Search Results

Creator:

Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated  Search this

Lockwood-Greene Company  Search this

Whitman, David  Search this

Greene, Stephen  Search this

Lockwood, Amos  Search this

Former owner:

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

Subseries 2.1: Photo Albums, 1906-1934

Subseries 2.2: Photographic Files, 1881-1956

Subseries 2.3: Spartanburg Office Photographic File, 1948-1974

Subseries 2.4: Spartanburg Office Photographic File, 1919-1999

Subseries 2.5: Project Negatives and Transparencies, 1956-1970

Subseries 2.6: Project Slides and Transparencies, 1985-2001

Subseries 2.7: Project Slides and Transparencies, Culls, 1974-2001

Subseries 2.8: Project Slides and Transparencies, Corporate Photography, 1976-1998

Subseries 2.9: Photograph Album Covers, 1920, undated

Series 3: Job Files, 1872-1957, undated

Subseries 3.1, Specifications, 1913-1942, undated

Subseries 3.2: List of Drawings, 1872-1951, undated

Subseries 3.3: Project Files, 1919-1969, undated

Subseries 3.4: Reports, 1913-1969

Subseries 3.5: Job Cost Records, 1913-1957, undated

Series 4, Corporate Records and History, 1881-2004, undated

Subseries 4.1: Meeting Minutes, 1913-1995

Subseries 4.2: Corporate Files, 1891-2004, undated

Subseries 4.3: Historical Research and Reference Files and Photographs, 1881-1983, undated

Subseries 4.4: Corporate Publications, 1917-2001, 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.

Topic:

Architects  Search this

Architecture, Commercial  Search this

Architecture, Domestic  Search this

Building materials  Search this

Buildings  Search this

Construction industry  Search this

Company towns  Search this

Textile mills  Search this

Mills  Search this

Manufacturing industries  Search this

Industrial engineering  Search this

Industrial buildings -- Design and construction  Search this

Industrial buildings  Search this

Engineering  Search this

Factories -- Power supply  Search this

Factories -- Design and construction  Search this

Factories  Search this

Cotton textile industry  Search this

Commercial buildings  Search this

Electric power production  Search this

Genre/Form:

Linen tracings

Paper flimsies

Business records

Design drawings

Blueprints

Patents

Specifications

Reports

Photograph albums

Photographs -- 21st century

Photographs -- 20th century

Trade literature

Photographs -- 1890-1900

Citation:

Lockwood Greene Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:

Preservation of this collection was made possible in part by a generous gift from CH2M HILL.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1113

See more items in:

Lockwood-Greene Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85090342a-0c7e-4667-8b37-fa0e8309b5ac

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1113

Creator:

Leonard, Ronald J.  Search this

Donor:

Leonard, Leona  Search this

Extent:

5 Cubic feet (12 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Diagrams

Design drawings

Notes

Lecture notes

Reports

Slides (photographs)

Date:

1966-2000

Summary:

The collection documents Ronald J. Leonard's work at Travenol Laboratories and Sarns/3M, developing pumps and oxygenators used in cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents Ronald J. Leonard's work at Travenol Laboratories and Sarns/3M, developing pumps and oxygenators used in cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. The papers include diagrams and design drawings, reports, test data, patent applications, lecture notes, correspondence, photographs, and slides.

Arrangement:

Materials are arranged in chronological order. The collections is arranged into 5 series:

Series 1: Personal Materials, 1966-1996

Series 2: Patent Materials, 1988-2000

Series 3: Project Files, 1969-1998

Series 4: Writings/Lectures/Presentations, 1985-1997

Series 5: Travenol Company Materials, 1967-1995

Biographical / Historical:

Ronald James Leonard was a biomedical engineer and inventor, born on August 17, 1939, in Cuba, New York, a son of Margaret and Roy Leonard. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson College of Technology in Potsdam, New York, in 1961. He continued his education at Northwestern University in 1962, receiving his Master's in Mechanical Engineering. However, the majority of his work experience was centered in the biomedical engineering field.

He worked for the Naval Ordinance Lab in 1961, Allis-Chambers Research Division from 1962 to 1966, Travenol Laboratories from 1967 to 1985, and the Sarns/3M Company from 1985 to 1997. His early work at Allis-Chambers dealt with fuel cell power supplies. When he worked at Travenol Laboratories, a part of Baxter International Inc., and at the Sarns/3M Company, he helped develop and manufacture several medical devices and products for people with specific disorders, diseases, and conditions. He also worked as an adjunct assistant professor for Northwestern Technological Institute. In his retirement years, he did consulting work. He was also a member of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs and the International Society for Artificial Organs (now known as the International Federation for Artificial Organs).

Leonard designed and patented several devices, including blood oxygenators and heat exchangers, as well as the hollow fiber tubing within the oxygenator. He held more than thirty U.S. patents. Much of his work was dedicated to improving and perfecting these devices, which were widely used for bypass surgeries and aided the lives of many Americans. His dedication to his work, constant research, and developments is clear in the many devices, studies, and years of service he provided.

Ronald J. Leonard passed away, January 14, 2007, at INOVA Fairfax Hospital, when he was 67 years old.

Separated Materials:

The Division of Medicine and Science holds artifacts related to this collection (Accession #: 2007.0106.01-13) documenting oxygenators, heat exchangers, an artificial heart valve, and vascular graft.

Provenance:

Donated to the Archives Center in 2007 by Leona Leonard.

