitry which are integral to electronic intermittent windshield wipers. The windshield wiper documentation consists of patents, correspondence, and a set of drawings from November 16, 1967 for Tann Company. Other documentation includes Kearns's work with the engineering firm Kearns and Law (brochures, shop orders, agreements); his National Bureau of Standards work, which consists of his personnel file and notebooks detailing his highway skid resistance research; and subject files that cover a range of topics that interested Kearns, such as radar, speed control, and electric cars. At the heart of the collection are 32 invention notebooks (1963-1986) belonging to Kearns as well as engineers he worked with including John Quan, Brian Ivan Brown, and Timothy Kearns, son of Robert Kearns. Bound, paginated, and dated, the notebooks contain sketches, schematics, calculations, data, telephone numbers, and details about materials, costs, testing data, and descriptions for many of Kearns's projects. The notebooks present a comprehensive overview of his ideas and are significant to understanding his creative process and how his ideas changed or did not change over time. The majority of the notebooks are arranged in chronological order and therefore researchers can see Kearns's work unfold. Many of the notebooks are stamped with a "PO" to indicate a "protective order" followed by a number, and many of the notebooks were used during court proceedings. The protective order restricted access to notebooks which were filed with the court, or to be filed with the court at a future date.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1957-1991
Series 2: Notebooks, 1954-1994
Series 3: Patents, 1957-1985
Series 4: Kearns and Law Engineers, 1957-1962
Series 5: Kearns Engineers, 1967-1985
Series 6: National Bureau of Standards, 1967-1972
Series 7: Ford Motor Company (Engineering Technical Education Program), 1964-1966
Series 8: Windshield Wiper Materials (Kearns vs. Ford Motor Company), 1962-1993
Series 9: Subject Files, 1965-1999
Series 10: Correspondence, 1989-1999
Biographical / Historical:
Robert William Kearns was born in Gary, Indiana on March 10, 1927 to Martin W. Kearns and Mary E. Kearns. One of three children, Kearns grewup in the Detroit area, graduating from the University of Detroit, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (1952); Wayne State University, Masters of Science in Engineering Mechanics (1957); and Case Western Reserve University, Ph.D. in engineering (1964). Kearns also earned certificates in nuclear reactor control from Argonne National Laboratories (1958 and 1959). He was a Corporal in the United States Army, assigned to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the Strategic Services Unit (SSU); the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA.) from July 31, 1945 to November 29, 1946.
Prior to joining the military in 1945, Kearns worked at Mercury Engineering Company (1943-1945) in Detroit as a draftsman preparing engineering shop drawings. After the war, Kearns joined the H & A Tool and Die Company (1946-1947), also in Detroit, as a draftsman preparing engineering shop drawings for the manufacture of the individual parts for machinery and special dies. Through the University of Detroit Cooperative Program with the National Bureau of Standards, he participated in an engineer in training program (1949-1952) where he executed a variety of standardized tests on engineering materials. He held a variety of engineering positions: designer/draftsman with Peerless Design Company, Detroit (1952); junior engineer with Burroughs Corporation Research Laboratories, Philadelphia (1952-1953); and engineer with Bendix Aviation Corporation, Detroit (1953-1957) where Kearns supervised and directed of a group of engineers responsible for the design of computer components, servomechanisms, control systems and related devices. Other duties included planning, liaison with other Bendix divisions, establishing test equipment requirements, as well as technical specifications and reports. In 1957, Kearns joined the faculty of Wayne State University, Department of Engineering Mechanics, as an assistant professor (1957-1963), later becoming an associate professor (1963-1967).
