Search Results

Creator:

Associated American Artists  Search this

Names:

Lewenthal, Reeves, 1909-1987  Search this

Liederman, Maurice J.  Search this

Wood, Grant, 1891-1942  Search this

Extent:

55 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Date:

circa 1934-1983

Summary:

The records of the Associated American Artists measure 55 linear feet and date from circa 1934 through 1983. The organization was founded in 1934 to stimulate interest in prints throughout the United States by promoting the sale of prints through department stores and other venues. Later, other genres of works of art were added and the department store abandoned in favor of a New York headquarters. The records contain voluminous files on artists; dealers, galleries, and museums; and clients. Also found is business correspondence, financial records, sales and exhibition catalogs, thirteen dismantled scrapbooks, and posters.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the Associated American Artists measure 55 linear feet and date from circa 1934 through 1983. They document the organization's work producing and selling limited-edition prints by American artists. The records contain voluminous files on artists; dealers, galleries, and museums; and clients. Also found is business correspondence, financial records, sales and exhibition catalogs, thirteen dismantled scrapbooks, and posters.

The dates of the records include the portion that was loaned to the Archives in 1965-1966 and microfilmed on reels D254-D256.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 9 series:

Series 1: Artist Files,1951-1983 (Box 1-19; 18.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Dealers, Galleries and Museums, circa 1958-1980 (Box 19-29; 10.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Client Files, circa 1958-1980 (Box 29-48; 19 linear feet)

Series 4: Business Correspondence, 1959-1980 (Box 48-49; 2 linear feet)

Series 5: Financial Records, 1960-1981 (Box 50-51; 1 linear feet)

Series 6: Sales Catalogs, 1955-1979 (Box 51-53; 2 linear feet)

Series 7: Exhibition Catalogs, 1950-1978 (Box 54; 1 linear foot)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1958-1980 (Box 55-57; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 9: Posters, circa 1960s-1970s

Historical Note:

The Associated American Artists was created in 1934 with the mission of bridging the gap between artists and their audiences by making fine art affordable, accessible, and attractive for the general American public. The A.A.A. offered new editions of prints to collectors at very reasonable prices. This was accomplished by publishing limited-edition prints of etchings and lithographs by American artists that sold for as little as five dollars each. The organization commissioned original graphic art from many notable American artists, whose art often reflected or commented on the social ideas of the era. All lithographs and etchings were produced in editions ranging from 125 to 250 impressions. Between 1934 and 1945, the organization published more than 600 limited-edition prints. An early collaboration allowed the prints to be displayed and sold in fifty department stores nationwide. Later, the department stores were abandoned in favor of a headquarters in a gallery in New York City. By the 1950s, the organization began to design fabrics as well.

The organization was also notable for its innovative use of modern merchandising and advertising techniques to sell and introduce high-quality artwork to a broad audience. New products were introduced in newspaper articles and magazines that targeted both the public and professional trade audiences. Prints were also advertised on the back of periodicals, which introduced the art to an even wider audience across the country.

Separated Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reels D254-D256 and 3176. Reels D254-D256 include material related to the Associated American Artists' records that were returned to the lender. Reel 3176 contains photocopies of correspondence between Grant Wood, Reeves Lewnthal, and Maurice Liederman and that were discarded after microfilming. This material is not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

Sylvan Cole and Adolf Dehn loaned the Archives of American Art related Associated American Artists' records for microfilming on reels D254-D256 in 1965-1966. Mrs. Allan Kine gave photocopies of correspondence on reel 3176 to the Archives in 1974. The Associated American Artists donated all other material begining in the late 1970s through 1988.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C., facility.

Rights:

The Associated American Artists records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Artists -- United States  Search this

Art -- Marketing  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Citation:

Associated American Artists records, circa 1934-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.assoamea

See more items in:

Associated American Artists records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-assoamea

Creator:

American Art Association  Search this

Names:

American Watercolor Society  Search this

Blakeslee Galleries (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919  Search this

Crocker, William H.  Search this

Kirby, Thomas Ellis, 1846-1924  Search this

Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912  Search this

Parsons, Alfred, 1847-1920  Search this

Extent:

27.8 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sales records

Photographs

Drawings

Prints

Sketches

Date:

circa 1853-1929

bulk 1885-1922

Summary:

The American Art Association records measure 27.8 linear feet and date from circa 1853-1929, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1885-1922. The records include auction and sales files, general financial and legal files, inventory and stock records, client files, printed materials, photographic materials, artwork, and the personal papers of founder Thomas Ellis Kirby.

Scope and Contents:

The American Art Association records measure 27.8 linear feet and date from circa 1853-1929, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1885-1922. The records include auction and sales files, general financial and legal files, inventory and stock records, client files, printed materials, photographic materials, artwork, and the scattered personal papers of founder Thomas Ellis Kirby.

Auction files contain a wide variety of materials regarding auction schedules, auctions, gallery sales, and estate sales. The files primarily contain correspondence, sales statements and ledgers, estate inventories and appraisals, and photographs. Of interest is a handwritten letter from Andrew Carnegie concerning the Second Prize Fund Exhibition.

Records of sales are documented in named files, sales ledgers, client account books, and Blakeslee Gallery sales ledgers. Files are found for specific art collections and estates. Sales ledgers list sales transactions of the Association by collection, department, genre, or named auction and provide the most detailed sales information, often noting title or subject, size, owner, lot number, date, purchaser, and price, and sometimes an index of artists. Other ledgers document consignment and exhibition sales, as well as sales conducted by other galleries or auction houses, both in the United States and in Europe. Exhibition sales documented include those of Alfred Parsons and Frank Millet in 1903, the American Watercolor Society in 1902, and the American Painters and Illustrators in 1905, and others. Client account books provide itemized costs accrued by individuals or estates over the course of a sale or purchase. Many of the ledgers contain name indexes.

General financial and legal files primarily consist of cash and expense ledgers documenting daily, monthly, and yearly costs and expenses related to the production of auction and sales catalogs, costs associated with leasing spaces and equipment, shipping and crating, employee sales commissions, art department expenses, book department expenses, and other costs. Legal files contain scattered forms and contractual documents, as well as correspondence and documents related to two lawsuits.

Inventory and stock records document the Association's inventory through a series of stock books and inventory cards that include sales and provenance information.

Client files consist of cards divided into clients interested in art and clients interested in books. They also include some information on specific client sales and purchases. Also found are numerous client address books. Printed materials include auction catalogs, clippings, and newspapers.

Photographs depict works of art and materials sold and collected. Of interest is a collection of cabinet photographs of French artists collected when the American Art Association was actively involved in the auction sales of thousands of paintings by French artists. Also found are four photo albums depicting auction items for a 1907 auction, prepared for the American Art Association by William H. Crocker. Several unsigned prints, sketches, and drawings are found in the artwork series.

Thomas Ellis Kirby's scattered personal papers include an address book, scattered family and biographical materials, correspondence with clients and associates, writings and speeches, legal material, auction records, and photographs.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series. Folder titles have been retained from the original records, and occasionally devised for clarity.

Series 1: Auctions, circa 1885-1922 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, BV23-24)

Series 2: Sales, circa 1884-1923 (8.1 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 20-21, BV25-39)

Series 3: General Financial and Legal Files, circa 1883-1923 (9.3 linear feet; Boxes 6-11, BV40-62)

Series 4: Inventory and Stock Records, circa 1887-circa 1922 (0.8 linear feet; Box 11, BV63-65)

Series 5: Client Files, circa 1895-circa 1922 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 11-13)

Series 6: Printed Materials, circa 1853-1923 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 13-14, 21)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1885-circa 1922 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 14-15, 21-22)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1888-circa 1900 (0.1 linear feet; Boxes 15, 22)

Series 9: Thomas Ellis Kirby Personal Papers, circa 1861-1929 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 15-19)

Biographical / Historical:

The American Art Association was an art gallery and auction house based in New York City, New York, formed in 1883 by James F. Sutton, R. Austin Robertson, and Thomas E. Kirby. It was the first auction house in the United States.

The Association was founded to promote American art and exhibit the work of American artists in its American Art Galleries in New York City. In its first year of operation, the Association exhibited Thomas B. Clarke's collection of American paintings as a benefit for the National Academy of Design. After the successful management of the public sale of the George I. Seney art collection in 1885, with Thomas E. Kirby as auctioneer, the Association continued conducting auctions and managing estate sales. Austin Robertson died in 1892 and Sutton became a special partner in 1895. In 1912 Kirby's son, Gustavus T. Kirby, joined the Association as a general partner and later also acquired Sutton's interest and became a full partner. The Association was sold in 1923 to Cortlandt Field Bishop, and merged with the Anderson Auction Company to form the American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Inc, in 1929. The firm was taken over by Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., in 1938.

Provenance:

A portion of the American Art Association records were donated in 1968 by Thomas Ellis Kirby's daughter, Mrs. Thomas B. Waller. The remaining records were donated by the American Antiquarian Society in 1978 and 1993.

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.

Rights:

The American Art Association records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Art dealers  Search this

Auctioneers  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- Economic aspects  Search this

Art, French  Search this

Art auctions  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Auctions  Search this

Artists -- France -- Photographs  Search this

Art -- Societies, etc. -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Artists -- United States  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sales records

Photographs

Drawings

Prints

Sketches

Citation:

American Art Association Records, circa 1853-1929, bulk circa 1885-1922. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.amerarta

See more items in:

American Art Association Records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-amerarta

Creator:

Underwood & Underwood  Search this

Publisher:

American Stereoscopic Co.  Search this

H. C. White Co.  Search this

Killela, J.J.  Search this

Underwood, Bert, 1862-1943  Search this

Underwood, Elmer, 1859-1947  Search this

Photographer:

Ponting, Herbert George, 1870-1935  Search this

Underwood, Bert, 1862-1943  Search this

Underwood, Elmer, 1859-1947  Search this

White, Clarence W.  Search this

Extent:

160 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Stereographs

Photographs

Stereoscopic photographs

Lantern slides

Date:

1895-1921

Scope and Contents:

The major part of the collection, series 1-4, contains nearly 28,000 glass plates, including original stereoscopic negatives, interpositives, and both negative and positive non-stereoscopic plates used to produce lantern slides and paper prints. The photographs were taken all over the world. The majority are from the Underwood & Underwood active files, but plates from other publishers are also included. Series 5 is a small collection of paper stereographs. Series 6 contains 4 Underwood & Underwood descriptive sales catalogs and 1 H. C. White & Co. catalog (numbers on the Underwood plates correspond to the numbers on catalog captions). Series 7 is apparatus--four stereoscopes.

The approximately 28,000 glass plates in this collection have not been completely inspected at this point due to handling problems associated with asbestos contamination of the collection. A preliminary survey, however, indicated that the selections of images cover the full range of subject matter encompassed by the "Underwood Travel System." The subject matter is most easily comprehended by consulting one of the Underwood sales catalogs which accompany the collection. The catalog captions are arranged geographically, for the most part, and generally represent an organized "tour" which could be purchased as a boxed set, complete with maps and guide book, although individual images could be purchased separately. The catalogs indicate that the Underwood files were continually updated, for extensive modifications in some of the sets can be seen from edition to edition, and actual inspection of published stereographs shows that alternate views with identical Underwood catalog numbers were substituted from time to time, and that new subjects (with new catalog numbers) were sometimes introduced into the sets and old subjects were retired. There are glass plate negatives as well as positives in this collection. The positive images were probably interpositives used for the production of duplicate negatives. Some of the original stereo negatives were cut apart and the images transposed; they were then bound with an additional glass support (in many cases the tape has deteriorated). Half stereo positives also appear in the collection: these probably were intended for use in lantern slide production. Frequently a drawer of plates contains several incarnations of a single image, including the original negative, a copy negative, an interpositive, and a positive lantern slide. In other cases a drawer may contain only a single mode, e.g., original negatives, while corresponding positives and/or lantern slides appear in separate drawers.

A small quantity of the Underwood & Underwood plates are not from the Travel System, but represent humorous and genre subjects which were cataloged and marketed separately. The work of several other publishers, usually without Underwood catalog numbers, is also represented, including H. C. White, American Stereoscopic Company, and J. J. Killela.

The arrangement of the collection seems to reflect a combination of permanent reference storage as well as active use files. The apparent anomalies or inconsistencies probably indicate the pulling of plates from permanent files into temporary work files, and the collection may consist of a combination of permanent storage and temporary working files. As the drawers do not appear to have been renumbered according to any easily discernible pattern, they have become intermixed and rearranged in storage. The contents of each drawer usually have been found in good order, however, and the plates were nearly always arranged numerically,usually with the low numbers at the rear of the drawer and the highest number at the front. As the plates have been rehoused, the reverse numerical order has been corrected. When all the plates have been rehoused and inventoried, consideration will be given to general collection rearrangement and renumbering of the containers, either strictly in numerical order or topically and/or geographically with a numerical sequence within each group.

The collection is in good condition for the most part, although conservation attention will be required. There is a certain amount of emulsion peeling or frilling at the edges of some plates, but this is a condition to which emulsions on glass frequently are prone. A few plates, bound in a sandwich arrangement between cover glass and acetate facing the emulsion, have suffered severe damage, peeling, and image losses through the apparent ferrotyping and sticking of emulsion to the plastic, probably under conditions of high humidity at some stage. There is surprisingly little glass breakage within the collection.

