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Joseph B. Friedman Papers

Creator:
Friedman, Joseph Bernard, Dr., 1900-1982  Search this
Friedman, Betty  Search this
Flexible Straw Corporation.  Search this
Flex-Straw Co.  Search this
Former owner:
Friedman, Robert A.  Search this
Leeds, Pamela B.  Search this
Reiss, Linda A.  Search this
Rosen, Judith B.  Search this
Names:
Klein, Bert  Search this
Extent:
8 Cubic feet (17 boxes, 2 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Ledgers (account books)
Correspondence
Blueprints
Black-and-white photographic prints
Videotapes
Personal papers
Date:
1915-2000
Summary:
Papers relating to the development of the flexible drinking straw, Friedman's manufacturing company, and Friedman's other inventions, such as an ice cream scoop, fountain pens, and household appliances.
Scope and Contents:
Papers relating to the development of the flexible drinking straw, Friedman's manufacturing company, and Friedman's other inventions, such as an ice cream scoop, fountain pens, and household appliances. Includes company ledgers, preliminary sketches, blueprints, correspondence, a video cassette, and photographs.
The Joseph B. Friedman Papers encompass the years 1915-2000, with the bulk of the material ranging between 1925 and 1965. This collection is a near complete source for the understanding inventive process of an American entrepreneur. In the case of the flexible straw, the evolution of the invention can be traced from early concept drawings through its manufacture and production, to the development of advertising and marketing materials. Records of necessary design modifications in the flexible straw and legal issues concerning Friedman's invention through its various stages are present here. In addition to providing a detailed linear account of the flexible straw, these papers reflect the varied interests and additional accomplishments of Friedman's invention career. The collection is arranged in three series to reflect the subjects of the material, namely personal papers, invention materials, and corporate records. Materials within each series are arranged by topic and type, and then chronologically.

Series 1: Personal Records (c.1920s-1940) contains family photographs, personal correspondence, education and employment records. Friedman's education records are in Subseries A, while the records of his careers in optometry, insurance and real estate are contained in Subseries B. Subseries C contains personal financial records, including bank statements and income tax returns. Correspondence, photographs, family history items and death certificate are located in Subseries D.

Series 2: Invention & Patent Materials (1915-1967) consists of invention records that include original concept drawings, legal records and patents, marketing correspondence, and the business records of Friedman's sole proprietorship invention business, the Commercial Research Company. It is important for researchers to note that information on the assignment of straw patents and their machinery, all associated legal records to those specific issues, as well as patent defense case research, and straw advertising and marketing after 1938 may be found in Series 3. Series 2 is divided into several subseries. Subseries A - I are patented inventions arranged chronologically by patent issue date, and include research and development, legal records and correspondence, and advertising and marketing materials. Subseries J - M contain unpatented inventions and business records, as well as multiple concept drawings and invention lists that refer to both patented and unpatented inventions. Researchers interested in the conceptual development of the straw should review the information contained not only in Subseries E: Drinking Tube and Subseries H: Flexible Straw, but also in Subseries L: Invention Lists & Drawings for straw ideas that were drawn on lists or sketches with other concepts. Additionally, researchers interested in the manufacturing device for the straw should review Subseries I: Apparatus & Method for Forming Corrugations in Tubing, as well as Subseries K: Unpatented Inventions, for the Flexible Straw & Method of Forming Same information.

Series 3: Flex-Straw Corporate Records (1938 - 1967) includes correspondence relating to the company and its formation, financial statements, tax returns, legal documents, patent assignments, royalty information, patent defense case research and records, and documents pertaining to the advertising and marketing of the flexible straw. Researchers should note that all conceptual and developmental details relating to the straw and its manufacture, as well as the original patents and their specifically associated legal correspondence can be found in Series 2. Series 3 is divided into several topically arranged subseries. Subseries A consists of the organizational materials for the company, including the minutes, by-laws and limited employee records. This subseries also contains two day books belonging to Joseph B. Friedman recording his appointments and personal notes from 1947 and 1950. Subseries B includes company related correspondence, organized by the correspondent. It begins with general correspondence, from 1939 - 1963, and continues with the letters of Bert Klein (1945 - 1950), David Light & Harry Zavin (1938 - 1962), and Betty Friedman (1940 - 1954). Much of the operational information on the company may be found in the letters Betty Friedman wrote and received from her brother. Subseries C holds the financial records of the company, including financial statements, ledgers, bank statements, check books, tax returns and royalty statements. Subseries D consists of legal records and correspondence, including such topics as changes in entity type, patent assignments, fair trade agreements and patent defense. Subseries E contains the advertising and marketing records of the company. This includes published material relating to the Flex-Straw specifically, as well as some advertising for flexible straws in general. Pencil concept drawings of Flex-Straw packaging and advertising art are drawn on the reverse of Pette calendar pages, and international advertising materials for the product are also present. Product testimonials, distributor bulletins, and corporate letterhead that traces the progression of company locations can also be found here.
Arrangement:
The collection is ivided into three series.

Series 1: Personal Records, circa 1920s-1940

Series 2: Invention and Patent Materials, 1915-1967

Series 3: Flex-Straw Corporate Records, 1938-1969
Biographical / Historical:
Joseph B. Friedman (1900 - 1982) was an independent American inventor with a broad range of interests and ideas. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 9, 1900, Joseph was a first generation American and the fifth of eight children for Jacob Friedman and Antoinette Grauer Friedman. By the age of fourteen, he had conceptualized his first invention, the "pencilite" lighted pencil, and was attempting to market his idea. Over the course of his inventing career, he would experiment with ideas ranging from writing implements to engine improvements, and household products to sound and optic experiments. He was issued nine U.S. patents and held patents in Great Britain, Australia and Canada. His first patent was issued for improvements to the fountain pen on April 18, 1922, (U.S. patent #1,412,930). This was also the first invention that he successfully sold, to Sheaffer Pen Company in the mid 1930s. In the 1920s, Friedman began his education in real estate and optometry. He would use both of these careers at different points in his life to supplement his income while improving his invention concepts. Although he was working as a realtor in San Francisco, California, the 1930s proved to be his most prolific patenting period, with six of his nine U.S. patents being issued then. One of these patents would prove to be his most successful invention - the flexible drinking straw.

While sitting in his younger brother Albert's fountain parlor, the Varsity Sweet Shop in San Francisco, Friedman observed his young daughter Judith at the counter, struggling to drink out of a straight straw. He took a paper straight straw, inserted a screw and using dental floss, he wrapped the paper into the screw threads, creating corrugations. After removing the screw, the altered paper straw would bend conveniently over the edge of the glass, allowing small children to better reach their beverages. U.S. patent #2,094,268 was issued for this new invention under the title Drinking Tube, on September 28, 1937. Friedman would later file and be issued two additional U.S. patents and three foreign patents in the 1950s relating to its formation and construction. Friedman attempted to sell his straw patent to several existing straw manufacturers beginning in 1937 without success, so after completing his straw machine, he began to produce the straw himself.

The Flexible Straw Corporation was incorporated on April 24, 1939 in California. However, World War II interrupted Friedman's efforts to construct his straw manufacturing machine. During the war, he managed the optometry practice of Arthur Euler, O.D., in Capwells' Department Store in Oakland, California, and continued to sell real estate and insurance to support his growing family. Joseph obtained financial backing for his flexible straw machine from two of his brothers-in-law, Harry Zavin and David Light, as well as from Bert Klein, a family associate. With their financial assistance, and the business advice of his sister Betty, Friedman completed the first flexible straw manufacturing machine in the late 1940s. Although his original concept had come from the observation of his daughter, the flexible straw was initially marketed to hospitals, with the first sale made in 1947.

Betty Friedman played a crucial role in the development of the Flexible Straw Corporation. While still living in Cleveland and working at the Tarbonis Company, she corresponded regularly with her brother and directed all of the sales and distribution of the straw. In 1950 Friedman moved his family and company to Santa Monica, California. Now doing business as the Flex-Straw Co., sales continued to increase and the marketing direction expanded to focus more strongly on the home and child markets. Betty moved west in 1954 to assume her formal leadership role in the corporation. Additional partners and investors were added over time, including Art Shapiro, who was initially solicited as a potential buyer of the patent. On June 20, 1969, the Flexible Straw Corporation sold its United States and foreign patents, United States and Canadian trademarks, and licensing agreements to the Maryland Cup Corporation. The Flexible Straw Corporation dissolved on August 19, 1969.

Dr. Joseph Bernard Friedman died on June 21, 1982. He was survived by his wife of over 50 years, Marjorie Lewis Friedman, his four children Judith, Linda, Pamela and Robert, and seven grandchildren
Separated Materials:
"Straw samples and an original dispensing device (ice cream disher) are located in the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).

A mandrel prototype from the original flexible straw manufacturing machine is held by the Division of Work and Industry."
Provenance:
Daughters Judith B. Rosen, Linda A. Reiss and Pamela B. Leeds, and son Robert A. Friedman donated this collection and its related artifacts to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History on May 1, 2001.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Inventors  Search this
Inventions -- 1920-2000 -- United States  Search this
Ice cream scoops  Search this
Ice cream industry  Search this
Household appliances  Search this
Fountain pens  Search this
Drinking straws  Search this
Paper products  Search this
Patents  Search this
Genre/Form:
Ledgers (account books)
Correspondence -- 20th century
Blueprints
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Videotapes
Personal papers -- 20th century
Citation:
Joseph B. Friedman Papers, 1915-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0769
See more items in:
Joseph B. Friedman Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep88bd71d1a-1ab1-408c-b95b-8c81544027a7
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0769
Online Media:

S. Newman Darby Windsurfing Collection

Creator:
Darby, S. Newman, 1928-2016 (inventor)  Search this
Darby, Kenneth  Search this
Darby, Naomi  Search this
Names:
Mistral, Inc.  Search this
Windsurfing International, Inc.  Search this
Drake, Jim  Search this
Schweitzer, Hoyle  Search this
Extent:
2.65 Cubic feet (7 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertisements
Sketches
Photographs
Rigging plans
Sail plans
Legal files
Blueprints
Film (performing arts)
Illustrated periodicals
Correspondence
Design drawings
Drawings
Videotapes
Place:
Falls (Pa.) -- 1950-1990
Susquehana River -- 1950-1990
Date:
1944-1998
Summary:
The collection documents S. Newman Darby's development of the sailboard, which became known as the windsurfer through sketches, mechanical drawings, plans, patent specifications, legal documents, photographs, correspondence, notebooks, clippings, periodicals, and an 8mm film.
Scope and Contents:
The S. Newman Darby Windsurfing Collection, 1946-1998, documents the body of Newman Darby's inventive output as well as the development of the windsurfing industry. It consists of sketches, mechanical drawings, plans, patent specifications, legal documents, photographs, correspondence, notebooks, clippings, periodicals, an 8mm film and a videocassette. The collection is particularly rich in the material related to the development of the sailboard, including Darby's personal memoirs. It contains U.S. and foreign patents related to windsurfing as well as records and reports related to Darby's testimony in litigation and the recognition of the priority of his invention. the collections research value lies in the documentation of the invention of the windsurfer and the industry and culture it spawned. It documents the processes of invention and marketing of new devices. It is evidence of the full range of S. Newman Darby's imagination, life and career.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.

Series 1: Biographical materials, 1969-1982

Series 2: Inventions and designs, 1953-1990

Series 3: Darby Industries, 1982-1983

Series 4: History of windsurfing, 1944-1998

Series 5: Photographs, 1946-1997

Series 6: Audio-Visual materials, 1965-1997
Biographical / Historical:
S. Newman Darby is recognized as the first person in the United States to conceive of connecting a hand-held sail rig fastened with a universal joint to a floating platform for recreational use. He called it sail boarding in 1965, when he published his designs in Popular Science Monthly magazine. Although he and his brothers Ronald and Kenneth began manufacturing the boards through their company Darby Industries, they never applied for a patent.

S. Newman Darby (1928-2016) was born in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. He graduated from West Pittston High School in 1946. A sign painter and artist, like his father Sidney Darby, he studied drafting at the Pennsylvania State University extension school where he took chemistry, business, art, and photography courses for one year. His first invention, the Darby Dory, a folding rowboat dates from 1953. The sailboard developed out of Darby's experiments with a personal pontoon catamaran, each hull being big enough for one foot and designed to be operated with a hand-held sail and no rudder. By 1964 he had designed a universal joint that connected a mast to a flat bottom sailing scow. This board had a centerboard, tail fin and kite shaped free sail. Early tests were conducted on Trailwood Lake and the Susquehanna River, near West Pittston.

Today sail boarding is known as windsurfing. It adopted its name from Windsurfer International, a company Hoyle Schweitzer and Jim Drake established on the basis of a patent granted to them in 1970 for a "wind-propelled apparatus." In all essential qualities, their claims duplicated Newman Darby's earlier work.

After Schweitzer bought out Drake's share in 1973, he energetically promoted the sport and licensed manufacturing rights to more than 20 companies around the world. Schweitzer forcefully prosecuted patent infringements he perceived among windsurfer manufacturers and he threatened to sue the 1984 Olympic Committee should it authorize a board produced by a manufacturer not licensed by Windsurfer International. Although he was aware of the growth of the sport and the profits flowing into Windsurfer International through its licensing activities, Darby was unable to mount a legal challenge to Schweitzer. His priority in the invention of the sport was overlooked and almost forgotten.

In the late 1970's, Mistral, a Swiss manufacturer sued by Windsurfer International in Germany, located Darby and presented his "prior art" as a defense. In the early 1980's, courts in the United States were asked to rule on the validity of the Windsurfer International patent. Newman Darby's prior art was at the center of the controversies. The court voided Windsurfer's original patent and Schweitzer was forced to apply for a reissue based on severely limited claims. He lost the use of "windsurfer" as a trademark. Schweitzer retained the reissued patent through further challenges until it expired in 1987. The example of Newman Darby has become a textbook case of the importance of thorough searches for "prior art" for patent attorneys.

Following completion of the patent litigation Darby designed original sail rigs for Mistral in Europe and Horizon in the United States. In 1982 Newman entered into a new partnership with his brothers Ronald and Kenneth and formed NRK, Inc., to design and manufacture windsurfing boards, training devices and to produce written and video documentaries of his contributions to the history of the sport.