Kearns also established two independent businesses, the engineering firms of Kearns and Law (1963-1976) and Computer Central (1965-1976). Founded with partner Kenneth J. Law, an electrical engineer, Kearns and Law provided industry with consultation, research, design, and development services in the fields of computers, automatic controls and instrumentation. Computer Central manufactured a series of control components such as the Linear Range Comparator, Sign or Equality Binary Comparator, Identity Comparator, Dual Brush V-Scan Encoder Electronics, Gray Code to Binary Code Encoder Electronics, and Digital Difference to Analog Converters. Kearns served as Detroit's Commissioner of Buildings and Safety Engineering (1967-1971), where he acted as an administrator, overseeing professional engineering activities such as building inspections. Kearns moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1971 to become principal investigator for the highway skid resistance program at the National Bureau of Standards, now the National Institute of Standards and Technology (1971-1976).
In 1967, Kearns invented and patented an electronic windshield wiper system with intermittent operation (US 3,351,836). Previous wiper systems were controlled by vacuum tubes. He installed his device on his 1962 Ford Galaxy and met with Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation in 1963 with the goal of manufacturing his idea and being a supplier to the auto industry. Kearns tried to commercialize the wiper through the Tann Corporation. In 1969, Kearns's intermittent windshield wiper was installed on Ford cars without his knowledge. He ultimately filed suit against Ford for patent infringement in 1978 (representing himself as Kearns Associates), seeking $141 million in damages (a figure eventually raised to $325 million). Kearns's purpose in pursuing litigation was not a cash award. Rather, he wanted the rightful ownership. In all, he filed lawsuits against 26 car manufacturers and other companies concerning the same patent (US 3,351,836). In July 1990, a federal jury ruled that Ford had unintentionally infringed on Kearns's patent and awarded him $10.2 million. In June 1992, Kearns was awarded $11 million from Chrysler. Kearns held over 30 patents, with the majority relating to windshield wipers.
Kearns died in 2005. He married Phyllis Hall (1932-2013) in 1953, divorcing in 1989. The couple had six children: Dennis Kearns (b.1954); Timothy Kearns (b.1956); Patrick Kearns (b.1958); Kathleen Corsetty (b. 1961); Maureen Kearns (b. 1964); and Bob Kearns (b. 1967).
Provenance:
Collection donated by the Estate of Robert W. Kearns, through Dennis Kearns and Maureen Kearns, 2016.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Transportation Search this
Extent:
0.5 Cubic feet (1 oversized folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Clippings
Date:
circa 1931-1935
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a scrapbook, circa 1931-1935, compiled by Doerr's mother and composed of news clippings relating to the Fisher Body Craftman's Guild and its competition. In addition, the collection includes on official program and guide for the 1932 competition and a copy of the 25th Anniversary Edition of Automobile Quarterly (1987) containing an article by John L. Jacobus describing the Craftman's Guild.
Biographical / Historical:
Raymond S. Doerr was one of four national winners of the General Motors Corporation's Fisher Body Craftman's Guild competition in 1931. The competition was for boys aged 12 to 18 in model building. As a prize Doerr was awarded a four year scholarship in engineering at the University of Michigan and later was employed by General Motors Corporation.
The Guild was in existence 1930-1968 with annual membership of about half a million boys who were potential entrants in the competition. They worked from Guild-supplied plans for a horse-drawn coach. In the post WWII years, the competition shifted to building model automobiles, designed individually by the contestants.
In 1968, the Guild was terminated by GM because of declining participation and poor model quality and possibly because it no longer served the company's commercial interests.
Provenance:
The Doerr scrapbook was given to NMAH by Raymond S. Doerr through John L. Jacobus who furnished a copy of Automotive Quarterly's 25th Anniversary Edition in 1987, containing his article on the Fisher Body Craftman's Guild. The material was received by NMAH's Transportation Division and transferred to the Archives Center, January 25, 1993.
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.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Early Aeronautical Newsclippings (Alexander Graham Bell) Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0086, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers document independent inventor Solomon Adler's work with sewing machine technology through correspondence, photographs, notes, drawings, sketches, patents, litigation records, and printed materials. The collection provides insight into both an independent inventor's process of invention and Japanese work culture during the post-World War II period.
