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Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

Symposia

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2023-12-06T18:47:13.000Z

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Science & Technology  Search this

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American History  Search this

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Creator:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2018-09-07T19:23:08.000Z

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Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, modern  Search this

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Data Source:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

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edanmdm:yt_eKnd-EGCZm4

Creator:

Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated  Search this

Lockwood-Greene Company  Search this

Whitman, David  Search this

Greene, Stephen  Search this

Lockwood, Amos  Search this

Former owner:

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

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

Extent:

270 Cubic feet (233 boxes, 850 oversize folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Linen tracings

Paper flimsies

Business records

Design drawings

Blueprints

Patents

Specifications

Reports

Photograph albums

Photographs

Trade literature

Date:

1784-2004, undated

bulk 1915-1930

Summary:

The engineering firm that became Lockwood Greene was founded by David Whitman, a mill engineer, in 1832. Amos D. Lockwood, a consultant, succeeded Whitman and entered a partnership with Stephen Greene in 1882. The firm specialized in industrial engineering and construction; they designed and built a wide variety of structures and work environments worldwide over the next century. Lockwood Greene was acquired by CH2M HILL in December, 2003. Before its acquisition by CH2MHILL it was reportedly the oldest industrial engineering, construction, and professional services firm in the United States.

Scope and Contents:

The Lockwood Greene records are a comprehensive range of documents related to the appraisal, building, construction, design, evaluation, and engineering of facilities for a variety of clients. The material covers the entire period of industrialization of the United States, and, provides a thorough record of the textile industry, both in New England and the South. Some of the textile mills are documented with unusual completeness, showing water and steam power layouts, factory village plans, and landscaping schedules. A broad range of other building typologies is also covered, including projects with public or retail functions, such as early automobile showrooms, hospitals, apartments and private dwellings, churches, and schools.

In-depth study of the company's earliest history is hampered by a scarcity of records, many of which were lost in the great fire that destroyed Boston's city center in 1872. Nevertheless, graphic and textual evidence does exist within the collection that illuminates these early projects, in addition to the fabric of surviving buildings. The Lockwood Greene records document several commissions that the firm would return to again and again over the course of many decades as clients requested plant additions, upgrades to mechanical and operating systems, and other substantive changes. Researchers are encouraged to examine the blueprints, elevations, and plans for these later additions in order to find illustrations of the firm's earlier interventions at the site. In addition to drawings, other visual evidence for nineteenth-century projects can be found in the company's extensive photo files, which often document structures for which drawings do not exist.

The Lockwood Greene records contain an abundance of graphic and textual evidence for structures designed after 1910 until the 1930s. After this period, visual documentation becomes much more limited. This is partially due to the evolution of drafting tools and information management technologies within the architecture and engineering profession. Lockwood Greene was an early adopter of technological innovations in rendering and data capture, beginning with the introduction of aperture cards and microfilm and extending to the adoption of computer-aided design (CAD) programs. These more modern formats were not part of the acquisition, and, at the time of writing, still reside with the company.

The Lockwood-Greene collection will be of interest to historians of architecture and engineering, as well as those that study the history of business and labor relations. It provides extensive textual and documentary evidence on the evolution and growth of American engineering and the increasing professionalization of the discipline through specialization during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Rich holdings of architectural drawings, photographs, and specifications provide unparalleled resources that trace the evolution of industrial buildings and their typologies; experimentation with building materials and systems, particularly with regards to fireproofing; and the history of textile manufacture in the United States. In addition, there is also rich visual and documentary evidence of the changing relationships between corporations and their employees through photographs, plans, and designs for company towns and mill villages, as well as through corporate records that illustrate the work culture of Lockwood Greene itself. The Lockwood-Greene collection will be of special interest to historic preservationists as the awareness of the significance of industrial and vernacular buildings continues to grow, and detailed design drawings and other visual material will be of especial value for restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive-reuse projects.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into six series.

Series 1, Project Drawings, Renderings, and Plans, 1784-1969, undated

Series 2, Photographs and Slides, 1881-2001, undated

Subseries 2.1: Photo Albums, 1906-1934

Subseries 2.2: Photographic Files, 1881-1956

Subseries 2.3: Spartanburg Office Photographic File, 1948-1974

Subseries 2.4: Spartanburg Office Photographic File, 1919-1999

Subseries 2.5: Project Negatives and Transparencies, 1956-1970

Subseries 2.6: Project Slides and Transparencies, 1985-2001

Subseries 2.7: Project Slides and Transparencies, Culls, 1974-2001

Subseries 2.8: Project Slides and Transparencies, Corporate Photography, 1976-1998

Subseries 2.9: Photograph Album Covers, 1920, undated

Series 3: Job Files, 1872-1957, undated

Subseries 3.1, Specifications, 1913-1942, undated

Subseries 3.2: List of Drawings, 1872-1951, undated

Subseries 3.3: Project Files, 1919-1969, undated

Subseries 3.4: Reports, 1913-1969

Subseries 3.5: Job Cost Records, 1913-1957, undated

Series 4, Corporate Records and History, 1881-2004, undated

Subseries 4.1: Meeting Minutes, 1913-1995

Subseries 4.2: Corporate Files, 1891-2004, undated

Subseries 4.3: Historical Research and Reference Files and Photographs, 1881-1983, undated

Subseries 4.4: Corporate Publications, 1917-2001, undated

Series 5, Non-Lockwood Greene Publications, 1910-1984, undated

Series 6, Audio-Visual, 1964

Biographical / Historical:

Lockwood Greene, one of the nation's oldest engineering firms, traces it roots to 1832, when Rhode Island native David Whitman began a machinery repair service. Riding the wave of the early industrial revolution in textile manufacturing, Whitman added mill design services to his repertoire, which formed the backbone of a flourishing consulting business for the rest of the century. Whitman was one of the first itinerant mill engineers or "doctors" that traveled throughout New England advising various industrialists on the placement, design, and construction of their factories and the layout of the complicated system of machinery and shafting that they contained. His largest commission was the design of the Bates Manufacturing Company complex in Lewiston, Maine, which was incorporated in 1850 and soon became one of the largest textile producers in New England.

