Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Children in very ragged, torn clothing, standing on wood plank bridge.
Local Numbers:
2000-9635 (OIPP Scan #)
RSN 21389
AC0143-0021389 (AC scan number)
General:
Currently stored in box 3.2.15 [27].
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Printed advertisements, photographs (including negatives and slides), sales presentation materials and packaging; patent and legal information, clippings, posters, scripts for radio commercials, sheet music for jingles, etc. Also includes personal papers (correspondence) of Christian Nelson, inventor of the Eskimo Pie.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into eight series.
Biographical / Historical:
Eskimo Pie, America's first chocolate covered ice cream bar, was invented by Christian Kent Nelson in his home laboratory in 1920. Nelson patented his invention and the ice cream bar quickly rose in popularity in America. By 1922, Nelson was earning $2000 per day in royalties on his product.
Christian K. Nelson was born on March 12, 1893, in Gunstrup, Denmark, to Pedar Nelson and Margerethe Madesen Nelson. While Nelson was an infant, the seven Nelson children and their parents emigrated to the United States. The dairy farming family settled in Illinois, Wisconsin, and finally in Iowa in 1903. In Onawa, Iowa, Nelson opened a small confectionery shop near the high school where he worked as a teacher.
The inspiration for the invention of Eskimo Pie was a boy's indecision in Nelson's confectionery store in 1920. A boy started to buy ice cream, then changed his mind and bought a chocolate bar. Nelson inquired as to why he did not buy both. The boy replied, "Sure I know--I want 'em both, but I only got a nickel." For weeks after the incident, Nelson worked around the clock experimenting with different methods of sticking melted chocolate to frozen ice cream until he found cocoa butter to be the perfect adherent.
Immediately, he produced 500 ice cream bricks with a chocolate candy coating. The "I-Scream Bars" were a hit at the local village fireman's picnic and Nelson began searching for companies to manufacture his new product.
On July 13, 1921, Nelson and chocolate maker Russell C. Stover entered into a joint agreement to market and produce the product. It was decided the name would change from Nelson's "I-Scream Bar" to "Eskimo Pie". In the hand-written agreement composed the same day the two met for the first time, the entrepreneurs agreed to "coat ice cream with chocolate [sic] divide the profits equally." They decided to sell the manufacturing rights to local ice cream companies for $500 to $1000, plus royalties on each Eskimo Pie sold.
Nelson and Stover began their business venture with an advertising campaign in Des Moines, Iowa. The first 250,000 pies produced were sold within 24 hours. By spring 1922, 2,700 manufacturers sold one million Eskimo Pies per day.
On January 24, 1922, the United States granted patent number 1,404,539 for the Eskimo Pie. Nelson's patent applied to any type of frozen material covered with candy. Nelson also had the name "Eskimo Pie" trademarked. Initially, even the word "Pie" in a brand name frozen treat was covered by this trademark. The breadth of the patent was detrimental to Eskimo Pie because of growing legal costs associated with its defense.
Russell Stover sold his share of the company in 1922. Because of the cost of litigation, high salaried salesmen, and difficulties in collecting royalties, the company was sold in 1924. Eskimo Pie became a subsidiary of United States Foil Company, the supplier of the Eskimo Pie wrapper. Headed by R.S. Reynolds, Sr., the company later became known as Reynolds Metals Company.
In 1925, dry ice was invented. Nelson was eager to find a way to make buying Eskimo Pie as easy as buying another snack from a vendor. Nelson began to market thermal jugs with dry ice supplied with Eskimo Pies to vendors without access to a freezer. This increased visibility and distribution and made Eskimo Pie an "impulse" item.
The patent litigation continued until October 3, 1929, when the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the lower courts declared that the 1922 patent was invalid, due to "lack of invention." Eskimo Pie resembled an earlier product that also called for ice cream with cocoa butter dipped in chocolate. The judge declared that Nelson had merely changed the shape for an existing product. Even his trademark on the work "pie" was invalidated, as the judge said the word had a wide variety of use.