Scope and Contents:
The papers include correspondence, photographs, notes, drawings, sketches, patents, litigation records, and printed materials, primarily documenting Adler's work with sewing machine technology. The papers provide insight into an independent inventor's process of invention and Japanese work culture during the post-World War II period.
Series 1, Personal Materials, 1920s-1950s and undated consists primarily of high school chemistry and biology notes, business cards, photographs, speeches, and writings of Sol Adler. The photographs contain one black-and-white portrait of Adler, November 1958, and two negatives of him from the nineteen teens; and one scanned copy of a photograph, circa the 1920s of Sol Adler with his children, R. Michael and Diane Zoe Adler. There is a small booklet, Agreement between Manufacturers Machine and Tool Co., Inc., and Amalgamated Machine and Instrument Local No. 475 from 1941. Adler worked for Manufacturers Machine and Tool Co., Inc.
Series 2, Inventions, is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, Other, 1919-1980 and undated, and Subseries 2, Sewing Machines, 1938-1962 and undated. Arranged chronologically, both subseries highlight Adler's inventive work. While the primary focus of Adler's invention work was on sewing machines, his interests were broad.
Subseries 2.1, Other Inventions, 1919-1980 and undated, contains documentation in the form of drawings and sketches, photographs, correspondence, and patents. Overall, the documentation is uneven. The inventions include a dividing head (a specialized tool that allows a workpiece to be easily and precisely rotated to preset angles or circular divisions); decorative window treatment; telescoping umbrella; can opener; question/answer machine; correlating device; radio station recording device; receptacle tap; fountain pen; television projection device; combined ash tray and cigarette holder; automatic machine gun; juice blender; thermonuclear idea; apparatus for producing pile fabric; an extensible, retractable and concealable table; and textile machinery.
Only some of Adler's inventions were patented. However, many of his ideas were well documented through drawings or descriptive text. In some instances prototypes were built.
The question and answer machine, 1939, was approximately three feet by four feet and was powered by a battery, the device was intended for educational use by children and adults. It used interchangeable answer cards on a broad range of subjects and informed the user of a correct and wrong answer by lights and a buzzer.
The correlating device, 1942, was designed for automobile use, and it combined driving directions and maps on a roll of paper data mounted on the dashboard. Although patented (US Patent 2,282,843), the device was never manufactured.
The radio station recording device, 1939, was a device to maintain a record of radio stations tuned on a radio receiver during a twenty-four hour period using recording disks.
The receptacle tap (Siphon-It), 1939, was patented (US Patent 2,184,263). The Siphon-It was designed to fit any size bottle, can, or the like containing fluids without removing the bottle cap. The "tap" punctured the bottle cap and was then turned like a screw several times. It allowed the contents under pressure to not lose carbonation and be poured easily.
The combined ash tray and cigarette holder and lighter, 1951, was Adler's only design patent (US Patent Des. 163,984). Purely ornamental, the tray would light and hold a cigarette.
The automatic machine gun, 1952, was conceived of by Adler and his son R. Michael Adler. The drawings and accompanying narrative text detail a method for cooling the gun through the use of an automatically operated gas turbine centrifugal air compressor and a gun of simple design with few parts and capable of an extremely high rate of fire. Adler submitted his drawings and text to the United States Army Ordance Department at the Pentagon, but it was not manufactured.
Adler's thermonuclear fusion proposal, a technical paper written in 1960, was never realized. The paper, titled "Attempt to Utilize the Concentrated Magnetic Field Around a Pinched Plasma Column as the Focal Point for Particle Acceleration," details through text and schematics Adler's ideas about a thermonuclear reactor. Additionally, there is correspondence, journal articles, newspaper articles, and a notebook with notes from other publications and some loose drawings related to thermonuclear issues.