Naomi Albrecht Darby, Newman's wife, sewed the first sails for the boards and participated in their testing and marketing. She documented Darby's inventions through the years in photographs and moving images. Over the years, Darby has worked on numerous inventions--most of them related to wind propulsion. Like many independent inventors, Newman Darby conceives of his ideas, executes all of the mechanical plans, builds his own prototypes and tests them. Darby continues to research improvements in windsurfing and to teach courses in boat building and design.
Related Materials:
An original sailboard, rig, mast and daggerboard from the same period are also housed in the Pennsylvania State Museum at Harrisburg.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds artifacts relating to S. Newman Darby and his invention of the windsurfer, including an original board, boom and mast, and sail dating from 1964. See accessions #1998.0086 and #1998.0323.
Provenance:
Most of the collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History by S. Newman Darby and his wife Naomi on February 3, 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Sporting goods industry -- 1950-1990  Search this
Sailboats -- 1950-1990  Search this
Patent law and legislation -- 1950-1990 -- United States  Search this
Patent licenses  Search this
Patents (international law) -- 1950-1990  Search this
Boatbuilders -- 1950-1990  Search this
Boats and boating -- 1950-1990  Search this
Boats and boating -- Designs and plans -- 1950-1990  Search this
Inventors -- 1950-2000  Search this
Inventions -- 1950-2000  Search this
Aquatic sports -- 1950-1990  Search this
Darby simulator  Search this
Windsurfers -- 1950-1990  Search this
Windsurfing -- Inventions -- 1950-1990  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertisements -- 1950-2000
Sketches -- 1950-1990
Photographs -- 20th century
Rigging plans -- 1950-1990
Sail plans -- 1950-1990
Legal files -- 1950-1990
Blueprints -- 1950-2000
Film (performing arts) -- 1950-1990
Illustrated periodicals -- 1950-1990
Correspondence -- 1940-1990
Design drawings -- 1950-2000
Drawings -- 1950-1990
Videotapes
Citation:
S. Newman Darby Windsurfing Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0625
See more items in:
S. Newman Darby Windsurfing Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a1c39256-e51a-4c44-92ca-dc22ec812dbb
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0625
Online Media:

Ann and Thomas Damigella Collection

Creator:
Damigella, Ann.  Search this
Damigella, Thomas  Search this
Names:
Tupperware Home Parties  Search this
Tupperware International.  Search this
Extent:
17 Videocassettes (VHS)
38 Motion picture films
1.25 Cubic feet (4 boxes )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Videocassettes (vhs)
Motion picture films
Motion pictures (visual works)
Sound recordings
Date:
1951-1997
Summary:
Film, sound recordings and documentary material relating to the history of Tupperware home parties and the Damigella Tupperware distributorship in Everett, Massachusetts.
Scope and Contents:
Because of their long affiliation with Tupperware, the Damigellas have amassed a significant collection of archival documentation and memorabilia relating to the history of Tupperware, and particularly to the sales practices and sales force training methods of this highly successful, widely emulated, international corporation.

The collection includes film, sound recordings and printed material relating to Tupperware sales practices and methods of sales force motivation and control.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in ten series. Within each series, materials are arranged chronologically.

Series 1: CATALOGS, 1957-1997

Series 2: GAMES AND DEMONSTRATION GUIDES, 1965-1990

Series 3: ADVERTISING, 1970-1980

Series 4: TUPPERWARE INTERNATIONAL, 1960-1990

Series 5: RECRUITMENT, DEALERSHIP AND MANAGERSHIP, 1960-1995. Proscriptive and motivational literature about working for Tupperware. Series 6: SOUND RECORDINGS, 1953; 1977-78

Series 7: OUR WORLD MAGAZINE, 1976-1991. Sales force magazine, containing demonstration, recruitment and sales advice; product information; and profiles of successful dealers, managers and distributors.

Series 8: JUBILEE PUBLICATIONS, 1967-1982. Publications reviewing and highlighting Jubilee, the annual sales force gathering in Orlando, Florida.

Series 9: DAMIGELLA DISTRIBUTORSHIP AND TUPPERWARE HISTORICAL MATERIALS, 1960-1991. News clippings, research reports, and other background information about Tupperware and the Damigella distributorship, including a chronology compiled by Tom Damigella, Jr.and material assembled by the son of Stanley Home Products and Tupperware salesman Norman Squires relating to his contributions to or innovation in the home party plan.

Series 10: MOVING IMAGES, 1951-1991. 54 16mm films and 2@ VHS videotapes. Film and video mastering and duplication were made possible by a gift from Tupperware International.

There are six subseries.

Subseries 1: Promotional/Motivational Films, 1960-1992. Contains promotional and motivational films featuring activities organized by the company to bring dealers and distributors together, usually with statements from Tupperware executives. Contains product promotion films introducing new Tupperware to the sales force. Contains Jubilee films showcasing the annual celebration, showing award ceremonies, games, music and entertainment (including appearances by Anita Bryant, Waylon Jennings and Pat Boone).

Subseries 2: Training Films, 1952-1997. Includes step-by-step guides to planning Home Parties, learning sales techniques, demonstrating products, and introducing new sales promotions. One film gives tips on safe driving to and from the Tupperware parties, for managers using cars leased by the distributorship for their use.

Subseries 3: Corporate Films, 1958-1992. Includes films showing product development from design to end result as well as discussions of business strategies.

Subseries 4: Commercials, 1983-1994. Presents new products; emphasizes effectiveness and efficiency of using Tupperware.

Subseries 5: Home Movies, 1951-1997. Includes home movies shot by Tupperware distributors Tom and Ann Damigella. This material includes tributes to the Damigellas.

Subseries 6: Acquired Films, 1961. Non-Tupperware films acquired by the Damigellas.
Biographical / Historical:
Ann and Tom Damigella already had experience selling Stanley Home Products when they encountered Tupperware in 1947. Mr. and Mrs. Damigella foresaw great possibilities with the new product, and immediately decided to add Tupperware to the line of products they offered door to door. In 1950, they attended the first "round table" meeting with Earl Tupper (inventor of Tupperware), Brownie Wise (who perfected Tupperware's home party sales system) and sixteen to twenty other Tupperware distributors from around the country. The Damigellas quickly became some of the top Tupperware sales people in the country; in 1952 they were awarded a Cadillac as one of the top six movers of Tupperware in North America. Self-proclaimed Tupperware people, their son, Tom Damigella, Jr., and son-in-law, Jon Nelson, followed them into the business, making the Damigella Distributorship the oldest and among the most successful distributorships in the country -- the distributorship has been in the top 25 in sales every year since the early 1960s. Tom. Jr. manages the distributorship since his father's retirement in 1994; Jon Nelson went on to become one of Tupperware's regional vice-presidents.
Related Materials:
Tupperware may also be found in the Museum's Division of Domestic Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life). Researchers interested in the history of Tupperware should also consult the Earl Tupper (AC#470) and Brownie Wise (AC#509) Collections in the Archives Center.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History by Ann and Thomas Damigella in July 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the fils are 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:
Most items have copyright and/or trademark restrictions. Tupperware films: Most duplication and use of films in commercial and non-commercial productions requires written permission from the Tupperware Corporation. See repository for details.
Topic:
Plastic container industry -- 1950-2000  Search this
Product demonstrations -- 1950-2000  Search this
Sales -- Plastic containers -- 1950-2000  Search this
Direct selling -- 1950-2000  Search this
Genre/Form:
Motion pictures (visual works)
Sound recordings
Citation:
Ann and Thomas Damigella Collection, 1951-1997, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0583
See more items in:
Ann and Thomas Damigella Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c3d57e27-6305-48fe-a45e-f55047dc2f00
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0583
Online Media:

Wilson Greatbatch Innovative Lives Presentation

Creator:
Greatbatch, Wilson, 1919-  Search this
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.  Search this
Berger, Sondra  Search this
Names:
Wilson Greatbatch, Ltd.  Search this
Extent:
0.25 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Oral history
Interviews
Videotapes
Date:
1996-10-08
Summary:
This collection contains original and master videos documenting Wilson Greatbatch, inventor of the Cardiac Pacemaker. Greatbatch demonstrates the circuitry of his implantable pacemaker and discusses his life as an inventor.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection consists of approximately 2 hours of original (BetaCam SP) video recordings and reference (viewing) copies (VHS) documenting Wilson Greatbatch's presentation about the invention of the cardiac pacemaker. Dr. Greatbatch demonstrates the circuitry of his implantable pacemaker and discusses his life as an inventor.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1: Original Videos

Series 2: Master Videos

Series 3: Reference Videos

Series 4: Photographs and Slides
Biographical/Historical note:
Wilson Greatbatch was born in Buffalo, New York in 1919. He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1950 and his master's degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in 1957. Greatbatch first learned of heart block in 1951. He knew that a pacemaker could cure it, but he couldn't build one small enough to be implanted with the materials then available. Conducting research and experiments in a workshop in the barn behind his house in upstate New York, Greatbatch invented in 1958, the device that has saved hundreds of thousands of lives over the years. In 1970, he founded Wilson Greatbatch, Ltd. (WGL), to develop and manufacture reliable, long lived batteries for the implantable pacemaker. WGL produced the first lithium iodine battery for implantable pacemakers in 1972. In addition to numerous honors and awards, Greatbatch was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1986.
Provenance:
This collection was created by the Innovative Lives Program of The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on October 8, 1996. The Innovative Lives series brings young people and American inventors together to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original videos are 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:
Museum controls rights. Signed release on file.
Topic:
Inventors -- 1950-2000  Search this
Inventions -- 1950-2000  Search this
Cardiac pacemaker industry  Search this
Heart block  Search this
Electric engineering -- 1950-2000  Search this
Cardiac pacing  Search this
Cardiac pacemakers  Search this
Slides  Search this
Photographs  Search this
Genre/Form:
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Videotapes -- 1990-2000
Citation:
Wilson Greatbatch Innovative Lives Presentation, 1996, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0601
See more items in:
Wilson Greatbatch Innovative Lives Presentation
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8e5f8e437-136f-4630-b7d8-dd4e3edef692
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0601
Online Media:

John Bucheimer Papers

Creator:
Bucheimer, John  Search this
Names:
Head Ski Company.  Search this
Head, Howard, 1914-1991 (inventor, business executive)  Search this
Extent:
4 Cubic feet (11 boxes, 5 map folders)
21 Film reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Film reels
Drawings
Correspondence
Black-and-white photographic prints
Business records
Audiovisual materials
Financial records
Blueprints
Date:
1954 - 1977
Summary:
Papers relate to John Bucheimer's work as manager of new product manufacturing in the Engineering Department at Head Ski Company.
Scope and Contents:
These records were assembled and saved by John Bucheimer in conjunction with his work at Head Ski Company. The bulk of the records relates to engineering matters and detail how the skis were manufactured. The records also provide insight into the daily operations and activities of the Head Ski Company factory.

Series 1, Operational Records, 1967-1973, include an organizational chart, company and management profile, annual reports, inter office correspondence, memoranda, management notes, the Management News Bulletin, and plant information. The organizational chart of 1969 provides the job title and name of the employee for specific positions within Head Ski Company, Head Ski and Sportswear, American Athletic Equipment, Wayne Plastics, Wing Archery, and Head International AG.

This series contains the Management News Bulletin, 1967-1970. An internal communication from the president, the news bulletin provided a forum for announcements, resignations, work plans, reorganizations, organizational charts, employee changes, and general work flow issues. While small in size, the content is rich for getting a sense of the management style at Head Ski Company.

The management notes, 1968-1971, are handwritten by Bucheimer and contain information on training, responsibilities, manufacturing expenses, production schedules, regional sales meetings, and job postings. There are a few management pamphlets published by the Economic Press, Inc. These pamphlets provided "tips" to managers. Also, the management notes contain two union fliers addressing the issue of union dues. Both fliers urge employees to "keep your take home pay free from Union dues. Vote no union." Other materials include inventories of office surplus and plant information. There are instructions of how to conduct a tour of the plant and ADT protective service documentation. Bucheimer was the designated ADT card holder for the company.

Series 2, Employee Records, 1957-1973, consist of employee handbooks and insurance materials, a job description for manager of manufacturing projects, and vacation schedules for several employees. Some salary information is here.

Series 3, Marketing/Sales Records, 1969-1972, includes one catalog from 1972, three news releases, sales information, and ski show and shipment information. The ski show materials document specific shows—Canada, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York—and the ski models displayed and, in some instances, orders placed. The special shipments, 1969-1971, include invoices, correspondence, notes, and material move tickets for companies such as Cell Pack, Ltd., Standard Metalwerke, Dura Fiber Corp., and United Shoe Machinery Corp.

Series 4, Financial/Accounting Records, 1967-1971, contains reports, inventories, expenses, and some payroll information. The majority of these records date from September 1969 to October of 1969. The expense statements reveal how much was budgeted and spent for materials, direct labor, payroll taxes, Christmas bonuses, travel, postage, maintenance, and ski parts, to name a few categories. There is some payroll information with the payroll control sheets.

Series 5, Engineering/Manufacturing Records, 1956-1977, comprise the largest and richest series within the collection. The records are subdivided into seven subseries: inventories, instructions, repair information, reports, drawings and specifications, testing information, and miscellaneous.

The inventories provide valuable information on the types of materials used, the quantities, and in some instances the cost. The raw material inventory of 1967 details material types (e.g. glue, plywood, aluminum, poles, saw blades), account numbers, date, quantity, price and actual cost. Like the raw material inventory, the perpetual inventory of 1966 is divided according to material type (e.g. aluminum, plastic, cloth tape, wood, rubber, steel) unit measure (typically in pounds), conversion factor, dates, and a balance amount.

The instructions include detailed information on "how to" for a variety of operations such as aluminum sandblasting bottom ski skin assembly, degreasing nosepieces, and sanding, gluing, and cutting "L" steel edges. The instructions consist of a workplace layout diagram, tools needed, and step by-step instruction elements. Of note is the material flow processes for the company. There are flow charts for each operational sequence performed. There are photographs of equipment with the flow charts, but they are not keyed to specific operational tasks.

The repair information contains procedures and lists of parts for skis. The repair procedures describe the repair needed and what model ski is affected. A detailed description of the repair is documented along with the materials required, tools, and how effective the repair was. The repairs documented here include finishing, grinding, bottom waxing, replacing edges, inlays, and remolding. The company had a program titled "rework" that handled returned skis. Many of the skis documented appear to have had cavity problems and were sent back to be remolded. There is some ski rejection analysis documentation citing why skis are being sent to the rework program. Additional information on cavity problems and production is also here. The parts list, 1969-1970, details various parts used on ski models JR-90, JR-60, 720-TA, 320-W, 240-B, K-short ski, deep powder-DP, Giant Slalom, slalom, 360-AR, 320-E and the downhill models. The part number and name, quantity, and any remarks are provided.

The reports, logs, and notes subseries contain manufacturing and production notes, and a variety of reports documenting engineering department activities. The inter-shift reports, 1963-1967, were maintained in spiral bound shorthand notebooks. They detail daily activities, operational suggestions, reminders to staff, materials available, and what work needs to be completed. Other reports include accidents, 1958-1961, and quality control reports, 1970-1971, which were created daily to provide detailed information on all aspects of the skis at final inspection time. The number of skis inspected with percentage information is summarized. The non-conforming material recovery reports, 1970, give the reasons why skis were rejected and indicate if skis were returned to vendors or used "as is."

The drawings and specifications, 1964-1970, are comprised of oversize drawings ranging from 8" x 10" to 34" x 43 _". The drawings are copies and include information on the short, slalom, giant slalom, downhill, and deep powder skis. The finished ski specifications, 1964-1967, document material types, assembly and subassembly procedures, ski data, ski poles, packaging material, and miscellaneous material. For each specification there is a corresponding instruction/narrative and, in some instances, a drawing.

The testing documentation is material specific (rubber, steel, plastic, adhesives) or ski model specific. It provides some insight into what materials the company worked with and under what conditions, such as, pulling, heating, or actual pilot ski runs. The suppliers, 1971-1973, include forms, receipts, bills, invoices, correspondence, receiving tickets, and descriptive inventories from companies that Head Ski Co. purchased supplies from.

