Records document the activities of the Hoopes, Bro. & Darlington Company, manufacturers of wooden wheels in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Content Description:
Records document the activities of the Hoopes, Bro. & Darlington Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a manufacturer of wooden spokes for wheels. Materials include photographs, blueprints, price lists, catalogs, patents, correspondence, articles, film scripts and other supplemental documention for the film, "The Last Wheel Works: The Industrial Archaeology of a Wood Wheel Manufactory," and an oral history transcript with Thomas Hoopes, Jr.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Operational Records, 1885-1964
Series 2: Patent Materials, 1834-1936
Series 3: Drawings, 1867-1955
Series 4: The Last Wheel Works Film Project Records, 1968-1969, 1978
Historical:
Hoopes Bro. & Darlington Wheel Works of West Chester, Pennsylvania was founded in 1867 by William and Thomas Hoopes to manufacture wooden wheels for carriages, wagons, and later automobile and motor truck wheels. In 1868, their cousin Edward S. Darlington joined the company. The company also made baseball bats and skis.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series Wagons, NMAH.AC.0060
Hagan Brothers Carriage and Wagonmakers records, NMAH.AC.1154
Samuel J. Meeks Carriage Works Records, NMAH.AC.1502
James Cunningham, Son and Company records, NMAH.AC.1193
Materials at Other Organizations
Hagley Museum and Library
The Hoopes Brothers & Darlington Inc. photograph collection (Accession 1969.099)
Collection consists of miscellaneous images from the company, largely dating between 1900 and 1948, as well as advertising material and letterheads. The photographs include images of the company's exhibit at the 1876 International Exposition in Philadelphia; an unidentified ca. 1890 trade show; their saw mill in Jackson, Mississippi, ca. 1910; various models of wooden wheels; two automobiles with wooden wheels; and views of the factory.
The Last Wheel Works: The Industrial Archaeology of a Wood Wheel Manufactory
16 mm film produced in 1975 and sponsored by the Smithsonian and the Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation about the manufacturing process employed by Hoopes Brothers & Darlington, a wooden wheel producer located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The film details each step required to fashion a 16-spoke carriage wheel from raw lumber. Directed by Peter H. Smith and Robert M. Vogel. Written by Pierce Atkins. Filmed by Albert J. Robinson and Frank T. Herzog. Post Production by John W. Hiller and Karen Loveland. Technical support by Robert A. Howard, John D. Milner, Julia F. Davis, and Don Berkebile. With financial support from the Raymond John Wean Foundation.
Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Thomas Hoopes Family Papers, 1876-1890
The bulk of the documents were written between 1876 and 1890, and addressed to Amanda Hoopes (unless otherwise indicated). Many of the letters were written by various members of the extended family, but a considerable amount of them were written by Thomas and sent to Amanda while she was residing in Elmira, New York. Also included are a collection of stamps and several blank postcards and envelopes.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
4.81 Cubic feet (consisting of 10 boxes, 1 folder, 4 oversize folders, 2 map case folders, 1 flat box (partial), plus digital images of some collection material.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertising fliers
Exhibition catalogs
Sales records
Manuals
Annual reports
Print advertising
Blotters (writing equipment)
Publications
Business records
Business cards
Sales letters
Letterheads
Legal records
Photographs
Catalogs
Commercial catalogs
Catalogues
Printed materials
Receipts
Advertising cards
Mail order catalogs
Illustrations
Technical reports
Trade cards
Legal documents
Printed material
Trade catalogs
Periodicals
Technical manuals
Patents
Commercial correspondence
Invoices
Advertising
Sales catalogs
Advertising mail
Advertisements
Ephemera
Reports
Business ephemera
Trade literature
Manufacturers' catalogs
Business letters
Instructional materials
Printed ephemera
Correspondence
Date:
1834-1965
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
Covers a variety of tools, hand tools, and machinery including cutters, dies, measurement tools, rules, lathes, crimping devices, clamps, drills, and related precision tools.
Materials represent a sampling of merchant and services transactions, but there are no full business records for any single entity. This category has a large volume of catalogues present and a few examples of industry reports and technical documentation.
With the industries and trades represented in this category, there is significant overlap with Hardware, Instruments, and Mensuration.
