Series 1 includes: news articles about the company and the Simmons family; photographs of the machinery, factories, factory workers, products and showrooms; annual reports; various corporate periodicals; audit reports; patents; and materials relating to sleep research conducted by Simmons. Series 2 includes product catalogues, scrapbooks of advertisements, advertising artwork and mechanicals, sales kits, point of purchase items, marketing plans and surveys, sales training videos and filmstrips, and commercials. Of special note are the materials on Simmons involvement in the New York World's Fair in 1964-65 and the XIII Winter Olympic Games in 1980.
Most newsprint in this collection has been photocopied onto acid-free bond paper and the originals destroyed. Unless otherwise noted, the materials appear in date order within each subseries or sub-subseries. Physically, the materials are arranged by type and size.
Arrangement:
This collection is organized into two series.
Series 1: Corporate Materials, 1892-2000
Series 2: Marketing, 1896-1990s
Biographical / Historical:
This subject category- engineering consists of documents related to the field of engineering, both as a scientific discipline and as a business. Most of the material in the collection was produced by engineers, engineering firms, or firms using engineers in the course of other activities. The span dates for the collection are 1848-1963; the bulk dates are circa 1870-circa 1930. Most of the firms and individuals represented in the collection were located in eastern states like New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, though there are some items from other states and foreign countries.
Engineers & Engineering Firms material is comprised of materials from firms engaged in various activities in the engineering field, including machine and structural design; drafting; surveying; tool and machine repair and maintenance; consulting and inspection; and the manufacture of machine parts and factory equipment. The series consists of business cards; brochures, catalogs, and pamphlets; invoices and business correspondence; and handbills and other types of advertising matter. Bulk dates for this series are 1870-1930. Most firms in this series were based in the cities of the industrial North, especially Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and Chicago. A few items are from companies headquartered in other states and foreign countries. The material is arranged alphabetically by firm name.
An article in the Simmons in-house publication The Owl states Zalmon G. Simmons "was not the inventor or first manufacturer of bed springs. His contribution was in lowering the price so that everyone could afford them. He took a hand-made item that sold for around $5 wholesale, and developed machinery which would enable its sale for as little as 80 cents."[1]
Simmons was born in Montgomery County, New York, in 1828. He moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, at the age of fifteen with $3.00 in "tangible cash assets."[2] Upon finishing school, Simmons became a teacher and worked as a clerk in a general store; eighteen months later he bought the business.[3] Simmons was an enterprising individual and eventually became the President of the Rock Island Railway Company, the Northwest Telegraphy Company (which was bought by Western Union), and the First National Bank of Kenosha. In addition, Simmons served as mayor of Kenosha.
On April 16, 1871, Simmons purchased a cheese box factory, which also made wooden telegraph insulators for his telegraph company. As payment for a debt at his store, Simmons accepted a patent for a handmade, woven-wire bedspring.[4] Thus the Simmons legacy of mattress making was born. The company incorporated in 1884 as the Northwestern Wire Mattress Company.[5] The name was changed to the Simmons Manufacturing Company in 1889. "By 1891 the company was the largest of its kind in the world."[6]
When Zalmon Simmons died in 1910, his son, Zalmon Simmons, Jr., assumed power and continued expanding the company. "By 1919 the company had plants from coast to coast plus sixty-four warehouses and the beginnings of an export business."[7] Zalmon Simmons, Jr. became Chairman in 1932 and his son, Grant G. Simmons, became President of the company.
Since it appeared on the market, the Simmons name has become synonymous with its bestselling product, the Beautyrest mattress. Simmons introduced the Beautyrest in 1925 for the price of $39.50, about three to four times what the consumer was paying for a wire mattress at the time. Immediately the company began advertising using an innovative testimonial campaign featuring "celebrities" like Henry Ford, George Bernard Shaw, and Thomas Edison. By 1929 Beautyrest mattress sales had reached $9 million.[8] Grant G. Simmons wrote, "The consumer demand for Beautyrest stimulated by our national advertising literally forced hundreds of retailers who then had no interest in doing business with Simmons to carry our products."[9]
Card tables and folding chairs were added to the Simmons line in 1926. In 1940, the Hide-A-Bed sofa (which grew out of the studio couch of the 1930s) was born. Fold-out springs and mattresses were engineered to create the pull-out bed.[10] The Hide-A-Bed became one of the company's most famous products manufactured through the 1980s.[11] During WWII the company shifted its production to wartime needs, manufacturing 2,700 different items.[12] Almost immediately after the end of the War, Simmons resumed production; and in 1947 it introduced the Babybeauty mattress. Other Simmons mattress models have included, most notably, the Deepsleep and Maxipedic.