Upon Whitman's death in 1858, his unfinished work was assumed by Amos D. Lockwood, a prominent mill agent and astute businessman who had built a name for himself in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The successful completion of the projects at Lewiston brought enough additional demand for Lockwood's services to prompt him to relocate to Boston, where he formally opened an independent consulting office with partner John W. Danielson in 1871. For the next ten years, A.D. Lockwood & Company was involved in a least eight major mill design projects, half of which were for new construction. One of these projects, the design and construction of the Piedmont Manufacturing Company in Greenville (now Piedmont), South Carolina was especially significant and is considered to be a prototype for the Southern textile industry.

In 1882, Lockwood established a new business, Lockwood, Greene and Company, with Stephen Greene, a professionally-trained civil engineer who had joined the firm in 1879. As the firm grew, it expanded its scope as consultants supplying all of the necessary architectural and engineering services a prospective owner needed to initiate, equip, and run a complete plant. Acting as the owners' representative, the company supervised construction and installation but did not directly act as builders or contractors. Lockwood

Greene's objective expertise was legendary and made it a leader in this emergent field. As Samuel B. Lincoln explains in his history of the company:

"The new firm's knowledge and experience in the textile industry enabled it to analyze samples of cloth and, from such samples, to provide everything necessary for a completed plant to make such goods in any desired quantity. It did not at any time act as selling agents for machinery or equipment, neither did it accept commissions or rebates from suppliers: by this policy it maintained a position as impartial and independent engineer." (pages 105-107)

Greene became president of the company upon Lockwood's death in 1884. Under his leadership, the company expanded into additional industries and designed an array of other industrial building types that would prefigure the diversity of later work. In 1893, the company revolutionized American industry by designing and constructing the first factory whose operating power was provided entirely over electric wires from a remote power plant, rather than relying upon a water source or a stockpiled fuel supply. The Columbia Mills project created a great deal of publicity for the firm and was a signal to other manufacturers that there were viable alternatives to the use of steam power.

As changing economic conditions led Lockwood Greene to move away from its traditional reliance upon the textile manufacturing industry, it was very successful at soliciting projects for a wide variety of structures, from newspaper plants and automotive factories to convention halls and schools. After 1900, Lockwood Greene expanded its operations and opened branch offices in other cities, including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, and Charlotte. In 1915, Edwin F. Greene, president and son of Stephen Greene, reorganized the firm as Lockwood, Greene & Company, Incorporated This new entity served as the parent company and controlled three subsidiaries: one to own and operate cotton mills that Greene had acquired; one to manage other companies' textile mills; and one to provide engineering services.

Lockwood Greene expanded its operations tremendously as the textile industry boomed under wartime demand and in the years following. The severe textile depression from 1923 to 1928 caused the collapse of this structure, however, as Lockwood Greene continued to suffer deep losses in the textile mills that it owned. The parent company was dissolved in 1928 and the engineering subsidiary, which had remained profitable, was salvaged as Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated.

After a rocky start with the onset of the Depression, the company began to prosper during the Second World War and its growth continued steadily throughout the next several decades. In the late 1960s, as a result of declining business, the company's headquarters was transferred from Boston to Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 1981, Phillipp Holtzman USA, a subsidiary of Phillipp Holtzman AG of Frankfurt, Germany, acquired a majority interest in Lockwood Greene. In 2003, CH2M Hill, a global provider of engineering, construction, and operations services based in Denver, Colorado, acquired the company.

From its beginnings under David Whitman, Lockwood Greene has become one of the most diversified engineering firms in the United States. The firm is best known as a designer of industrial and institutional buildings, but the company has become a leader in many additional areas in recent years. Lockwood Greene dominates the market in the design and production of the germ- and dust-free "clean room" facilities required by the pharmaceutical industry and micro-electronics manufacturers. The company has also developed expertise in designing integrated security and networking systems for industrial plants, international port facilities, and military installations worldwide.

Banham, Raynor. A Concrete Atlantis: U.S. Industrial Building and European Modern Architecture, 1900-1925. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1986.

Biggs, Lindy. The Rational Factory: Architecture, Technology, and Work in America's Age of Mass Production. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.

Bradley, Betsy Hunter. The Works: The Industrial Architecture of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Greene, Benjamin Allen. Stephen Greene: Memories of His Life, with Addresses, Resolutions and Other Tributes of Affection. Chicago, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company, 1903.

Heiser, William J. Lockwood Greene, 1958-1968, Another Period in the History of an Engineering Business. Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated, 1970.

Lincoln, Samuel B. Lockwood Greene: The History of an Engineering Business, 1832-1958. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press, 1960.

Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated The Lockwood Greene Story: One-Hundred-Fifty Years of Engineering Progress. Spartanburg, South Carolina: Lockwood Greene Engineers, Incorporated; undated.

Related Materials:

Materials at the Smithsonian Instituion Libraries

"[Trade catalogs from Lockwood, Greene & Co.]", Trade Literature at the American History Museum Books, Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Provenance:

This collection was donated by Lockwood Greene, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1997 (original drawings). An addendum to the collection was donated by CH2M HILL in 2007.

Restrictions:

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

Rights:

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

Topic:

Architects  Search this

Architecture, Commercial  Search this

Architecture, Domestic  Search this

Building materials  Search this

Buildings  Search this

Construction industry  Search this

Company towns  Search this

Textile mills  Search this

Mills  Search this

Manufacturing industries  Search this

Industrial engineering  Search this

Industrial buildings -- Design and construction  Search this

Industrial buildings  Search this

Engineering  Search this

Factories -- Power supply  Search this

Factories -- Design and construction  Search this

Factories  Search this

Cotton textile industry  Search this

Commercial buildings  Search this

Electric power production  Search this

Genre/Form:

Linen tracings

Paper flimsies

Business records

Design drawings

Blueprints

Patents

Specifications

Reports

Photograph albums

Photographs -- 21st century

Photographs -- 20th century

Trade literature

Photographs -- 1890-1900

Citation:

Lockwood Greene Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:

Preservation of this collection was made possible in part by a generous gift from CH2M HILL.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1113

See more items in:

Lockwood-Greene Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85090342a-0c7e-4667-8b37-fa0e8309b5ac

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1113

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-05-21T18:24:35.000Z

YouTube Category:

Science & Technology  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_crjMv5mk3cc

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2012-06-26T15:13:43.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_h6-kk0KhPZc

Inventor:

Lauste, Eugene Augustin  Search this

Maker:

General Acoustic Company  Search this

Modifier:

Lauste, Eugene Augustin  Search this

Physical Description:

handmade (overall production method/technique)

wood; metal; carbon (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 7 1/2 in x 7 in x 1 1/2 in; 19.05 cm x 17.78 cm x 3.81 cm

