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Women Looking at Men (1977)

Collection Creator:
Fisher, Ethel, 1923-  Search this
Container:
Box 8, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1977
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Ethel Fisher papers, 1930-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Ethel Fisher papers
Ethel Fisher papers / Series 5: Exhibition Files
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9be31f75d-0c89-4697-a785-a9de14647bcd
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-fishethe-ref153

Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company Records

Creator:
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co.  Search this
Names:
Atlantic City Railroad  Search this
Mine Hill & Schuylkill Haven Railroad  Search this
Reading Belt Railroad  Search this
Bines, William H.  Search this
Boggs, George B.  Search this
Buckholz, Charles W.  Search this
Byers, Charles E.  Search this
Chamberlain, E.C.  Search this
Davis, N.M.  Search this
Gowen, Franklin B.  Search this
Jamison, Robert  Search this
Keim, George DeB  Search this
Lorenz, William  Search this
Manning, Charles P.  Search this
Nichols, Henry K.  Search this
Rice, George  Search this
Richardson, F.E.  Search this
Royers, John H.  Search this
Steele, J. Dutton  Search this
Thompson, J.W.  Search this
Whitney, E.S.  Search this
Wilson, H.T.  Search this
Wootten, John E.  Search this
Yarington, T.O.  Search this
Zacharias, H.C.  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Transportation  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Engineering and Industry  Search this
Extent:
18 Cubic feet (78 boxes, 2 map folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Right of way deeds
Reports
Letterpress copybooks
Mechanical drawings
Estimates
Financial statements
Circular letters
Bills
Accident reports
Correspondence
Place:
Lackawanna County (Pa.)
Luzerne County (Pa.)
Cressona (Pa.)
Harrisburg (Pa.)
Norristown (Pa.)
Philadelphia (Pa.)
New Jersey
Sumerton (Pa.)
Cheltenham (Pa.)
Sunbury (Pa.)
Reading (Pa.)
Trenton (N.J.)
Schuylkill County (Pa.)
Pennsylvania
Date:
1860-1936
Summary:
Collection of engineering reports and correspondence from the Engineering Department of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was most used for the transportation of anthracite coal within Pennsylvania from 1833 through the early 1970s.
Scope and Contents:
Primarily outgoing correspondence from the Engineering Department of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Company, the remainder being engineering reports and other miscellaneous papers.

Series 1: Letterpress Copybooks consists of 219 volumes from various engineers, each with own index (1865-1892): were generated by Chief Engineer, Assistant Chief Engineer, various resident engineers, other lower-level engineers, and the Chief Road-Master. Bulk of copybooks created by William H. Bines and Henry K. Nichols during long careers with the Philadelphia & Reading. Other volumes contain letters and reports by Charles W. Buckholz, Charles E. Byers, William Lorenz, and others. Correspondence covers all aspects of the engineering operations of the railroad, much of it at highest levels, being addressed to the Presidents of the Reading. Also includes one letterbook from John E. Wooten (1865), Superintendent.

Series 2: Reports of Chief Engineer to Auditor, 1908-1910; structural design calculation notebooks, 1901-1935; right of way deeds, 1903; and tracings of assorted machine parts.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series.

Series 1: Letterpress Copybooks, 1866-1870

Series 2: Chief Engineer Standard Plans, 1904-1942 Series 3: Construction Reports, 1901-1913

Series 4: Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Valuation of Railroads, 1913-1922

Series 5: Reports and Miscellaneous Papers, 1860-1936
Biographical / Historical:
This railroad was chartered in 1833 to provide low-cost transportation from the Schuylkill and Mahanoy anthracite coal fields in eastern Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. Main line from Philadelphia to Pottsville opened 1842. Reading expanded by acquiring other railroads, and by 1869 had monopoly of coal traffic from Schuylkill anthracite region.

Expansion accelerated when Franklin B. Gowen became president (1869) and attempted to dominate entire anthracite trade. Purchased Schuylkill Canal (1870) to eliminate competition for coal trade; then organized the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company in 1871 to purchase and operate coal mines; secured over 40 percent of U.S. anthracite reserves, but debt incurred led railroad to bankruptcy and receivership (1880). Gowen's reckless style drove the Reading into second receivership (1886), and he was forced to resign.