Series 6, The General Files, 1954-1977, cover a variety of miscellaneous topics, such as the National Ski Patrol and postage, and are arranged alphabetically.

Series 7, Moving Image, no date, consists of twenty-one reels of 16 mm film which are unprocessed.

Series 8, Personal Materials, circa 1960s, contain greeting cards and notes and a photograph of Bucheimer with Howard Head.
Arrangement:
Collection organized into eight series.

Series 1: Operational Records, 1967-1973

Series 2: Employee Records, 1957-1973

Series 3: Marketing/Sales Records, 1969-1972

Series 4: Financial/Accounting Records, 1967-1971

Series 5: Engineering/Manufacturing Records, 1956-1977

Subseries 1, Inventories, 1966-1971

Subseries 2, Instructions, 1967-1970

Subseries 3, Repair Information, 1969-1971

Subseries 4, Reports, logs, and notes, 1956-1971

Subseries 5, Drawings and Specifications, 1964-1970

Subseries 6, Testing Information, 1963-1970

Subseries 7, Miscellaneous, 1967-1973

Series 6: General Files, 1954-1977

Series 7: Moving Image, no date

Series 8: Personal Materials, circa 1960s
Biographical / Historical:
John Bucheimer was born on December 7, 1919. During the 1940s, he worked with Howard Head at Glenn L. Martin Company, an aircraft company founded by aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin (1886-1955) in Middle River, Maryland. At Martin, Bucheimer supervised work on planes and oversaw structural testing. Primarily self taught, he learned electronics and drafting skills on the job. Head left the Glenn L. Martin Company to start his own company, Head Ski Company in 1948, and Bucheimer joined him.

Head, a former aircraft engineer, developed, designed, manufactured, and marketed the first metal laminate skis in 1950 called the "Head Standard. These skis revolutionized the industry. They were made of two layers of aluminum bonded around a core of plywood at very high pressure; the outer layer was made of plastic. By 1952, Head introduced skis with edges made of tempered steel. His skis were lighter and faster than wood and earned the nickname "cheaters" by the industry. In 1969, Head introduced a fiberglass/metal ski, but this ski combined with a diversified product line of javelin and aluminum tennis rackets could not strengthen his company nor stop a takeover by AMF in 1970.

At Head Ski Company, Bucheimer held the position of manager of new products manufacturing. He trained employees on every aspect of work flow.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Howard Head Papers, 1926-1991, AC0589

Materials in the National Museum of American History

The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life), formerly the Division of Music, Sports, and Entertainment, holds artifacts related to the Howard Head Papers. These artifacts include downhill skis, ski poles, ski boots, ski bindings, and cross sections of downhill skis.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by John Bucheimer on April 26, 2005.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Sporting goods industry  Search this
Skis and skiing  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings -- 20th century
Correspondence -- 1950-2000
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Business records -- 1950-2000
Audiovisual materials
Financial records -- 20th century
Blueprints -- 1950-2000
Citation:
John Bucheimer Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0889
See more items in:
John Bucheimer Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86b93b069-07a4-488d-93b1-abcbf3d7547c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0889
Online Media:

Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation, Engineering Records

Creator:
Aronson, David, 1923-2015  Search this
Collector:
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
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this
Extent:
3.3 Cubic feet (10 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Blueprints
Articles
Correspondence
Diagrams
Pamphlets
Reprints
Date:
1955-1970
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the correspondence and technical documents related to David Aronson's work as an engineer with the Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation.

The correspondence files relate to acceptance or rejection of products and procedures used in the development and production of the company's products, responses to submissions to the company of inventions and products inventors hoped to license or sell to the company, responses to requests for donations and other funding by Worthington, and general company memos and reports.

The technical files represent the research, design and development processes that Aronson was involved in as a mechanical engineer. Topics include heat pumps, steam generation, geothermal power, gas turbine engines, and nuclear power. Types of material include articles, pamphlets, journal reprints, conference papers, schematics, blueprints and diagrams.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.

Series 1: Correspondence of David Aronson, 1955-1970

Series 2: Technical Materials of David Aronson (numerical), circa 1960s-1970s

Series 3: Technical Files of David Aronson (alphabetical), circa 1960s-1970s
Biographical / Historical:
David Aronson earned a degree in chemical engineering from Cooper Union and the Polytechnic Institute in New York. He joined the Engineering Department of the Worthington Corporation in 1951 as an engineer. While with Worthington, Aronson worked as a manager in development engineering for the Worthington Air Conditioning Company, a division of Worthington Corporation and was instrumental in the advancement of low temperature energy utilization equipment and the development of various energy recovery systems. Aronson served as the chief contact within the Worthington Corporation for individuals and companies interested in engaging in contract work or presenting their invention ideas for development.

Aronson was awarded thirty United States patents which included an oil burner for gas turbine application, large tonnage water chillers for air conditioning, a nuclear powered system using liquid metal coolant, and a heat pump using a fuel-fired engine or turbine. In 1964, Worthington recognized Aronson's achievements with the company's Worldwide Engineering Award.
Provenance:
Donated to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering by David Aronson over the period 1986-1989.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
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:
Heat engineering  Search this
Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery  Search this
Nuclear energy  Search this
Geothermal resources  Search this
Steam  Search this
Geothermal engineering  Search this
Gas-turbine industry  Search this
Engines  Search this
Genre/Form:
Blueprints
Articles
Correspondence -- 1950-2000
Diagrams
Pamphlets -- 1950-2000
Reprints
Citation:
Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation, Engineering Records, 1955-1970, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0947
See more items in:
Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation, Engineering Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep87d30d03c-2d79-4332-a315-3dcce5a21c50
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0947

Ralph H. Baer Papers

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
Online Media:

Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records

Creator:
Gerber, H. Joseph, 1924-1996  Search this
Gerber Scientific Instrument Company (Hartford, Conn.).  Search this
Extent:
75 Cubic feet (182 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Articles
Marketing records
Photographs
Speeches
Correspondence
Catalogs
Clippings
Patents
Business records
Manuals
Legal documents
Date:
1911 - 1999
Summary:
Records document the Gerber Scientific Instrument Company, Hartford, Connecticut, and its four subsidiaries: Gerber Garment Technology, Inc., Gerber Scientific Products, Inc., Gerber Systems Corp., and Gerber Optical, Inc. Gerber Scientific designs, develops, manufactures, markets and services computer aided design and computer aided CAD/CAM systems. The records include correspondence, memoranda, product literature, trade literature, patent records, instruction manuals, proposals, engineering records, photographs, technical reports, drawings, press releases, and newspaper clippings.
Scope and Contents:
The Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records document the company's designs, development, manufacture, and marketing of computer-aided design and computer-aided CAD/CAM systems. The records are arranged into twelve series and consist of Personal, Corporate Records, Engineering Department Records, Product Literature, Instruction Manuals/User Guides, Proposals, Photographs, Trade Literature, Press Releases and Newspaper Clippings, Patent Records, Lectra Systèmes Litigation Materials, and Audio Visual Materials.

Series 1, David R. Pearl, 1968-1984, contains three volumes of diaries kept by David R. Pearl, President of Gerber Garment Technology. The diaries were maintained by Pearl from July 21, 1968 to June 6, 1977, to document Pearl's and H. Joseph Gerber's activities concerning the development of the technology and the establishment of a business to market computer-controlled fabric cutting devices. One notebook contains some materials later than 1977. There are diary entries for September 12, 1979, February 1, 1980, and October 29, 1984.

Series 2, Corporate Records, 1968-1999, includes administrative records, an Industrial Projects Eligibility Review, annual reports, shareholders reports, newsletters, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) materials, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) materials, Gerber Museum documents, and empty Gerber Scientific Instrument Company binders. The administrative documents consist of a corporate history, mission statement, organizational chart, company map, time line and biographies of key corporate personnel. There are two organizational charts: one for the Engineering Organization (software, mechanical and electrical divisions) from 1987 and one for the subsidiary Gerber Garment Technology, Inc. (Gerber Garment Technology (GGT)), dated 1985. Additional organizational charts can be found with the 1968 annual report. The Industrial Projects Eligibility Review was submitted to the Connecticut Development Authority by Gerber Scientific Intsrument (GSI) to facilitate financing for future expansion of the company. A copy of the company's articles of incorporation are here. The newsletters included in this series are in-house publications for employees only. The newsletter Communiqué, 1960, is in Series 4, Product Literature. The NYSE materials include press releases, photographs, the listing application to the NYSE and printed material about Gerber Scientific, Inc. joining the NYSE in October 1980. Gerber Scientific is traded on the Stock Exchange as GRB. The Securities and Exchange Commission files contain Form S-3, a registration statement and the Annual Report, and Form 10-K for Gerber Scientific, Inc. The Gerber Museum file includes photographs of artifacts and a 1996 memo and fax discussing the establishment of a museum to honor H. Joseph Gerber.

Series 3, Engineering Department Records, 1966-1990, is the largest series and is arranged alphabetically by the engineer's last name and then alphabetically by subject/topic. The records include the files of: Ed LaGraize, David Logan, Bud Rich, Ron Webster, and Ken Wood. The majority of engineering files belong to David Logan. Logan joined Gerber Scientific Instrument in 1957 as a project engineer. From 1959 to 1961, he was chief engineer and then became Vice President of Engineering from 1961 to 1963. From 1963 to 1980, Logan served as Senior Vice President of Engineering. He holds several patents, primarily in the field of plotting devices and control systems. The engineering files contain technical memoranda, correspondence, drawings, product literature, trade literature, notes, and drawings.

Series 4, Product Literature, 1953-1996, contains informational sheets for a variety of products available from Gerber Scientific, Inc. and its subsidiary companies. Gerber Scientific Instrument (GSI) creates designs, manufactures and promotes data reduction equipment of many types. Data reduction equipment allows complex mathematical problems to be solved quickly and accurately. Both analogue and digital systems are offered. The bulk of the product literature falls into the following categories: instruments, data reader systems, recorders, special scanning tables, oscillogram amplitude tabulators, standard system scanners, and plotters. The series is arranged alphabetically by name of product with a few exceptions.

Series 5, Instruction Manuals/User Guides, 1953-1980, undated, is divided into two subseries, Gerber Scientific Instrument Company manuals and other companies' manuals. This series contains instruction manuals, maintenance manuals, and users' guides for a variety of Gerber Scientific, Inc. products. The Gerber System Model 1434, Ultra Precise Artwork Generator which provides precision photo-plotting on photo-sensitive material is well represented among the manuals. The other companies represented include Bendix Industrial Controls and the KOH-I-NOOR Rapidograph, Inc.

Series 6, Proposals, 1961-1980, consists of bound certified and signed technical and bid proposals completed by Gerber Scientific Instrument Company detailing available and actual estimated costs and pricing data for Gerber products. The proposals were assembled for specific companies such as North American Aviation.

Series 7, Photographs, 1948-1974, undated, is further divided into three subseries: Product and Client Files, 1966-1974, undated; Gerber Scientific Instrument (Gerber Scientific Intsrument (GSI) Corporate, 1948-1970, undated; and Numerical, 1966-1974, undated photographs. The majority of photographs are 8" x 10" black-and-white prints. The product and client file photographs are arranged alphabetically. The Gerber Scientific Instrument (GSI) corporate photographs include photographs of GSI buildings both interior and exterior shots, employees, employee functions such as banquets, annual meetings, tours, stockholder meetings, and trade shows. The numerical photographs are arranged numerically according to the number assigned on the reverse of the photograph. Some of the numerical photographs are identified by product name, but others are labeled unidentified.

Series 8, Trade Literature, 1947-1992, is arranged alphabetically by company name. The trade literature in this series is from competitors or from companies that used Gerber products.

Series 9, Press Releases and Newspaper Clippings, 1943-1996, is divided into two subseries, Press Releases, 1972-1982 and Newspaper Clippings, 1943-1996. The press releases are arranged chronologically. This series contains information on H. Joseph Gerber, his company and its subsidiaries, and the garment and apparel industry. The newspaper clippings are arranged chronologically and include a wide variety of local Connecticut and United States newspapers and industry specific magazines such as Bobbin and Apparel Industry.

Series 10, Patent Records, 1911-1985, contains copies of patents, correspondence with patent attorneys and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, patent search results, and other legal filings associated with the patenting process. The materials are arranged chronologically with the name of the equipment or instruments being patented noted.

Series 11, Lectra Systèmes Litigation Materials, 1968-1990, contains documents that mainly deal with Lectra (France), but there are documents about patent infringement for Lectra (Japan) and Lectra (United Kingdom). The materials consist of depositions by David Pearl, then president of Gerber Garment Technology, and David Siegelman, then Vice President and General Manager for Lectra Systèmes, Inc., in the United States. Confidential progress reports, memoranda, correspondence, competition reports, drawings and sketches, notes, and other documents summarize events in the litigation history.

Lectra Systèmes was formed on November 12, 1973 at Bordeaux-Cestas (France) by two visionary engineers, Jean and Bernard Etcheparre. They developed a computer system, the LECteur-TRAceur 200, which automatically calculated and plotted all sizes of an item of apparel. The Lectra Systèmes litigation materials document Gerber Garment Technology's claim that Lectra infringed upon Gerber's line of cutting machines. The specific patents being infringed are United States patents: 3,955,458; 4,205,835; and 3,765,289. In September 1986, Lectra introduced a new line of cutting machines that cost roughly half as much as Gerber's top-of-the-line competing system. Gerber Garment Technology filed suit in the United States and France as Gerber Garment Technology, Inc. v. Lectra Systems, Inc. Civil Action No. 1:86-cv-2054CAM. In 1992, Lectra Systems, Inc., appealled the judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District infringement of Gerber's U.S. Patent No. 3,955,458 ('458 patent) and denied Lectra's claim that Gerber's U.S. Patent No., 4,205,835 ('835 patent) is unenforceable.

Series 12, Audio Visual Materials, 1986-1998, includes 3⁄4" U-matic, 1⁄2" VHS, audio cassettes, BetaCam SP, and one Super 8mm color, silent camera original reversal film. The majority the of audio visual materials cover interviews with H. Joseph Gerber, the National Technology of Medal ceremony, and sales and marketing footage for various Gerber products.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into twelve series.