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:

Medical innovations  Search this

Medical instruments and apparatus  Search this

Heart -- Surgery  Search this

Cardiology  Search this

Medical Equipment  Search this

Genre/Form:

Diagrams

Design drawings

Notes

Lecture notes

Reports

Slides (photographs)

Citation:

Ronald J. Leonard Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1109

See more items in:

Ronald J. Leonard Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8bdfb4ecf-a6c9-4ac0-bd73-fe33522b4753

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1109

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-09-29T05:22:24.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_Qdkgdl6HsKM

Author:

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Subject:

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Physical description:

62 p illustrations (part color), map, plans (part color) 29 cm

Type:

Designs and plans

Dessins et plans

Architectural drawings

Place:

United States

États-Unis

Date:

1971

Topic:

Art museum architecture  Search this

Architecture des musées d'art  Search this

Call number:

N610 .A85

N610.A85

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_7842

Author:

Rice, Robert B., 1900-1976  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry  Search this

Extent:

30.1 Cubic feet (81 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Personal papers

Date:

1915 - 1954

Summary:

Personal papers and correspondence (ca. 1946-1953) of Rice; publications, mostly on Diesel engines, their components and technical problems; material from Rice's academic career; directories of Diesel engine manufacturers and brochures describing their products; technical manuals and reprints of technical articles.

Scope and Contents:

The collection contains personal papers and correspondence, c. 1946 1953, of Robert B. Rice, as well as publications about diesel engines, their components and technical problems, dating from 1915 1954. It also includes academic material: class notes, examination questions, and theses required for the masters degree. There are directories of manufacturers of diesel engines, both foreign and domestic, and copies of brochures and technical manuals describing their products. Diesel engine applications in road transportation, railroads, electrical generation, ships, and aircraft are described in numerous brochures and published articles. Technical articles on diesel fuels (including coal) and lubricants are also included. There are numerous papers on other types of internal combustion engines.

Included are specifications, parts lists, instruction books, design data, pamphlets, test data, and drawings for American and foreign diesel engines, parts, and accessories, 1936 1947; research reports, trade literature, facts sheets, articles, test data, catalogs, and handbooks on disel engines for railroad, aircraft, and marine use, 1926 1967; diesel engine charts, 1943 1945; and materials on metals, fuel lubrication, jet propulsion, steam engines, turbines, and thermodynamic and heat power problems.

The collection is arranged into seven series. Series 1, Indexes and Directories, consists primarily of catalogues of diesel engines. Series 2 is composed of Rice's Professional and Academic Material. Series 3, Diesel Engines, consists of information on manufacturers of diesel engines; this information is sub divided into U.S. and foreign manufacturers and it is arranged alphabetically. Series 4 -6 provide information on Electric Utility Generator Units, Diesel Components and Technical Problems, and Fuels and Lubricants. Series 7, Reference Materials, is divided into Files and Blueprints, Manuals and Publications, and Design Drawings and Technical Data for the DZ 710 Aircraft Diesel.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into seven series.

Series 1: Indexes and directories

Series 2: R.B. Rice professional and academic material

Series 3; Diesel engines (by manufacturer)

Series 4: Electric utility generator units

Series 5: Diesel components and technical problems

Series 6: Fuels and lubricants

Series 7: Reference materials

Biographical / Historical:

Rice was a consulting engineer and professor of engineering at Newark College of Engineering, 1928-1936, and at North Carolina State University, 1937-1956.

Related Materials:

The Archives Center also holds collection #308, the Robert B. Rice Film Collection, 1936-1945. In addition, there is a small group of Rice's papers, primarily concerned with his academic career, in the Archives of North Carolina State University at Raleigh.

Provenance:

Collection donated by Robert B. Rice, October, 1972.

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:

Diesel motor  Search this

Engineers -- 1910-1960  Search this

Internal combustion engines  Search this

Engineering -- 1910-1960  Search this

Genre/Form:

Personal papers -- 20th century

Citation:

Robert B. Rice Papers, 1915-1954, Archives Center, National Museumof American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0322

See more items in:

Robert B. Rice Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep816dac5d7-ab6b-48f7-9f7b-3c5098c7f94f

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0322

Creator:

Stone, William R., 1920-2006  Search this

Raytheon Company  Search this

Donor:

Hoffman, Robin  Search this

Extent:

0.6 Cubic feet (2 boxes )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Articles

Design drawings

Graphs

Memorandums

Notes

Patents

Photographs

Reports

Specifications

Trade literature

Date:

1967-1989, undated

Summary:

Collection contains records, drafts, notes, and blueprints from the work William Stone did for Raytheon Co. involving industrial applications for microwaves.

Scope and Contents:

Papers documenting William R. Stone's involvement in the invention and development of the microwave for industrial and home use. The collection includes biographical information; patents, and other invention related papers; photographs; design drawings; internal company papers and memoranda; Stone's research and reports, especially on the subject of microwave safety; and trade literature relating to products for both industrial and home use.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 9 series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1969-1985

Series 2: Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 1981-1985

Series 3: Conferences and Symposiums Conferences and Symposiums, 1969-1980

Series 4: Literature for the Trade, 1967-1986, undated

Series 5: Consumer Materials Consumer Materials, 1979-1980, undated

Series 6: Notes and Drafts 1971-1981, undated

Series 7: Raytheon Company, 1969-1989, undated

Series 8: Industrial Reports and Statndards, 1951-1984

Series 9: Other Materials, 1971, undated

Biographical / Historical:

William Robert Stone (1920-2006) was an engineer for Raytheon. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Nathan and Ida Stone and attended Northeastern University for his AEE and BBA in 1953 and 1956 respectively. Stone also took classes at Northeastern's Graduate School of Engineering from 1956-1958. He and Pauline Blackman (1926-2013) married in 1945 and had one daughter.

He was involved in the invention and development of microwave ovens for industrial uses, such as for ink drying, rubber vulcanization, and later for home use. Stone published research on the industrial food applications of microwaves, specifically on oyster shucking and in outer space.