An apparatus for producing pile fabric (US Patent 3,309,252), was patented in 1967. The intention of the apparatus was to create a method for producing carpets and rugs in a fast, practical, and inexpensive way.
Adler's work with non-woven textiles and fabrics (see US Patent 3,250,655) is well documented through correspondence, drawings, notes, fabric samples, and photographs. Adler founded the Adler Process Corporation in the 1960s as a research and development organization specializing in the development of products for domestic and industrial uses. The corporation also built machinery for the commercial production of the products which included pile fabric (such as carpeting), non-woven fabrics, and leather-like material. A prospectus details the "Adler Process."
Method and apparatus for production of pile carpeting and the like (US Patent 3,424,632, 3,592,374, and 3,655,490)
Subseries 2.2, Sewing machines, 1938-1962 and undated, consists primarily of documentation about the development of the Pacesetter sewing machine and its predecessors through correspondence, drawings and sketches, photographs, guide manuals, and promotional materials. Adler constructed skeletal aluminum models to better understand the functions and internal mechanisms of sewing machines. Between 1940 and 1948, he designed and constructed a sewing machine prototype, which he called his "Parent Machine." The Parent Machine would become known as the Pacesetter. Seven patents were awarded for the novel mechanisms contained within this prototype (US Patent 2,561,643), the most notable being for a compact sewing machine that could expand to a full-sized machine. Additional sewing machine inventions include the needleless sewing machine; a zig-zag sewing machine, and an attachment for a zig-zag sewing machine (US Patent 3,016,030).
While working as an engineer for the Brother International Corporation in Japan in the early 1950s, Adler developed the Pacesetter sewing machine. This portable machine was designed to meet the rapidly growing popularity of multiple decorative and embroidery patterns. A selector dial, which Adler called the "Wishing Dial," controlled sixteen internal cams, multiple cam selectors and followers to automatically sew thirty different basic decorative stitch patterns. Since the Pacesetter could sew both zigzag and straight stitches, varying the width and length of the basic patterns made it possible to create thousands of decorative variations. Adler introduced the Pacesetter sewing machine at the Independent Sewing Machine Dealers Show in New York, July 18, 1955.
Series 3: Brother International Corporation, 1954-1959 and undated
Started in 1908 by Kanekichi Yasui, the Yasui Sewing Machine Company manufactured and repaired sewing machines. The company was later renamed Yasui Brother Sewing Machine Company by Masayoshi Yasui, the eldest of Kanekichi's ten children, who inherited the company. The new name reflected the involvement and spirit of cooperation of other "brothers" in the Yasui family.
In 1934, the Yasui brothers liquidated the Yasui Brother Sewing Machine Company and created the Nippon Sewing Machine Company in Nagoya, Japan. Nippon emerged in response to a Japanese sewing machine market dominated by imported products, and it began mass producing industrial sewing machines. In 1941, Brother Sales, Ltd. was established as a sales outlet for the Japanese market, and in 1954 Brother International Corporation (BIC) was created as an exporting company with offices established in New York City. The company actively promoted exporting in advance of other Japanese companies.
Adler joined BIC in 1954 as a consultant for their product design and development work. This work was previously done in-house by design and engineering staff, so Adler, an American, was charting new territory. The materials in this series consist of corporate histories, and annual report, correspondence, product literature, conference materials, and notebooks maintained by Adler. The latter constitutes the bulk of the material along with the correspondence.
The "conference" materials document a meeting Adler attended, presumably in Japan in 1957. The file contains detailed notes about product marketing and production factors. A flow chart for "product coordinating factors" outlines the motivations, idea sources, management control, and execution of an idea generally.
The correspondence, 1954-1958, consists of letters and inter-company communications (memorandum), patents and drawings between Sol Adler, Max Hugel and the legal firm of, Kane, Dalsmier and Kane of New York. The correspondence relates almost exclusively to patenting matters, especially by Adler and legal matters involving Singer Sewing Manufacturing Company alleging that Brother International infringed on certain Singer-owned patents.