Object Name:

Lauste: Carbon Microphone

microphone

Date made:

ca 1900s

Subject:

Motion Pictures  Search this

Credit Line:

Bell Telephone Laboratories

ID Number:

PG.4046.08

Catalog number:

4046.08

Accession number:

129430

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Photographic History

Photography

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-a6b3-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_759427

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2018-02-26T20:11:46.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

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cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_GulBsSxMRQQ

Author:

Rosenberg, Nathan 1927-  Search this

Physical description:

509 p illustrations maps 19 cm

Type:

Books

Aufsatzsammlung

anthologie

anthology

antología

carte géographique

gráfico

graph

graphique

map

mapa

référence bibliographique

reference

referencia

Date:

1971

Topic:

Economic development  Search this

Technological innovations  Search this

Développement économique  Search this

Innovations  Search this

Aufsatzsammlung  Search this

Desenvolvimento Economico  Search this

economic development  Search this

Technischer Fortschritt  Search this

Technological innovations--Economic aspects  Search this

cambio tecnológico  Search this

changement technologique  Search this

ciencias económicas  Search this

economics  Search this

sciences économiques  Search this

Technische ontwikkeling  Search this

technological change  Search this

análisis económico  Search this

analyse économique  Search this

crecimiento económico  Search this

croissance économique  Search this

cuadros estadísticos  Search this

economic analysis  Search this

economic growth  Search this

statistical table  Search this

tableau statistique  Search this

technologie  Search this

technology  Search this

tecnología  Search this

Call number:

HC79.T4 R67X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_10927

Creator:

Scherbatskoy, Serge A., 1908-2002  Search this

Names:

Neufeld, Jacob, 1906-2000  Search this

Extent:

17 Cubic feet (39 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Contracts

Agreements

Notebooks

Correspondence

Diazo prints

Laboratory notebooks

Patent applications

Reports

Date:

1925-2002

Summary:

Collection documents the professional career and business interests of inventor Serge A. Scherbatskoy, who specialized in petroleum geophysics. Papers include laboratory notebooks, license agreements, correspondence, blue line prints, patent litigation files, newspaper clippings, reference files, patents, promotional literature, and audio-visual materials.

Scope and Contents:

The Scherbatskoy papers provide insight into the relationship between inventors and the United States oil industry between the 1930s and 1990s, the evolution of the history of applied geophysics, and the development of technological innovation in oil prospecting, specifically applied and geophysics. One of the strengths of the collection is the patents Scherbatskoy pursued, renewed, or impeded. As sole proprietor of his own company, Geophysical Measurements Corp., Scherbatskoy meticulously constructed an international patenting program which made him a successful player among the giants of the oil industry. Another highlight of the collection is Scherbatskoy's fifteen laboratory notebooks that include his well logging work notes and drawings. Legal files illustrating litigation over the infringement of Scherbatskoy's patents are also found in the collection. The papers demonstrate how the oil prospecting industry worked from scientific, commercial and legal perspectives. The bulk of the papers are arranged chronologically to reflect the timeline of Scherbatskoy's career. Due to the limited number of personal materials, Scherbatskoy's personal papers are placed at the end of the series list.

Series 1, World War II Work, 1935-2002, is divided into three subseries and includes information on Scherbatskoy's relationship with physicists Bruno Pontecorvo (1913-1993) and Jacob Neufeld (1906-2000). Neufeld and Scherbatskoy worked on the application of nuclear physics to geophysical prospecting. Neufeld would later join the staff of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Materials include a file about Pontecorvo, Neufeld's laboratory notebook, and some correspondence between Neufeld and Scherbatskoy. This series also includes materials on Scherbatskoy's well logging projects during and after World War II.

Series 2, Invention Laboratory Journals and Drawings, 1958-1992, is further divided into two subseries and includes fifteen laboratory journals and a folder of drawings related to Scherbatskoy's well logging work. The journals are arranged numerically by journal number. In some instances, journal numbers repeat. Journals are paginated and include drawings, tipped-in graphs and charts, and notes relating to Scherbatskoy's well logging work. Some of the notebooks include pages signed by a witness, which Scherbatskoy could use as evidence to prove his ownership of a particular well logging invention idea.

Series 3, Radio Corporation of America (RCA), 1946, 1948, is comprised of one folder with a license agreement between Scherbatskoy and Radio Corporation of America for magnetic recording systems.

Series 4, Canadian Geophysical Measurements Corporation (GMC), 1957-2002, is divided into three subseries and provides information on Scherbatskoy's company Canadian Geophysical Measurements Corporation. Materials include license agreements, correspondence, and Canadian Geophysical Measurements vs. Computalog Gearhart, Ltd litigation files.

Series 5, ARPS Corporation (Jan J. Arps), 1960-1995, includes information on Arps Corporation, organized by Scherbatskoy, Jacob Neufeld, and Jan J. Arps in Dallas, TX to develop and practice measurement while drilling. The Arps Corporation materials are comprised of administrative and financial records, business correspondence, contracts of consultation, patents, license agreements, and Scherbatskoy's stock information.

Series 6, Gearhart-Owen Industries (GOI) (Gearhart Industries, Inc., (GII)), 1961-1996, is divided into seven subseries and consists of records generated during Scherbatskoy's measurement while drilling (MWD™) work with Gearhart-Owen Industries, Inc. One of the largest series in the collection, the Gearhart-Owen materials include license agreements, correspondence, litigation files, measurement while drilling reports and blue line prints of measurement while drilling equipment, signal extraction measurement while drilling study reports, reference materials, and United States, United Kingdom, and Canadian patent assignments between Scherbatskoy, Gearhart-Owen, and the Scherbatskoy Family Trust. Included in the litigation subseries is the Scherbatskoy Family Trust vs. Gearhart Industries, Inc., case. The Scherbatskoy Family Trust in 1975 sued for royalty payments due Scherbatskoy under the Scherbatskoy Gearhart-Owen Agreement on nuclear well logging technology and measurement while drilling. The case was settled in the late 1980s, and Gearhart Industries, Inc., paid royalties to the Scherbatskoy Family Trust. Gearhart materials are also present in Series 7, 8 and 9.

Series 7, Halliburton Company, 1978-1999, is divided into four subseries and includes license agreements, lawsuits and patent infringements, patents, and company acquisitions. This series documents Scherbatskoy's relationship with the Halliburton Company pre-and post-Halliburton's acquisition of Gearhart Industries in the 1980s. Halliburton materials are also in Series 8 and 10.

