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Creator:

Mundel, Marvin Everett, 1916-1996 (industrial engineer)  Search this

Names:

A.O. Smith Company  Search this

Aji-no-moto Corporation  Search this

Albert Trostel and Sons  Search this

Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Comp  Search this

American Colortype Company  Search this

American Institute of Industrial Engineers  Search this

Asian Productivity organization  Search this

Barbar and Coleman  Search this

Bridgestone  Search this

Briggs & Stratton Corporation  Search this

Buffalo China Company  Search this

Cindahy Brothers Company  Search this

College of Technology Birmingham, England  Search this

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company  Search this

Gardner Board and Carton Company  Search this

Hamilton Manufacturing Company  Search this

Herbst Shoe Manufacturing Company  Search this

Japan Productivity Center  Search this

Japanese Management Association  Search this

Kanaki Gear Plant  Search this

Kanebo Spinning Co.  Search this

Kawasake Dockyard  Search this

Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Comp  Search this

Milwaukee Dental Research Group  Search this

Milwaukee Gas Company  Search this

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.  Search this

Nihon Denso  Search this

Nippon Electric Company  Search this

Nippon Kokan Tsurumi  Search this

Pillsbury Mills  Search this

Purdue University  Search this

S.C. Johnson and Son  Search this

Society for the Advancement of Management  Search this

Stephan A. Young Company  Search this

Sumitomo  Search this

Walgreen's  Search this

Western Printing and Lithography Corp  Search this

Westover Engineers  Search this

Yanmar Diesel Engine Company  Search this

Deming, Edwards  Search this

Gambrell, C.B.  Search this

Extent:

15 Cubic feet (36 boxes)

75 Motion picture films

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion picture films

Photographs

Field notes

Motion photographs

Diagrams

Loop films

Motion pictures (visual works)

Transparencies

Correspondence

Charts

Place:

United States Navy Long Beach Naval Shipyard

United States Rock Island Arsenal

Date:

1937-1996

Summary:

The Marvin E. Mundel Industrial Engineering Collection contains correspondence, reports, data, notes, publications, books, charts, certificates, awards, writings, photographs, films and videos that document the life and career of Marvin Mundel, a well-known expert in the field of work management and productivity enhancement.

Scope and Contents:

The Marvin E. Mundel Industrial Engineering Collection contains correspondence, reports, data, notes, publications, books, charts, certificates, awards, writings, photographs, films and videos that document the life and career of Marvin Mundel and demonstrate his work practices and teaching techniques.

The collection is organized chronologically into eleven series: Biographical Materials, Writings, Industrial Engineering, Work Methods, Purdue University, Time and Motion Study, Government Work, Japanese Consulting, Asian Productivity Organization, Dupont Case Study, and Films and Videos. While the years in each series may overlap, the separation of series demonstrates the evolution of Mundel's work and teachings. Photographs can be found throughout the collection. Information about the film and video series is located in Appendix A.

Series 1, Biographical Materials, 1953-1996, consists of documentation about Mundel and his career. The series contains bibliographies and curriculum vitae, correspondence, documentation on his memberships in Industrial Engineering groups, photographs, and certificates.

Series 2, Writings, 1937-1994, brings together Mundel's papers, speeches, books, and publications. When possible, the writings are arranged chronologically. The remaining writings are arranged by topic. This series should not be considered a definitive bibliography of Mundel's writings.

Series 3, Industrial Engineering, 1954-1995, combines Mundel's research with correspondence to and from other Industrial Engineers. It also includes Mundel's contributions to the Encyclopedia Britannica on "Industrial Engineering," "Work Measurement," and "Memomotion."

Series 4, Work Methods, undated, contains documents such as forms, office procedure manuals, visual aids, and printed matter about office equipment that offer insight into Mundel's work methods and innovative methods of making his own office more efficient.

Series 5, Purdue University, 1951-1957, documents his teaching career at the Industrial Engineering Department as well correspondence from his trip to England where he taught classes on industrial engineering.

Series 6, Time and Motion Study, 1952-1984, includes notes, data, printed matter, correspondence, charts, and photographs from his consultant work for various companies. This series contains seven subseries: Subseries 1, Consulting Work, 1954-1966; Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1956-1960; Subseries 3, Course work, undated; Subseries 4, Equipment, undated; Subseries 5, Film, 1952-1984; Subseries 6, Memberships, 1970-1977; and Subseries 7, Research, 1957.

Subseries 1, Consulting work, 1954-1966, contains correspondence and data from the corporations that hired Mundel as a consultant. Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1956-1960, the contains letters to and from people with diverse interests in time and motion study. Many people wrote to Mundel asking for advice with projects. Visual aids and handouts make up Subseries 3, Course work. In order to create memomotion, Mundel needed to refine certain electrical and motor parts on the cameras and projectors with which he worked. Subseries 4, Equipment, undated, have brochures on many different kinds of motors and switches. Subseries 5, Film, 1952-1984, contains most of the documentation that relates directly to films and video cassettes in this collection. Mundel was active in many organizations related to industrial engineering that shared his interests in time and motion study. Finally, copies and clippings make up the research subseries, 1957.

Series 7, Government Work, 1952-1971, documents Mundel's work for the government, from his work at Rock Island Arsenal to seminars for NASA. This series contains correspondence, data, reports, course work, visual aids, and photographs. The consulting work is arranged in a chronological manner and, in some instances, alphabetically.

Series 8, Japanese Consulting, 1959-1987, documents Mundel's consulting work for Japanese corporations. The files are arranged alphabetically by company and contain research, data, charts, notes, reports, and correspondence about each manufacturing firm. His notebooks and trip files give insight into his cultural understanding of Japanese firms and his teaching practices. Of special interest are the notebooks that contain photographs and firsthand experiences of adapting to Japanese culture and understanding Japanese work practices.

Series 9, Asian Productivity Organization, 1973-1994, consists of year and country files of Mundel's seminars throughout the Far East. The course work, notes, visual aids, reports, and photographs demonstrate Mundel's shift in emphasis from work measurement to managerial organization. This series also contains books published by the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) that give a context to Mundel's work and writings.

Series 10, Dupont Case Study, 1978-1984, contains correspondence, data, notes, reports, research, and visual aids concerning one of the many American companies where Mundel consulted. Dupont was selected because of its prominence in the American business world.

Series 11, Films and Videos, circa 1939-1973, is comprised of 16mm films and 1⁄2" VHS videocassette tapes. The bulk of the series is 16mm films. The films relate to the documents in Series 6: Time and Motion Studies. There are six subseries: Rating Films, 1939-1973; Memomotion Films, circa 1948-1959; Multi-Image Loops, circa, 1956-1958; Instructional Films, circa 1939-1962; Travel Films, circa 1955-1958 and Papers, undated.

Films are labeled either OF, RF, OV, or RV, for Original Film, Reference Film, Original Video, and Reference Video, respectively. [Example: For "676.24 OF Roll Edge on Sheet Metal Disc, circa 1960 (REF. FILM 676.24 and REF. VIDEO 676.70)," 676 is the collection number; 24 is the item number; OF means original film; "Roll Edge on Sheet Metal Disc" is the title; 1960 is the date followed by any reference copies. In this case there are both a reference film and a reference video. The Archives Center will eventually have reference copies for all of the films. for researchers to view.

Subseries 1, Rating Films, circa 1939-1973, represents Mundel's work with rating or pace films. This technique films a worker doing a repetitive work unit and allows trained motion study analysts to establish time standards. These films show a wide variety of jobs held by both men and women, American workers and Japanese workers. There are three groups of films:

Demonstration Rating Films: These films have the same format as titles with 10 scenes of workers doing a work unit at different paces. The films are arranged according to Mundel's numerical system and retain the original titles. These films should be projected at 1000 frames per minute.

Poultry Rating Films: These are rating films that Mundel did for the USDA and the Consumer Protection Programs.

Miscellaneous Films: These are Mundel's rating films for Tung Sol, ASF, Woods Veterans Hospital, and Montfort. There is also a rating film taken by an English company.

Subseries 2, Memomotion Films, circa 1948-1959, includes memomotion examples that were incorporated into instructional films. Memomotion is a filming technique created by Mundel. Time and motion analysts film a non-repetitive or extended crew activity at one frame per second and then project the film at normal speed. In this manner, the analyst can record a longer work period at a fraction of the cost and be able to analyze the film much more quickly. Memomotion is often used in conjunction with work flow diagrams.

Subseries 3, Multi-Image Loops, circa 1956-1958, combines seven of Mundel's multi-image loops onto one film core. The films display twelve images of rating films at the same time. The worker in each image is working at a different pace (fastest in the top left-hand corner and the slowest in the bottom right-hand corner). Time and motion study analysts could watch the loops for as long as they needed to get an idea of what the range of paces for a certain job could be. The loops were disassembled and spliced together for preservation and viewing purposes.

Subseries 4, Instructional Films, circa 1939-1962, includes Mundel's attempts to educate others about his filming techniques and overall industrial engineering themes. The films teach ways to improve productivity through motion studies, how to make memomotion films, and the College of Technology, Birmingham, England's method of making microscope slides.

Subseries 5, Travel Films, circa 1955-1958, includes films that combine Mundel's love for travel and different cultures with film documentation of Japanese seminars.

Subseries 6, Papers, undated, contains papers directly related to the films. Of importance are the rating sheets which associate different percentages of efficiency to the paces in the film.

Arrangement:

This collection is divided into eleven series.