The notebooks of Solomon Adler, approximately 1951-1958, consists primarily of materials documenting Adler's work in Japan on sewing machines. The materials were assembled by Adler and titled "notebook." Some of the materials are three hole punched (indicating they may have been in a three-ring notebook) and are both handwritten and typescript. Also included are chronologies of his work; translations of Japanese words into English; drawings in pencil on tracing paper; sketches in pencil on scrap paper and letterhead; detailed notes about mechanisms and methods of sewing machine operation; business cards; comparative data for sewing machines; and correspondence.
Of note is the "digest" or chronology of events from 1958 to 1959 maintained by Adler to detail the alleged patent infringement of BIC on Singer Sewing machine patents. The digest also notes the value, author of a document, to whom it was sent, date, and a brief description. Adler created a ranking system for his digest, assigning different values, very important, urgent, important, and general. He also compiled a chart of competitor sewing machines by brand name. Many of the Japanese documents--patents and drawings--bear Adler's "chop" or rubber stamp with Japanese characters for his surname.
The Litigation Materials, 1952-1961 and undated, consists of documents (numbered exhibits) assembled by Adler for use in litigation against Brother International Corporation (BIC). The exhibits were used as documentary evidence in court, and the materials are primarily typescript notes and correspondence, newspaper clippings, articles, technical drawings by Adler, patents, photographs and some product literature detailing aspects of the BIC sewing machines.
In 1958, Singer Sewing Machine Company filed a lawsuit against Nippon Sewing Machine Company for patent infringement by BIC's Pacesetter and Select-O-Matic sewing machines. Adler, on behalf of Nippon, conducted extensive patent research into the allegations, working with BIC attorneys in New York as well as creating new sewing machine designs to overcome Singer's claims. In 1959, Singer filed another lawsuit alleging that Nippon was violating United States customs laws by shipping automatic zigzag sewing machines to the United States, which were alleged to infringe on Singer patents. Correspondence related to this patent infringement can be found in Series 3: Brother International Corporation.
Adler returned to the United States in April of 1959 as the representative for Nippon and the Japanese sewing machine industry to help prepare the case and act as a consultant. BIC and Singer representatives appeared before the United States Tariff Commission (USTC). Adler officially testified on behalf of BIC, explaining the three angle cam structure difference between the Singer #401 sewing machine and imported Japanese sewing machines. Adler's testimony was successful, and with patent problems resolved, Adler resigned from BIC in July of 1959 and commenced a long negotiation with the company for financial compensation for his invention work.
Series 5, Publications, 1953-1967, consists of select issues of theNew Japan Sewing Machine News, which followed developments in the Japanese sewing machine industry and other publications featuring articles and brief pieces about sewing machines in general.
References
(http://welcome.brother.com/hk-en/about-us/history.html last accessed on March 24, 2011)
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Personal Materials, 1920-1950s and undated
Series 2: Inventions, 1938-1980
Subseries 1: Other, 1938-1980
Subseries 2: Sewing, 1938-1962 and undated
Series 3: Brother International Corporation, 1952-1961
Series 4: Publications, 1953-1967
Biographical / Historical:
Solomon "Sol" Adler is probably best known for his sewing machine inventions, but his portfolio of work also includes ideas and patents for a fountain pen, a window treatment, a receptacle tap, a telescoping umbrella, an ashtray, a retractable table, and jewelry designs. Adler wrote fiction as well (mostly short stories) that reflected his experiences during the early 1900s in New York City. He filled pages with themes on social protest, radicalism, mobs, unions, poverty, and sweatshop operators. In 1958 Adler wrote about theories of nuclear physics, noting, "Indeed a very bold attempt and definitely a long way from sewing machines." Adler's flow of ideas was constant, and he sought to express them constantly.