Series 8, Other Professional Work, 1964-1999, is divided into twelve subseries: McCullough Tool Company, Exploration Logging, Inc., Eastman Whipstock, Schlumberger, Ltd., Sperry-Sun Well Surveying Company, Christensen, Inc., Gunn and Kuffner (attorneys), NL Industries, Inc., Baker Oil Tools, Inc., AMF Scientific Drilling International, Inc., Geolink (UK) Ltd., Technolink (Cyprus), Ltd., and Computalog Gearhart, Ltd. In addition to providing information on oil prospecting companies that Scherbatskoy consulted with during his career, materials also include correspondence between Scherbatskoy and attorneys Gunn and Kuffner relating to Scherbatskoy's well logging patent rights.

Series 9, Well Logging Research Materials, 1937-2002, includes correspondence, papers, reports, promotional literature, and general research files relating to Scherbatskoy's well logging research.

Series 10, Licensing Agreements, 1961-1989, contains four folders documenting the nuclear well logging agreement between oil prospecting companies such as Gearhart Owen, Halliburton, Geophysical Measurements, Inc., and Welex Jet Services. Both Marvin Gearhart and Harold Owen of Gearhart-Owen had been employees of Welex before founding Gearhart-Owen Industries.

Series 11, Patents, 1937-1998, includes copies of patents issued to, among others, Scherbatskoy, Robert E. Fearon (inventor), James Upchurch (inventor), John Westlake (inventor), Mobil Oil Corp and Exxon. Materials also include patent applications, patent protests, patent annuities, and correspondence with the United States Patent Trademark Organization and the German Trademark Office.

Series 12, Personal Materials, 1925-1983, includes materials on Scherbatskoy's immigration to the United States, school diplomas, and memorial book. Visual materials include original photographs, and color copies of original photographs of Scherbatskoy as an adult, his family, and his inventions. Also included is a 1944 submarine training 16mm reel-to-reel film and an audio cassette tape of Scherbatskoy discussing his World War II work with his daughter Mary Scherbatskoy.

Arrangement:

Collection arranged into twelve series.

Series 1, World War II Work, 1935-2002

Subseries 1, Relationship with Bruno Pontecorvo, 1940-2002

Subseries 2, Relationship with Jacob Neufeld, 1935-1954

Subseries 3, Scherbatskoy Well Logging Project, 1940-1951

Series 2, Invention Journals and Drawings, 1958-1992

Subseries 1, Lab Journals, 1963-1992

Subseries 2, Scherbatskoy Invention Drawings, 1958, 1966

Series 3, Radio Corporation of America (RCA), 1946, 1948

Series 4, Canadian Geophysical Measurements Corporation (GMC), 1957-2002

Subseries 1, License Agreements, 1957-2002

Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1967-2002

Subseries 3, Canadian Geophysical Measurements vs. Computalog Gearhart, Ltd., 1986-1996

Series 5, ARPS Corporation (Jan J. Arps), 1960-1995

Series 6, Gearhart-Owen Industries, Inc., (GOI), (Gearhart Industries Inc., (GII), 1961-1996

Subseries 1, License Agreements, 1961-1996

Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1974-1988

Subseries 3, Scherbatskoy Family Trust (SFT) vs. Gearhart Industries, Inc., 1975-1988

Subseries 4, Measurement While Drilling (MWD) Development Reports and Blue Line Prints, 1973-1984

Subseries 5, Gearhart-Owen Signal Extraction (MWD) Study, 1979-1981

Subseries 6, Reference Materials, 1977-1990

Subseries 7, Patent Assignments, 1961-1987

Series 7, Halliburton Company, 1978-1999

Subseries 1, License Agreements, 1979-1999

Subseries 2, Lawsuits and Patent Infringements, 1989-1996

Subseries 3, Patents, 1978-1997, undated

Subseries 4, Halliburton Acquisitions, 1988-1999

Series 8, Other Professional Work, 1964-1999

Subseries 1, McCullough Tool Company, 1964-1996

Subseries 2, Exploration Logging, Inc., 1966-1998

Subseries 3, Eastman Whipstock, (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftungz-(GmbH)), 1978-1995

Subseries 4, Schlumberger, Ltd., 1967-1999

Subseries 5, Sperry-Sun Well Surveying Company, 1971-1996

Subseries 6, Christensen Diamond Products, Inc., 1977-1988

Subseries 7, Gunn and Kuffner (Attorneys), 1977-1999

Subseries 8, NL Industries, Inc., 1978-1994

Subseries 9, Baker Oil Tools, Inc., 1980-1999

Subseries 10, AMF Scientific Drilling International, Inc., 1984-1987

Subseries 11, Geolink (UK), Ltd., /Technolink (Cyprus) Ltd., 1985-2002

Subseries 12, Computalog Gearhart, Ltd., 1990-2002

Series 9, Well Logging Research Materials, 1937-2002

Subseries 1, Correspondence, 1967-2002

Subseries 2, Papers and Reports, 1960-1990

Subseries 3, Promotional Literature, 1978, undated

Subseries 4, General, 1937-1996

Series 10, Licensing Agreements, 1961-1989

Series 11, Patents, 1937-1998

Subseries 1, Well Logging Patents, 1937-1998

Subseries 2, John E. Westlake (Inventor) Patents, 1972-1996

Subseries 3, James M. Upchurch (Inventor) Patents, 1990-1998

Subseries 4, Other, 1943-1997

Series 12, Personal Materials, 1925-1983

Subseries 1, Personal Papers, 1925-1966

Subseries 2, Photographs, circa 1950s, undated

Subseries 3, Audio Visual Materials, 1944, 1983

Biographical / Historical:

Serge Alexander Scherbatskoy (1908-2002), a petroleum geophysical engineer, held more than 200 patents worldwide in petroleum exploration. Scherbatskoy was born July 18, 1908, in Buyuk Dere, Turkey, a suburb of Constantinople where his father, Alexander Ippolitovich Scherbatskoy, was Third Secretary to the Russian Embassy. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Alexander Ippolitovich planned to accept a post in the Kerensky government. When that fell, he joined the League of Nations offices in Berlin. Later, he moved the family to Paris where he was employed by Yokohama Specie Bank. Young Serge completed his education at the Sorbonne, earning a degree in physics in 1926.