Gowen's Successor, Archibald A. McLeod, tried to increase company control over anthracite trade (1892-1893), then control of several New England railroads. The Reading went bankrupt again and McLeod was ousted. In a reorganization (1896), the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad and the Coal & Iron Company became properties of the Reading Company, a holding company. Later additions to system were infrequent and largely confined to short branches and improvements inalignment. Due to anti-trust proceedings, company divested mining subsidiary (1923) and merged wholly owned railroad companies into an operating company. Acquired Lehigh & Susquehanna Railroad 1963, went bankrupt in early 1970s, and conveyed portions of its lines to Conrail (1976). The reorganized Reading Company retains real estate and other non-rail holdings.
Related Materials:
Hagley Museum & Library, Manuscripts & Archives Department, P.O. Box 3630, Wilmington, Delaware 19807.
Provenance:
Collection donated by the Reading Company, Philadelphia, Pa., 1960s.
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:
Railroad accidents  Search this
Railroad engineering  Search this
Railroads -- New Jersey  Search this
Railroads -- Buildings and structures  Search this
Coal mines and mining -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Coal -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Railroad companies -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Engineering  Search this
Engineers  Search this
Railroad engineers  Search this
Coal -- Transportation  Search this
Anthracite coal industry  Search this
Railroads -- Surveying  Search this
Railroad tracks  Search this
Railroads -- Maintenance and repair  Search this
Railroads -- Signalling  Search this
Transportation  Search this
Railroads -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Genre/Form:
Right of way deeds
Reports
Letterpress copybooks
Mechanical drawings
Estimates
Financial statements
Circular letters
Bills
Accident reports
Correspondence -- 1930-1950
Citation:
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0208
See more items in:
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8e44f13bf-04bf-4b9e-a922-1f180aa7a596
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0208

American Society of Mechanical Engineers Collection

Creator:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers.  Search this
Former owner:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this
Names:
Vogel, Robert M.  Search this
Extent:
2.25 Cubic feet (7 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Correspondence
Pamphlets
Date:
1926-2003
Summary:
Collection documents the activities of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Content Description:
Collection consists of pamphlets, brochures and correspondence, and publications for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), especially the Applied Mechanics Division. Also included is documentation for the History Heritage Committee of ASME, particularly nomination forms and brochures for the Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark Program.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1: History and Heritage Commission, 1970-1984

Series 2: National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark Brochures National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark Brochures, 1973-2003

Series 3: Applied Mechanics Division Applied Mechanics Division, 1926-1981
Historical:
ASME was founded in 1880 to provide a setting for engineers to discuss the concerns brought by the rise of industrialization and mechanization.

The Society's founders were some of the more prominent machine builders and technical innovators of the late nineteenth century; led by prominent steel engineer Alexander Lyman Holley, Henry Rossiter Worthington and John Edison Sweet.

Holley chaired the first meeting, which was held in the New York editorial offices of the American Machinist, on February 16th, with thirty people in attendance. From this date onward, the society ran formal meetings to discuss development of standard tools and machine parts as well as uniform work practices. However, it wasn't until 1905 that a major turning point gave new definition to ASME's purpose and impact on civilian life.

Steam powered the technology of the late 19th century. Despite their power, boilers and pressure vessels were temperamental, requiring constant attention and maintenance. Although there were numerous boiler explosions throughout the 19th century, there were no legal codes for boilers in any state in the Union. Undoubtedly one of the most important incidents that proved the need for developing boiler laws was the Grover Shoe Factory Disaster in Brockton, Massachusetts on March 10, 1905.

An older boiler, used as a backup during maintenance on the newer model, exploded, rocketing through three floors and the building's roof. Broken beams and heavy machinery trapped many workers who survived the initial explosion and collapse. Burning coals thrown from the boiler landed throughout the crumbling superstructure, starting fires that were fed by broken gas lines. The explosion resulted in 58 deaths and 117 injuries.

It was this catastrophe that gave Massachusetts the impetus to establish a five-man Board of Boiler Rules, whose charge was to write a boiler law for the state; this board published its boiler laws in 1908.

Having established the Boiler Testing Code in 1884, ASME formed a Boiler Code Committee in 1911 that led to the Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) being published in 1915. The BPVC was later incorporated into laws in most US states and territories and Canadian provinces.

ASME's rich publication history—including standards, theory, and technical journals—made a great deal of technical and biographical information available to engineers and policy makers. These publications form a substantial and tangible connection to the past that proves inspirational to ASME members to this day.

Source

American Society of Mechanical Engineers website, https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history (accessed on September 19, 2023)
Provenance:
Collection assembled by the Division of Work and Industry.
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.
Genre/Form:
Brochures
Correspondence
Pamphlets
Citation:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1522
See more items in:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8adb12cd0-061f-4e00-9d66-8d9b75912f02
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1522

Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records.

Author:
Parke, Davis Company  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences  Search this
Names:
Pfizer Inc.  Search this
Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis  Search this
Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis. Pharmaceutical Research Division  Search this
Davis, George S.  Search this
Duffield, Samuel P., Dr. (physician, pharmacist)  Search this
Parke, Hervey Coke , 1827-1899  Search this
Extent:
365 Cubic feet (510 boxes, 43 map folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Annual reports
Blueprints
Brochures
Catalogs
Correspondence
Employee records
Formulae, chemical
Lantern slides
Newsletters
Newspaper clippings
Notebooks
Price lists
16mm films
Sound recordings
Tracings
Trade literature
Date:
1866-1992
Summary:
The collection documents Parke, Davis and Company, one of the largest and oldest pharmaceutical firms in America.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Parke, Davis and Company, one of America's oldest and largest drug makers. Parke, Davis had the first research laboratory in the American pharmaceutical industry. The company played a major role in the development of some of the principle new drugs of the twentieth century and pioneered the field of drug standardization. They were one of the first American firms to produce antitoxins, hormones, and other biologicals. They introduced new and important drugs such as adrenalin, dilantin, chlorenpleniol, and other antibiotics. They also did important research on vitamins, disinfectants, and pencillin.