Sol Adler was born on July 8, 1901, [Russian?] on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, one of Isaac and Mindel Adler's five children. Isaac was a tailor, so sewing machines were part of Sol's life from the beginning. As a young man, Adler apprenticed in machine shops, honing his skills until he became an expert machinist and toolmaker; these skills eventually allowed him to build the machines he visualized. Adler's design drawings show his precision as a draftsman and engineer (he attended the City College of New York) and provide good insight into the drawing abilities that he later used in preparing patent drawings. Adler also enjoyed metalworking. His home workshop boasted a geared lathe, tilling head machine, drill press, bench grinder, and an assorted hand tools.
Adler's work on sewing machines began in the late 1930s with tinkering with his sister-in-law Bess's treadle-operated Singer machine. Bess wanted a lightweight, motorized sewing machine that had enough space between the frame and the needle for large projects such as quilts. Using his own basement machine shop, Adler began building simple frameworks for sewing machines to understand better the relationships between the parts and their functions. Adler's first sewing machine (which he dubbed the "parent machine") earned U.S. Patent 2,561,643, issued in 1951. The machine was a full-size home machine, with a concealed motor and power cord that could also expand into a commercial-size machine. Six subsequent patents for subassemblies were derived from the "parent machine" over the next several years.
During the Second World War, Adler worked for Manufacturing Methods Technology (MM&T) as a development engineer and experimental machine shop supervisor.
Analyzing the evolving U.S. domestic sewing machine market gave Adler ideas for further inventions, refining the machines and adding new features. Unfortunately, success was elusive; his machine with zigzag and straight-stitch capability was rejected by several U.S. and European sewing machine manufacturers. But in 1954, Adler met Max Hugel, president of the Asiatic Commerce Corporation of New York, later known as Brother International Corporation (BIC), a subsidiary of the Nippon Company. Nippon wanted to solve certain design and operational problems it was having in developing a zigzag sewing machine for sale in the United States. Adler joined BIC, moved to Japan, and succeeded in helping correct the design issues. Adler named the machine the "Select-O-Matic" because by turning a few knobs, an operator could select one of the six patterns that the machine produced.
Adler stayed with BIC until 1959, and worked on a variety of sewing machines, including an automatic zigzag machine and the versatile "Pacesetter," which was unveiled in the United States to great acclaim at the Sewing Machine Show in New York City on July 18, 1955 (a version of the Pacesetter is still sold by Brother). Additionally, he worked on a line of industrial and domestic sewing machines, home washing machines, home knitting machines, and other small appliances. Adler earned several Japanese patents for his work.
Among Adler's writings is a pronouncement of his passion for invention: "When an idea is conceived by an inventor, it never leaves him in peace, it possesses him day and night until it is expressed, after which he enjoys a sense of relief and accomplishment."
Sewing machine needle bar operating mechanism (2,554,971)
Sewing machine (2,561,643)
Sewing machine (2,709,978)
Attachment for zigzag sewing machines (3,016,030)
Sewing machine (3,053,207) assigned to Nippon Sewing Machine Manufacturing Company
Sewing machine (3,055,325) assigned to Nippon Sewing Machine Manufacturing Company
Method and apparatus for making non-woven fabric (3,236,711)assigned to Adler
Process Corporation
Method for producing non-woven fabric (3,250,655)
Method and apparatus for producing pile fabric (3,309,252) assigned to Adler Process Corporation
Method and apparatus for production of pile fabric and the like (3,424,632) assigned to Adler Process Corporation
Combined ashtray, cigarette holder and lighter (Des. 163,984)
Separated Materials:
The Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds artifacts related to this collection, including several sewing machine prototypes, the Siphon-It and the combination ashtray, lighter and cigarette holder. See Accession numbers: 2009.0118 and 2009.0114.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by R. Michael Adler and Diane Zoe Adler, September, 2009. Additonal materials were donated by R. Michael Adler in 2012.
Restrictions:
The 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.
