subseries 1.13. , University of Wisconsin Lab Views;
subseries 1.13. , Windmills;
subseries 1.13. , Stationery Stam Engines;
subseries 1.13. , Steam Engines, Governors;
subseries 1.13. , Power Plants;
subseries 1.13. , Steam Engines, Early History;
subseries 1.13. , Steam Engines with generators;
subseries 1.13. , Steam Engines parts and details;
subseries 1.13. , Air compressors, blowers, blowing engines;
subseries 1.13. , marine engines;
subseries 1.13. , refrigeration;
subseries 1.13. , internal combustion;
subseries 1.13. , gas producers;
Collection Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection, 1758-1945, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Canadian General Electric Co., Ltd. (Toronto, Canada) ; Carboloy Co. (Detroit, MI) ; Cooper-Hewitt Electric Co. (Hoboken, NJ) ; Fort Wayne Electric Works (Fort Wayne, IN) ; General Electric Co., Ltd. (London, United Kingdom) ; Ivanhoe-Regent Works (Cleveland, OH) ; Samson Tractor Co. (Janesville, WI) ; Samson Sieve-Grip Tractor Co. (Stockton, CA) ; Victor X-Ray Co. (Chicago, IL) ; Hotpoint Electric Heating Co. (Ontario, CA) ; GE Fanuc Automation North America, Inc. ; M-O Valve Co., Ltd. (London, United Kingdom) ; General Electric Vapor Lamp Co. ; Cunningham Tubes ; Chemical Dept. (Pittsfield, MA) ; Metallurgy Div. ; Clock & Timer Dept. (Ashland, MA) ; General Electric X-Ray Corp. (Chicago, IL) Search this
Notes content:
Eight containers OVERSIZE. Boxes, books, and envelopes organized as follows: air conditioning and refrigeration ; appliances ; automobiles and buses ; aviation ; boats and ships ; "GE Bulletin" ; cables, wires and wiring ; capacitors ; catalogs ; circuit breakers ; control ; "Electrical Developments"; electronics ; general-business ; general-science ; general product information ; generators ; furnaces ; heating ; indexed publications ; instruction books ; instruments ; lighting ; lightning protection ; metallurgy ; meters ; misc. equipment ; motors ; parts bulletins ; photographic equipment ; plastics and chemicals ; power equipment ; radio and television ; railroads ; station equipment ; switches ; switch gears ; technical papers ; transformers ; turbines ; welding ; x-ray ; "Fort Wayne Electric Works Bulletins". GE all purpose mixer appliance catalog is found in: TX715. R43 NMAH Culinary History collection. 1989 GE Capacitor handbook ; dry type transformer ; panel meters ; electronic controls ; form G motors ; fan-cooled motors ; AC / DC motors ; LEDs ; solid state relays ; glow lamps ; indicator and circuit components ; sub-miniature lamps ; solid state lamps ; silicone lubricants ; silicone greases ; silicone rubber ; " LEXAN " plastic ; "Optoelectronics Manual" ; employee benefits plan document ; "One Hundred Publications of the General Electric Company 1878-1978" ; "General Electric Goes to War" (WWII war production)...this comprises the uncataloged portion
Includes:
Trade catalog, price lists, manual, samples, photographs and histories
OVERSIZE ; Trap doors, lavoratories, lighting, headlights for railway cars. Gas generators and accessories. Lindstrom brake operating device for passenger, freight, and street cars. Furnishings for railway cars: hardware, chandeliers, car seats, hinges, hat racks, door locks, etc. 300++ pg. catalog, late 1800s. Agricultural sprayers; white washers; whitewashers ; unique (?)
one container OVERSIZE ; Aviation diesel engine. Oil well equipment: gas-lifts; tubing swabs; drilling head; tubing stripper; tubing anchor; tubing and drill pipe; deep well packer; bottom water plugs; blow-out preventer; valves; etc. Diesel engines for buses, trucks, boats, airplanes.
One piece OVERSIZE ; Semi-rotary wing pumps ; "Sunturbo" pump ; H-R gears ; appliances for disposal of sewage ; steam fittings ; non-ferrous alloys and non-alloy products ; high tension manganese bronze propellers and propeller blades ; copper nails and rivets ; Stone's System of Electric Lighting, Cooling, & Heating for Railway Carriages.
Includes:
Trade catalog
Black and white images
Physical description:
9 pieces; 3 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
London, United Kingdom
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Boats and ships (including marine hardware and supplies) Search this
three containers OVERSIZE ; Road paving and finishing equipment ; hoisting equipment ; pumping equipment ; mixing equipment ; construction and industrial equipment. Safety flasher neon warning lights for land and water ; flashing neon outdoor display systems.
