Collection documents the 30 year history of Integrated Circuit Engineering Corporation which provided consulting expertise in the field of integrated circuits and semiconductors.
Scope and Contents:
The collection contains reports, litigation documentation, trade catalogs, company newsletters, professional journals, audio visual materials, artwork, company profiles, contracts and project files documenting the 30 year history of Integrated Circuit Engineering Corporation which provided consulting expertise in the field of integrated circuits and semiconductors.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into twenty series.
Series 1: Status Reports, 1970-1997
Series 2: Product Analysis, 1966-1971
Series 3: Product Evaluations, 1977-1983
Series 4: Construction Analysis, 1997, undated
Series 5: Information Reports, 1966-1986
Series 6: Manufacturing Facilities, 1980-1983
Series 7: Packaging, 1982
Series 8: Company Profiles, 1991-195
Series 9: ICECAP Reports, 1980-1990
Series 10: Government/Military, 1977-1981
Series 11: Artwork, undated
Series 12: Trade Catalogs, undated
Series 13: Hybrid Circuits, undated
Series 14: ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Outlook, 1984-1997
Series 15: TASC Files, undated
Series 16: Project , undated
Series 17: Litigation, 1968-1971, undated
Series 18: Audio Visual Materials, undated
Biographical / Historical:
The Integrated Circuit Engineering Corporation provided consulting expertise in the field of integrated circuits and semiconductors for over 30 years.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Information, Technology and Society (now the Division of Work and Industry) has integrated circuits (intact and exposed in various stages of investigation).
Provenance:
The Integrated Circuit Engineering Collection was donated to the Division of Information, Technology and Society (now the Division of Medicine and Science), National Museum of American History on June 15, 1998, through Glen Madland.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research 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.
The papers of art historian and writer Peter Howard Selz measure 31.5 linear feet and 0.696 GB and date from 1929 to 2018, with the bulk of the materials from 1950 to 2005. The papers document Selz's long career via correspondence, writings, professional files, project files, membership and association records, artists' research files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed and digital materials, and nine scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian and writer Peter Howard Selz measure 31.5 linear feet and 0.696 GB and date from 1929 to 2018, with the bulk of the materials from 1950 to 2005. The papers document Selz's long career via correspondence, writings, professional files, project files, membership and association records, artists' research files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed and digital materials, and scrapbooks.
Correspondence is with colleagues, artists, museums, and galleries concerning a wide variety of topics, including exhibitions and publications. The bulk of the correspondence consists of alphabetical files (two linear feet) that includes correspondence with artists. Notable correspondents include Pol Bury, Alexander Calder, Gordon Onslow Ford, Alberto Giacometti, Morris Graves, Philip Guston, Dimitri Hadzi, Jacques Lipchitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Jean Tinguely, and others. Eight additional files of chronological correspondence is with curators, arts organizations, and publishers. Additional correspondence is found in the professional files, project files, membership files, artists' research files, and exhibition files.
The bulk of the writings series is comprised of files related to Selz's books and includes typescript drafts and galleys, printed and digital material, correspondence, and publishing contracts. Files are found for Art in Our Times, Art of Engagement, Beyond the Mainstream, and Theories of Modern Art. Other writings consist of drafts of articles, essays, notes, and lectures by Selz. Also included are writings by others, including materials related to Paul Karlstrom's biography of Selz.
Professional files document curatorial and teaching positions at the Chicago Institute of Design, Pomona College, University of California, Berkeley, and the Museum of Modern Art. The series includes contracts, recommendations, syllabi, and correspondence.
Project files document Selz's professional work on specific art projects, panels, and symposiums. There is extensive documentation of Selz's work as project director of Christo's Running Fence, as well as other environmental art work projects by Christo, the Berkeley Art Project, Disney Art Project, "Funk Art" symposium, and the "Art and Politics in the 20th Century" symposium. Project files contain a wide variety of materials, such as correspondence, printed material, financial records, reports, photographs, and other documents. There are 2 tape reels, 1 VHS, and 1 sound cassette.
Membership and association records document Selz's involvement with or membership in various art councils, trustee boards, such as the College Art Association, Art in Chicago Advisory Committee, Bay Area Rapid Transit (B.A.R.T.) Art Council, and the San Francisco Crafts and Folk Art Museum Advisory Board, among others. Materials include meeting minutes, bulletins, correspondence, and memoranda.
Artists' Research Files consist of a wide variety of research materials Selz compiled about artists for lectures, writings, projects, exhibitions, etc. Files vary and may include original and photocopied correspondence, photographic material, resumes, printed and digital material, and writings. There is also 1 sound cassette. Files are found for Bedri Baykam, Max Beckmann, Fletcher Benton, Ciel Bergman, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Bruce Conner, Jean Dubuffet, Lyonel Feininger, Leon Golub, Dimitri Hadzi, Rico Lebrun, Harold Paris, Irving Petlin, among many others.
Exhibition files include catalogs, reviews, clippings, writings, correspondence, and other material documenting exhibitions organized by Selz. Limited materials are found for the MOMA Art Nouveau exhibition. More extensive documentation is found for Seven Decades of Modern Art, 1895-1965, The Joint Show (1967), The American Presidency in Political Cartoons (1976), American Modern Art Between the Two World Wars (1979), German Realism in the Twenties: Artist As Social Critic (1980), Twelve Artists from the German Democratic Republic (1989), a Richard Lindner Retrospective (1996), Spaces of Nature (1999), Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950-2000 (2000), and a Nathan Oliviera Retrospective (2002), among others. Some of the materials are in digital format.
Personal business records are related to the Mark Rothko estate and Kate Rothko's legal case against Marlborough Gallery, Inc. Also included in this series are Peter Selz's school transcripts, bequests, royalty statements, house designs, and other material.
Printed materials include clippings, prints of articles written by Peter Selz, exhibition announcements and invitations, and photocopies of artwork images.
There are nine disbound scrapbooks dating from the 1940s up through 2012 containing clippings, exhibition announcements, and photographs of art events, Selz, and artists. This series also includes materials from the 2018 addition that may have previously been compiled in binders.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 10 series. When possible the original order of Peter Selz was maintained. However, multiple accessions were merged and integrated.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1942-2013 (2.3 linear feet; Box 1-3, Box 37)
Series 2: Writings, 1942- circa 2014 (8.3 linear feet; Box 3-10, OV 32, Box 37, 0.035 GB; ER01, ER12)
Series 3: Professional Files, 1949-2012 (1 linear feet; Box 11, Box 37)
Series 4: Project Files, 1962-2015 (2.8 linear feet; Box 12-14, OV 33, Box 37)
Series 5: Membership and Association Records, 1958-2014 (1.1 linear feet; Box 14-15, Box 37)
Series 6: Artists' Research Files, 1955-2014 (7.9 linear feet; Box 15-22, OV 34-35, 0.520 GB; ER02-ER08)
Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1959-2014 (5.2 linear feet; Box 23-27, Box 38, 0.093 GB; ER09-ER11)
Series 8: Personal Business Records, 1929-2014 (1.2 linear feet; Box 28-29, OV 36, Box 38)
Series 9: Printed Material, 1957-2014 (0.3 linear feet; Box 29, Box 38)
Series 10: Scrapbooks, 1947-2018 (1.4 linear feet, Box 29-31, Box 38)
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Howard Selz (1919-2019) was a pioneering historian of modern art, professor, and writer who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1965-1988 and founded and directed the Berkeley Art Museum from 1965-1973.
Selz was born in 1919 in Munich, Germany to Eugene Selz and Edith Drey Selz. In 1936, the family fled Nazi Germany and immigrated to the United States. Selz attended Columbia University from 1937 to 1938 and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. During World War II, Selz served in the U.S. Army in the Office of Strategic Services. He married writer Thalia Cheronis in 1948 but they later divorced in 1965; he married several times afterwards.
After the war, Selz attended and taught at the University of Chicago where he received a Ph. D. in German Expressionism. He spent a year in Paris, 1949-1950, at the Sorbonne and École du Louvre on a Fulbright grant. He received a second Fulbright grant in 1953 to study at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Belgium. From 1953-1955, Selz also taught at the Chicago Institute of Design.
In 1955 Peter Selz accepted a position to chair the art history department at Pomona College in Claremont and relocated to California for a few years. He also became director of the college's art gallery.
In 1958 Selz moved to New York City to become curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art and was there through the transformative mid-1960s. While at MOMA, he organized several significant exhibitions of modern art, including the 1960 Jean Tinguely "Homage to New York," a sculpture that destroyed itself (and started a fire) in the sculpture garden of the museum; New Images of Man (1959), the Art Nouveau show (1960), and the Art of Assemblage (1961). He also launched important retrospectives, including the first Rodin retrospective in the United States and a comprehensive exhibition of Alberto Giacometti's work in 1965.
In 1965, Peter Selz returned to California to become the founding director of the Berkeley Art Museum at the University of California, Berkeley, a position he held until 1973. He organized exhibitions of Funk, film, and ceramicists like Peter Voulkos and Robert Arneson. Peter Selz later became project director for Christo's "Running Fence", the 24.5-mile long fabric fence over the Marin County hills in 1976. He also served concurrently as a professor of art history at UC until retiring in 1988.
Peter Selz was a member of the College Art Association's board of directors for two terms, 1958-1964 and 1966-1971. Selz is a prolific writer, and the author or co-author of numerous books, exhibition catalogs, and articles. Notable books include German Expressionist Painting (1957), Art in a Turbulent Era (1965), Art in Our Times (1981), and Sam Francis (1975).
In 1988 Peter Selz was named emeritus professor at University of California, Berkeley. In 1993 he was on the acquisitions committee of the Museums of Fine Arts, San Francisco. In 2012, Selz curated The Painted Word exhibition. Selz died in 2019 in Albany, California.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds oral history interviews of Peter Selz conducted by Paul J. Karlstrom on July 28, 1982, October 12, 1982, and November 3, 1999.
Provenance:
The Peter Howard Selz papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Peter Selz in multiple installments from 1976 through 2014. Additional papers were donated in 2018 by Gabrielle Selz, Peter Selz's daughter.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Peter Howard Selz papers, 1929-2018, bulk 1950-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the 2014 processing of this collection was provided by the Frederick Hammersley Foundation. Funding for the processing of the 2018 addition was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck.
The papers of filmmaker, photographer, painter, printmaker, teacher, and arts advocate Maryette Charlton measure 81 linear feet and date from circa 1890 to 2013. This particularly rich collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings, 30 diaries, teaching files, professional and project files, major film project files, artist research files, exhibition files, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, 22 sketchbooks, extensive photographic materials, numerous sound and film recordings, a digitized sound recording, and an unintegrated later addition to the papers containing additional biographical materials, journals, correspondence, subject files, printed materials, and scattered photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of filmmaker, photographer, painter, printmaker, teacher, and arts advocate Maryette Charlton measure 81 linear feet and 0.34 gigabytes and date from circa 1890 to 2013. This particularly rich collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, writings, 30 diaries, teaching files, professional and project files, major film project files, artist research files, exhibition files, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, 22 sketchbooks, extensive photographic materials, numerous sound and video recordings, motion picture film, a digitized sound recording, and an unintegrated later addition to the papers containing additional biographical materials, journals, correspondence, subject files, printed materials, and scattered photographs.
Biographical materials consist of material on Maryette Charlton and her family. The subseries on Maryette Charlton includes a biographical chronology, passports, records of her marriage to Hall Winslow, information on studio spaces, school transcripts, and other material. Family files include genealogical charts and files of family members containing correspondence, writings, printed material, sound and video recordings, and photographs. The bulk of the family files are for Charlton's parents, Etna and Shannon, and her husband and son, Hall and Kirk Winslow.
Extensive correspondence is with family, friends, artists, and colleagues. Family correspondence is with her husband and son, parents, and extended family. Personal correspondence is with friends and colleagues, many of whom were famous artists. Named correspondence files and chonological correspondence files contain exchanges with Jo Andres, Elizabeth Bishop, Xenia Cage, Paula Court, Yasuo Fujitomi, Dimitri Hadzi, Margo Hoff, Sylvia Shaw Judson, Lillian Kiesler, Cindy Lubar, Loren MacIver, Pierre Matisse, Nimet (Saba Habachy), Henri Seyrig, Robert Wilson, and many others. There is also correspondence with colleges, museums, and universities.
Writings include academic papers and college class notes, titled essays, a notebook with sketches, and miscellaneous notes. Thirty diaries cover the period 1943 - 2001 and document a wide variety of topics, from film projects to travels to the art world in New York City. Some diaries are illustrated, including one illustrated by Alexander Calder at a party with Maryette, Ellsworth Kelly, and actress Delphine Seyrig. Journals from 1978-1979 tell of Charlton's experiences while appearing in films made by avant-garde director Richard Foreman. There is also one diary of Maryette's mother Etna Barr Charlton.
Teaching files document Charlton's career as an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago and as the founder of and instructor at the American University of Beirut's art department. Files include appointment calendars, schedules, notes, lectures, news releases, printed material, and photographs.
Professional and project files consist of material related to Maryette Charlton's professional work at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, as a lecturer at the Chicago Public School Art Society, color analyst at the Container Corporation of America, executor of the estate of artist Louise Medbery von Brockdorff, fellowships, conferences, organizations, and the filming industry in general. There are files for the screening of Zen in Ryoko-In. The University of Iowa Museum of Art subseries consists of correspondence with fellow co-founders Leone and Owen Elliott, files on art donations, museum administration, annual reports, printed material, photographs, and sound and video recordings.
Artist research files consist of books, articles, and clippings collected by Charlton for research. Notable artists chronicled include Alexander Calder, James Purdy, Louise Nevelson, Kiki Smith, and Toshiko Takaezu.
Major film project files document Maryette Charlton's films about or with artists Frederick Kiesler (Trienniale, The Universal Theater and Kiesler on Kieseler), Lenore Tawney, Dorothy Miller, Loren MacIver, and Jeanne Reynal. The files for Frederick Kiesler also contain materials about his wife Lillian Kiesler, with whom Charlton had a long relationship and collaborated with on film projects. Individual film project files contain a wide variety of research and production documentation, including correspondence, writings, printed material, research files, exhibition catalogs, photographic materials, sound recordings of interviews and lectures, and Charlton's documentation about the creation and producation of each film, such as contracts, scripts, and distribution information. The film project files for Kiesler and Dorothy Miller are particularly rich, containing substantial amounts of primary source materials not found elsewhere. Sound and video recordings are found throughout the series, as well as 4 film reels.
Files documenting Maryette Charlton's group and solo exhibitions include catalogs and announcements, publicity, printed material, mailing lists, art inventory, sales lists, correspondence, and other material.
Printed materials include other exhibition catalogs, books, posters, magazines, and clippings. There are many books on color theory from Maryette Charlton's job as a color analyst and substanial printed material on Frederick Kiesler. Scrapbooks document Maryette Charlton's personal life from high school, college, and summer camp, as well as exhibitions of her own work, and miscellaneous subjects.
Artwork includes sketches and drawings by Maryette Charlton, some drawings by Lillian Kiesler and others, and mail art created by various artists. There are also 22 sketchbooks filled with pencil, ink, and crayon drawings and sketches, with occasional annotations.
Photographic materials include photographs, slides, negatives, and photograph albums. There are photographs of Maryette Charlton, her travels, family, friends, and artists. Photographs are also found throughout other series.
Sound and video recordings which could not be merged with other series were arranged in an audiovisual series. There are recordings of radio programs and performances Maryette Charlton attended or participated in as well as miscellaneous recordings of artists and events.
The 2014 addition to the Maryette Charlton papers consists of biographical materials, journals, correspondence, subject files, printed materials, and a small number of photographs.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 16 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1896-2005 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-4, 80)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1930-2010 (23.3 linear feet; Boxes 4-27, 80)
Series 3: Writings, 1942-1999 (1 linear feet; Boxes 27-28)
Series 4: Diaries, 1943-2001 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 28-30)
Series 5: Teaching Files, 1946-1997 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 30-33, 80)
Series 6: Professional and Project Files, 1923-1998 (7.6 linear feet; Boxes 34-41, 81, OV 87)
Series 7: Artist Research Files, 1949-circa 2000 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 41-43, FCs 88-89)
Series 8: Major Film Projects, 1904-2007 (18.8 linear feet, 0.34 GB; Boxes 43-61, 81-82, OV 87, FC 90-91, ER01)
Series 9: Exhibition Files, 1950-2000 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 61-62)
Series 10: Printed Material, 1924-2000 (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 62-65, 82, OV 87)
Series 11: Scrapbooks, 1939-2010 (0.8 linear feet; Box 65, 82-83)
Series 12: Artwork, 1950-1998 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 65-66, 84)
Series 13: Sketchbooks, 1949-1996 (0.5 linear feet; Box 66)
Series 14: Photographic Materials, circa 1890-circa 2010 (7.8 linear feet; Boxes 67-74, 84-86)
Series 15: Sound and Video Recordings, circa 1953-2008 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 74-75, 86)
Series 16: Addition to Maryette Charlton papers, 1951-2013 (3.7 linear feet; Boxes 75-79, 86)
Biographical / Historical:
Maryette Charlton (1924-2013) was a painter, printmaker, photographer, filmmaker and arts advocate based in Chicago, Illinois, and New York, New York.
Maryette Charlton was born in Manchester, Iowa on May 18, 1924. Her parents were Shannon and Etna Charlton and she had 2 siblings. Charlton pursued her undergraduate studies at Monticello College and Northwestern University in Illinois, Antioch College in Ohio, and the University of Colorado before receiving a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York in 1947. She continued her studies in Chicago, Illinois with Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Hugo Weber at the Institute of Design and Art Institute of Chicago. From 1948 to 1952, she was a Department of Education lecturer at the Art Institute of Chicago museum galleries and also gave talks at schools for the Chicago Public School Art Society.