Series 1, Biographical Materials, 1953-1996

Series 2, Writings, 1937-1994

Subseries 1, Books, 1942-1994

Subseries 2, Papers, 1959-1989, undated

Subseries 3, Publications, 1937-1993, undated

Subseries 4, Speeches, undated

Subseries 5, University of Iowa Studies, 1938-1940

Series 3, Industrial Engineering, 1954-1995

Series 4, Work Methods, undated

Series 5, Purdue University, 1951-1957

Series 6, Time and Motion Study, 1952-1984

Subseries 1, Consulting Work, 1954-1966

Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1956-1960

Subseries 3, Course Work, undated

Subseries 4, Equipment, undated

Subseries 5, Film, 1952-1984

Subseries 6, Memberships-Industrial Management Society, 1970-1977

Subseries 7, Research, 1957

Series 7, Government Work, 1952-1971

Subseries 1, General, 1955-1967, undated

Subseries 2, Rock Island Arsenal, 1952-1958

Subseries 3, Consulting, 1959-1971

Subseries 4, Seminars, 1963-1969

Series 8, Japanese Consulting, 1959-1987

Subseries 1, Consulting, 1961-1980

Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1959-1980

Subseries 3, Keio University, 1960-1961

Subseries 4, Memberships, 1959-1987

Subseries 5, Notes, undated

Subseries 6, Photographs, undated

Subseries 7, Scrapbooks, 1960-1965

Subseries 8, Seminars, 1959-1967

Series 9, Asian Productivity Organization, 1973-1994

Subseries 1, Annual Reports, 1973-1994

Subseries 2, Books, 1985-1989

Subseries 3, General, 1976-1995, undated

Subseries 4, Seminars, 1973-1989

Subseries 5, Presentation Album of Jakarta Seminar, 1973

Series 10, DuPont Case Study, 1978-1984

Series 11, Films and Videos, circa 1939-1973

Subseries 1, Rating Films, circa 1939-1973

Subseries 2, Memomotion Films, circa 1948-1959

Subseries 3, Multi-Image Loops, circa 1956-1958

Subseries 4, Instructional Films, circa 1939-1962

Subseries 5, Travel Films, circa 1955-1958

Subseries 6, Papers, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Marvin Everett Mundel, born April 20, 1916, was a major figure in the fields of industrial engineering and time and motion studies. He is known particularly for his consulting work, seminars and teaching, as well as numerous publications based on his expertise in work management and productivity enhancement. He began his engineering career in 1936 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from New York University (1936), followed by an M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering earned in 1938 and 1939, respectively, from the State University of Iowa.

In the late 1930s and 1940s, work measurement studies were considered the state-of-the-art method for improving industrial production. Mundel continued and built upon the achievements of pioneers Frank and Lillian Gilbreth during his teaching career at both Bradley and Purdue Universities. He also conducted seminars at Marquette University Management Center and the University of Wisconsin's Extension Center in Milwaukee. In addition to his American teaching career, Mundel was a visiting professor at both the University of Birmingham in England and Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.

In 1952, Mundel started a consulting firm which aided corporations and governments in either work measurement consulting or, later in his career, industrial engineering consulting. His first clients were United States government agencies that wanted to gain control over lost revenue or manpower. His position from 1952 to 1953 at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois, as the first Director of the Army Management Engineering Training Program, transformed management techniques in the Army.

After his employment at Rock Island, Mundel began a series of consultant roles with corporations eager to standardize labor practices and make production more efficient. From 1953 to 1963, Mundel conducted time and motion studies at various manufacturing companies and developed techniques to measure work units. His most important contribution to the field of time and motion study was the development of memomotion, a stop-action filming technique used to determine time standards for work tasks.

Following his refinements of time and motion study, Mundel took his expertise to Japan where he offered his consultant services to various Japanese manufacturing firms during the 1960s. His interests evolved from time and motion studies to include work management and overall management organization consulting. During the 1960s and 1970s, Mundel also returned to government consulting in the United States with these new techniques, in offices such as the Bureau of the Budget and United States Department of Agriculture. This period marked an important evolution in Mundel's career, from time and motion study to work measurement and then to industrial consulting. Mundel was among the first consultants to export American management techniques to Japan, and, in his later career, to other Asian countries. He became an integral part of the Asian Productivity Organization, a group that helped developing Asian countries learn how to increase productivity. His seminars sought to provide corporations and governments with efficient management techniques so that Asia would become a strong economic center. Mundel was sensitive to cultural differences as well as varied methods of management and standards of productivity.

Mundel won the Gilbreth Award in 1982. He continued conducting seminars and writing books and articles well into the 1980s, until failing health prevented him from traveling. When Mundel died in 1996, he was well respected in the field of industrial engineering for his many contributions.

Provenance:

This collection was donated to the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History by Marvin Mundel's wife, Takako Mundel, in January, 1999.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Rights:

Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Hospitals -- Materials management  Search this

Food processing plants  Search this

Industrial productivity -- measurements  Search this

Industrial films  Search this

Government consultants -- Asia -- Japan  Search this

Government productivity -- Japan  Search this

Machine shops  Search this

Slaughtering and slaughter-houses  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Punched card systems -- Machinery  Search this

Steel founding  Search this

Steel industry and trade  Search this

Plant layout  Search this

Diesel motor industry  Search this

Meat -- Packing  Search this

Shipbuilding industry  Search this

Meat inspection  Search this

Meat industry and trade  Search this

Pharmaceutical industry  Search this

Materials handling  Search this

Poultry -- Inspection  Search this

Dental offices  Search this

Box making  Search this

Greeting cards industry  Search this

United States Department of Agriculture  Search this

Refuse collection  Search this

Poultry industry  Search this

Shoe industry  Search this

Dental instruments and apparatus  Search this

Methods engineering  Search this

Industrial engineering -- 1930-2000  Search this

Chronophotography  Search this

Drafting table  Search this

Organizational effectiveness  Search this

Industrial management  Search this

Work measurement  Search this

Motion study  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 20th century

Field notes

Motion photographs

Diagrams

Loop films

Motion pictures (visual works)

Transparencies

Correspondence -- 1930-1950

Charts

Citation:

Marvin E. Mundel Industrial Engineering Collection, 1937-1996, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0676

See more items in:

Marvin E. Mundel Industrial Engineering Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep885139741-4c32-4460-bb06-8cfb024e15c3

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0676

Creator:

Perkins, James Secor  Search this

Gilbreth, Frank Bunker, 1868-1924  Search this

Gilbreth, Lillian Moller, 1878-1972  Search this

Extent:

5 Cubic feet (19 boxes)

5 Cubic feet (19 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Videotapes

Betacam sp (videotape format)

Motion pictures (visual works)

Date:

1907-2000

bulk 1911-1924

Summary:

The collection consists primarily of glass plate slides (negative and positive), photo prints, and stereographs documenting the work undertaken by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Also included are slides dcoumenting the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends. The collection also contains the film "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way," 1968 by James S. Perkins.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists primarily of glass plate slides (negative and positive), photo prints, and stereographs documenting the work undertaken by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. As scientific managers, the Gilbreth's introduced new techniques to analyze work, the workplace, and work practices with the goal of eliminating waste to maximize productivity. The collection illustrates these new techniques and their application to a wide variety of studies. The collection is diverse and provides insight into understanding how Gilbreth approached his studies. Also included are slides documenting the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends. The collection also contains the film "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way," 1968 by James S. Perkins.

Series 1, Background Information, 1892-1997, includes biographical materials about Frank B. Gilbreth; copies of some of Frank Gilbreth's patents, 1892-1916; and printed materials, 1907-1997, that contain articles, newspaper and magazine clippings about Frank and Lillian Gilbreth and time and motion study generally. Black-and-white photo prints of Gilbreth or work Gilbreth documented from collections held at Purdue University and Ohio State University are included.

Series 2, Glass plate stereo slides, 1910-1924, consists of approximately 2,250 glass stereo slides photographed by Frank B. Gilbreth and others and intended for viewing through an optical viewing machine. Some are positive black and white, positive color, and negative black and white. The subject matter of the slides covers the work undertaken by Frank Gilbreth from 1910 to 1924 in the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Many of the images serve as documentation for the studies the couple performed as they were hired by firms in an attempt to provide solutions to the problems of inefficiency. Also included are the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends.

The slides are numbered sequentially. For example, a glass plate slide numbered 318949.001 will have a corresponding photoprint 318949.001 in Series 3, Photoprints of glass plate slides. Note: not all glass plate slides have corresponding photoprints. Additionally, there are Office of Photographics Services, Smithsonian Institution negative numbers assigned to many of the photo prints.

Some subject categories include:

Frank B. Gilbreth: working in motion laboratories, on factory inspections, seated in offices, with family and friends, in World War I uniform, watching and monitoring shop operations.

Lillian M. Gilbreth: with family, during university graduation ceremonies, traveling and working with Frank and observing office workers.

Gilbreth Family: family on the road in an automobile, at home seated around the dinner table, in the parlor, in the garden, and with friends and relatives.

Gilbreth ship travel: contains views on steamer voyages to Europe, deck scenes, arrivals, departures, ship officers and crew, and other passengers.

Automobile assembly study: internal and external views of a warehouse/factory, including large piles or rows of metal car frames and other parts.

Benchwork study: images of a male worker standing or sitting in a chair while filing an object secured in a vice at a workbench.

Betterment: images of efforts whcih contributed to industrial betterment (the Gilbreth chair, employee library, and the home reading box).

Bricklaying study: view of men wearing overalls and caps, shoveling, and men laying bicks.

Business and apparatus of motion study: views of lectures, meetings, film showings, demonstrations, charts, drawings, motion models, charts amd some equipment.

Disabled study: views of partially blind World War I veterans, amputees using special tytpewriter, assembling machinery, use of cructhes, and a one armed dentist.

Factory bench work: table-top machines assembly operations, hand tools, orderly arrangement of parts prior to and during assembly and a variety of bench vises.

Factory documentation: various images of the interior and edterior of factories including heavy machinery.

Golfing study: various cyclegraphs of a man swinging a golf club.

Grid boards: back drops used by Gikbreth to isolate and measure worker motions. This includes walls, floors, desktops, and drop cloths divided into grids of various densities and scales.

Handwriting and cyclegraphs: finger lights moving in patterns of script.

Ladders: include step ladders and painters' ladders shown in use near shelving.

Light assembly study: wide variety of images ranging from cyclegraphs of women working, to the factory floor as well as tools and machinery.

Materials handling study: different angles of an empty cart, a cart oiled high with boxes, and a man pushing a cart illustrating different body positions.

Military study: illustrate work on the Army foot meausring machine, gun parts, men holding a rifle.

Motion models: images of simple wire motionmodels.

Needle trade study: views of textile machinery and workers.

Office study: various shots inside of an office with tables, desks, drawers, files, and typewriters. Some of the images are cyclegraphs of femal and male workers performing tasks, such as writing, both tin the context of an office as well as in front of a grdidded background. There are several close-ups of an organizer containing penciles, paperclips, pins and rubberbands.

Packing: methods of placing and arranging goods in boxes, such as soap packing.

Panama-Pacific Exposition 1915: contains views of statuary, fountains, and architecture of the exposition held in San Francisco.

Pure light cyclegraphs: no workers or grids visible only finger lights in motion.

Rubber stamping study: hand movements and access to ink pads and stamps.

Scenic views: views of buildings, landscapes, street scenes, and fountains from around the world documenting Gilbreth's travels.

Shoe making study: laboratory studies of shoe assembly operations with an emphasis on workers access to component pieces.

Shop machinery: various shots of machines and workers working with machines.