Related Materials:

Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History Servodyne Corporation Records (NMAH.AC.0839)

Provenance:

Donated to the Archives Center in 2014 by Robin Hoffman, William Stone's daughter.

Restrictions:

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

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:

Engineers -- 20th century  Search this

Microwave equipment industry  Search this

Microwave heating  Search this

Microwave ovens  Search this

Microwave oven industry  Search this

Safety  Search this

Genre/Form:

Articles -- 1950-2000

Design drawings -- 20th century

Graphs

Memorandums -- 1950-2000

Notes

Patents -- 20th century

Photographs -- 20th century

Reports

Specifications

Trade literature

Citation:

William R. Stone Microwave Oven Papers, 1967-1989, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1320

See more items in:

William R. Stone Microwave Oven Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c760eb63-1196-4c03-82fe-5b53d89bce90

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1320

Creator:

Baer, Ralph H., 1922-2014  Search this

Extent:

16 Cubic feet (45 boxes and 1 oversize folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Audiotapes

Audiocassettes

Cd-roms

Diagrams

Drawings

Interviews

Videotapes

Correspondence

Sketches

Photographs

Oral history

Notes

Manuals

Date:

1943 - 2015

Summary:

Ralph H. Baer was a German-born ordnance specialist, inventor, and engineer. He was a pioneer of early videogame technology. The papers include autobiographical materials; firearms notes, manuscripts, and photographs; and videogame and television engineering notes, diagrams, schematics, and video documentation.

Scope and Contents:

The Ralph Baer Papers include autobiographical materials and an extended oral history interview. The Papers also include materials about military small arms created by Baer during his World War II service. The largest portion of the collection documents Baer's work on video games.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 12 series.

Series 1: Autobiographical Documents, 1962-2006

Subseries 1.1: Manuscript, book and other documents, 1962-2006

Subseries 1.2: Other Media: CDs, VHS videos, periodical, 1991, 2000-2003

Series 2: WW II Small Arms Documents, 1943-1953

Subseries 2.1: Correspondence, 1950-1953

Subseries 2.2: Writings and notes, 1943-1948

Subseries 2.3: Drawings and schematics, undated

Subseries 2.4: Manuals and encyclopedias, 1943

Subseries 2.5: Photographs, 1945

Series 3: Hans Otto Mauksch Materials, 1944-1964

Subseries 3.1: Personal background information, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1964

Subseries 3.2: Instructional materials, 1944-1946, undated

Subseries 3.3: Ft. Riley, Kansas, 1946, 1953

Series 4: TV Game Documents, 1966-1972

Subseries 4.1: Working notes, diagrams and schematics, 1966-1971

Subseries 4.2: Administrative documents, 1966-1972 Subseries 4.3: Notebooks, 1966-1968

Subseries 4.4: TV game development documentation, 1966-1968

Series 5: Sanders Associates, Transitron, and Van Norman Industries, 1952-2003

Series 6: Product Development Documents, 1974-2015

Series 7: Product Guides and Technical Support, 1943-2011

Series 8: Legal and Patent Documents, 1966-2014

Series 9: Writings and Notes, 1946-1999

Series 10: Miscellaneous, 1961-2012

Series 11: Correspondence, 1983-2014

Series 12: Publicity and Awards, 1979-2015

Biographical / Historical:

Ralph H. Baer (1922-2014) was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1938. A graduate of the National Radio Institute (1940), Baer worked as a radio technician in the New York City area, servicing all types of home and auto radios. During World War II, Baer served in the United States Army, one year stateside, and two years in Europe. He was assigned to Military Intelligence and became an expert on military small arms. Baer returned to the United States with eighteen tons of foreign small arms for use in exhibits at Aberdeen, Maryland; Springfield, Massachusetts Armory; and Ft. Riley, Kansas.

After the war, Baer attended the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago, graduating with a BS in television engineering. In 1949, Baer joined a small electro medical equipment firm, Wappler, Inc., as their chief engineer. He designed and built surgical cutting machines, epilators, and low frequency pulse generating muscle-toning equipment. In 1951, Baer moved to Loral Electronics of Bronx, New York as a senior engineer, designing power line carrier signaling equipment for IBM. During 1952-1956, Baer worked at Transitron, Inc., in New York City as a chief engineer and later as vice president. In 1956, Baer joined Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire building airborne radar components. He became manager of the Electronic Design Department at Sanders and eventually Division Manager and Chief Engineer for Equipment Design. Baer retired in 1987.

At Sanders in 1966, Baer began an independent project experimenting with ways for consumers to interact with standard home television sets. Development of interactive TV Game (TVG) ideas became a company-supported project continued by Baer and assisted by William H. Harrison and William T. Rusch (download the TV Game chronology prepared by Ralph Baer in 2006). By mid-1967, ping pong videogames were played inside Sanders, patent disclosures were applied for, and hardware was designed. Baer and his associates called the devices they were developing "boxes" and numbered the various versions one through seven. In 1971, Magnavox became Sanders Associates's first videogame licensee. Between 1972 and 1975, Magnavox produced and sold over 700,000 units of Odyssey, a set of games played on its television receivers. Atari became a licensee in 1976 after the first of many lawsuits won by Sanders in pursuit of patent infringements.

During his tenure at Sanders and thereafter, Baer was a prolific inventor. His creations included many electronic toys and games and other consumer electronic products. Among the better known products based on Baer's work are Milton Bradley's Simon, Galoob's Smarty Bear Video, and Kenner's Laser Command. In 2004 President George W. Bush awarded Baer the National Medal of Technology.