The collection contains complete documentaion of all the research activities done, including research laboratory notes, correspondence, and published papers. The collection also contains corporate, financial, advertising and sales materials, photographs, and audiovisual materials. The collection is important for those researchers interested in the history of public health, the history of biologicals, pharmaceutical manufacturing and business history.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into 13 series.

Series 1: Corporate Materials, 1887-1951

Series 2: Financial Materials, 1880-1970

Series 3: Employee/Personnel Materials, 1900-1989

Series 4: Advertising/Sales Materials, 1868-1980

Series 5: Photographs, 1866-1992

Series 6: Notebooks, 1908-1968

Series 7: Control Department Records, 1884-1931

Series 8: Formulas, 1882-1967

Series 9: Equipment Data Files, 1922-1978

Series 10: Publications, 1968-1988

Series 11: Research Materials, 1920-1978

Series 12: Drawings, 1911-1971

Series 13: Addenda, 1867-1970

Series 14: Audio Materials, 1956-1957
Historical:
Parke, Davis and Company traces it's origins to Samuel Pearce Duffield (1833-1916), a physician and pharmacist. Duffield was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and his family moved to Detroit when he was an infant. Duffield graduated from the University of Michigan in 1854 and he attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, latter leaving for Germany where he studied chemistry and sought treatment for his eyesight. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy from Ludwig University at Giessen in Germany. Duffield returned to Detroit in 1858 and established a retail drugstore with a strong interest in manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Duffield sought financial partners for his retail and manufacturing venture with A.L. Patrick and Francis C. Conant. Both men retracted their investments and Duffield met Hervey Coke Parke (1927-1899), a native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Duffield and Parke formed a formal partnership in 1866. George S. Davis, a third partner and traveling salesman previously with Farrand, Sheley and Company, was added 1867. Augustus F. Jennings joined the company as a partner to head manufacturing. The company became known as Duffield, Parke, Davis, & Jennings Company. Duffield withdrew in 1869 and the name Parke, Davis & Company was adopted in 1871. The company incorporated in 1875 and began planning world-wide scientific expeditions to discover new vegetable drugs such as Guarana, Bearsfoot, Eucalyptus Globulus, and Coca. The company first showed a profit in 1876, and the first dividend paid to shareholders in 1878 and dividends paid until mid-1960s. Research was a major activity of the company.

In 1907, Parke, Davis and Company bought 340 acres in northeast Avon Township, Michigan, and called it Parkedale Farm. The farm was dedicated on October 8, 1908, and included sterilization rooms and a vaccine propagating building. By 1909 the farm included 200 horses, 25 to 50 cattle, 150 sheep, and employed 20 men. The horses produced the antitoxin for diphtheria and tetanus, the cattle produced a vaccine for smallpox preventatives, and the sheep made serum. Only the healthiest animals were used and all were well cared for. Exotic plants were also grown on the site and used for drugs. Parke-Davis' chief products were antitoxins and vaccines as well as farm crops for feeding the animals. The farm continued to produce vaccines for diphtheria, scarlet fever, tetanus, smallpox, anthrax, and in the 1950s, the Salk polio vaccine.

Due to a weakening financial position, the company became susceptible to take-over, and was purchased by Warner-Lambert in 1970. Warner Lambert, was then acquired by Pfizer in 2000. In 2007, Pfizer closed its research facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Source

Rochester Hills Museum at Voon Hoosen Farm (last accessed on September 29, 2021 https://www.rochesterhills.org/Museum/LocalHistory/ParkeDavisFarm.pdf)

Parke, Davis and Company. Parke-Davis At 100...progress in the past...promise for the future. Detroit, Michigan, 1966.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Alka-Seltzer Documentation and Oral History Project (NMAH.AC.0184)

N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records (NMAH.AC.0059)

Cover Girl Advertising Oral History Documentation Project (NMAH.AC.0374)

Garfield and Company Records (NMAH.AC.0820)

Albert W. Hampson Commercial Artwork Collection (NMAH.AC.0561)

Ivory Soap Advertising Collection (NMAH.AC.0791)

Kiehl's Pharmacy Records (NMAH.AC.0819)

Alan and Elaine Levitt Advertisement Collection (NMAH.AC.0303)

Medical Sciences Film Collection (NMAH.AC.0222)

Norwich Eaton Pharmaceutical, Inc. Collection (NMAH.AC.0395)

Procter & Gamble Company Product Packaging Collection (NMAH.AC.0836)

Sterling Drug Company Records (NMAH.AC.772)

Syntex Collection of Pharmaceutical Advertising (NMAH.AC.0821)

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Medicine (NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Medicine)

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Patent Medicines (NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.PatentMedicines)

Materials at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collection

Trade catalogs related to Parke, Davis & Co.; Warner-Lambert; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals; and Pfizer, Inc.