Between 1942-1951, Maryette Charlton worked as a color analyst for the Container Corporation of America. In 1952, Charlton founded the Art Department of the American University of Beirut and taught there as an assistant professor until 1956. While in Beirut, Charlton married photographer Hall Winslow in 1953 and their only child Kirk Winslow was born in 1955. Winslow and Charlton later divorced in 1973.
Charlton moved to New York City in 1955. She began a master's program at Columbia University and graduated with a M.F.A in film and printmaking in 1958.
Charlton made numerous documentary films, mostly about American artists including Alexander Calder, e. e. cummings, Jeanne Reynal, Dorothy Miller, Pierre Matisse, Lenore Tawney, and Loren MacIver. She also worked tirelessly to promote the work of sculptor, architect, and set designer Frederick Kiesler. She was the camera woman for Kiesler's Kiesler's Universal Theater which aired on CBS in 1962. She became close friends with Kiesler's widow, Lillian, and they collaborated on the film Kiesler on Kiesler and numerous other film and art projects, supporting the work of young artists. Charlton also worked on commissioned films, including The Mosaics of Jeanne Reynal and Zen in Ryoko-in. Charlton befriended many artists in the visual, literary, and film worlds, including Elizabeth Bishop, Dimitri Hadzi, Margo Hoff, James Purdy, and Delphine Seyrig.
A performer in her own right, Charlton appeared in the works of Richard Foreman, Jo Andres, and others. She also played the part of Helen Keller in the film Ghostlight (2003).
An Iowa native, Charlton founded the University of Iowa Museum of Art together with Leone and Owen Elliott. She maintained a close relationship with the Iowa Museum over many years as a donor and chronicler.
Charlton died in New York City on November 25, 2013.
Related Materials:
The Houghton Library at Harvard University and the University of Iowa Museum of Art also hold papers and artwork by Maryette Charlton. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, houses the film Kiesler on Kiesler, created by Maryette Charlton.
The Archives of American Art also has the papers of Frederick and Lillian Kiesler, a portion of which was donated by Charlton.
Provenance:
The Maryette Charlton papers were donated in multiple accretions from 1998-2011 by Maryette Charlton, and in 2013-2014 by the Maryette Charlton estate via Jo Andres, executor.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Former owner:
Computers, Information and Society, Division of (NMAH, SI). Search this
Extent:
43.5 Cubic feet (158 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Interviews
Oral history
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Videotapes
Date:
1969-1973, 1977
Summary:
The Computer Oral History Collection (1969-1973, 1977), was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 with the main objective to collect, document, house, and make available for research source material surrounding the development of the computer.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 43.5 cubic feet of material documenting the development of the computer.
ABC -- Atanasoff-Berry Computer
ACE -- Automatic Computing Engine
ACM -- Association for Computing Machinery
ALGOL -- ALGOLrithmic Language
ALWAC -- Axel Wenner-Gren Automatic Computer
ARPA -- Advanced Research Projects Agency
BACAIC -- Boeing Airplane Company Algebraic Interpretative Computing System
BARK -- Binar Automatisk Rela Kalkylator
BINAC -- Binary Automatic Computer
BIZMAC -- Business Machine
BMEW -- Ballistic Missile Early Warning (System)
BUIC -- Back-up Interceptor Control
CADAC -- Cambridge Digital Automatic Computer
CALDIC -- California Digital Computer
CEC -- Consolidated Electrodynamics Corporation
CEIR -- Council for Economic and Industry Research
COBOL -- Common Business-Oriented Language
CODASYL -- Conference on Data Systems Languages
CONAC -- Continental Automatic Command
COMTRAN -- Commercial Translator
CPC -- Card Programmed Calculator
CRC -- Computer Response Corporation
DARPA -- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Series 4: John Vincent Atanasoff's Materials, 1927-1968
Series 5: Audio Tapes, 1967-1974, 1977
Series 6: Video Tapes, 1968-1972
Biographical / Historical:
The Computer Oral History Collection (1969-1973, 1977), was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 with the main objective to collect, document, house, and make available for research source material surrounding the development of the computer. The project collected taped oral interviews with individuals who figured prominently in developing or advancing the computer field and supplemental written documentation--working papers, reports, drawings, and photographs. The AFIPS provided the "seed" money to support the project and to aid the Smithsonian with its expenditures. Interviews were conducted by I.B. Cohen, A. Dettinger, Bonnie Kaplan, Elizabeth Luebbert, William Luebbert, Robina Mapstone, Richard Mertz, Uta Merzbach, and Henry Tropp. In some instances, the audio tapes and/or transcripts are not "formal" interviews, but rather moderated panel discussions/meetings, or lectures delivered by interviewees.
Related Materials:
The Archives Center contains several "computer" related collections:
American National Standards Institute, 1969-1979
Association for Computing Machinery Collection, 1958-1978 (Washington, D.C., Chapter)
N.W. Ayer Advertsing Agency Records, 1889-1972
Paul Armer Collection, 1949-1970
Robert G. Chamberlain Numerical Control Collection, 1954-1984
J. Childs Numerical Control Collection, 1952-1970
Computer Standards Collection, 1958-1978
Computer World Smithsonian Awards Collection, 1989-2001
Data Processing Digest Collection, 1955-1974
Max Holland Machine Tool Industry Collection, c. 1941-1990
Grace Murray Hopper Collection, 1944-1965
Information Age Exhibition Records, 1979-1990
Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project Records, 1950-1957
Instrument Society of America Collection, 1911-1969
Odex I Walking Robot Collection, 1973-1986
Jacob Rabinow Papers, 1910-1917; 1947-1990
Terry M. Sachs Collection, 1965-1969
Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, c. 1950-1980
Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Records, 1956-1992
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, c. 1754-1965
Whirlwind I Computer Collection, 1945-1959
B.H. Worsley, 1946-1959
Within the National Museum of American History there are other related collections that may be found in the Division of Medicine and Science. These collections contain both artifacts and documents. Artifacts include: digital computing machines, automatic digital computers and electronic calculators, logic devices, card and tape processors, slide rules, integrators and integraphs, harmonic analyzers and synthesizers, differential analyzers, other analog computing devices, space measurement and representation, time measurement, and combination space and time measurement. Documentation includes the Electronic Computers History Collection and the Mathematical Devices History Collection. Photographs and video materials can also be found. The Smithsonian Institution Archives contains administrative documentation regarding the Computer History Project.
Provenance:
The Computer Oral History Collection was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 and was concluded in 1973. This collection was transferred to the Archives Center in approximately 1986 from the Division of Information, Technology & Society, formerly known as the Division of Electricity.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Reference copies do not exist for all of the audio. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Original audio tapes are stored offsite. Contact repository for details.
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.
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Online transcripts for select oral history interviews were made possible by the Morton I. Bernstein Fund and the Association for Computing Machinery, the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD), and the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN).
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Marcia Marcus papers, 1928-2016, bulk 1950-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the family of Marcia Marcus, and the Lily and Earle M. Pilgrim Art Foundation.
The papers of government arts administrator and novelist Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. (1918-2002) measure 40.2 linear feet and date from circa 1940 to 2002. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, correspondence, interviews, writings, numerous files reflecting his work to establish the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), political committee files, personal legal records, printed materials, scrapbooks, and photographs. Throughout the collection are video and sound recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of government arts administrator and novelist Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. (1918-2002) measure 40.2 linear feet and date from circa 1940 to 2002. The papers are comprised of biographical materials, correspondence, interviews, writings, numerous files reflecting his work to establish the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), political committee files, personal legal records, printed materials, scrapbooks, and photographs. Throughout the collection are video and sound recordings.
Biographical materials consist of awards; diplomas; genealogy records; resumes; and files for Biddle's work at Fordham, his nomination for the National Medal of Arts award, and about his second wife Catharina Baart. Correspondence is with family, friends, and professional and political contacts such as Jane Alexander, President Jimmy Carter, Armand Hammer, Nancy Hanks, Edward Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Sandra Day O'Connor, Claiborne Pell, Robert Rauschenberg, Slava Rostropovich, and others.
Interviews with Biddle include transcripts, four sound recordings, and two video recordings of Biddle with R.A. Davis, Bob Edwards, Peter Jessup, Susan King, Bob Schieffer, and Louann Temple.
Among the writings are journals, articles, poetry, speech notes, manuscript drafts of Our Government and the Arts: A Perspective from the Inside and Sam Bentley's Island, one video recording of "Art/Work/USA" by Barbara Rose, and one sound recording of a film introduction entitled "The Eagle".
Files concerning the establishment and early years of the National Endowment of the Arts consist of correspondence; congressional briefing books, committee files, and reports; financial material; drafts of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965; one sound reel titled "Swearing-In of L.L. Biddle, Jr.," and three video recordings. Additional files concerning Biddle's work for congressional committees and political campaigns include correspondence, meeting agendas and notes, and printed material concerning multiple arts organizations and the political campaigns for Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, and Claiborne Pell. Family and real estate records, a partnership agreement, and will are in personal legal records.
Printed materials include booklets, clippings, event invitations and programs, flyers, magazines and journals, and posters autographed by Jacob Lawrence, Fritz Scholder, and John Glenn. Additionally, one commercial sound cassette recordings of National Public Radio's program Performance Today is also found. Two mixed-media scrapbooks contain memorabilia from Biddle's professional life and international travel.
Photographs are of family, travel, and friends and colleagues at various events. Six video recordings are home movies of Bryn Mawr and documentaries about St. Katherine Drexel. Artwork in the form of pencil and watercolor sketches is by Ruth Asawa Lanier, Barb Maxwell, Pat Oliphant, James Rosenquist, and Howard N. Watson.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1950-2002 (2.5 linear; Box 1-3, 41, OV 43)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1956-2001 (2 linear feet; Boxes 3-5)
Series 3: Interviews, 1978-2002 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)
Series 4: Writings, 1940-2002 (12 linear feet; Boxes 6-18)
Series 5: National Endowment for the Arts, 1964-2000 (10 linear feet; Boxes 18-27, 42)
Series 6: Committees and Political Campaigns, 1944-2001 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 27-30)
Series 7: Personal Legal Records, 1952-1986 (1 linear foot; Boxes 30-31)
Series 8: Printed Materials, circa 1950-2000 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 31-34, 41, OV 44)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1970-1998 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 34, 42)
Series 10: Photographs and Video Recordings, circa 1950-2002 (4.6 linear feet: Boxes 34-40, OV 44)
Series 11: Artwork, 1976-1989 (0.3 linear feet; Box 40, OV 44)
Biographical / Historical:
Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. (1918-2002) was a federal government arts administrator and novelist active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
Livingston L. Biddle was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1918 to a distinguished and wealthy family. He graduated from Princeton University in 1940. During World War II, Biddle volunteered as an ambulance driver in Africa for the American Field Services.
While working as a special assistant to Rhode Island Democratic Senator Claiborne Pell in the 1960s, Biddle drafted the legislation for the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, which led to the creation of the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) one year later. Biddle served as deputy chairman of the NEA from 1966 to 1967, as congressional liaison director in 1975, and as chairman from 1977 to 1981. In 1976, he served as director of the Congressional Subcommittee on Education, Arts, and Humanities.
Also a writer, Biddle wrote four novels, all set in Philadelphia, including Sam Bentley's Island published in 1961. From 1968 to 1970, he was a professor and chairman of Fordham University's arts division. Biddle also published a non-fiction book about his experiences establishing and working for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) titled Our Government and the Arts: A Perspective from the Inside in 1988.
Biddle married artist Catharina Baart in 1973 after his first wife, Cordelia Frances Fenton, died in 1972. Biddle died in Washington, D.C. in 2002.
Provenance:
The Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. papers were donated in 2013 by Thomas O'Callaghan, a close friend of Biddle's who inherited the papers.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Printed materials spanning 1972-1980, relating to second-wave feminism and women's rights, mainly newsletters and periodicals and focused on the Equal Rights Amendment, Title IX, reproductive healthcare rights, and educational equality. Well-known organizations included in the collection are NOW (National Organization for Women), Planned Parenthood, United States Department of Labor, and the United States Commission on Civil Rights.
Scope and Contents:
Printed research materials compiled by writers for the (now defunct) magazine. The research files include articles and reports published by activist and political groups, Congressional committees, agencies of the government, and universities on issues relating to women and children, including civil rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, economic equality, family planning and reproductive rights, poverty, minorities, Title IX, women's health, and other issues. The bulk of materials were printed in 1978 and 1979.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into six series.
Series 1: Legal and Civil Rights, 1972-1980
Series 2: Education, 1972-1980
Series 3: Women's Healthcare, 1972-1980
Series 4: Employment, 1972-1980
Series 5: Various Topics, 1972-1980
Series 6: Newspapers, 1977-1979
Biographical / Historical:
A magazine based in Washington, DC during the late 1970s, Spokeswoman covered topics relating to the welfare of women. Although the collection does not include any Spokeswoman magazines, the organization collected the materials during the time in which the magazine was active. The majority of the publications relate to legal and civil rights, equality in education, women's healthcare, and employment equality.
Title IX, which prohibits any educational organization or activity that receives federal monies from discriminating on the basis of sex, was ratified into law in 1972. The materials in the collection focus on the implementation and effects of putting the law into place.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which has never been made into law, came up for consideration for the second time in 1972. The legislation sought to amend the Constitution so that it protected the legal rights and equality of women. It was approved by Congress and was sent to state legislatures for ratification with an extended deadline set for 1982. Due to conservative opposition, it was not ratified. The collection is focused on this time frame, and includes many news updates and opinions on the ERA ratification process.
The Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, which protected the legal right of women to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. The collection features many publications by Planned Parenthood as well as many other sources regarding women's reproductive healthcare.
The Spokeswoman Magazine Printed Materials Collection serves as a window into the world of feminists and women's rights activists from 1972 to 1980, and the topics discussed encompass the most important legislation and issues of the time period.
Provenance:
Donated by Spokeswoman Magazine to the National Museum of American History's Division of Political History in 1982.
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.
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI. Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Extent:
3.3 Cubic feet (10 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Blueprints
Articles
Correspondence
Diagrams
Pamphlets
Reprints
Date:
1955-1970
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the correspondence and technical documents related to David Aronson's work as an engineer with the Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation.
The correspondence files relate to acceptance or rejection of products and procedures used in the development and production of the company's products, responses to submissions to the company of inventions and products inventors hoped to license or sell to the company, responses to requests for donations and other funding by Worthington, and general company memos and reports.
The technical files represent the research, design and development processes that Aronson was involved in as a mechanical engineer. Topics include heat pumps, steam generation, geothermal power, gas turbine engines, and nuclear power. Types of material include articles, pamphlets, journal reprints, conference papers, schematics, blueprints and diagrams.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Correspondence of David Aronson, 1955-1970
Series 2: Technical Materials of David Aronson (numerical), circa 1960s-1970s
Series 3: Technical Files of David Aronson (alphabetical), circa 1960s-1970s
Biographical / Historical:
David Aronson earned a degree in chemical engineering from Cooper Union and the Polytechnic Institute in New York. He joined the Engineering Department of the Worthington Corporation in 1951 as an engineer. While with Worthington, Aronson worked as a manager in development engineering for the Worthington Air Conditioning Company, a division of Worthington Corporation and was instrumental in the advancement of low temperature energy utilization equipment and the development of various energy recovery systems. Aronson served as the chief contact within the Worthington Corporation for individuals and companies interested in engaging in contract work or presenting their invention ideas for development.
Aronson was awarded thirty United States patents which included an oil burner for gas turbine application, large tonnage water chillers for air conditioning, a nuclear powered system using liquid metal coolant, and a heat pump using a fuel-fired engine or turbine. In 1964, Worthington recognized Aronson's achievements with the company's Worldwide Engineering Award.
Provenance:
Donated to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering by David Aronson over the period 1986-1989.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
The Hector and Norma Orcí Advertising Agency Records document the history, educational, and creative output produced by Hector and Norma Orcí throughout their extensive career in advertising. The Orcís founded their own independent agency in 1986 in Los Angeles. The Orcí Advertising Agency successfully introduced various products to Latinos in the United States and developed a reputation as one of the top advertising agencies to understand the US Latino market. The collection showcases the agency's history and awards, advertising and marketing campaigns, and its role in educating advertising agencies on the importance of the US Latino market.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the Orcí Advertising Agency and its work in helping clients market their products to U.S. Latinos, its marketing methods and creative philosophy, and its role in educating other advertising companies about the Latino consumer market in the United States. The collection includes the founding and history of the agency, business records, awards and press clippings, training materials for staff, reports on the US Latino market for various products, training and curriculum materials for a UCLA Extension course on advertising in the US Latino market, account reports, conference materials, slides and photographs, and campaigns and advertising materials developed for clients such as Allstate, Honda, and Pepsi. Video footage of Spanish-language commercials developed by the Orcí Advertising Agency is also part of the collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series.
Series 1: Background Materials, 1979-2010, undated
Series 2: Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1986-2003, undated
Series 3: Teaching Materials, 1985-2012, undated
Series 4: Conference Materials, 1984-1999, undated
Series 5: Audiovisual Materials, 1986-2016
Biographical / Historical:
Once employees of La Agencía de McCann-Erickson advertising company, Hector and Norma Orcí founded their own independent agency in 1986. The Orcí Advertising Agency, also known as La Agencía de Orcí & Asociados, is based in Los Angeles. Since its inception, the Orcí Advertising Agency has devoted itself to US Latino marketing and teaching other advertising agencies how to effectively advertise and sell products to US Latinos. The Orcís quickly developed an impressive roster of successful campaigns for major clients and continue to be a well-respected agency in the advertising sector.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry holds the following artifacts related to this collection:
Virgin of Guadalupe Painting, Accession #: 2015.0306.01
INS Eagle Painting, Accession #: 2015.0306.02
Don Quixote Figurine, Accession #: 2015.0306.03
Provenance:
Collection donated by Hector and Norma Orcí, 2016.