Nelson retired to California and assigned his royalties to his wife, Myrtle Skidmore "Skid" Nelson. However, Nelson, reportedly "bored," came out of retirement in 1935 to rejoin Eskimo Pie and work on new products. Nelson continued to create ice cream innovations such as ice patties and colored ice cream holiday centers within Eskimo Pie products.
In 1955, Nelson was awarded a patent for his Eskimo Machine. The machinery squeezed out ice cream of the correct dimensions which was then cut into bars. This process was faster than the older method of molding the ice cream bar.
After a decline in sales during the Great Depression, Eskimo Pie received a boost from sales to the United States armed forces during World II. Rising commodity prices in the post war era forced the company to reduce the size of the product. However, the distinct foil wrapper remained the same. Nelson officially retired from Eskimo Pie in 1961 as vice-president and director of research. Surviving his wife by one year, he died March 8, 1992.
In 1992, Eskimo Pie became independent of Reynolds' Metals. The company continues to market dozens of shapes, sizes, and types of frozen treats. The brand name Eskimo Pie continues to have strong consumer recognition and has appeared in cartoons, movies, and even in Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary.
Sources
"He Made Kids Scream for Ice Cream," 1959, manuscript from collection
Nelson-Stover Agreement, July 13, 1921, manuscript from the collection
U.S. Patent 1,404,539 January 24, 1922, manuscript from the collection
Scope and Content Note
The Eskimo Pie Collection consists primarily of materials relating to the advertising, business, and packaging of its ice cream products. The collection includes numerous photographs, printed advertisements, and packaging materials. It also contains company annual reports and newsletters, business history, information on machines and equipment used in manufacturing the product, and the history of the invention of Eskimo Pie. The formulas and directions for creating many of the Eskimo Pie products are included.
Series 1: CHRISTIAN NELSON PAPERS, 1921-1992 - Contains personal information on the inventor of Eskimo Pie, Christian Nelson, including his correspondence and financial information. Most of the correspondence is business related.
Subseries 1: Christian Nelson Personal Papers, 1933-1988 - These materials include tax information, bank account information, and a few documents related to his personal life. Not many documents of a personal nature are in the collection. Most details of his life are found in magazine and newspaper clippings in Series 2, Subseries 4.
Subseries 2: Nelson Correspondence (by correspondent), 1944-1946 - This subseries contains Nelson's business correspondence previously arranged alphabetically by correspondent. The correspondence only dates from 1944-1946.
Subseries 3: Nelson and Business Correspondence (by date), 1920-1990 - Arranged chronologically by decade, this correspondence consists of letters on various topics that were scattered throughout the collection. Most of these letters are business related but many have personal notations within them. Not all letters include Nelson.
Series 2: HISTORICAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION, 1921-1992 - This series includes any information that helps to narrate the story of the invention of Eskimo Pie and the company that sold the product. It contains company scrapbooks of specific years, important historical documents regarding Eskimo Pie history, and newspaper clippings and magazine articles that summarize the detailed history of the company.
Subseries 1: Background Information on Company, 1921-1992 - This information includes company scrapbooks that contain articles, letters, promotions and/or advertisements for a particular year. The scrapbooks often relate the history of Eskimo Pie in past years as well as representing the year of the scrapbook. Other materials such as the Eskimo Pie patent, and information on Christian Nelson and Russell Stover with their original agreement are included.
Subseries 2: Information on Related Companies, 1947-1987 - This material contains annual reports and the company publications of Reynolds Aluminum which supplied the Eskimo Pie wrapper. Eskimo Pie became a subsidiary of Reynolds (then known as US Foil Company) in 1924. Other companies whose products are related to Eskimo Pie are also included.