In 1929, only months before the stock market crash, Scherbatskoy immigrated to the United States. He worked for Bell Labs in New York City from 1929 to 1932. While there, Scherbatskoy worked on the Type C Carrier telephone system, assisted in the Reproduction of Music in Auditory Perspective (the first Hi Fi) and invented an automatic volume control using copper oxide semiconductors, for which the patent was denied. About this time, he met Mary Ellen Dunham; they married in 1938 and had four children: Mary, Serge, Timothy, and Jonathan.

After being laid off from Bell Labs in 1932, Scherbatskoy held a number of odd jobs. He organized the "Bureau of Radio Engineering" to repair radios house-to-house. In 1933, he went to the University of Pennsylvania under a grant from the Works Progress Administration (later Work Projects Administration; WPA) and assisted with developing a "sound prism" (i.e., spectrometer). He worked for PHILCO Radio and Television Corporation from 1933 to 1934 where he developed a "sweeping frequency" oscillator for testing radios. About 1936, Scherbatskoy headed west to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and joined Seismograph Services Corporation. While at Seismograph, he developed the "Expander" and the "Automatic Signal Control" for use in seismographic exploration.

Scherbatskoy left Seismograph Corp. and, with Bill Green and Jerry Westby, started Well Surveys Incorporated in 1937 to develop his idea of nuclear logging of cased wells. In nuclear logging, logs are obtained by using radiation sources in the logging tool. Well Surveys was one of the first American companies that applied nuclear physics to oil prospecting. Standard Oil of New York financed the project, but various parties could not agree and they dissolved the Well Surveys Incorporated.

According to an audiotaped interview conducted by Scherbatskoy's daughter Mary, during World War II Serge Scherbatskoy worked for the U.S. Navy as an independent prime contractor to develop the lethal probability integrator (aircraft gunner training simulator) and other projects. Scherbatskoy also was involved tangentially with the Manhattan Project. As part of the Project, Scherbatskoy was recruited by Gilbert LaBine (1890-1977), a Canadian prospector who discovered radium and uranium deposits at Port Radium, Northwest Territories in 1930. Known as the father of Canada's uranium industry, LaBine was president of Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited from its start in the late 1920s to 1947. Scherbatskoy developed a portable radiation detector and headed a team pioneering this form of uranium exploration near Great Bear Lake, Canada, during 1944, locating deposits used in atomic weapons production.

In 1948, Scherbatskoy formed Geophysical Measurements Corporation (GMC) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During this time, Scherbatskoy worked on the development of well logging technology. "Well logging is the process of exploring systematically the entire length of a drill hole by means of an instrument capable of measuring physical factors associated with the rocks traversed and producing a graph."1 In December 1960, Scherbatskoy, Jan J. Arps (physicist), and Jacob Neufeld (physicist) joined together with Reinholdt & Gardner (a brokerage firm) to form a limited partnership named Arps Corp. to assign, sell and license patents. The purpose was to lease to the oil industry, equipment utilizing the patented Arps process for continuous telemetering to the earth's surface of measurements made at the bottom of a borehole while drilling.

In 1964, GMC conducted a stock swap with McCullough Tool which then went bankrupt in 1968. During the 1970s, Scherbatskoy's activities included consulting with Jacob Neufeld of Oak Ridge National Laboratories. In 1973 he began a relationship with Marvin Gearhart of Gearhart-Owen Industries of Dallas, Texas. Gearhart-Owen was an instrument and oil services firm originally founded by Marvin Gearhart and Harold Owen in 1955. In 1980, Marvin Gearhart changed the name from Gearhart -Owen to Gearhart Industries, Inc., "The GO Company." Scherbatskoy was named Director of Special Projects and continued his own patent program which developed "Measurement While Drilling" and directional drilling patents.

"Measurement While Drilling" (MWD) refers to measurements acquired down hole while drilling that specifically describe directional surveying and drilling-related measurements. "Logging While Drilling" (LWD) refers to petrophysical measurements, similar to open hole wireline logs, acquired while drilling. Wireline logs are a cabling technology used by operators of oil and gas wells to lower equipment into the well. Directional drilling is the science of drilling non-vertical wells. These systems—MWD and LWD—are based on mud telemetry which is the transmission of encoded data through a drilling rig's drilling mud system using rapid fluctuations in the pressure of a closed loop circulating system.

When Gearhart-Owen went bankrupt in 1986, it was acquired by Halliburton. Scherbatskoy worked at Gearhart-Owen until 1988, when he opened his own office in Fort Worth developing Measurement While Drilling patents. Scherbatskoy died on November 25, 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Source

Oil and Gas Journal, February 22, 1940, p. 62.

Related Materials:

The Scherbatskoy Papers complement the Philip Bishop Collection documenting petroleum prospecting and extraction in the Museum's Modern Physics Collection and the American Petroleum Institute (API) Photograph and Film Collection (AC0711) in the Archives Center. The API Collection documents all aspects of the production of oil, including exploration, drilling, cracking, refineries, pipelines, tankers, storage tanks, service stations, and the numerous products other than gasoline produced by the petroleum industry.

The Division of Science, Medicine and Society (now Division of Medicine and Science) holds three prototypes related to this collection. See accession 2007.0212.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Serge A. Scherbatskoy's daughter, Mary Scherbatskoy, and three sons, Serge Scherbatskoy, Jr., Timothy Scherbatskoy, and Jonathan Scherbatskoy, on 2007

Restrictions:

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

Rights:

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

Topic:

Seismology  Search this

Physicists  Search this

Seismic prospecting  Search this

Physics  Search this

Petroleum -- Prospecting  Search this

Petroleum industry  Search this

Patents  Search this

Licenses  Search this

Inventors  Search this

Inventions  Search this

Geophysics  Search this

Genre/Form:

Contracts

Agreements

Notebooks

Correspondence

Diazo prints

Laboratory notebooks

Patent applications

Reports

Citation:

Serge Scherbatskoy Papers, 1925-2002, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0936

See more items in:

Serge A. Scherbatskoy Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep89b764f08-a2f7-4c09-8931-30a6ce15499f

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0936

Maker:

Plahn, August  Search this

Physical Description:

gelatin (overall material)

Measurements:

film width: 66 mm; x 2 5/8 in

Object Name:

Film

film

Object Type:

film

Place made:

United States: New York, New York City

Subject:

Motion Pictures  Search this

ID Number:

PG.71.06.61

Catalog number:

2008.0095.086

Accession number:

2008.0095

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Photographic History

Popular Entertainment

Early Color Cinema Equipment Collection

Photography

Early Cinema Film Collection

Movie Collection

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-2536-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1339012

Maker:

Pathe  Search this

Selig Polyscope Company  Search this

Lubin Film Company  Search this

Physical Description:

gelatin (overall material)

Object Name:

film

Subject:

Motion Pictures  Search this

Entertainment, Film  Search this

ID Number:

2008.0095.085

Accession number:

2008.0095

Catalog number:

2008.0095.085

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Photographic History

Popular Entertainment

Photo History Collection

Early Color Cinema Equipment Collection

Early Cinema Film Collection

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-571b-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1339153

Creator:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-05-06T15:10:55.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, modern  Search this

See more by:

hirshhornmuseum

Data Source:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

YouTube Channel:

hirshhornmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_v0j9tahblMk

Creator:

Lemelson Center  Search this

Subject:

Johnson, Lonnie 1949-  Search this

Kelley, Tiffany  Search this

Young, Anna  Search this

Fox, Susannah  Search this

Gupta, Vikas  Search this

McLurkin, James  Search this

Robinson, Jeri  Search this

Kare, Susan D  Search this

Hildebrand, Andy  Search this

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem 1947-  Search this

West, James E. 1931-  Search this

West, Ellington  Search this

Sullivan, Kathy 1951-  Search this

Loreto, Oscar Jr  Search this

Mancina, Dan  Search this

Fotheringham, Aaron  Search this

Lindahl, Lisa  Search this

Miller, Hinda  Search this

Smith, Polly Palmer  Search this

Matthews, Jessica O  Search this

Hamilton, Marilyn  Search this

Will, Sarah  Search this

Schultz, Mike 1981-  Search this

Mathis, Nat 1946-  Search this

Shukla, Kavita  Search this

Rothblatt, Martine  Search this

Shadd, Warren  Search this

Edwards, Dan  Search this

Graetz, Martin  Search this

Piner, Steven  Search this

Russell, Steve  Search this

Samson, Peter  Search this

Saunders, Robert  Search this

Augspurger, Mike  Search this

Chakrabary, Ananda  Search this

Charles, Dan  Search this

Kevles, Dan  Search this

Schmidt, Jennie  Search this

Gadgil, Ashok  Search this

Bdeir, Ayah 1982-  Search this

Moser, Petra  Search this

Wasem, Ruth Ellen  Search this

Kerr, William  Search this

Cook, Lisa D  Search this

Grandison, Tyrone  Search this

Holly, James Jr  Search this

Johnson, Shontavia  Search this

Lewis, Cathleen S. 1958-  Search this

McIlwain, Charlton D. 1971-  Search this

Smith, Tahira Reid  Search this

Slaton, Amy E. 1957-  Search this

Swanson, Kara W  Search this

Baer, Ralph H  Search this

Bath, Patricia 1942-2019  Search this

Cherian, Sunil  Search this

Dankovich, Theresa  Search this

MacCready, Paul B  Search this

Donovan, Marion 1917-1998  Search this

Phillips, Van  Search this

Stone, David  Search this

Willson, Bryan  Search this

Wiitanen, Wayne  Search this

O'Connor, Sean Martin  Search this

Brock, André 1978-  Search this

Behar, Dany  Search this

Comedy, Yolanda Leslie  Search this

Fouché, Rayvon 1969-  Search this

Guha, Subhendu  Search this

Lemelson, Jerome 1923-  Search this

Lemelson Center Innovative Lives Program  Search this

Inventive Minds (Exhibition) (2015- : Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Patents on Life: Diamond v. Chakrabarty at 40 (2020: Washington, D.C.)  Search this

New Perspectives Symposium: Black Inventors and Innovators (2020: Washington, D.C.)  Search this

New Perspectives Symposium: Immigrant Inventors (2021: Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Type:

Electronic records

Collection descriptions

Date:

2016

2016-2022

Topic:

Congresses and conventions  Search this

Inventors  Search this

Inventions  Search this

Interviews  Search this

Museum exhibits  Search this

Museums--Educational aspects  Search this

Museums--Public relations  Search this

African American inventors  Search this

Immigrants  Search this

Intellectual property  Search this

Video games  Search this

Technological innovations  Search this

Local number:

SIA Acc. 22-097

See more items in:

Audiovisual Records 1995-2022 [Lemelson Center]

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_arc_404747

Collection Author:

Society for the History of Technology  Search this

Kranzberg, Melvin, Dr., 1917-1995  Search this

Container:

Box 142 (Subgroup II)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1984 October

Series Restrictions:

Series 9, Published Files, 1982-1994, are closed for thirty years from the date of the last correspondence in the individual folder. They may be opened, on a case-by-case basis, through appeal to the SHOT Editorial Committee.

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 apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Society for the History of Technology Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Society for the History of Technology Records

Society for the History of Technology Records / Subgroup II: Technology and Culture Records / Series 9: Published Files

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep861ff585e-a73f-479f-865b-7b90eca8b753

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0400-ref527

Author:

Graham, Patricia Jane  Search this

Physical description:

160 pages color illustrations 26 cm

Type:

Books

Place:

Japan

Japon

Asia

Nihon

Date:

2021

2014

Japan

Asia

Topic:

Design  Search this

Aesthetics, Japanese  Search this

Esthétique japonaise  Search this

ART--Asian--Japanese  Search this

DESIGN--History & Criticism  Search this

HISTORY--Japan  Search this

ART--Asian  Search this

Bijutsu(nihon)  Search this

Japanese art  Search this

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_1165186

Interviewer:

Shayt, David H.  Search this

Creator:

Wedge Innovations  Search this

Extent:

13 Cubic feet (28 boxes, 5 map folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Videotapes

Notebooks

Oral histories (document genres)

Audiotapes

Financial records

Financial statements

Interviews

Correspondence

Photographs

Drawings

Advertisements

Black-and-white photographic prints

Date:

1985-1996

Summary:

The records of Wedge Innovations document the invention and development of a new hand tool, the SmartLevel, an electronic builder's level; also included are company management and policies.

Scope and Contents:

The SmartLevel story gives excellent insight into the life cycle of a small Silicon valley start-up in the 1980s. SmartLevel's creator, Wedge Innovations, established a market for a new product, achieved national distribution, off-shore manufacturing, and product licensing, before going out of business due to pressure from profit-hungry venture capitalists.