Baer married Dena Whinston in 1952 and they had three children, James, Mark, and Nancy. Ralph Baer died on December 6, 2014, at the age of 92.

Related Materials:

Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Ralph H. Baer Innovative Lives Presentation, August 15, 2009 (NMAH.AC.1179)

The presentation documents a moderated conversation about Baer's life and work. Baer reenacts, with his partner William Harrison, the first time he played "Odyssey," the first home video game for the consumer market, which he invented, and answers questions from the audience. Materials include original video (born digital), master videos, and reference videos.

Materials at Other Organizations

Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play at The Strong

Ralph H. Baer Papers, 1968-2010 inclusive; 1975-1998 bulk

The Ralph H. Baer papers are a compilation of correspondence, game designs, drawings, notes, reference materials, photographs, product descriptions, digital videos, schematics, electronic components, and manuals utilized by Ralph H. Baer throughout his lengthy career in the toy and game industry. The bulk of the materials are from 1975 through 1998.

U.S. Ordnance Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia

Materials consist of data on foreign small arms brought back from Europe in 1946 by Ralph H. Baer.

Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, New York

Holdings include set of seven recreations of "TV game" prototypes originally created between 1966 and 1969, donated by pioneering game developer Ralph Baer. One of Baer's game prototypes, known as the "Brown Box," was licensed by Magnavox and released in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey, the world's first commercial home video game console.

University of Texas, Austin, Briscoe Center for American History

Ralph H. Baer "Brown Box" replica, 1952-1983, 2006-2012

The Ralph H. Baer "Brown Box" replica includes a fully-functional replica of Ralph Baer's "Brown Box," the prototype video game console that was used as the basis of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. The collection also contains related research materials.

Separated Materials:

The Division of Medicine and Science holds artifacts related to this collection including early video game prototypes and TV Game products.

TV Game Unit #1 (TVG#1); 1966; vacuum tube spot generator with Heathkit IG-62 Generator (See Accession 2006.0102.01)

Heathkit IG-62; used with TVG #1 (See Accession 2006.0102.02)

TV Game Unit #2 (TVG #2), aka the "Pump Unit," 1967; large aluminum chassis with wooden "pump" handle (See Accession 2006.0102.03)

TV Game Unit #7 (TVG#7), aka "Brown Box," 1967/1968; prototype for Magnavox Odyssey (See Accession 2006.0102.04)

Cardboard program cards for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.05)

Lightgun, 1967/1968; game accessory for Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.06)

TV Game Unit #8, 1968; "de/dt" (velocity responsive) ballgame chassis for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.07)

Magnavox Odyssey (Model ITL200) video game unit, 1972; with all accessories in the original carton (See Accession 2006.0102.08)

Milton-Bradley Company SIMON handheld microprocessor-control game, 1978 (See Accession 2006.0102.09)

Ideal Toy Company MANIAC microprocessor-control game, 1979, in original box with game instructions (See Accession 2006.0102.10)

Golf Game accessory, 1968; golf ball mounted on joystick handle for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.11

"Brown Box" programming card, target shooting, 1967 (See Accession 2006.0102.12)

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Ralph H. Baer in 2003.

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. Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Books  Search this

Firearms  Search this

Games  Search this

Litigation  Search this

Inventions -- 20th century  Search this

Machine guns  Search this

World War, 1939-1945  Search this

Weapons  Search this

Video games  Search this

Toys -- 20th century  Search this

Television -- History  Search this

Rifles  Search this

Pistols  Search this

Military intelligence  Search this

Genre/Form:

Audiotapes

Audiocassettes

CD-ROMs

Diagrams

Drawings -- 1940-1950

Interviews -- 2000-2010

Videotapes

Correspondence -- 1950-2000

Sketches

Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1940-1950

Photographs -- 20th century

Oral history -- 2000-2010

Notes

Manuals -- 1940-1950

Citation:

Ralph H. Baer Papers, 1943-2015, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0854

See more items in:

Ralph H. Baer Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep82f137fe4-60d3-4527-aa78-fed55d4b4fef

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0854

Creator:

Park-Brannock.  Search this

Park, Ernest N.  Search this

Brannock, Otis C.  Search this

Brannock, Charles F., 1903-1992  Search this

Brannock Device Company.  Search this

Names:

Selby Shoe Company  Search this

United States. Armed Forces -- Supplies and stores  Search this

United States. Army -- Supplies and stores  Search this

Extent:

12 Cubic feet (34 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Patents

Trademarks

Slides (photographs)

Advertisements

Sales records

Photographs

Photographic prints

Filmstrips

Design drawings

Date:

1925 - 1998

Summary:

The Brannock Device Company began with the 1925 invention of the Brannock Device, a tool to measure foot length and width at the same time, by inventor and businessman Charles F. Brannock. Early in his career Brannock worked as a shoe salesman at the Park-Brannock shoe store, and in 1962 he became the CEO of the company. This collection documents both the Park-Brannock store and the Brannock Device. Materials in The Brannock Device Company Records, 1925-1998, include of correspondence, design drawings, United States and foreign patents and trademarks, advertisements, product information, sales records, photographs, and a film strip documenting the invention, promotion, and sale of the Brannock Device as well as the concurrent development of Park-Brannock as a leading shoe store in Syracuse, N.Y.

Scope and Contents:

The Brannock Device Company Records, 1925-1998, consist of correspondence, design drawings, United States and foreign patents and trademarks, advertisements, product information, sales records, photographs, and a film strip documenting the invention, promotion, and sale of the Brannock Device as well as the concurrent development of Park-Brannock as a leading shoe store in Syracuse, NY. The collection is useful to researchers for its stories of invention and entrepreneurship and its exemplification of the patent and trademark process in the United States and internationally in the early 20th century. The process of manufacturing and marketing in the shoe industry, and manufacturing of military supplies during World War II is also highlighted.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into two subgroups.