Most of the stereoscopic negatives and many of the positives are defaced with a double "XI' scratched into the emulsion of either the left or right side, as described above in the historical note. Of particular interest and presumed rarity are cards found interfiled with plates in many of the drawers. These cards, filed by Underwood (i.e., catalog) numbers, bear printing'or production dates and notes, along with the unique, chronological accession numbers which the company assigned to each plate, regardless of the "active" number which it might eventually receive. A check mark on a card usually refers to a plate actually in the collection and with which the card is found physically associated; additional accession numbers without check marks listed on the cards possibly refer to variant views which were discarded or may in fact be in the Keystone Mast Collection (pending further research). For ease of handling and in the interest of conservation, the cards have been separated from the plates within each drawer and are arranged as a group at the rear, but can still be located easily. Frequently when a plate and/or its original envelope does not bear both the "active" and accession numbers, the missing number can be located on one of these cards.

Photographers represented include Herbert G. Ponting and Clarence W. White. A photographer and/or publisher named J. J. Killela is also represented.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in seven series. Series 1, 2, and 3 are each divided into negative and positive subseries. Plates are arranged numerically in groups based on geographical and subject content. Controlled at the series level in the finding aid and at the item level in a computer database.

Series 1, H. C. White glass plates

Series 2, American Stereoscpopic Co. glass plates

Series 3, Underwood & Underwood glass plates

Series 4, Broken glass plates

Series 5, Original company catalogs

Series 6, Paper stereographs

Series 7, stereoscopes (viewers)

Biographical / Historical:

Underwood & Underwood was established at Ottawa, Kansas, by the young brothers Elmer and Bert Underwood in 1882. They initially operated as distributors for eastern photographers' stereographs to new markets in the West. Their activities included door to door canvassing with views by Charles Bierstadt, J. F. Jarvis, and Littleton View Co.(1) Underwood & Underwood, Publishers, opened a branch office in Baltimore in 1887.(2)

Soon Underwood & Underwood and other large stereograph publishers began recruiting college students to work as salesmen during summer months (1890). Underwood and Underwood claimed that their organization alone sent out as many as 3,000 college students in one Summer [sic]. With the other ... big companies each employing more than 1,000, it is easy to understand how the countryside of the Nation literally swarmed with stereograph salesmen throughout the summer months! ... The competition between the salesmen themselves was likewise aggressive, with no holds barred. Many successful business and professional men of today relate with considerable pride that they got their start on their careers in this practical and very effective school of salesmanship.(3)

The company moved its main office from Ottawa, Kansas to New York City (1891),(4) and gradually began to publish its own stereographs. Bert Underwood finally took photography lessons from M. Abel in Mentone, France during the same year.(5) B. L. Singley, erstwhile salesman for the Underwood & Underwood and James M. Davis & Co. firms, in 1892 formed the Keystone View Company of Meadville, Pennsylvania, which was to become Underwood & Underwood's chief competitor and imitator.(6)

Underwood & Underwood entered the education market (1895) by producing packaged sets of 100 or more stereographs with descriptive texts.(7) From 1897 the firm employed full time staff photographers as well as free lancers. By 1901 the Underwoods were publishing 25,000 stereographs per day (i.e.,total number of cards). Increasing production levels led them to gain control of the Jarvis, Bierstadt, and William H. Rau photoprinting facilities in 1897 1898.(8)

The Keystone view Company created its own Educational Department in 1898. This division sustained the Keystone View Company past the period of the stereograph's popularity. In this year Underwood & Underwood reprinted Oliver Wendell Holmes's series on the stereograph and stereoscope which originally appeared in The Atlantic Monthly between 1859 and 1863. This eighty page booklet included testimonials from eminent scholars on the value of the stereograph in education. The company had been test marketing what itlater called "The Underwood Travel System." This consisted of a boxed set of stereo views of a country or region, a guide book describing the significance of the places shown, and a map showing their location and the viewpoints from which the stereographs were taken. Captions on the backs of the stereographs were sometimes printed in six languages.(9) As stereographs began to be used in schools as visual aids, the firm promoted its Travel System with endorsements from prominent educators, citing the usage of the system by various schools and universities.(10)

The H. C. White Company, which had manufactured stereoscopes for several decades, entered the stereo publication field in 1899.(11) Much of its production seemed to imitate Underwood & Underwood cards, including typography and the color of mount stock. Underwood & Underwood expanded into news photography by 1910 and gradually decreased its stereographic work. Few new stereo negatives were added to the file after 1912 except for a flurry of activity during the early war years, 1914 1916. The total number of Underwood & Underwood "titles" in stereo were from 30,000 to 40,000 (there might be a substantially larger number of actual negatives, since the files frequently were updated with newer views for old catalog numbers).(12)

Underwood & Underwood sold a portion of its negative file to the educational division of Keystone View Company in 1912,(13) and between 1921 1923 conveyed to this competitor their remaining stereo stock (presumably both cards and negatives) and rights.(14) In addition to its involvement as a news photographic agency, the company eventually opened portrait studios which flourished during the World war II years. A former Smithsonian employee, Vince Connolly, worked for Underwood & Underwood, which competed with Harris & Ewing in general portrait work during that period: he did portraiture and other photography, but says he was unaware of his employer's earlier stereo publishing activities.

Underwood & Underwood donated approximately 6000 negatives to the Section of Photography of the Division of Graphic Arts (1964). These photographs are primarily 4" x 5", captioned glass plate and film negatives. The subjects are news events and theatrical, sports, and political subjects of the early 20th century. In a letter to the Smithsonian of March 25, 1966 (in accession number 270586), Mrs. John M. Stratton described another collection of Underwood & Underwood photographs, stating that her husband had been a partner in Underwood & Underwood Illustrations and owned Underwood & Underwood News Photos. In November of the same year Mr. and Mrs. Stratton donated this collection of glass plates by Underwood & Underwood and other publishers to the Division of Photographic History (then the Section of Photography of the Division of Graphic Arts) . This material consists of both negative and positive stereographic plates, as well as non stereoscopic plates, chiefly copies made from the stereographs, with some catalogs, stereoscopes, and other material. The donor estimated 12,900 plates, but in 1983 the Smithsonian Institution inventory yielded a total of approximately 28,000 plates.

The Keystone View Company's stereoscopic production continued much later than Underwood & Underwood's. It was not until 1939 when declining interest in stereography led the firm to discontinue stereograph production and enter the field of visual optometrics. The stereoscopic negative collection, including material obtained from Underwood & Underwood and other firms, was placed in storage in concrete vaults. The Mast family of Davenport, Iowa, eventually purchased the collection in 1963, and in 1977 donated the collection to the University of California for its California Museum of Photography in Riverside. The University took physical possession of this vast collection in 1979.(15)

Many of the Underwood & Underwood plates donated by the Strattons (which were transferred to the Archives Center in 1983), in effect have been cancelled by having diagonal lines (double "X" marks) scratched into the emulsion of either the left or right image of each stereo pair (never both sides). These cancellation marks do not appear on the Underwood & Underwood plates in the Keystone Mast Collection in Riverside. This leads to several theories: (a) that these cancellations were in fact the reason that the Smithsonian plates were not purchased by Keystone in either 1912 or 1921, since Keystone clearly intended to use the Underwood material for stereograph production and the defaced plates would be of no value to them for this purpose; or (b), as stereo collector John Waldsmith suggests, that the cancellations were part of an agreement between Underwood & Underwood and Keystone: Keystone may have asked Underwood & Underwood to cancel one side of each stereoscopic plate not being sold to Keystone so that Underwood & Underwood would no longer be able to compete with Keystone in the stereo market. The defaced plates, as well as other material which Keystone did not purchase, apparently remained in Underwood custody and eventually were acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Stratton. The cancellation marks in the Smithsonian's collection are the subject of further conjecture. Edward Earle at Riverside feels that, since Underwood & Underwood sought to abandonded stereograph production much earlier than Keystone's departure from the field in order to enter the non stereoscopic lantern slide market, the cancellation may have served to indicate which side of each sterescopic pair should be converted to lantern slide production use; the existence of the 4" x 5" copy negatives and positives from stereographs in this collection seem to corroborate this. The Underwood & Underwood conversion from stereograph to lantern slide materials seems to coincide with the ascendance of lantern slide projection as visual aids in schools. The company apparently modified the type of photographic product which they published at least partially in recognition of this new educational trend.

NOTES

1. edward W. Earle, ed., Points of View: The Stereograph in America A Cultural @ Visual 'g . E!Ltory, Rochester, F.Y., Th Studies Workshop ress, 1979, p. 60; William Culp Darrah, The World of Stereographs, Gettysburg, Pa., 1979, p. 46.

2. Tbid., p. 62.

3. George E. Hamilton, Oliver Wendell Holmes, His Pioneer SLtuereoscope and Later Industry, New York, New )men Society, 1949, p. 17, quoted in Points of 1=e w:, 6 4 . P.

4. Points of View., p. 66.

5. Darrah, p. 47.

6. points of View, p. 66.

7. Ibid., p. 68.

8. Darrah, p. 47.

9. Points of View, p. 70.

10. Howard S. Becker, "Steteographs: Local, National, and International Art Worlds," in Points of View, p. 95. 11. points of View, p. 72.

12. Darrah, p. 48.

13. Darrah, p. 48, quoted in Points of View, P. 82.

14. Darrah, p. 48.

15. Chris J. Kenney, introduction to "Perspective and the Past: The Keystone Mast Collection," CMP Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1982.

Related Materials:

California Museum of Photography, University of California--Riverside, Riverside, California 92521.

Underwood & Underwood stereographs in this collection and the Smithsonian Underwood & Underwood Collection originally were components of the same company file.

Provenance:

Collection donated by June Stratton (Mrs. John M.) on December 19, 1966.

Restrictions:

The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment.

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:

Traveling sales personnel  Search this

Travel photography -- 1890-1930  Search this

Genre/Form:

Stereographs -- 1890-1930

Photographs -- Interpositives -- Glass -- 1890-1930

Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- 1890-1930

Photographs -- 1900-1950

Stereoscopic photographs -- Glass -- 1890-1930

Lantern slides

Photographs -- 1890-1900

Citation:

Underwood &Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0143

See more items in:

Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0143

Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

2.35 Cubic feet (consisting of 5 boxes, 1 folder, 1 oversize folder, 3 map case folders, plus digital images of some collection material. )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Print advertising

Correspondence

Recipes

Advertising mail

Trade cards

Commercial catalogs

Advertising fliers

Mail order catalogs

Advertising cards

Advertising

Illustrations

Printed materials

Business records

Business letters

Trade literature

Trade catalogs

Printed material

Reports

Periodicals

Invoices

Sales catalogs

Receipts

Ephemera

Letterheads

Manuals

Business cards

Sales records

Printed ephemera

Catalogs

Sales letters

Legal documents

Publications

Catalogues

Business ephemera

Date:

1791-1964

bulk 1840-1925

Summary:

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

Scope and Contents:

The meat category primarily covers beef, pork, and seafood. Material related to seafood, including clams, oysters, fish, and shellfish, is significant. Additional animal protein sources may be present, especially within the recipes. Several professional associations documents and promotional materials are included. For chicken and other fowl, see subject category Poultry.

Materials represent a sampling of transactional records such as bills, invoices and receipts, marketing material, shipping services for goods, butchering, and preparation for consumption.

Arrangement:

Meat is arranged in three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material



Genre



Subject

Forms Part Of:

Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material

Provenance:

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

Restrictions:

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

Rights:

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

Topic:

Slaughtering and slaughter-houses  Search this

Livestock  Search this

Food processing plants  Search this

Canning and preserving  Search this

Ranching  Search this

Packing-houses  Search this

Sausages  Search this

Buffalo  Search this

Food industry and trade  Search this

Meat -- Packing  Search this

Seafood  Search this

Food  Search this

Meat industry  Search this

Meat industry and trade  Search this

Sales promotion  Search this

Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this

Fisheries -- Equipment and supplies  Search this

Fisheries  Search this

Fish and fisheries  Search this

Patents  Search this

Fishing  Search this

Trade associations  Search this

Genre/Form:

Print advertising

Correspondence

Recipes

Advertising mail

Trade cards

Commercial catalogs

Advertising fliers

Mail order catalogs

Advertising cards

Advertising

Illustrations

Printed materials

Business records

Business letters

Trade literature

Trade catalogs

Printed material

Reports

Periodicals

Invoices

Sales catalogs

Receipts

Ephemera

Letterheads

Manuals

Business cards

Sales records

Printed ephemera

Catalogs

Sales letters

Legal documents

Publications

Catalogues

Business ephemera

Citation:

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

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Meat

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Meat

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

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

Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Names:

Tiffany and Company  Search this

Extent:

2.31 Cubic feet (consisting of 4.5 boxes, 1 folder, 4 oversize folders, 1 map case folder, 1 flat box (partial). )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Mail order catalogs

Catalogues

Commercial correspondence

Advertisements

Trade literature

Business records

Commercial catalogs

Exhibition catalogs

Ephemera

Invoices

Print advertising

Business cards

Auction catalogs

Trade catalogs

Manuals

Sales records

Manufacturers' catalogs

Sales letters

Business letters

Periodicals

Business ephemera

Trade cards

Illustrations

Sales catalogs

Correspondence

Receipts

Catalogs

Printed ephemera

Letterheads

Publications

Date:

1823-1947

Summary:

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

Scope and Contents:

Products represented are predominately household, personal item, and religious articles made from silver such as spoons, flatware, wedding silver, bridal sets, cutlery, utensils, drinking mugs, cups, serving ware, vases, center pieces, candle holders and candelabrums, award cups and trophies, coffee and tea sets, jewelry, watches, urns, chandeliers, lamps, other lighting instruments, communion sets, and Ecclesiastical works.

Includes sterling, standard, silver plated, hand wrought silver, silverette, electro plated, with also occasional information pieces on the manufacture, shaping, and care of silver such as melting, spinning, presses and rolls, repoussé work chasing and snarling, and polishing .