The records of Wedge Innovations is a "tool biography" that documents the invention and development of a new hand tool, the SmartLevel, an electronic builder's level first conceived in 1985 by Andrew Butler. The SmartLevel Collection is divided into seven series: Corporate Records, Engineering Records, Financial Records, Marketing Records, Operations Records, Product Development Records, and Corporate Culture, reflecting both the organizational structure of Wedge Innovations and the company's working environment.

Series 1, Corporate Records, 1985-1993, address the overall management of Wedge Innovations and document its policies, especially through the company's annual business plans, 1986-1992, and the monthly reports prepared for the Board of Directors' meetings, 1989-1992. This series also details the workings of each department through weekly departmental reports. The staff meetings files, July-November 1989, February 1990-November 1992, are particularly useful for understanding the day-to-day operation of the company.

Series 2, Engineering Records, 1985-1993, document the design and development of the SmartLevel from its conception in 1985 as the WedgeLevel, through its production as the SmartLevel in 1989, and through its refinement into the Pro SmartLevel and the Series 200 SmartLevel in 1991. The design process is particularly well documented through Andrew Butler's and Kevin Reeder's design notebooks and through the detailed technical drawings done by Butler, Reeder, and Ronald Wisnia. Also well documented are the efforts made to solve the many problems associated with the development and quality control of the electronic sensor module that was the heart of the SmartLevel.

Series 3, Financial Records, 1985-1992, include Wedge's summary financial statements from 1985 to 1992.

Series 4, Marketing Records, 1986-1992, document customer and dealer relations through marketing department correspondence, operational records, and advertising campaigns. This series is particularly rich in promotional material (1988-1992), such as advertisements, advertising copy, photographs, product promotion plans, and videotapes that demonstrate the varied features and uses of the products.

Series 5, Operations Records, 1990-1993, document the manufacturing process and the Company's offshore operations.

Series 6, Product Development Records, 1986-1993, document the company's intended development of an entire "Smart Tools" line.

Series 7, Corporate Culture, 1985-1996, contains employee photographs and oral history interviews with key Wedge personnel conducted in 1995 and 1996 by David Shayt, Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History. The interviews discuss the background of the participants, the company's origins and history, product development, the Silicon Valley context, and the efforts of Wedge Innovations successor firm, SmartTool Technologies.

Arrangement:

The collection organized into seven series.

Series 1, Corporate Records, 1985-1993

Series 2, Engineering Records, 1985-1993

Series 3, Financial Records, 1985-1992

Series 4, Marketing Records, 1986-1992

Series 5, Operations Records, 1990-1993

Series 6, Product Development Records, 1986-1993

Series 7, Corporate Culture, 1985-1996

Biographical / Historical:

Andrew G. Butler (b. 1955), the founder of Wedge Innovations exhibited an interest in building construction and an entrepreneurial spirit early in life. From age 12 to 17 he built a boat that he then sailed alone from California to Tahiti, where he spent several years as an independent carpenter and building contractor. After returning to the United States, he earned a B.S. degree in electromechanical engineering from Stanford University (1983) and became a software specialist for Bechtel Construction. In 1985, he conceived of an idea for an electronic carpenter's level that could read a range of angles. Butler formed Wedge Innovations in 1986. He worked in the basement of his home in order to develop and market this level, selling his boat to finance the venture. He hired Marilyn Crowell as his secretary and Robert Nagle and Dan Kellogg as engineers. This company developed the sensor technology and software necessary to build the company's first product, the WedgeLevel. The heart of this tool was an electronic sensor circuit connected to a microprocessor capable of measuring the tool's orientation. This sensor module fit into an ergonomically-designed teak rail with anodized aluminum edges jointly developed by Butler, engineering design consultant Kevin Reeder, and engineer Ronald Wisnia.

In 1987, Wedge moved to Santa Clara to begin manufacturing the WedgeLevel. The transition from a research and development concern to a manufacturing company proved difficult, due to manufacturing and financial difficulties. It was difficult to obtain a reliable yet inexpensive source of teak for the rails, designs for a plastic composite and aluminum rail were developed, while offshore manufacturing of the sensor components was established. Overarching all concerns was the persistent difficulty of obtaining sufficient investment capital. While managing his growing company, Butler also began planning for a line of hand tools that combined microelectronics and user-oriented, ergonomic design. In 1988, the company changed the name of its product to SmartLevel in order to emphasize the company's proposed line of Smart Tools. That same year, the company adopted a new corporate logo, a stylized W with a red wedge, signaling its growing maturity. Promotion of the product also began through demonstrations of the prototype done by consultant building contractor, Rick Feffer.

In January 1989, the SmartLevel prototype was launched at the National Association of Home Builders Show in Atlanta, Georgia. The favorable publicity generated by this launch and by the company's media campaign generated many orders. To supply these orders, Wedge moved to larger quarters in Sunnyvale on April 1, 1989. In June 1989, Wedge gained further publicity by donating several SmartLevels to a Habitat for Humanity project in Milwaukee, where former president Jimmy Carter used one. Although Wedge expected to ship the first SmartLevels in July 1989, there were considerable delays in manufacturing. In particular, there were stability and performance problems with the sensor, which engineer Ken Gunderson was brought in to remedy. The sensor module was re-engineered to be more rugged and the level was redesigned with a plastic composite and aluminum rail. The new level, known as the Pro SmartLevel, was intended for the professional construction market. The first SmartLevels were shipped on September 5, 1989.

In 1990, patents were granted to Andrew Butler, Donald G. Green, and Robert E. Nagle for an inclinometer sensor circuit and to Butler and Ronald Wisnia for a carpenter's level design. That same year, Brian Bayley joined Wedge as Vice-president for Engineering, and Edwin "Win" Seipp joined as Project Manager - DIY SmartLevel. Seipp's responsibility was to develop a low-cost, "do-it-yourself" version of the SmartLevel, which was eventually called the Series 200 SmartLevel. This level had an all-aluminum rail and a non-removable sensor.

In September 1990, the company moved to San Jose and by 1991 had over 60 employees. Although sales continued to grow and name recognition of the product was quite strong, Wedge had difficulty meeting the expectations of its investors. Butler entered into financial negotiations with the Macklanburg-Duncan Corporation, a large-scale manufacturer of hand tools, to seek investment in his company. These negotiations led in November 1992 to the acquisition of Wedge by Macklanburg-Duncan, which dissolved all but Wedge's engineering section. Macklanburg-Duncan today manufactures a "SmartTool" level, while Butler co-owns D2M (Design To Market), a company that develops new product ideas for the market.