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.
Papers documenting William R. Stone's involvement in the invention and development of the microwave for industrial and home use. The collection includes biographical information; patents, and other invention related papers; photographs; design drawings; internal company papers and memoranda; Stone's research and reports, especially on the subject of microwave safety; and trade literature relating to products for both industrial and home use.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Stone was an engineer for Raytheon. He was involved in the invention and development of microwave ovens for industrial uses, such as for ink drying, rubber vulcanization, and later for home use.
Provenance:
Robin Hoffman
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.
Papers relating to the invention, development, use, and popularization of the Taser, a nonlethal weapon invented by Jack Covers.
Scope and Contents:
Papers relating to the invention, development, use, and popularization of the Taser, a nonlethal weapon invented by Jack Cover. The collection includes biographical information about Cover, Cover's initial concept paper, design drawings, notes and writings, photographs, papers relating to the patenting of the Taser, test results, training materials on the use of the Taser, articles and printed materials, notes to law enforcement officers, response to controversy surrounding the use and misuse of the Taser, and a eulogy. Interaction and use of the Taser by law enforcement mostly focuses on the Los Angeles Police Department.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
John "Jack" Cover (1920-2009) was born in New York, New York. He joined the United States Air Force in 1942, and served as an aeronautical engineer and an aircraft engineering officer. During World War II he was awarded the World War II Victory Medal and American Theater Service Medal. Cover was released from active service in 1946, after which he earned a B.S and Ph.D at University of Chicago. He worked at North American Aviation (NAA), as a contractor for NASA, and was part of the the team that won the Prime contract for NAA from 1961-1962 on the Apollo Moon Landing Program.
As a result of a growing push for law enforcement agencies to use non-lethal weapons in the 1960's, Cover developed and later patented iwhat would become known as the TASER. He named the device the Taser, an acronym for Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle. Cover formed Taser Systems. Inc. in 1970 and the Taser was patented in 1974 as a "Weapon for Immobilization and Capture (US 3,803,463). The device was adopted by the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1970s as an alternative to lethal weapons in subduing suspects, particularly those under the influence of drugs or who posed harm to themselves.
Provenance:
Collected donated by Greg Meyer, 2013.
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.
The Magellan Systems Corporation Records document various aspects of the development of several different Magellan GPS devices through engineering, research, design, manufacturing, and marketing records. Magellan Systems Corporation introduced the first hand-held differential GPS product and the conpany's focus was on research, product engineering, and design activities for GPS receivers. The collection includes correspondence and internal company reports and memoranda; design drawings; research notes; engineering notebooks, technical notes, schematics; photographs, slides and negatives; video and audiocassettes; advertisements; product literature, magazine articles and newspaper clippings; press releases; and user guides and manuals.
Scope and Contents:
The Magellan Systems Corporation Records document various aspects of the development of Magellan GPS devices, including the engineering, research, design, manufacturing, and marketing of the devices. The collection includes correspondence and internal company reports and memoranda; design drawings; research notes; engineering notebooks, technical notes, schematics; photographs, slides and negatives; video and audiocassettes; advertisements; product literature, magazine articles and newspaper clippings; press releases; and user guides and manuals. In Series 1, Operational Materials, Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1988-1996, provides an excellent overview of the issues facing the company and what actions/decisions were made and in Series 3, Engineering and Product Development Materials, Subseries 8, Technical Product Development Seminars provide a good foundation for understanding what the product development staff accomplished.
The core team of players who developed, tested and brought to market the GPS devices included: Janice Jones Blankenhorn, Gary Barta, John Foukos, Randy Hoffman, Norm Hunt, Sab Ifune, Don Rea, Dennis Rich, Ed Tuck, Jon Vavrus, Larry Weill, Val Fife Wong, and James Yuan. The majority of the core team were software and hardware engineers as well as mechanical designers. Their energy, enthusiasm, vision, and unwillingness to fail produced the first handheld commercial GPS receiver in 1989 and Magellgan was the first company to make GPS devices affordable to consumers.
Series 1, Operational Materials, 1988-1993, is divided into four subseries: Subseries 1, Organizational Materials, 1988-1994; Subseries 2, Strategic and Operating Plans, 1989-1995; Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1988-1996; and Subseries 4, Company Newsletters, 1991-1992.
Subseries 1, Organizational Materials, 1988-1994, consists of an organizational chart detailing Magellan's corporate structure, a document discussing the communication and functional objectives of the company, and a company Christmas card. The Orbital Sciences Corporation profile was prepared by Alex. Brown and Sons Incorporated and provides an overview of the ORBCOMM system technology, a two-way data-only personal communications service.
Subseries 2, Strategic and Operating Plans, 1989-1995, consists of a variety of strategic and operational plans for the company. The plans are arranged chronologically.
Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1988-1996, consists of handwritten and typescript reports primarily from Randy Hoffman, president and CEO of Magellan and Gary Barta, Senior Engineer and Vice President of engineering. The reports document issues that include, personnel issues, product development, technological developments, military orders, investments, marketing and sales, financial issues, orders, resource activities, and future activities. The subseries is arranged chronologically and provides an excellent overview of the issues facing the company and what actions/decisions were made.
Subseries 4, Company Newsletters, 1991-1992, consists of two external company newsletters, The Global Navigator, 1991 and The Magellan Explorer, 1992. The Global Naviagtor was created for the marine market and was sent to all NAV PLUS owners as well as dealers.
Series 2, Correspondence, 1989-1994 and undated, is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, Customer Correspondence, 1989-1993 and Subseries 2, Business Correspondence, 1989-1994 and undated. The customer-related correspondence consists of letters from users of Magellan GPS units (primarily maritime-related) and their feedback about the product. Some color photographs are included. The business-related correspondence consists of records of conversations, invoices, suggestions for strategic planning, correspondence between Randy Hoffman and the Boundary Found, and the agreement and plan for the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and Magellan Corporation in 1994.
Series 3, Engineering and Product Development Materials, 1978-1998, consists of ten subseries: Subseries 1, Product Development, 1989-1994; Subseries 2, Engineering Notebooks, 1987-1996; Subseries 3, Technical Notes, 1978-1994; Subseries 4, Breadboard Design, 1986-1994; Subseries 5, First Generation (NAV 1000/NAV 1200), 1985-1994; Subseries 6, Second Generation, 1988-1996; Subseries 7, Third Generation, 1986-1994; Subseries 8, Swiss Army Chip (SAC) Development, 1987-1995; Subseries 9, Technical Products Development Seminars, 1997-1998; Subseries 10, Specifications, 1992-1994 and Subseries 11, TriQuint Semiconductor Materials, 1986-1992.
Subseries 1, Product Development, 1989-1994, consists of documentation related to product development at Magellan. There are sketches for the third generation of GPS products, descriptive materials for the Meridian Plus and third generation receiver, testing data from the Forest Service using GPS in the wilderness near Missoula, Montana, and position description for the director of product engineering at Magellan outlining the skills and responsibilities.
Subseries 2, Engineering Notebooks, 1987-1996, consists of bound, paginated and handwritten notebooks belonging to two Magellan engineers, Janice Jones Blankenhorn, senior software engineer and Don Rea, director of engineering. Each of Don Rea's notebooks contains a page of handwritten annotations made in 2010 describing the contents. Don Rea's 1987 notebook contains documentation on the original Magellan breadboard, custom digital chip (SAC 1), and the digital board design and test, all of which deal with the first generation of the NAV 1000. Rea's 1986 and 1988 notebook contains information about the first generation of software used, GaAS chips, radio frequency (RF) board, second generation (NAV 5000), design work for Swiss Army Chips (SACs), SAC2 digital chip, SAC2B, and the SAC3 chip. Don Rea's 1993-1995 notebook contains notes on the testing of the SAC5, SAC5M and SAC6 custom digital integrated circuit for the third generation.
Subseries 3 Technical Notes, 1978-1994, consists of handwritten and typescript notes of Gary Barta, Janice Jones Blankenhorn, John Foufos, Janice Intyre, Don Rea, Larry Weill, and James Yuan. Where possible, file level information about what the notes relate to and the Magellan staff member who wrote the notes is listed. Much of the documentation consists of equations, algorithms, sketches, block diagrams, and narrative describing processes and research. The subseries is loosely arranged chronologically.
Subseries 4, Breadboard Design, 1986-1994, consists of memoranda, technical notes, drawings, and sketches detailing the radio frequency breadboard design. Magellan's first-generation breadboard, circa 1987, was developed by the team of Janice Jones Blankenhorn, Val Fife Wong, Ed Tuck, Norm Hunt, Sab Ifune, Gary Barta, Larry Weill, Randy Hoffman, and Don Rea.
Subseries 5, First Generation (NAV 1000/NAV 1200), 1985-1994, consists of technical notes, design notes, memoranda, drawings, and blueprints documenting the development of the first generation (primarily the NAV 1000/NAV 1200), handheld GPS unit produced by Magellan. The first generation of GPS were single channel receivers and were quite simple. The NAV 1000 was 8.75" x 3.5" x 2.25" and weighed only 1.5 pounds. The NAV 1000 converted GPS satellite information into a satellite/navigation (sat/nav) positioning. It used Gallium arsenide (GaAs) a compound of the elements gallium and arsenic, and monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology to reduce its size and power consumption. GaAs is a semiconductor used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, infrared light-emitting diodes, laser diodes, solar cells, and optical windows. The device sold for approximately $3,000 dollars.
Subseries 6, Second Generation, 1988-1996, consists of technical notes, design notes, memorandums, drawings, and blueprints documenting the development of the second generation (primarily the NAV 5000) handheld GPS unit produced by Magellan. The NAV 5000 used five channels working simultaneously to locate and collect data from GPS satellites. The units GaAs circuitry rapidly processed the data received from the satellites to compute current location, altitude, velocity and navigation in under one minute. The NAV 5000 was designed primarily for marine use. Other second generation products included: OEM Brain, OEM 1/2 Brain, Nav 500 Pro, NAV 100M5, Skaynav, Fieldpro, NAV 5200 PM, NAV 5000A, NAV 5000D, DX, DLX, Pro mark V, and the Map 7000.
Subseries 7, Third Generation, 1986-1994, consists of technical notes for the development of the third generation (primarily Meridian and Trailblazer models) of Magellan GPS devices. Third generation models were intended for the lower end of the GPS market and were compact hand-held (size, weight, battery life) and a retail price that was reasonable. Other third generation devices included: the meridian, Trailblazer, AIV10 OEM, Skatblazer, NAV 6500 PM, Meridian/TB/SB XL, NAV 1200 Pm, NAV 1200 XL PM, NAV DLX 10, Promark X, and the Pro Mark X-CM.
Subseries 8, Swiss Army Chip (SAC) Development, 1987-1995, consists of technical notes, diagrams and drawings, and specifications for the development of a digital chip used in Magellan GPS products. Don Rea and Norm Hunt of Magellan are credited with naming the chip. The chip combined several elements--GPS DPS channels, correalators, real time clock, alarm timer, interval timer, keyboard interface, display interface, precise timing, power sequencing, memory decoding, code generators, and beeper driver, to name a few--which allowed the development team reduce the overall power, size, and cost of the chip. Magellan outsourced the manufacture of the SAC.
Subseries 9, Technical Products Development Seminars, 1997-1998, consists of documentation for nine seminars in a series of technology seminars initiated by the product develpment group at Magellan. The seminars were created to keep all staff up to date on past, present, and future technology developments at Magellan. The nine seminars cover the history of Magellan GPS technology and address specific areas of development such as antennas, circuits, signal processing, software, navigation needs, and radio frequency. Other information includes tables providing comparisons for the first, second, and third generations, timelines, SAC chip characteristics, and product shipping dates. The seminars provide a good foundation for understanding what the product development staff accomplished. Researchers should consult Series 8 which documents some of the technical seminars.
Subseries 10, Specifications, 1992-1994, consists of preliminary, functional, and system requirements describing technical characteristics for several Magellan products.
Subseries 11, TriQuint Semiconductor Materials, 1986-1992, consists of materials documenting TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc.'s work. TriQuint was a division of Tektroninix, Inc., a manufacturer of analog and mixed signal gallium arsenide (GaAs) integrated circuit products. TriQuint supplied custom radio frequency (RF) and Gallium arsenide (GaAs) chips for Magellan's hand-held GPS systems and tested its chips. Documentation includes trip summaries and observations to TriQuint by Don Rea, a Magellan engineer as well as technical drawings, memorandums, development schedules, invoices, purchase orders, and tests results, production quantity and costs, and specifications. In 1986, Don Rea met Gary Barta, then principal engineer at TriQuint through his frequent visits to the company. Barta led the engineeering development of the an integrated circuit which combined the GPS L-band low-noise pre-amplifier, UHF local oscillator, down converter and high speed digital divisers on a single gallium-arsenide chip. Nothing like this had been done before for a cost senstive commerical application. Barta later joined Magellan in November 1988 as Vice President of Engineering and made the chip he had designed actually work in the environment of a hand-held product.
Series 4, Marketing and Promotional Materials, 1985-1997, is divided into six subseries: Subseries 1, Market Research, 1985-1993 and undated; Subseries 2, Product Literature, circa 1990s; Subseries 3, Advertisements, 1988-1995 and undated; Subseries 4, Press Releases, 1988-1996; Subseries 5, Presentation Materials, 1990-[1997?] and undated; and Subseries 6, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1988-1996 and undated. The series consists of product literature, advertisements, press releases, presentation materials, and newspaper and magazine clippings about Magellan products as well as competitors.
Subseries 1, Market Research, 1985-1993 and undated, consists of market research data in the form of reports prepared by Merrill Lynch, Simmons Market Research Bureau, J & H Instruments, and others, directed interviews and focus group data. There are directed interviews and discussion documentation from 1986 with Coast Guard Rescue, survival trainers, surveyors, hunters, harbor patrols, expeditionists, and mountaineer trainers providing detailed feedback into experiences with the product. The focus group information consists of transcribed interviews, survey text, selection criteria, participant lists, invoices, and technical drawings and mock-ups for the marine, outdoor and hunting markets.
Subseries 2, Product Literature, circa 1990s, consists of one file folder of product information sheets detailing specifics about Magellan products such as the NAV 1000, NAV 5000DX, NAV 1000 PRO/Geolink, NAV 5200, NAV 1000M, Meridian GPS, ProMARK V, GPS 2000, and the Global Satellite Communicator (GSC) 100.
Subseries 3, Advertisements, 1988-1995 and undated, consists of point of purchase ads, artwork and transfer designs for Magellan products. There are some oversize drawings (copies of blueprints) with the transfer design materials.
Subseries 4, Press Releases, 1988-1996, consists of press releases and one press kit containing biographies of staff members, black-and-white prints of Randy D. Hoffman, President and Chief Executive Officer, prints of the NAV 1000, and press releases introducing the NAV 1000. The marine outdoor press releases also contain 1993 dealer price lists for the Trailblazer, Meridian, NAV 5000DX, NAV 5200DX, and the mimimum advertised price policy for 1993.
Subseries 5, Presentation Materials, 1990-[1997?], consists primarily of staff presentation materials used to promote Magellan products. There is one bound presentation, Magellan Systems Corporation Management Presentation, undated, prepared by Merrill Lynch, that provides documentation about the company (an overview), market segments, competition, sales and marketing, product development, technology, manufacturing, and a financial overview.
Subseries 6, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1988-1996 and undated, consists primarily of magazine articles. The articles appeared in a variety of publications and included Defense Electronics, Southern Boating, Maritime Reporter, Cruising World, Boating the Journal of the Sport, International Defense Review, and Navigation News. The subseries is arranged chronologically.
Series 5, User Guides and Manuals, 1989-2005 and undated, consists of training, reference, and user guides for the consumer who purchased Magellan products. The guides are primarily spiral bound and some are annotated. Multiple copies of some years exist. The series is arranged chronologically.
Series 6, Financial Materials, 1991-1995 and undated, consists of stock information, a Securities and Exchange Commission registration statement, correspondence, registration rights agreements, preferred stock purchase agreements, agreement and plan of merger documents between Magellan Corporation and Orbital Sciences Corporation (November 1994), and two floppy discs (3 1/2" and 5") containing information about the company and its staff.
Series 7, Photographs and Slides, 1987-1995 and undated, consists of slides, negatives, transparencies, and color and black-and-white prints of Magellan products. Many of the images document early product concepts, and there are some promotional and publicity materials. There is one folder of photographs with images of employees from 1989.
Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1991-1998 and undated, consists of 1/2" VHS, BETA Cam SP, and 8 mm video cassettes documenting technical seminars presented by Magellan Systems Corporation staff and instances of Magellan products featured in news segments. Researchers consult the technical seminar documentation in Series 3, Engineering and Product Development Materials. The series is arranged chronologically.
Arrangement:
Collection arranged into eight series.
Series 1, Operational Materials, 1988-1993
Subseries 1, Organizational Materials, 1988-1994
Subseries 2, Strategic and Operating Plans, 1989-1995
Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1988-1996
Subseries 4, Company Newsletters, 1991-1992
Series 2, Correspondence, 1989-1994 and undated
Series 3, Engineering and Product Development Materials, 1978-1998
Subseries 1, Product Development, 1989-1994
Subseries 2, Engineering Notebooks, 1987-1996
Subseries 3, Technical Notes, 1978-1994
Subseries 4, Breadboard Design, 1986-1994
Subseries 5, First Generation (NAV 1000/NAV 1200), 1985-1994
Subseries 6, Second Generation (NAV 5000), 1988-1996
Subseries 7, Third Generation, 1986-1994
Subseries 8, Swiss Army Chip (SAC) Development, 1987-1995
Subseries 9, Technical Product Development Seminars, 1997-1998
Subseries 10, Specifications, 1992-1994
Subseries 11, TriQuint Semiconductor, 1986-1992
Series 4, Marketing and Promotional Materials, 1985-1997
Subseries 1, Market Research, 1985-1993 and undated
Subseries 2, Product Literature, circa 1990s
Subseries 3, Advertisements, 1988-1995 and undated
Subseries 4, Press Releases, 1988-1996
Subseries 5, Presentation Materials, 1990-[1997?]