Businesses include general merchants, specialty dealers, auction houses, and silversmiths.

Materials represent a sampling of daily transactions such as receipts and invoices for purchases. No extensive runs or complete records exist for any single company, brand, and no particular depth is present for any singular subtopic though some publications may provide general and historical overviews of a person, company, or facet of industry.

Arrangement:

Silver is arranged in four subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Subject

Forms Part Of:

Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material

Provenance:

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

Restrictions:

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

Rights:

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

Occupation:

Silversmiths  Search this

Topic:

Silver  Search this

advertising  Search this

Silverwork  Search this

Sales promotion  Search this

Urns  Search this

Vases  Search this

Kitchen utensils  Search this

advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this

Implements, utensils, etc.  Search this

Cutlery trade  Search this

Chandeliers  Search this

Candles  Search this

Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this

Tea  Search this

Plates (Tableware)  Search this

Gifts -- 1850-1860  Search this

Art auctions  Search this

Auctions  Search this

Genre/Form:

Mail order catalogs

Catalogues

Commercial correspondence

Advertisements

Trade literature

Business records

Commercial catalogs

Exhibition catalogs

Ephemera

Invoices

Print advertising

Business cards

Auction catalogs

Trade catalogs

Manuals

Sales records

Manufacturers' catalogs

Sales letters

Business letters

Periodicals

Business ephemera

Trade cards

Illustrations

Sales catalogs

Correspondence

Receipts

Catalogs

Printed ephemera

Letterheads

Publications -- Business

Citation:

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

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Silver

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Silver

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

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

Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

4.19 Cubic feet (consisting of 9 boxes, 1 folder, 5 oversize folders, 1 map case folders, plus digital images of some collection material. )

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Printed ephemera

Publications

Business letters

Business ephemera

Reports

Periodicals

Correspondence

Illustrations

Trade catalogs

Printed material

Trade cards

Commercial correspondence

Manuals

Receipts

Commercial catalogs

Business records

Advertisements

Catalogs

Advertising

Catalogues

Business cards

Printed materials

Mail order catalogs

Sales catalogs

Letterheads

Scrapbooks

Advertising cards

Advertising fliers

Ephemera

Photographs

Print advertising

Trade literature

Manufacturers' catalogs

Advertising mail

Samples

Invoices

Date:

1803-1961

Summary:

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

Scope and Contents:

Material within the subject category Paints relates to the production and sales of interior and exterior paint in the United States.

The series contains business records and advertisements generated by manufacturers and distributors of paints, enamels, and varnishes in the form of receipts for goods and services, price lists, paint samples, import and export documents, advertising catalogues and pamphlets. No complete or substantial number of records exists for any single company.

Additional material includes guides and scrapbooks manufactured by paint companies, educational material about painting and interior decorating, types and qualities of paint, and literature discussing select histories of paints.

The oversize items are comprised of paint and color swatches, can labels, printed advertisements, brochures, related publications, and images. Images include houses, rooms, painters, and families.

There is no detailed information fNo particular depth is present for any singular subtopic though some publications may provide general and historical overviews of paint, the paint industry, and home or furniture decoration and alteration.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Subject

Brand Name Index:

The following is a list of brand names for various paints and related names that appear on this list is a compilation of those found on materials in the vertical document boxes. It is not a complete list of all the brand names for paints. The list is intended to assist researchers locate desired materials when only the brand name is known.

Brand Name Index

Manufacturer -- Brand Name

Acme -- Acme Paint

Alabastine -- Seeley Bros.

Alcolac -- Pratt & Lambert Inc.

Amalie -- L. Sonneborn Sons Inc.

Amsterdam -- Kelloggs & Miller

Anchor -- E & F King & Co.

Aquarine -- Muzzy Bros.

Aquatite -- Edward Smith & Co.

American Seal -- Wm. Connors Paint Manufacturing

American Seal -- Troy Paint & Color Works

American Seal -- Higgins & Gilgore

Arco -- Atlantic Refining Co.

Atlas -- Geo. D. Wetherill & Co

Averill -- Seeley Bros.

Barreled Sunlight -- U.S. Gutta Percha Paint Co.

Bessemer -- Rinald Bros.

Blue Ribbon -- Beckwith-Chandler Co.

Bull's Eye -- Wm.Zinnser & Co.

Caboose -- Beckwith-Chandler Co.

Calendar -- Chas. H. Winkleman & Co.

Calcimo -- Montgomery Ward & Co

Cempro -- Asphalt Products Co.

Chalcol -- H.B.Chalmers Co.

Champion -- King Paint Mfg. Co.

Chi-Namel -- Ohio Varnish Co.

Chilton -- G.A.Reeve & Co.

Cliff -- Frank S. DeRonde Co.

Collier -- National Lead Co.

Country Gentleman -- M.G. Stoneman & Son

Colotec -- Western Auto Supply

Conservo -- Samuel Cabot Inc

Coverall -- Montgomery Ward & Co.

Creo-Dipt -- J.W.Stonebeck & Sons

Creolite -- Heath & Milligan Mfg. Co.

Cup Defender -- Edward Smith & Co.

Deco Electro -- Elmquist-Hannan Co.

Degrah -- Keystone Varnish

Detro -- Detroit Whitehead Works

Duco -- Dupont DeNemours Co.

Duragloss -- Ackerman Corp.

Duramant -- Mayer & Loewenstein

Durotone -- Heath & Milligan Mfg. Co.

Elastic -- Atlantic Refining Co

El Dorado -- Rambo & Specht

Effecto -- Pratt & Lambert Inc.

Escolac -- Edward Smith & Co.

Expedite -- Pratt & Lambert Inc.

Flooralas -- Cincinnati Varnish

Genasco -- Barber Asphalt Paving Co.

Glasbrite -- Benjamin F.Forbes Co.

Gold Seal -- S.P. Van Duzer & Co.

Golden Rule -- Robinson's

Golden Shield -- John G. Willits & Co

Graf-Tonic -- Grafton & Son

Gray's Ferry -- Harrison Bros. & Co

Home Comfort -- Wrought Iron Range Co.

Haddonfield -- John G. Willits & Co.

Hilo -- Moller & Schumann Co.

Hydrofugol -- Central Chemical Co.

Imperial -- John Lucas Co

Ingersoll -- Patron's Paint Works.

Ironore -- Prince Bros

Isolatine -- Roessler & Hasslackher Chemical Co.

I.X.L. -- Edward Smith & Co.

Japalac -- Glidden Varnish Co.

Japalac -- Lowe Bros.

Jellitac -- Arthur S. Hoyt

Jigtime -- Merkin

Kemicoris -- Eclipse Paint & Mfg. Co.

Keystone -- Keystone Varnish Co.

Klenzer -- Detroit Whitehead Works

Kyanize -- Boston Varnish Co.

Little Blueflag -- Lowe Bros.

Lu-co -- John Lucas Co.

Luxeberry -- Berry Bros.

Lux-o-lite -- Longman & Martinex

Lawson -- Valentine & Co.

Lythite -- Frank S. DeRonde Co.

Magnite -- J.A. & W. Bird & Co.

Monarch -- Senour Mfg.Co.

Monitor -- S.Wolf's Sons

Mountain Torrent -- E.J. Sanford & Co.

Mura lo -- Bowers Bros.

Muresco -- Benjamin Moore & Co

Nava lite -- Chicago Varnish Co.

Neals -- Acme White Licard & Color Works

Nukote -- Pratt & Lambert Inc.

Opal-Gloss -- David B.Crockett Co.

Opal-Lac -- David B.Crockett Co.

Paragon -- Charles H. Connors Co.

Paragon -- Charles H.Connors Co. Paint Mfg. Co.

Petrol -- J.A. & W. Bird & Co

Pilgrim -- Vaughan Paint Co.

Primelac -- David B.Crockett Co.

Railway -- Beckwith-Chandler Co.

Raven -- Berry Bros.

Red seal -- National Lead Co.

Royal -- A. Wilhelm Co.

Royal -- King Paint Mfg. Co.

Ruberoid -- Ruberoid

Ruskilla -- Atlas Preservative Co. of America

Sani-Flat -- Benjamin Moore & Co.

Sapolin -- Gerstenderfer Bros.

Seroco -- Sears Roebuck Co.

Shel-Lite -- Excelsior Varnish Works

Star -- Pratt & Lambert Inc.

Suncota -- F.O.Pierce Co.

Sun Proff -- Patton Paint Co.

Sunshine -- Heath & Milligan Mfg. Co.

Superior -- Detroit Graphite Mfg. Co.

Super-Tex -- Tex Products Inc.

Surpaco -- St. Louis Surfacer & Paint Co.

Thermalite -- Hascall Paint Co.

Town & Country -- Harrison Bros. & Co.

Town & Country -- Sager & Jennings

Trade -- Harrison Bros. & Co.

Trinidad -- Thomas Mfg. Co.

Valdura -- American Asphalt Paint Co.

Valspar -- Valentine & Co.

Velvex -- Barret Mfg. Co.

Vitralite -- Vaughan Paint Co.

Vitrolite -- Pratt & Lambert Inc.

Wadsworth -- King Paint Mfg. Co.

Wax-Lac -- Detroit Whitehead Works

Wheeler's -- Bridgeport Wood Finishing Co.

Florence White -- A. Wheeler & Co.

Watco -- Wm. Waterall & Co.

Zinolin -- Keystone Varnish Co.

Forms Part Of:

Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material

Provenance:

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

Restrictions:

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

Rights:

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

Topic:

Enamel and enameling  Search this

Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this

Trade associations  Search this

Retail trade  Search this

Genre/Form:

Printed ephemera

Publications

Business letters

Business ephemera

Reports

Periodicals

Correspondence

Illustrations

Publications -- Business

Trade catalogs

Printed material

Trade cards

Commercial correspondence

Manuals

Receipts

Commercial catalogs

Business records

Advertisements

Catalogs

Advertising

Catalogues

Business cards

Printed materials

Mail order catalogs

Sales catalogs

Letterheads

Scrapbooks

Advertising cards

Advertising fliers

Ephemera

Photographs

Print advertising

Trade literature

Manufacturers' catalogs

Advertising mail

Samples

Invoices

Citation:

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

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Paints

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Paints

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

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

Creator:

Woodward, Inc.  Search this

Vaughan Furniture Co., The.  Search this

Steelcase, Inc.  Search this

Lane Company, The.  Search this

Kessler Industries, Inc.  Search this

Jasper Cabinet Co.  Search this

Howland, Richard H., Dr. (special assistant to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1978-1979))  Search this

Hooker Furniture Corp.  Search this

Furniture World.  Search this

American Heirloom Galleries.  Search this

Drexel Heritage Furnishings  Search this

Broyhill Industries.  Search this

Century Furniture Co., Inc.  Search this

Bass Brothers Furniture Co.  Search this

Source:

Domestic Life, Division of (NMAH, SI).  Search this

Former owner:

Domestic Life, Division of (NMAH, SI).  Search this

Extent:

4 Cubic feet (10 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Schedules

Sales catalogs

Date:

1977-1980

Scope and Contents note:

The collection consists of the raw materials (completed schedules and catalogues) for a survey of material of historical interest and importance associated with American furniture manufacturers. There is a folder for each of the approximately 210 furniture manufacturing companies asked to participate in the survey, filed alphabetically by company.

Nearly all of the material has been kept in the original folders (not acid free) which are filed alphabetically by company. It is in excellent condition (1988) but should be transferred to acid free folders if a decision to keep it indefinitely is made).

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged alphabetically by company name.

Biographical/Historical note:

This collection constitutes the raw materials from an attempt to survey the archival holdings of American furniture manufacturers which was undertaken by the office of Dr. Richard H. Howland, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1978-1979. The survey was intended as a preliminary study of industry owned collections and the possibility of a repository for such material. A letter and schedule were sent to approximately 210 furniture companies in the summer of 1979. In some instances follow up letters were sent in the fall. Each company was asked to complete a single page schedule and to send a catalogue if available.

Of the approximately 210 companies which received schedules, over 100 companies failed to respond. Forty five schedules were returned and more then 60 companies provided catalogues. Several companies sent brochures, pamphlets or annual reports in addition to or in lieu of catalogues. A few folders contain correspondence relating to prospective visits by the project director, or to preliminary plans for the survey.

The material received was not analyzed and no formal report was written. Funding did not materialize and the project was discontinued.

David A. Hanks, who worked on various projects under Dr. Howland's sponsorship before moving to New York in 1979 and Mrs. Johanna Rieg, a volunteer, worked on the project.

Page 5 of David Hanks paper before the Decorative Arts Archives Conference held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on October 21, 1979 refers to a report by Mrs. Rieg on the initial findings of the survey. A telephone conversation with Mrs. Rieg March 2, 1988 indicated that her statement was an informal one not a written paper. At that time the project was not far enough along for any significant data to be available.

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

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. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.

Topic:

Furniture industry and trade  Search this

advertising  Search this

Business -- History  Search this

Genre/Form:

Schedules

Sales catalogs

Citation:

American Furniture Industries Survey Collection, 1978-1980, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0286

See more items in:

American Furniture Industries Survey Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0286

Author:

Falcone Custom Grand Pianos  Search this

Collector:

Musical Instruments, Division of (NMAH, SI)  Search this

Musical Instruments, Division of (NMAH, SI)  Search this

Donor:

Pratt, Read and Company  Search this

Creator:

Sohmer & Company  Search this

Names:

Sohmer & Company  Search this

Kuder, Joseph  Search this

Sohmer, Harry J.  Search this

Sohmer, Harry J., Jr.  Search this

Sohmer, Hugo  Search this

Sohmer, William  Search this

Extent:

43 Cubic feet (78 boxes and 11 oversize folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Sales catalogs

Photographic prints

Advertisements

Scrapbooks

Clippings

Journals (accounts)

Ledgers (account books)

Place:

Ivoryton (Conn.)