Includes:
Trade catalog
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
122 pieces; 6 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Construction and earth-moving machinery Search this
Industrial equipment or mechanical machinery (including supplies and components) Search this
Lighting (electric; gas; candle; oil; etc.) Search this
Materials handling equipment (includes barrels; bottling and filling; casters; chains; etc.) Search this
Cooper-Bessemer Corporation (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) Search this
Former owner:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Search this
Extent:
27 Cubic feet (68 boxes, 1 map-folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertising
Airbrushing
Cashbooks
Correspondence
Catalogs
Drawings
Financial records
Letterpress copybooks
Photographs
Price lists
Newsletters
Trade literature
Date:
1870-1961
Summary:
These records document the activities of the Cooper-Bessemer Corporation of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and Grove City, Pennsylvania, manufacturers of steam, gas, and oil engines, compressors, and furnaces.
Scope and Contents note:
These records document the activities of the Cooper-Bessemer Corporation of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, manufacturers of steam, gas, and oil engines; compressors; and furnaces through correspondence, financial materials, trade literature and photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eleven series.
Series 1: Background Materials, 1895-1944
Series 2: Correspondence, 1866-1961
Series 3: Financial Materials, 1888-1929
Series 4: Newsletters, 1917-1942
Series 5: Product and Sales Materials, 1870-1961
Series 6: Advertising Materials, 1921-1945
Series 7: Printed Materials, 1902-1953
Series 8: Photographs, 1881-1930s
Series 9: Air Brushed Photographs/Renderings, 1909-1930s, undated
Series 10: Glass Plate Negatives, 1906-1913, undated
Series 11: Drawings, 1906-1944
Biographical / Historical:
C. & G. Cooper Company was founded by Charles (1811-1891) and Elias Cooper (1814-1848) in 1833 in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Situated in Central Ohio, abundant supplies of coal, iron and natural gas were available to the Cooper brothers as well as proximity to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines. Previously, the brothers opened a coal mine in 1832 and then a foundry for casting metals. Their principal products were plows, carding machines, and special power machinery. In 1848, Elias Cooper died and Charles Cooper sold an interest in the Company to T.L. Clark and the firm changed its name from to C. & E. Cooper to Cooper & Clark. In 1852, John Cooper (1824-1916), the younger brother of Charles and Elias, joined the company and became known as Coopers & Clark. T.L. Clark retired in 1853 and the company became C. & J. Cooper.
In 1852, the company built its first blowing engine and with the growth of the railroad system and a demand for railroad equipment, the company responded with manufacturing steam locomotives. In 1865, F.L. Fairchild (d. 1912) joined the company as a partner and the firm became known as C.& J. Cooper & Company. J.C. Debes, a mechanical engineer formerly of the George H. Corliss Works, began working for the company in 1865 designing Corliss engines that came to market in 1869. Corliss engines would become a principal product of the company by 1886. Colonel George Rogers (son-in-law of Elias Cooper) joined the company when John Cooper retired and the name once gain changed to C. & G. Cooper & Company. By 1881, Desault B. Kirk (son-in-law of Charles Cooper) and son, C.F. Cooper (d. 1894) along with E.H. Fairchild and B.F. Williams became active partners in the company. In 1929, Cooper merged with Bessemer Gas Engine Co. of Grove City, Pennsylvania, to form Cooper-Bessemer Corporation. Cooper Machinery Services is the current equipment manufacturer for Cooper-Bessemer engines.
During World War One and World War Two, the company made munitions—steel shells, special purpose lathes, surface grinders and multiple-head cutting off machines—to aid the Allies. Its work contributed to faster and more efficient production for the war effort and earned it the Maritime "M" and Army/Navy "E" Awards. Over the years, the company's products included: simple and compound Corliss engines, gas and diesel engines, rolling mill engines, marine engines, compressors, and power units for ice and refrigeration, cotton-ginning and oil-milling.
Sources
Cooper Machinery Services (last accessed on April 12, 2022 https://www.cooperservices.com/our-company/heritage/cooper-origins/the-history-of-cooper-bessemer/)
C. & G. Cooper Company, Seventy-Five Years of Engine Building, Mount Vernon, Ohio, 1900.
100 Years of Power, Cooper-Bessemer, 1833-1933, 1933.
Related Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Trade Literature Collection
Includes Cooper-Bessemer Corporation, Chapman Engineering Company, and Hope Engineering and Supply Company.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by the Cooper-Bessemer Corporation, through Robert S. Warren, Manager of Advertising and Public Relations, in 1965 and 1969.
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.
Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.