Signage: include organizational flow charts, shop floor plans, route maps, office layouts, numbering systems, exhibit display boards illustrating Frank Gilbreth's efficiency studies and techniques.

Stacking: views of the art and science of stacking boxes, clothing, equipment, containers, and vertical storage without shelves.

Stock bins: consists of storage pips, paper, other raw materials, shelves, and corridoe shots.

Storage: images illustrate contrast between old techniques and new.

Surgical and dental studies: thester views of surgeons, assistants, nurses, hand motions in grasping, placing surgical instruments, dental work and self inspection of teeth.

Tool cribs: storage of hand tools in shops with an emphasis on easy access and easy inventorying.

Typing study: various views of femaile s under observation using Remington typewriters.

Series 3, Photoprints of glass plate slides, 1910-1924, consist of black and white photoprints of the glass plate slides depicting the fields of motion study, shop efficiency, and factory organization. Also included are the Gilbreth Family, their travels, residences, and friends.

Series 5, Stereographs,1911-1914,

Series 6, Audio Visual Materials, 1968, 2000, and undated, is divided into three subseries: Subseries 1, Audio visual documentation, 1968 and undated; Subseries 2, Moving Images, 1968 and undated; and Subseries 3, Audio Recordings, 1980, 1990,. 2000 and undated. The series contains several formats: 7" open reel-to-reel audio tape, 1/2" VHS, Beta Cam SP, DVD, audio cassette, one inch audio tape, and 16 mm film.

Subseries 1, Audio visual documentation, 1967-1968 and undated, consists of supplemental documentation for the film, "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way." Specifically, there are brochures and other printed materials detailing what the film is about and how copies may be obtained. This subseries also contains a copy of the book Cheaper by the Dozen, 1948. The book was written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and tells the biographical story of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and their twelve children. The book was adapted to film by Twentieth Century Fox in 1950.

Subseries 2, Moving Images, 1967, consists of one title, "The Original Films of Gilbreth The Quest for the One Best Way." The film materials consist of the film's production elements: 16 mm black and white negative A-roll; 16mm black-and-white negative B-roll; and the optical track negative. Each is 800 feet in length.

The film presents a summary of work analysis films which were taken by Frank B. Gilbreth between 1919 and 1924 showing a number of industrial operations from which the motion study was developed. Demonstrates motion and fatigue study, skill study, plant layout and material handling, inventory control, production control, business procedures, safety methods, developing occupations for the handicapped, athletic training and skills, military training, and surgical operations as researched and developed by Gilbreth. Points out that Gilbreth created entirely new techniques on how to improve industrial efficiency, while at the same time significantly improving conditions for the workers. The film was produced by James S. Perkins in collaboration with Dr. Ralph M. Barnes and with commentary by Liilian M. Gilbreth and James S. Perkins. The film was presented on December 3, 1968 at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Annual Meeting in New York. The formats for this title include: 16 mm, Beta Cam SP, and DVD. Additionally, there is a one inch audio tape recording for the film.

Subseries 3, Audio Recordings, 1980, 1990, 2000 and undated consist of a Smithsonian radio program titled "Inside the Smithsonian, Cheaper by The Dozen," from 1980 and an recording of Ernestine Gilbreth Casey discussing Gilbreth Family photographs from 2000. Hosted by [Ann Carroll?], "Inside the Smithsonian, Cheaper by The Dozen," featured Fred and Bill Gilbreth discussing their parents Frank and Lillian, Gilbreth, and the book Cheaper by the Dozen. The radio program coincided with the 100th Anniversary of the American Society of Mechancial Engineers (founded 1880)of which Lillian Gilbreth was the Society's first female member and showcased a single case exhibition at the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) titled "Frank and Lillian Gilbreth: Motion Engineers." Inside Smithosnian Radio was a weekly program produced by the Office of Telecommunications. The recording of Ernestine Gilbreth Carey was recorded on July 9, 2000 and documents Ms. Carey's identification and discussion of Gilbreth Family photographs. David Ferguson assisted in the discussion. A hard copy index to the photographs Ms. Carey discusses is available.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1: Background Materials, 1892-1997

Subseries 1.1: Frank B. Gilbreth, undated

Subseries 1.2: Frank B. Gilbreth patents, 1892-1916

Subseries 1.3: Printed Materials, 1907-1997

Series 2: Glass Stereo Slides (Positive), 1910-1924 and undated

Series 3: Photo prints of glass stereo slides, 1910-1924 and undated

Subseries 3.1: Photo Print Books, 1-9, undated

Subseries 3.2: Photo prints (duplicates), undated

Series 4: Stereo Autochromes, undated

Series 5: Stereograph Cards, 1911-1914

Series 6: Audio Visual Materials, 1968, 1990, 2000 and undated

Subseries 6.1, Audio visual documentation, 1968 and undated

Subseries 6.2: Moving images, 1968 and undated

Subseries 6.3: Audio recordings, 1980, 1990, 2000, and undated

Biographical / Historical:

Frank Gilbreth is best known for his work on the efficiency of motion. Working with his wife and professional partner Lillian Moller Gilbreth, he applied modern psychology to his work with management. His innovative motion studies were used on factory workers, typists and people with disabilities. Gilbreth established the link between psychology and education to be succesful management.

Frank Gilbreth was born in Fairfield, Maine on July 7, 1868. His parents, John and Martha Bunker Gilbreth were New Englanders. John Gilbreth ran a hardware business, but died when Frank was only three. Bearing the responsibilty of raising her children alone, Martha moved the family twice in search of quality education for her children. Ultimately she decided to school the children herself. In 1885, Frank graduated from English High School in Boston. Despite gaining admission into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank opted to enter the work world immediately as a bricklayer's apprentice with Whidden and Company, building contractors in Boston.

Smart and skilled, Gilbreth worked his way up in the company. He learned the trade quickly and soon was promoted to supervisor, foreman, and finally to the position of superintendent. To further his edcuation, he went to night school to study mechanical drawing.

At the age of 27, Gilbreth embarked upon his first business venture. He started his own contracting firm. His firm developed a fine reputation for quality work at a very rapid pace. He invented tools, scaffolding, and other contraptions to make the job easier. His company goals included the elimination of waste, the conservation of energy, and the reduction of cost. His work included canals, factories, houses, and dams. His clients came from all parts of the United States, and he performed some work in England.

In 1903, Frank Gilbreth met Lillian Moller (1903-1972) and married her on October 19, 1904. Lillian graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA (1900) and MA (1902). She later earned a Ph.D from Brown University (1915), earning a dissertation titled The Psychology of Management. Lillian's academic work, large family and integral role in Frank's consulting business kept her busy. Her contributions to the business led to a greater understanding of an individual's welfare in the work world. This becamme a key idea to increasing productivity through scientific management techniques.

Working together, the couple became leaders in the new field of scientific management. They published books, gave lectures, and raised tweleve children together: Anne, Mary (1906--912), Ernestine, Martha, Frank Jr., William, Lillian, Frederick, Daniel, John, Robert and Jane. Some of Gilbreth's books include Fields System (1908); Concrete System (1908); Bricklaying System (1909; Motion Study (1911); and Primer of Scientific Management (1911). Gilbreth co-authored with Lillian: Time Study (1916); Fatigue Study (1916); Applied Motion Study (1917); and Motion Study for the Handicapped (1919).

It wasn't long before Gilbreth moved away from construction. Together with his wife, they focused on the link between psychology and motion. With her strong psychological background, and his interest in efficiency, the Gilbreth's opened the School of Scientific Management in 1913. The school was in session for four years. Numerous professional attended the school, and soon the Gilbreth's had established a reputation as consultant's to the new field of scientific management.

In 1912, Frank won a contract with the New England Butt Company in Providence, Rhode Island. There he installed his system of scientific management in a factory setting for the first time. Contracts with the Hermann-Aukam handkerchief manufacturing company in New Jersey and the Auergessellschaft Company in Germany followed. Using motion study, Gilbreth studied and reoganized the factories, attempting to find "the one best way" to do work.

Gilbreth traveled to Germany to continue his work was a scientific manager. He visited factories and hospitals, working to improve procedures and eliminate waste. Using micro-motion study and the chronocyclegraph procedure, he analyzed and dissected motion, discovering therblings, the seventeen fundamental units of any motion. World War I slowed Gilbreth's progress abroad, so he focused his consulting business on firms n the United States.

After World War I, Gilbreth's business thrived. in 1920, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers instituted its Management Division, something Gilbreth had been demanding for years. He was now a famous American engineer, gaining financial rewards as as professional honors.

Frank Gilbreth died suddenly of a heart attack on June 14, 1924, still in the middle of three contracts. He was honored after his death in 1944 by the American Society of Engineers and the American Management Association with the Gant Gold Medal. After Frank's death, Lillian moved the family to California where she continued to work on efficiency and health in industry issues. She was a respected buiness woman and was hired by several companies to train employees, study working conditions, and reduce fatigue. She lectured at several universities (Newark College of Engineering and the University of Wisconsin), and joined the faculty at Purdue University in 1935 as the first woman professor in the engineering school.

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth often used their large family (and Frank himself) as guinea pigs in experiments. Their family exploits are lovingly detailed in the 1948 book Cheaper by the Dozen, written by Frank Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.

Related Materials:

Material in Other Institutions

Purdue University, Archives and Special Collections

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth papers, 1869-2000

The Gilbreth Papers documents the professional and personal lives of Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Gilbreth. The collection consists of personal papers, letters, correspondence, photographs, and other memorabilia that Lillian Gilbreth collected during her life regarding her youth, marriage, family, and career.

Collection of materials related to Lillian Gilbreth, 1964-2006

One folder of items relating to the life of Lillian Gilbreth, and her family, collected by her granddaughter, Lillian (Jill) Barley and Nancy Weston. Materials include clippings relating to the Lillian Gilbreth postage stamp (1984); obituaries and memorial programs for Peter Barney, Ernestine Carey, Lillian Gilbreth, Anne Gilbreth Barney, Charles Carey, and Frank Gilbreth Jr.; programs and photographs relating to Lillian Gilbreth's visit to Athens in 1964; and biographical information on Lillian Gilbreth.

Cornell University, Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives

Frank Gilbreth Papers on Microfilm, Collection Number: 5424 mf

Selected papers pertaining to industrial engineering. Original materials are held by Purdue University. Microfilm copied purchased from Purdue University in April 1968.