Materials at Other Organizations

Detroit Public Library, Special Collections

Parke, Davis & Company records, 1892-1959

Scrapbook of clippings, 1929-44; Excursions & Announcements, 1892-1902; and company newsletters.

University of California San Francisco

Drug Industry Documents was created by the University of California San Francisco Library in collaboration with faculty members C. Seth Landefeld, MD and Michael Steinman, MD. Originally established to house documents from an off-label marketing lawsuit against Parke-Davis (United States of America ex rel. David Franklin vs. Parke-Davis), the archive has grown to include documents from additional sources illustrating how the pharmaceutical industry, academic journals and institutions, continuing medical education organizations and regulatory/funding agencies operate in ways that are detrimental to public health.
Separated Materials:
Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History

The division holds objects related to Parke, Davis that primarily include containers (boxes and glass bottles) that held phamrmaceuticals, biologicals (vaccines), crude drugs, and herb packages. See accessions: 1978.0882; 1982.0043; 1982.0043; 1984.0351; 1985.0475; 1988.3152; 1991.0415; 1992.3127; 2001.3066; 2012.0165; and 2018.5001.
Provenance:
The initial collection of approximately 185 cubic feet was donated by the Warner-Lambert Company, through Jerry A. Weisbach, Vice-President and President of the Pharmaceutical Research Division, on February 3, 1982.
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:
advertising  Search this
Antibiotics  Search this
Architectural Blueprints  Search this
Biologicals  Search this
Chemistry  Search this
Diseases  Search this
Drugs -- 1900-1950  Search this
Drug factories  Search this
Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919  Search this
Laboratories  Search this
Medical scientists -- 1900-1950  Search this
Patents  Search this
Pharmaceutical industry -- 1900-1950  Search this
Pharmacology -- 1900-1950  Search this
Photographs  Search this
Vaccines  Search this
Genre/Form:
Annual reports -- 20th century
Blueprints -- 20th century
Brochures -- 20th century
Catalogs
Correspondence -- 19th-20th century
Employee records
Formulae, chemical
Lantern slides -- 1900-1950
Newsletters -- 20th century
Newspaper clippings
Notebooks -- 1900-1950
Price lists
16mm films
Sound recordings -- Audiotapes -- Open reel
Tracings
Trade literature
Citation:
Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0001
See more items in:
Parke, Davis Research Laboratory Records.
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8869c518d-5cbd-42cf-b508-e688de3bf14d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0001
Online Media:

Alexander Parker Rogers papers relating to John Rogers

Creator:
Rogers, Alexander Parker  Search this
Names:
Rogers, John, 1829-1904  Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1875-1966
Scope and Contents:
3 versions of Alexander P. Rogers' typescript "John Rogers - The Man," and correspondence with magazines regarding it's publication, 1950; typescripts "Recollections of my father, John Rogers (sculptor)," and "Recollections of my mother, Harriet Frances Rogers (1841-1927)," 1940; a handwritten list of John Rogers' finished and unfinished bronzes in the studio at New Canaan, Conn.; clippings on Rogers, 1920-1966; a 1939 wall calendar with prints of Rogers' sculptures; family photographs and a carte-de-visite of John Rogers in his studio; a list of family photographs collected by Alexander P. Rogers which were presented in his memory to the New York Historical Society, and correspondence regarding the NYHS donation.
Biographical / Historical:
Son of American sculptor John Rogers, best known for his popular statuary groups.
Provenance:
Transferred from the National Museum of Art Library, 1990, which purchased the papers along with books on Rogers from Mary Hamilton, of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Sculptors  Search this
Topic:
Sculpture, American  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 19th century -- United States  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.rogealex
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw961994514-4e59-4a8c-8cd1-53e6d74f09bf
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-rogealex

Formica Collection

Creator:
Jeffers, Grace  Search this
Formica Corporation.  Search this
Names:
Faber, Herbert A.  Search this
Loewy, Raymond  Search this
O'Conor, Daniel J.  Search this
Stevens, Brooks  Search this
Extent:
18 Cubic feet (59 boxes, 11 oversize folders )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scripts (documents)
Videotapes
Posters
Samples
Advertisements
Brochures
Blueprints
Photographs
Newsletters
Exhibition catalogs
Catalogs
Correspondence
Date:
1913-2003
Summary:
The Formica Collection consists of textual files, photographs, slides, negatives, drawings, blueprints, posters, advertisements, product brochures, newsletters, and informational pamphlets documenting the history of the Formica Corporation and the use of Formica brand plastic laminate.
Scope and Contents:
The Formica Collection, 1913-2003, consists of textual files, photographs, photo slides, drawings, blueprints, posters, advertisements, product brochures, informational pamphlets, and research notes documenting the history of the Formica Corporation and the use of Formica brand plastic laminate.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Corporate Records, 1920-1992, 2003