Subseries 6, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1988-1996 and undated
Series 5, User Guides and Manuals, 1989-2005 and undated
Series 6, Financial Materials, 1991-1995 and undated
Series 7, Photographs and Slides, 1987-1995 and undated
Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1991-1998 and undated
Biographical / Historical:
Ed Tuck of the Boundary Fund, a venture capital firm specializing in technologies founded the Magellan Systems Corporation in 1986 and served as its director from 1986 to 1993. Tuck assembled the initial team of Norm Hunt, Larry Weill, Val Wong, and Sab Ifune to conduct a feasibility study in early 1986 to pursue commercial markets for products based on global positioning system (GPS) technology. Magellan introduced the first handheld commercial GPS receiver in 1989 and was the first company to make GPS devices affordable to consumers. Magellan introduced the first handheld commercial GPS receiver in 1989 and was the first company to make GPS devices affordable to consumers. The company successfully introduced GPS products into the marine, professional, military and automotive and general aviation markets.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) began as a United States Department of Defense Program in the 1960s with a navy system known as Transit (first satellite navigation system). Two other projects soon followed, Timation (satellite to broadcast accurate time reference) and Air Force Project 612B, which began in the 1970s. In 1973, the development of the Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System (NAVSTAR) began under the management of the Air Force. Designed by the military, the system provided twenty-four positioning satellites under all- weather conditions using passive (non-transmitting) receivers. This kept a user's presence from being detected as a result of the receiver. Although primarily for military use, the system also offered a less-precise coded signal for civilian use.
GPS uses a group of twenty-four earth-orbiting satellites which broadcast continuously. The data being broadcast can be processed by a portable receiver to determine a user's position, velocity and time. GPS has three parts: 1) space part with twenty-four satellites; 2) ground part with monitor and 3) user part with receivers that process the signals and calculate position.
In the spring of 1986, the Magellan team published a specification for a custom mixed signal RF (radio frequency) integrated circuit and by fall 1986, had a breadboard (used in prototyping of electronics) and began software development and testing. Magellan focused its research, product engineering, and design activities on the development of GPS receivers that were application-specific, software-intensive, reliable, lower power, easy to use, and affordable.
From 1986 to 1988, the Boundary Fund provided the venture capital for feasibility studies and the initital product design. By 1988, the company occupied its first stand-alone facility in Monrovia, California with thirty-five employees. In May 1989, the company's first product, the NAV 1000, shipped, and in that same year, the company entered the military market with the NAV 1000M. The company entered the professional market in January 1990 with the NAV 1000 PRO, the world's first hand-held GPS product. By 1991, Magellan moved to a new facility in Dimas, California and introduced advanced five-channel technology. It also incorporated in the United Kingdom (UK) as Magellan Systems to handle product distribution in the rest of the UK and Europe.
The SkyNAV 5000 was introduced in 1992 for the general aviation market, and in the same year, hand-held differential GPS technology for the marine market appeared. Magellan was purchased by Orbital Sciences Corporation in 1994. In 2001, Thales Group purchased the Magellan division of Orbital Sciences, and the company became known as Thales Navigation. In 2006, a private equity firm, Shah Capital Partners, and other investors purchased Thales Navigation, and the company was officially renamed Magellan Navigation. Magellan (also known as MiTAC Digital Corporation) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MiTAC International Corporation and promotes and sells products and services under the Magellan brand name. Magellan is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
Related Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry holds related artifacts (GPS receivers, computer electronics boards, computer chips, antennas, packaging, components, circuit boards, keyboards, a Swiss Army Chip (SAC), and receiver brackets). See Accession numbers 2010.0117; 2010.0118; 2010.0151; 2010.0152; 2010.0153; 2010.0154 and 2010.0155.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2010, by MiTAC Digital Corporation through Michael Williams, Director of Marketing and Gary Barta, Janice Itnyre, Jean Tuck McGregor, Donald Rea, Edward F. Tuck, Lawrence R. Weill, and James P. White.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
220 Linear feet (The total extent of the collection is 191.41 linear feet (consisting of 473 document boxes and 2 record boxes) plus 254 sound recordings, 94 computer disks, 42 card file boxes, 85 oversize folders, 9 rolled items, 18 binder boxes, and 3 oversize boxes. Of the total extent, 4.79 linear feet (14 boxes) are restricted.)
This collection contains the professional papers of William Curtis Sturtevant and documents his activities as Curator of North American Ethnology at the National Museum of Natural History, his work as the editor-in-chief of the Handbook of North American Indians, his research among the Seminole and Iroquois people, and other professional activities. The collection is comprised of books, sound recordings, research and field notes, realia, artifacts, clippings, microfilm, negatives, slides, photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, memorandums, card files, exhibition catalogs, articles, and bibliographies.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains the professional papers of William Curtis Sturtevant and documents his activities as Curator of North American Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, his work as the editor-in-chief of the Handbook of North American Indians, his research among the Seminole and Iroquois people, and his involvement in various professional activities. The collection is comprised of research and field notes, sound recordings, realia, clippings, negatives, slides, prints, published and unpublished writings, correspondence, memorandums, conference papers and meeting notes, card files, exhibition catalogs, articles, bibliographies, student files such as class notes and papers from Sturtevant's years as an anthropology student, teaching materials including lecture notes and exams, daily planners, passports, military records, artwork including prints and lithographs, maps, and computer files.
The materials in this collection document Sturtevant's career as a preeminent North American ethnologist, museum curator, university professor, his role as General Editor of the Handbook of North American Indians, and his contributions to the field of Anthropology. From his early work with the Seminole Indians of Florida to his forays into Burma, and his decades-long study of how Native Americans have been depicted in artistic and popular culture, Sturtevant's diverse intellectual interests are represented in his research files. A copious note taker, Sturtevant captured his observations and opinions of everything from meetings with colleagues to museum exhibits. Sturtevant's commitment to the anthropological profession can be found in the notes and programs of the many conferences, symposiums, and lecture series he attended and at which he presented. He also held numerous leadership positions in various professional associations and sat on the board of directors/trustees for several cultural organizations including Survival International and the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation. Sturtevant was respected for his vast knowledge of indigenous peoples and he received a voluminous amount of correspondence from colleagues who often included copies of their papers and grant proposals. He kept many of these works, which, it appears he used as reference material. Sturtevant's own work is reflected in his writings; he published over 200 scholarly papers, articles, and books.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Arrangement:
This collection is organized in 14 series: 1. Correspondence, 1951-2008; 2. Research Files, 1851, 1860s, 1880s, 1890, 1939-2006; 3. Writings, 1952-2006; 4. Professional Activities, 1952-2006; 5. Smithsonian, 1954-2008; 6. Handbook of North American Indians, 1971-2007; 7. Biographical Files, 1933-2007; 8. Student Files, 1944-1985; 9. Subject Files, 1902-2002; 10. Photographs, 1927-2004; 11. Artwork, 1699-1998; 12. Maps, 1949-1975; 13. Sound Recordings, 1950-2000; 14. Computer Files, 1987-2006.
Biographical/Historical note:
William C. Sturtevant (1926-2007), preeminent North American ethnologist, museum curator, and university professor, was best known for his contributions to Seminole ethnology, as curator of North American Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, and for his work as the general editor of the Handbook of North American Indians.
Sturtevant's passion for studying Native peoples began at a young age. In third grade "after a class on American Indians, he asked his father what kind of people study Indians, and his father replied, 'Anthropologists.' Sturtevant decided then that he would make anthropology his career" (Merrill 11). After graduating with honors from the University of California at Berkeley in 1949, Sturtevant went on to Yale University to complete his graduate work in anthropology. When it came time to decide on what area of North America he should focus his research, one of his faculty members at Yale, Irving Rouse, "suggested he consider the Seminoles of south Florida. By the end of his first fieldwork season, Sturtevant was convinced that the dearth of ethnographic information about these Seminoles and their status as one of the least acculturated of all North American Indian societies justified ethnographic research among them and offered the possibility of making an important contribution to North American ethnology" (Merrill 13). Sturtevant spent the summers of 1950 and 1951 conducting preliminary fieldwork among the Mikasuki-speaking Seminole and in 1952 he took up temporary residence at Big Cypress Reservation to undertake research for his dissertation, "The Mikasuki Seminole: Medical Beliefs and Practices." This work focused on Seminole medicine, but also included Sturtevant's analysis of Seminole worldview, religion, history, inter-ethnic relations, material culture, economy, kinship, language, and social organization.
In 1954, while he was finishing his dissertation, Sturtevant made the transition from student of anthropology to professional anthropologist. He was hired as an instructor in Yale's Anthropology Department and began his career in museum work as an assistant curator of anthropology at the Yale Peabody Museum. After receiving his PhD from Yale in 1955, Sturtevant moved on to the Smithsonian Institution, where he accepted a position as a research anthropologist at the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE). This position afforded Sturtevant the chance to continue to explore his many research interests in ways that a full time professorship or museum curatorship could not. Over the next ten years he studied the Catawba in South Carolina; the Seneca and Cayuga nations of the Iroquois League in New York, Oklahoma, and Ontario; continued his work with the Seminole; visited European museums to examine early ethnographic examples and possible European prototypes of eastern North American Indian material culture; and spent a year in Burma. In 1963, Sturtevant and his wife, Theda Maw, the daughter of a prominent Burmese family, took their three young children to Burma so that they could visit with Maw's family. Sturtevant took this as an opportunity to branch out from his Native American research and spent the year visiting neighborhoods in Rangoon and villages in the surrounding countryside, examining archival materials, studying the Burmese language, learning about Burmese clothing and other aspects of the culture, and taking photographs. He also collected 386 items of clothing and other objects for the Smithsonian.
When Sturtevant returned from Burma, he found the BAE had been dissolved. In 1965, he was transferred from the now-defunct BAE to the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), where he became curator of North American Ethnology, a position he held for the next forty-two years. During his tenure at NMNH Sturtevant oversaw all the North American ethnology collections, planned exhibitions, served on committees, and sponsored interns and fellows. One of Sturtevant's primary duties at NMNH was serving as the General Editor of the Handbook of North American Indians, "a major multi-volume reference work summarizing anthropological, linguistic, and historical knowledge about native peoples north of Mexico" (Jackson). Each volume was designed to represent a geographic or topical area of Americanist study. As General Editor, Sturtevant selected volume editors, chapter authors, oversaw office staff, and proofread manuscripts over the course of production.
Besides focusing on the Handbook, much of Sturtevant's time was taken up by responsibilities he held outside the Institution. Sturtevant was extremely involved in professional anthropological associations and held many leadership positions. Fresh out of graduate school, he began a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Anthropological Society of Washington in 1957. He later became a member of the executive committee of the Florida Anthropological Society, served as book-review editor and associate editor of the American Anthropologist from 1962-1968, was a member of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums and was both vice president and president of the committee once it became the Council for Museum Anthropology, was on the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Archives, served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation from 1976-1982 and was appointed to a fourth term between 1984 and 1986, and sat on the Board of Directors of Survival International from 1982-1988. He was President of the American Society for Ethnohistory, the American Ethnological Society, the American Anthropological Association, and the Anthropological Society of Washington. Sturtevant also taught classes at Johns Hopkins University as an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology, served as a consultant on exhibits at other museums, and reviewed manuscripts for scholarly publications.
Sturtevant remained active in the profession throughout his later years. After divorcing Theda Maw in 1986, he married Sally McLendon, a fellow anthropologist, in 1990 and they undertook several research projects together. Sturtevant was recognized for his dedication and contributions to the field of anthropology in 1996 when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by Brown University, and in 2002 when his colleagues published a festschrift in his honor, Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant.
Sturtevant died on March 2, 2007 at the Collingswood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rockville, MD after suffering from emphysema.
Sources Consulted
Estrada, Louie. 2007. William C. Sturtevant; Expert on Indians. Washington Post, March 17. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602273.html, accessed August 31, 2012.
Jackson, Jason Baird. 2007. William C. Sturtevant (1926-2007). http://museumanthropology.blogspot.com/2007/03/william-c-sturtevant-1926-2007.html, accessed August 31, 2012.
Merrill, William L. 2002. William Curtis Sturtevant, Anthropologist. In Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis Sturtevant. William L. Merrill and Ives Goddard, eds. Pp. 11-36. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
1926 -- Born July 26 in Morristown, NJ
1944 -- Entered the University of California at Berkeley as a second-semester freshman
1944 -- Attended summer school at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City where he took courses on Mexican archaeology and South American ethnology
1945 -- Drafted into the United States Navy
1946 -- Received an honorable discharge from the Navy with the rank of pharmacist's mate third class and returned to UC Berkeley
1947 -- Attended the University of New Mexico's summer field school in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico
1949 -- January: Received his Bachelor's degree with honors in anthropology from UC Berkeley
1949 -- Began graduate studies at Yale University
1950-1951 -- Spent the summers of 1950 and 1951 in Florida conducting fieldwork among the Mikasuki-speaking Seminole
1951 -- Conducted his first research study of the Iroquois, a classification of Seneca musical instruments, their construction and use, with Harold Conklin
1952 -- May: Moved to Big Cypress Reservation in Florida to conduct research for his dissertation. He focused on Seminole medicine, but also collected physical anthropological data such as blood-type frequencies, handedness, and color blindness
1952 -- July 26: Married Theda Maw
1954 -- Hired by Yale University as an instructor in the Department of Anthropology and as an assistant curator of anthropology in the Yale Peabody Museum
1955 -- Received PhD in anthropology from Yale University
1956 -- Joined the staff of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) as a research anthropologist
1957 -- Began a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Anthropological Society of Washington
1957 -- Traveled to Rock Hill, South Carolina to collect linguistic data from Sam Blue, the last member of the Catawba tribe to have maintained some proficiency in the Catawba language. While there, he made a small collection of Catawba pottery for the United States National Museum
1957-1958 -- Spent seven weeks continuing his research among the New York Seneca
1959 -- Returned to Florida to study Seminole ethnobotany. He also collected ethnographic materials, especially objects made for the tourist market, which he deposited in the United States National Museum
1959-1960 -- Member of the executive committee of the Florida Anthropological Society
1960 -- July and August: Visited 17 European museums to examine early ethnographic examples and possible European prototypes of eastern North American Indian material culture
1961-1962 -- Spent the summers of these years conducting ethnographic fieldwork among the Seneca-Cayuga in Oklahoma
1962 -- October: Visited the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada to conduct fieldwork among the Seneca and Cayuga there
1962-1968 -- Book-review editor and associate editor of the American Anthropologist
1963 -- October: Spent the year in Burma; visited neighborhoods in Rangoon and villages in the surrounding countryside, examined photographs in several archives, studied the Burmese language, and read extensively about the country's history and culture. Assembled notes on Burmese clothing and other aspects of the culture, took hundreds of photographs, and made a collection of 386 items of clothing and other objects for the Smithsonian
1964 -- Visited Inle Lake in the Southern Shan States southeast of Mandalay, where he examined local approaches to artificial island agriculture
1964-1981 -- Became a member of the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Anthropological Research in Museums, which became the Council for Museum Anthropology in 1974. Sturtevant was the Council's first vice president, serving two terms between 1974 and 1978, and was its president from 1978 to 1981
1965 -- Became curator of North American Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History after the dissolution of the BAE
1965-1966 -- President of the American Society for Ethnohistory
1966 -- Named the editor of the Handbook of North American Indians
1967-1968 -- Fulbright scholar and lecturer at Oxford University's Institute of Social Anthropology
1969 -- Began serving on the American Anthropological Association's Committee on Archives
1974-1989 -- Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University
1976-1982 -- Served three terms on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation and was appointed to a fourth term between 1984 and 1986
1977 -- President of the American Ethnological Society
1980-1981 -- President of the American Anthropological Association
1981 -- Spent part of the spring semester at the University of California Berkeley as a Regents Lecturer
1982-1988 -- Board of Directors of Survival International
1986 -- Divorced Theda Maw
1986-1987 -- Smithsonian Fellow at Oxford University's Worcester College
1990 -- Married Sally McLendon
1992 -- President of the Anthropological Society of Washington
1996 -- Awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters at Brown University
2007 -- Died March 2 in Rockville, MD
Related Materials:
Other materials relating to William C. Sturtevant at the National Anthropological Archives are included in the following collections:
Manuscript 4504
Manuscript 4595
Manuscript 4806
Manuscript 4821
Manuscript 4972
Manuscript 7045
Photo Lot 59
Photo Lot 79-51
Photo Lot 80-3
Photo Lot 81R
Photo Lot 86-68 (6)
Photo Lot 86-68 (7)
American Society for Ethnohistory records
Committee on Anthropological Research in Museum Records
Handbook of North American Indians records
Records of the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History
Gordon Davis Gibson Papers, Sound Recordings
SPC Se Powhatan Confederacy Mattapony BAE No # 01790700
DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04913800
DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04913900
DOE Oceania:Amer Poly:Hi:Hawaiian Helmet:Sturtevant 04914000
Negative MNH 1530
Negative MNH 1530 B
Sturtevant is listed as a correspondent in the following NAA collections:
Administrative file, 1949-1965, Records of the Bureau of American Ethnology
John Lawrence Angel Papers
James Henri Howard Papers
Donald Jayne Lehmer Papers
John Victor Murra Papers
Records of the Society for American Archaeology
Albert Clanton Spaulding Papers
Waldo Rudolph Wedel and Mildred Mott Wedel Papers
Copies of sound recordings made by William C. Sturtevant can be found at The California Language Archive at UC Berkeley in two collections, The William Sturtevant collection of Creek/Seminole sound recordings, which includes 31 minutes of Northern Muskogean linguistic field recordings from 1951, and The William Sturtevant collection of Mikasuki sound recordings, which includes 33 minutes of Mikasuki linguistic field recordings from 1951. Two sound tape reels of Seminole music Sturtevant recorded in Florida in 1951 can be found at Wesleyan University's World Music Archives. Folk songs on these recordings include "Scalping Sickness," "Bear Sickness with blowing," "Bear sickness without blowing," "Lullaby," "Feather Dance," "Snake Dance," and "Crazy Dance." Performers include Josie Billie, Lee Cypress, Harvey Jumper, Boy Jim, Charlie (Johnny?) Cypress, Little Tiger Tail, Billy Ossiola, and Charlie Billy Boy.