Provenance:

The collection materials were donated by several individuals: New Jersey Institute of Technology (1975); Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., (1980); Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (1995); Daniel B. Gilbreth (1998); and James Secor Perkins in 2001.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but the films are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Series 2: Glass Stereo Slides are restricted. Boxes 3-9 were digitized in 2021. Researchers must use digital copies. 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:

Motion study  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Machine shops  Search this

Industrial management  Search this

Industrial films  Search this

Industrial engineering  Search this

Genre/Form:

Videotapes

BetaCam SP (videotape format)

Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1930-1950

Citation:

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0803

See more items in:

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a48e652d-6387-4a23-98c0-299772c454d5

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0803

Company Name:

Tierra Seca Co.  Search this

Notes content:

Tierra Seca Machines for extracting gold and other minerals ; Tierra Seca gold separating, prospecting, and concentrating machines

Includes:

Trade catalog

Black and white images

Physical description:

1 piece; 1 box

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Date:

1800s

Topic (Romaine term):

Mining machinery; equipment and supplies  Search this

Topic:

Mining machinery industry  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_45361

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_45361

Company Name:

Caterpillar Tractor Co.  Search this

Related companies:

C. L. Best Tractor Co.; Holt Mfg. Co.; Russell Grader Mfg. Co.; Trackson Co.; Towmoter Corp.  Search this

Notes content:

One item OVERSIZE. Annual reports ; catalogs ; diesel engines ; "The Dotted Line" ; earthmoving equipment ; electric power units ; farming equipment ; general information ; history ; logging ; marine engines ; mining and pumping ; oilfield equipment ; railroad equipment ; tractors ; "Caterpillar Magazine" ; forwarders ; wheel harvesters ; stationary mount loaders...this comprises the uncataloged portion.

Includes:

Trade catalog, price lists, photographs and histories

Black and white images

Physical description:

1356 pieces; 44 boxes

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Place:

Peoria, Illinois, United States

Date:

1900s

Topic (Romaine term):

Agricultural tools and machinery  Search this

Automobiles and automotive equipment (including trucks and buses)  Search this

Boats and ships (including marine hardware and supplies)  Search this

Construction and earth-moving machinery  Search this

Electrical apparatus and equipment  Search this

Engines and motors: steam; oil; gas; etc.  Search this

Lumber; logging; timber and forestry  Search this

Mining machinery; equipment and supplies  Search this

Pumping machinery and air compressors  Search this

Railroad; streetcar; subway and tramway equipment and supplies  Search this

Road building machinery and equipment  Search this

Topic:

Agricultural implements  Search this

Agricultural machinery  Search this

Air-compressors  Search this

Automobiles  Search this

Boats and boating  Search this

Construction equipment  Search this

Earthmoving machinery  Search this

Electric apparatus and appliances  Search this

Engines  Search this

Forests and forestry  Search this

Lumber  Search this

Marine machinery  Search this

Mining machinery industry  Search this

Motor vehicles  Search this

Motors  Search this

Pumping machinery industry  Search this

Railroad equipment industry  Search this

Road machinery  Search this

Roads -- Design and construction  Search this

Ships  Search this

Street-railroads  Search this

Subways  Search this

Timber  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_10172

Location:

Trade Literature at the American History Museum Library

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_10172

Creator:

United Shoe Machinery Corporation  Search this

Names:

Emhart Corporation.  Search this

Extent:

145 Cubic feet (296 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Papers

Photographs

House organs

Catalogs

Scrapbooks

Commercial catalogs

Albums

Magazines (periodicals)

Advertisements

Clippings

Research

Legal records

Motion pictures (visual works)

16mm motion picture film

Business records

Place:

Massachusetts

Beverly (Mass.)

New England

Date:

1898 - 1987

Summary:

The collection documents the activities of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation of Beverly, Massachusetts, manufacturers of shoe machinery equipment. The collection consists of engineering records, legal records, research and development records, employee/personnel records, correspondence, company catalogs, product literature, advertising materials, photographs, and moving images.

Scope and Contents:

This collection is among the largest and most complete bodies of business records in the holdings of the Archives Center. The records document in considerable detail the firm's engineering department and research and development efforts in shoe making machinery and in related technical areas, especially during World War II and as it attempted to diversify its activities after the war. There is detailed information, much of it on microfilm, about the leasing of United Shoe Machinery (USM) machines. The records also provide insight into the USM's culture of corporate paternalism, including its athletic and relief associations and its industrial school. The collection is rich in visual materials depicting both the machines made by the firm and the employees and the facilities.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into seventeen series.

Series 1: Historical and Background Materials, 1901-1985

Series 2: Executive Records, 1927-1987

Subseries 2.1: United Shoe Machinery, 1927-1975

Subseries 2.2: Emhart Corporation, 1976-1987

Series 3: Correspondence, 1890, 1901-1915

Series 4: Wilson Palmer Files, 1925-1952

Series 5: Research and Development Department Records, 1914-1980

Subseries 5.1: Background, 1947-1974

Subseries 5.2: Financial Information, 1947-1975

Subseries 5.3: Reports, 1962-1973

Subseries 5.4: Facilities, 1947-1975

Subseries 5.5: Personnel, 1942-1979

Subseries 5.6: Labor, 1961-1970

Subseries 5.7: Subject Files, 1943-1977

Subseries 5.8: Project Files, 1914-1968

Subseries 5.9: New Development (ND) Project Files, 1924-1970

Subseries 5.10: Experimental (EX) Project Files, 1931-1938

Subseries 5.11: Automatic Controls Project, 1939-1979

Subseries 5.12: Baseball Stitching Machine Projects, 1949-1973

Subseries 5.13: Component Inserting Projects, 1954-1960

Subseries 5.14: Automatic Control Research Notebooks, 1939-1976

Subseries 5.15: Baseball Stitching Machine Research Notebooks, 1942-1956

Subseries 5.16: Component Inserting Research Notebooks, 1956-1965

Subseries 5.17, General Research Notebooks, 1939-1968

Series 6: Legal Records, 1900-1968

Subseries 6.1: Court Exhibits for Machine History, 1910-1951 (bulk 1948-1950)

Subseries 6.2: Leases, Cancellation Letters, Shipments, and Transfers (Microfilm), 1900-1958

Subseries 6.3: Patent Search, 1949

Series 7: Engineering Records, 1904-1979

Series 8: Employee/Personnel Materials, 1908-1981

Series 9: Mutual Relief Association Incorporated, 1902-1951

Series 10: Athletic Association, 1929-1962

Series 11: Industrial School Records, 1909-1938

Subseries 11.1: English for American Citizenship (Industrial Series), 1912, 1919-1921

Subseries 11.2: English for American Citizenship (Intermediate Series), 1921

Subseries 11.3: Text Books, 1909-1938

Series 12: Northwestern University Students' Cooperative Work, 1951-1960

Series 13: Aberthaw Construction Company Records, 1918-1920

Subseries 13.1: Correspondence, 1918-1919

Subseries 13.2: Reports, 1919-1921

Subseries 13.3: Purchase Orders, 1919-1920

Subseries 13.4: Receiving Records, 1919-1920

Series 14: Publications, 1898-1987

Subseries 14.1: United Shoe Machinery Corporation Catalogs, circa 1899-1961

Subseries 14.2: Beverly Today, 1979-1985

Subseries 14.3: Machinery Division Newsletter,1969-1970

Subseries 14.4: The Three Partners,1914-1920

Subseries 14.5: USM Today,1968-1976

Subseries 14.6: Quarter Century Club News, 1977-1987

Subseries 14.7: H.E. Smith & Company Catalogs, 1898-1930

Series 15: Product Literature, 1952-1979

Series 16: Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1902-1981

Series 17: Photographs, 1907-1960s

Subseries 17.1: Employees, 1907-1981

Subseries 17.2: Equipment/Products, 1961-1972

Subseries 17.3: Factories/Buildings, 1920s-1960s

Subseries 17.4: Trade Shows, 1954, 1968-1973

Subseries 17.5: Miscellaneous, undated

Subseries 17.6: Postcards, 1906-1938

Subseries 17.7: Prints from Glass Plate Negatives, undated

Subseries 17.8: Albums, 1915-1950s

Subseries 17.9: Film Negatives, 1956-1958

Subseries 17.10: Glass Plate Negatives, 1915-1923

Series 18: Audio-Visual Materials, 1934-1972

Biographical / Historical:

The United Shoe Machinery Company was formed in 1899 by the consolidation of the most important shoe machinery firms in the industry: Goodyear Shoe Machinery Company; Consolidated McKay Lasting Machine Company; and McKay Shoe Machinery Company. By this merger, conflicting patents were eliminated and patents supplementing each other were brought under United control to permit their prompt combination in a single machine or process. To ensure efficiency, the new company also continued the practice previously followed by its constituent firms of renting machinery that it manufactured instead of selling it. The authorized capital of the new company was twenty five million dollars. After the 1899 merger, United grew quite rapidly. In 1903, it began construction of a new factory in Beverly, Massachusetts about thirty-five miles from Boston. At its peak, this company employed 9,000 workers and produced eighty-five percent of all shoemaking machines in the United States. By 1910, it had an eighty percent share of the shoe machinery market with assets reaching forty million dollars, and it had acquired control of branch companies in foreign countries.

In 1911, the first of three civil anti-trust suits was brought against United by the United States government. It charged that the 1899 merger had restrained trade and violated the Sherman Act. The Massachusetts District Court ruled that the 1899 merger was not an attempt to restrain trade, only an attempt to promote efficiency. The court also said that the five companies that were merged to form United were not competitive with each other. The government appealed to the Supreme Court, which only affirmed the District Court's verdict.

In 1917, the United Shoe Machinery Corporation, incorporated in 1905, absorbed the United Shoe Machinery Company. The United Shoe Machinery Corporation had its headquarters in Boston and its main manufacturing plant in Beverly, Massachusetts.

The second government suit was brought against United Shoe in 1915. The government claimed that United Shoe's leasing system restricted the shoe manufacturer to exclusive use of United Shoe's products and that it was a violation of the newly enacted Clayton Act. The Massachusetts District Court ruled in favor of the government. The Supreme Court, hearing United Shoe's appeal case, only affirmed the District Court's ruling. In 1923, United modified its leasing policy.

The last government suit against United was filed in 1947 and charged United with monopolizing the trade, manufacture, and distribution of shoe machinery from 1923 to 1947. During this period, United had bought all shares, assets, and patents of twenty one companies that dealt in the shoe machinery manufacture. The court ruled that United had clearly violated the Sherman Act, and United was forced to modify its leasing policies and restrict its purchases of other shoe machinery businesses and its acquisition of patents. In 1968, the United Shoe Machinery Corporation changed its name to USM Corporation. In 1976, United Shoe Machinery Company merged with Emhart Industries and produced the modern-day Emhart Corporation.