Subseries 3: Patent and Legal Information, 1921-1965 - Important legal documents of the Eskimo Pie business are arranged in this subseries by type of document. The patents include many of Nelson's patents as well as other patents of invention related to ice cream.
Subseries 4: Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles, 1920-1990 - Most articles in the subseries are related to the history or business of Eskimo Pie, although a few are not. Cartoons that use the Eskimo Pie name are included.
Series 3: MANUFACTURING AND EQUIPMENT, 1922-1990 - This series documents the machinery and equipment used to produce, package, and freeze the ice cream. It also includes the specific formulas of Eskimo Pie products with ingredients and directions for their preparation.
Subseries 1: Machinery, 1922-1990 - This series is comprised of catalogues, plans, and brochures on general types of machines used to create ice cream along with very specific types of machines with specific names (such as the Eskimo Machine). It also includes video footage of a 1990 production line. Some photographs of equipment are included in the catalogues but other photographs of machinery can be found in Photographs under Series 5, Subseries 1.
Subseries 2: Formulae and Directions, 1942-1963 - Formulas and specifications to create certain Eskimo Pie products make up this series. The formulas and directions were sent to franchise manufacturers and field personnel and state how to use the machinery to create the desired product. The folders labeled with product numbers include booklets of formulas and the folders labeled with formulas of specific products are loose pages or additions to the booklets. Other formulas and directions for specific products can be found in some of the promotional brochures in Series 7 Subseries 4.
Series 4: ESKIMO PIE COMPANY RECORDS, 1951-1995 - The company records in this series are comprised of Annual Company Reports and Company Newsletters.
Subseries 1: Eskimo Pie Annual Reports, 1951-1995 - The Annual Reports include financial information as well as the names of the directors, officers, and management personnel for that particular year.
Subseries 2: Eskimo Pie Newsletters, 1968-1979 - These monthly newsletters function as a company information tool for employees. They include company news along with general interest features such as cartoons, news of the company sports teams, announcements of vacations and birthdays, etc.
Series 5: PHOTOGRAPHS AND NEGATIVES, 1928-1990 - This series consists of photographs and negatives of various subject matter.
Subseries 1: Photographs, 1928-1990 - These photographs are arranged by subject matter. Some of the main subject categories of the photographs include machinery and equipment, advertising, promotions, and pictures of Christian Nelson at company events.
Subseries 2: Photograph Negatives and Slides, 1928-1990 - This subseries includes many negatives of the photographs already contained in Subseries 1. Only one folder in this subseries is slides.
Series 6: ESKIMO PIE BUSINESS INFORMATION, 1921-1990 - This series consists of any records pertaining to the business of the Eskimo Pie company including finances, marketing, sales, promotions, personnel information, packaging, and publications. It does not include advertising.
Subseries 1: General Business Information, 1922-1990 - Business information that did not fit into any particular business category comprises this series. Each folder's information is very specific to its own particular topic and is arranged chronologically.
Subseries 2: Marketing, 1927-1996 - This series includes any marketing information that attempts to sell Eskimo Pie to the consumer. This information does overlap with some aspects of advertising and packaging, as they also function as marketing tools to promote increased buying. It also includes promotional materials for the film AWho's Minding the Mint?" which featured an Eskimo Pie ice cream man as a character. The information is organized by specific years or time periods.
Subseries 3: Employee Information and Incentives, 1952-1970 - This subseries includes general information such as personnel lists and phone lists but also includes incentive campaigns for employees. These incentive campaigns were directed towards salesmen, particularly route driver salesman, and propose prize rewards for sales. The booklets in box 31 include the ads for incentives to be sent out to the salesmen throughout the year. Along with the ads are explanations of the incentive and the company's reasoning behind its approach to the salesmen in that particular ad. The prizes to be awarded are not specifically listed but are displayed in pictures in many of the incentive ads.