Arrangement:
Tools is arranged in three subseries.
Business Records and Marketing Material
Genre
Subject
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Tools is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Tools, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
The collection includes many photographs and engravings of various types of Whitney wood working machines. These are mounted on stiff backings and include advertising and promotional materials for reproduction in trade journals and other publications. A historical summary, "The Baxter D. Whitney Story", is reprinted from the January 1957 issue of the Wood Worker and presents much information on the company's long record.
Biographical / Historical:
Baxter D. Whitney began building a planing machine in Winchendon, Massachusetts in 1837. He continued to head the company which he founded to manufacture woodworking machines until 1900, when he relinquished the position to his son W. M. Whitney, who served as president of Baxter D. Whitney, Inc. until his death in 1953. Control of the firm then passed to a group of senior managers of the company and manufacturing operations were transferred to the Newman Machine Co. in Greensboro, N.C., while a sales organization was maintained under the Whitney name in Winchendon.
The Whitney family, through marriage, was related to the Murdock family. While the Whitneys produced woodworking machines, Murdok's company manufactured woodenware products for a century. Eventually, the Whitneyss managed E. Murdock and Co. for over twenty years. Please refer to collection number 268 for further information.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by the Winchendon Historical Society, Incorporated, April 1986.
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 reporduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights my apply. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
modelmakers ; industrial model making ; models ; miniature and full-size reproductions of historic inventions, machines, and artifacts for museums and companies
Includes:
Trade catalog and histories
Color images
Physical description:
1 piece; 1 box
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Stratford upon Avon, United Kingdom
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Architectural designs and building materials Search this
Artists; drafting; crafts materials and supplies Search this
Educational institutions; equipment and supplies (includes playground equipment) Search this
Metalwork products (architectural and ornamental) Search this
OVERSIZE ; walnut and ash chamber (bedroom) furniture ; wood and marble top center tables ; photos of 1882 wood furniture ; (not in Romaine ; not in Winterthur ) ; unique (?)
Keystone Saw, Tool, Steel and File Works ; Disston Co. (Danville, VA) Search this
Notes content:
Files and rifflers. Rasps ; saws ; tools ; knives ; steel and file works ; hand tools ; power tool accessories ; lawn and garden tools ; firewood and forestry tools ; chain saws ; tool boxes ; "The Saw in History" ; "The File in History" ; Disston Co. 150th Anniversary catalog...this comprises the uncataloged portion.
Includes:
Trade catalog, price lists, manual and histories
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
56 pieces; 5 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Date:
1800s
Topic (Romaine term):
Garden and lawn equipment and supplies Search this
Pentair Co. ; Invicta-Delta Mfg. (Limeira, S. P., Brazil) ; Invicta-Maquinas Para Madeira LTDA. (Limeira, S. P., Brazil) Search this
Notes content:
Accessories for band saws, drill presses, dust collectors, grinders, jointers, lathes, planers, radial saws, sanders, shapers, vacuum cleaners, etc. ; building trades and home shop products ; machine tools
Stanley Electric Tools ; Stanley Hardware ; Stanley Power Tools ; Stanley Rule & Level Plant ; Stanley Tools ; Stanley Electric Tool Div. ; Stanley-Carter Sales Dept. ; Stanley Electric Tool Co. Inc. ; Stanley Magic-Door (Farmington, CT) Search this
Notes content:
Hand and power tools (sanders, drills, grinders, hammers, saws, soldering irons, chisels, planes, knives) automotive tools, carpentry tools (rules, levels, squares), hardware (architectural, cabinet, and kitchen), router-shapers, door sets, weatherstrip tools, car banding systems, strapping tools. Hardware ; electric tools (drills, routers, shapers, door sets, weatherstrip tools, etc.) ; carpenters and mechanics tools ; hand tools ; saws ; planes. "Architects Manual for Stanley Hardware" ; "Magic Door" equipment ; "weather-wise" sliding door packages ; "Magic-Swing" door operator ; pneumatic operators for sliding and swinging doors ; automatic swinging and sliding doors ... this comprises the uncataloged portion.
Includes:
Trade catalog, price lists and manual
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
42 pieces; 5 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
New Britain, Connecticut, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Architectural designs and building materials Search this