In 1989, in order to resist a two billion dollar takeover attempt by a New York investment group (which included oil heir Gordon P. Getty), Emhart merged with Black & Decker Corporation. The merged company operates from Black & Decker's headquarters in Towson, Maryland. The company headquarters in Farmington, Connecticut, were closed in June 1989.

Related Materials:

Materials at Other Organizations

Lynn Historical Society & Museum, Lynn, Massachusetts

Lynn, Massachusetts businesses collection, 1888-1991

Small volumes and pamphlets of shoe and shoe-related industry businesses in Lynn, Massachusetts, including miscellaneous articles and histories on the shoe industry in Lynn, manuals, catalogs, broadsides, patents, handbooks, patterns, price lists, brochures, and legal materials. Businesses represented include Beaudry Machine Company, Beckman Machine Company, Bresnahan Shoe Machinery Company, George W. Emerson & Company, Hamel Shoe Machinery Company, Gregory & Read Co., David Knox & Sons Machinery Company, Krippendorf Kalculator Company (manufacturers of a mechanical device to compute pattern values), Peerless Machinery Company, Quarmby & Hilliker, Machine Builders, Swain, Fuller Manufacturing Company, W.J. Young Machinery Company, and George J. Kelly, Inc. (maker of shoe polish).

United Shoe Machinery Company Records, 1915-1974

Materials assembled by Edward F. McCarthy, director of USM research, including notebooks, diagrams, manuals, brochures, catalogs, code sheets, flow charts, price lists, handbooks, lectures, directories, lexicons, catalogs of other firms, personal notebooks on shoe construction (1927-1931), factory visits to other shoe companies, and production of leading manufacturers (1939-1960), and floor directory of the plant; ledgers listing machines shipped and returned from the Lynn and Puerto Rico plants (nine volumes, 1935-1974); and machine development materials, including patents, chiefly those of Edward Quinn.

Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) Salem, Massachusetts

An accession in 1987 of institutional archives, includes publications, photographs, advertisements, lectures, scrapbook of shoes made for United Shoe Machinery Corporation of Beverly, Massachusetts, shoes from which are in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum (87020).

Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, Massachusetts

The United Shoe and Machinery Company Collection contains a large quantity of the company's patents, most of which pertain to the production and manufacture of shoes. Additionally there are patents for golf balls, nail guns, and magnetic closures. The majority of the remaining materials are Quarter Century Club documents ranging from financial and membership records, to pictures and other ephemera. The remainder of the collection consists of miscellaneous objects including sample knives and knife parts from the Booth Brothers Company.

University of Connecticut, Dodd Center

Emhart Corporation Records, undated, 1883-1989

Emhart Corporation was a multinational company located in Farmington, Connecticut. Prior to its 1989 merger with Black & Decker, Emhart operated in over one hundred countries with a worldwide work force of 30,000 employees. Emhart's products included machines for the manufacture of glass bottles and shoes; filling, sealing and packaging machinery; security systems; electronics; chemical products; metal fasteners; rubber processing equipment; and consumer and do-it-yourself products. Brand name products included True Temper® hardware and sporting goods, and Price Pfister® plumbing fixtures. Emhart's domestic roots went back to the American Hardware Company, founded in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1902.

Beverly Public Schools (Beverly, Massachusetts)

Beverly Public Schools/Beverly trade school records, 1909-1995

Materials relating to the establishment and operation of the Beverly trade schools, including trustee minutes, annual reports, curriculum journals, correspondence, photographs, programs and ephemera, and calendars.

Cornell University, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections

[United Shoe Machinery Corporation publications], 1911-1913

Harvard University, Baker Library

[United Shoe Machinery Company, of New Jersey, et al. court proceedings], 1911-1917

United Shoe buildings and properties

The Cummings Properties now owns and leases "the Shoe."

Separated Materials:

Materials at National Museum of American History

The Division of Work and Industry holds artifacts related to the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. Some artifacts include a drafting table (1989.0259.349), tool chest (1989.0259.348), and molds for shoes, shoe heels, shoe welts, threads, needles, awls, and show wax.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by United Shoe Machinery Corporation, through Kevin Cochrane on November 20, 1987.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view materials in cold storage and audio visual materials. Using cold room materials requires a three hour waiting period, reference copies do not exist for audio visual materials. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit. Contact the Archives Center at 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:

Industrial workers  Search this

Photography, Industrial  Search this

Tanners  Search this

Shoe machinery industry  Search this

Industrial history  Search this

Baseball  Search this

Genre/Form:

Papers

Photographs -- 20th century

House organs

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- 1900-1950

Catalogs

Scrapbooks

Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 19th-20th century

Commercial catalogs

Albums

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film -- 1900-1950

Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century

Advertisements -- 20th century

Clippings -- 20th century

Research -- 20th century

Legal records

Motion pictures (visual works) -- 20th century

16mm motion picture film

Business records -- 20th century

Citation:

United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0277

See more items in:

United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep83f85a875-2e03-4934-b565-4ea239c46d53

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0277

Creator:

General Machinery Corporation  Search this

Niles-Bement-Pond Co.  Search this

Donor:

Bement Company  Search this

Hooven, Owens, Rentschler Company  Search this

Long and Allstatter Company  Search this

Niles Tool Works  Search this

Ohio Historical Society  Search this

Collector:

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

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

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

Extent:

24 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Place:

Hamilton (Ohio)

Ohio -- Manufacturing

Date:

ca. 1899-1969.

Scope and Contents:

Over 2,000 photographic negatives of machinery produced by General Machinery Corporation and its predecessors; also three cubic feet of prints from the negatives.

Arrangement:

Divided into five series: Series 1, Long and Allstatter Negatives; Series 2, Niles Bement Pond Negatives; Series 3, Hooven, Owens, Rentschler Company Negatives; Series 4, Bement Company Negatives; Series 5, Niles Tool Works Negatives; Series 6, Photoprints from Negatives in General Machinery Corporation Collection.

Biographical / Historical:

The General Machinery Corporation of Hamilton, Ohio was formed in 1928 by the merger of Niles Bement Pond Co. and Hooven Owens Rentschler Co. Other companies that became part of General Machinery were Putnam Machine Co. and Long and Allstatter. The General Machinery Co. became subsumed by the Baldwin Lima Hamilton Co. during th e1950s..

Provenance:

The negatives were donated to the Division of Work and Industry, in several gifts in 1991 and 1992, by the Ohio Historical Society.

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:

Manufacturing  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Machine-tool industry  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- 20th century

Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 20th century

Citation:

General Machinery Corporation Records, ca. 1899-1969, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1115

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8f033dccf-4766-43f4-8cbc-75d6462009f0

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1115

Creator:

Dodge Manufacturing Co.  Search this

Former owner:

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:

38 Cubic feet (222 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Glass negatives

Photographs

Albums

Place:

Mishawaka (Ind.)

Date:

circa 1910-1924

Scope and Contents:

A collection of photographs, some prints but mostly negatives, documenting the facilities, products and staff of the Dodge Manufacturing Company between 1905 and 1924. There are exterior and interior views of the factory.

Arrangement:

1 series.

Biographical / Historical:

The Dodge Manufacturing Company, of Mishawaka, Indiana, was started in 1878 as a small wood specialties shop. It later became a manufacturer of power transmission machinery and was a division of Reliance Electric Company.

Provenance:

Donated by the Dodge Manufacturing Company in 1969.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but the majority of the collection 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:

Power transmission  Search this

Manufacturing  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Genre/Form:

Glass negatives

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- 1900-1950

Albums -- 1920-1930

Citation:

Archives Center, Lombard Governor Company Records, circa 1910-1924, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1092

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep856187bee-d923-45b0-a0aa-53b8a206f2fa

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1092

Creator:

Anacostia Museum  Search this

James, Portia P.  Search this

Reinckens, Sharon A.  Search this

Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Names:

Anacostia Community Museum  Search this

Anacostia Neighborhood Museum  Search this

Matzeliger, Jan Ernst, 1852-1889  Search this

Rillieux, Norbert, 1806-1894  Search this

Temple, Lewis  Search this

Collection Creator:

Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum  Search this

Extent:

3 Video recordings (open reel, 1 inch)

3 Video recordings (VHS)

1 Sound recording (open reel, 1/4 inch)

Type:

Archival materials

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Documentary films

Narration

Place:

Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)

Washington (D.C.)

United States

Date:

circa 1990

Scope and Contents:

The exhibition, The Real McCoy: African-American Invention and Innovation, included three short documentary films: Lewis Temple and Hunting the Whale, Jan E. Matzeliger, and Norbert Rillieux. Lewis Temple and Hunting the Whale provides an overview of early 19th century whaling industry and tools, including the toggle head harpoon invented by blacksmith Lewis Temple. The short documentary about Jan Matzeliger provides an overview of the shoe industry and shoe making, including the refining of Matzeliger's idea and success of his shoe-lasting machine. The short documentary about Norbert Rillieux covers the history of sugar production and manufacturing from early sugar processing through the development of Rillieux's sugar refining process and the installation of Rillieux's device at Theodore Packwood's Myrtle Grove Plantation. All three documentaries provide historical background of three inventors' families and life, respectively.

Short documentary films. Part of The Real McCoy: Afro-American Invention and Innovation 1619-1930 Audiovisual Materials. AV000926 includes all three short films, dated 19910606. AV003326 includes Norbert Rillieux only (film image direction is sideways), dated 19890505. AV003324: Jan E. Matzeliger, undated. AV003433: outtakes, edited voiceover narration by Portia James for Lewis Temple and Hunting the Whale, dated 19890517. AV000226: loop tape of Norbert Rillieux with captions, undated. AV000227: loop tape of Lewis Temple and Hunting the Whale with captions, dated 19920526. AV000228: loop tape of Lewis Temple and Hunting the Whale with captions, undated.

Biographical / Historical:

The exhibition - The Real McCoy: African-American Invention and Innovation, 1619-1930 - focused on outstanding black inventors, as well as anonymous innovators, who, as slaves, craftsmen and workers, made important contributions to the United States. Included are actual inventions, such an Jan Matzelieger's "shoe-lasting" machine, which revolutionized shoe production, and Garrett Morgan's safety hood and automatic traffic signal, forerunners of the modern gas mask and traffic stop light. The exhibition examines such topics as African influences on Colonial technology and how the slave system stymied technological innovation. Individual inventors such as Lewis Temple, Elijah McCoy, James Forten, and Norbert Rillieux are profiled. Also featured are artifacts from some of the expositions of the late 19th-century, which celebrated this new surge of black inventiveness. The exhibition was curated by Portia James and organized by the Anacostia Museum. It was held at the museum from May 1989 - May 1990.