Subseries 4: Premiums and Promotions, 1937-1990 - Information on premiums in which consumers save wrappers and send them to Eskimo Pie for goods as well as special promotions are included in this subseries. Lists of goods that can be purchased with the corresponding number of wrappers are included. Other promotions include prizes for contests or special offers with Eskimo proofs of purchase. This subseries includes promotional brochures that explain the new promotions.
Subseries 5: Financial Information, 1932-1990 - Any business information pertaining to Eskimo Pie's finances, sales, and\or profits is included in this subseries. It also includes U.S. Foil Royalty Reports that report the number of wrappers shipped and manufactured of different businesses including those of Eskimo Pie (Eskimo Pie was a subsidiary of U.S. Foil). The U.S. Foil reports are addressed to Myrtle Nelson. Bank information of Frozen Products, Inc., which manufactured Eskimo Pie and Eskimo confections, is also included.
Subseries 6: Packaging, 1921-1954 - This subseries consists of actual boxes, wrappers, lids, and sticks that were used in packaging Eskimo Pie products. The materials are organized by types of packaging and the dates of the materials are generally unclear.
Subseries 7: General Publications Related to Ice Cream, 1935-1990 - Listed in chronological order, these publications provide information on the ice cream, dairy, and chocolate industries in a specific time frame. These publications generally do not mention Eskimo Pie products.
Series 7: ADVERTISING MATERIALS, 1922-1992 - The advertising materials included in this series mainly consist of the actual advertisements. Little written information on specific advertising campaigns is included with the print, radio, and television advertisements. The promotional brochures do include some written information on the product the company is promoting.
Subseries 1: Print Advertisements, 1922-1989 - This subseries includes a range of types of advertisements. Some ads include printed ads in magazines and newspapers while many are proofs of advertisements that will go to print. Other types of advertisements include banners, decals, and railstrips which appear to be point of purchase displays for vending machines, ice cream stands, ice cream carts or trucks, or even the grocery store. Although the scrapbooks mainly consist of advertisements, they also include packaging, machinery, and marketing information.
Subseries 2: Radio Advertisements, 1930-1985 - This small subseries includes scripts for radio announcements and advertisements. The sheet music for the radio jingles, "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream," "Oh My, Eskimo Pie,"and "New Eskimo Pie on a Stick" are included here.
Subseries 3: Television Advertisements, 1948-1992 - The television materials included consist of story boards, scripts for television advertisements with corresponding still photographs, television commercials, and little written information on television campaigns.
Subseries 4: Promotional Brochures, 1951-1964 - This subseries consists of materials pertaining to new products or special occasion items (e.g. Christmas, Halloween). The brochures were probably sent to vendors, distributors and /or ice cream producers. The brochures intended for vendors and distributors contain samples of advertising, packaging, point of purchase displays and in some instances, inexpensive premiums to be awarded to consumers. The brochures for ice cream manufacturers contain some of the same material as well as the formula and directions for the product, a list of equipment required, and a price list for rental of that equipment. The material, contained in the boxes has been organized alphabetically where possible.
Series 8: MISCELLANEOUS, 1921-1979 - This series includes materials found in the collection with no apparent relation to Christian Nelson or Eskimo Pie. Random materials that display the Eskimo Pie logo are also included.
Provenance
The Eskimo Pie collection was donated on May 10, 1996, to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center.
Related Collections
The Division of Cultural History has several objects which are also part of the Eskimo Pie Collection.