New York (N.Y.) -- Musical instruments industry

Date:

1872-1989

Scope and Contents:

The records of Sohmer & Co., date from 1872 through 1989. They fall into fourteen series based primarily on function. Legal, financial, inventory & appraisal, manufacturing, marketing, advertising, and sales are the major series. Photographs, awards, family papers, publications about Sohmer, general publications, "miscellaneous" and correspondence are the remaining series. The records are especially strong in the areas of advertising, finances, and marketing. The collection does not contain corporate records, articles of incorporation, executive records, minutes, annual reports, or personnel records such as payrolls or job descriptions.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into 14 series.

Series 1: Stock and Legal Records, 1882-1985

Series 2: Financial Records, 1887-1962

Series 3: Inventory & Appraisal Records, 1891-1980

Series 4: Manufacturing Records, 1872-1967

Series 5: Marketing, 1901-1989

Series 6: Advertising Records, 1880-1983

Series 7: Sales Records, 1923-1982

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1920-1964

Series 9: Awards, 1876-1976

Serioes 10: Sohmer Family Papers, 1945-1970

Series 11: Publications about Sohmer, 1883-1986

Series 12: General Publications, 1912-1985

Series 13: Miscellaneous Records, 1894-1983

Series 14: Correspondence, 1892-1987

Historical:

When Sohmer & Co. was founded in 1872 by Hugo Sohmer and his partner Joseph Kuder, it became one of 171 piano manufacturers in New York City. Over the next 110 years, Sohmer & Co. was one of the few active and successful family-owned and operated piano-making ventures in the United States. Nationally known for tonal quality and fine craftmanship, the firm's product, in the music trade, came to be referred to as "The Piano-Maker's Piano."

Biographical:

Born to an eminent physician in Dunningen, Wurtemberg, Germany on November 11, 1846, Hugo Sohmer enjoyed a first class education. Riding the last major wave of German immigration, which had brought piano makers such as Albert Weber, George Steck, John and Charles Fischer, and Henry E. Steinway to America, Hugo arrived in New York City in 1862. He became an apprentice in the piano making house of Schuetze & Ludolf. To learn more about European piano making, Hugo returned to Germany in 1868 and travelled extensively throughout Europe. In 1870 he returned to New York and by 1872 the 26 year old Sohmer and his partner, Josef Kuder, began manufacturing pianos in the 149 East 14th Street factory previously utilized by J.H. Boernhoeft and most recently by Marschall & Mittauer.

Josef Kuder, originally from Bohemia, Austria Hungary, learned piano making in Vienna between 1847 and 1854. Kuder arrived in New York in 1854 and became a pianomaker with Steinway & Sons which had been founded in 1853. In 1861 he returned to Vienna; he worked there until returning to New York in 1864, where he worked for Marschall & Mittauer until joining Sohmer.

Concentrating on tonal quality and response, Sohmer & Co. began producing pianos which were recognized in 1876 by an award from the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. In the waning years of the nineteenth century Sohmer & Co. received other awards including a diploma from the Exposition Provinciale in Montreal, Quebec in 1881, the gold medal at the Great New England Fair in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1889, and an award from the World's Columbian Commission in 1893 in Chicago.

By 1883 additional factory space, located on East 23rd Street and formerly used by Carhart & Needham, was occupied to accomodate increased production. In three years this space proved inadequate and forced the renting of an extension to the original factory. The main office and salesrooms were located at 31 West 57th Street in New York City. Meanwhile, in 1884 Sohmer invented the first five foot "baby" grand piano which was applauded for its musical brilliance and depth of tone. In the early 1900's Sohmer produced grand pianos in four sizes: Concert, Parlor, Baby & Cupid.

Limited space and increased production soon became issues again, and in 1887 the company moved its factory and special machinery to Astoria, Long Island. This factory, located at 31st Avenue and Vernon Boulevard, remained in continuous operation until 1982, when the Adirondack Chair Co. bought the building and Pratt Read acquired the company.

During the 1880s a number of letters patent were granted to Sohmer for such piano improvements as the agraffe bar for tone augmentation, and the aliquot string, which were auxiliary strings "arranged in conjunction with the regular strings for the purpose of giving forth reverberatory or sympathetic waves of sound, thus augmenting the general tone results of each unison." (Spillane, History, 256.)

In 1894 Hugo Sohmer took competitor Sebastian Sommer to court for stenciling the name "Sommer" on the fallboard of his pianos. Sohmer declared that "Sohmer" was a trademark used as an emblem to distinguish the piano from others, especially the Sommer piano which he considered inferior. The court in this equity case dismissed the case on the grounds that Sohmer had not proven damages accruing from the advertising and sale of the Sommer piano.

By 1907 Sohmer & Co. was producing 2,000 pianos per year. Additionally, with Farrand & Co. of Detroit, Sohmer was making the Sohmer Cecilian player piano. On June 8, 1913 Hugo Sohmer died in Scarsdale, N.Y.; 20 days later, Josef Kuder died as well. Hugo was survived by his wife, Elizabeth; a daughter, Adelaide S. Weber; and a son, Harry J. Sohmer, born in 1886. Company leadership was assumed by Harry J. Sohmer after Hugo's death.

During the 1920s Sohmer began a special department in its plant for the manufacture of period pianos. According to Harry Sohmer, the 1930s were difficult. He recalled that, once only one piano in 29 days was shipped. The number of American piano manufacturers dropped from 140 to 22 during this time. It was during this time that Harry's cousins, Frank and Paul Sohmer joined the company as consultants. However, through its pioneering efforts in the introduction of a console vertical piano known as a "Spinet," Sohmer revitalized the industry. (Taylor, "Piano Family.") This console vertical piano has been called "The Musicians' Console.

Primarily because of its concentration on the console vertical pianos Sohmer & Co. never cultivated famous performers in the way that Steinway and Baldwin did. While publicly acknowledging that it never entered into the competition for artistic endorsement (an acknowledgement which perhaps worked to its favor), Sohmer & Co. relied upon a most comprehensive and innovative advertising strategy stressing integrity, quality and craftsmanship in the pursuit of the ideal tone and touch.

In 1940 Harry incorporated the company as Sohmer & Co. and led it, with his sons Harry J. Sohmer, Jr., (born 1917) as production manager and Robert H. Sohmer (born 1920), as process engineer. By 1969 Harry Jr. was vice president in charge of production and Robert was production engineer/ treasurer. In 1971 Harry Sr. died and Harry Jr. became president.

In 1982 Pratt Read Corporation, a long established manufacturer of piano keyboards, acquired Sohmer & Co. for an undisclosed amount, and moved the operations to its Ivoryton, Connecticut factory, while retaining the Sohmer name. The Sohmer brothers retained their positions in the company. At the time of its purchase Sohmer & Co. employed 120 people, produced 2500 pianos yearly, and grossed $5 million in sales. Harry J. Sohmer, Jr., grandson of the founder, in expressing his feelings about the move and the Sohmer piano, compared his piano to old New York beers saying that "they were strictly New York products and in a way so were we." He concluded by saying, "We were always identified with this city. Sohmer was a New York piano." (Prial, "Sohmer Piano.")

By July 1983 under Pratt Read's management Sohmer was producing 6 pianos per day, only 50% of the expected capacity according to H.B. Comstock, president of Pratt Read. In 1986 the Ivoryton factory was sold to a group of investors organized as Sohmer Holding Co., who continued to make pianos there until a lack of skilled workers and financial losses forced its closing in December 1988. In an effort to fill the backlog of orders, Sohmer president Tom Bradshaw opened a new facility in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. A retail showroom was maintained in Ivoryton. In 1989, the Sohmer company was sold to the Falcone Custom Grand Piano Company of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

References

Cox, Erin. "Labor Woes a Main Factor in Sohmer Closing," The Pictorial Gazette West, 3 (December 8, 1988), 1, 22.

Dolge, Alfred. Piano and their Makers. 1911; rpt. New York: Dover Publications, 1973.

Loesser, Arthur. Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1954.

Musical Merchandise Review. "Sohmer Pianos Underway at Conn. Pratt Read," July 1983, 91.

The Music Trades. "Pratt, Read Acquires Sohmer & Co. Piano Maker,"August 1982, 18.

Piano and Organ Purchaser's Guide, 1907, 1930. Prial, Frank J. "Sohmer Piano, and 110 Years of Craft, will leave Astoria," New York Times, August 13, 1982, B1, B4.

Purchaser's Guide to the Music Industries. 1956, New York: The Music Trades, 1956, 58 60.

Spillane, Daniel. History of the American Pianoforte: Its Technical Development, and the Trade. 1890; rpt. New York: Da Capo Press, 1969.

Taylor, Carol. "Piano Family Stays in Tune," New York World Telegram & Sun, August 15, 1958.

Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:

Pratt Read Corp. Records (AC0320)

Chickering & Sons Records (AC0264)

Steinway Piano Co. Collection (AC0178)

Provenance:

Collection donated by Pratt Read Corporation, August 11, 1989.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Musical instrument manufacturing  Search this

Piano makers  Search this

advertising -- History  Search this

Keyboard instruments  Search this

Piano  Search this

advertising  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 20th century

Sales catalogs

Photographic prints

Advertisements

Photographs -- 1850-1900

Scrapbooks

Clippings

Journals (accounts)

Ledgers (account books)

Citation:

Sohmer & Co. Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0349

See more items in:

Sohmer & Co. Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0349

Creator:

Siden Gallery  Search this

Subject:

Crawford, Ralston  Search this

Clarke, John Clem  Search this

Schneider, Arthur  Search this

Schapiro, Miriam  Search this

Greene, Stephen  Search this

Janis, Sidney  Search this

Button, John  Search this

Siden, Franklin  Search this

Gemini G.E.L. (Firm)  Search this

Brooke Alexander, Inc.  Search this

Editions Alecto Ltd.  Search this

Marlborough Graphics Ltd.  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)15633

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)281971

AAA_collcode_sidegall

Theme:

Art Gallery Records

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_281971

Creator:

Siden Gallery  Search this

Names:

Brooke Alexander, Inc.  Search this

Editions Alecto Ltd.  Search this

Gemini G.E.L. (Firm)  Search this

Marlborough Graphics Ltd.  Search this

Button, John, 1929-1982  Search this

Clarke, John Clem, 1937-  Search this

Crawford, Ralston, 1906-1978  Search this

Greene, Stephen, 1918-1999  Search this

Janis, Sidney, 1896-1989  Search this

Schapiro, Miriam, 1923-2015  Search this

Schneider, Arthur  Search this

Siden, Franklin  Search this

Extent:

0.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1962-1994

bulk [bulk 1966-1970]

Scope and Contents:

Biographical material on artists, correspondence, photographs, and printed material relating to the Siden Gallery.

Biographical material relates to artists Al Blaustein, John Clem Clarke, and Arthur Schneider. Correspondence includes letters from John Button, Stephen Greene, Gemini G.E.L, Miriam Schapiro and Sidney Janis. Photographs are of artists and works of art relating to the gallery. Printed material includes print sales catalogs from various publishers, including Multiples Inc., Brooke Alexander Editions, Editions Alecto, and Marlborough Graphics; newspaper clippings and exhibit catalogs.

Biographical / Historical:

Art gallery, Detroit, Mich.; est. 1962; closed 1994; owner, Franklin Siden. Specialized in American artists, both contemporary and print market.

Provenance:

Donated in 2008 by Harriet Siden, Franklin Siden's widow.

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.

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- Michigan -- Detroit

Identifier:

AAA.sidegall

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-sidegall

Collection Creator:

Baer, Ralph H., 1922-2014  Search this

Container:

Box 35, Folder 6

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.

Collection Rights:

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

Collection Citation:

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

See more items in:

Ralph H. Baer Papers

Ralph H. Baer Papers / Series 7: Product Guides and Technical Specifications

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0854-ref526

Collection Author:

Falcone Custom Grand Pianos  Search this

Collection Collector:

Musical Instruments, Division of (NMAH, SI)  Search this

Collection Donor:

Pratt, Read and Company  Search this

Collection Creator:

Sohmer & Company  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Sales catalogs

Brochures

Marketing literature

Date:

1901- 1989

Scope and Contents:

The Marketing Records, mainly date from 1901 to 1960, with some material from perhaps as late as 1983. They consist of the catalogs, brochures, fliers, and postcards published by Sohmer to present and market their pianos. The records include various editions of "The Story Behind the Sohmer," a widely published booklet which promotes the idea of family tradition and continuity in the production of quality pianos.

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

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

Topic:

Postcards  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sales catalogs -- 1900-1960

Brochures

Marketing literature

Collection Citation:

Sohmer & Co. Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0349, Series 5

See more items in:

Sohmer & Co. Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0349-ref123

Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

3.25 Cubic feet (consisting of 7 boxes, 1 folder, 2 oversize folders, 1 map case folder.)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Catalogs

Invoices

Business records

Advertising fliers

Publications

Advertising mail

Commercial correspondence

Correspondence

Business ephemera

Printed ephemera

Business letters

Exhibition catalogs

Receipts

Sales letters

Trade literature

Advertising

Sales records

Ephemera

Manuals

Business cards

Sales catalogs

Illustrations

Trade catalogs

Print advertising

Advertising cards

Technical manuals

Advertisements

Periodicals

Reports

Mail order catalogs

Catalogues

Letterheads

Trade cards

Photographs

Manufacturers' catalogs

Date:

, undated

1791-1943

Summary:

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

Scope and Contents:

Scales contains business records and advertisements created by manufacturers and distributors of scales, as well as companies employed to weigh items for communities. Additional materials include scale design patents and educational material on weights and measures.