SmartLevel Chronology

1992 -- Butler negotiates with Macklanburg-Duncan for a merger to save Wedge. In the midst of the negotiations, Butler is fired by his Board of Directors. Butler regains control of Wedge three months later, fires the replacement president, and sells Wedge outright to Macklanburg-Duncan, which dissolves all but the engineering functions of Wedge.

1991 -- Wedge sponsors a "New Product Development Conference," where numerous designs for new hand tools are worked on. SmartLevel sales and name recognition grows but not quickly enough to meet overhead expenses of new facility or investors' demands.

1990 -- Yet more redesign work, both in-house and with Kevin Reeder, who also develops idea for "SmartTube" carrying case (not built). Patents granted to Andy Butler et al. for inclinometer sensor circuit and carpenter's level design. Wedge hires Brian Bayley as vice-president for engineering to develop a low-cost model of the SmartLevel. The all-aluminum Series 200 SmartLevel is born. Wedge moves to larger facilities in San Jose.

1989 -- SmartLevel launched at National Association of Home Builders show in January. Good press coverage, but cannot meet orders. More publicity from Habitat for Humanity project when former President Jimmy Carter uses a SmartLevel. But stability and performance problems plague sensor. More redesign work results in more rugged Pro SmartLevel. The first SmartLevels shipped on September 5, 1989.

1987-1988 -- Wedge moves to Santa Clara; intends to begin manufacturing and todevelop an entire line of "Smart Tools" but encounters financial and engineering difficulties; Wedge consults with independent design engineer, Kevin Reeder, on level design. Intensive redesign effort develops the SmartLevel, made of plastic and aluminum rail.

1986 -- Wedge Innovations founded in the basement of Butler's house; basic sensor design worked out; teak & aluminum WedgeLevel developed.

1985 -- Idea for electronic carpenter's level formulated by Andy Butler.

Related Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History contains artifacts related to the SmartLevel Collection. These include five SmartLevels (Accession #1991.0823; 1996.0284; 1996.0285; 1996.0288; and 1996.0289). They are an original teak WedgeLevel, a Pro SmartLevel, a Series 200 SmartLevel, a Bosch version of the SmartLevel, and a Macklanburg-Duncan SmartTool level. There are also four sensor modules (torpedo levels), two sensors, two carrying cases, one cap, one tee shirt, and one wooden puzzle with the inscription "The World Isn't Just Level and Plumb."

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Andrew Butler, SmartLevel inventor and company founder, Brian Bayley, Vice-President for engineering at Wedge Innovations from 1989-1992, and Kevin Reeder, an independent industrial designer, 1995-1997.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Rights:

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

Topic:

Product demonstrations -- 1980-2000  Search this

Technological innovations -- Hand tools -- 1980-2000  Search this

Electronics -- Tools and implements -- 1980-2000  Search this

Industrial design -- 1980-2000  Search this

Leveling -- 1980-2000  Search this

Teak -- Use of -- 1980-2000  Search this

Level indicators -- 1980-2000  Search this

Venture capital -- 1980-2000 -- United States  Search this

Silicon Valley -- 1980-2000  Search this

Tools -- 1980-2000 -- United States  Search this

Small business -- Management -- 1980-2000  Search this

Investors -- 1980-2000  Search this

Inventors -- 1980-2000  Search this

Engineers -- 1980-2000  Search this

Industrial designers -- 1980-2000  Search this

advertising -- Tools -- 1980-2000  Search this

Carpenters -- 1980-2000  Search this

Carpentry -- Tools -- 1980-2000  Search this

Merchandise displays  Search this

Genre/Form:

Videotapes

Notebooks -- 1980-2000

Oral histories (document genres) -- 1990-2000

Audiotapes

Financial records -- 1980-2000

Financial statements -- 1980-2000

Interviews -- 1980-2000

Correspondence -- 1970-2000

Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1980-2000

Drawings -- 1980-2000

Advertisements -- 1980-2000

Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000

Citation:

The Records of Wedge Innovations, 1985-1996, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0534

See more items in:

Wedge Innovations Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep895b7b396-3a34-4459-9d3f-83d3003a1cf8

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0534

Depicted:

Hart, William S.  Search this

Physical Description:

printed (overall production method/technique)

paper (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 40 in x 27 1/2 in; 101.6 cm x 69.85 cm

Object Name:

poster

Place made:

United States: New York, New York City

Date made:

1914-1938

Subject:

Motion Pictures  Search this

West  Search this

ID Number:

PG.005089

Accession number:

212314

Catalog number:

5089

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Photographic History

Popular Entertainment

Photo History Collection

Gatewood W. Dunston Collection

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-b2b8-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1350861

Depicted:

Hart, William S.  Search this

Markey, Enid  Search this

Referenced:

Ince, Thomas Harper  Search this

Physical Description:

paper (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 40 in x 27 1/2 in; 101.6 cm x 69.85 cm

Object Name:

poster

Date made:

1916

Subject:

Motion Pictures  Search this

ID Number:

PG.005091

Accession number:

212314

Catalog number:

5091

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Photographic History

Popular Entertainment

Photo History Collection

Gatewood W. Dunston Collection

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-b2b9-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1350862

Depicted:

Hart, William S.  Search this

Physical Description:

manufactured (overall production method/technique)

paper (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 40 in x 27 1/2 in; 101.6 cm x 69.85 cm

Object Name:

poster

Movie Poster "O'Malley Of The Mounted"

Associated place:

Canada

Date made:

ca 1921

Subject:

Motion Pictures  Search this

ID Number:

PG.005090

Accession number:

212314

Catalog number:

5090

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Photographic History

Popular Entertainment

Photo History Collection

Gatewood W. Dunston Collection

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-94dd-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1350865

Depicted:

Hart, William S.  Search this

Physical Description:

manufactured (overall production method/technique)

paper (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 40 in x 27 1/2 in; 101.6 cm x 69.85 cm

Object Name:

poster

Movie Poster "The Primal Lure"

Date made:

ca 1916

Subject:

Motion Pictures  Search this

ID Number:

PG.005092

Accession number:

212314

Catalog number:

5092

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Photographic History

Popular Entertainment

Photo History Collection

Gatewood W. Dunston Collection

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-b552-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1350907