Throughout the years the Simmons Company has had many innovators and inventors make improvements to its mattresses and manufacturing machinery. John Marshall's pocketed-coil spring and John Gail's improvements and modifications to the manufacturing equipment are many of the most significant contributions. Together, Marshall's coil and Gail's pocketing machine made the Beautyrest mattress a reality.
The Sleep Research Foundation, established in1946 with a grant from the Simmons Company, "instituted a vast research program into the scientific aspects of sleep...dedicated to an objective study of sleep from a physiological and medical point of view."[13] The Sleep Research Center and its findings were a common feature in Simmons advertising.
Simmons has continued to use advertising as a way to make its brand known to consumers. Celebrity endorsements and "glamour girls in expensive lingerie" have been a mainstay in Beautyrest advertising.[14] Newspaper advertisements featuring so-called sale prices also have fueled demand for the products.
Company headquarters moved to New York City in 1923 and then to Atlanta, Georgia in 1975, where the company still resides. In 1979, Gulf & Western acquired the company, shifting control to outside the family for the first time. Wickes Corporation purchased Simmons from Gulf & Western in 1985. In 1991, Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, Inc. acquired a majority interest in the company. Today, Simmons has 17% of the bedding market share, second only to Sealy with 22%.[15]
[1]. "Zalmon G. Simmons." The Owl, December 1952, p. 10-11. Box 1, Folder 4.
[2]. "Kenosha Bank Celebrates 90 Years; Zalmon Simmons Is Remembered." Kenosha Evening News, 17 May 1941, n.p. Box 1, Folder 3.
[3]. Ibid. n.p.
[4]. "History of Simmons Company." Report to Stockholders for 1946: Diamond Anniversary, 1871-1946, p. 4. Box 1, Folder 3.
[5]. "Brief History of Simmons Company." ca. 1941. Box 1, Folder 2.
[6]. "History of Simmons Company." Report to Stockholders for 1946: Diamond Anniversary, 1871-1946, p. 5. Box 1, Folder 3.
[7]. "Simmons: The Bedtime Story That Became a Legend." Advertising News From Newsweek, 1969, p. 3. Box 1, Folder 5.
[8]. Simmons, Grant, Jr. "Simmons Company, 1870-1963." p. 7-8. Box 1, Folder 5.
[9]. Ibid. p. 11.
[10]. "Simmons: The Bedtime Story That Became a Legend." Advertising News From Newsweek, 1969, p. 3. Box 1, Folder 5.
[11]. In 1990, the Simmons Company sold the division that made Hide-A-Beds and recliners and licensed the use of the name to a manufacturer.
[12]. "Chronology of Simmons Company." ca. 1955. Box 1, Folder 4.
Rise." The Christian Science Monitor, 28 June 1957. Box 1, Folder 4. & "Simmons History." ca. 1955. p. 3. Box 1, Folder 4.
[14]. Simmons, Grant, Jr. "Simmons Company, 1870-1963." p. 9. Box 1, Folder 5.
[15]. Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands,1994 ed. S.v. "Simmons Beautyrest" and "Sealy."
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, ca. 1724-1977 (Beds and Bedding) (AC0060)
Ivory Soap Advertising Collection (AC0791)
Breck Girl Collection, 1936-1995 (AC0651)
Edward J. Orth Memorial Archives of the New York World's Fair, 1939-1940 (AC0560)
Larry Zim World's Fair Collection (AC0519)
Louis S. Nixdorff 1928 Olypic Games Collection, 1926-1978 (AC0443)
Lloyd A. Strickland Collection of 1936 Olympics Photographs, 1936 (AC0743)
Provenance:
The collection was donated by the Simmons Company through Mr. Charlie Eitel, Chairman and CEO, and Mr. Donald Hoffman, Senior Vice President of Marketing, to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, in June 2000.
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.