Subgroup 1, The Brannock Device Company, 1925-1998

Series 1: Historical Background, 1928-1995

Series 2: Operational Records, 1926-1980

Subseries 1: Book for Recording Devices on Hand, 1927-1929

Subseries 2: Correspondence, 1926-1951

Subseries 3: Census, 1947-1980

Subseries 4: Insurance Inventory, 1956

Subseries 5: Royalties Accrued, 1946-1951

Subseries 6: Time Records, 1952-1958

Subseries 7: Notes, undated

Series 3: Product Development Records, 1925-1981

Subseries 1: Competitors' Devices and Other Products, c. 1928-1981

Subseries 2: Fitting Stool, 1936-1947

Subseries 3: Design, 1925-1975

Subseries 4: Manufacture, 1927-1959

Series 4: Advertising and Marketing Records, 1926-1998

Subseries 1: Correspondence, 1926-1998

Subseries 2: Mailing Lists, 1947-1950

Subseries 3: Ideas and Copy, undated

Subseries 4: Printed Materials with the Brannock Device Name (stationery, business cards, leases), undated

Subseries 5: Advertisements and Product Information, 1934-1980

Subseries 6: Measuring Device Instructions, undated

Subseries 7: Advertising and Merchandising Plans, 1938-1956

Series 5: Sales and Distribution Records, 1925-1986

Subseries 1: United States--Private Sector, 1925-1973

Subseries 2: United States--Military, 1928-1972

Subseries 3: Foreign, 1937-1986

Series 6: Photographs, c. 1930-1997

Subseries 1: Personal, undated

Subseries 2: Foot-Measuring Devices, undated

Subseries 3: Military, undated

Subseries 4: Employees and Factory, undated

Subseries 5: Negatives of Brannock Device, 1933-1958

Subgroup 2, Park-Brannock Shoe Store Records, 1916-1918, 1927-1981

Series 1: Historical Background, 1936-1981

Series 2: Operational Records, 1936-1972

Subseries 1: Financial Materials, 1936-1972

Subseries 2: Financial Materials, 1937-1961

Subseries 3: Business Course Tailored to Park-Brannock, undated

Subseries 4: Business Course Tailored to Park-Brannock, 1935-1961

Subseries 5: New York City Business Trips, 1945-1952

Subseries 6: Miscellaneous Notes, undated

Series 3: Advertising and Marketing Records, 1933-1962

Series 4: Sales Records, 1916-1977

Subseries 1: Customer Correspondence, 1928-1977

Subseries 2: Supplier Correspondence, 1927-1944

Subseries 3: Florsheim Sales Instruction Manual, undated

Subseries 4: Inventories, 1961

Subseries 5: Promotions, undated

Subseries 6: Receipts, 1916-1918

Subseries 7: Sales Floor Management, undated

Series 5: Photographs, 1932-1967

Biographical / Historical:

The Brannock Device Company began with the 1925 invention of the Brannock Device by Charles F. Brannock. Charles Brannock was working as a salesman in the Park-Brannock shoe store, co-owned by his father Otis C. Brannock and Ernest N. Park, in Syracuse, New York when he saw the need for an improved foot-measuring device. The Brannock Device soon gained favor over size-sticks because it measured foot length and width at the same time. Additionally, it measured heel-to-ball length, a feature which aided in fitting heeled shoes.

Charles F. Brannock (1903-1992) was an inventor and businessman. He began tinkering with the idea of a new foot-measuring device while attending Syracuse University, where he would get up in the middle of the night and work on sketches and calculations. Brannock obtained a patent for the device on August 28, 1928, but by then manufacture and sale of the device was already underway. Brannock assembled the device in the Park-Brannock shoe store and gave the device a trial on the sales floor. In 1926, Charles Brannock began offering the device to shoe retailers first on a rental basis and then by sale through the use of salesmen who lived throughout the country and each covered a geographic area. By 1929, the company began to phase out salesmen because it offered quantity discounts to shoe companies which distributed the devices to their stores at a lower price than salesmen could offer.

Brannock sold his device internationally beginning in 1929 through Mr. I. Singer of London, England. In 1936 distribution rights transferred to Henry Maitland Marler of Feature Shoes Limited of London, an affiliate of the Selby Shoe Company. Renewing and protecting foreign trademarks proved to be a legal challenge. Due to some confusion, Brannock's British patent was allowed to lapse. In order to prevent other companies from using the Brannock name in England, H.M. Marler set up Brannock Fitting Device Limited in October 1937. The company began manufacturing Brannock Devices in January 1946, but royalties accrued through European sale by 1951 did not even cover a third of the cost of trademarks, patents, and designs.

Fortunately for the Brannock Device Company, these costs were absorbed by the Selby Shoe Company, with whom it had entered into agreements about foreign distribution in November 1941. Selby had exclusive rights to distribute the Brannock Device in South America, South Africa, and other countries, and assisted Brannock in securing trademarks in many foreign countries.

In 1933 a United States Navy captain asked a shoe salesman to find the source of many sailors' foot problems. The salesman, after measuring sailors' feet with the Brannock device, declared that the Navy shoe was not the cause of the problem; the sailors were simply wearing the wrong size shoes. The captain was so happy that he would not have to order special shoes for his men that he wrote an article in the July 1933 issue of United States Naval Institute Proceedings which described how the Brannock Device had eliminated foot troubles aboard the ship. This gave Brannock an opportunity to promote his device in the Navy by sending the article to other ships. He calibrated his device for use in other branches of the military and by World War II the Brannock Device was being used by most of the armed forces. Several articles were written about the greater foot comfort enjoyed by the military after the introduction of the device. Charles Brannock was proud of his small but widespread role in the war effort and in the comfort of America's enlisted men and women.