The Archives Center holds many collections related to ice cream and the food industry including:
#58 Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (see Dairy)
#78 Faris and Yamna Naff Arab-American Collection, 1880-1995 (see waffle cone machine)
#112 Famous Amos Collection, 1979-1983
#300 Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, 1790-1980 (see Ice Cream)
United States. Armed Forces -- Supplies and stores Search this
United States. Army -- Supplies and stores Search this
Extent:
12 Cubic feet (34 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Patents
Trademarks
Slides (photographs)
Advertisements
Sales records
Photographs
Photographic prints
Filmstrips
Design drawings
Date:
1925 - 1998
Summary:
The Brannock Device Company began with the 1925 invention of the Brannock Device, a tool to measure foot length and width at the same time, by inventor and businessman Charles F. Brannock. Early in his career Brannock worked as a shoe salesman at the Park-Brannock shoe store, and in 1962 he became the CEO of the company. This collection documents both the Park-Brannock store and the Brannock Device. Materials in The Brannock Device Company Records, 1925-1998, include of correspondence, design drawings, United States and foreign patents and trademarks, advertisements, product information, sales records, photographs, and a film strip documenting the invention, promotion, and sale of the Brannock Device as well as the concurrent development of Park-Brannock as a leading shoe store in Syracuse, N.Y.
Scope and Contents:
The Brannock Device Company Records, 1925-1998, consist of correspondence, design drawings, United States and foreign patents and trademarks, advertisements, product information, sales records, photographs, and a film strip documenting the invention, promotion, and sale of the Brannock Device as well as the concurrent development of Park-Brannock as a leading shoe store in Syracuse, NY. The collection is useful to researchers for its stories of invention and entrepreneurship and its exemplification of the patent and trademark process in the United States and internationally in the early 20th century. The process of manufacturing and marketing in the shoe industry, and manufacturing of military supplies during World War II is also highlighted.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two subgroups.
Subgroup 1, The Brannock Device Company, 1925-1998
Series 1: Historical Background, 1928-1995
Series 2: Operational Records, 1926-1980
Subseries 1: Book for Recording Devices on Hand, 1927-1929
Subseries 2: Correspondence, 1926-1951
Subseries 3: Census, 1947-1980
Subseries 4: Insurance Inventory, 1956
Subseries 5: Royalties Accrued, 1946-1951
Subseries 6: Time Records, 1952-1958
Subseries 7: Notes, undated
Series 3: Product Development Records, 1925-1981
Subseries 1: Competitors' Devices and Other Products, c. 1928-1981
Subseries 2: Fitting Stool, 1936-1947
Subseries 3: Design, 1925-1975
Subseries 4: Manufacture, 1927-1959
Series 4: Advertising and Marketing Records, 1926-1998
Subseries 1: Correspondence, 1926-1998
Subseries 2: Mailing Lists, 1947-1950
Subseries 3: Ideas and Copy, undated
Subseries 4: Printed Materials with the Brannock Device Name (stationery, business cards, leases), undated
Subseries 5: Advertisements and Product Information, 1934-1980
The Brannock Device Company began with the 1925 invention of the Brannock Device by Charles F. Brannock. Charles Brannock was working as a salesman in the Park-Brannock shoe store, co-owned by his father Otis C. Brannock and Ernest N. Park, in Syracuse, New York when he saw the need for an improved foot-measuring device. The Brannock Device soon gained favor over size-sticks because it measured foot length and width at the same time. Additionally, it measured heel-to-ball length, a feature which aided in fitting heeled shoes.
Charles F. Brannock (1903-1992) was an inventor and businessman. He began tinkering with the idea of a new foot-measuring device while attending Syracuse University, where he would get up in the middle of the night and work on sketches and calculations. Brannock obtained a patent for the device on August 28, 1928, but by then manufacture and sale of the device was already underway. Brannock assembled the device in the Park-Brannock shoe store and gave the device a trial on the sales floor. In 1926, Charles Brannock began offering the device to shoe retailers first on a rental basis and then by sale through the use of salesmen who lived throughout the country and each covered a geographic area. By 1929, the company began to phase out salesmen because it offered quantity discounts to shoe companies which distributed the devices to their stores at a lower price than salesmen could offer.