Separated Materials:
One video tape, "Seminole History and Tradition", was transferred to the Human Studies Film Archives.
Series 2.2, Tukabahchee Plate: Glass negative of spectrogram from FBI (Box 135), removed for storage with other glass plate negatives.
Provenance:
These papers were transferred to the National Anthropological Archives by the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History.
Restrictions:
Files containing Sturtevant's students' grades have been restricted, as have his students' and colleagues' grant and fellowships applications. Restricted files were separated and placed at the end of their respective series in boxes 87, 264, 322, 389-394, 435-436, 448, 468, and 483. For preservation reasons, his computer files are also restricted. Seminole sound recordings are restricted. Access to the William C. Sturtevant Papers requires an apointment.
William C. Sturtevant papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The papers of William C. Sturtevant were processed with the assistance of a Wenner-Gren Foundation Historical Archives Program grant awarded to Dr. Ives Goddard. Digitization and preparation of these materials for online access has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.
This collection contains records and research material produced and collected by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a lobbying and legal assistance organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender servicepersons. They were instrumental in overturning the United States Department of Defense's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains correspondence, case files, legal briefs, subject files, research files, press releases, office records, clipping files, publications, and other material produced and collected by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a lobbying and non-profit legal services organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender military servicepersons founded in the aftermath of the passage of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) legislation of December 1993. These records do not include material generated post 2009 and the final two years before the official overturning of DADT in September 2011. Before donation to the Archives Center, SLDN removed any material that they deemed sensitive, personal, or in violaton of their client's privacy.
Correspondence contains that which was sent by SLDN and received by SLDN. Major correspondents were: the Executive Office of the President, members of Congress, officials of the Department of Defense and other defense related federal agencies, other similarly focused non-profit organizations as well as private citizens. Correspondence may also include petitions, corresonpondence with clients of SLDN, those seeking legal services and or statistics related to DADT and others. Case files are generally refence copies of cases filed by SLDN, individuals, or invdividuals with other organizations relating to LGBT treatment within the military. Case files contain most often the public record copy of the legal brief that was filed with the courts and any supporting or relevant documents. Legal briefs relate to cases filed by SLDN or to the cases that in some way informed those legal cases and issues related to the mission of SLDN. Subject and research files were complied from various sources and contain copies or original material produced in support of the SLDN mission with regard to legal actions or as a lobbying organization. Press releases are generally those produced by SLDN. Office records pertain to the day to day workings of the organization and inter-office memorada and communication between employees or other organizations. Clipping files were compiled from a variety of national and international sources such as newspapers, magazines, and journals and used as reference tools within SLDN. Publications were those produced either by SLDN or collected by SLDN for research and reference purposes in-house.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series, one of which has been arranged further into subseries. The contents of each series or subseries are arranged chronologically. The series and subseries arrangement of the records is as follows:
Series 1, Administrative Records, 1994-2008
Series 2, Subject Files, 1980-2009 (bulk 1994-2009)
Subseries 1: Research Files, 1980-2008, undated
Subseries 2: Department of Defense, 1985-2003, undated
Subseries 3: United States Army, 1994-2005
Subseries 4: United States Navy, 1991-2008, undated
Subseries 5: United States Air Force, 1994-2004, undated
Subseries 6: United States Coast Guard, 1996-2005
Subseries 7: National Guard and Reserves, 2004
Series 3, Publications, 1988-2007
Series 4, Case Files, 1975-2008, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) is a non-profit founded in 1993 in the wake of the Clinton adminstration's efforts to make military service legal and non-discriminatory for openly lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons. The organization employs less than twenty persons and has a Board of Directors. SLDN provided legal services to LGBT servicmembers and was also a lobbying and policy organization. This initiative resulted in the passing of legislation commonly referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) in December 1993. DADT prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual servicemembers or applicants while still barring openly homosexual or bisexual persons from military service. This policy proved controversial and continued to result in the discrimination and separation of LGBT persons from the military.
The original purpose of SLDN was working to overturn the DADT policy through legal or legislative means while providing free legal services to servicemembers targeted by DADT. Its scope of concern not only included active duty personnel but the National Guard, reserves, and officer training programs. On occasion it worked with other similarly focused organizations and directly with the Department of Defense and other relevant federal agencies. By the time of the repeal of DADT in September 2011 and its official enactment in January 2012, SLDN had provided legal aid to thousands of servicepersons.
In July 2012 SLDN announced that it was merging with OutServe, effective in October 2012. OutServe is an organization of active LGBT military servicepersons, reportedly one of the largest employee resource groups in the world. SLDN continues to provide free legal advice and assistance and also works with veteran organizations while maintaining a "watchdog" status on LGBT issues within the military establishment.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Collection, 1942-2012, undated (AC1146)
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), 2012.
Restrictions:
This 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:
Don't ask, don't tell (Military personnel policy) Search this
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Records, 1877-2009 (bulk 1993-2008), undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Goya Foods, Inc., supported the cultural life of various communities in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company's current headquarters is in Secaucus, New Jersey. Photographs, calendars, sales promotional materials, cookbooks, packaging, and news clippings. Photographs depict primarily company sponsored events, but a few are family pictures.
Scope and Contents:
The Goya Foods, Incorporated Collection documents the history of the company from the 1960s to 2000. (A few earlier documents pertaining to Unanue and Sons and family photographs can be found in the collection, as well.) Materials include photographs, calendars, sales promotional materials, cookbooks, recipe packages, point-of-purchase items, and box and can labels, scrapbooks, and clippings files. Sound recordings, televisions advertisements, and anniversary video productions are also included. The material documents sales meetings, plant activities, and workers' events as well as the office life of the company and the philanthropic efforts and community activities of Goya Foods, Incorporated.
Series 1, History and Biography 1960s-1990s, includes photographs and biographies of the Unanue family members. Also includes company anniversary programs.
Series 2, United States Publicity Materials, 1970-2000, undated, contains extensive files of news clippings (compiled by an outside agency) arranged in chronological order. Also, press releases and publicity materials and copies of the newsletter La Voz Femenina[2], 1982-1989.
Series 3, United States Photographs, 1960s-1990s, includes photographs of Goya "sponsored" activities, which took place in the United States. The majority of the photos are unlabeled and undated. The series is divided into twelve subseries.
Subseries 3.1, Parades and Festivals, 1966-1999, include parades and festivals which Goya participated in, mainly in New York City and New Jersey. For many parades, Goya created a special float for participants to ride on. Many parades feature pageant contestants (see Subseries D). Tito Puente is a frequent performer.
Subseries 3.2, Parties and Banquets, 1970s-1990s, include many of the banquets and parties included are related to the various parades and pageants, this may or may not be obvious from looking at the photographs. Also included are employee parties.
Subseries 3.3, Community Events, 1970s-1990s, Goya prides itself on its civic work within the Hispanic communities of the United States. This subseries reflects many of the events Goya has sponsored or been a part of, including its support of the Manhattan Valley Golden Age Senior Center and Casa de Don Pedro, a home for children.
Subseries 3.4, Pageants, 1980s-1990s, include beauty pageants sponsored throughout the 1980s and 1990s, usually associated with a community parade (for example, a Dominican Parade Pageant). Sometimes the photos from the pageants and related events are included, though the parades themselves can be found in Subseries A.
Subseries 3.5, Employees, Plants, and Offices, 1960s-1990s, include photographs of Goya employees (both line workers and executives), offices, and plant facilities. Events in which employees participated (dances, parties, and picnics) are included here.
Subseries 3.6, Awards, 1970s-1990s, include awards given to the Unanues or Goya Foods, Incorporated by various organizations and awards given to others by Goya.
Subseries 3.7, Celebrities, 1980s-1990s, mainly events with celebrities in attendance. Prominent people include: Cardinal Cooke, Gloria Estefan, Michael J. Fox, Ed Koch, Spike Lee, David Letterman, Olga Elena Mattei, and Tito Puente.
Subseries 3.8, Sporting Events, Teams, and Awards, 1970s-1990s, soccer, baseball, bowling, volleyball, and softball teams are included, as well as little league teams and sporting workshop participants (mainly children with "professional" players). Teams are mostly Goya sponsored, though some professional players appear.
Subseries 3.9, Concerts, 1980s-1990s, include Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, and Willie Colón concerts at Penns Landing, plus multi-city Festival de Musica Goya, 1990.
Subseries 3.10, Trade Shows, 1966, 1980s, include Food expositions, trade shows, and demonstrations.
Subseries 3.11, Travel, 1970s-1990s, trips taken by [presumably] Goya employees. Santo Domingo, Peru, and Haiti were destinations.
Subseries 3.12, Unidentified, 1970s-1990s
Sub-subseries 3.12.1, Parade related events, 1980s-1990s
Sub-subseries 3.12.2, Other, 1970s-1990s
Series 4, United States Corporate Materials, 1960s-1990s, includes product labels and packaging, advertising materials, press kits, and memos.
Series 5, Puerto Rican Publicity Materials, 1980s-2000, consists of publications arranged chronologically within each title.
Series 6, Puerto Rican Photographs, 1960s-2000; undated, include photographs documenting events sponsored by Goya in Puerto Rico. The majority of the photographs were not identified or dated. The items that could be identified were arranged by subject including parades, parties, banquets, community events, employees, plants, offices, award ceremonies, sporting events, travel and products.
Subseries 6.1, Parades, 1977, include images from one parade, Reina el Dario la Prenza.
Subseries 6.2, Parties and Banquets, 1970-1996, primarily document employee parties.
Subseries 6.3, Community Events, 1972-1999; undated, documents Goya's involvement with the Puerto Rican community and some of the events that the company sponsored.
Subseries 6.4, Employees, Plants, and Offices, 1961-1999, undated, include images of Goya employees (both line workers and executives), offices, and plant facilities. Events in which employees participated (dances, parties, and picnics) are included here.
Subseries 6.5, Awards, 1970s-1996; undated, awards given to the Unanues or Goya Foods, Incorproated by various organizations and awards given to others by Goya.
Subseries 6.6, Sporting Events, Teams, and Awards, 1970s, contains one (1) folder of sporting events and teams sponsored by Goya.
Subseries 6.7, Travel, 1960s; undated, document trip(s) taken by [presumably] Goya employees primarily to Boca Cagrejos and Puerto Rico.
Subseries 6.8, Products, 2000, undated, contain images of Goya products and of a photograph shoot for an advertisement.
Series 7, Puerto Rican Corporate Materials, 1970s-2000, included are office forms, blank letterhead, advertising materials, press kits, annual reports, and newsletters.
Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1990s; undated, consists of commercials and biographical programs on the Unanues. ** No reference copies exist for most audiovisual materials; please see the Reference Archivist for availability in viewing.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in eight (8) series:
Series 1, History and Biography 1960s-1990s,
Series 2, United States Publicity Materials, 1970-2000; undated
Series 3, United States Photographs, 1960s-1999; undated
Subseries 3.1, Parades and Festivals, 1966-1999
Subseries 3.2, Parties and Banquets, 1970s-1990s
Subseries 3.3, Community Events, 1970s-1990s
Subseries 3.4, Pageants, 1980s-1994
Subseries 3.5, Employees, Plants, and Offices, 1960s-1990s
Subseries 3.6, Awards, 1970s-1990s
Subseries 3.7, Celebrities, 1980s-1990s
Subseries 3.8, Sporting Events, Teams, and Awards, 1970s-1990s
Subseries 3.9, Concerts, 1987-1990; undated
Subseries 3.10, Trade Shows, 1966-1994; undated
Subseries 3.11, Travel, 1970s-1996
Subseries 3.12, Unidentified, 1970s-1990s
Sub-subseries 3.12.1, Parade related events, 1983-1993
Sub-subseries 3.12.2, Other, 1970s-1992; undated
Series 4, United States Corporate Materials, 1960s-1990s
Series 5, Puerto Rican Publicity Materials, 1980s-2000
Series 6, Puerto Rican Photographs, 1960s-2000; undated
Subseries 6.1, Parades, 1977
Subseries 6.2, Parties and Banquets, 1970-1996
Subseries 6.3, Community Events, 1972-1999, undated
Subseries 6.4 Employees, Plants, and Offices, 1961-1999, undated
Subseries 6.5, Awards, 1970s-1996, undated
Subseries 6.6, Sporting Events, Teams, and Awards, 1970s
Subseries 6.7, Travel, 1960s, undated
Subseries 6.8, Products, 2000, undated
Series 7, Puerto Rican Corporate Materials, 1970s-2000; undated
Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1990s, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Prudencio Unanue (1886-1976) was born in the Basque region of northern Spain. He immigrated to the island of Puerto Rico in 1902 and married Carolina Casal (1890-1984) in 1921. In 1916, he moved to New York where he studied business and worked for a customs agency. Missing the tastes and smells of home cooking, the Unanues believed that there was an expanding immigrant market for the ingredients of "authentic Spanish cuisine." In 1936, they opened Unanue, Incorporated, a warehouse on Duane Street in lower Manhattan, to supply corner stores or bodegas. Over thirty years, the Unanue and Sons import business grew tremendously. Eventually, the business began to do its own food processing, canning, and packaging. In 1958, Goya Foods bought its first factory in Brooklyn, New York.
The Unanues and Sons Company purchased the name "Goya"[1] in 1936 from a Moroccan sardine supplier for one dollar. In 1946, the company changed its name to Unanue and Sons, Incorporated. It assumed the name Goya Foods, Incorporated in 1961, although it had used the name Goya for its products since 1936.
Goya Foods Company continued to innovate, pioneering television advertising in Puerto Rico. During the 1960s, Goya Foods sought out opportunities to expand its customer base as larger numbers of Caribbean immigrants moved into the United States. By sponsoring music festivals, sports teams, and other activities Goya Foods supported the cultural life; parades, beauty pageants, festivals, of various communities in the United States and Puerto Rico.
In 1974, Goya Foods moved to its current office headquarters and factory building in Secaucus, New Jersey. By 2000, Goya owned factories in upstate New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, as well as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Spain.
Footnotes:
[1] Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) was an influential Spanish artist whose paintings reflected the historical upheavals of his time. For many, the art of Francisco de Goya truly revealed Spain because he painted all of its people.
[2] Note that words in Spanish are set off in italics; periodical titles are underlined.
Related Materials:
Government of Puerto Rico Division of Community Education Posters, Teodoro Vidal Collection, and Tito Puente Papers.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Culture and the Arts holds items related to this collection including promotional items, display props, a neon sign, products and containers, and clothing. See accession number, 1999.3017.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the National Museum of American History in 1999 by Goya Foods, Inc. through Rafael Toro, Director of Public Relations.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Technical Access: Do not use when original materials are available on reference video or audio tapes.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. All duplication requests must be reviewed and approved by Archives Center staff.
The Cover Girl Make-Up Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project, 1923-1991, is the result of a year-long study in 1990, which examined the advertising created for Noxell Corporation's Cover Girl make-up products from 1959 to 1990. The objective of the project was to document, in print and electronic media, the history of Cover Girl make-up advertising since its inception in 1959.
Scope and Contents:
Twenty-two oral history interviews (conducted by Dr. Scott Ellsworth for the Archives Center) and a variety of print and television advertisements, photographs, scrapbooks, personal papers, business records and related materials were gathered by the Center for Advertising History staff. The objective was to create a collection that provides documentation, in print and electronic media, of the history and development of advertising for Cover Girl make-up since its inception in 1959.
Collection also includes earlier material related to other Noxell products, including Noxzema, with no direct connection to the Cover Girl campaign.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.
Series 1: Research Files
Series 2: Interviewee Files
Series 3: Oral History Interviews
Series 4: Television Advertising Materials
Series 5: Print Advertising Materials
Series 6: Company Publications and Promotional Literature
Series 7: Photographs
Series 8: Scrapbooks
Biographical / Historical:
George Avery Bunting founded the Noxzema Chemical Company in Baltimore, Maryland in 1917. In the 1890s, he left behind a teaching job on Maryland's Eastern shore to move to Baltimore, where he hoped to pursue a career as a pharmacist. He landed a job as errand boy and soda jerk at a local drugstore, where he worked while attending classes at the University Of Maryland College of Pharmacy. Valedictorian of the Class of 1899, Bunting was promoted to manager of the drugstore, which he purchased. Bunting began to experiment with the formulation of medicated pastes and compounds, which he marketed to his customers. In 1909, he began refining a medicated vanishing cream, which he introduced in 1914. "Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy," an aromatic skin cream containing clove oil, eucalyptus oil, lime water, menthol and camphor, was mixed by hand at his pharmacy. Marketed locally as a greaseless, medicated cream for the treatment of a variety of skin conditions, including sunburn, eczema, and acne, the product was renamed "Noxzema" for its reputed ability to "knock eczema." By 1917, the Noxzema Chemical Company was formed. During the 1920s, distribution of the product was expanded to include New York, Chicago, and the Midwest and, by 1926, the first Noxzema manufactory was built in northwest Baltimore to accommodate the demand for nearly a million jars a year.