Extensive business documentation for the Riehlé Brothers is present. The Riehlé Brothers were a scale and testing-machine manufacturer based in Philadelphia. In 1865, Frederick Riehlé purchased two-fifths of interest in the Banks, Dinmore and Company and later helped coordinate the purchase of the Abbott Scale Works company. Frederick's brother Henry later purchased another three-fifths of interest in Banks, Dinmore and Company and the brothers changed the company name to the Riehlé Brothers in 1867.

Material concerning specific subject areas within the topic of scales provides a narrow window into the field of scales, weights, and measures but nonetheless a unique one. The subject category contains a broad view of the business of manufacturing scales and measuring goods for communities, as well as a small amount of social commentary on the necessity of the field in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Arrangement:

Scales is arranged in three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Subject

Forms Part Of:

Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material

Provenance:

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

Restrictions:

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

Rights:

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

Topic:

Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this

Measuring instruments  Search this

Measuring instruments industry  Search this

Scales (Weighing instruments)  Search this

Patents  Search this

Retail trade  Search this

Genre/Form:

Catalogs

Invoices

Business records

Advertising fliers

Publications -- Business

Advertising mail

Commercial correspondence

Correspondence

Business ephemera

Printed ephemera

Business letters

Publications

Exhibition catalogs

Receipts

Sales letters

Trade literature

Advertising

Sales records

Ephemera

Manuals

Business cards

Sales catalogs

Illustrations

Trade catalogs

Print advertising

Advertising cards

Technical manuals -- 20th century

Advertisements

Periodicals

Reports

Mail order catalogs

Catalogues

Letterheads

Trade cards

Photographs

Manufacturers' catalogs

Citation:

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

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Scales

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Scales

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

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

Collection Creator:

Nordic Ware Division, Northland Aluminum  Search this

Collection Donor:

Dalquist, H. David  Search this

Dalquist, Dorothy  Search this

Container:

Box 30, Folder 5

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

February 20, 1994

Collection Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Collection Rights:

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

Collection Citation:

Nordic Ware Collection, 1942-2006, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Sponsor:

Processing of this collection made possible, in part, by a gift from Nordic Ware.

See more items in:

Nordic Ware records

Nordic Ware records / Series 4: Engineering Department Records / 4.7: Trade Associations

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0980-ref532

Collection Creator:

Arwin Galleries (Detroit, Mich.)  Search this

Extent:

0.4 Linear feet (Boxes 7-8)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1956-1981

Scope and Contents:

Series consists of art reproductions, art sales catalogs, brochures and pamphlets, clippings regarding the gallery fire in 1963, exhibition announcements, event programs, flyers, magazines, press releases, and the book Bibliothèque Imaginaire: Caractère Noël which highlights French printmaking.

Collection Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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:

Arwin Galleries records, 1948-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.arwigall, Series 4

See more items in:

Arwin Galleries records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-arwigall-ref17

Collection Creator:

Arwin Galleries (Detroit, Mich.)  Search this

Container:

Box 7, Folder 36

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1970-1981

Collection Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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:

Arwin Galleries records, 1948-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

See more items in:

Arwin Galleries records

Arwin Galleries records / Series 4: Printed Materials

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-arwigall-ref198

Creator:

Clark, George Howard, 1881-1956  Search this

Source:

Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI.  Search this

Names:

American Marconi Company.  Search this

Radio Corporation of America.  Search this

Former owner:

Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI.  Search this

Extent:

220 Cubic feet (700 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Technical manuals

Clippings

Patents

Correspondence

Blueprints

Letters patent

Photographs

Sale catalogs

Technical drawings

Date:

circa 1880-1950

Summary:

The collection forms a documentary record of over half a century of the history of radio, with the greatest emphasis on the period 1900-1935. The collection includes materials that span the entire history of the growth of the radio industry. It is useful for those historians and other researchers interested in technological development, economic history, and the impact of applications of technology on American life.

Scope and Contents:

The materials accumulated in this collection represent the overriding collecting passion of one individual, George H. Clark. The collection forms a documentary record of over half a century of the history of radio, with the greatest emphasis on the period 1900-1935.

The collection includes materials that span the entire history of the growth of the radio industry. It is useful for those historians and other researchers interested in technological development, economic history, and the impact of applications of technology on American life.

In particular, the collection is rich in biographical information on the men who developed the technical aspects of radio and the industry; information on the inception, growth, and activities of radio companies, most notably the National Electric Signaling Company and RCA; and in photographs of all aspects of Radioana.

While most materials document technical aspects of radio, there is much information (e.g. Series 109, 134) on broadcasting and on the early history of television.

The collection, housed in over 700 boxes (about 276 linear feet), was organized into 259 numbered "classes" or series by Clark. Sixty series numbers were never used or were eliminated by Clark and combined with other series. The unused numbers are scattered throughout the filing system. The collection also includes material from series that were eliminated. These materials were never reclassified and are included as an unprocessed series at the end of the series descriptions. The collection also contains material that was never assigned a "class" designation by Clark (Lettered Series: D, E, F, G, H).

The arrangement of the collection is Clark's own; his adaptation of the Navy filing system he helped devise in 1915. Clark periodically revised the filing system and reclassified items within it.

Clark assigned class numbers to types of equipment (e.g. broadcast receivers), systems (impulse-excited transmitters and systems), scientific theories (circuit theory), and topics (company history, biography). Box 1 contains descriptions of the classification system.

When Clark classified an item and filed it he also assigned a serial number. This classification begins with 1 (or 1A) for the first item in the class and continues with successive numbers as items were added. As a consequence, the order of individual items within a series reflects the order in which Clark filed them, not any logical relationship between the items. Clark created cross references for items dealing with more than one subject by making notations on blank sheets of paper placed in related series.

Clark made cross references between series when there was no logical relationship between them; that is, when a person using the collection would not normally look in the series. For example no cross reference would be made of an engineer from series 87 (portraits) to series 4 (biography), but one would be made from series 87 to series 142 (history of television) if the item showed the engineer, say, working on a television installation.

Clark created the insignia "SRM" as the sign on the bottom of all sheets of paper numbered by him for binding. SRM stood for Smithsonian Radio Museum. This replaced the earlier though not greatly used sign "CGM." For a time about 1930, the class number on each sheet was preceded by these: "C.G.M.", for Clark, Martin, and Goldsmith, the earliest contributors to what would become the Clark Radioana Collection. After about 1933-34 Clark used C.W.C. for Clark Wireless Collection.

There are many photographs located in most series throughout the collection. But there are also three exclusive photographic series. Lettered series A, B, C. See index; and also series descriptions under lettered series.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into 223 series.

Numbered Series 1-233:

Series 1, Library Operating System, 1915-1950

Series 2, Apparatus Type Numbers, 1916-1931

Series 3, Photographic Lists, 1925-1928

Series 4, Biographies of Radio Personages, Technical Index to Correspondents in Series 4

Series 5, History of Radio Companies, 1895-1950

De Forest Radio Company, 1905-1930s

Jenkins Televsion Corporation, 1924-1931

Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, 1908-1929

National Electric Signaling Company, 1896-1941

Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company, 1906-1929

Radio Corporation of America, 1895-1950

Series 6, Shore Stations, 1900-1940

Series 7, Marine Stations, 1900-1930s

Series 8, Broadcasting Stations, 1910s-1940s

Series 9, Amateur Stations, 1910s-1940s

Series 10, Miscellaneous Information, 1911-1914

Series 11, Radio Antiques, 1921-1938

Series 13, Specifications of Radio Apparatus, 1910s-1930s

Series 14, General History, 1899-1950s

Series 15, Radio Companies Catalogues & Bound Advertisements, 1873-1941

Series 16, Log Books, 1902-1923

Series 17, Radio Companies' House Organs, 1896-1942

Series 18, Prime Movers, 1904-1911

Series 19, Batteries, 1898-1934

Series 20, Rectifiers, 1875-1935

Series 21, Motor Generators, 1898-1936

Series 22, Nameplates of Apparatus, 1928

Series 23, Switchboards and Switchboard Instruments, 1910-1935

Series 24, Radio Frequency Switches, 1905-1905-1933

Series 25, Transmitter Transformers, 1893-1949

Series 26, Operating Keys, 1843-1949

Series 27, Power Type Interrupters, 1902-1938

Series 28, Protective Devices, 1910-1925

Series 30, Message Blanks, 1908-1938

Series 31, Transmitter Condensers, 1849-1943

Series 32, Spark Gaps, 1905-1913

Series 33, Transmitter Inductances, 1907-1922

Series 34, Transmitter Wave Changers, 1907-1924

Series 37, ARC Transmitters, 1907-1940

Series 38, Vacuum Tube Type of Radio Transmitter, 1914-1947

Series 39, Radio Transmitter, Radio-Frequency, Alternator Type, 1894-1940

Series 41, Vacuum Tubes, Transmitting Type, 1905-1948

Series 43, Receiving Systems, 1904-1934

Series 45, Broadcast Receivers, 1907-1948

Series 46, Code Receivers, 1902-1948

Series 47, Receiving Inductances, 1898-1944

Series 48, Receiving Condensers, 1871-1946

Series 49, Audio Signal Devices, 1876-1947

Series 50, Detectors, 1878-1944

Series 51, Amplifiers, 1903-1949

Series 52, Receiving Vacuum Tubes, 1905-1949

Series 53, Television Receivers, 1928-1948

Series 54, Photo-Radio Apparatus, 1910-1947

Series 59, Radio Schools, 1902-1945

Series 60, Loudspeakers, 1896-1946

Series 61, Insulators, 1844-1943

Series 62, Wires, 1906-1945

Series 63, Microphones, 1911-1947

Series 64, Biography, 1925-1948

Series 66, Antennas, 1877-1949

Series 67, Telautomatics, 1912-1944

Series 69, Direction Finding Equipment, Radio Compasses, 1885-1948

Series 71, Aircraft Transmitters, 1908-1947

Series 72, Field or Portables Transmitters, 1901-1941

Series 73, Mobile Radio Systems, 1884-1946

Series 74, Radio Frequency Measuring Instruments, 1903-1946

Series 75, Laboratory Testing Methods and Systems, 1891-1945

Series 76, Aircraft Receivers, 1917-1941

Series 77, Field Portable Receivers, 1906-1922

Series 78, Spark Transmitter Assembly, 1909-1940

Series 79, Spark Transmitter System, 1900-1945

Series 82, Firsts in Radio, undated

Series 85: Distance Records and Tests, 1898-1940

Series 87, Photographs of Radio Executives, and Technical Types, 1857-1952

Series 90, Radio Terms, 1857-1939

Series 92, Static Patents and Static Reducing Systems, 1891-1946

Series 93, Low Frequency Indicating Devices, 1904-1946

Series 95, Articles on Radio Subjects, 1891-1945

Series 96, Radio in Education, 1922-1939

Series 98, Special Forms of Broadcasting, 1921-1943

Series 99, History of Lifesaving at Sea by Radio, 1902-1949

Series 100, History of Naval Radio, 1888-1948

Series 101, Military Radio, 1898-1946

Series 102, Transmitting & Receiving Systems, 1902-1935

Series 103, Receiving Methods, 1905-1935

Series 108, Codes and Ciphers, 1894-1947

Series 109, Schedules of Broadcasting & TV Stations, 1905-1940

Series 112, Radio Shows and Displays, 1922-1947

Series 114, Centralized Radio Systems, 1929-1935

Series 116, United States Government Activities in Radio, 1906-1949

Series 117, Technical Tables, 1903-1932

Series 120, Litigation on Radio Subjects, 1914-1947

Series 121, Legislation, 1914-1947

Series 122, History of Radio Clubs, 1907-1946

Series 123, Special Applications of Radio Frequency, 1924-1949

Series 124, Chronology, 1926-1937

Series 125, Radio Patents & Patent Practices, 1861-1949

Series 126, Phonographs, 1894-1949

Series 127, Piezo Electric Effect, 1914-1947

Series 128, ARC Transmitting & Reciving Systems, 1904-1922

Series 129, Spark Systems, 1898-1941

Series 130, Vacuum Tubes Systems, 1902-1939

Series 132, Radiophone Transmitting & Receiving System, 1906-1947

Series 133, Photo-Radio, 1899-1947

Series 134, History of Radio Broadcasting, 1908-

Series 135, History of Radiotelephony, Other Than Broadcasting

Series 136, History of Amateur Radio

Series 138, Transoceanic Communication

Series 139, Television Transmitting Stations

Series 140, Radio Theory

Series 142, History of Television

Series 143, Photographs

Series 144, Radio Publications

Series 145, Proceedings of Radio Societies

Series 146: Radio Museums

Series 147, Bibliography of Radio Subjects and Apparatus

Series 148, Aircraft Guidance Apparatus

Series 150, Audio Frequency Instruments

Series 151, History of Radio for Aircrafts

Series 152, Circuit Theory

Series 154, Static Elimination

Series 161, Radio in Medicine

Series 162, Lighting

Series 163, Police Radio

Series 169, Cartoons

Series 173, Communications, Exclusive of Radio (after 1895)

Series 174, Television Methods and Systems

Series 182, Military Portable Sets

Series 189, Humor in Radio (see Series 169)

Series 209, Short Waves

Series 226, Radar

Series 233, Television Transmitter

Lettered Series

Series A, Thomas Coke Knight RCA Photographs, circa 1902-1950

Series B, George H. Clark Collection of Photographs by ClassSeries C, Clark Unorganized and/or Duplicate Photographs

Series D, Miscellaneous

Series E, News Clippings Series F: Radio Publications

Series G, Patent Files of Darby and Darby, Attorneys, circa 1914-1935

Series H, Blank Telegram Forms from many Companies and Countries Throughout the World

Series I (eye), Miscellaneous Series

Series J, Research and Laboratory Notebooks

Series K, Index to Photographs of Radio Executives and Technical Types

Series L, Index to Bound Volumes of Photos in Various Series

Series M, Index to David Sarnoff Photographs

Series N, Federal Government Personnel Files

Series O, Addenda Materials

Biographical / Historical:

George Howard Clark, born February 15, 1881, at Alberton, Prince Edward Island, Canada, emigrated to the United States at the age of fourteen. He worked as a railroad telegraph operator for the Boston and Maine Railroad during high school and college. In his unpublished autobiography he wrote:

In 1888, when I was a lad of seven, I suddenly blossomed out as a scrapbook addict, and for years I gave up boyhood games for the pleasure of sitting in a lonely attic and 'pasting up' my books ... By 1897, in high school, I graduated to beautiful pictures, and made many large size scrapbooks ... Around that time, too, I became infatuated with things electrical, and spent many evenings copying in pen and ink the various electrical text books in the Everett, Mass., Public Library. Clark began collecting material pertaining to wireless or radio in 1902. In 1903 he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. During his last year of college he specialized in radio work under the instruction of Professor John Stone Stone and after graduation went to work for Stone's radio company, the Stone Telegraph and Telephone Company, of Boston.