Series 1: David R. Pearl Materials, 1968-1984

Series 2: Corporate Records, 1968-2002

Subseries 2.1: Administrative, circa 1977-1995

Subseries 2.2: Industrial Projects Eligibility Review, undated (contains articles of incorporation for Gerber Scientific)

Subseries 2.3: Annual Reports, 1968-1999

Subseries 2.4: Shareholders Reports, 1990-1995, 1997, 1998

Subseries 2.5: Newsletters, 1969-1996

Subseries 2.6: New York Stock Exchange, 1980 October

Subseries 2.7: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 1983-1992

Subseries 2.8: Gerber Museum, 1996

Subseries 2.9: Gerber Scientific Instrument Company binders (empty), undated

Subseries 2.10: Stock and Financial Information, 1949-2002

Series 3: Engineering Department Records, 1966-1990

Subseries 3.1: Ed LaGraize's Files, 1978-1990

Subseries 3.2: Dave Logan's Engineering Files, 1966-1990

Subseries 3.3: Dave Logan's Competitors Files, 1966-1982

Subseries 3.4: Bud Rich's Files, 1967-1980

Subseries 3.5, Ron Webster's Files, 1963-1992

Subseries 3.6: Ken Wood's Files, 1976-1980

Subseries 3.7: Ken Wood's Case Study of Model 1434, 1966-1989

Subseries 3.8: General Engineering Files, 1970-1980

Series 4: Product Literature, 1953-1996

Series 5: Instruction Manuals/User Guides, 1953-1980, undated

Subseries 5.1: Gerber Scientific Instrument Company, 1953-1979

Subseries 5.2: Other Companies, 1962, 1980

Series 6: Proposals, 1961-1980

Series 7: Photographs, 1948-1974, undated

Subseries 7.1, Product and Client Files, 1966-1974, undated

Subseries 7.2, Gerber Scientific Instrument Corporate, 1948-1970, undated

Subseries 7.3, Numerical, 1966-1974, undated

Series 8: Trade Literature, 1947-1992

Series 9: Press Releases and Newspaper Clippings, 1943-1998

Subseries 9.1: Press Releases, 1972-1998

Subseries 9.2: Newspaper clippings, 1943-1996

Subseries 9.3: Articles, 1969-1991

Series 10: Patent Records, 1911-1985

Series 11: Lectra Systèmes Litigation Materials, 1968-1990

Series 12: Audio Visual Materials, 1986-1998
Biographical / Historical:
Heinz Joseph "Joe" Gerber was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 17, 1924. In 1940, Gerber escaped the Nazis and immigrated to New York City and then to Hartford, Connecticut, with his mother Bertha Gerber, a dressmaker. Gerber's father, Jacob, is presumed to have died in a concentration camp. Gerber attended Weaver High School and graduated in two years (1943). He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, on a scholarship and earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1947. As a junior at RPI, Gerber developed the Gerber Variable Scale, his first invention. The earliest version of the variable scale was fashioned from an elastic band removed from a pair of pajamas. Gerber created a rubber rule and scale that could flow with a curve, expand, contract, and turn a corner. The scale allows for direct reading of curves, graphs, and graphical representations, giving direct numerical readings of proportions, spacing and interpolation. The Variable Scale became the building block of what would become Gerber Scientific Instrument Inc.

With financial assistance from Abraham Koppleman, a newspaper and magazine distributor in Hartford, Gerber and Koppleman formed a partnership and incorporated Gerber Scientific Instrument Company in 1948. Gerber served as president, Koppleman as treasurer, and Stanley Levin as secretary. The manufacture of Variable Scale was jobbed out and the distribution was conducted from Hartford. Gerber also worked as a design analytical engineer for Hamilton Standard Propellers of United Aircraft and for Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Shares of Gerber Scientific Instrument Company were eventually sold to the public in 1961, and in 1978, the company changed its name to Gerber Scientific, Inc. In the 1960s and 1970s, Gerber developed the first series of precision, computer-driven cutting systems for the apparel industry called the Gerber Cutter. The cutters introduced automation to the garment industry. In 1967, Gerber realized that the U.S. garment industry, due to a lack of automation, was faced with increasing overseas competition. Gerber's solution was to engineer the GERBERcutter S-70, a machine that cuts apparel quickly and effectively while using less cloth.

Gerber holds more than 600 United States and foreign patents. Many of his patents relate to the United States apparel industry. In 1994, Gerber was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton for helping to revolutionize the optical, garment, automotive, and other industries. His pioneering achievements include:

-a generation of data readers (electromechanical devices that converted graphical data directly into computer readable format);

-projection systems that interactively converted information from aerial photographs for use in computers;

-devices that plotted digital output data from computer cards or tape;

-digital numerically-controlled drafting machines which verify the accuracy of the cutting path of numerical machine tools;

-a photoplotter (drafting machine configured with a unique light source to directly draw high accuracy layouts of printed circuit board masters on photographic film or glass with light beams); and

-systems with laser technology to draw at high speeds.1

Subsequent subsidiaries of Gerber Scientific, Inc., were: Gerber Garment Technology, Inc. (GGT); Gerber Scientific Products, Inc. (GSP); Gerber Systems Corp. (GSC), and Gerber Optical, Inc., (GO). GGT makes computer-controlled cutting and design equipment for apparel, automotive, aerospace and other industries. GSP produces systems for sign-making and graphic arts industries. GSC makes production systems for printing, industrial machinery and other industries. GO makes equipment for the optical-lens manufacturing industry.2

In 1954, Gerber married Sonia Kanciper. They had a daughter, Melisa Tina Gerber, and a son, David Jacques Gerber. H. Joseph Gerber died on August 9, 1996, at the age of 72.

Sources

1 National Medal of Technology, 1994.

2 W. Joseph Campbell, "High Tech and Low Key as Gerber Scientific Mounts a Recovery Philosophy that Reflects Innovative Founder," Hartford Courant, May 16, 1994.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Gerber Fabric Cutter Video Documentation, February 1996 (AC0609)

This videohistory documents the inventor, engineers, assembly workers, operators and other technicians who worked with the computer-controlled fabric cutter.

Heinz Joseph Gerber Papers (AC1336)

This collection documents Joseph Gerber's personal life including his highschool and college years, correpondence with family and friends, and speeches given by Gerber throughout his life.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by David Gerber, son of H. Joseph Gerber, on December 23, 2006.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Fabric cutters -- 1960-1990  Search this
Inventors  Search this
Computerized instruments -- 1960-1990  Search this
Automation -- 1960-1990  Search this
Machinery -- 1960-1990  Search this
Machine-tool industry  Search this
Genre/Form:
Articles
Marketing records
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 1940-2000
Speeches
Correspondence -- 20th century
Catalogs
Clippings
Patents
Business records -- 1950-2000
Manuals
Legal documents
Citation:
Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0929
See more items in:
Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep88334dd19-fd95-4a08-86ae-c77d0c0e2958
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0929
Online Media:

Patricia Bath Papers

Donor:
Bath, Eraka  Search this
Inventor:
Bath, Patricia, Dr., 1942-2019  Search this
Extent:
11.5 Cubic feet (12 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Patents
Reports
Date:
1960-2019
Summary:
Papers document ophthalmologist, inventor, scientist, and educator, Dr. Patricia Bath (1942-2019), a pioneering laser scientist whose patented medical invention—the LaserPhaco.
Content Description:
The papers document Dr. Bath's medical career and professional positions, invention work on the Laserphaco, advocacy and community work, presentations, and publications. The collection contains awards, clippings, correspondence, patents, research notes, business records, education materials, scrapbooks, photographs and slides, audio visual materials, physician's bag, and a prototype of her Laserphaco Probe.
Arrangement:
Collection is unarranged.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Eraka Bath, 2023
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Occupation:
Surgeons  Search this
Topic:
Black people -- Race identity  Search this
Blindness  Search this
Inventors, Black  Search this
Lasers  Search this
Ophthalmology  Search this
Patents -- United States  Search this
Women inventors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Correspondence -- 20th century
Correspondence -- 21st century
Patents -- 1950-2000
Reports
Citation:
Patricia Bath Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1585
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cd72edb2-958a-4f35-a487-186d403842e6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1585

Robert Studebaker Oral History

Topic:
LaserPlane
Interviewee:
Studebaker, Robert  Search this
Interviewer:
Warner, Deborah Jean  Search this
Creator:
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.  Search this
Names:
Process Equipment Company  Search this
Spectra Precision  Search this
Extent:
0.25 Cubic feet (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Oral history
Videotapes
Interviews
Date:
1998.
Scope and Contents:
Collection documents Robert Studebaker, inventor of the LaserPlane, the first modern alternative to the liquid level. The first model was introduced in 1965.
Arrangement:
Divided into 3 series: (1) Original videos; (2) Master videos; (3) Reference videos.
Related Archival Materials:
LaserPlane models located in NMAH Division of Science, Medicine and Society (now Division of Medicine and Science).
Provenance:
Created by the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History, 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original videos are 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.Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Museum holds rights. Signed release on file.
Topic:
Tools -- 1960-1970 -- United States  Search this
Level indicators -- 1960-1970  Search this
Leveling -- 1960-1970  Search this
Inventors -- 1950-2000  Search this
Inventions -- 1960-1970  Search this
Civil engineering -- 1960-1970  Search this
Genre/Form:
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Videotapes -- 1990-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Citation:
Robert Studebaker Oral History, 1998, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0670
See more items in:
Robert Studebaker Oral History
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep862953a05-b617-4591-b3bb-d63d08436e0f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0670

Richard Bond Clock Escapement Video Documentation: videotapes

Creator:
Todd, W. David (William David)  Search this
Stephens, Carlene E., 1949-  Search this
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.  Search this
Names:
William Bond and Son.  Search this
Bond, Richard F. (inventor)  Search this
Extent:
0.25 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Oral history
Videotapes
Betacam sp (videotape format)
Date:
1997-12-07
Scope and Contents note:
2.5 hours of videotape documenting a succession of clock escapements invented by Richard F. Bond in the 19th century. Bond's invention was called isodynamic escapement.
Arrangement:
1 series: 5 items (original videotapes only).
Related Archival Materials:
Two of the three regulators videotaped are located in the Division of the History of Technology collections (now Division of Medicine and Science).
Provenance:
Made for the national Museum of American History, December 17, 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original videos are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some oral histories are restricted Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Museum owns all rights to this videotape.
Topic:
Inventors -- 19th century  Search this
Time clocks  Search this
Time  Search this
Clocks and watches  Search this
Clocks and watches -- Escapements  Search this
Horology  Search this
Inventions -- 19th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Oral history -- 1950-2000
Videotapes
BetaCam SP (videotape format)
Citation:
Richard Bond Clock Escapement Video Documentation, 1997, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0682
See more items in:
Richard Bond Clock Escapement Video Documentation: videotapes
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8299d87a6-2700-4cf7-ba1e-cf11fb273e48
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0682

Subhendu Guha Innovative Lives Presentation

Creator:
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.  Search this
Guha, Subhendu  Search this
Names:
United Solar Systems Corporation.  Search this
Berger, Sondra  Search this
Extent:
0.5 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Oral history
Videotapes
Interviews
Photographs
Date:
1998
Summary:
This collection contains original, master, and reference videos documentingSubhendu Guha, inventor of the solar shingle.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains original, master, and reference videos and photographs and transcripts for select footage from the Subhendu Guha Innovatibve Lives Presentation.
Arrangement:
Collection divided into three series.

Series 1: Original videos, 1998

Series 2: Master videos, 1998

Series 3: Reference videos, 1998

Series 4: Photographs, 1998
Biographical / Historical:
Subhendu Guha was born in Calcutta, India. He studied physics at Presidency College and later did graduate work at the University of Calcutta. Guha earned his Ph.D from the University of Calcutta in 1968 and joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, India. At the Tata Institute, Guha investigated certain properties of semiconductors. He became interested in the use of semiconductors to convert sunlight into electricity. The conversion of sunlight to electricity is known as photovoltaics. Guha's concern for environmental and societal problems led him to focus on amorphous silicon, an element found in sand that can be applied as a thin film to produce photovoltaic material. This research led Guha to add hydrogen in the production process, which made a more useful amorphous silicon . Practical applications for Guha's work led him to Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) in the United States. ECD promoted the use of solar energy for a variety of applications. Ultimately, Guha joined an ECD joint company, United Solar Systems to manufacture solar cells. His research led him to produce a photovoltaic panel that is seven feet long and a foot wide, is lightweight, flexible, rugged, durable, and is easy to install with conventional panels. The panels were innovative because of their design, materials, and production process. Manufacturing begins with stainless steel that is washed to remove surface dirt. Two layers of reflective coating are then applied followed by layers of amorphous silicon and amorphous silicon-germanium alloys. Each layer absorbs a different photon-energy wave length. The panels can be mounted on a roof with nails. Wires are then dropped from the panels into a building where they are hooked to the buildings electrical boxes to channel energy to circuits. The flexible solar shingle is manufactured by United Solar Systems Corporation of Troy, Michigan.
Provenance:
This collection was created by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on October 21, 1998. The Innovative Lives series brings young people and American inventors together to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original videos are 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:
Photovoltaic cells -- 1960-2000  Search this
Solar energy -- 1960-2000  Search this
Solar energy  Search this
Shingles -- 1960-2000  Search this
Photovoltaic power generation -- 1960-2000  Search this
Electricity -- 1960-2000  Search this
Inventions -- 1950-2000  Search this
Genre/Form:
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Videotapes -- 1990-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Photographs
Citation:
Subhendu Guha Innovative Lives Presentation, 1998, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0668
See more items in:
Subhendu Guha Innovative Lives Presentation
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8be76a066-57f3-4622-b57c-4c801020a420
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0668
Online Media:

William "Cat" Anderson Collection

Creator:
Anderson, William "Cat", 1916-1981 (musician)  Search this
Names:
Cat Anderson Quintet  Search this
Duke Ellington Orchestra  Search this
Lionel Hampton Orchestra  Search this
Mingus Quintet  Search this
Bechet, Sidney (musician)  Search this
Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994  Search this
Carter, Benny, 1907-2003  Search this
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this
Fitzgerald, Ella, 1917-1996  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978  Search this
Humphrey, Muriel  Search this
Johnson, Lucy Bird  Search this
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973  Search this
Tatum, Art, 1909-1956  Search this
Webster, Ben  Search this
Extent:
5 Cubic feet (12 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Transcripts
Oral histories (document genres)
Oral history
Phonograph records
Photographs
Recordings
Interviews
Clippings
Audiotapes
Awards
Audiocassettes
Articles
Date:
1940-1981
bulk 1963-1977
Scope and Contents note:
Primarily audiotapes, sheet music, and photographic images. Also: correspondence, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, itineraries, awards, and ephemera.,Of particular interest are recordings or photographic images, including the personalities listed below, and President and Mrs. Tubman of Liberia; also, two interviews and three recordings of Cat Anderson as guest with various university and college jazz bands.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into four series.

Series 1: Music

Series 2: Original tapes and recordings

Series 3: Photographs

Series 4: Miscellaneous
Biographical/Historical note:
Cat Anderson (Sept 12, 1916 - April 29, 1981) was one of the premier trumpet players of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Known for his effortless high notes, he was a strong section leader and a great soloist whose style exhibited humor and precision. He grew up in Jenkins= Orphanage in Charleston, SC, received basic music training there, and participated in many of their famous student ensembles. He formed and played with the Cotton Pickers, a group of orphanage teens while still a young man. Before joining Ellington in 1944, he played in several big bands, including Claude Hopkins and Lionel Hampton. Anderson left the Ellington organization from 1947 through 1949 again to lead his own group. From 1959 to1961 and after 1971 Anderson free lanced, working with the Ellington orchestra intermittently. He died in 1981 after receiving honors from the US Air Force, the Prix du Disque de Jazz, and the City of Los Angeles.
Related Archival Materials:
Related artifacts include: awards, plaques, mutes, trumpet mouth pieces, and the Jon Williams/Cat Anderson simulator in the Division of Cultural and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life). See accession: 1998.3074.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History in January 1998, by Dorothy Anderson, Cat Anderson's widow. It was acquired through negotiations with her, her brother, Mr. John Coffey and her nephew, Andrew Brazington. The materials were picked up from Mr. John Coffey of upper N.W. Washington, DC on January 21, 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Master tapes not available to researchers.
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.