Having achieved a national market by 1938, Noxzema Chemical Company executives pursued product diversification as a means to maintain the corporate growth of the early years. In the 1930s and 1940s, line extensions included shaving cream, suntan lotion and cold cream, all with the distinctive "medicated" Noxzema aroma.
In the late 1950s, Bill Hunt, director of product development at Noxzema, suggested a line extension into medicated make-up. Creatives at Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell & Bayles, Incorporated (SSC&B), Noxzema's advertising agency since 1946, suggested that the advertising for the new product focus on beauty and glamour with some reference to the medicated claims made for other Noxzema products. In contrast to other cosmetics, which were sold at specialized department store counters, Noxzema's medicated make-up would be marketed alongside other Noxzema products in grocery stores and other mass distribution outlets. After experimenting with names that suggested both glamour and the medicated claims (including Thera-Blem and Blema-Glow), Bill Grathwohl, Noxell's advertising director, selected Carolyn Oelbaum's "Cover Girl," which conveyed the product's usefulness as a blemish cover-up, while invoking the glamorous image of fashion models. These three elements of the advertising, wholesome glamour, mass marketing, and medicated make-up, remain central to Cover Girl advertising nearly a half-century later.
Beginning with the national launch in 1961, American and international fashion models were featured in the ads. The target audience was identified as women between eighteen and fifty-four and, initially, the "glamour" ads were targeted at women's magazines, while the "medicated" claims were reserved for teen magazines. Television ads featured both elements. Cover Girl advertising always featured beautiful women -- especially Caucasian women, but the Cover Girl image has evolved over time to conform to changing notions of beauty. In the late 1950s and 1960s, the Cover Girl was refined and aloof, a fashion conscious sophisticate. By the 1970s, a new social emphasis on looking and dressing "naturally" and the introduction of the "Clean Make-up" campaign created a new advertising focus on the wholesome glamour of the "girl next door," a blue-eyed, blonde all-American image. In the 1980s, the Cover Girl look was updated to include African-American, Hispanic and working women.
In January 1970, SSC&B bought 49% of the Lintas Worldwide advertising network. After SSC&B was acquired by the Interpublic Group of Companies in 1979, the entire Lintas operation was consolidated under the name SSC&B/Lintas in 1981. With the Procter & Gamble buy-out of the Noxell Corporation in September 1989, the cosmetics account was moved to long-time P&G agency Grey Advertising, in order to circumvent a possible conflict of interest between P&G competitor Unilever, another Lintas account. In 1989 SSC&B/Lintas, Cover Girl's agency since its launch in 1961, lost the account it helped to create and define, but the brand continues to dominate mass-marketed cosmetics.
This project is the result of a year-long study of advertising created for the Noxell Corporation's Cover Girl make-up products, 1959-1990. The effort was supported in part by a grant from the Noxell Corporation. The target audience was identified as women 18-54, and initially, the "glamour" ads were targeted at women's magazines, while the "medicated" claims were reserved for teen magazines. Television ads featured both elements. Cover Girl advertising has always featured beautiful women (especially Caucasian women), but the Cover Girl image evolved over time to conform with changing notions of beauty. In the late 1950s-1960s, the Cover Girl was refined and aloof, a fashion conscious sophisticate. By the 1970s, a new social emphasis on looking and dressing "naturally" and the introduction of the "Clean Make-up" campaign created a new advertising focus on the wholesome glamour of the "girl next door," a blue-eyed, blonde all-American image. Through the 1980s, the Cover Girl look was updated to include African-American and Hispanic models and images of women at work.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC0060)
N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records (AC0059)
Separated Materials:
The Division of Home and Community Life, Costume Collection holds eighty-six cosmetic items and one computer that were also donated by the Noxell Corporation in 1990 in conjunction with the oral history project. These artifacts include lipstick, manicure sets, brushes, make-up, eye shadow, blush, powder puffs, eyelash curler, nail polish, and mascara. See accession number 1990.0193.
Provenance:
Most of the materials in the collection were donated to the Center for Advertising History by the Noxell Corporation, 1990. All storyboards and videoscripts, and a large collection of business records and proofsheets were donated by George Poris in June 1990. All mechanicals were donated by Art Weithas in June 1990. (These contributions are noted in the finding aid).
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
The collection documents Elliott's work in developing the SpectraSpan Spectrometer and related technologies including the use of echelle gratings and argon plasmas with the spectrometer. It also documents his companies, SpectraMetrics, and Elliott Laboratories. The collection contains correspondence; photographs, including lantern slides; business and financial records; writings; laboratory notes; internal company reports; user's manuals; patents and patent-related papers; and publications and printed materials.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
William G. Elliott was an engineer who, in 1966, founded SpectraMetrics, which developed and marketed the SpectraSpan echelle spectrometer. He later sold SpectraMetrics, and founded Elliott Laboratories in 1972.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Mark Elliott.
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.
The Society for the History of Technology Records (SHOT) consists of documents relating to SHOT from its inception in 1958- [0ngoing]. The collection is divided into two subgroups: Subgroup I, General Records, 1956-2009 which consist of papers generated and received by Melvin Kranzberg in his various roles as an officer of SHOT, as well as papers of other SHOT officers. Subgroup II,Technology and Culture Records, 1958-2009, consists of documents relating to the Society's journal, Technology and Culture. T & C is a quarterly publication containing articles of interest to and written by historians and students of technology. The records consist of material generated by Melvin Kranzberg in his role as editor-in-chief, 1959-1981 and by succeeding T&C editors.
Scope and Contents:
The collection is divided into two subgroups: Subgroup I, General Records, 1956-2009 which consist of papers generated and received by Melvin Kranzberg in his various roles as an officer of SHOT, as well as papers of other SHOT officers. Subgroup II,Technology and Culture Records, 1958-2009, consists of documents relating to the Society's journal, Technology and Culture. T & C is a quarterly publication containing articles of interest to and written by historians and students of technology. The records consist of material generated by Melvin Kranzberg in his role as editor-in-chief, 1959-1981 and by succeeding T&C editors. The Melvin Kranzberg Papers (AC0266) consist of the personal papers of Dr. Kranzberg from his undergraduate years at Amherst College through his professional career. The collection documents his involvement with development of the new field of history of technology and his role as principal founder of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT); work as consultant and advisor to domestic and international agencies, colleges, and universities; personal affiliations, lectureships, publications; and teaching and administrative activities for more than forty years as a college professor.
Subgroup I: General Records, 1956-2009, consists of documents relating to SHOT from its inception in 1958 to 2009, papers generated and received by Melvin Kranzberg in his various roles as an officer of SHOT, as well as papers of other SHOT officers.
The General Records are divided into ten series based on the functions of this professional organization of scholars interested in the history of technology. Series one through three document committees and officers and their correspondence regarding day-to-day activities of the Society. Financial records and preparation for annual membership meetings and other more specialized meetings comprise other series. Newsletters and brochures describing SHOT's activities and the records of SHOT's relationships with other professional associations (such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science) complete the General Records.
Series 1: Organizational Records, 1956-1984, consists of materials documenting organizing work, including membership, officers, finances, publicity and drafting of a constitution for SHOT. Included are minutes of meetings to accomplish these purposes as well as for the first general membership meeting held in December, 1958. Papers incorporating SHOT and a history of the organization as of 1976 are included. These records are organized into three categories: the initial conceptualization and creation of SHOT; support activities in the early period; the constitution and history of SHOT. The material is arranged chronologically.
Series 2: Records Of Councils, Committees, and Other Groups, 1959-1989, consists of the records of SHOT councils, committees and other organizational groups. The Executive Council consists of nine elected voting members in addition to the officers of the Society, past presidents of the Society, and the editor-in-chief of the Society's journal. The Executive Council directs the affairs of the Society. In order to reflect the composition of the Society as an interdisciplinary organization which draws from both academe and the factory and industrial laboratory, the Executive Council has been made up of a combination of academicians and practicing engineers and industrialists.
Subseries 2.2a: Executive Council, 1959-1963; 1968; 1975-1978; 1983-1987, contain memoranda to the Executive Council from Melvin Kranzberg, Secretary, 1959-1974; correspondence to and from Secretary Carroll Pursell, 1975-1978; reports; minutes; and other memoranda regarding the SHOT Brochure and Museum Exhibit Awards Program. In addition, Series 5 contains the minutes of many Executive Council meetings, 1958-1992.
Subseries 2.2b: Advisory Council, 1960-1961, is composed of SHOT members selected on the basis of their distinquished scholarship or eminent service to the development of technological studies. The Advisory Council is consulted from time to time regarding the affairs of the Society. These records contain memoranda to the Advisory Council requesting advice, and a list and addresses of Council members as of March, 1961.
The Subseries 2.2c: Nominating Committee,1961-1984, is composed of three Society members appointed by the president; they serve for three years in rotation, one member being added and one retiring each year. Their duties are to nominate persons for the various offices, Executive Council, and the Advisory Council. In addition they make nominations to the Executive Council of candidates for corresponding membership. These records contain correspondence among Society officers, members and potential members of the Nominating Committee; memoranda to the Nominating Committee regarding the work of the committee; lists of officers and council members of the Society; and nominations and ballots.
The Subseries 2.2d: Editorial Committee,1980-1987, is chosen by members of the Executive Council and generally oversees and has ultimate responsibility for the Society's journal, Technology and Culture. The editor-in-chief of the journal is the chairman of the Editorial Committee. The records contain correspondence of the committee; annual reports of the committee; memoranda; and the editor's reports.
The Subseries 2.2e: Documents Committee,1961-1970; 1979-1985 mission was to monitor the preservation of important documents and archival materials that are or may be of value to historians of technology. A primary function is the encouragement of the maintenance and preservation of scientific and technological archives. These records contain correspondence to and from the chairman of the committee, Mel Kranzberg, and others regarding the committee's work and status.
The Subseries 2.2f: Program Committee, 1959; 1961; 1968; 1971; 1983-1984, has charge of arrangements for SHOT's annual meetings, any special meetings of the Society, and any other programs sponsored by the Society. For example, the committee has the responsibility of organizing SHOT sessions at annual meetings of the American Historical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and History of Science Society, among others. These records contain correspondence and memoranda among members of the committee--and with Kranzberg--regarding program sessions and participants at various meetings and other committee business and priorities; the program of the SHOT 1983 annual meeting; and various program reports, 1959-1985.
Subseries 2.2g: Other Committees, 1961-1987, consist of correspondence and memoranda regarding the myriad aspects of various small SHOT committees' work. Among the committees are: Fellowship Committee; Aims and Goals Committee; Industrial Archeology Committee; Electricity and Electronics Archives Committee; Bicentennial Committee; SHOT Research Committee; Technical Studies Committee; Museum Committee; Monograph Committee; Ad Hoc Committee on Library Services; Technical Studies and Educational Committee; Sites Committee; the Endowment Committee; and the Bibliographic Committee, which was organized to prepare an annual list of books and articles with critical comments or references to reviews when available. The bibliography is published annually in Technology and Culture. An analytical index is prepared annually to accompany the bibliography.
Subseries 2.2h: Officers and Committee Appointments, 1963;1966; 1970-1977; 19080; 1982, contains lists of SHOT committee officers, as well as correspondence and memoranda regarding committee and SHOT officers' appointments and acceptances.
Since SHOT's inception in 1958, members have formed special interest groups (SIGs) for the purpose of bringing together scholars and professionals with interests in specific fields of the history of technology.
Subseries 2.2i: Special Interest Groups, 1961-1988, material includes correspondence, memoranda, newsletters, directories, reports of chairmen, and articles of various special interest groups. These special interest groups are composed of SHOT members who have a common interest, e.g., women's roles in technological history and military technology.
The Subseries 2.2j: Awards Committee (Committee on Honors), 1961-1988, was an advisory committee created to establish conditions and to recommend recipients for various SHOT medals and awards, such as the Usher, Dexter and da Vinci. The power to confer the awards rests with the Executive Council of SHOT. The committee is also responsible for developing citations for the medals and carrying out the nomination process for awards. These records contain correspondence between committee members and Kranzberg regarding awards to recipients, vitae of award recipients, and edited copies of the "awards/honors section" of Technology and Culture.
The Subseries 2.2k: Leonardo da Vinci Medal, 1966-1986, is the Society's highest honor, presented to an individual who has greatly contributed to the history of technology through research, teaching, publications, and other activities. This material consists mostly of correspondence among officers of SHOT and the medal recipients. Also included is biographical material on three recipients of the medal. Photographs of the medal are also included.
The Subseries 2.2l: Dexter Prize, sponsored by the Dexter Chemical Corporation of New York City, is an annual prize of $1,000 dollars for the best book on the history of technology. This material is mainly correspondence regarding the establishment of the prize, development of the plaque, correspondence to and from the recipients, a photo of one recipient, and original illustrations of the plaque.
The Subseries 2.2m: Robinson Prize, 1968-1987, was established by the Executive Council and is awarded annually. It consists of a certificate and a check for $150 dollars for the best paper presented at a SHOT annual meeting by a person under thirty years of age. The material includes correspondence and memoranda regarding this prize. In addition, copies of many submission papers are included.
The Subseries 2.2n: Levinson Prize, 1984-1986, is awarded for an author's first manuscript intended for publication. There is a cash award of $250 dollars and an appropriate plaque. Included is correspondence to and from SHOT officers regarding the establishment and the awarding of this prize.
Subseries 2o: Miscellaneous Awards, 1984-1986, consists of correspondence and memoranda related to various small awards and prizes, including the Usher prize, a special certification award for meritorious work not covered by established prizes, and the IEEE Life Member's Prize in Electrical History, administered by SHOT.
Series 3: Correspondence, 1963-1988, contains correspondence of SHOT officers and is divided into three subseries: general correspondence, correspondence of SHOT presidents, and correspondence dealing with particularly important subjects. The general correspondence deals with routine administrative matters from 1966-1988. The presidential letters and the letters to which they reply relate to the official responsibilities of the SHOT president 1978-1986. The final category contains correspondence, 1975-1985, on subjects such as preparations for commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage and the offer of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to be the repository for the records of SHOT.
Series 4: Financial Records (Budget), 1959-1993, consists of financial statements and bank records, 1960-1993, including reports of SHOT treasurers to the membership and to appropriate committees regarding SHOT finances, as well as bank statements, check stubs, and other records of transactions and investments. Copies of required reports to the Internal Revenue Service, 1960-1991 are filed separately as is the general correspondence of SHOT Treasurers, 1985-1991. Financial reports on individual SHOT Meetings, 1976-1993 consititute a final category.
Series 5: Meetings, 1958-1992, contains minutes of the Executive Council and annual general membership meetings, as well as records of preparatory work for annual meetings of SHOT, and is arranged chronologically. Records of other membership meetings concerned with particular subjects are listed separately. Correspondence relating to a conference on "Critical Issues in the History of Technology" organized by SHOT in Roanoke, Virginia in 1978, is also included.
Series 6: Secretary's Membership Records, 1958-1984, consists of reports and correspondence to and from officers and members of SHOT, and is arranged chronologically. Included are inquiries from prospective members, responses by the SHOT secretary, statistics of membership, questionnaires, and invitations to join SHOT.
Series 7: Newsletter, 1958-1997, contains the SHOT newsletter and records of its publication and is arranged chronologically for 1977-1989. Materials for the years preceding 1977 include the actual newsletters for 1958-1964, arranged chronologically, and the rough draft of the 1960 newsletter. Series 9 contains additional copies of the SHOT newsletter.
Series 8: Publication of Monographs, 1961-1984, contains correspondence and committee meeting minutes relating to editorial review, printing problems and royalties. These are arranged by subject.
Series 9: SHOT Professional Relations with Other Organizations, 1964-1988, consists of materials documenting SHOT's numerous official contacts with other professional societies, including joint meetings, correspondence, and minutes. These records are arranged chronologically. Papers relating to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Council of Learned Societies are grouped separately.
Series 10, Officers Files, 1958-2009, contains materials submitted periodically by former officers of SHOT, beginning in the mid-1980s. Included are documents relating to their administrative functions, as well as their correspondence conducted while in office. Received material which obviously fits into the body of the collections has been so incorporated, in the order of their donation.
Subgroup II: Technology and Culture Records, 1958-1995, consists of documents relating to the Society's journal, Technology and Culture. T & C is a quarterly publication containing articles of interest to and written by historians and students of technology. The records consist of material generated by Melvin Kranzberg in his role as editor-in-chief, 1959-1981 and by succeeding T&C editors.
The papers are divided into ten subseries according to the editorial and other activities involved in producing T & C. In addition to the Organizational Records, 1958-1962, the Technology and Culture records include book reviews, editorial reviews of articles, indexes and tables of contents, printing (by the University of Chicago Press), costs, promotions, and special projects.
Series 1: Organizational Records, 1958-1962 , contains correspondence, minutes of meetings and memoranda relating to the creation of the quarterly journal, T&C, and its first issue. the series includes records of a membership poll to choose the journal's name. A speech by Melvin Kranzberg in 1981 entitled "Quirks and Jerks of Editing Technology and Culture" outlines the early considerations in publication and later editorial problems.
Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-1988, is restricted and contains articles and reviews of articles submitted to T&C for publication. This material is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. The folder dates represent the dates of all the correspondence in the folder. The older date usually represents the date when the correspondence was initiated regarding the submission of an article to T&C. However, the latest date does not always represent correspondence regarding a submission to T&C, since Kranzberg sometimes included general correspondence in the folders.
All articles went through a refereeing process, during which referees wrote recommendations, either for or against publication. These judges wrote their recommendations with the understanding that their identities and their evaluations would remain confidential. In order to maintain the confidentiality of all parties, this separate correspondence series and the confidential referee reviews have been restricted for thirty years from the most recent date of the correspondence. Exceptions will be made if written permission is obtained from SHOT's Editorial Board.The majority of folders contain correspondence between Kranzberg and the referees about articles, but not the articles themselves. The judges' recommendations contain a great deal of information. Some papers were revised two, three, or more times in preparation for publication and referees' reports follow each revision.