2.1 Cubic feet (consisting of 4 boxes, 2 folder, 11 oversize folders, 2 map case folders.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Ephemera
Business ephemera
Date:
circa 1639-1960
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Real Estate 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:
This subject category, Real Estate, consists primarily of land site plans, advertisements, receipts, invoices, correspondence, and publications relating to real estate transactions, mainly land sales, building and home construction drawings, rental and mortgage documents and receipts, investment firms, real estate agents, and other businesses relating to the acquisition and development of real estate. There are images of buildings, and a few catalogs, pamphlets and publications related to real estate. It is arranged from the most fundamental component, land, through to finished product, i.e. a home, including the transactional processes of acquiring the property, and a building which sits upon it (via financing through a lease or mortgage). Materials from peripheral businesses related to property ownership such as lawyers or surveyors are also included.
Series 1, Land Transfers, 1828-1914; undated, consist of bills, receipts, land grants and warrants, printed advertisements and invoices relating to the transfer of land in the United States. The materials include both personal and business transactions, between individuals and between businesses and individual buyers/sellers. The transactions occurred mainly in the Northeastern United States, primarily New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, with some from other areas. Materials in this series are arranged by type of transfer and then in chronological order.
Subseries 1a, Land Sales, Exchanges and Trades, 1828-1914; undated, includes maps of land tracts, correspondence, solicitations, business cards, bills of sale, exchange or trade between sellers and buyers, and advertisements primarily by landowners for property sales. These materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 1b, Land Grants, Warrants, Deeds and Bonds, 1828-1890, include correspondence and official property deed documents. These materials are arranged by subject, and then in chronological order.
Series 2, Buildings, 1639-1963; undated, consists of material related for the most part to residential property: receipts, invoices, correspondence, promotional literature, and blank forms (rental agreements, receipts, mechanic's liens, and mortgages). There are construction plans, prospectuses for apartment houses in Manhattan, rental receipts, leases, and rental/indenture agreements between lessors and lessees. These materials are concerned with businesses engaged in rental/sale or construction of residential property in the Northeastern United States (primarily New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania) with several from other areas in the United States. Materials in this series are arranged alphabetically by business name, and then in chronological order.
Subseries 2a, Developers and Developments, Builders 1871-1931, includes advertisements and literature describing real estate developments (builder's multiple unit housing projects). These materials are arranged by name of the Developer or Development Company and then in chronological order.
Subseries 2b, Residential Property, 1900-1963; undated, include promotional literature for cooperative apartment houses in New York City and photos/descriptions of residential property for sale in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Hudson Valley, New York areas. These materials are arranged by type (apartment house or estate) and then in chronological order.
Subseries 2c, Rental Property, 1822-1916; undated, includes leases, receipts, rental property descriptions and advertisements, correspondence about repairs to rental property, blank rental agreement and rent receipt forms as well as blank forms for mortgages and mechanic's liens. These materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 2d, Historical Properties, 1639-1915; undated, include black and white and color drawings as well as black and white photos of historical properties in New York State, Massachusetts, New England, and unknown locations. These are almost all residential homes in rural settings. A pamphlet, published in 1912 "Forty of Boston's Historic Houses" shows homes in an urban environment. A pamphlet published in 1915 "American Historic Homes" shows photographs of the Jumal Mansion in New York City, Monticello (Virginia), The Hermitage (Nashville, Tennessee), Westover (Virginia), The Pickering House (Salem, Massachusetts), and Mount Vernon (Virginia). These materials are arranged in chronological order by date of the image.
Series 3, Property Acquisition, 1823-1960; undated, includes mortgage documents and advertising materials from individual banks or other lenders, and Realtors or real estate agents. Materials in this series are arranged in three sub series: investment companies, mortgages, and Realtors/real estate agents. Within these sub series materials are arranged alphabetically by business name, and then in chronological order.
Subseries 3a, Investment Companies, 1908-1928; undated, includes correspondence on letterhead stationary, solicitation letters, advertisements, stock and bond certificates, and published annual reports from companies involved in real estate investment or financing. These materials are arranged alphabetically by business name, and then in chronological order.
Subseries 3b, Mortgages, 1823-1922; undated, consist of mortgage and indenture documents, and letterhead and personal correspondence related to mortgages. These materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 3c, Auctioneers, Realtors and Real Estate Agents, 1832-1888; undated,
include advertising cards, promotional literature, advertisements, brochures, and correspondence on letterhead stationery related to the sale of property by a Realtor or real estate agent. These materials are arranged alphabetically by business name, and then in chronological order.