Subseries 1.1: Annual reports, 1949, 1966, 1988

Subseries 1.2: Correspondence and company identity, 1920-1988

Subseries 1.3: Corporation histories and timelines, 1949-1991, undated

Subseries 1.4: Newspaper clippings and articles, 1934-2003

Subseries 1.5: Awards, 1940s-1987

Subseries 1.6: Patent information, 1925-1994

Subseries 1.7: Photographs, 1927-1966

Series 2: Personnel Records, 1943-1992

Series 3: Newsletters, Magazines, and Press Releases, 1942-1990

Subseries 3.1: Newsletters, 1942-1988

Subseries 3.2: Press releases, 1973-1990

Series 4: Product Information, 1948-1994

Series 5: Advertising and sales materials, 1913-2000

Subseries 5.1: Advertising materials, 1913-2000

Subseries 5.2: Sales materials, 1922-1993

Series 6: Subject Files, circa 1945, 1955-1991, 2002

Series 7: Exhibits, 1981-1994

Series 8: Grace Jeffers Research Materials, 1987-1997

Series 9: Audio Visual Materials, 1982-1995, undated

Series 10: Martin A. Jeffers Materials, 1963-1999

Subseries 10.1: Background Materials, 1965-1999

Subseries 10.2: Employee Benefits, 1963-1998

Subseries 10.3: Product Information, [1959?]-1997

Subseries 10.4: Advertising and Sales Records, 1987-1999
Biographical / Historical:
Since its founding in 1913, the history of the Formica Company has been marked by a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. The history begins with the discovery of Formica by two men who envisioned the plastic laminate as breakthrough insulation for motors. Later, Formica became a ubiquitous surfacing material used by artists and architects of post-modern design. The various applications of the plastic laminate during the twentieth century give it a prominent role in the history of plastics, American consumerism, and American popular culture.

The Formica Company was the brainchild of Herbert A. Faber and Daniel J. O'Conor, who met in 1907 while both were working at Westinghouse in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. O'Conor, head of the process section in the Research Engineering Department, had been experimenting with resins, cloth, paper, and a wide array of solvents in an effort to perfect a process for making rigid laminate sheets from Kraft paper and liquid Bakelite. O'Conor produced the first laminate sheet at Westinghouse by winding and coating paper on a mandrel, slitting the resulting tube, and flattening it on a press. The finished product was a laminated sheet with the chemical and electrical properties of Bakelite that were cut into various shapes and sizes. O'Conor applied for a patent on February 1, 1913, but it was not issued until November 12, 1918 (US Patent 1,284,432). Since the research was done on behalf of Westinghouse, the company was assigned the patent, and O'Conor was given one dollar, the customary amount that Westinghouse paid for the rights to employees' inventions.

Herbert Faber, Technical Sales Manager of insulating materials, was excited about O'Conor's discovery. Faber saw limitless possibilities for the new material. However, he quickly became frustrated by Westinghouse's policy limiting the sale of the laminate to its licensed distributors. After failing to persuade Westinghouse to form a division to manufacture and market the new material, Faber and O'Conor created their own company. On May 2, 1913, the first Formica plant opened in Cincinnati, Ohio. On October 15, 1913, the business incorporated as the Formica Insulation Company with Faber as president and treasurer and O'Conor as vice-president and secretary. The company began producing insulation parts used in place of or "for mica," the costly mineral that had been used in electrical insulation.

Like most new companies, Formica had modest beginnings. Faber and O'Conor faced the challenge of looking for investors who would let them maintain control over the company. Finally, they met J. G. Tomluin, a lawyer and banker from Walton, Kentucky, who invested $7,500 for a one-third share in the Formica Company. Renting a small space in downtown Cincinnati, Faber and O'Conor began work. The company's equipment list consisted of a 35-horsepower boiler, a small gas stove, and a variety of homemade hand screw presses. By September 1913, Tomluin had brought in two more partners, David Wallace and John L. Vest. With the added capital, O'Conor, Faber, and Formica's eighteen employees began producing automobile insulation parts for Bell Electric Motor, Allis Chalmers, and Northwest Electric.

Initially, the Formica Company only made insulation rings and tubes for motors. However, by July 4, 1914, the company obtained its first press and began to produce flat laminate sheets made from Redmenol resin. Business gradually grew, and by 1917 sales totaled $75,000. Fueled by World War I, Formica's business expanded to making radio parts, aircraft pulleys, and timing gears for the burgeoning motor industry. In the years that followed, Formica products were in high demand as laminate plastics replaced older materials in washers, vacuum cleaners, and refrigerators. By 1919, the Formica Company required larger facilities and purchased a factory in Cincinnati.