Series 3: Book Reviews, 1969-1995, consists of drafts of reviews which appeared inT&C with correspondence relating to those reviews. The material is arranged chronologically according to theT&C issue in which they appeared.
Series 4: Editorial Review of Articles, 1960-1993, consists of drafts of articles considered for publication and other editorial material, for example, exhibit reviews, communications, notes and announcements, correspondence (with authors and reviewers; the latter included comments on the draft articles) and email printouts. The material is arranged alphabetically by name of author and is restricted. Judges wrote their recommendations with the understanding that their identities and their evaluations, would remain confidential. In order to maintain the confidentiality of all parties, this series and the confidential referee reviews have been restricted for thirty years from the most recent date of the correspondence. Exceptions will be made if written permission is obtained from SHOT's Editorial Board.
Series 5: Indexes (Cumulative) and Tables of Contents, 1965-1987 (Boxes 54-56), contains tables of contents of each quarterly edition of T&C, 1965-1981, together with cumulative indexes through 1987.
Series 6: Technology and Culture Printing and Costs, 1959-1994, consists of correspondence with printers of the T&C quarterly journal (primarily the University of Chicago Press), including instructions for printing and negotiation of costs. Also included are arrangements for reprints, cover designs and membership lists. Correspondence relating to campaigns to promote sales of T&C and annual reports of revenues and costs is arranged chronologically.
Series 7: Special Projects, 1962-1986, includes materials documenting miscellaneous projects related to T&C and its editing and publication, and is arranged chronologically.
Series 8: Technology and Culture Editor, 1982-1995, consists of records of the editor documenting the functions of soliciting, reviewing, refereeing and giving final approval for articles and book reviews appearing in T&C. Correspondence with members of SHOT and others is arranged alphabetically. Letters relate to proposed articles and comments on them, as well as other subjects. Also included is correspondence relating to Post's own publications, exhibits, and public presentations, assessments of grant applications, records of his involvement in the affairs of the National Museum of American History and other museums, and correspondence with other periodicals with which he was editorially involved, such as Invention and Technology and Railroad History.
Series 9: Published Files, 1982-1994,contains edited typescript (as submitted to publisher) for articles, research notes, conference reports, organizational notes, reviews, obituaries, and all other material published in Technology and Culture for one calendar year. Correspondence with authors, advisory editors, referees (between two and five for each article), and editorial and production staff of the University of Chicago Press is also included. The materials are arranged chronologically by year. These files are closed for thirty years from the date of the last correspondence in the individual folder. They may be opened, on a case-by-case basis, through appeal to the SHOT Editorial Committee.
Series 10: Office Business Files, 1983-2007, consists of files from the Technology and Culture offices. Many of the files relate to the journal's redesign, editors, and search for a university press to publish the journal.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two subgroups.
Subgroup I: General Records, 1956-2009
Subgroup II:Technology and Culture Records, 1958-2010
Subgroup I: General Records, 1956-2009
Series 1: Organizational Records, 1956-1984
Subseries 1.1a: Conceptualization and Creation of SHOT, 1956-1959
Subseries 1.1b: Support Activities, 1958-1972
Subseries 1.1c: Constitution and History of SHOT, 1958-1976
Series 2: Records of Councils, Committees, and Other Groups, 1959-1989
Subgroup II:Technology and Culture Records, 1958-2012
Series 1: Organizational Records, 1958-1962
Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-1988
Series 3: Book Reviews, 1969-1995
Series 4: Editorial Review of Articles, 1960-1993
Series 5: Indexes (cumulative and tables of contents), 1965-1987
Series 6:Technology and Culture, 1959-1994
Series 7, Special Projects, 1962-1986
Series 8, Technology and Culture Editor, 1982-2010
Series 9: Published Files, 1982-1994
Series 10: Office Business Files, 1983-2007
Series 11:Technology and Culture (journal), 1992, 1994, 2005-2012
Biographical / Historical:
The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) was formed in 1958 to encourage the study of the development of technology and its relations with politics, economics, labor, business, the environment, public policy, science, and the arts. The Society is incorporated in the State of Ohio as a nonprofit educational organization. Membership is international, open to individuals, organizations, corporations, and institutions interested in the purposes and activities of the Society. An international society, SHOT meets annually in North America or Europe and also sponsors smaller conferences focused on specialized topics, often jointly with other scholarly societies and organizations. The Society's quarterly journal, Technology and Culture, is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press (http://www.techculture.org/). In addition to Technology and Culture, SHOT publishes a quarterly newsletter and, jointly with the American Historical Association, a booklet series, Historical Perspectives on Technology, Society, and Culture.
Melvin Kranzberg was the driving force behind the organization of SHOT. He chaired its Executive Council, 1958-1959, and also served as secretary of the organization, 1959-1974; vice president, 1981-1982; president, 1983-1984; and chairman of the editorial committee, 1985-1988. From 1959 to 1981, he was editor-in-chief of SHOT's quarterly journal, Technology and Culture (T&C). In addition to his long, intimate involvement with SHOT, Kranzberg, as a professor at Case Institute of Technology and Georgia Institute of Technology, 1952-1988, was deeply engaged in studying aspects of technological development over the course of human history. Kranzberg participated in many scholarly committees and other organizations, both domestic and international. He also contributed to governmental commissions and international bodies. His correspondence, speeches and published articles constitute the Melvin Kranzberg Papers, 1934-1988 (AC0266), in the National Museum of American History's Archives Center.
The Archives Center was officially designated the respository for the SHOT records and the editorial records of Technology and Culture in October 1994.
Related Materials:
Material in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Melvin Kranzberg Papers (AC0266)
Personal papers of Dr. Kranzberg from his undergraduate years at Amherst College through his professional career. Collection documents his involvement with development of the new field of history of technology and his role as principal founder of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT); work as consultant and advisor to domestic and international agencies, colleges, and universities; personal affiliations, lectureships, publications; and teaching and administrative activities for more than forty years as a college professor.
S. Colum Gilfillan Papers (AC0461)
Gilfillan was a charter member of SHOT in 1958. The papers include correspondence with Melvin Kranzberg concerning articles that he published in SHOT's journal, Technology and Culture.
Materials in Smithsonian Institution Archives
Brooke Hindle Papers, 1944-1985 (RU 7363)
These papers document Hindle's teaching career; his tenure as an academic dean, historian, and professor of science and technology at New York University; his service as president of SHOT; and, to a lesser extent, his years as director of the National Museum of the History of Technology (NMHT). Papers consist of correspondence and memoranda with historical, scientific, and technological institutes and societies concerning research; correspondence and memoranda with prominent historians of science and technology, particularly Carl Bridenbaugh, Whitfield J. Bell, and A. Hunter Dupree; historical research proposals, manuscripts, publications, index cards, and related material; biographical information; slides and photographs of scientific illustrations and portraits of historic American figures; files concerning his presidency of SHOT and as a member of various visiting committees to review academic programs in the history of science and technology; and copies of course materials prepared during his teaching career at New York University.
Provenance:
Dr. Melvin Kranzberg donated the collection on August 29, 1988.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research, but is stored offsite. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit.
Subgroup II: Technology and Culture Records
Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-1988
Files are restricted for thirty years from the most recent date of the correspondence. They may be opened, on a case-by-case basis, through appeal to the SHOT Editorial Committee.
Series 4: Editorial Review of Articles, 1960-1993
Files are restricted for thirty years from the most recent date of the review. They may be opened, on a case-by-case basis, through appeal to the SHOT Editorial Committee.
Series 9: Published Files, 1982-1994
Files are restricted for thirty years from the date of the last correspondence in the individual folder. They may be opened, on a case-by-case basis, through appeal to the SHOT Editorial Committee.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees apply when requesting reproductions.
Gerber Scientific Instrument Company (Hartford, Conn.). Search this
Extent:
75 Cubic feet (182 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Articles
Marketing records
Photographs
Speeches
Correspondence
Catalogs
Clippings
Patents
Business records
Manuals
Legal documents
Date:
1911 - 1999
Summary:
Records document the Gerber Scientific Instrument Company, Hartford, Connecticut, and its four subsidiaries: Gerber Garment Technology, Inc., Gerber Scientific Products, Inc., Gerber Systems Corp., and Gerber Optical, Inc. Gerber Scientific designs, develops, manufactures, markets and services computer aided design and computer aided CAD/CAM systems. The records include correspondence, memoranda, product literature, trade literature, patent records, instruction manuals, proposals, engineering records, photographs, technical reports, drawings, press releases, and newspaper clippings.
Scope and Contents:
The Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records document the company's designs, development, manufacture, and marketing of computer-aided design and computer-aided CAD/CAM systems. The records are arranged into twelve series and consist of Personal, Corporate Records, Engineering Department Records, Product Literature, Instruction Manuals/User Guides, Proposals, Photographs, Trade Literature, Press Releases and Newspaper Clippings, Patent Records, Lectra Systèmes Litigation Materials, and Audio Visual Materials.
Series 1, David R. Pearl, 1968-1984, contains three volumes of diaries kept by David R. Pearl, President of Gerber Garment Technology. The diaries were maintained by Pearl from July 21, 1968 to June 6, 1977, to document Pearl's and H. Joseph Gerber's activities concerning the development of the technology and the establishment of a business to market computer-controlled fabric cutting devices. One notebook contains some materials later than 1977. There are diary entries for September 12, 1979, February 1, 1980, and October 29, 1984.
Series 2, Corporate Records, 1968-1999, includes administrative records, an Industrial Projects Eligibility Review, annual reports, shareholders reports, newsletters, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) materials, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) materials, Gerber Museum documents, and empty Gerber Scientific Instrument Company binders. The administrative documents consist of a corporate history, mission statement, organizational chart, company map, time line and biographies of key corporate personnel. There are two organizational charts: one for the Engineering Organization (software, mechanical and electrical divisions) from 1987 and one for the subsidiary Gerber Garment Technology, Inc. (Gerber Garment Technology (GGT)), dated 1985. Additional organizational charts can be found with the 1968 annual report. The Industrial Projects Eligibility Review was submitted to the Connecticut Development Authority by Gerber Scientific Intsrument (GSI) to facilitate financing for future expansion of the company. A copy of the company's articles of incorporation are here. The newsletters included in this series are in-house publications for employees only. The newsletter Communiqué, 1960, is in Series 4, Product Literature. The NYSE materials include press releases, photographs, the listing application to the NYSE and printed material about Gerber Scientific, Inc. joining the NYSE in October 1980. Gerber Scientific is traded on the Stock Exchange as GRB. The Securities and Exchange Commission files contain Form S-3, a registration statement and the Annual Report, and Form 10-K for Gerber Scientific, Inc. The Gerber Museum file includes photographs of artifacts and a 1996 memo and fax discussing the establishment of a museum to honor H. Joseph Gerber.
Series 3, Engineering Department Records, 1966-1990, is the largest series and is arranged alphabetically by the engineer's last name and then alphabetically by subject/topic. The records include the files of: Ed LaGraize, David Logan, Bud Rich, Ron Webster, and Ken Wood. The majority of engineering files belong to David Logan. Logan joined Gerber Scientific Instrument in 1957 as a project engineer. From 1959 to 1961, he was chief engineer and then became Vice President of Engineering from 1961 to 1963. From 1963 to 1980, Logan served as Senior Vice President of Engineering. He holds several patents, primarily in the field of plotting devices and control systems. The engineering files contain technical memoranda, correspondence, drawings, product literature, trade literature, notes, and drawings.
Series 4, Product Literature, 1953-1996, contains informational sheets for a variety of products available from Gerber Scientific, Inc. and its subsidiary companies. Gerber Scientific Instrument (GSI) creates designs, manufactures and promotes data reduction equipment of many types. Data reduction equipment allows complex mathematical problems to be solved quickly and accurately. Both analogue and digital systems are offered. The bulk of the product literature falls into the following categories: instruments, data reader systems, recorders, special scanning tables, oscillogram amplitude tabulators, standard system scanners, and plotters. The series is arranged alphabetically by name of product with a few exceptions.
Series 5, Instruction Manuals/User Guides, 1953-1980, undated, is divided into two subseries, Gerber Scientific Instrument Company manuals and other companies' manuals. This series contains instruction manuals, maintenance manuals, and users' guides for a variety of Gerber Scientific, Inc. products. The Gerber System Model 1434, Ultra Precise Artwork Generator which provides precision photo-plotting on photo-sensitive material is well represented among the manuals. The other companies represented include Bendix Industrial Controls and the KOH-I-NOOR Rapidograph, Inc.
Series 6, Proposals, 1961-1980, consists of bound certified and signed technical and bid proposals completed by Gerber Scientific Instrument Company detailing available and actual estimated costs and pricing data for Gerber products. The proposals were assembled for specific companies such as North American Aviation.
Series 7, Photographs, 1948-1974, undated, is further divided into three subseries: Product and Client Files, 1966-1974, undated; Gerber Scientific Instrument (Gerber Scientific Intsrument (GSI) Corporate, 1948-1970, undated; and Numerical, 1966-1974, undated photographs. The majority of photographs are 8" x 10" black-and-white prints. The product and client file photographs are arranged alphabetically. The Gerber Scientific Instrument (GSI) corporate photographs include photographs of GSI buildings both interior and exterior shots, employees, employee functions such as banquets, annual meetings, tours, stockholder meetings, and trade shows. The numerical photographs are arranged numerically according to the number assigned on the reverse of the photograph. Some of the numerical photographs are identified by product name, but others are labeled unidentified.
Series 8, Trade Literature, 1947-1992, is arranged alphabetically by company name. The trade literature in this series is from competitors or from companies that used Gerber products.
Series 9, Press Releases and Newspaper Clippings, 1943-1996, is divided into two subseries, Press Releases, 1972-1982 and Newspaper Clippings, 1943-1996. The press releases are arranged chronologically. This series contains information on H. Joseph Gerber, his company and its subsidiaries, and the garment and apparel industry. The newspaper clippings are arranged chronologically and include a wide variety of local Connecticut and United States newspapers and industry specific magazines such as Bobbin and Apparel Industry.
Series 10, Patent Records, 1911-1985, contains copies of patents, correspondence with patent attorneys and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, patent search results, and other legal filings associated with the patenting process. The materials are arranged chronologically with the name of the equipment or instruments being patented noted.
Series 11, Lectra Systèmes Litigation Materials, 1968-1990, contains documents that mainly deal with Lectra (France), but there are documents about patent infringement for Lectra (Japan) and Lectra (United Kingdom). The materials consist of depositions by David Pearl, then president of Gerber Garment Technology, and David Siegelman, then Vice President and General Manager for Lectra Systèmes, Inc., in the United States. Confidential progress reports, memoranda, correspondence, competition reports, drawings and sketches, notes, and other documents summarize events in the litigation history.
Lectra Systèmes was formed on November 12, 1973 at Bordeaux-Cestas (France) by two visionary engineers, Jean and Bernard Etcheparre. They developed a computer system, the LECteur-TRAceur 200, which automatically calculated and plotted all sizes of an item of apparel. The Lectra Systèmes litigation materials document Gerber Garment Technology's claim that Lectra infringed upon Gerber's line of cutting machines. The specific patents being infringed are United States patents: 3,955,458; 4,205,835; and 3,765,289. In September 1986, Lectra introduced a new line of cutting machines that cost roughly half as much as Gerber's top-of-the-line competing system. Gerber Garment Technology filed suit in the United States and France as Gerber Garment Technology, Inc. v. Lectra Systems, Inc. Civil Action No. 1:86-cv-2054CAM. In 1992, Lectra Systems, Inc., appealled the judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District infringement of Gerber's U.S. Patent No. 3,955,458 ('458 patent) and denied Lectra's claim that Gerber's U.S. Patent No., 4,205,835 ('835 patent) is unenforceable.
Series 12, Audio Visual Materials, 1986-1998, includes 3⁄4" U-matic, 1⁄2" VHS, audio cassettes, BetaCam SP, and one Super 8mm color, silent camera original reversal film. The majority the of audio visual materials cover interviews with H. Joseph Gerber, the National Technology of Medal ceremony, and sales and marketing footage for various Gerber products.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into twelve series.
Series 1: David R. Pearl Materials, 1968-1984
Series 2: Corporate Records, 1968-2002
Subseries 2.1: Administrative, circa 1977-1995
Subseries 2.2: Industrial Projects Eligibility Review, undated (contains articles of incorporation for Gerber Scientific)
Series 9: Press Releases and Newspaper Clippings, 1943-1998
Subseries 9.1: Press Releases, 1972-1998
Subseries 9.2: Newspaper clippings, 1943-1996
Subseries 9.3: Articles, 1969-1991
Series 10: Patent Records, 1911-1985
Series 11: Lectra Systèmes Litigation Materials, 1968-1990
Series 12: Audio Visual Materials, 1986-1998
Biographical / Historical:
Heinz Joseph "Joe" Gerber was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 17, 1924. In 1940, Gerber escaped the Nazis and immigrated to New York City and then to Hartford, Connecticut, with his mother Bertha Gerber, a dressmaker. Gerber's father, Jacob, is presumed to have died in a concentration camp. Gerber attended Weaver High School and graduated in two years (1943). He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, on a scholarship and earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1947. As a junior at RPI, Gerber developed the Gerber Variable Scale, his first invention. The earliest version of the variable scale was fashioned from an elastic band removed from a pair of pajamas. Gerber created a rubber rule and scale that could flow with a curve, expand, contract, and turn a corner. The scale allows for direct reading of curves, graphs, and graphical representations, giving direct numerical readings of proportions, spacing and interpolation. The Variable Scale became the building block of what would become Gerber Scientific Instrument Inc.