Copyright status of items varies. Signed copies of releases on file.
Occupation:
Composers -- 20th century  Search this
Topic:
Music -- 20th century  Search this
Music -- Acoustics and physics  Search this
Musicians -- 20th century  Search this
Piano and synthesizer music  Search this
Inventions -- 1980-2000  Search this
Synthesizer music  Search this
Electric engineering -- 1980-2000  Search this
Band musicians  Search this
African American musicians  Search this
Jazz musicians -- United States  Search this
Inventors -- 20th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuscripts -- Music -- 20th century
Transcripts
Oral histories (document genres)
Oral history
Phonograph records
Photographs -- 20th century
Recordings
Interviews
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Clippings -- 20th century
Audiotapes -- 1940-1980
Awards
Audiocassettes
Audiotapes
Articles -- 1940-1980
Citation:
William "Cat" Anderson Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0630
See more items in:
William "Cat" Anderson Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep891a9a0e4-7c4f-4956-b81e-6d65c57e1f29
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0630
Online Media:

Computer Oral History Collection

Creator:
Blanch, Gertrude  Search this
Bloch, Richard M.  Search this
Bradburn, James  Search this
Brainerd, John G.  Search this
Brown, George W.  Search this
Brown, Gordon S.  Search this
Buchholz, Werner  Search this
Burns, Robert  Search this
Atanasoff, John V.  Search this
Atchison, William  Search this
Auerbach, Issac  Search this
Bartik, Jean  Search this
Bauer, William  Search this
Beek, Allan  Search this
Bernstein, Mort  Search this
Bigelow, Julian  Search this
Coleman  Search this
Cohen, I. Bernhard  Search this
Computer History Forum.  Search this
COT Meeting.  Search this
Coombs, John  Search this
Crawford, Perry O.  Search this
Couret, Lynn  Search this
Campbell, Robert V.  Search this
Campaigne, Howard  Search this
Cannon, Edward  Search this
Canning, R.G.  Search this
Clem, Mary  Search this
Cass, James  Search this
CODASYL Meeting.  Search this
Clippinger, Richard F.  Search this
MIT Club Talks (Brown & Wiener).  Search this
Andrews, Ernest G.  Search this
American Federation of Information Processing Societies  Search this
Alt, Franz  Search this
Alrich, John  Search this
Association for Computing Machinery.  Search this
Association for Computing Machinery.  Search this
Argonne National Laboratories R.  Search this
Allard, Gerry  Search this
Aiken, Howard  Search this
Adams, Charles  Search this
Acton, Forman  Search this
Halstead, Maurice H.  Search this
Harmon, Leon  Search this
Harvey, Samuel  Search this
Hazen, Dean Harold  Search this
Gruenberger, Fred  Search this
Gunning, William  Search this
Hagen, Glenn E.  Search this
Hall, W.  Search this
Greenwald, Irwin  Search this
Greenwarld, Sidney  Search this
Griswold, Ralph E.  Search this
Grosch, Herbert R. J.  Search this
Goheen, Harry E.  Search this
Good, I.J.  Search this
Goteib, C.C.  Search this
Granholm, Jackson  Search this
Israel, David R.  Search this
Huskey, Harry D.  Search this
Kates, Josef  Search this
Juncosa, Mario  Search this
Householder, Alston S.  Search this
Horwitz, Bernhard R.  Search this
Hurd, Cuthbert R.  Search this
Howard, Bernard  Search this
Hopper, Grace Murray, 1906-1992  Search this
Holbrook, Bernard  Search this
Horner, Joseph  Search this
Horn, Robert J.  Search this
Herold, Henry  Search this
Herget, Paul  Search this
Holberton, Betty  Search this
Hertz, Ted  Search this
Elkins, Harold  Search this
Estrin, Gerald  Search this
Edwards, Walt  Search this
Elbourn, Robert  Search this
Eckert, J. Presper (John Presper), 1919-1995  Search this
Eddy, Robert Philip  Search this
Downey, William  Search this
Eckdahl, Donald  Search this
Dodd, Stephen  Search this
Dotts, Richard D.  Search this
Dietzhold, Robert  Search this
Dimsdale, Bernard  Search this
Desch, Joseph  Search this
Dickinson, Arthur H.  Search this
Curtiss, John H.  Search this
Dederick, Louis S.  Search this
Glazer, T.  Search this
Givens, Wallace  Search this
Gill, Stanley  Search this
Geisler, Murray  Search this
Garrison, Ken  Search this
Frankel, Stanley  Search this
Forrester, Jay W.  Search this
Forrest, Cameron B.  Search this
Forbes, George  Search this
Fenaughty, Alfred L.  Search this
Fein, Louis  Search this
Feign, David  Search this
Farrand, William R.  Search this
Fall Joint Computer Conference, 12/6/72.  Search this
Fall Joint Computer Conference, 11/17/71.  Search this
Everett, Robert  Search this
Nelson, Eldred  Search this
Neisius, Vincent  Search this
Northrop, John  Search this
Neovius, G.  Search this
Parker, R.D.  Search this
Palevsky, Max  Search this
Phelps, Byron R.  Search this
Patrick, Robert  Search this
Pickrell, D.  Search this
Phister, Montgomery  Search this
Pollmyer, R.  Search this
Polachek, Harry  Search this
Quady, Emmett  Search this
Postley, John A. R.  Search this
Rajchman, Jan  Search this
Ream, Norman  Search this
Reed, Irving S.  Search this
Rees, Mina  Search this
Rhodes, Ida  Search this
Rice, Rex  Search this
Rochester, Nathaniel  Search this
Rogers, Jim  Search this
Rogers, Stanley  Search this
Rosenberg, Milton  Search this
Rosenthal, Paul R.  Search this
Rubinoff, Morris R.  Search this
Salzer, John M.  Search this
Samuel, Arthur L. R.  Search this
Sarkissian, Harold  Search this
Schuette, Roger  Search this
Serrell, Robert R.  Search this
King, Paul  Search this
Kilpatrick, Lester  Search this
Killian, James  Search this
Kaufold, Leroy R.  Search this
Lanzarotta, Sandy R.  Search this
Kreuder, Norman L.  Search this
Korn, Irving  Search this
Kirsch, Russell  Search this
Lovell, Clarence A.  Search this
Lehmer, Derrick H.  Search this
Legvold, Sam  Search this
Larson, Harry  Search this
Martin, Richard R.  Search this
Marden, Ethel  Search this
Madden, Don R.  Search this
Lowe, John  Search this
McPherson, John C.  Search this
Mendelson, Jerry  Search this
Mason, Daniel R.  Search this
Mauchly, John R.  Search this
Michel, J.G.L. R.  Search this
Miller, Frederick G.  Search this
Menzel, Donald H.  Search this
Metropolis, Nicholas C.  Search this
Mitchell, Joel  Search this
MITRE Meeting.  Search this
Mills, Roger L.  Search this
Morton, Paul  Search this
Mumford, Louis  Search this
Mock, Owen  Search this
Morse, Philip B.  Search this
Wilkinson, James H. R.  Search this
Wilkes, Maurice R.  Search this
Wizenbaum, Joe  Search this
Williams, Charles  Search this
Wieselman, Irving  Search this
Wiener, Robert  Search this
Wild, Arthur  Search this
Wieser, C. Robert  Search this
Wrench, John W. R.  Search this
Woodger, Michael  Search this
Yowell, E.C. R.  Search this
Youtz, Pat  Search this
Woo, Way Dong  Search this
Wolfe, Philip  Search this
Woodbury, William R.  Search this
Wood, Ben D.  Search this
Zemanek, Heinz  Search this
Zuse, Konrad  Search this
Smagorinsky, Joseph  Search this
Slutz, Ralph R.  Search this
Skramstad, Harold R.  Search this
Skillman, Sherwood R.  Search this
SIAM/SIGNUM Meeting.  Search this
SIAM-72.  Search this
SHARE XXXVIII.  Search this
SHARE Meeting for Pioneers.  Search this
Taylor, Norman  Search this
Tanaka, David  Search this
Strong, Jack  Search this
Stibitz, George  Search this
Steele, Floyd G. R.  Search this
Sprague, Richard E.  Search this
Snyder, Samuel  Search this
Smith, Charles V.L.  Search this
TV Program KQED.  Search this
Uncapher, Keith  Search this
Torfeh, Mark  Search this
Travis, Irven  Search this
Todd-Tausskky, Olga  Search this
Tomash, Erwin  Search this
Toben, Gregory  Search this
Todd, John  Search this
Wheeler, R.J.  Search this
Whirlwind Discussion.  Search this
Ware, Willis H.  Search this
Wegstein, Joseph Henry  Search this
Wagner, Frank  Search this
Wang, An R.  Search this
von Hippel, Arthur  Search this
von Neumann, John  Search this
Armer, Paul, 1924- (computer technician)  Search this
Interviewee:
Rabinow, Jacob, 1910-  Search this
Former owner:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Computers, Information and Society  Search this
Extent:
43.5 Cubic feet (158 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Interviews
Oral history
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Videotapes
Date:
1969-1973, 1977
Summary:
The Computer Oral History Collection (1969-1973, 1977), was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 with the main objective to collect, document, house, and make available for research source material surrounding the development of the computer.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 43.5 cubic feet of material documenting the development of the computer.
ABC -- Atanasoff-Berry Computer

ACE -- Automatic Computing Engine

ACM -- Association for Computing Machinery

ALGOL -- ALGOLrithmic Language

ALWAC -- Axel Wenner-Gren Automatic Computer

ARPA -- Advanced Research Projects Agency

BACAIC -- Boeing Airplane Company Algebraic Interpretative Computing System

BARK -- Binar Automatisk Rela Kalkylator

BINAC -- Binary Automatic Computer

BIZMAC -- Business Machine

BMEW -- Ballistic Missile Early Warning (System)

BUIC -- Back-up Interceptor Control

CADAC -- Cambridge Digital Automatic Computer

CALDIC -- California Digital Computer

CEC -- Consolidated Electrodynamics Corporation

CEIR -- Council for Economic and Industry Research

COBOL -- Common Business-Oriented Language

CODASYL -- Conference on Data Systems Languages

CONAC -- Continental Automatic Command

COMTRAN -- Commercial Translator

CPC -- Card Programmed Calculator

CRC -- Computer Response Corporation

DARPA -- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DINA -- Digital Network Analyzer

DDA -- Digital Differential Analyzer

EDSAC -- Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator

EDVAC -- Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer

EAM -- Electric [or Electronic] Accounting Machines [or Methods]

ENIAC -- Electronic Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer

ERA -- Engineering Research Associates

ERMA -- Electronic Recording and Machine Accounting

FADAC -- Field Artillery Data Computer

FSQ -- Fixed Special eQuipment

IAS -- Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton University)

ICBM -- Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

ILLIAC -- Illinois Automatic Computer

INTERCOM -- Intercommunication System (Programming Language)

JOHNNIAC -- John [von Neumann's ] Integrator and Automatic Computer

JOSS -- Johnniac [John's Integrator and Automatic Computer] Open Shop System

LARK -- Livermore Atomic Research Computer

LAS -- Laboratories of Applied Science

LGP -- Librascope

MAC -- Magnetic Automatic Calculator/Multiple Access Computer

MADDIDA -- Magnetic Drum Digital Differential Analyzer

MAGIC -- Machine for Automatic Graphics Interface to a Computer

MANIAC -- Mathematical Analyzer, Numerical Integrator, and Computer

MIDAC -- Michigan [University of] Digital Automatic Computer

MIDSAC -- Michigan [University of} Digital Special Automatic Computer

MINAC -- Minimal Automatic Computer

MIT -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MITRE -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Establishment

MX -- Missile, Experimental

NATDAN -- North American Digital Anaylzer

NATPAC -- North American Programmed Automatic Computer

NDRC -- National Defense Research Committee [of Office of Scientific Research and Development, World War II]

NELIAC -- Naval Electronics Laboratory International Algebraic Compiler

NORC -- Naval Ordnance Research Calculator [or computer] [Naval Ordnance Proving Ground]

NTDS -- Naval Tactical Data Systems

ONR -- Office of Naval Research

ORACLE -- Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine

ORDVAC -- Ordnance Discrete Variable Automatic Computer [AEC]

OSRD -- Office of Standard Reference Data [National Bureau of Standards]

PACT -- Project for the Advancement of Coding Techniques

QUAC -- Quadratic Arc Computer

RAMAC -- Random Access Memory Accounting Machine

RAYDAC -- Raytheon Digital Automatic Computer

REAC -- Reeves Electronic Analog Computer

RECOMP -- Reliable COMPuter

RESISTOR -- Reusable Surface Insulation Stresses [NASA computer program]

SCERT -- Systems and Computer Evaluation Review Technique

SCM -- Smith Corona Merchant

SEAC -- U.S. Bureau of Standards Eastern Automatic Computer

SHARE -- Society to Help Avoid Redundant Effort

SHOT -- Society for the History of Technology

SIAM -- Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

SILLIAC -- Sydney [version of the ] Illiac

SIMSCRIPT -- Simulation Script

SNOBOL -- String-Oriented Symbolic Language

SSEC -- Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator

SUBROC -- Submarine Rocket

SWAC -- U.S. Bureau of Standards Western Automatic Computer

TPM -- Tape Processing Machine

UDEC -- United Digital Electronic Computer

UNIVAC -- Universal Automatic Computer

WEIZAC -- Weizmann Automatic Computer [at Weizmann Institute]

WISC -- Wisconsin Integrally Synchronized Computer
NT=No Transcript

R=Restricted
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.