In 1908 Clark took a competitive examination open to all wireless engineers in the United States and entered the civilian service of the Navy. He was stationed at the Washington Navy Yard, with special additional duty at the Navy's Bureau of Steam Engineering and at the National Bureau of Standards.

In 1915 Clark helped devise a classification system for Navy equipment, assigning a code number to each item. This system of classification for blueprints, photographs, reports, and general data, was prepared by Arthur Trogner, Guy Hill, and Clark, all civilian radio experts with the US Navy Department in Washington. In 1918 Clark adopted the 1915 Navy classification system for organizing the radio data he was accumulating. Clark created the term "Radioana" at this time. He began spending his evenings and weekends pasting up his collection and numbering pages. At this time he bound the accumulated material. It totaled 100 volumes.

In July 1919, after resigning from the Navy, Clark joined the engineering staff of the Marconi Telegraph Company of America, which became part of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) later the same year. His first work was at Belmar and Lakewood, New Jersey, assisting the chief engineer, Roy A. Weagant, in his development of circuits to reduce the interference caused by static (static reduction). Clark and his wife were assigned to the unheated Engineer's Cottage. His wife decided not to stay and left for Florida. Clark moved his trunks of wireless material to the heated RCA hotel at Belmar and spent most of the winter "pasting." As Clark mentions, "From that time on I was wedded to scraps."

After a year of work in New Jersey, Clark was assigned to the sales department in New York, where he devised the "type number system" used by RCA. This type number system, for example, gave the designation UV 201 to the company's first amplifier tube.

From 1922 to 1934 Clark was in charge of RCA's newly created Show Division, which held exhibits of new and old radio apparatus at state fairs, department stores, and radio shows. About 1928 Clark started an antique radio apparatus museum for RCA. RCA's board of directors announced:

Recognizing the importance of providing a Museum for the Radio Art to house the rapidly disappearing relics of earlier days, and the desirability of collecting for it without further delay examples of apparatus in use since the inception of radio, the Board of Directors of RCA has made an initial appropriation of $100,000, as the nucleus of a fund for the establishment of a National Radio Museum. A plan for ultimately placing the museum under the wing of the Smithsonian Institution was coupled with the goal of the Institution's gathering the largest possible library of wireless data.

Around 1933 the RCA traveling exhibition program ended and Clark started classifying his collected "radioana" material. The objects of the museum were eventually turned over for exhibit purposes to the Rosenwald Museum in Chicago and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, when space was not forthcoming at the Smithsonian. A list of objects sent to the two museums (with tag and case numbers) is in Series 1, Box A. The "radioana" collection remained under Clark's care during the 1930s, and became of increasing use to RCA. Clark continued to add to the material.

Between 1934 and 1942 Clark was in court many times regarding patent infringements. Clark's wireless data was useful and he testified frequently, for example, in RCA's suit against the United States in the Court of Claims over the Marconi tuning patents and in the Westinghouse Company's suit against the United States over the heterodyne. Patent specifications and material regarding these and other radio industry suits are found throughout this collection.

In 1946 RCA retired George Clark and denied him space to house his "radioana" collection. Clark wished to remain in New York and house the collection somewhere in the city where it would be open at all times to the public and where it would be maintained. He hoped to continue cataloguing the collection and writing books from its information. He wanted to keep the collection under his control for as long as he was capable of using it.

George H. Clark died in 1956 and his collection was subsequently given to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1959 the collection was given to the Smithsonian's new Museum of History and Technology, where space was available to house it. The collection remained in the Division of Electricity until the spring of 1983 when it was transferred to the Archives Center.

Brief Company Histories From The Radio Industry, 1900-1930s:

Introduction

At the end of the nineteenth century, when Guglielmo Marconi began his first wireless company, Western Union, Postal Telegraph, and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) were the major enterprises in electrical communications. General Electric, Western Electric, and Westinghouse were the major producers of electrical equipment. All these earlier developments set the stage for the expansion of the radio industry.

General Electric, which dominated the lighting industry, was formed in 1892 as a merger of the Edison and Thomson-Houston companies. It was active in building central power station equipment; controlled nearly all the important early patents in electric railways; took a leading part in the introduction of trolley systems; and was the principal supplier of electric motors. Westinghouse promoted the alternating current system and installed the first AC central station in Buffalo, NY, during the winter of 1866-1867. After years of patent litigation, in 1896 GE and Westinghouse agreed to share their patents on electrical apparatus.

American Bell Telephone Company purchased Western Electric in 1881. Western Electric had a strong patent position in telephone equipment and in industrial power apparatus, such as arc lamps, generators, motors, and switchboard equipment.

Until RCA was formed in 1919, these established electrical companies played no active part in the early development of the American radio industry. They were in difficult financial positions, reorganizing, or concentrating their efforts and resources on improving their existing products.

The revolution in "wireless" technology, which began in earnest after 1900, centered in New York City, home of the Lee de Forest and American Marconi companies, and in Boston, headquarters of John Stone Stone and Reginald Fessenden.

Information in this section was compiled from the Clark Collection; the Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry by W. Rupert Maclaurin, Macmillan Company, New York, 1949; and Radio Pioneers, Institute of Radio Engineers, Commemorating the Radio Pioneers Dinner, Hotel Commodore, New York, NY, November 8, 1945.

The De Forest Companies

Lee De Forest (1873-1961), inventor of the three-element vacuum tube or triode (1906) and the feedback circuit, was one of the first Americans to write a doctoral thesis on wireless telegraphy: "The Reflection of Short Hertzian Waves from the Ends of Parallel Wires," Yale University, 1899. The grid-controlled tube or audion of De Forest was first a radio detector, 1906-1907; in 1912 was adapted to an amplifier; and later to an oscillator. When it was perfected as a high vacuum tube, it became the great electronic instrument of electrical communications.

De Forest began work in the Dynamo Department at the Western Electric Company in 1899. Six months later he was promoted to the telephone laboratory. In 1900 De Forest went to work for the American Wireless Telegraph Company where he was able to carry out work on his "responder." However, after three months when De Forest refused to turn over the responder to the company, he was fired.

In the following year De Forest had a number of jobs, was active as an inventor, and created numerous firms to manufacture his inventions. In 1901 De Forest joined with Ed Smythe, a former Western Electric colleague and a collaborator in his research, to found the firm of De Forest, Smythe, and Freeman. Between 1902 and 1906 De Forest took out thirty-four patents on all phases of wireless telegraphy. The responder that he had been working on for so long never proved satisfactory.

The numerous De Forest companies, reflected his many interests and his inability to carry one project through to a conclusion. Unlike Marconi, but similar to Fessenden, De Forest had great inventive skill which resulted in a great number of companies; but none lasted long. The original partnership of 1901 led to the Wireless Telegraph Co. of America (1901), the De Forest Wireless Telegraph Company (Maine) (1902), and the American De Forest Wireless Telegraph Company (1903), to name a few.

The American De Forest Wireless Telegraph Company was incorporated after De Forest met a stock promoter, Abraham White. While many stations were built by this company, many never sent a message due to static interference. In 1907 two speculators from Denver with large holdings of company stock put the company out of business. The assets were sold to a new company that these speculators organized, the United Wireless Telephone Company. De Forest was forced to resign. He took the triode patents with him.

De Forest joined with one of White's stock salesmen, James Dunlop Smith, and together with De Forest's patent attorney, Samuel E. Darby, they formed a new corporation, the De Forest Radio Telephone Company in 1907. This company set out to develop wireless communication by means of the radio telephone.

In January 1910 De Forest staged the first opera broadcast, with Enrico Caruso singing. The Radio Telephone Company went bankrupt in 1911 following an aborted merger with North American Wireless Corporation. In 1913 he reorganized the company as the Radio Telephone and Telegraph Company and began producing the triode.

The Marconi Company brought a patent suit, claiming the triode infringed on the Fleming valve to which it had rights. In 1916 the court decided that Marconi had infringed the three element De Forest patent and that De Forest had infringed the two element Fleming valve. The result was that neither company could manufacture the triode.

In 1920 RCA acquired the De Forest triode rights through cross-licensing agreements with AT&T which had recently purchased the rights to it. De Forest's company was no match for GE, Westinghouse, and RCA. The De Forest Radio Company (1923) went bankrupt in 1928, was reorganized in 1930, and went into receivership in 1933. RCA eventually purchased its assets.

Marconi Companies

Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) came from a wealthy and well connected Italian family. He was able to spend his time developing his inventions and following his own course of action. Marconi spent his entire life developing wireless communication into a "practical" reality. In 1905 Marconi invented a directional antenna. In 1909 he shared with Karl Ferdinand Braun the Nobel prize in physics. And in 1912 he invented the time spark system for the generation of continuous waves. The principal patents in his name were improved types of vertical antennas; improved coherer; magnetic detector for the detection of wireless signals; and improvements on methods of selective tuning. Two other inventions of great importance to the Marconi companies' patent structure were the Oliver Lodge tuning patent and the Ambrose Fleming valve.

In 1895 Marconi made the first successful transmission of long wave signals. The following year he met William Preece, engineer-in-chief of the British Post Office, who was interested in inductive wireless telegraphy. This meeting led to the formation in 1897 of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company Ltd. In 1898 he transmitted signals across the English Channel. In 1899 an American subsidiary was formed. The various Marconi companies were the dominant enterprises in both British and American wireless until 1919 when RCA was formed.

From a business standpoint, wireless did not become profitable until long distance communications were accomplished. On December 12, 1901 in St. John's, Newfoundland, Marconi received a telegraph signal in the form of repetitions of the Morse telegraphic letter "S" transmitted from the Marconi station at Poldhu, Cornwall, England. This success, however, was met by opposition from vested interests, particularly the Anglo-American Telegraph Company whose cables terminated in Newfoundland.

So as not to restrict his company's future to one front alone, Marconi decided to exploit the field of communication with ships at sea. In order to control this field he decided in 1900 to lease his apparatus rather than sell it outright. This strategy did not work. Competition developed in Germany (Telefunken Corporation) and the United States (American De Forest and its successor, United Wireless) and Marconi was forced to sell rather than lease apparatus to the navies of various countries. He nevertheless retained numerous restrictions. This led to further friction. At the height of this debacle English stations worldwide refused to communicate with ships without Marconi equipment. This absurd and dangerous situation had to change and coastal stations opened up to all senders in 1908.

Marconi's system was based on spark technology. He saw no need for voice transmission. He felt the Morse code adequate for communication between ships and across oceans. He, along with most others, did not foresee the development of the radio and the broadcasting industry. He was a pragmatist and uninterested in scientific inquiry in a field where commercial viability was unknown.

For these reasons Marconi left the early experimentation with the radio telephone to others, particularly Lee De Forest and Reginald Fessenden.

National Electric Signaling Company

Canadian-born Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932), one of the principal early radio inventors and the first important inventor to experiment with wireless, left the University of Pittsburgh in 1900 to work for the U.S. Weather Bureau. There he invented the liquid barretter, an early radio receiver, and attempted to work out a means for wireless transmission of weather forecasts. After a squabble over patent rights, Fessenden resigned in 1902.

The National Electric Signaling Company (NESCO), primarily intended to support Fessenden's work on wireless, telegraphy, and telephony, was formed by Fessenden and two Pittsburgh capitalists, Hay Walker, Jr. and Thomas H. Given. It began as an inventor's laboratory and never proved successful as a business venture.

Fessenden recognized that a continuous wave transmission was required for speech and he continued the work of Nikola Tesla, John Stone Stone, and Elihu Thomson on this subject. Fessenden felt he could also transmit and receive Morse code better by the continuous wave method than with a spark-apparatus as Marconi was using.

In 1903 Fessenden's first high-frequency alternator needed for continuous wave transmission was built to his specifications by Charles Steinmetz of GE. In 1906 Fessenden obtained a second alternator of greater power from GE and on Christmas Eve broadcast a program of speech and music. The work on this alternator was given to Ernst F. W. Alexanderson. It took years for Alexanderson to develop an alternator capable of transmitting regular voice transmissions over the Atlantic. But by 1916 the Fessenden-Alexanderson alternator was more reliable for transatlantic communication than the spark apparatus.