Local Numbers:

ACMA AV003326

ACMA AV003324

ACMA AV003433

ACMA AV000226

ACMA AV000227

ACMA AV000228

Series Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.

Topic:

African Americans  Search this

African American inventors  Search this

Inventors  Search this

Inventions  Search this

Technology  Search this

Technological innovations  Search this

Whaling  Search this

Shoe industry  Search this

Shoe machinery industry  Search this

Shoemaking  Search this

Sugar  Search this

Sugar -- Manufacture and refining  Search this

Sugar machinery  Search this

Patents  Search this

Slavery  Search this

Enslaved persons  Search this

Museum exhibits  Search this

Genre/Form:

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Documentary films

Narration

Citation:

The Real McCoy: Lewis Temple, Jan E. Matzeliger, and Norbert Rillieux, Exhibition Records AV03-026, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

ACMA.03-026, Item ACMA AV000926

See more items in:

The Real McCoy: Afro-American invention and innovation, 1619-1930 exhibition records

The Real McCoy: Afro-American invention and innovation, 1619-1930 exhibition records / Series ACMA AV03-026: The Real McCoy: Afro-American Invention and Innovation, 1619-1930 audiovisual records

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa791d31b9c-dd46-436e-8b85-301dcd6ab575

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-acma-03-026-ref506

Variant company name:

Est. 1860  Search this

Company Name:

Perkins Windmill & Engine Co.  Search this

Related companies:

Perkins' Wind Mill & Ax Co. ; James P. Kennedy, importer and manufacturers' agent ; Marcus C. Hawley & Co., general agents for the California Trade  Search this

Notes content:

UNIQUE trade literature of windmills and engines to power farms ; 1881 catalog announcing "Perkins' Patent Windmill for City, Town, Railroad & Farm Purposes" ; circa 1910 brochure for water pump systems and pneumatic tanks ; cover of 1912 engine catalog (#25772) is particularly beautiful

Includes:

Trade catalog and price lists

Black and white images

Physical description:

5 pieces; 1 box

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Place:

Mishawaka, Indiana, United States

Date range:

1800s-1900s

Topic (Romaine term):

Agricultural tools and machinery  Search this

Engines and motors: steam; oil; gas; etc.  Search this

Farm equipment and supplies (including dairy and poultry equipment)  Search this

Pumping machinery and air compressors  Search this

Windmills  Search this

Topic:

Agricultural implements  Search this

Agricultural machinery  Search this

Air-compressors  Search this

Dairying  Search this

Engines  Search this

Farm equipment  Search this

Mills and mill-work  Search this

Motors  Search this

Pumping machinery industry  Search this

Wind power  Search this

Wind power plants  Search this

Windmills  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_30869

Location:

Trade Literature at the American History Museum Library

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_30869

Creator:

Halkett, James Nicol, 1895-1953  Search this

Names:

Crowe Name Plate Manufacturing Company  Search this

General Motors Corporation. Fisher Body Division  Search this

Extent:

2 Cubic feet (6 boxes, 6 map folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Blueprints

Laboratory notebooks

Letters

Reports

Test reports

Trade literature

Date:

1924-1950

Summary:

The collection documents the life and work of engineer and inventor James Nicol Halkett.

Content Description:

The collection documents the life and work of engineer and inventor James Nicol Halkett though blueprints, notes about machines and machinery work, lab notes, notebooks with some illustrations, formulas, reports, and trade literature. The bulk of the material documents Fisher Body Company(1923-1929); Crowe Name Plate Manufacturing Company (1929-1932)Globe Machine and Manufacturing Company (1940-1941); and A.S. Campbell Company (1940-1941). Halkett also worked for other companies which are also documented.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1: Personal Materials, 1930-1942

Series 2: Companies, 1924-1950

Series 3: Trade Literature, 1927-1942

Biographical / Historical:

James Nicol Halkett (1895-1953) was born in Scotland. He served in the British Army (Royal Engineers) during World War I. He later transferred to the Munitions Factory of Messrs. Armstrong Whitworth & Co., Newcastle, England as Toolroom Foreman in their Factory at Alexandria, Scotland, fabricating shell and fuse parts. Halkett trained as an engineer in Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1923, settling in Cleveland, Ohio. Halkett married Edith Victoria Edler on June 3, 1919 and was naturalized a citizen in 1945. The coupple had one child, James Alexander Elder "Jim" Halkett (1920-2015).

Provenance:

Collection donated to the Archives Center by James Nichol Halkett's grandchildren, Kim Gillet, Muffie Austin, Jan Truitt and Scott Halkett in 2018.

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:

Industrial engineering  Search this

Industrial management  Search this

Industrial productivity  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Metallurgical engineers  Search this

Motion study  Search this

Genre/Form:

Blueprints

Laboratory notebooks

Letters

Reports

Test reports

Trade literature

Citation:

James Nicol Halkett Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1455

See more items in:

James Nicol Halkett Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b69cc145-7f25-43ad-9bce-cf95be94f37b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1455

Manufacturer:

Custom Auto and Equipment Sales  Search this

Allis-Chalmers -- 20th century  Search this

Case -- 20th century  Search this

International Harvestor. Case-IH -- 20th century  Search this

John Deere and Company. John Deere Plow Company -- 20th century  Search this

Sperry New Holland -- 20th century  Search this

Todd Equipment Company -- 20th century  Search this

Creator:

Parlett, John K., 1937-2005  Search this

Extent:

20 Cubic feet (60 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1859-2011, undated

Summary:

The John K. Parlett Collection of Agricultural Ephemera, 1859-2011, undated, is a collection of operator's instruction manuals, parts illustrations manuals, dealership materials, farming, farm life, and agriculture-related ephemera. The material is from national companies as well as local manufacturers and businesses.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists of farming and rural life ephemera, dating from about 1859-2011, and undated. The materials are national in scope and include agricultural ephemera from all regions of the United States. Since Parlett's collecting interest spanned the entire spectrum of agricultural work, the collection is not livestock or crop specific. It covers many types of farming from dairying, beekeeping, poultry, cattle, sheep, and hogs to raising tobacco, small grains, hay and forage. It includes almanacs, operator's manuals, catalogues, promotional materials, pocket ledgers and notebooks, mail order catalogs, state fair advertising and catalogues, livestock care and feeding manuals, correspondence, receipts, guarantees, chemical and fertilizer handbooks, account books, "Ladies'" notebooks and calendars, directories, price lists, corporate "yearbooks," clothing advertisements and catalogues, farming practices handbooks, agent's sales order books, seed guides, National Grange material, farming co-op by-laws and ephemera, agriculture related convention materials, poultry magazines and journals, beekeeping magazines, barn and housing design material, gardening manuals, sales contracts for machinery, appliance manuals, commodity marketing guides, auction catalogues, home canning and meat processing manuals and guides, price lists, pamphlets, sale brochures, and dealer service manuals.

The range and national scope of items in the collection illustrate the progression of invention within agriculture. The machinery manuals not only describe machinery in detail, but break it down to the machinery components, how it is put together and how it is repaired. The invention aspect tracks the development of farm mechanization from hand work with intensive labor requirements to machinery developed to decrease labor costs and numbers while at the same time increasing production. The changes in agricultural technology in the later years of the Industrial Revolution, on the cusp of mechanization and the availability of mail order products for the home and farm, are documented in the collection by advertisements and mail order catalogues, for products purchased in nearby towns and equipment used in farm tasks.

The sizeable mail order component of the collection provides research opportunities into economics and marketing both to an agricultural community and an urban community. The demographic changes resulting from increased urbanization and employment opportunities in manufacturing -- and how small farms coped with them -- are documented in the collection by detailed descriptions of who was expected to do what tasks and how those tasks were accomplished. With the beginning of mail order by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872, mail order became an integral part of life in rural America. Mail order catalogs allowed rural residents to buy new equipment and follow the latest trends in fashion or household appliances without ever leaving the farm. Mail order also allowed rural American to reap the benefits of growing mass production. Homemade clothing gave way to ready-to-wear clothes sold through retail outlets and through mail order catalogues. Likewise tools and machinery that had been locally built and maintained gave way to parts and machinery that could be purchased through mail order as well as local equipment company dealers. Mail-order buying was made even more accessible in 1896 with the first rural free delivery (RFD) service.

Gender and ethnic aspects of farm life are documented in the collection. For example, sausage, lard, pudding making and similar tasks were traditionally done by women; labor was often divided along racial or ethnic lines and used different machinery and tools for various types of farms in different locations. The collection has a sizeable component of community materials related to farm life such as county and state fair catalogues, National Grange materials, and instructional booklets given away by feed and machinery manufacturers. "How to" booklets and pamphlets covering virtually every aspect of the farm and farm work targeted members of the farm family and its labor force.

The collection complements the Smithsonian's invention holdings as innovation was taking place on the farm as well as in the factory throughout the Industrial Revolution. The machinery manuals with their operation and repair guidelines, the schematic drawings and details on "new and improved" machinery provide a cohesive span of primary material to inform the evolution of farm work from hand and physical labor involving many people to the more mechanized farming capable of being done by one farmer alone or with minimal family or hired help.

The collection includes the business records (1971-1981, undated) for Custom Auto and Equipment Sales of Manassas, Virginia, a John Deere dealership. These records include equipment inventories, a John Deere Consumer Products Dealer Parts Administration Manual, JD Dart operators manual, and a Sperry New Holland dealer sales aid manual, sales accounts, all of which help document the transition from manual based accounting systems to product specific (in this case JD Dart for John Deere) computer based systems. This portion of the collection is illustrative of suburbanization. With the farm crisis of the early 1980s, Custom Auto and Equipment ceased selling farm machinery and concentrated on the urban aspect of the John Deere brand: lawnmowers, tillers and those pieces of machinery used in housing developments being built in and around Manassas. The market for farming equipment nearly ceased to exist and in an effort to salvage their business they adapted to the environment around them.

This collection also includes sales materials for Todd Equipment Company located in Chesapeake, Virginia with a branch office in Hagerstown, Maryland. Todd serves farm equipment dealers in the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. They carry an extensive line of machinery catering to all types of agricultural cultivation, care, and harvesting. As of 2015 they are still in business.

The collection is arranged in eight series with items arranged chronologically and in some series alphabetically.