Series 4, Businesses and People Related to Real Estate Transactions, 1836-1959; undated, contains documents regarding different kinds of businesses concerned with real estate transactions: companies performing tax searches, title searches, and offering insurance coverage, as well as an appraiser, an abstractor, a "real estate office," a "real estate manager," and a scheme for real estate valuation, Realtor training, lawyers and real estate boards and associations. This series includes correspondence on letterhead stationery, drawings, receipts, advertising cards, and business documents. It also includes black and white drawings, portraits of real estate tycoons. These materials are arranged by subject, and then in chronological order.
Series 5, Government, 1836-1959; undated, includes documents relating to taxes, urban renewal projects in New York City, low income housing in Manhattan, municipal and federal government services. These materials are arranged by subject and then in chronological order where possible.
Subseries 5a, Taxes, 1836-1897; undated, includes protest notices, assessments, receipts, and correspondence related to real estate taxes. These materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 5b, Services, 1852-1959; undated, includes documents related to various municipal and federal government services and offerings including urban renewal and low income housing. These materials are arranged by type of service and then in chronological order.
Series 6, Publications, 1855-1930; undated includes pamphlets and government publications related to real estate. Publications include "A General Statement on the Subject of Public Lands," 1836, "A Catechism of Land Surveying, With Examples," 1855, "Real Estate Record and Builder's Guide," 1872, a New York City Directory from 1873, "Investment Nails and a Hammer," 1908, "The Real Estate Magazine," 1912, "Building Permits in the Principal Cities of the United States in 1929," 1930, and two undated publications, "The Real Estate Bulletin," and "The Home News." These are arranged in chronological order.
Materials in the Archives Center:
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Real Estate 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.
Genre/Form:
Ephemera
Business ephemera
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Real Estate, 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).
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Transportation 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:
This subject category- Transportation is arranged into six series: Series 1, Travel and Tourism; Series 2, Freight Transportation; Series 3, Manufacturers of Vehicles and Equipment; Series 4, General Subjects and Miscellaneous; Series 5, Publications; and Series 6, Foreign
Series 1, Travel and Tourism is subdivided into five subseries: Business, Sightseeing and Buses, Boats and Ferries, Horse Drawn Coaches and Stages, and Travel Guides and Publications;
Subseries 1a, Business contains route and schedule information for interstate carriers. Greyhound and its many subsidiaries make up the bulk of this section.
Subseries 1b, Sightseeing and Buses contains route and schedule information for companies operating tours of cities and areas of historic and scenic interest.
Subseries 1c, Boats and ferries is a small group of water travel companies.
Subseries 1d, Horse-Drawn Coaches and Stages includes a small group of images
Subseries 1e, Travel Guides and Publications contains auto and bus travel information as well as early (1834) stagecoach and boat guides.
Series 2, Freight Transportation includes companies offering transport by boat, cart, truck, and rail.
Series 3, Manufacturers of Vehicles and Equipment
Subseries 3a, Buses
Subseries 3b, Trucks
Series 4, Related Materials, dates
Series 5, Publications, dates
Series 6, Foreign, dates
Materials in the Archives Center:
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Transportation 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.
Genre/Form:
Business ephemera
Ephemera
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Building and Construction, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, 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).
An extensive collection of oral histories conducted by Lu Ann Jones throughout the southern United States between 1985-1991. A few oral histories were conducted by Pete Daniel in the early 1980s. Subjects include all facets of agriculture in the south.
Scope and Contents note:
The collection is divided into four series. Series 1: Oral History Transcripts, 1982-1991 are transcribed versions of the oral interviews. Correspondence and/or notes pertaining to the interviewed individual collected or written by the interviewer are filed in this series following the transcription. The majority of the oral histories were done by Lu Ann Jones between1985-1991. There are a few interviews done by Pete Daniel in the early 1980s and some reference copies of oral histories done elsewhere.
This series is divided into eight sub-series: Sub-series 1.1: Arkansas, Sub-series 1.2: Georgia, Sub-series 1.3: Louisiana, Sub-series 1.4: Mississippi, Sub-series 1.5: North Carolina (including transcripts of the Mexican Workers Project in English and Spanish), Sub-series 1.6: South Carolina, Sub-series 1.7: Tennessee, and Sub-series 1.8: Virginia. Files are arranged alphabetically by state and there under by name; within the file materials are arranged chronologically. Interview files may contain transcribed copies of the oral history interviews and subsequent draft copies with corrections by the interviewer or subject. The file also may contain distillations or edited versions of the interview done by the researcher for possible publication. Correspondence and notes files may include Life History Forms, correspondence, newspaper articles, interviewer's notes, business cards, and paper copies of photographs. Signed releases are on file in the registrar's office, NMAH, with copies in the control file of the Archives Center.