During this time, patent battles and legal suits emerged to challenge Formica's success. On June 11, 1919, Westinghouse sued Formica for patent infringement on its laminated gears; Formica won. Later that year, Westinghouse brought two new lawsuits against Formica. The first was for a patent infringement on the production of tubes, rods, and molded parts; the second was over an infringement based on a 1913 patent assigned to Westinghouse through O'Conor. Formica prevailed in both suits.

Legal battles did not deter the company. Having to defend itself against a giant corporation gave Formica a reputation as a scrappy contender. Finally, Faber and O'Conor made a quantum leap in 1927, when the company was granted a U.S. patent for a phenolic laminate utilizing lithographed wood grains of light color, forming an opaque barrier sheet which blocks out the dark interior of the laminate. In 1931, the company received two more patents for the preparation of the first all paper based laminate and for the addition of a layer of aluminum foil between the core and the surface, making the laminate cigarette-proof. These patents would allow Formica to move from a company dealing primarily with industrial material to the highly visible arena of consumer goods.

In 1937, Faber had a severe heart attack which limited his activity within the company. O'Conor continued as president, encouraging new product lines, including Realwood, as a laminate with genuine wood veneer mounted on a paper lamination with a heat-reactive binder. With the introduction of Realwood and its derivatives, manufacturers started using Formica laminate for tabletops, desks, and dinette sets. By the early forties, sales of Formica laminate were over 15 million dollars. The final recipe for decorative laminate was perfected in 1938, when melamine resins were introduced. Melamine was clear, extremely hard, and resistant to stains, heat, light, less expensive than phenolic resins. It also made possible laminates of colored papers and patterns.

Due to World War II, Formica postponed the manufacturing of decorative laminate sheets. Instead, the company made a variety of war-time products ranging from airplane propellers to bomb buster tubes.

The post-World War II building boom fueled the decorative laminate market and ushered in what would come to be known as the golden age for Formica. The company, anticipating the demand for laminate, acquired a giant press capable of producing sheets measuring thirty by ninety-six inches for kitchen countertops. Between 1947 and 1950, more than 2 million new homes were designed with Formica brand laminate for kitchens and bathrooms.

Formica's advertising campaigns, initially aimed at industry, were transformed to speak to the new decorative needs of consumer society, in particular the American housewife. Formica hired design consultants, Brooks Stevens, and, later, Raymond Loewy who launched extensive advertising campaigns. Advertising themes of durability, cleanliness, efficiency, and beauty abound in promotional material of this time. Advertisers promised that the plastic laminate, known as "the wipe clean wonder," was resistant to dirt, juices, jams, alcohol stains, and cigarette burns. Atomic patterns and space-age colors, including Moonglo, Skylark, and Sequina, were introduced in homes, schools, offices, hospitals, diners, and restaurants across America.

The post-war period was also marked by expansion, specifically with the establishment of Formica's first international markets. In 1947, Formica signed a licensing agreement with the British firm the De La Rue Company of London for the exclusive manufacture and marketing of decorative laminates outside North America, and in South America and the Pacific Basin. In 1948, Formica changed its name from the Formica Insulation Company to the Formica Company. In 1951, Formica responded to growing consumer demand by opening a million square foot plant in Evendale, Ohio, devoted to the exclusive production of decorative sheet material. In 1956, the Formica Company became the Formica Corporation, a subsidiary of American Cyanamid Company. A year later, the international subsidiaries that Formica formed with De La Rue Company of London were replaced by a joint company called Formica International Limited.

The plastic laminate was not merely confined to tabletops and dinette sets. Formica laminate was used for skis, globes, and murals. Moreover, well-known artists and architects used the decorative laminate for modernist furniture and Art Deco interiors. In 1960, Formica's Research and Development Design Center was established, adjacent to the Evendale plant, to develop uses for existing laminate products. In 1966, the company opened the Sierra Plant near Sacramento, California. Such corporate expansion enabled Formica to market its laminates beyond the traditional role as a countertop surface material.

In 1974, Formica established its Design Advisory Board (DAB), a group of leading designers and architects. DAB introduced new colors and patterns of laminate that gained popularity among artists and interior designers in the 1980s. In 1981, DAB introduced the Color Grid, a systematic organization of Formica laminate arranged by neutrals and chromatics. The Color Grid was described as the first and only logically arranged collection of color in the laminate industry. DAB also developed the Design Concepts Collection of premium solid and patterned laminates to serve the needs of contemporary interior designers.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the corporation continued to produce laminates for interior designers, artists, and architects. In 1982, Formica introduced COLORCORE, the first solid-color laminate. Due to its relatively seamless appearance, COLORCORE was adopted by artists for use in furniture, jewelry, and interior design. The introduction of COLORCORE also marked the emergence of a wide variety of design exhibitions and competitions sponsored by the Formica Corporation. In 1985, Formica Corporation became independent and privately held. Formica continues to be one of the leading laminate producers in the world with factories in the United States, England, France, Spain, Canada, and Taiwan.