Brannock sold his device internationally beginning in 1929 through Mr. I. Singer of London, England. In 1936 distribution rights transferred to Henry Maitland Marler of Feature Shoes Limited of London, an affiliate of the Selby Shoe Company. Renewing and protecting foreign trademarks proved to be a legal challenge. Due to some confusion, Brannock's British patent was allowed to lapse. In order to prevent other companies from using the Brannock name in England, H.M. Marler set up Brannock Fitting Device Limited in October 1937. The company began manufacturing Brannock Devices in January 1946, but royalties accrued through European sale by 1951 did not even cover a third of the cost of trademarks, patents, and designs.
Fortunately for the Brannock Device Company, these costs were absorbed by the Selby Shoe Company, with whom it had entered into agreements about foreign distribution in November 1941. Selby had exclusive rights to distribute the Brannock Device in South America, South Africa, and other countries, and assisted Brannock in securing trademarks in many foreign countries.
In 1933 a United States Navy captain asked a shoe salesman to find the source of many sailors' foot problems. The salesman, after measuring sailors' feet with the Brannock device, declared that the Navy shoe was not the cause of the problem; the sailors were simply wearing the wrong size shoes. The captain was so happy that he would not have to order special shoes for his men that he wrote an article in the July 1933 issue of United States Naval Institute Proceedings which described how the Brannock Device had eliminated foot troubles aboard the ship. This gave Brannock an opportunity to promote his device in the Navy by sending the article to other ships. He calibrated his device for use in other branches of the military and by World War II the Brannock Device was being used by most of the armed forces. Several articles were written about the greater foot comfort enjoyed by the military after the introduction of the device. Charles Brannock was proud of his small but widespread role in the war effort and in the comfort of America's enlisted men and women.
Through the years Charles Brannock developed many different models of his device, including the women's, men's, junior, growing girl's, athletic, ski-boot, and military models. In 1947, Brannock moved the device company to a machine shop at 509 East Fayette Street in Syracuse, where it remained for 50 years.
Brannock advertised both the store and the device in local papers, and the device in trade literature such as Boot and Shoe Recorder. He encouraged other shoe stores to promote themselves by using the device in their advertising. He also attended the annual National Shoe Fair in Chicago from 1938 to 1968 in order to promote the device as well as learn about shoe-fashion trends for the Park-Brannock shoe store.
Concurrently, Charles Brannock also played a significant role in the Park-Brannock shoe store. His father, Otis C. Brannock and Ernest N. Park founded Park-Brannock in 1906 in a small store at 321 South Salina Street, focusing on women's shoes. In February 1937, they moved to a three-story building at 427 South Salina Street. Finally, in 1946, a six-story store was built at 473-475 South Salina Street through 129 East Onondaga Street. While waiting for the newest store to be built, Park-Brannock temporarily moved to the Chimes Building at 510-512 South Salina Street and 113 West Onondaga Street. Park-Brannock gained fame in Syracuse for a wide selection of men's, women's and children's shoes, handbags, millinery, hose, and accessories. In an advertisement, the store declared itself "one of America's finest shoe stores." The design of the two newer stores was state-of-the-art, and Park-Brannock was featured in shoe magazine articles. For example, the men's department was designed to look like a great room inside a ship. Charles Brannock became the CEO of Park-Brannock after both his father and Ernest Park died in 1962. Park-Brannock closed its doors in 1981, after the Hotel Syracuse offered to purchase the property for its new Hilton Tower.
Charles Brannock died on November 22, 1992, at the age of 89. The company was purchased in 1993 from the Brannock Estate by Salvatore Leonardi. Leonardi continues to manufacture Brannock devices in a small factory in Liverpool, New York. Over a million Brannock Devices have been manufactured, and it remains the shoe industry standard
Related Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History
Artifacts (several Brannock Devices and competitors' devices) are in the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) and the Division of Armed Forces History (now Division of Political and Military History).
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History by Salvatore Leonardi on November 4, 1998.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research use.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Equipment and supplies Search this
The photos include images of aircraft, on the ground and in flight; pilots; and winners receiving trophies. Pilots portrayed include Charles Brown, Cook Cleland, Jacqueline Cochran, Joseph C. De Bona, Ben McKitten, Betty Skelton, and Roscoe Turner.