Through the years Charles Brannock developed many different models of his device, including the women's, men's, junior, growing girl's, athletic, ski-boot, and military models. In 1947, Brannock moved the device company to a machine shop at 509 East Fayette Street in Syracuse, where it remained for 50 years.

Brannock advertised both the store and the device in local papers, and the device in trade literature such as Boot and Shoe Recorder. He encouraged other shoe stores to promote themselves by using the device in their advertising. He also attended the annual National Shoe Fair in Chicago from 1938 to 1968 in order to promote the device as well as learn about shoe-fashion trends for the Park-Brannock shoe store.

Concurrently, Charles Brannock also played a significant role in the Park-Brannock shoe store. His father, Otis C. Brannock and Ernest N. Park founded Park-Brannock in 1906 in a small store at 321 South Salina Street, focusing on women's shoes. In February 1937, they moved to a three-story building at 427 South Salina Street. Finally, in 1946, a six-story store was built at 473-475 South Salina Street through 129 East Onondaga Street. While waiting for the newest store to be built, Park-Brannock temporarily moved to the Chimes Building at 510-512 South Salina Street and 113 West Onondaga Street. Park-Brannock gained fame in Syracuse for a wide selection of men's, women's and children's shoes, handbags, millinery, hose, and accessories. In an advertisement, the store declared itself "one of America's finest shoe stores." The design of the two newer stores was state-of-the-art, and Park-Brannock was featured in shoe magazine articles. For example, the men's department was designed to look like a great room inside a ship. Charles Brannock became the CEO of Park-Brannock after both his father and Ernest Park died in 1962. Park-Brannock closed its doors in 1981, after the Hotel Syracuse offered to purchase the property for its new Hilton Tower.

Charles Brannock died on November 22, 1992, at the age of 89. The company was purchased in 1993 from the Brannock Estate by Salvatore Leonardi. Leonardi continues to manufacture Brannock devices in a small factory in Liverpool, New York. Over a million Brannock Devices have been manufactured, and it remains the shoe industry standard

Related Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History

Artifacts (several Brannock Devices and competitors' devices) are in the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) and the Division of Armed Forces History (now Division of Political and Military History).

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History by Salvatore Leonardi on November 4, 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.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.

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:

World War, 1939-1945 -- Equipment and supplies  Search this

Show-windows -- New York -- Syracuse  Search this

Shoes -- Sizes  Search this

Shoe industry -- New York -- Syracuse  Search this

Shoes -- Fitting  Search this

Shoe machinery  Search this

Foot -- Measurement  Search this

Design, Industrial -- New York -- Syracuse  Search this

Military supplies  Search this

Measuring instruments industry  Search this

Measuring instruments  Search this

Genre/Form:

Patents

Trademarks

Slides (photographs)

Advertisements

Sales records

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- 1890-1920

Photographs -- 20th century

Photographic prints

Filmstrips

Design drawings

Citation:

Brannock Device Company Records, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0672

See more items in:

Brannock Device Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep884ed7f98-35b5-4cce-998a-fac08db27ab5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0672

Creator:

Vassos, John, 1898-1985  Search this

Subject:

Second, George  Search this

Byard, Dorothy  Search this

Vassos, Ruth  Search this

Sanders, Bernard  Search this

Radio Corporation of America.  Search this

Prudential Lines, Inc.  Search this

Perey Manufacturing Company  Search this

Packard Motor Car Company  Search this

Savage Arms Corporation  Search this

General Electric Company  Search this

Remington Arms Company  Search this

Matthias Hohner AG  Search this

Kuljian Corporation  Search this

Industrial Designers Society of America  Search this

Silvermine Guild of Artists  Search this

Type:

Interviews

Paintings

Photographs

Screen prints

Transcripts

Design drawings

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Slides (photographs)

Citation:

John Vassos Papers, 1915-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

World War, 1939-1945  Search this

Theaters -- Designs and plans  Search this

Authors -- Connecticut  Search this

Theaters -- Decoration  Search this

Muralists -- Connecticut  Search this

Illustrators -- Connecticut  Search this

Theme:

Architecture & Design  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9640

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211848

AAA_collcode_vassjohn

Theme:

Architecture & Design

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211848

Creator:

Vassos, John, 1898-1985  Search this

Names:

General Electric Company  Search this

Industrial Designers Society of America  Search this

Kuljian Corporation  Search this

Matthias Hohner AG  Search this

Packard Motor Car Company  Search this

Perey Manufacturing Company  Search this

Prudential Lines, Inc.  Search this

Radio Corporation of America.  Search this

Remington Arms Company  Search this

Savage Arms Corporation  Search this

Silvermine Guild of Artists  Search this

Byard, Dorothy  Search this

Sanders, Bernard  Search this

Second, George  Search this

Vassos, Ruth  Search this

Extent:

18.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Paintings

Photographs

Screen prints

Transcripts

Design drawings

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Slides (photographs)

Date:

1915-1989

Summary:

The papers of designer, illustrator, and muralist John Vassos measure 18.7 linear feet and date from 1915 to 1989. The papers include biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, writings and writing project files, Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) files, Radio Corporation of American (RCA) files, Silvermine Guild of Artists files, general professional and committee files, printed materials, four scrapbooks, photographic materials, and artwork.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of designer, writer, illustrator, and muralist John Vassos measure 18.7 linear feet and date from 1915 to 1989. The papers include biographical materials, personal and professional correspondence, writings and writing project files, Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) files, Radio Corporation of American (RCA) files, Silvermine Guild of Artists files, general professional and committee files, printed materials, four scrapbooks, photographic materials, and artwork.