Series 1, Allis-Chalmers, AGCO Allis, and Deutz Allis, 1957-1980, undated, is arranged chronologically. This series contains operator's manuals, sales ephemera, brochures, service manuals, setting up directions, a lease plan, and a sales book. This series includes brand names AGCO Allis, Allis-Chalmers, Athens Plow Company, Baldwin, and Jeoffroy Manufacturing Incorporated, L&M

Series 2, Case, Case-IH, International Harvester, 1903-1986, undated. This series is arranged chronologically. This series includes brand names McCormick-Deering, Farmall, International-Farmall, and McCormick. It includes sales brochures, price lists, operator and maintenance manuals, product guides, advertisements, pamphlets and brochures, catalogues, and a program from McCormick Day, 1931 in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Series 3, John Deere and Company, John Deere Plow Company, 1910-2008, undated, is arranged chronologically. This series contains publications, operator's and maintenance manuals, sales brochures and pamphlets, sales manuals, catalogues, product magazines, and safety manuals.

Series 4, Sperry-New Holland, 1975-1984, undated, is arranged chronologically. This series contains operator's and maintenance manuals, sales brochures and pamphlets.

Series 6, Custom Auto and Equipment Sales of Manassas, Virginia Business Records, 1971-1981, undated. These records include equipment inventories, John Deere Consumer Products Dealer Parts Administration Manual, JD Dart operator,s manual, and a Sperry New Holland dealer sales aid manual, and sales accounts.

Series 6, Todd Farm Equipment, Incorporated, 1973-1980, undated, is arranged chronologically. This series contains the contents of Todd's sales manual detailing various companies and their products. The series includes sales brochures, equipment specifications and capabilities as outlined in corporate sales material, and a Todd catalogue.

Series 7, Assorted Companies, Catalogues, Periodicals, and Publications, 1859-2011, undated. This series is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically for the undated material. This series contains material from a variety of companies and purveyors of farm-related equipment, products, and disciplines as well as farm culture-related materials. This series includes mail order catalogues, sales and instructional pamphlets, almanacs, advertisements, government publications, magazines, catalogues, convention and souvenir brochures, National Grange materials, manuals, cook books, record books, price lists, county and state fair ephemera, beekeeping-related materials, dairying related publications and equipment brochures, operator's manuals, and the auction catalogue from the Parlett Farm-Life Museum auction.

Series 8, Poultry, 1912-1949, undated, is arranged alphabetically. This series contains material related to the production of poultry. It includes magazines, advertisements for poultry products, and educational materials related to poultry.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in eight series.

Series 1, Allis-Chalmers, AGCO Allis, and Deutz Allis, 1957-1980, undated.

Series 2, Case, Case-IH, International Harvester, 1903-1986, undated.

Series 3, John Deere and Company, John Deere Plow Company, 1910-2008, undated.

Series 4, Sperry-New Holland, 1975-1984, undated.

Series 6, Custom Auto and Equipment Sales of Manassas, Virginia Business Records, 1971-1981, undated.

Series 6, Todd Farm Equipment, Incorporated, 1973-1980, undated.

Series 7, Assorted Companies, Catalogues, Periodicals, and Publications, 1859-2011, undated.

Series 8, Poultry, 1912-1949, undated.

Biographical / Historical:

John K. Parlett (1937-2005) was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, and was a life-long resident of the county and state. He was a farmer and businessman and served as a St. Mary's County Commissioner from 1974-1978 and as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1981-1986.

Parlett began collecting farm equipment and agriculture-related ephemera in the 1960s. His son, John K. Parlett, Jr., stated, "The more he collected the more his passion grew." Even though Parlett lived in Maryland, his collecting was national in scope and included materials he and his wife bought on collecting trips around the country. Parlett expanded his collection of equipment and agricultural ephemera after retiring in 1986. John K. Parlett, Jr., stated, "he [Parlett Sr.] caught 'the antique bug' . . . [they] went out almost every weekend collecting more things." Parlett did not merely collect old machinery, he sought and acquired catalogues, equipment operation manuals, posters, ephemera, county and state fair ephemera, and even records from an agricultural equipment dealer, Custom Auto and Equipment Sales, in Manassas, Virginia.

Between 1988 and 1993 the collection grew so large that Parlett built a 60,000 square foot building on his farm to hold the machinery component. He converted many farm sheds, turkey and chicken houses into display areas and a library. Parlett eventually founded the John K. Parlett Farm Life Museum of Southern Maryland located on his farm, known as Green Manor. Beginning in 1996, the museum was opened annually for the Farm Life Festival, benefitting the St. Mary's County Christmas in April program, founded by Parlett. The collection was open by appointment for study; the local Amish community consulted some of the materials in the collection for help in repairing their outdated equipment. Parlett was highly respected in collecting circles. He was a tenacious and indefatigable collector who made an effort to collect all types of agricultural machinery as well as archival materials relating to farm life. Rare or obsolete items are included in this collection, as are ephemeral items relating to farm and ranch life. "If it was used on the farm or in rural America in the last 100 years, chances are it'll be at the Southern Maryland Farm Life Festival," enthused Agrifarm.com in 2008 when describing the Parlett holdings.

The last year for the Farm Life Festival was 2009. The Parlett Collection, consisting of 1007 lots of machinery, tools, tractors, household, and general store items, was auctioned by Aumann Auctions in the fall of 2011. At the auction, some materials and machinery were purchased by The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan and other museums throughout the United States.

NMAH Curators Pete Daniel and Larry M. Jones surveyed the collection while Parlett was still alive. Jones was credited with advising Parlett while he was building the collection. Jones commented on the collection in 2005, "I was blown away by what he had put together; here was a man who turned an interest into one of the best rural farm life collections I've ever seen. And John has such an eye for good and appropriate stuff. It's just a sensational collection." He reportedly wrote a memo suggesting the Museum "investigate the possibility" of acquiring portions of the collection if and when Parlett was willing to donate items. There was no further discussion of acquiring any of the collection until 2010, when Craig Orr, archivist-curator, talked with John K. Parlett Jr., who expressed a willingness to donate the archival materials as the entire collection was being prepared for auction. Orr and Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archives specialist, surveyed the collection in early 2011 and selected the materials included in the collection.

Related Materials:

Materias in the Archives Center

Maid of Cotton, Cotton Council Collection

Southern Agriculture Oral History

Robinson and Via Family Papers

Louisan Mamer Papers

Harness-Maker's Account Books

Memphis Cotton Carnival Records

New England Merchant and Farmer Account Book

Hagan Brothers Account Books

Product Cookbook Collection

Maryland Farm Diary (1879-1894)

Bermis B. Brown Collection

Cincinnati Boss Collection

William E. Kost Farm Records, 1939-1989

Kent Family Records, 1879-1933

Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life)

Collection items related to farming and agriculture including farm clothing, home arts materials such as needlework, quilts, sewing, kitchen appliances, farming implements and machinery, and 4-H objects. The Lemelson Center has assisted in acquiring objects and archival collections in the field of invention and innovation in various divisions of the National Museum of American History.

Provenance:

This collection was donated by Catherine Parlett, widow of John K. Parlett, in 2012.

Restrictions:

This collection is open for use.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Tobacco -- 20th century  Search this

Tobacco  Search this

Poultry industry  Search this

Farmers  Search this

Farm ownership  Search this

Farm management  Search this

Tobacco farmers  Search this

Farm produce -- 1820-1850  Search this

Farm buildings  Search this

Family farms  Search this

Farm life -- 20th century  Search this

Farm equipment  Search this

Farmers' markets  Search this

Farmers -- Virginia  Search this

Dairy farms  Search this

Cotton farming  Search this

Hay  Search this

Community organization  Search this

Family  Search this

Factories  Search this

Machinery -- 1940-1990  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Harvesting machinery  Search this

Machinery -- 1960-1990  Search this

Agricultural machinery  Search this

Machinery  Search this

Farmers -- 1930-1950  Search this

Farmers -- 1940-1990  Search this

Farmers -- 19th century  Search this

Farmers -- 1860-1870  Search this

Citation:

John K. Parlett Collection of Agricultural Ephemera, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1225

See more items in:

John K. Parlett Collection of Agricultural Ephemera

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8aa2a6e93-b3ab-4cbd-9791-7fed4bd65558

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1225

Collection Creator:

United Shoe Machinery Corporation  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1914 - 1980

Scope and Contents:

This series is divided into seventeen subseries and documents the research and development aspects of United Shoe Machinery. One of the largest series, it spans from 1913 to 1980 and includes progress reports on various projects, correspondence, photographs, and research notebooks. There is also information on personnel, training, and the shoe machinery industry.

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.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view materials in cold storage and audio visual materials. Using cold room materials requires a three hour waiting period, reference copies do not exist for audio visual materials. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit. Contact the Archives Center at 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.

Collection Citation:

United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0277, Series 5

See more items in:

United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85018ea8d-6ce9-4187-bd83-b99d9ddf1f93

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0277-ref30

Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

4.81 Cubic feet (consisting of 10 boxes, 1 folder, 4 oversize folders, 2 map case folders, 1 flat box (partial), plus digital images of some collection material.)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Advertising fliers

Exhibition catalogs

Sales records

Manuals

Annual reports

Print advertising

Blotters (writing equipment)

Publications

Business records

Business cards

Sales letters

Letterheads

Legal records

Photographs

Catalogs

Commercial catalogs

Catalogues

Printed materials

Receipts

Advertising cards

Mail order catalogs

Illustrations

Technical reports

Trade cards

Legal documents

Printed material

Trade catalogs

Periodicals

Technical manuals

Patents

Commercial correspondence

Invoices

Advertising

Sales catalogs

Advertising mail

Advertisements

Ephemera

Reports

Business ephemera

Trade literature

Manufacturers' catalogs

Business letters

Instructional materials

Printed ephemera

Correspondence

Date:

1834-1965

Summary:

A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

Scope and Contents:

Covers a variety of tools, hand tools, and machinery including cutters, dies, measurement tools, rules, lathes, crimping devices, clamps, drills, and related precision tools.

Materials represent a sampling of merchant and services transactions, but there are no full business records for any single entity. This category has a large volume of catalogues present and a few examples of industry reports and technical documentation.

With the industries and trades represented in this category, there is significant overlap with Hardware, Instruments, and Mensuration.