Biographical / Historical:
This collection consists of 450 photographs including silver gelatin negatives and prints which document the National Air Races in the 1940s. Begun in 1920, the National Air Races were an annual, week-long event including formation flying, parachute drops, aerobatic displays, and races. The event included two privately sponsored, closed-circuit speed races: the Pulitzer Trophy race held from 1920 to 1925 and the Thompson Trophy race held from 1930 to 1939. Along with other competitions, the National Air Races fostered the development of aircraft in the 1920s and 1930s but ended during World War II.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
No donor information/Transfer from Aeronautics, Gift, unknown, XXXX-0555, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
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
Atlanta Water and Electric Power Company Search this
Extent:
23 Cubic feet (88 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Advertisements
Trade literature
Catalogs
Place:
Atlanta (Ga.)
York (Pa.)
Date:
1890-1914.
Scope and Contents:
Archival materials, including photographs, advertising art, catalogs and other trade literature, documenting the equipment, facilities, personnel and products of the S. Morgan Smith Company, engineers and contractors. The subjects of the photographs include engines, fire pumps, generators, paper machinery, turbines, the construction of a dam and hydroelectric station by the Atlanta Water and Electric Power Company, and the Mathis Dam near Atlanta.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Engineering company in York, Pennsylvania, it later became Allis-Chalmers.
Provenance:
Donated to the National Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History) in 1968 by the Allis-Chalmers Company.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Science, Medicine, and Society Search this
Extent:
3.5 Cubic feet (11 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Laboratory notebooks
Electron micrographs
Correspondence
Technical literature
Reprints
Photomicrographs
Date:
1904-1968.
Summary:
This collection consists of materials from the professional life of Dr. Bruno Z. Kisch.
Scope and Contents note:
Contains correspondence, most relating to Kisch's service as President of the American College of Cardiology; photomicrographs, of animal tissue specimens; writings and notes; notebooks on Dr. Kisch's experimentation and research, including many electrocardiograms; and printed material, such as medical journals containing articles by Dr. Kisch, and reprints of articles by Dr. Kisch.
The materials are useful to those with an interest in the American College of Cardiology during the 1950s, or those who have the ability to read and understand cardiological printouts.
Electrocardiograph: An instrument which records electrical currents produced by the heart.
Electrocardiography: A method of recording electrical currents traversing the heart muscle just previous to each heart beat. The study and interpretation of electrocardiographs.
Electrocardiogram: The graphic record of the heart's action currents obtained with the electrocardiograph.
Electrogram: Any record on paper or film made by an electrical event.
Tracing: Any graphic display of electrical or mechanical cardiovascular event.
Arrangement:
Divided into 5 series:
Series 1, Personal materials
Series 2, Correspondence
Series 3, Notebooks
Series 4, Photographs, Micrographs and Negatives
Series 5, Publications
Biographical/Historical note:
Dr. Bruno Zacharias Kisch (1890-1966) was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1890. He received his medical degree in 1913 at the Charles University of Prague and served in the Austrian army during World War I as a physician from 1914-1918. With the rise of Nazism, Kisch relocated to the United States in 1938 with his wife, Ruth, and their two children, Charlotte Rebecca and Arnold Emanuel. A colleague called him "one of the princely gifts that fell to America because of Adolph Hitler". In 1943, Kisch became a United States citizen.
Amongst his peers Kisch was credited as a "Da Vinci in a modern age" due to his wide range of interests. He was a founding member of the American College of Cardiology in 1949, and completed the first president's term upon his death in 1951. Kisch was elected as president in his own right at the end of the term and held the office of president from 1951-1953. From 1939 until 1966 Kisch had his own medical practice in New York City and was a researcher and consultant in cardiology. Kisch's major contribution to the field of cardiology was his experimentation with electron microscopes. He was the first scientist to use electron microscopes to perform cardiac research on warm-blooded animals. The microscope allowed researchers to study heart fibers more closely by magnifying cells by 30,000. Discoveries Kisch made through this research furthered the field of cardiology and led to the formation of the Electron Microscopic Institute in 1953.
