Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
The Robinson and Via Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Preservation of the 8mm films in this collection was made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Film Preservation Fund.
0.49 Boxes (consisting of 1 box, 1 oversize folder, 1 map case folder, plus digital images of some collection material. )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business ephemera
Ephemera
Date:
circa 1850-1954
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Cash Registers forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
This material consists primarily of printed advertisements, scattered correspondence on letterhead stationery, catalogues, annual reports, handbills, booklets, bulletins, order forms, price lists, postcards and lithographs from manufacturers and dealers of cash registers . There is quite a bit of material from the National Cash Register Company. Some of the companies sold correct posture chairs and accounting machine desks for use with cash registers and similar machinery. The cash register is advertised as a cure-all to hand posted accounting systems eliminating duplication of work, errors in mental computations and illegible records. The companies also tended to sell a variety of other office and business machinery including check writing and signing machines, analysis machines, comptometers, bookkeeping machines, adder machines, cash drawers, posting machines, bank-bookkeeping machines and postage meter machines.
A few companies issued publications for all concerned in the cash register industry . Adder Machine Company produced bulletins titled "The Wales Way" which was named after their Wales machinery. The National Cash Register Company distributed a number of publications including "The National Cash Register", a journal which showed illustrations of company operations, employees and some usual features which included a kindergarten run by the company. "The Businessmen's N. C. R." assisted retail storekeepers make more money, create good window displays, increase profits and recognize the value of modern methods and machinery. "The N C R Weekly" was published for employees as well as customers, cash register manufacturers and the general public. All of these publications heavily advertise the company's products. The National Cash Register Company also published a book on principle nations of the world and their coinage.
The bulk of the material is late nineteenth and early twentieth century. There is one folder of general images and one folder of miscellaneous items.
Arrangement:
Materials are organized alphabetically by name of company.
Materials in the Archives Center:
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Cash Registers is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.