Arrangement:

Tools is arranged in three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Subject

Forms Part Of:

Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material

Provenance:

Tools is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Machine-tools  Search this

Manufacturing industries  Search this

Tool makers  Search this

Manufacturing  Search this

Pipe  Search this

Manufacturing processes  Search this

Hardware stores -- 1870-1880  Search this

Machine-tool industry  Search this

Woodworking machinery -- 1830-1960  Search this

Light machinery  Search this

Tools  Search this

Hardware stores -- 1860-1870 -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Machinery  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Machine shops  Search this

Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this

Genre/Form:

Advertising fliers

Exhibition catalogs

Sales records

Manuals

Annual reports

Print advertising

Blotters (writing equipment)

Publications -- Business

Business records

Business cards

Sales letters

Letterheads

Legal records

Photographs

Catalogs

Commercial catalogs

Catalogues

Printed materials

Receipts

Advertising cards

Mail order catalogs

Illustrations

Technical reports

Trade cards

Legal documents

Printed material

Trade catalogs

Periodicals

Technical manuals -- 20th century

Patents

Commercial correspondence

Invoices

Advertising

Sales catalogs

Publications

Advertising mail

Advertisements

Ephemera

Reports

Business ephemera

Trade literature

Manufacturers' catalogs

Business letters

Instructional materials

Printed ephemera

Correspondence

Citation:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Tools, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Tools

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Tools

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8fa1598e9-2925-4cc5-a7bc-4af23f3bb786

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-tools

Creator:

Carbondale Machine Company.  Search this

Hendricks Manufacturing Company.  Search this

Hiller, Nicholai H., 1868-1963  Search this

Hiller, Paul W.  Search this

Former owner:

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

Extent:

3 Cubic feet (9 boxes; 1 oversize folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Notebooks

Correspondence

Blueprints

Lecture notes

Design drawings

Patents

Letterpress copybooks

Manuals

Minutes

Technical drawings

Date:

1890-1937

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents Nicholai H. Hiller's career as a mechanical engineer for Carbondale Machine Company and Hendricks Manufctauring Company.

The materials include patents, lecture notes, design drawings, instruction manuals, trade literature, notebooks and card files on various refrigeration subjects. Additionally, there are eleven bound volumes of records, two of which are the minute books of the Carbondale Machine Company of Carbondale, Pennsylvania. They contain the minutes from the meetings of the Directors and Board of Trustees.

The other volumes are letterpress books of Hiller's personal and business correspondence. Most are from his time with the Carbondale Machine Company, though some are from his employment with Hendricks Manufacturing Company.

Also included are materials related to Hiller's son, Paul W. Hiller and his work on fish boat refrigeration.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into seven series.

Series 1: Nicholai H. Hiller, 1891-1937

Series 2: Paul W. Hiller, 1921-1932

Series 3: Carbondale Machine Company, 1904-1937

Series 4: Hendrick Manufacturing Company, 1890-1902

Series 5: VitterManufacturing Company, 1927-1928

Series 6: Worthington-Carbonadale (subsidiary of Worthing Pump and Machinery Corpoartion), undated

Series 7: York Manufacturing Company, 1908

Biographical / Historical:

Nicholai Henry Hiller (1868-1963) was born in Siberia on July 15, 1868. Hiller graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1889 as a mechanical engineer who specialized in refrigeration. Hiller founded the Carbondale Machine Company, based in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, which was one of the first companies to manufacture refrigeration machinery. Carbondale was sold to the Worthington Corporation in 1934.

Provenance:

Collection donated by Paul W. Hiller

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:

Machinery  Search this

Machinery industry  Search this

Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery  Search this

Genre/Form:

Notebooks

Correspondence -- 1880-1910

Blueprints

Lecture notes

Design drawings

Patents

Letterpress copybooks

Manuals

Minutes

Technical drawings

Citation:

Nicholai H. Hiller Papers, 1891-1937, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1105

See more items in:

Nicholai H. Hiller Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep810589448-a191-4250-85d3-4f096438fbcf

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1105

Collection Creator:

Ya-Ching, Lee  Search this

Container:

Box 12, Folder 3

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Date:

1942

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access.

Collection Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Collection Citation:

Lee Ya-Ching Papers, NASM.2008.0009, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Lee Ya-Ching Papers

Lee Ya-Ching Papers / Series 2: Professional

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg29e88526f-9151-49c1-b55b-04e5f0f91295

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-2008-0009-ref117

Company Name:

Textron Inc.  Search this

Related companies:

Fafnir Bearing Co. ; E-Z-Go Car Div. (Augusta, GA) ; Shuron Continental (Rochester, NY) ; Bostitch Div. (East Greenwich, RI)  Search this

Notes content:

A worldwide multimarket company with many divisions organized into aerospace, consumer, industrial, metal product, and creative capital groups. Information on company's divisions and products. Ball bearings, ball bearing power transmission units, milling machines and attachments, drilling and boring equipment and attachments, grinding machines, tracing machines, numerical control systems for these machines, and accessories. Bostitch pneumatic staplers and nailers...this comprises the uncataloged portion.

Includes:

Trade catalog

Black and white images

Color images

Physical description:

3 pieces; 2 boxes

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Place:

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Date:

1900s

Topic (Romaine term):

Agricultural tools and machinery  Search this

Automobiles and automotive equipment (including trucks and buses)  Search this

Aviation (aircraft; balloons; etc.)  Search this

Construction and earth-moving machinery  Search this

Engines and motors: steam; oil; gas; etc.  Search this

Farm equipment and supplies (including dairy and poultry equipment)  Search this

Hardware and hand tools  Search this

Industrial equipment or mechanical machinery (including supplies and components)  Search this

Iron and steel products (castings; sheet steel; steel wire; wire rope; pig iron and structural steel products )  Search this

Jewelry  Search this

Machine tools and metalworking equipment  Search this

Mills and milling supplies  Search this

Textiles and textile machinery  Search this

Topic:

Aeronautics  Search this

Agricultural implements  Search this

Agricultural machinery  Search this

Airplanes  Search this

Airships  Search this

Automobiles  Search this

Balloons  Search this

Construction equipment  Search this

Dairying  Search this

Earthmoving machinery  Search this

Engines  Search this

Farm equipment  Search this

Hardware  Search this

Industrial equipment  Search this

Iron industry and trade  Search this

Jewelry  Search this

Machine-tools  Search this

Machinery  Search this

Metal-working machinery  Search this

Milling machinery  Search this

Motor vehicles  Search this

Motors  Search this

Steel industry and trade  Search this

Textile fabrics  Search this

Textile machinery industry  Search this

Tools  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_26276

Location:

Trade Literature at the American History Museum Library

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_26276

Company Name:

Robert Mazaltov & Son  Search this

Notes content:

"Custom Needlework" ; needlework for clothing, furniture, and accessories

Includes:

Trade catalog and price lists

Black and white images

Color images

Physical description:

2 pieces; 1 box

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Place:

New York City, New York, United States

Date:

1900s

Topic (Romaine term):

Artists; drafting; crafts materials and supplies  Search this

Sewing machines and equipment  Search this

Clothing (including hats; shoes; accessories; etc)  Search this

Furniture and furnishings  Search this

Textiles and textile machinery  Search this

Topic:

Artists' materials  Search this

Clothing and dress  Search this

Dress accessories  Search this

Furniture industry and trade  Search this

Handicraft  Search this

Hats  Search this

House furnishings  Search this

Interior decoration  Search this

Mechanical drawing  Search this

Sewing machines  Search this

Shoes  Search this

Textile fabrics  Search this

Textile machinery industry  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_30221

Location:

Trade Literature at the American History Museum Library

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_30221

Collection Creator:

Ayer (N W) Incorporated.  Search this

Container:

Box 48 (Series 2), Folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

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

Technical Access: Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire; listening to audio discs requires special arrangement. Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.

Collection Rights:

Publication and production quality duplication is restricted due to complex copyright, publicity rights, and right to privacy issues. Potential users must receive written permission from appropriate rights holders prior to obtaining high quality copies. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

NW Ayer & Sons, incorporated Advertising Agency Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records

N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records / Series 2: Proof Sheets

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep83d89f82e-8de7-4249-8814-93bc3f764383

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0059-ref5612

Variant company name:

Chandler, AZ  Search this

Company Name:

Gould Storage Battery Corp.  Search this

Related companies:

Gould Electronics, Inc. ; Gould Coupler Co. (New York, NY) ; Gould, Inc. ; Gould-National Batteries, Inc. (St. Paul, MN) ; NICAD Div. ; Century Electric Div. ; Industrial Battery Div.  Search this

Notes content:

Oversized. Gould Coupler Co.: Railroad equipment: freight, pilot, tender and passenger car couplers; vestibules; platforms and buffers; draft gear; trap door rigging; journal boxes. Car and engine axles. Truck bolsters. Gould Storage Battery Corp.: sealed-in-glass batteries; kathanode glassklad batteries for mine locomotives; armored kathanode storage batteries for aircraft service, locomotives, articulated trains, railway signals, railway car lighting, motor cars, industrial trucks and tractors, telephone applications, radios. Gould-National Batteries, Inc.: nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries; minaturized alkaline storage batteries; dreadnaught type element.

Includes:

Trade catalog

Black and white images

Color images

Physical description:

145 pieces; 5 boxes

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Place:

DePew, New York, United States

Date range:

1800s-1900s

Topic (Romaine term):

Automobiles and automotive equipment (including trucks and buses)  Search this

Aviation (aircraft; balloons; etc.)  Search this

Electrical apparatus and equipment  Search this

Mining machinery; equipment and supplies  Search this

Railroad; streetcar; subway and tramway equipment and supplies  Search this

Topic:

Aeronautics  Search this

Airplanes  Search this

Airships  Search this

Automobiles  Search this

Balloons  Search this

Electric apparatus and appliances  Search this

Mining machinery industry  Search this

Motor vehicles  Search this

Railroad equipment industry  Search this

Street-railroads  Search this

Subways  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_18310

Location:

Trade Literature at the American History Museum Library

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_18310

Variant company name:

Est. 1838  Search this

Company Name:

George F. Motter's Sons  Search this

Notes content:

distributor ; industrial supplies ; special machinery ; hardware ; pumps ; air compressors ; motors ; engines ; electrical supplies

Includes:

Trade catalog and price lists

Black and white images

Physical description:

1 piece; 1 box

Language:

English

Type of material:

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Place:

York, Pennsylvania, United States

Date:

1900s

Topic (Romaine term):

Electrical apparatus and equipment  Search this

Engines and motors: steam; oil; gas; etc.  Search this

Hardware and hand tools  Search this

Machine tools and metalworking equipment  Search this

Pumping machinery and air compressors  Search this

Topic:

Air-compressors  Search this

Electric apparatus and appliances  Search this

Engines  Search this

Hardware  Search this

Machine-tools  Search this

Metal-working machinery  Search this

Motors  Search this

Pumping machinery industry  Search this

Tools  Search this

Record ID:

SILNMAHTL_45340

Collection:

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collections

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILNMAHTL_45340