Series 2: Project Files and Reference Materials, 1928-2004 contain notes and correspondence kept by Jones in support of the oral history project. This series is divided into four sub-series: Sub-series 2.1: State Files, Sub-series 2.2: Project and Reference Files, 1985-1991, Sub-series 2.3: Reference Publications, Pamphlets and Articles, 1928-2004 and Sub-series 2d: Computer Floppy Disks, 1985 and undated. This series include bills, receipts, photo orders, travel brochures, reference materials, articles, correspondence, fundraising proposals and materials, USDA Extension Service bulletins, product cookbooks, and ephemera. These materials are valuable in documenting the methodology of the oral history project. They are also valuable in detailing the funding and maintenance of the project over its five-year lifespan. There is also a great deal of information on black farmers. This series is arranged alphabetically by state and county or by article/publication title and within the file chronologically.
Series 3: Photographic Prints and Slides, 1987-1991 documenting the individuals interviewed, their homes and businesses, and geographic locations that were studied as part of the oral history project. The series is arranged numerically then chronologically by year. This series is followed by detailed photographic descriptions arranged alphabetically by state then subject. Photograph files contain photographs taken by a Smithsonian photographer or Jones and any copies of photographs supplied by the subject. Most of the photographs are black and white.
Series 4: Original Interview Tapes and Reference Compact Discs (CD), 1986-1991 are the original tapes of the individual interviews conducted by Jones. This series is divided into eight sub-series. Reference numbers for CDs matching the original tapes are noted after the tapes. CDs 495-497 are for the Smithsonian Photographer's Show: Sub-series 4.1: Arkansas, Sub-series 4.2: Georgia, Sub-series 4.3: Louisiana, Sub-series 4.4: Mississippi, Sub-series 4.5: North Carolina (within this sub-series are the transcripts of the Mexican Workers Project there may be an English language transcription as well as one in Spanish), Sub-series 4.6: South Carolina, Sub-series 4.7: Tennessee and Sub-series 4.8: Virginia and Sub-series 4.9: Miscellaneous and Duplicates, within the sub-series tapes are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into four series:
Series 1, Oral History Transcript
Series 2, Project Files
Series 3, Photographic Prints and Slides
Series 4, Original Oral History Interview Tapes and Reference Compact Discs (CDs) are the original interview tapes and the accompanying reference copy cds.
History:
The history of the American South is intricately entwined with the history of agriculture in North America. Until very recently, post 1950, the South was predominately rural and agricultural in both its production and culture. By the 1980s American agriculture, and particularly agriculture in the south, was under attack on various fronts especially cultural, financial, and technological. This assault threatened the very existence of the small and family farm. Many small farming operations went bankrupt and the face of American agriculture was becoming more corporate. It was amidst these troubling times that the Agricultural Division of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History undertook a massive project to document southern agriculture through oral history.
Through the efforts of NMAH staff, Pete Daniel, curator and project director, LuAnn Jones, researcher, and with countless support from staff photographers and personnel, Jones conducted approximately 159 interviews of individual persons, couples and sometimes small groups, in eight southern states over a five year period, 1986-1991. The project was funded by a series of grants from various sources. Not only were oral histories taken but also substantial documentary photographs and slides of the many interviewees. The interviews ranged from individual farmers to individuals at companies and corporations involved with agriculture. The range of crops discussed included tobacco, cotton and rice. The project interviewed a wide range of subjects: male, female, black, white, and Mexican. The project has contributed to at least two books, Mama Learned Us to Work: Farm Women in the New South by LuAnn Jones and Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World by Jacquelyn Dowd Hall and others of which Jones was a contributing author.
Related Collections:
Materials in the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (NMAH.AC.0060)
Kulp Collection of Account Books, 1755-1904 (NMAH.AC.0149)
Robinson and Via Family Papers (NMAH.AC.0475)
William C. Kost Farm Records (NMAH.AC.0481)
Timothy B. Bladen, Southern Maryland Photoprints (NMAH.AC.0767)
Provenance:
A transfer from the Division of History of Technology (Agriculture), NMAH, July 2001
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.
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Transportation, 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).
Marketing material for bank almanacs, tables, cards, and other reference type material.
Series Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Banking, 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).
Three photocopied pages of advertisements. 1910 Vol. 91, pp. 22-23. 1924, Vol. 119, p. 21.
Series Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Banking, 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).