With financial assistance from Abraham Koppleman, a newspaper and magazine distributor in Hartford, Gerber and Koppleman formed a partnership and incorporated Gerber Scientific Instrument Company in 1948. Gerber served as president, Koppleman as treasurer, and Stanley Levin as secretary. The manufacture of Variable Scale was jobbed out and the distribution was conducted from Hartford. Gerber also worked as a design analytical engineer for Hamilton Standard Propellers of United Aircraft and for Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Shares of Gerber Scientific Instrument Company were eventually sold to the public in 1961, and in 1978, the company changed its name to Gerber Scientific, Inc. In the 1960s and 1970s, Gerber developed the first series of precision, computer-driven cutting systems for the apparel industry called the Gerber Cutter. The cutters introduced automation to the garment industry. In 1967, Gerber realized that the U.S. garment industry, due to a lack of automation, was faced with increasing overseas competition. Gerber's solution was to engineer the GERBERcutter S-70, a machine that cuts apparel quickly and effectively while using less cloth.
Gerber holds more than 600 United States and foreign patents. Many of his patents relate to the United States apparel industry. In 1994, Gerber was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton for helping to revolutionize the optical, garment, automotive, and other industries. His pioneering achievements include:
-a generation of data readers (electromechanical devices that converted graphical data directly into computer readable format);
-projection systems that interactively converted information from aerial photographs for use in computers;
-devices that plotted digital output data from computer cards or tape;
-digital numerically-controlled drafting machines which verify the accuracy of the cutting path of numerical machine tools;
-a photoplotter (drafting machine configured with a unique light source to directly draw high accuracy layouts of printed circuit board masters on photographic film or glass with light beams); and
-systems with laser technology to draw at high speeds.1
Subsequent subsidiaries of Gerber Scientific, Inc., were: Gerber Garment Technology, Inc. (GGT); Gerber Scientific Products, Inc. (GSP); Gerber Systems Corp. (GSC), and Gerber Optical, Inc., (GO). GGT makes computer-controlled cutting and design equipment for apparel, automotive, aerospace and other industries. GSP produces systems for sign-making and graphic arts industries. GSC makes production systems for printing, industrial machinery and other industries. GO makes equipment for the optical-lens manufacturing industry.2
In 1954, Gerber married Sonia Kanciper. They had a daughter, Melisa Tina Gerber, and a son, David Jacques Gerber. H. Joseph Gerber died on August 9, 1996, at the age of 72.
Sources
1 National Medal of Technology, 1994.
2 W. Joseph Campbell, "High Tech and Low Key as Gerber Scientific Mounts a Recovery Philosophy that Reflects Innovative Founder," Hartford Courant, May 16, 1994.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Gerber Fabric Cutter Video Documentation, February 1996 (AC0609)
This videohistory documents the inventor, engineers, assembly workers, operators and other technicians who worked with the computer-controlled fabric cutter.
Heinz Joseph Gerber Papers (AC1336)
This collection documents Joseph Gerber's personal life including his highschool and college years, correpondence with family and friends, and speeches given by Gerber throughout his life.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by David Gerber, son of H. Joseph Gerber, on December 23, 2006.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
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.
UCRL (University of California Radiation Lab) Search this
Extent:
20.5 Cubic feet (59 boxes, 4 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Technical reports
Diagrams
Notes
Memorandums
Place:
Palo Alto (Calif.)
Pittsburgh (Pa.)
Santa Monica (Calif.) -- 1950-1980
Cambridge (Mass.)
Date:
1933-1993
bulk 1950-1971
Summary:
The John Clifford Shaw papers contain reports, research notes, correspondence, memorandum, and diagrams documenting Shaw's development of one of the earliest list processing languages (IPL) and an early interactive, time sharing program, the JOHNNIAC Open Shop System (JOSS). The collection also contains printed material on the RAND Corporation and the evolution of the artificial intelligence and electronic computer industry in the 1950s and 1960s. In addition there is biographical material documenting Shaw's personal interests, family, and academic career.
Scope and Contents:
The John Clifford Shaw Papers contain reports, research notes, correspondence, memoranda, and diagrams documenting Shaw's development of one of the earliest list processing languages (IPL) and an early interactive, time sharing program, the JOHNNIAC Open Shop System (JOSS). The collection also contains printed material on the RAND Corporation and the evolution of the artificial intelligence and electronic computer industry in the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, there is biographical material documenting Shaw's personal interests, family, and academic career.
Series 1: Shaw's Career at Rand, 1950-1971, documents Shaw's most significant work. The subseries are arranged by specific projects and illustrate his pioneering work on programming languages, interactive time-sharing systems, heuristic problem solving, logic programming, stored programs, and artificial intelligence. This work included his role in the development of the JOHNNIAC computer and programs such as the Logic Theorist (LT), General Problem Solver (GPS), and the JOHNNIAC Open-Shop System (JOSS).
The materials include technical reports, research notes, correspondence, memorandum, coding sequences, and system tests. In addition, there are reports documenting the collaborative nature of the NSS team's work on human problem solving, computer simulation of human thinking, and complex information processing. The subject files in Series 1 document the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) role in the JOSS research and other work done by Shaw.
Series 2: Rand Environment, 1951-1986, is arranged into three subseries containing technical reports that document other computer related research being conducted at RAND during Shaw's tenure. These materials are not directly related to his work, including reports documenting defense related research. The series contains memoranda and correspondence illustrating the internal workings and daily operations at RAND from 1950 to 1971 and various sets of annual reports, progress reports, and newsletters from 1960 to 1971. In addition, there are historical materials commemorating RAND anniversaries, profiles of the company, and indexes to RAND publications and abstracts.
Series 3: Computer Industry, 1947-1973, consists of printed matter that documents developments at other institutions and companies engaged in artificial intelligence and programming research. The printed matter includes reports, manuals, brochures, and reprints of articles about research by other institutions, companies, and individuals. Also, there are materials from trips, conferences and seminars attended by Shaw.
Series 4: Consulting Work, 1972-1990, comprises Shaw's work after he left RAND in 1971. It consists of reports and reprints from companies and institutions for which Shaw worked or from those he saw as potential clients. Of particular interest are the research notes, on note cards and 8.5" x 11" paper that illuminate Shaw's ideas and thoughts regarding artificial intelligence and programming languages during this period.
Series 5: Biographical Information, 1933-1993, consists of printed matter regarding Shaw's life and accomplishments. It contains resumes, list of publications and lectures, salary history, and the outline for a book on JOSS. Material on Shaw's personal life includes information about his family, personal correspondence with Herbert Simon, Allen Newell and his wife, Marian, Chuck Baker, Edward Feigenbaum, and correspondence from authors requesting information or comment on future publications. Additionally, there are reprints and clippings that reveal Shaw's personal interests in political issues such as the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, the making of the hydrogen bomb, and Star Wars Defense Technology.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into five series.
Series 1: Shaw's Career at Rand, 1950-1971
Subseries 1.1: JOHNNIAC, 1950-1968
Subseries 1.2: Logic Therorist [See also Complex Information Processing], 1956-1963
Subseries 1.3: General Problem Solver (G.P.S.) and Heuristic Problem Solving, 1955-1967
Subseries 1.4: Chess Program, 1954-1973
Subseries 1.5: Complex Information Processing (C.I.P.), 1953-1972
Subseries 1.6: Information Processing Languages (IPL), 1956-1977
Subseries 1.7: JOHNNIAC Open Shop System (JOSS), 1959-1977
Subseries 1.8: Subject Files, 1954-1971
Series 2: Rand Environment, 1951-1986
Subseries 2.1: Related Papers and Reports (RM-Series), 1951-1972
Subseries 2.2: Reports and Papers—General, 1949-1971
Subseries 2.3: RAND Material, 1948-1988
Series 3: Computer Industry, 1947-1973
Series 4: Consulting Work, 1972-1990
Series 5: Biographical Information, 1933-1993
Biographical / Historical:
John Clifford Shaw (1922-1991) was born in Southern California. Shaw went to Fullerton High School, the same high school as Richard Nixon. Shaw's English teacher was Nixon's high school debate team coach. Shaw attended Fullerton Junior College from 1939 until February 1943. At the same time, he worked as a timekeeper at the Douglas Aircraft Company, where he was responsible for time-card calculations and reports. He served in the Army Air Force for three years during World War II as a navigation instructor and then aircraft navigator in the 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron in Iwo Jima, Japan. Shaw returned to California in 1947 and began working for the Beneficial Standard Life Insurance Company as an assistant to the actuary, compiling actuarial calculations of premium rates, reserve liabilities, and annual reports. Shaw and his wife Marian had four children: Doug (b. 1948), David (b. 1950), Donna (b. 1952), and John (b. 1962). By 1948, Shaw received his Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from UCLA and in 1950 joined the newly formed RAND Corporation as a mathematician.
The RAND Corporation evolved during the years after World War II amidst the escalating Cold War. Project RAND was originally carried out under a contract with the Douglas Aircraft Company. RAND was incorporated in May 1948. RAND, a California nonprofit corporation, was one of the earliest Cold War "think tanks" that functioned as an interdisciplinary research and development facility; it received large sums of money from the Air Force and Atomic Energy Commission. Throughout the 1950s, other agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) solicited scientific and foreign policy research from RAND. During Shaw's tenure (1950-1971), money flowed into RAND and enabled many scientists and researchers, including Shaw and his colleagues in the Math and Numerical Analysis Department, to explore new avenues of discovery.
Shaw's early work at RAND involved administrative matters, such as improving the processes of company management through automation of the computation and calculation techniques. This work included collaboration with Allen Newell on a radar simulator. In the mid-1950s, Newell and Shaw, and later Dr. Herbert Simon of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, formed the team known by the mid-1950s in the artificial intelligence field as NSS (Newell, Shaw, and Simon). The NSS team broke much ground in the field of artificial intelligence, programming languages, computer simulation of human problem solving, and man-machine communication. The radar simulator project involved studying how humans made decisions and whether one could design a program that could simulate human decision-making. While Newell and Simon concentrated on the human behavior aspect, Shaw focused on creating a programming language that would implement Simon and Newell's concepts.
When Shaw began working in 1950, RAND was using six IBM 604 calculators to satisfy its scientific computing needs. In the early 1950s, RAND decided that it needed more computational power to accomplish projects for the Air Force and decided to build a Princeton-type computer named JOHNNIAC, after computer designer John von Neumann. The Princeton Class computer was considered state-of-the-art and was running at RAND by the first half of 1953. William Gunning was the project leader and Shaw worked on the selection of the instruction set and the design of the operator's console. The JOHNNIAC became the basis for Shaw's work on conversational time-sharing in the 1960s.
During the early 1950s, the dynamic of the innovative process was at work as Shaw and Newell in California, and Simon in Pittsburgh, were theorizing about human decision making, programming languages, and how computers could be manipulated to process information more productively. Air Force funding enabled Shaw and his colleague's considerable intellectual and academic freedom to explore various hypotheses. In the mid-1950s, NSS began forming the theoretical basis for what they called Complex Information Processing (C.I.P.). C.I.P was the basis for the three main computer programs developed by NSS: the Chess Program, Logic Theorist (LT), and the General Problem Solver (GPS). By 1954, Shaw's focus was on utilizing the power of the JOHNNIAC to develop a viable language that could simulate human behavior.
In early 1954, Newell left RAND for Pittsburgh to work with Simon; Shaw remained at RAND. The NSS team focused on creating programs that would enable a machine to exhibit intelligent behavior and "think" like a human. Chess and the Logic Theorist (LT) were the first programs that evolved from their work. Shaw dealt with the programming aspects, as Simon devoted his time to human thinking processes for chess, logic, and problem solving. Newell, who was still employed by RAND, was the middle man who worked both in programming and human behavior. He flew back to California every couple of months in 1954 and 1955 to confer with Shaw. Because of language limitations, the chess program was temporarily put aside as NSS decided to finish the LT. Known as IPL (Information Processing Language), the language developed by Shaw was one of the first list processing languages. Through experimentation with assemblers, compilers, and interpreters, Shaw developed list processing sequences that allowed the computer to arrange and store data more effectively. The effectiveness stemmed from links that formed the lists. From a storage point of view, lists were inefficient. Shaw translated Simon and Newell's ideas into IPL. The IPL interpreter was able to compile and translate higher level language statements into machine language. The interpreters process the statements and carry out the indicated operations without generating machine code which must then be executed. Although not specifically programmed so, one of LT's innovative characteristics was that it proved mathematical theorems from Whitehead and Russell's Principia Mathematica, including a proof from Theorem 2.85 that the authors had missed. This was the most fascinating aspect of the program because LT was not programmed to find alternative proofs.
The NSS team's work on the LT was completed by the end of 1955, and it perfected the program language in the winter and spring of 1956. LT was one of the earliest programs to investigate the use of heuristics in problem solving. It was capable of discovering and working out proofs for theorems in symbolic logic. In the summer of 1956, NSS presented the LT program to the artificial intelligence community at the Dartmouth Artificial Intelligence Conference. Relatively unknown at the time, NSS excited the conference with the LT and the possibilities it opened in the study of programming languages and artificial intelligence.
The NSS team continued to focus on developing artificial intelligence. By 1957, NSS had constructed the General Problem Solver (GPS) program that attempted to demonstrate various human thinking processes in a variety of environments. At RAND and Carnegie Tech, studies were conducted that had human subjects think aloud in hopes of identifying human problem solving techniques and simulating them in GPS. NSS codified some human problem solving techniques such as means-end analysis, planning, and trial and error. Through the end of the 1950s, NSS produced improved versions of the IPL language and studied heuristic methods of decision making.
By 1960, when the JOHNNIAC was of insufficient computing power to support the level of computation needed, and IPL had been reprogrammed for the IBM 7090, List Processing (LISP), a high-level programming language had overtaken IPL as the language of choice for Artificial Intelligence research. Shaw's interests had shifted towards attempting to simplify the use of computers for all types of computer users. Simon and Newell continued to study how they could simulate human cognitive processes on a computer. Until this point, a user would have to be adequately trained in programming or need assistance from a programmer to use a computer like JOHNNIAC. Shaw was interested in programming the JOHNNIAC so RAND staff could utilize the computer for small as well as large scientific computations. The JOHNNIAC was available for experimental research projects because RAND owned a newer IBM 7090 (acquired in 1960) which handled the bulk of RAND's production computing load. Although JOHNNIAC was no longer state-of-the-art by this time, its major appeal was its reliability and capability for experimentation.
These factors were the impetus for the initiation of the JOHNNIAC Open-Shop System (JOSS) project in November 1960. JOSS was intended to be an easy to use, on-line, time sharing system. The JOSS research, conducted under the Information Processor Project, was formalized in 1959 as part of the RAND Computer Science Department and was heavily funded by the Air Force. The innovative character of JOSS was in the ease of use for the non-programmer, its remote access capabilities, the establishment of an interactive environment between user and computer, and the capability for RAND scientists and engineers to use the computer without an intermediary programmer. It was hoped that the JOSS project would bridge the communication gap between man and machine. JOSS's user language achieved this goal. It featured a small set of English verbs and algebraic symbols which did not need a programmer as intermediary between user and computer. During 1961-1962, Shaw selected the character set that would be used to write JOSS programs, its syntax, and grammar. The conversational environment included a Model B IBM Electric Typewriter. Tom Ellis and Mal Davis directed the hardware configurations and Ike Hehama, Allen Newell, and Keith Uncapher participated in the project discussions with Shaw.
The very limited JOSS experiments on the JOHNNIAC began in May 1963, with five consoles, one connected to the JOHNNIAC and four others located in the offices of various RAND staff. By June, a schedule of operations was in place and by January 1964, JOSS was fully implemented. The use of JOSS by RAND staff was higher than expected as users taught other users how to run the system. However, Shaw and the other designers worried that JOHNNIAC's hardware placed limitations on speed and storage which might taint the evaluation of JOSS. In July 1964, a second version of JOSS was proposed on a more powerful computer. C.L. Baker was named project head, and Shaw focused on developing the programming language for JOSS II.
After accepting numerous bids to replace JOHNNIAC, a contract was signed with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) promising the installation of a PDP-6 computer and thirty consoles at RAND. The installation was completed by October 31, 1965. At the Fall Joint Computer Conference in Las Vegas in December 1965, the first demonstration of remote use of JOSS II was given. JOHNNIAC was retired on February 18, 1966, with Willis Ware delivering a eulogy and Shaw loading a final JOSS I program. By the end of 1966, JOSS II was available to users 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the new PDP-6/JOSS computer, which had thirty times the speed and five times the storage capacity as the JOHNNIAC version. In April 1967, the maintenance and improvement of JOSS II was transferred from the development group to a small staff under G.W. Armending. In 1971, at age 49, Shaw left the RAND Corporation.
In 1971, Shaw took a one-year appointment as a Research Associate in the Information Science Department at the California Institute of Technology. In 1972, he began working as a consultant which he continued for the rest of his professional career. Much of his work in the 1970s and 1980s consisted of formulating new ideas on operations research, video games, man-machine interfaces, interactive computer systems, time-sharing, information architecture design, and artificial intelligence. During the 1980s, Shaw also became more involved in church-related activities.
Shaw's work on creating the Information Processing Language in the 1950s and the JOSS program in the 1960s were the two major contributions he made to the fields of programming and artificial intelligence. His IPL-I programming language is one of the earliest examples of list processing languages now in widespread use. The JOSS program was one of the first easy-to use, remotely accessible, interactive programs that allowed non-programmers to utilize the power of a computer.
Related Materials:
Material in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Computer Oral History Collection, AC0196
Material in Other Institutions
Charles Babbage Institute
L.A. County Museum
For RAND reports see www.RAND.org
Provenance:
The collection was donated by John Clifford Shaw's eldest son, Doug Shaw, March 1997.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
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.