Fessenden also worked on continuous-wave reception. This work arose out of his desire for a more effective type of receiver than the coherer, a delicate device that was limited by its sensitivity on a rolling ship at sea. In 1903 he developed a new receiving mechanism - the electrolytic detector.

As his work progressed Fessenden evolved the heterodyne system. However, due to faulty construction and the fact that it was ahead of its time, heterodyne reception was not fully appreciated until the oscillating triode was devised, thus allowing a practical means of generating the local frequency.

Between 1905 and 1913 Fessenden developed a completely self-sustaining wireless system. However, constant quarrels between Fessenden, Walker, and Given culminated in Fessenden's forming the Fessenden Wireless Company of Canada. He felt a Canadian company could better compete with British Marconi. As a result, his backers dismissed Fessenden from NESCO in January of 1911. Fessenden brought suit, won, and was awarded damages. To conserve assets pending appeal, NESCO went into receivership in 1912, and Samuel Kintner was appointed general manager of the company.

In 1917 Given and Walker formed International Signal Company (ISC) and transferred NESCO's patent assets to the new company. Westinghouse obtained majority control of ISC through the purchase of $2,500,000 worth of stock. The company was then reincorporated as The International Radio Telegraph Company. The Westinghouse-RCA agreements were signed in 1921 and International's assets were transferred to RCA.

RCA

The development of the radio industry accelerated after 1912. This was due to several factors, the most important of which was the passage of legislation by the US government requiring ships at sea to carry wireless. This created a market incentive and spurred the growth of the industry. Also, with the outbreak of World War I, the larger electrical companies turned their manufacturing output to radio apparatus, supporting the war effort. Three firms were prominent in this industrial endeavor: AT&T, GE, and Westinghouse.

AT&T's early contributions to this effort centered on their improvements of De Forest's triode, particularly in the evolution of circuits, the redesign of the mechanical structure, and an increase in the plate design. The importation of the Gaede molecular pump from Germany created a very high vacuum. The resulting high-vacuum tube brought the practical aspects of the wireless telephone closer to reality. By August 1915 speech had been sent by land wire to Arlington, Va., automatically picked up there via a newly developed vacuum-tube transmitter, and subsequently received at Darien, Canal Zone. By 1920 AT&T had purchased the rights to the De Forest triode and feedback circuit, and had placed itself in a strong position in the evolution of radio technology.

GE centered its efforts on the alternator, assigning Ernst F. W. Alexanderson to its design, and on further development of vacuum tube equipment for continuous wave telegraph transmission. By 1915 Alexanderson, Irving Langmuir, William D. Coolidge, and others had developed a complete system of continuous wave transmission and reception for GE.

As can be seen, both AT&T and GE were diverting major time and expenditures on vacuum tube research. This inevitably led to patent interferences and consequently, to cross-licensing arrangements.

Westinghouse was not in the strategic position of GE and AT&T. Nevertheless, during the war it did manufacture large quantities of radio apparatus, motors, generators, and rectifiers for the European and American governments. Postwar moves led Westinghouse into full partnership with the other two companies.

By the end of the war, all three companies had committed significant resources to wireless. They were hampered internationally, however, by the Marconi Company's dominant status, and in the United States they were blocked by opposing interests with control of key patents.

The US government also was concerned with this lack of solidarity in the wireless industry and over the British domination of the field worldwide. This impasse set a fascinating and complicated stage for the formation of the RCA.

Owen D. Young, legal counselor for GE, was instrumental in breaking the impasse. Through an innovative and far-reaching organizational consolidation, Young was able to persuade British Marconi that persistence in monopoly was a fruitless exercise, because of the strong US government feelings. Marconi, realizing the harm of a potential American boycott, finally agreed to terms. GE purchased the controlling interest in American Marconi, and RCA was formed. Young was made chairman of the board of RCA, while Edwin J. Nally and David Sarnoff of the old American Marconi were appointed president and commercial manager respectively.

On July 1, 1920, RCA signed a cross-licensing agreement with AT&T. The telephone company purchased one half million shares of RCA common and preferred stock for several considerations -- the most important being that all current and future radio patents of the two companies were available to each other royalty-free for ten years. Many provisions of these agreements were ambiguous and led to later squabbles between the RCA partners.

In May 1920 Westinghouse, which had an efficient radio manufacturing organization, formed an alliance with the International Radio and Telegraph Company (NESCO's successor). Westinghouse's part ownership gave them control of Fessenden's patents, particularly continuous-wave transmission and heterodyne transmission. Westinghouse also wisely purchased in October of 1920 Armstrong's patents on the regenerative and superheterodyne circuits -- which also included some of Columbia University professor Michael Pupin's patents. This placed Westinghouse in a strong bargaining position vis-à-vis RCA and in their new consolidated corporation. Westinghouse joined the growing group of radio companies on June 30, 1921. With these mergers, RCA agreed to purchase forty percent of its radio apparatus from Westinghouse and sixty percent from GE.

Through these and other legal arrangements, RCA obtained the rights to over 2,000 patents. These amounted to practically all the patents of importance in the radio science of that day. As a result, other firms in the radio industry, for example, the United Fruit Company and the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company, entered into cross-licensing arrangements with RCA.

RCA also made arrangements internationally with the three dominant companies in radio communication in their respective countries. British Marconi, Compagnie Generale de Telegraphie sans fil, and Telefunken. Each corporation was given exclusive rights to use the other companies' patents within their own territories.

The rise of amateur radio in the 1920s and, to a greater extent, the demand for new products by the general public contributed to the rise of the broadcasting industry. This put a strain on the earlier agreements between the major radio corporations and between 1921 and 1928 there was a struggle over patents for control of the evolving medium.

An initial attempt by AT&T to control the broadcasting industry -- using its earlier cross-licensing agreements to manufacture radio telephone transmitting equipment -- began with AT&T's disposal of RCA stock holdings in 1922-1923. It ended in 1926 with a new cross-licensing agreement which gave AT&T exclusive patent rights in the field of public service telephony and gave GE, RCA, and Westinghouse exclusive patent rights in the areas covered by wireless telegraphy, entertainment broadcasting, and the manufacture of radio sets and receiving tubes for public sale.

In 1926 after the agreements were finalized, RCA, GE, and Westinghouse joined forces and established the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Fifty percent of the stock went to RCA, thirty percent to GE, and twenty percent to Westinghouse. The new company was divided into three divisions: the Red, Blue, and Pacific Networks. Independent, competing networks soon emerged. William S. Paley and his family formed the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1927. The Mutual Broadcasting System was formed in 1934.

By 1928 RCA had strong patent positions in all major areas of the radio industry, including the research, development and manufacture of vacuum tubes and speakers. Most small companies entering the industry in the 1920s produced their products based on prior research by others and on expired patents. An RCA license, therefore, was essential for the manufacture of any modern radio set or vacuum tube.

In the late 1920s new developments in the reproduction of sound, produced significant changes in the phonograph industry. Among those new developments were the introduction of the electronic record, and the marketing of the Radiola 104 Loudspeaker in 1926. In 1929 RCA purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company. This changed not only the quality but the sales of the phonograph and the phonograph record. A new entertainment industry was born and an ever-expanding market for consumer products was created with cultural implications that continue today.

Telefunken

German industrialists were eager to break the Marconi Company's monopoly. Although Marconi had patents on his inventions in Germany, the Germans developed a rival system through the Telefunken Corporation, incorporated in 1903, based on the inventions of Professor Ferdinand Braun, Dr. Rudolf Slaby, and Count George von Arco.

Before 1903 the Braun-Siemens and Halske system had been developed by Gesellschaft fur Drahtlose Telegraphie (GFDT). The Slaby-Arco system had been developed by Allgemeine Electrizitats-Gesellschaft. After litigation over patents, the German court handed down a decision in favor of the GFDT. The Kaiser, with national interests in mind, ordered that the rivalry cease. The two systems were amalgamated under GFDT, and became known as the Telefunken.

Chronology of Some Significant Events In The History of The Radio Industry

1895 -- Marconi experiments with Hertz's oscillator and Branley's coherer.

1897 -- In March Marconi demonstrates his wireless system on Salisbury Plain, near London, and files a complete patent specification. In May trials of Marconi's system are made over water between Lavernock and Flatholm, a distance of three miles. On May 13, communication is established between Lavernock Point and Brean Down, a distance of eight miles. German scientist Professor Slaby is present. The first Marconi station is erected at the Needles, Isle of Wight. A distance of fourteen and one-half miles is bridged by wireless. In December the Marconi station at the Needles communicates with a ship eighteen miles at sea.

1898 -- In England Oliver Lodge files a complete specification covering inventions in wireless telegraphy.

1899 -- The New York Herald uses Marconi's wireless telegraphy to report the progress of the International Yacht races between the Columbia and the Shamrock off New York harbor in September. US. Navy vessels make trials of Marconi's wireless telegraph system. The cruiser New York and the battleship Massachusetts are equipped with apparatus. Fessenden develops improvements in methods of wireless telegraph signaling.

1900 -- The Marconi International Marine Communication Company is organized on April 25th in London. Reginald Aubrey Fessenden begins work at the United States Weather Bureau. Over the next two years he invents the liquid barretter, an improved radio receiver.

1901 -- In February on board the SS Philadelphia, Marconi receives wireless signals over a distance of 1,551 miles. In March Marconi wireless telegraph service begins between islands of the Hawaiian group. On December 12, Marconi receives transatlantic signal at St. John's, Newfoundland from Poldhu, Cornwall, England. The Canadian government orders two Marconi telegraph sets for use at coastal points along the Strait of Belle Isle.

1901 -- Fessenden procures US patent no. 706737 for a system of radio signaling employing long waves (low frequency). De Forest develops a system of wireless telegraphy in Chicago. 1903-06 10,000 to 50,000 cycle machines, 1 kW, are developed by Steinmetz and by Alexanderson of GE for Fessenden. 1905 Marconi procures patent number 14788 in England, covering the invention of the horizontal directional antenna.

1906 -- At Brant Rock, Massachusetts, Fessenden employs a generator of one-half kW capacity, operating at 75,000 cycles, for radio purposes. He succeeds in telephoning a distance of eleven miles by means of wireless telephone apparatus.

1907 -- De Forest procures a U. S. patent for an audion amplifier of pulsating or alternating current.

1908 -- Marconi stations in Canada and England are opened for radio telegraph service across the Atlantic. Fessenden constructs a 70,000-cycle alternator with an output of 2.5 kW. at 225 volts, for radio signaling purposes. He reports successful radio telephone tests between Brant Rock and Washington, DC, a distance of 600 miles.

1909 -- US House of Representatives passes the Burke Bill for the compulsory use of radio telegraphy on certain classes of vessels. The United Wireless Telegraph Company and the Radio Telephone Company of New York (De Forest and Stone systems) begin the erection of radio stations in the Central and Western states. Marconi shares with Ferdinand Braun of Germany the Nobel prize in recognition of contributions in wireless telegraphy.

1910 -- An act of the US government requires radio equipment and operators on certain types of passenger ships. The Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Marconi station is opened in September. This station communicates with Clifden, Ireland. The transatlantic tariff is seventeen cents a word.

1911 -- A radio section is organized by the US Department of Commerce to enforce the provisions of national radio legislation. Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company acquires the Lodge-Muirhead patents.

1912 -- Rotary gap is used with Fessenden 100 kW 500 cycle spark set at NAA, the Navy's first high-power station at Arlington, Virginia. Marconi Wireless of America acquires property of the United Wireless Telegraph Company. British Marconi secures the important radio patents of Bellini and Tosi, Italian inventors. Wreck of the SS Titanic on April 15th. The act of 1910 is extended on July 23 to cover cargo vessels. requires an auxiliary source of power on ships and two or more skilled radio apparatus operators on certain types of passenger ships. On August 13, an act provides for licensing radio operators and transmitting stations.

1912-1913 -- High vacuum amplifying tubes (an improvement on De Forest's), using the findings of pure science, are produced almost simultaneously in two great industrial laboratories, by Dr. H. D. Arnold of AT&T and Irving Langmuir of GE.

1915 -- De Forest Ultra-audion three-step (cascade) audio amplifier is announced and introduced into practice.

1916 -- GE and the Western Electric Company develop the first experimental vacuum tube radiotelephone systems for the Navy.

1917-1918 -- First production of vacuum tubes in quantity, both coated filament and tungsten filament types, by Western Electric Company and GE.

1918 -- Lloyd Espenschied procures US patent number 1,256,889 for the invention of a duplex radio telegraph system. (See Lloyd Espenschied Papers, Archives Center, NMAH, Collection #13.) The House of Representatives passes a resolution on July 5, authorizing the President to take over management of telegraph and telephone systems due to war conditions.

1919 -- Bills are introduced in Congress for permanent government control of radio stations. The widespread resentment of amateurs has more to do with the defeat of these bills than the objections of commercial companies. Roy Alexander Weagant, New York, reports having developed means of reducing disturbances to radio reception caused by atmospherics or static. This is the first successful static-reducing system. GE purchases the holdings of the British Marconi Company in the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, the name of the latter company being changed to Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in October. Edward J. Nally is elected president of the new company.

1920 -- E. F. W. Alexanderson is appointed Chief Engineer of RCA. RCA begins the installation of 200-kW Alexanderson alternators at Bolinas, California, and Marion, Massachusetts. The Tropical Radio Telegraph Company, a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company, New York, operates ten long-distance radio stations at points in Central and South Americirca RCA purchases 6,000 acres at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York, and begins erection of a Radio Central station, comprising a number of operating units for communication with European stations and stations in South Americirca On May 15, RCA inaugurates radio telegraph services between installations at Chatham and Marion, Massachusetts, and stations at Stavanger and Jaerobe, Norway. Westinghouse Company's radio station KDKA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, broadcasts returns of the national elections, November 2. Development, design, and manufacture by GE of the early receiving and transmitting tubes made available to the public by RCA (UV-200,201,202). Radio telegraph stations and properties taken over by the government under war time powers are returned to their owners at midnight, February 29. The government calls for bids for the sale of large quantities of surplus radio and telegraph and telephone apparatus purchased for war needs and not used.