Biographical materials include various biographies and resumes, passports for Ruth and John Vassos and other vital documents, one unidentified interview transcript with Vassos, property boundaries, leases, and scattered financial materials among other material. Correspondence is primarily professional in nature and is with colleagues, industrial design organizations in which Vassos' was involved, organizations and individuals with which Vassos' may have done consulting work, and others. Personal correspondence includes exchanges with a few WWII military colleagues and friends, and several files of personal correspondence between Ruth and John Vassos during his deployment in WWII.

John Vassos was a prolific writer and illustrated and wrote a number of articles, books, essays, and play scripts. Writings and writing projects include handwritten and typed drafts of book manuscripts, including Vassos' autobiography; sketched mock-ups with illustrations and layouts for articles and books; publishing contracts and correspondence; and writings by others. Notable published books include Contempo, Phobia, and Ultimo.

Vassos' involvement in the founding and eventual merging of major U. S. industrial design organizations is documented within the IDSA files, which include materials on ADI, IDI, ASID, SID, and IDEA.

Vassos' thirty-plus year career as a consultant designer with RCA is documented through various materials, including contract agreements, correspondence, design plans and sketches, expense reports, project proposals, and various other materials. And as the president and an active member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists, Vassos kept extensive files on Guild activities, including building proposals and sketches, logo designs, exhibitions, school plans and lesson structures, photographs, and printed materials.

Vassos' involvement with numerous other professional organizations and committees as a consultant designer, illustrator, member, and muralist, is documented through general professional and committee files. Vassos designed appliances, bicycles, flatware, knives, pens, radios, rifles, television sets, and turnstiles, in addition to painting murals, designing several buildings, and doing interior design work for theaters. Companies include: General Electric Company; M. Hohner, Inc.; the India Industries World Trade Fair; International Society for Arts and Decoration; Kuljian Corporation; Packard Motor Car Company; Perey Manufacturing Company; Prudential Lines, Inc.; Remington Arms Company, Inc.; Remington Dupont; and Savage Arms Corporation, to name a few.

The collection also includes printed materials; three clippings scrapbooks on the Silvermine Guild and School, and one scrapbook assembled by a Greek student, George Second; and photographic items: approximately 97 glass lantern slides, various negatives, color slides, and photographs of John Vassos and others, as well as images of products and designs, and two photo albums of industrial design work.

Artwork includes extensive figure and illustration sketches in pen, pencil, charcoal, watercolor, and other media; two paintings by Vassos; mural design drawings and sketches; sketches of products and designs; and several sketches and a collection of silkscreen prints by other artists, including Dorothy Byard and Bernard Sanders.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged as 11 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1915-1975 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1, Box 16, OV20, OV35)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1927-1986 (2.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)

Series 3: Writings and Writing Projects, circa 1929-1989 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 3-4, OV20)

Series 4: Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), circa 1938-1976 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 4-6, Box 16, OV21)

Series 5: Radio Corporation of America (RCA), circa 1930s-1976 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, Box 15, OV22-24, OV26)

Series 6: Silvermine Guild of Artists, 1915-1986 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 7-9, Box 16, OV27-28)

Series 7: General Professional and Committee Files, circa 1920s-1983 (3.8 linear feet; Boxes 9-11, Boxes 15-16, OV26, OV29-39, RD57)

Series 8: Printed Material, circa 1928-circa 1985 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 11-12, Box 16)

Series 9: Scrapbooks, circa 1940s-1953 (0.8 linear feet: Box 13, Box 17, Box 19)

Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1919-circa 1989 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 13-14, Box 16, Box 18, OV40-41, Lantern Slide Boxes 58-59)

Series 11: Artwork, circa 1930s-circa 1970s (1.7 linear feet; Box 14, Box 18, OV25, OV42-56)

Biographical / Historical:

John Vassos (1898-1985) was an author, designer, illustrator, and muralist, active in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Vassos was born John Vassacopoulos, in Romania to Greek parents, attended Robert College in Turkey, and joined the British Fleet to serve in World War I. He immigrated to Boston in 1919, where he washed windows and studied art and illustration with John Singer Sargent at the Fenway Art School. In 1924, he moved to New York City where he studied at the Art Students League under John Sloan. Vassos began his career as an illustrator for various magazines, in addition to writing, illustrating, and publishing over fourteen books, most notably, Contempo, Phobia, and Ultimo. He worked on many publications with his wife, Ruth Carrier, who often wrote what he then illustrated in the late 1920s through the 1930s.

Employed as an industrial designer at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), he established their first internal design department in 1933. He contributed a number of RCA product designs, including radios, radio cabinets, and televisions during his time as a consultant and designer. In addition, he designed RCA's first electronically decorated living room for the New York World's Fair, "America at Home" pavilion. He remained as an industrial design consultant with RCA through 1964. Vassos went on to work as a consultant designer to create utensils with Remington Dupont, the first Lucite pen for Waterman, and redesigned turnstiles for Perey Manufacturing Company, among many other companies. In addition to product design work, Vassos did interior design work for restaurants and theaters, and painted murals for a number of companies, hotels, and movie theaters.

During World War II, Vassos served in the U. S. Army Air Corps developing camouflage techniques and conducting special operations in Greece while also writing a number of publications, including informational advertisements and flyers, as well as several brief illustrated books warning about carelessness with regards to camouflage and equipment.

In 1938, Vassos founded the American Designers Institute (ADI) and became president again in 1948. He was instrumental in the merger of the major industrial design associations, the Industrial Designers Institute (IDI), Industrial Design Education Association (IDEA), American Society of Industrial Designers (ASID), and the Society of Industrial Designers (SID), into the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), where he was elected the first Chairman of the Board in 1965.