Series 1: Transcripts, 1967-1973, 1977

Series 2: Supplemental Documentation, 1922-1974

Series 3: Patents, 1940-1973

Series 4: John Vincent Atanasoff's Materials, 1927-1968

Series 5: Audio Tapes, 1967-1974, 1977

Series 6: Video Tapes, 1968-1972
Biographical / Historical:
The Computer Oral History Collection (1969-1973, 1977), was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 with the main objective to collect, document, house, and make available for research source material surrounding the development of the computer. The project collected taped oral interviews with individuals who figured prominently in developing or advancing the computer field and supplemental written documentation--working papers, reports, drawings, and photographs. The AFIPS provided the "seed" money to support the project and to aid the Smithsonian with its expenditures. Interviews were conducted by I.B. Cohen, A. Dettinger, Bonnie Kaplan, Elizabeth Luebbert, William Luebbert, Robina Mapstone, Richard Mertz, Uta Merzbach, and Henry Tropp. In some instances, the audio tapes and/or transcripts are not "formal" interviews, but rather moderated panel discussions/meetings, or lectures delivered by interviewees.
Related Materials:
The Archives Center contains several "computer" related collections:

American National Standards Institute, 1969-1979

Association for Computing Machinery Collection, 1958-1978 (Washington, D.C., Chapter)

N.W. Ayer Advertsing Agency Records, 1889-1972

Paul Armer Collection, 1949-1970

Robert G. Chamberlain Numerical Control Collection, 1954-1984

J. Childs Numerical Control Collection, 1952-1970

Computer Standards Collection, 1958-1978

Computer World Smithsonian Awards Collection, 1989-2001

Data Processing Digest Collection, 1955-1974

Max Holland Machine Tool Industry Collection, circa 1941-1990

Grace Murray Hopper Collection, 1944-1965

Information Age Exhibition Records, 1979-1990

Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project Records, 1950-1957

Instrument Society of America Collection, 1911-1969

Odex I Walking Robot Collection, 1973-1986

Jacob Rabinow Papers, 1910-1917; 1947-1990

Terry M. Sachs Collection, 1965-1969

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, circa 1950-1980

Share Numerical Analysis Project Records, 1964-1970

SHARE Records, circa 1954-1984

Cliff Shaw papers, circa 1954-1985

Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Records, 1956-1992

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, circa 1754-1965

Whirlwind I Computer Collection, 1945-1959

B.H. Worsley Collection, 1946-1959

Within the National Museum of American History there are other related collections that may be found in the Division of Medicine and Science. These collections contain both artifacts and documents. Artifacts include: digital computing machines, automatic digital computers and electronic calculators, logic devices, card and tape processors, slide rules, integrators and integraphs, harmonic analyzers and synthesizers, differential analyzers, other analog computing devices, space measurement and representation, time measurement, and combination space and time measurement. Documentation includes the Electronic Computers History Collection and the Mathematical Devices History Collection. Photographs and video materials can also be found. The Smithsonian Institution Archives contains administrative documentation regarding the Computer History Project.
Provenance:
The Computer Oral History Collection was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 and was concluded in 1973. This collection was transferred to the Archives Center in approximately 1986 from the Division of Information, Technology & Society, formerly known as the Division of Electricity.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but original audio tapes and videotapes are stored off-site. Reference copies do not exist for all of the audiovisual materials. 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:
Computers  Search this
Engineers  Search this
Mathematics  Search this
Mathematicians  Search this
Physicists  Search this
Scientists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Oral history
Sound recordings -- Compact disks
Transcripts
Videotapes
Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0196
See more items in:
Computer Oral History Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b666ccc2-1644-4513-9a64-89be727d5419
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0196
Online Media:

Robert Ledley Papers

Creator:
Ledley, Robert S.  Search this
National Biomedical Research Foundation. Georgetown University  Search this
Names:
Automatic Computerized Transverse Axial Scanner  Search this
Computer-Assisted Tomography Scanner  Search this
National Biomedical Research Foundation. Georgetown University  Search this
Extent:
3 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuals
Patents
Photographs
Design drawings
Correspondence
Articles
Diagrams
Slides (photographs)
Notes
Motion pictures (visual works)
Albums
Date:
1972-1990
Summary:
The Robert Ledley Papers document the development of the first whole-body diagnostic imaging system, the Automatic Computerized Transverse Axial (ACTA) X-ray Scanner by Ledley in 1973. Also included is material relating to Ledley's company, Digital Science Information Corporation (DISCO), as well as the public and medical communities' reactions to the scanner.
Scope and Contents:
The Robert Ledley Papers document the development of the Automatic Computerized Transverse Axial (ACTA) X-ray Scanner, Ledley's company Digital Science Information Corporation (DISCO), as well as the public and medical communities' reactions to the scanner. The collection is arranged into nine series.

Series 1, ACTA Scanner I Schematics, 1973-1975; Series 2, ACTA Scanner I [Computer and Electronics], 1973; and Series 3, ACTA Scanner Tomograph Mechanics, 1973-1974 document the development and design of the ACTA scanner through drawings, notes, memoranda, and product information. More detailed information about these materials is located in the control file. All oversize drawings have been moved to flat storage for preservation concerns.

Series 4, ACTA Scanner Operating Instructions, 1975, is the operating manual created for the scanner used in Ledley's Georgetown lab.

Series 5, ACTA Articles, Clippings, and Press Releases, 1973-1979, is comprised of the aforementioned materials relating to the ACTA Scanner. Newspaper clippings illuminate the public's perception of the scanner, and scientific pieces highlight the medical community's reaction. Ledley's published articles on the scanner and related topics are included.

Series 6, Digital Information Science Corporation (DISCO) material, 1973-1981, documents Ledley's career and his company. A biographical sketch, list of articles, textbooks, and patents highlight Ledley's achievements. Invoices, receipts, contracts, and correspondence illuminate the financial situation at DISCO and the relationship between the company and Pfizer.

Series 7, Computer manuals, 1972-1975, documents the computer systems and software that were used with the ACTA Scanner.

Series 8, Photographic material, 1973-1978, includes an album of photographs depicting the ACTA Scanner and images of the scans it created. This album was disassembled due to preservation concerns. This series also includes a collection of slides featuring the scanner and related equipment in use and images of the scans it created. A detailed description of each photograph and slide is included in the control file.

Series 9, ACTA Scanner film, [1974?], is a 16mm narrated film describing the creation of the scanner, its components, the way they work, the scanner in use, and images of the scans produced.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into nine series.

Series 1, ACTA Scanner I Schematics, 1973-1975

Series 2, ACTA Scanner I [Computer and Electronics], 1973

Series 3, ACTA Scanner Tomograph Mechanics, 1973-1974

Series 4, ACTA Scanner Operating Instructions, 1975

Series 5, ACTA Articles, Clippings, and Press Releases, 1973-1979

Series 6, Digital Information Science Corporation (DISCO) material, 1973-1981, undated

Series 7, Computer manuals, 1972-1975

Series 8, Photographic material 1973-1978

Subseries 1, Photographs, 19731978

Subseries 2, Slides, 1974

Series 9, ACTA Scanner film [1974?]
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Steven Ledley was born in Flushing Meadows, New York in 1926. He received a D.D.S. degree from New York University College in 1948. While attending dental school, he simultaneously studied at Columbia University; he earned a M.A. in Theoretical Physics in 1949. He volunteered for the army and was sent to the U.S. Army Medical Field Service School in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.1 After completing his service, Ledley held a wide variety of research and academic positions in physics, electrical engineering, and medicine.

Ledley was a physicist within the External Control Group of the Electronic Computer Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards from 1953-1954. He was an operations research analyst within the Strategic Division of the Operations Research Office at Johns Hopkins University from 1954-1956. Ledley went on to become an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at The George Washington University from 1956-1960 while also serving as a consultant mathematician at the National Bureau of Standards Data Processing Systems Division, 1957-1960. At this time, Ledley also worked part time at the National Research Council's National Academy of Sciences from 1957-1961. Ledley became the president of the National Biomedical Research Foundation in 1960, a position he still holds today. He was an instructor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1960-1963. He returned to The George Washington University's Department of Electrical Engineering in 1968 where he was a professor until 1970. He then became a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1970. In 1974, Ledley also became a professor in the Radiology Department at the Georgetown University Medical Center. In 1975, he became the director of the Medical Computing and Biophysics Division at Georgetown University Medical Center.

In 1972, the British company Electric and Musical Industries Limited (EMI) released a medical imaging machine for use on smaller areas of the body that were positioned under a water tank. In 1973, Ledley developed the Automatic Computerized Transverse Axial (ACTA) X-ray Scanner (US Patent #3,922,552). This machine was a whole-body diagnostic medical imaging system. He was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health for an engineering equipment project, but the money was never received due to budget cuts. Ledley looked elsewhere for funding. He consulted with Georgetown staff and discovered a neurosurgeon had asked to buy a head scanning machine from EMI. Ledley did not think the images in EMI's brochure appeared clear, and he offered to create a similar machine for half the price. Georgetown agreed to fund this project for $250,000. Ledley secured the services of a machinist at a local machine shop, an electronic engineer, and a programmer/mathematician to assist in the project.2 The ACTA Scanner debuted in February, 1974 and did not require the use of a water tank.

Following the creation of the ACTA Scanner, Ledley organized Digital Information Science Corporation (DISCO) in order to manufacture the system. DISCO began producing scanners as orders were received. Due to financial constraints, DISCO was forced to request $100,000 upon receipt of the order, $100,000 when the scanner was halfway completed, and the final $100,000 payment upon delivery3. In 1975, Pfizer purchased the rights to manufacture the ACTA Scanner from DISCO for $1.5 million.

Ledley is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He has earned numerous awards and honors for his work. In 1997, he received the National Medal of Technology from President William Jefferson Clinton for his pioneering work on the whole-body CT diagnostic X-ray scanner. He also founded the Pattern Recognition Society and Computerized Tomography Society.

Sources

1 Ash, J., D. Sittig, and R. Ledley. "The Story Behind the Development of the First Whole-body Computerized Tomography Scanner as Told by Robert S. Ledley." Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2006 Sep-Oct (2006), 465-469, http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1561796. (accessed June 24, 2009).

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.
Separated Materials:
An ACTA Scanner and numerous accessories were donated to the Division of Medicine and Science in 1984.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Robert S. Ledley on September 18, 1984.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Medical innovations  Search this
Inventors  Search this
Inventions -- 20th century  Search this
Biology  Search this
History of science and technology  Search this
Digital Information Science Corporation  Search this
Diagnostic imaging  Search this
Medicine  Search this
Medical technology  Search this
Medical radiology  Search this
Whole body imaging  Search this
Tomography  Search this
Radiology  Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuals -- 1970-1990
Patents
Photographs
Design drawings
Correspondence -- 20th century
Articles -- 20th century
Diagrams
Slides (photographs) -- 1950-2000
Notes
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 20th century
Albums
Citation:
Robert Ledley Papers, 1972-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1135
See more items in:
Robert Ledley Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b394c960-d574-4b92-a59f-83868a5cd581
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1135
Online Media:

Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture

Creator:
Mathis, Nathaniel, 1946- (barber, motivational speaker)  Search this
Interviewer:
Ruffins, Fath Davis  Search this
Extent:
5.5 Cubic feet (18 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Awards
Certificates
Correspondence
Interviews
Oral history
Black-and-white photographic prints
Videotapes
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- Small business -- 20th century
Date:
1946-2004
bulk 1970-2004
Summary:
Nathaniel Mathis is a Washington, D.C., hairstylist, inventor, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. His papers document his business life and community involvement.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the work of a hairstylist, inventor, entrepreneur, and public figure whose career reflects significant changes in the African American community in the later 20th century. It is rich in visual imagery created by and for this community. Business papers, correspondence, publicity, photographs, awards and certificates documenting Mathis's work as a highly regarded barber and hairstylist in Washington, D.C., and as member of the D.C. Board of Barbering and Cosmetology are included. Business papers offer insight into the workings of a small privately-owned business. Numerous publicity items and photographs offer evidence of African American style and fashion in New York and Washington, D.C., from the late 1960s through today. Additional material documents Mathis's activities as a community activist, motivational speaker and distance runner. The collection also includes photographs, oral history interviews, and audio-visual materials.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Biographical Information and Activities, 1946-2001, undated

Series 2: Beauty Business Documents and Advertising, 1969-2002, undated

Series 3: Publicity, 1963-2002

Series 4: Washington, D.C. Barbering and Cosmetology Boards, 1966-1997, undated

Series 5: Correspondence, 1967-2002, undated

Series 6: Awards and Certificates, 1969-2001, undated

Series 7: Photographs, 1966-1989, undated

Series 8: Video Materials, 1983-2002, undated

Series 9: Audio Tapes, 1998-2004, undated

Series 10: Memorabilia, 1992-1998, undated
Biographical / Historical:
"Nat Mathis (b. 1946) is a native Washingtonian. He is a man of many talents and measures his success in many ways: innovative hairstylist, entrepreneur, inventor, community activist, motivational speaker and distance runner. Mathis opened his first barber shop in 1969. He is the winner of many national and international hairstyling awards and competitions and was the first African American to win the International Hair Styling competition in Cairo, Egypt in 1981. Mathis was among the first African American hairstylists to embrace and popularize the Afro and, later, cornrows -- hairstyles which many view as expressions of black empowerment. Mathis himself seldom expresses a political ideology of hair, but by 1970, Nat was known among his many satisfied clients and peers as "the Bush Doctor" for his expertise in Afro style and maintenance. He has styled hair for many celebrities; made numerous television appearances; and has been a stylist for several productions at the Kennedy Center, and for two major motion pictures, including Nixon, for which he re-created period hairstyles. He is active in community affairs, gives motivational speeches throughout the Washington, D.C., area, and is particularly interested in mentoring young people. He currently operates a barber shop adjacent to his home in Capitol Heights, Maryland."

*Biographical information provided by Nat Mathis's Official Website, "A Man of Many Talents." http://www.natmathis.com (accessed 02 August, 2006).
Separated Materials:
Mr. Mathis donated three of his patented barbering vests (See Accession # 1998.0114) to the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).
Provenance:
Collection donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History by Nathaniel Mathis on April 9, 1998.
Restrictions:
The copllection is open for research.

Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.

Technical Access: Series 8, Video materials and Series 9, Audiotapes may not be used by researchers unless reference and viewing copies are made available.
Rights:
Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. The Archives Center does not own rights to the patent, trademark or any related interest in the artifacts.
Topic:
African American barbers  Search this
African American beauty operators  Search this
Barbers  Search this
Barbering  Search this
Barbershops -- Equipment and supplies -- 1970-2000 -- Washington (D.C)  Search this
Beauty culture  Search this
Hair  Search this
Hairdressing of African Americans -- 1970-2000 -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Inventors  Search this
Motivation -- Public speaking -- 1970-2000  Search this
Public speaking -- 1970-2000  Search this
Genre/Form:
Awards
Certificates
Correspondence -- 1970-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Interviews -- 2000-2010
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Videotapes
Citation:
Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0641
See more items in:
Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c5b4bd0f-53cd-4a97-b4ba-930fe65c5330
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0641
Online Media:

James Lithgow Ewin Patents

Creator:
Ewin, James Lithgow (inventor)  Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Articles
Correspondence
Newsletters
Notes
Patents
Press releases
Date:
1873, 1874, 1879.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection includes an English patent paper #2126 for improved vulcanizable water-proof gum, 1873, to Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills; a U.S. patent paper #151,109 for improvement in the art of manufacturing horseshoes, 1874; and an English patent paper #1194 for improvement in street-lighting apparatus.
Provenance:
Collection donated by James Lithgow Ewin, March 13, 1894.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Vulcanization  Search this
Street-lighting apparatus  Search this
Rhythm and blues music  Search this
African American music -- 20th century  Search this
African American musicians  Search this
Blues musicians  Search this
Horseshoeing  Search this
Inventions -- 1870-1880  Search this
Inventors -- 1870-1880  Search this
Popular music -- Writing and publishing  Search this
Genre/Form:
Articles -- 1950-2000
Correspondence -- 1970-2000
Newsletters -- 20th century
Notes
Patents -- 1870-1880
Press releases
Citation:
James Lithgow Ewin Patents, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0051
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep887e17dc9-8df2-4d0d-acd9-70865221d22a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0051

Nordic Ware records

Topic:
Bundt Brand Bakeware
Creator:
Nordic Ware Division, Northland Aluminum  Search this
Donor:
Dalquist, H. David  Search this
Dalquist, Dorothy  Search this
Extent:
28 Cubic feet (53 boxes and 25 oversize folders )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Photographs
Legal records
Catalogs
Financial records
Design drawings
Place:
Minneapolis (Minn.)
Date:
1940-2006
Summary:
Records of a family-owned manufacturing firm, best known for kitchenware products including the Bundt Pan and Micro-Go-Round. The collection richly documents the entrepreneurial spirit of the Minnesota firm and its history of product innovation through technical files, marketing materials, and administrative and financial records.
Scope and Contents:
The Nordic Ware collection consists of approximately twenty-eight cubic feet of records from the Northland Aluminum Company, most dealing with its Nordic Ware business. The Dalquist family recognized the importance of record keeping, and this collection documents very well the evolution of an entrepreneurial, family-owned American business from its earliest years.