The professorships he held at multiple schools, including Yeshiva University, in New York City, and Yale University, reflect his wide range of knowledge from physiology to the philosophy and history of science as does his consultation to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. on "the study of scales, weights, and measures", and his position as curator to the Edward Clark Streeter Collection of Weights and Measures at Yale University. Kisch's other interests can be found in the articles he wrote and the publications for which he served as founder/editor: "The Jewish Refugee and America"; "History of the Jewish Pharmacy (Judenapothek) in Prague"; "Scales and Weights – A Historical Outline"; "Shekel Metals and False Shekels"; Cardiologia; the Journal of Experimental Medicine and Surgery; and the Transactions of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Bruno Z. Kisch passed away while visiting Germany in 1966. The Electron Microscopic Institute was dedicated in his memory in 1967.
Related Materials:
xMaterials at the National Museum of American History
Division of Medicine and Science
Other artifacts in the collection include sphygmomanometers, sphygmographs, stethoscopes, pacemakers, stents, and one of Claud Beck's defibrillators. The collection also has early examples of Bayer Aspirin.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Dr. Bruno Kisch's wife, Prof. Ruth Kisch, of Brooklyn, New York, in 1971.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Correspondence, handwritten notes and sketches, memorandum reports, catalogs, printed material, patent documents, drawings, blueprints (original and diazo copies), and photographs document Hawes's work in the field of immunnassay, spectrophotometry, scientific apparatus and instruments industry, and administrative duties at Applied Physics Corporation/Cary Instruments.
The bulk of the papers consist of materials found in Series 2: Research files A-Z, 1913 (1927-1990) (4.5 cubic feet). Series 5: Cary Instruments 1937-1992 (4 cubic feet) and Series 6: Consulting, 1908-(1939-1992) (3.5 cubic feet).
Arrangement:
Divided into 7 series: 1) Personal files, 1938-1997; 2) Research files, A-Z, 1913 (1927-1990); 3) Piness Laboratories, 1920-1979; 4) Beckman Instruments, Inc., 1939-1974; 5) Cary Instruments, 1937-1992; 6) Consulting work, 1908-(1939-1992); 7) Professional activities, 1949-1996. By series topical, chronological and alphabetical.
Biographical/Historical note:
The career of Roland C. Hawes, born Oct. 4, 1908, Riverside, California, began in chemical analysis and led him into the scientific apparatus and instruments industry, where he worked in the field of spectrophotometry. B.S., chemistry, California Institute of Technology, 1930. He died in 1999.
Related Archival Materials:
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry, Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Beckman Arnold Orville: oral history, 1978 and papers 1954-1989, California Institute of Technology Archives.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Roland C. Hawes,1997, September 8.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
All rights tranferred to Museum in Deed of Gift.
Topic:
Scientific apparatus and instruments industry Search this
Scientific apparatus and instruments industry -- California Search this
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Two men with motion picture camera on tripod, man, two women, two children standing nearby.
Local Numbers:
RSN 18167
General:
In box 3.1.70 [227A].
Yellowing severely.
Orig. no. A-2.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
LtoR: Margaret Colgate of Mass., Elizabeth Erty of Boston, Helen Hobbs of Washington, D.C., Katherine Putman of Oak Park, Ill., with the mascot, a dog. Caption 1853 : photonegative
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Subject is wearing a cap and talking through a megaphone. Bridge in background.
Local Numbers:
A-204.
RSN 18568
Video number 17880
General:
Company catalog card included.
U&U caption in file box.
Currently stored in box 3.1.71 [227B].
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