1921 -- RCA develops Vacuum tubes UV-200(detector) and UV-201(amplifier) -- both triodes with brass shells known as the UV base, and incorporating a filament that required 1 ampere at 5 volts for operation -- for storage battery operation; and at the same time also released to the public the WD-11 for dry cell operation, which employed an oxide-coated tungsten filament. RCA station at Rocky Point, Long Island, opens on November 5. WJZ station established by the Westinghouse Company in Newark, NJ. RCA broadcast station at Roselle Park, NJ (WDY) opens on December 15. It continues operation until February 15, 1922, when its operation is transferred to WJZ, Newark, previously owned by Westinghouse. RCA installs 200-kW alternator at Tuckerton, NJ.

1922 -- First use of tube transmitters by RCA for service from the United States to England and Germany. RCA begins substitution of tube transmitters on ships to replace spark sets. RCA begins replacement of crystal receivers by tube receivers on ships.

1923 -- Broadcast stations WJZ and WJY opened in New York in May by RCA. WRC opens in Washington on August 1. The UV-201A, receiving tubes developed by GE and consuming only 1/4 of an ampere are introduced by RCA. Tungsten filaments coated and impregnated with thorium were employed.

1924 -- Edwin H. Armstrong, demonstrates the superheterodyne receiver on March 6th. In November RCA experiments with radio photographs across the Atlantic. RCA markets the superheterodyne receivers for broadcast reception.

1925-26 -- Dynamic loudspeakers introduced. Magnetic pick-up phonograph recording and reproduction developed. RCA opens radio circuit to Dutch East Indies. Direction-finders introduced on ships.

1927 -- Fully self-contained AC radio receivers introduced.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the Smithsonian in 1959.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.

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:

Radio engineers -- 1880-1950  Search this

Electric engineers -- 1880-1950  Search this

Radio -- History  Search this

Electricity -- 1880-1950  Search this

Communication -- 1880-1950  Search this

Genre/Form:

Technical manuals -- Electrical equipment

Clippings

Patents

Correspondence -- 1930-1950

Blueprints

Letters patent

Photographs -- 1850-1900

Sale catalogs -- Electrical equipment -- 1880-1950

Technical drawings

Photographs -- 1900-1950

Citation:

George H. Clark Radioana Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0055

See more items in:

George H. Clark Radioana Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0055

Creator:

Sutnar, Ladislav  Search this

Names:

Addo-X Business Machines  Search this

Bauhaus -- Influence  Search this

Carr's Department Stores  Search this

Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive  Search this

J.C. Penny Co.  Search this

McGraw-Hill Book Company, inc.  Search this

Printex Corporation  Search this

RCA Corporation  Search this

Sweet's Catalog Service  Search this

Vera (Company)  Search this

Sutnar, Ladislav  Search this

Extent:

85 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Advertisements

Layouts

Brochures

Correspondence

Sketches

Sales catalogs

Photographs

Date:

1927-1976

Summary:

Material relates to Sutnar's career including exhibitions, designs for corporate clients, designs for books on packaging design and catalog information. Little office correspondence and personal information is provided.The major part of the collection consists of Sutnar's designs, including logos, letterheads, catalogs, and advertising campaigns for a large number of clients, notably Addo-X, Carr's Department Stores, JC Penney, RCA, and Vera, as well as product and catalog design for Sweet's Catalog Service. Also included are drafts of books, sketches, over 5,000 photographs, photoprints, and photonegatives. Other materials include clippings, page layouts, brochures and booklets about package design and magazine layouts.

Arrangement note:

Arranged by client account and by material size. A picture reference file is boxed separately.

Biographical/Historical note:

Graphic, display, and industrial designer. Born Pilsen, Austro- Hungary (now Plzen, Czech Republic), 9 November 1897. Sutnar immigrated to the United States in 1939. He was inspired by the Bauhaus and was an advocate for a constructivist and functional approach in graphic design stressing simplicity, order, and precision. He was the art editor of the Prague publishing house, "Druzstevni Prace." Sitmar was head designer for the Czech pavilion at 1939 New York World's Fair.

He served as art director for Sweet's Catalog Service from 1941 to 1960. Due to his belief that designers need to be capable of working in many fields of design, Sutnar established his own "full-service" firm in New York City in 1951. He developed a new typography called "information graphics". He was author of "Design for Point of Sale", 1952, "Package Design: The Force of Selling", 1953, and "Visual Design in Action", 1961. Sutnar also created corporate image products for McGraw-Hill and Printex. Died 1976.

Location of Other Archival Materials Note:

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Drawings and Prints Department.Seven posters, one magazine cover, two designs for glassware, and some duplicates of the archival material.

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Applied Arts Department. One ceramic coffee service, one glass tea service.

Archives of American Art, Washington, D.C.Business and personal correspondence, biographical data, sketches, photographs, clippings, and other print miscellany, circa 1927-1976.

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y.Approximately 215 items dating from 1940 to 1970 include printed samples of Sutnar's designs for periodical covers, advertisements, catalogs, books, displays, and posters.

Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities, Special Collections, Los Angeles, C.A.Papers relating to Sutnar's designs and exhibitions, 1928-1969.

Provenance:

The Sutnar Papers were donated to Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, in 1977 by Radoslav L. Sutnar and Citislav Sutnar.

Restrictions:

Unrestricted research use onsite by appointment. Permission of staff required to photograph material.

Topic:

Corporate image -- Design  Search this

Letterheads -- Design  Search this

Graphic arts -- United States  Search this

Design, Industrial -- United States  Search this

Logos (Symbols) -- Design  Search this

Glassware -- Czech Republic -- Bohemia  Search this

Porcelain -- Czech Republic  Search this

Packaging -- Design  Search this

Graphic arts -- Czech Republic  Search this

Genre/Form:

Advertisements

Layouts

Brochures

Correspondence

Sketches

Sales catalogs

Photographs

Identifier:

SIL-CH.2001-26-1

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-sil-ch-2001-26-1

Creator:

Good Humor Corporation.  Search this

Names:

Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969  Search this

Eisenhower, Mamie Doud, 1896-1979  Search this

Extent:

2 Cubic feet (4 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Phonograph records

Pamphlets

Sound recordings

Sales catalogs

Training manuals

Cartoons (humorous images)

Wrapping materials

Decalcomania

Catalogs

Packaging materials

Date:

1927 - 1991

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists of photographs related to the Good Humor Company and its products, game shows using Good Humor products, and celebrities (such as Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower) eating Good Humor products. There are also articles about Good Humor, product catalogs, training manuals, cartoons, brochures, decals, and samples of product packaging. Audiovisual materials include audio discs and videotapes.

Series 1, Sales and Business Materials, 1927-1991, includes articles about Good Humor, Incorporated, manuals for training and sales presentations, promotional literature and artwork, advertisements, advertising storyboards, product decals and ice cream sticks, cartoons, and the Little Golden Book The Good Humor Man.

Series 2, Packaging, 1968-1981, consists of labels, wrappers and boxes for Good Humor products and some of its competitors.

Series 3, Photographs, 1931-1971 consists of images of Good Humor factories; salesmen; vehicles; employees; equipment; Good Humor products featured on "Wonderama," "The Alan Burke Show," and "To Tell the Truth;" and Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower eating Good Humor ice cream. Many of the photographs were taken by Tim Murtagh of New York City, International News Photos, N. Lazarnick, commercial photographer of New York City, Alex Siodmak of New York City, Standard Flashlight Company of New York City, Kaufman and Fabry Company Photographers, and Alexandre's Photo Studio.

Series 4, Audiovisual Materials is composed of two subseries. Subseries A, Audio Discs, undated contains two 78 R.P.M. discs titled Gaytime Wild Cherry and Gaytime Thunderball, and Subseries B, Videotape, undated, consists of two copies of public relations material about Good Humor.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into four series.

Series 1, Sales and Business Materials, 1927-1991

Series 2, Packaging, 1968-1981

Subseries 1, Labels, undated

Subseries 2, Wrappers, 1968-1981

Subseries 3, Boxes, undated

Series 3, Photographs, 1931-1971

Series 4, Audiovisual, undated

Subseries 1, Audio Discs, undated

Subseries 2, Videotape, undated

Related Materials:

Material at the National Museum of American History, Division of Work and Industry

The Division of Work and Industry holds related artifacts (push cart, a cap, a money bag, a hat, a belt, an apron, a coin, buttons, emblems, a tape measure, and a truck). See Accession numbers 1993.0075; 1994.0143; 2000.0264; and 2002.3025.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Gold Bond-Good Humor Ice Cream, through Lawrence Link on June 18, 1992.

Restrictions:

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.

Topic:

Television broadcasting  Search this

Ice cream industry  Search this

Game shows -- Television  Search this

Packaging -- 1930-1950  Search this

Genre/Form:

Phonograph records

Pamphlets -- 1930-1950

Sound recordings -- 1930-1950

Sales catalogs -- 1930-1950

Training manuals -- 1930-1950

Cartoons (humorous images) -- 1930-1960

Wrapping materials -- 1930-1950

Decalcomania -- 1930-1950

Catalogs -- 1930-1950

Packaging materials -- 1930-1950

Citation:

Gold Bond-Good Humor Collection, circa 1927-1991, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0451

See more items in:

Gold Bond-Good Humor Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0451

Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

4.89 Cubic feet (consisting of 10.5 boxes, 2 folders, 5 oversize folders, 2 map case folders.)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Business records

Business cards

Publications

Trade catalogs

Advertisements

Sales catalogs

Business letters

Printed materials

Receipts

Printed material

Invoices

Illustrations

Business ephemera

Letterheads

Design patents

Advertising mail

Patents

Print advertising

Catalogs

Sales records

Advertising

Trade cards

Advertising fliers

Periodicals

Catalogues

Manufacturers' catalogs

Advertising cards

Commercial correspondence

Ephemera

Printed ephemera

Manuals

Reports

Commercial catalogs

Trade literature

Sales letters

Legal documents

Correspondence

Mail order catalogs

Date:

1804-1967

Summary:

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

Scope and Contents:

Covers glassware in its many forms and application including in building design and sculpture, both as a structural and an aesthetic component, in lighting, in art as a medium and as a method to protect and display art (picture frames, cases, etcetera.), in industry (insulators, electronics), in transportation (lighthouses, railroad signal glasses, headlamps), and in science with medical and lab supplies and instruments, and equipment such as telescopes. Daily and practical use consumer products feature prominently in the form of household and decorative goods (jarring, canning, dish and serving ware, daily and special use), windows, lamps and lighting, storage of liquids and solids, including detergents, medicine storage, plus beverages and foodstuffs, and cleaning of glass. Colored, ornamental, ground, etched, leaded, stained, and mosaic glasswork related material appears sporadically. China and other ceramic and pottery breakable wear is sometimes categorized along with clear, cut, opaque, and colored glass. Related aspects, such as stoppers, are also included.

Collection materials represent a sampling of businesses and products. The Patent and Design folder has numerous submission summaries, along with schematics, some hand drawn, and a few blueprints, mostly related to bottle design. A limited amount of industry publications and union documents are present, especially for the Glass Workers.

Arrangement:

Glassware is arranged in three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Subject

Partial List of Companies in the Oversize Materials:

Oversize materials include, but are not limited to the following companies:

Averbeck, M.J., New York, NY

Cleveland Glass Works, Cleveland, NY

Cold Spring Distilling Company Cincinatti, OH

Craft House Williamsburg Restoration, Inc. Williamsburg, VA

Cullen & Newman Knoxville, TN

French, Richards, and Company Philadelphia, PA

Glassware: Union Wages and Rules

Jones, Thomas New York, NY

Libby Owens Ford Class Company Manufacturers of Safety Glass Location unknown

Metropolitan Plate Glass Insurance Company New York, NY

Morgantown, WV

New Jersey Plate Glass Insurance Company Newark, NJ

New York Plate Glass Insurance Company New York, NY

Seneca Glass Company

Smalley, A.G. and Company Boston, MA

Woods, Sherwood and Company Lowell, MA

Forms Part Of:

Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material

Provenance:

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

Restrictions:

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

Rights:

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

Occupation:

Glass artists  Search this

Stained glass artists -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Stained glass artists  Search this

Topic:

Glass manufacture  Search this

Glassware  Search this

Glassware -- Catalogs  Search this

Glass art -- United States -- 20th century  Search this

Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this

Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this

Retail trade  Search this

Sales promotion  Search this

Trade associations  Search this

advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this

Mosaics  Search this

Etching -- Technique  Search this

Windows  Search this

Genre/Form:

Business records

Business cards

Publications -- Business

Trade catalogs

Advertisements

Sales catalogs

Business letters

Printed materials

Receipts

Printed material

Invoices

Illustrations

Business ephemera

Letterheads

Design patents

Advertising mail

Patents

Print advertising

Catalogs

Sales records

Advertising

Trade cards

Advertising fliers

Periodicals

Catalogues

Manufacturers' catalogs

Advertising cards

Commercial correspondence

Ephemera

Printed ephemera

Manuals

Reports

Commercial catalogs

Publications

Trade literature

Sales letters

Legal documents

Correspondence

Mail order catalogs

Citation:

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

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Glassware

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Glassware

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

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