Of particular interest for researchers may be the Pillsbury and Bundt Cake Pan dual marketing strategies, showcased mainly in Series 3, Marketing and Sales Records, 1948-2004, the introduction of ethnic cookware into American Culture through such dishes as the Rosettes and Timbales set and Taco dinner kit, the segmentation of product lines by price level to target consumers of differing incomes, and the issue of a trademarked term like "Bundt" becoming generic as seen in Series 6, Legal Records, 1962-1978. Series 4, Engineering Department Records, 1950-1994, provide in-depth documentation of the technical development of several of Nordic Ware's innovative products.

Series 1: Historical and Background Materials, 1940s-2006

These materials provide a history of Dave Dalquist as an entrepreneur and how this led to his ownership of Northland Aluminum Products and the Nordic Ware brand. There are histories put together by the company as well financial summaries for some years. The series contains The Nordic Ware Saga, a book edited and produced by the Dalquist family, and America at Home: A Celebration of Twentieth-Century Housewares. Both books have valuable background information on the company and how it fits into the housewares industry. There also are materials from the original business, Plastics for Industry. An undated marketing booklet, published about 1990, briefly describes the company's history and its product line and corporate structure. Additional company history is found in six installments written by Dave Dalquist under the title "From the Skipper" and covering the years 1946 to l985.

Series 2: David Dalquist Files, 1963-1993

David Dalquist, the president and founder of the company, kept these files in his office and home. Dalquist had no formal filing system and preferred to group records together as he used them. This order has been maintained as much as possible to the folder level. Several files contain information and notes from Dalquist's attendance at the National Housewares Shows and the meetings held there with his sales representatives. The annual Housewares Shows in Chicago were key events in this industry and Nordic Ware made them a high priority. The sales meetings materials include speeches Dalquist delivered. This series reveals Dalquist's involvement with every aspect of the company. It portrays an entrepreneur who began with an engineering degree, very limited capital, and no business experience. Dalquist built a multi-million dollar company while insisting on high ethical and business standards.

The several companies owned by the Dalquist family are documented in these files. There is a merger agreement between Northland Metal Finishers and Northland Aluminum. The records show the company went through several phases and had several brands besides Nordic Ware, including Minnesota Ware, DuNord, and Norcast.

Series 3: Marketing and Sales Records, 1948-2004 The Marketing and Sales Records focus mainly on the promotion of the Nordic Ware Brand and the sale and distribution of products, especially to the retail trade industry. There is evidence of how Nordic Ware presented its products to the industry and of other types of promotions to build brand awareness. These records are divided into three subseries: Subseries 1, General and Department Records, 1967-1995; Subseries 2, Promotional and Trade Sales Materials, 1958-2004; and Subseries 3, Public Relations, 1948-1992

Subseries 3.1: General and Department Records, 1967-1995

Dave Dalquist initially handled most of the company's marketing and sales, but as the company grew, a separate department was created. Among other things, this department created sketches of new product ideas that employees submitted as part of the New Product Idea meetings periodically scheduled by Dave Dalquist. Several files contain this artwork and a design notebook. There are also the files of Doug White, a Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Other art renderings, such as line art used in catalogs, are in this series.

Subseries 3.2: Promotional and Trade Sales Materials, 1958-2004

This subseries consists both of advertising geared towards the trade industry and that aimed at the consumer to promote brand image and sales. A 1970s scrapbook is a record of cross-promotional offers in which Nordic Ware and other firms advertised their products together in a single advertisement. The scrapbook also documents Nordic Ware products offered as sales premiums. The advertisements are organized by the brand co-featured in the advertisement. The Bundt Pan was the predominant Nordic Ware product in these advertisements. The Pillsbury file is especially important as it shows the building of the dual marketing arrangement which allowed Bundt Pans to be packaged with Pillsbury mixes. Nordic Ware received national publicity that it would otherwise have been difficult to generate. The Bundt Pan was integrated into magazine recipes and articles and included in mentions of other brands. These records document the remarkably brief time in which the Bundt Pan achieved national recognition.

The trade market was critical to Nordic Ware. The Sales Guides, 1982-2004, were given to regional sales representatives with information on sales promotions and incentives to representatives for sales of Nordic Ware products in specific markets. The Guides also have product descriptions, so that each representative was fully familiar with the products. Along with these guides, Nordic Ware put out trade catalogs, also found in this subseries. Although there is no master list of the catalogs, many have been hand-dated by Nordic Ware employees. Many of the models in the catalogs and the advertisements were members of the Dalquist family, neighbors, and other acquaintances.

Subseries 3.3: Public Relations, 1948-1992

These materials mainly document a series of campaigns created by Sara Jean Thomas, a public relations contractor. She worked with the marketing and sales department to build the Nordic Ware brand and to create a series of television and radio product promotions in the form of household hints. Several scripts are included here along with details of the overall campaigns. There also are files documenting the reach of these promotions. Other materials include a press kit for Chef Tell, a celebrity chef who represented Nordic Ware products for several years and who made appearances at its booth at the National Housewares Shows. New product press releases (with photographs) and general public relations files (1986-1989), along with the Marketing Communication Plans (1987-1989), give details on the planning of other public relations efforts. The trade press clippings scrapbook documents mentions of Nordic Ware and its products, competitors' advertising, and general developments in the house wares industry. Trade press clippings also are found in Series 8, subseries 4.

Series 4: Engineering Department Records, 1950-1994

The Engineering Department was vital to the success of Nordic Ware. Records in this series reveal the process by which a new product idea was developed, built, tested, and turned into a saleable product. Museum staff members selected the records in this series, occupying about five cubic feet, from a much larger group of files, roughly twenty-five feet in extent. The criteria for selection included substantive information on the design development of new products, especially those requiring substantial engineering work, and on product re-design to create cost efficiencies and resolve product problems.

Subseries 4.1: General Records, 1969-1992

These records deal with general departmental business and include incoming and outgoing correspondence and general files kept by individual engineers. They also provide operational information such as source for production materials, work orders processing, and treatment of employee issues in the department.

Subseries 4.2: Laboratory Notebooks, 1972, 1984-1993

Engineers in the department kept these notebooks mainly for developing design ideas and working out the technical logistics of bringing the designs into production. The notebooks also served as evidential records for patent disputes. The engineers signed and dated the pages of their notebooks as proof of when ideas were conceptualized and who recorded them.

Subseries 4.3: Product Files, 1976-1993, undated

These records originally were organized by product number, but no index to the numbering system accompanied the records so files of like products were grouped together. The Micro-Go-Round, Oven-Aire, and Wok are the most thoroughly documented. The records include blueprints at various stages of the products development, work orders for research and development, outside quotations, invoices, quality control tests and guidelines, memoranda to and from other company offices about product development, and other types of operational materials. Most of these products had multiple versions, and evidence of ongoing testing and modification is seen in the records.

These records document some of the innovation that made Nordic Ware an important presence in the housewares industry. The Micro-Go-Round was a particularly revolutionary product at the time, and the records show how the company recognized a need for the product and did what was necessary to develop it, although it had little or no experience with microwave technology. Micro-Go-Round records also are found in Subseries 5 of this series. The Oven-Aire required extensive development efforts to bring to fruition. The idea behind this product was to make conventional ovens cook more evenly and operate like a convection oven. The records include photographs of the original working model, tests done in some of the engineers' home kitchens, and comparison photographs of foods cooked with and without the device. Though the product never took off in the market, the invention and development process is documented here from the perspective of the several parties who worked on it. To a much more limited degree, records for some of the other products -- like the Popgun Popcorn Popper and the Supremer Ice Creamer --demonstrate the design and development process. There is even information about packaging design for some of the products.

Subseries 4.4: New Product Ideas Files, 1976-1993

These records document Nordic Ware's efforts to identify and develop a stream of new products and to involve employees in that process. They include product ideas submitted from outside the firm but primarily relate to New Product Meetings at which employees shared their own ideas. The meetings often included voting for the best ideas and for those that would be most feasible to manufacture. Most of the files contain original artwork, usually brought to the meeting by the marketing department. They also include lists of product ideas and who submitted them, ballots for the voting on the best ideas, and notes taken at the meetings. Several files have memoranda to the employees encouraging submission of ideas outside the annual meeting cycle. Related materials are found in Series 3, Marketing and Sales Records, 1948-2004, Subseries 1, General and Department Records, 1967-1995.

Subseries 4.5: General Research and Development, 1976-1993

This subseries mainly contains files on the development of microwave cookware products and the Micro-Go-Round. Dr. T.K. Ishii, a leading researcher in microwave technologies from Marquette University, served as a consultant to Nordic Ware. He advised on technical problems and explained processes to the Nordic Ware engineers to enable them to develop products. Other materials deal with the application and certification process for Underwriters Laboratories, an independent organization that tested products and certified them as meeting its safety standards.

Subseries 4.6: Patent Materials, 1950-1994

Many records in this subseries deal with the patent application process. An outside legal firm submitted Nordic Ware's applications and negotiated with the Patent Office. The records include correspondence surrounding patent disputes and sworn affidavits by engineers submitted as proof of their work. Several reference files of non-Nordic Ware patents are in this subseries. Many were sent by the law office to Nordic Ware engineers to keep them current on new developments.

Subseries 4.7: Trade Associations, 1977-1994

These records reflect the participation of Engineering Department staff in trade associations, especially The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. Lloyd Keleny and several others were involved with the Microwave Oven Cookware Committee. The Society was concerned with the absence of standards for microwave ovens and the resulting problem that cookware used in these ovens was not always effective. The Committee gathered data and encouraged the microwave industry to recognize that consistency was needed. There also are files from the Frankfurt International Housewares Fair, 1994. Nordic Ware tried to build its presence internationally, and fairs such as this were opportunities to meet foreign manufacturers and distributors. They also enabled the company to see what was happening on a global level.

Series 5: Financial Records, 1948-1982

These records include financial information for Nordic Ware and other Dalquist interests, including Maid of Scandinavia Company, when it was still joined with Northland Aluminum Products, and the Minnesota Brand of Cookware. The intermixing of financial reports, invoices and receivables, petty cash receipts, and bank statements for the various enterprises demonstrates the close relationship of all of the beginning operations of the Dalquist family. There are many examples of consolidated financial information in the records including the balance sheets, combined financial reports, income statements, and the audit reports. Of particular interest is the accounting ledger (1949-1950) for Plastics for Industry, the Dalquist brothers' original company. It has handwritten entries and shows the company's simplified bookkeeping system. It also provides important financial data on the startup capital and the progress in the first year of business.

Reports created by the research firm Dunn and Bradstreet contain information submitted by the Dalquists to prove their credit worthiness to lenders. Several loan agreements document the company's practice of borrowing money on future earnings in order to meet operating expenses and finance innovation. Machinery owned by Nordic Ware is listed in several factory inventories. The firm also leased machinery instead of buying in order to save money. Inventory summaries (1950-1978) detail the numbers and value of the unsold product then on hand.

Though Nordic Ware stock was never traded publically, there was an employee shareholder plan that included profit sharing. Records in this subseries document the evolution and operation of the plan, including one employee's case for a public offering of the company stock. At some point Dave Dalquist did consider making the company public but decided to maintain private ownership. The emphasis on taking pride and ownership in the company was often repeated in memoranda that Dalquist wrote to employees about stock options. The records show that he was very conscious of morale and high standards of work within the company.

Series 6: Legal Records, 1962-1978

The bulk of these records deals with trademark issues, especially Nordic Ware's creation, licensing, and protection of the "Bundt" mark. Included are copies of correspondence with the law firms that handled applications to the Patent and Trademark Office and correspondence from that office. Correspondence and legal papers document licensing negotiations with Pillsbury and others. In several instances Nordic Ware took legal steps when the Bundt Pan trademark was being misused.

Series 7: Recipes and Cookbooks, 1966-2004, undated

This series is comprised of a large selection of cookbooks and recipe files maintained by Dotty Dalquist and reflect her active role in business activities. She did much of her cooking and experimenting in a test kitchen in her own home and was integral to the preparation of foods to be photographed in Nordic Ware products. These photographs demonstrated the use of the products and were included in the advertisements, catalogs, and product or recipe brochures.

Subseries 7.1: Dotty Dalquist Recipe Files, bulk 1950s-1970s, mainly undated

Dotty Dalquist kept recipes, product booklets, notes, and other materials to aid in the development of her own recipes. She organized much of the material by food type, but she also had several files for specific Nordic Ware products. The Bundt Pan was a major product, and the files on it reflect that. As Nordic Ware sought new ways to promote the use of its products, Dalquist's development of new and inventive recipes was a major part of that effort.

Subseries 7.2: Bundt Pan Cookbooks, 1966-2004

Nordic Ware published several books by Dotty Dalquist to promote use of the Bundt Pan. Pillsbury and other firms also published their own books. Pillsbury incorporated its products into the recipes to promote the dual product relationship between the Bundt Pan and the Pillsbury brand of cake mixes. These books were sold in stores and added as premiums to go along with the purchase of the other products.

Subseries 7.3: Other Recipe and Public Relations Materials, 1970-1996, undated

Recipe contests and a cookbook were among the efforts to involve employees with the Nordic Ware products and to generate new recipes and ideas. These files include photographs and entries and correspondence about these employee activities.

A file of correspondence, mainly to and from Dotty Dalquist, concerns problems consumers encountered using specific recipes that she had published. Consumers also wrote about recipes they had tried on their own and could not get satisfactory results with a Nordic Ware product. Dalquist's problem-solving efforts were an example of the personal customer service in which Nordic Ware took pride.

Series 8: Non-Nordic Ware Reference Materials, 1940-2001, undated

The materials in this series were used by Nordic Ware as reference resources. They have been organized into subseries by type.

Subseries 8.1: Sponsored Cookbooks, 1943-1996, undated

Dotty Dalquist collected cookbooks published by a wide range of manufacturers and trade organizations. The cookbooks are arranged in alphabetical order by the name of the sponsor. Many companies, such as Pillsbury and General Foods, put out these kinds of books to promote their own brands. This may have influenced Dalquist's creation of her own Bundt Pan cookbook.

Subseries 8.2: Product Guides (some with recipes), 1940-1992, undated

These product guides, for appliances and other items used in Dotty Dalquist's kitchen, include use instructions and, often, recipes. Nordic Ware often included recipes in the print materials packaged with its products and associated with its advertising.

Subseries 8.3: Home and Food Related Ephemera, 1950-1980, undated

These materials include booklets of general household hints, recipe cards published by various organizations, and information on food processes.

Subseries 8.4: Periodicals, 1967-2001

Several scrapbooks in this subseries contain clippings from various trade publications. Some focus on Nordic Ware and Northland Aluminum Products in articles or advertisements while others contain industry, including competitors', product advertisements. There are several issues of trade periodicals with Nordic Ware related stories. Trade press clippings also are found in Series 3, Marketing and Sales Records, 1948-2004, Subseries 3, Public Relations, 1948-1992.