Additionally, he was president of the Silvermine Guild of Artists in Connecticut for ten terms from 1936 to 1955, where he designed the logo and raised significant funds with help from his influence with RCA. Between 1938 and 1940, the Guild held an exhibition titled Social Statements and included works by various members, to which he contributed two oil paintings of his own.

Vassos died in 1985 in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Related Materials:

John Vassos' papers are also at Syracuse University.

Provenance:

The John Vassos papers were donated from 1989 to 1990 by Paul Johnes, Vassos' nephew.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Occupation:

Designers -- Connecticut -- Norwalk  Search this

Design -- Study and teaching  Search this

Topic:

World War, 1939-1945  Search this

Theaters -- Designs and plans  Search this

Authors -- Connecticut  Search this

Theaters -- Decoration  Search this

Muralists -- Connecticut  Search this

Illustrators -- Connecticut  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Paintings

Photographs

Screen prints

Transcripts

Design drawings

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Slides (photographs)

Citation:

John Vassos papers, 1898-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Identifier:

AAA.vassjohn

See more items in:

John Vassos Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw958433eb8-e0b1-48f6-a54b-d6d2384be428

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-vassjohn

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

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Distributor:

Neiman Marcus, American, born 1907  Search this

Medium:

plastic

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 1.4 x 13.5 x 13.5 cm (9/16 x 5 5/16 x 5 5/16 in.)

Type:

tableware designs

Decorative Arts

ashtray

Object Name:

ashtray

Date:

1972

Credit Line:

Gift of Henry Dreyfuss

Accession Number:

1972-88-129-1

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Product Design and Decorative Arts Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq4525228da-c67d-4f08-ba86-46f5c6899f0e

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1972-88-129-1

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Distributor:

Neiman Marcus, American, born 1907  Search this

Medium:

plastic

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 1.4 x 13.5 x 13.5 cm (9/16 x 5 5/16 x 5 5/16 in.)

Type:

tableware designs

Decorative Arts

ashtray

Object Name:

ashtray

Date:

1972

Credit Line:

Gift of Henry Dreyfuss

Accession Number:

1972-88-129-2

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Product Design and Decorative Arts Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq4a36b32e0-757d-4096-a02c-bf25391bd2ad

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1972-88-129-2

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Distributor:

Neiman Marcus, American, born 1907  Search this

Medium:

plastic

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 1.4 x 13.5 x 13.5 cm (9/16 x 5 5/16 x 5 5/16 in.)

Type:

tableware designs

Decorative Arts

ashtray

Object Name:

ashtray

Date:

1972

Credit Line:

Gift of Henry Dreyfuss

Accession Number:

1972-88-129-3

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Product Design and Decorative Arts Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq4116cc308-2320-4d65-8ea4-86ae4b362bc5

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1972-88-129-3

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Medium:

Brush and gouache, graphite on white laid paper

Dimensions:

7.9 x 16.3 cm (3 1/8 x 6 7/16 in.)

Type:

packaging designs

Drawing

Object Name:

Drawing

Made in:

USA

Date:

1930

Credit Line:

Gift of University of California, Los Angeles

Accession Number:

1973-15-43

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq41edac284-ab47-4323-8819-0c948060eda5

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1973-15-43

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Medium:

Brush and gouache, graphite on thick white paper

Dimensions:

15.2 x 29.3 cm (6 in. x 11 9/16 in.), irregular

Type:

packaging designs

Drawing

Object Name:

Drawing

Made in:

USA

Date:

1930

Credit Line:

Gift of University of California, Los Angeles

Accession Number:

1973-15-44

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq449fca704-a0cb-4b30-90e5-4cb768e0bb44

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1973-15-44

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Medium:

Brush and red, white gouache, silver metallic paint, graphite on wove paper

Dimensions:

9.9 x 28.7 cm (3 7/8 x 11 5/16 in.)

Type:

packaging designs

Drawing

Object Name:

Drawing

Made in:

USA

Date:

1930

Credit Line:

Gift of University of California, Los Angeles

Accession Number:

1973-15-68

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq4531aac8a-b353-41b4-88af-1b7de334fa36

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1973-15-68

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Medium:

Brush and blue, white gouache, glued silver paper strips, graphite on paper

Dimensions:

9.5 x 28.8 cm (3 3/4 x 11 5/16 in.)

Type:

packaging designs

Drawing

Object Name:

Drawing

Made in:

USA

Date:

1930

Credit Line:

Gift of University of California, Los Angeles

Accession Number:

1973-15-70

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq49c312203-04d1-4dae-b774-ae9c87c3ce30

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1973-15-70

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Medium:

Brush and blue, white gouache, paper strips, graphite on paper

Dimensions:

9.5 x 28.8 cm (3 3/4 x 11 5/16 in.)

Type:

packaging designs

Drawing

Object Name:

Drawing

Made in:

USA

Date:

1930

Credit Line:

Gift of University of California, Los Angeles

Accession Number:

1973-15-71

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq4d0ae1c8f-6967-4aca-9950-023ad698a39b

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1973-15-71

Designer:

Henry Dreyfuss , American, 1904–1972  Search this

Medium:

Brush and green watercolor, gouache, gold metallic paint, graphite on paper

Dimensions:

Mat: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14 in.)

Type:

packaging designs

Drawing

Object Name:

Drawing

Made in:

USA

Date:

1929–30

Credit Line:

Gift of University of California, Los Angeles

Accession Number:

1973-15-77

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq4d2387791-9d97-4bb7-bf92-5c7942cdcf69

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_1973-15-77