Subseries 8.5: Newsletters, 1961, 1973-1987, undated

Most of these newsletters were for reference use with Nordic Ware's microwave cookware projects. With its extensive line of these microwave products, there was an active effort to stay up to date with the field. The firm also tried to find different kinds of foods and recipes that could be prepared using a microwave oven.

Series 9: Photographs, 1940s-2006, undated

This series consists of a wide range of photographic prints re-housed in archival sleeves and assembled into a single binder. The photographs are arranged roughly by image content and document the Dalquist family and employees; factory and offices scenes, including a series of black and white images by Mel Jacobsen, a commercial photographer; and product displays at trade shows and other locations. The photographs also include a few images of Nordic Ware products and of baked foods and black and white images of plastic molds created by Plastics for Industry. Most of the photographs are undated and many are unidentified. There is a View Master viewer with one viewing card containing photographs assembled for Nordic Ware's sixtieth anniversary in 2006. Series 2, David Dalquist Files, includes five photographs of foods baked in Bundt Pans. Series 3, Marketing and Sales Records, Subseries 1, General and Department Records, 1967-1995, has photographs of a factory outlet store and product displays.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into nine series.

Series 1: Historical and Background Materials, 1940s-2006

Series 2: David Dalquist Files, 1963-1993

Series 3: Marketing and Sales Records, 1948-2004

Subseries 1, General and Department Records, 1967-1995

Subseries 2, Promotional and Trade Sales Materials, 1958-2004

Subseries 3, Public Relations, 1948-1992

Series 4: Engineering Department Records, 1950-1994

Subseries 1, General Records, 1969-1992

Subseries 2, Laboratory Notebooks, 1972, 1984-1993

Subseries 3, Product Files, 1976-1993, undated

Subseries 4, New Product Ideas Files, 1976-1993

Subseries 5, General Research and Development, 1950-1994

Subseries 6, Patent Materials, 1950-1994

Subseries 7, Trade Associations, 1977-1994

Series 5: Financial Records

Series 6: Legal records

Series 7: Recipes and Cookbooks

Subseries 1, Dotty Dalquist Recipe Files, 1950s-1970s, undated

Subseries 2, Bundt Pan Cookbooks, 1966-2004

Subseries 3, Other Recipe and Public Relations Materials, 1970-1996, undated

Series 8, Non-Nordic Ware Reference Materials

Subseries 1, Sponsored Cookbooks, 1943-1996, undated

Subseries 2, Product Guides (with some recipes), 1940-1992, undated

Subseries 3, Home and Food Related Ephemera, 1950-1980, undated

Subseries 4, Periodicals, 1967-2001

Subseries 5, Newsletters, 1961, 1973-1981, undated

Series 9: Photographs, 1940s-2006, undated
Biographical / Historical:
In 1946, the year he returned from Navy service in the Pacific, H. David (Dave) Dalquist (1918-2005) joined his brother Mark to launch a new manufacturing firm, Plastics for Industry, in Minneapolis. The two University of Minnesota graduates soon were making foundry patterns and industrial plastic products for area businesses, as well as aluminum consumer cookware. Among their earliest products were ebelskiver pans, krumkake irons, and rosette irons, essential kitchen tools for the area's large Scandinavian population. Their first employee, Donald Nygren, remained as head designer for many decades.

In 1950, the brothers bought Northland Aluminum Products, a small firm with a line of "Nordic Ware" products including griddles and steak platters. The same year, Dave Dalquist created a cast aluminum, fluted cake pan at the request of two local women, members of the Hadassah organization. The women sought to replicate a heavy mold used in Europe. Northland Aluminum registered the trademark "Bundt" for the new product and began to sell it to local department stores. (The women sold manufacturing "seconds" as a fund raiser for their group.) Mark Dalquist created a firm, Maid of Scandinavia, to market products by mail. It separated from Northland Aluminum in 1963. Over the years, Northland Aluminum increasingly used "Nordic Ware" to identify itself for marketing and public relations purposes.

Northland Aluminum created a subsidiary finishing and coating firm, Northland Color Anodizing Company, in 1962. In 1964, Northland became one of the first to license the use of Teflon from its inventor, DuPont, and non-stick products became an important part of the company's line. Northland also did coating work for many industries including medical, computer, and commercial food processing. For many years Northland also had a division to produce heads for video recording machines. Product sales reached $1,000,000 in 1964.

During the 1960s, Nordic Ware grew slowly, gradually increasing its product line to include specialty baking and cookware items and stove-top cookware. The company also expanded its production capacity and built its sales and marketing capabilities, including a national network of sales representatives working on commission. Dorothy Dalquist, Dave's wife, played a vital role in the company's history. She joined him at crucial annual sales conventions to demonstrate products, tested new products, and developed recipes for them in her home kitchen. Additionally, she represented the firm in public relations activities.

Although the Bundt Pan was only one of many Nordic Ware products, it became a national celebrity in 1966 when a Texas woman used it for her prize-winning Tunnel of Fudge Cake in the immensely popular Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest. In 1970, Nordic Ware licensed the Bundt trademark to Pillsbury for use with a line of cake mixes. Customers received a cake pan at a small additional price with the purchase of the packaged mix. Although this pan was spun of light aluminum, not cast like the original models, the Pillsbury promotion was very successful. In addition to the classic Bundt design, the company began producing special designs, including a cathedral, a castle, a rose, a heart, and, in 2006, a stadium shaped pan. The Bundt Pan continues to be the most popular cake pan in America, and the company estimates it has sold sixty million pans over the past six decades.

Despite the steady popularity of the Bundt Pan, Dalquist and his firm knew that the spike in Bundt Pan sales resulting from the Pillsbury promotion was temporary, and they continued their strategy of seeking new products to buoy overall sales revenues. In 1978 Nordic Ware developed a "new thermoset plastic molding technology to create an extensive line of cookware designed to work in both conventional and microware ovens." In these same years, as microwave oven use rapidly spread, Nordic Ware developed its second celebrity product. Designed by the company's own engineers, the Micro-Go-Round was promoted in print and television advertising and is still its most successful product. Since then, Nordic Ware has introduced a wide range of new products, some of them successful (for example, nonstick Barbecue Grill Cookware), others not (including a device to create convection currents in a baking oven and a bicentennial cake platter). Northland Aluminum holds at least twenty-five patents for its products.

Today David Dalquist (born 1949) -- son of founder "Dave Dalquist" and, like his father, an engineer -- heads Nordic Ware. He has been involved with the company for his entire working life with major executive responsibilities since the early 1980s. David Dalquist's mother, Dotty, is on the Board of Directors and serves as Corporate Secretary. David's three sisters—Corrine, Linda, and Susan—are also involved in the business. The firm employs between 200 and 400 people and continues, as a point of pride, to manufacture its products in the United States. The family has refused numerous buyout offers. Nordic Ware has managed to design and market products for the large, low price retailers, including Wal-Mart, and for the upscale, specialty gourmet market. Williams-Sonoma, a leader in the latter field, has exclusive sales for a small number of new Nordic Ware products each year.

For its sixtieth anniversary, Nordic Ware produced a company history, H. David Dalquist, The Nordic Ware Saga: An Entrepreneur's Legacy (Kirk House Publishers, Minneapolis, 2006). The volume provides edited recollections of "Dave," many family members, and other employees drawn from oral history interviews. This finding aid is based largely on that information, other historical sources within the collection, and visits to Nordic Ware offices by National Museum of American History staff members Paula Johnson and Nanci Edwards (June 2006) and Paula Johnson and John Fleckner (August 2006).
Related Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry holds thirty-six objects from Nordic Ware (Accession # 2007.0034), including Bundt Pans in a variety of shapes, foundry patterns and molds for Nordic Ware products, a wood panel display of products manufactured by Plastics for Industry, three versions of the Micro-Go-Round, and other kitchenware products.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Dorothy M. Dalquist and H. David Dalquist 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 intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Ethnic food industry  Search this
Cookery, American  Search this
Kitchen utensils  Search this
Aluminum  Search this
Kitchen utensil industry  Search this
Baked products  Search this
Bakery equipment and supplies industry  Search this
Baking pans  Search this
Baking  Search this
Genre/Form:
Correspondence -- 1950-2000
Photographs -- 2000-2010
Legal records
Catalogs
Correspondence -- 2000-2010
Financial records
Photographs -- 20th century
Design drawings -- 1950-2000
Citation:
Nordic Ware Collection, 1942-2006, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0980
See more items in:
Nordic Ware records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep894dc31f0-f3a9-457d-9097-4906863295b5
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0980
Online Media:

A. Bernie Wood Papers

Creator:
Wood, Arthur Bernie, 1921-1986  Search this
Extent:
10 Cubic feet (27 boxes, 2 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Slides (photographs)
Clippings
Negatives
Transparencies
Matchcovers
Placemats
Stationery
Business cards
Business records
Advertisements
Photographs
Drawings
Motion pictures (visual works)
Design drawings
Date:
1942-2001
bulk 1960-1969
Summary:
A. (Arthur) Bernie Wood (1921-1986) was an advertising designer, consultant, and inventor actively involved in the development of the restaurant franchise industry in America during the 1960s and 1970s. Particularly notable is his work with marketing, promotion, and merchandising for the McDonald's Corporation during its formative years.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the post-war development of the franchise business system from an insider's view. Wood participated in almost all aspects of franchising activities from design to ownership. The materials consist of a wide variety of corporate identity elements--primarily visual--developed by Wood under contract to various corporations in the food service industry. Wood delivered his services in design concepts and graphics for advertisers and industrial firms using photo graphics and lithographic media.
Arrangement:
The collection organized into seven series.

Series 1: Personal Materials, 1942-1986, undated

Series 2: Business Materials, 1959-2001, undated

Subseries 1: Franchise information, 1961-2001

Subseries 2: Design work, undated

Subseries 3: Reference materials, 1959-1972

Series 3: McDonald's Corporation, 1957-1985

Subseries 1: Background materials, 1963, 1985, undated

Subseries 2: Corporate materials, 1960-1984

Subseries 3: Newsletters, 1960-1964, 1983

Subseries 4: Advertising and marketing materials, 1957-1978, undated

Subseries 5: Packaging, 1964, undated

Subseries 6: Sales materials, 1963, 1964, [1972?], undated

Subseries 7: Drawings, 1960s-1970s

Series 4: Client Files, 1958-1984

Series 5: Patent and Trademark Materials, 1962-1976

Subseries 1: Patents and patent applications, 1962-1969, 1975-1976

Subseries 2: Trademarks, 1964-1970

Series 6: Photographs, Slides and Negatives, 1963-1975, undated

Subseries 1: Biographical, 1964, 1975, undated

Subseries 2: Client Work, 1963-1968

Subseries 3: Slide Presentations, 1963-1969, undated

Series 7: Audio and Moving Image Materials, 1963, 1964, 1968

Subseries 1: Audio Materials, 1963, 1964, 1968

Subseries 2: Moving Image Materials, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Arthur Bernie Wood (1921-1986) was born in Council Grove, Kansas. Wood graduated from Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1939 and subsequently attended several junior colleges and business and trade schools. Wood held a variety of positions in typesetting and lithographic services from 1940 until military service in the United States Navy (1942-1945). In the Navy, Wood served as a Laboratory Technician, 1st Class Photographic Specialist at the Naval Air Station, Glenview, Illinois. While in the Navy, Wood produced patentable material for a photo-litho process for instant printing techniques through photosynthesis. After being discharged from the Navy, Wood worked for an art studio that serviced advertising agencies. This work involved reproduction art, direct mailing services, mail order books, and newspaper art for Marshall Field's. From 1958 to 1960, Wood established the A. Bernie Wood Studio in Chicago to provide finished photographic art for leading advertising and print publications and television.

In 1961, Wood founded Admart, Inc., Advertising. As the president and creative director of Admart, he created, promoted, and merchandised the new fast-food corporate image of McDonald's Carry-Out Restaurants. While working for McDonald's, Wood designed interior food service floor plans, a logotype, direct mailing materials, posters, newspaper mat campaigns, and radio taped productions (1963-1964). Wood obtained several patents--beverage cup holder (1964), candy box (1967), finger-grip food product containers (1967), and a refreshment tray-forming template (1964) and trademarks--"Chick'n-2-Go" (1968);"NEATRAE" (1967); and "Ma and Pa's Country Candy Store" (1966). Wood, and Donald Conley formed Neat Containers Associates to promote the use of "Neatrae" and license it.

In 1965, Wood founded a franchise business called Ma and Pa's Country Candy Stores in Arlington Heights, Illinois, which he owned and operated with his wife Marilyn until 1972. They also owned another unit in Long Grove, Illinois. As the director and co-founder of this franchise, Wood was responsible for creating names, trademarks, copyrights, and image materials. He sold franchise rights to others, and there were other Ma and Pa's Country Candy Stores located in the United States, especially in St. Louis. He also designed store interiors and exteriors for other clients and supervised construction. From 1964 to 1965, Wood was a freelance designer and consultant on design, marketing, and franchising issues for restaurants and drive-ins. Other corporate images designed by Wood include: Prince Castle, Neba Roast Beef, and Friar Fish's Fish and Chips. Wood expressed his goal to design an image/logo as one "that would be recognized and one that would relate to products, packaging, properties, people, procedures and promotion. Put together, these elements communicated and coordinated the corporate image."

Wood also developed the concept Dial "All Wood," the use of a memorable association of letters rather than phone numbers (255-9663) and requesting specific phone numbers from the local Illinois Bell Telephone.

Wood married Marilyn Dewar (1923-1981) on May 27, 1942, in Kansas City, Missouri. They had five children: Ronald W.; Rhonda C.; Randall S.; Rayne Ann; and Rodger L.

Wood died on April 5, 1986.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Rayne Ann Wood, daughter of A. Bernie Wood, on February 25, 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 intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Restaurants  Search this
Trademarks  Search this
Patents  Search this
advertising  Search this
Franchises (Retail trade)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Slides (photographs) -- 20th century
Clippings -- 20th century
Negatives
Transparencies
Matchcovers
Placemats
Stationery
Business cards
Business records -- 1950-2000
Advertisements -- 20th century
Photographs -- 1950-2000
Drawings
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 20th century
Design drawings -- 1950-2000
Citation:
A. Bernie Wood papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0962
See more items in:
A. Bernie Wood Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cfc4a0c6-0591-4be1-81c6-9a0a45f0fb25
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0962
Online Media:

[Norman J. Holter : black-and-white photoprint]

Names:
Holter, Norman J.  Search this
Collection Inventor:
Del Mar, Bruce E., 1913-  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on paper., 19 cm x 24 cm. (8" x 10" paper?))
Type:
Archival materials
Portraits
Photographs
Date:
[undated.]
Scope and Contents:
Subject is seated at a piano. Photographer unidentified.
Local Numbers:
AC1249-0000002.tif (AC Scan No.)
Collection 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.
Collection 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:
Inventors -- 1950-2000  Search this
Piano  Search this
Genre/Form:
Portraits -- Men
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1960-1970
Collection Citation:
Del Mar Avionics Holter Monitor Records, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
See more items in:
Del Mar Avionics Holter Monitor Records
Del Mar Avionics Holter Monitor Records / Series 6: Holter Monitor / 6.1: Background Materials / Norman Jeff Holter biographical materials
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8867c57ea-65fc-443d-9aca-eba5d6d83177
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1249-ref645

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