For additional information on the history of the Formica Corporation, see:

DiNoto, Andrea. Art Plastic: Designed for Living. New York: Abbeville Press, 1985.

Fenichell, Stephen. Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century. New York: Harper/Collins, 1996.

Jeffers Grace. 1998. Machine Made Natural: The Decorative Products of the Formica Corporation, 1947-1962. Master's thesis. Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts.

Lewin, Susan Grant, ed. Formica & Design: From Counter Top to High Art. New York: Rizzoli, 1991.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center

Leo Baekeland Papers, 1881-1968 (NMAH.AC.0005)

DuPont Nylon Collection, 1939-1977 (NMAH.AC.0007)

J. Harry DuBois Collection on the History of Plastics, circa 1900-1975 (NMAH.AC.0008)

Earl Tupper Papers, circa 1914-1982 (NMAH.AC.0470)

The Division of Medicine and Science holds artifacts related to this collection. See accession # 1997.0319 and #1997.3133.
Provenance:
This collection was assembled by Grace Jeffers, historian of material culture, primarily from materials given to her by Susan Lewin, Head of Formica's New York design and publicity office when the office closed in 1995. The collection was donated to the Archives Center by Grace Jeffers in September 1996.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow. 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:
Plastics industry and trade  Search this
Plastics -- 1920-2000  Search this
Plastics as art material -- 1920-2000  Search this
Plastics in interior design -- 1920-2000  Search this
advertising -- plastic industry -- 1920-2000  Search this
Plastic jewelry -- 1920-2000  Search this
Laminated plastics -- 1920-2000  Search this
Exhibitions -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
House furnishings -- 1920-2000 -- United States  Search this
Housewives as consumers -- 1920-2000  Search this
Electronic insulators and insulation -- Plastics -- 1920-2000  Search this
Inventions -- 1920-2000 -- United States  Search this
Women in advertising  Search this
Women in popular culture -- 1920-2000  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scripts (documents)
Videotapes
Posters -- 20th century
Samples -- 1920-2000
Advertisements
Brochures
Blueprints -- 20th century
Photographs -- 20th century
Newsletters -- 20th century
Exhibition catalogs
Catalogs
Catalogs -- 1920-2000
Correspondence -- 20th century
Citation:
Formica Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0565
See more items in:
Formica Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8859e644e-2a2b-427b-ae69-3dfadd400aa4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0565
Online Media:

Men Standing Atop Canopy

Collection Creator:
Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.  Search this
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Civil Engineering Department  Search this
Underwood and Underwood  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Item 22
Type:
Archival materials
Negatives
Date:
undated
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, 1886-1931, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
See more items in:
Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection
Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection / Series 1: Engineering / 1.1: Architecture and Structures / 1.1.2: Architecture
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cb6d6ffc-157b-43ed-b134-3381121a1560
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1013-ref536

Men Pose in Front of Log Cabin

Collection Creator:
Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence.  Search this
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Civil Engineering Department  Search this
Underwood and Underwood  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Item 57
Type:
Archival materials
Negatives
Date:
undated
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, 1886-1931, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
See more items in:
Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection
Division of Work and Industry Lantern Slide Collection / Series 1: Engineering / 1.1: Architecture and Structures / 1.1.4: Construction of Log Cabin
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep80b17ce03-d269-4f68-b299-3191f5c1f26f
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1013-ref573

At the Café カフェにて

Artist:
Nonagase Banka 野長瀬晩花 (1889-1964)  Search this
Takehisa Yumeji 竹久夢二 (1884-1934)  Search this
Hada Teruo 秦テルヲ (1887-1945)  Search this
Medium:
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions:
H x W (image): 132.2 × 30 cm (52 1/16 × 11 13/16 in)
Type:
Painting
Origin:
Japan
Date:
1910s
Topic:
woman  Search this
man  Search this
Japan  Search this
Japanese Art  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles
Accession Number:
S2023.11.11
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye353fbc435-4568-4835-a615-6549883676e8
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_S2023.11.11
Online Media:

Illustrated History of Selling Tea 賣茶畫談

Artist:
Tomioka Tessai 富岡鉄斎 (1836-1924)  Search this
Medium:
Ink and light color on paper
Dimensions:
H x W (Overall): 28.5 × 456.9 cm (11 1/4 × 179 15/16 in)
Type:
Painting
Origin:
Japan
Date:
1916
Topic:
man  Search this
Japan  Search this
Japanese Art  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles
Accession Number:
F2023.3.28
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3c66f1d54-bf91-4099-966c-b782256bba57
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_F2023.3.28
Online Media:

Hanshan 寒山子

Artist:
Kosugi Misei 小杉未醒 (1881-1964)  Search this
Medium:
Ink and light color on paper
Dimensions:
H x W (Overall): 219.7 × 46.4 cm (86 1/2 × 18 1/4 in)
Type:
Painting
Origin:
Japan
Date:
late 1910s
Topic:
man  Search this
Japan  Search this
Japanese Art  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles
Accession Number:
F2023.3.32
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3dd80239a-0f4a-4415-ac1b-92b1a6e25aeb
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_F2023.3.32
Online Media:

Extreme measures

Artist:
Burden, Chris 1946-2015  Search this
Editor:
Phillips, Lisa 1954-  Search this
Curator:
Gioni, Massimiliano  Search this
Moore, Jenny 1973-  Search this
Author:
Burton, Johanna  Search this
Host institution:
New Museum (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Subject:
Burden, Chris 1946-2015  Search this
Burden, Chris 1946-2015 Criticism and interpretation  Search this
Physical description:
247 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 30 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Place:
United States
Date:
2013
20th century
21st century
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Performance art  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1017616

Bulletin d'histoire de la culture materielle

Author:
National Museum of Man (Canada) History Division  Search this
Physical description:
v. ill. 28 cm
Type:
Electronic resources
Periodicals
Place:
Canada
Date:
1977
1990
1977-1990
Topic:
History  Search this
Antiquities  Search this
Call number:
F1001.N277m
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_102444

Fa men si bo wu guan lun cong. Di liu ji, Fa men si fo she li xue shu yan tao hui lun wen ji / Jiang Jie zhu bian

Title:
西安 : 三秦出版社, 2014
Fa men si fo she li xue shu yan tao hui lun wen ji
法门寺博物馆论丛. 第六辑, 法门寺佛舍利学术研讨会论文集 / 姜捷主编
Author:
Jiang, Jie  Search this
Subject:
Gautama Buddha Relics  Search this
Fa men si (Fufeng Xian, China) History  Search this
Physical description:
2, 611 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm
Type:
Congresses
Congrès
Conference papers and proceedings
History
Place:
China
Fufeng Xian
Chine
Date:
2014
Topic:
Buddhist antiquities  Search this
Antiquités bouddhiques  Search this
Relics  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1053121

系統發育分析步驟入門

Author:
Wiley, E. O  Search this
Translator:
Chen, Xingyu  Search this
Chen, Xiaoping  Search this
Physical description:
215 pages illustrations 21 cm
Type:
Classification
Date:
1995
Topic:
Cladistic analysis  Search this
Animals  Search this
Phylogeny  Search this
Analyse cladistique  Search this
Animaux  Search this
Phylogenèse  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1115587

Miles Davis, John Coltrane and the greatest jazz collaboration ever

Author:
Griffin, Farah Jasmine  Search this
Washington, Salim  Search this
Physical description:
294 pages illustrations 22 cm
Type:
Books
Nonfiction
Criticism, interpretation, etc
Date:
2008
Topic:
Jazz--History and criticism  Search this
Jazz  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1162880

Land Collection

Author:
Nicholson, H. B (Henry B.)  Search this
Cordy-Collins, Alana  Search this
Land, Lewis K  Search this
California Academy of Sciences  Search this
Subject:
Land, Lewis K Art collections  Search this
Land, Lewis K Collections d'art  Search this
Physical description:
272 pages : illusrations (some color) ; 28 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Date:
1979
C1979
Topic:
Indian art  Search this
Art précolombien--Expositions  Search this
Call number:
E59.A7 P65X
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_122154

American men and women of science

Author:
R.R. Bowker Company Database Publishing Group  Search this
Physical description:
v. ; 29 cm
Type:
Biography
Directories
Place:
United States
Canada
Date:
1990
C1989-
Topic:
Scientists  Search this
Scientists--Biography  Search this
Scientists--Directories  Search this
Call number:
Q141 .A514
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_446617

Tommasi Ferroni

Artist:
Tommasi Ferroni, Riccardo 1934-2000  Search this
Writer of introduction:
Sciascia, Leonardo  Search this
Host institution:
Galleria il gabbiano (Rome, Italy)  Search this
Author:
Smithsonian Libraries Art and Artist Files Collection  Search this
Issuing body:
Chicago International Art Exposition  Search this
Physical description:
1 volume (12 unnumbered pages) illustrations (some color) 24 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Exhibition catalogs
Artist files
Date:
1988
20th century
Topic:
Art, Modern  Search this
Call number:
AAF--Tommasi Ferroni, Riccardo
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_744280

Oriental panorama British travellers in 19th century Turkey Reinhold Schiffer

Title:
British travellers in 19th century Turkey
Author:
Schiffer, Reinhold  Search this
Physical description:
viii, 445 pages illustrations, map 25 cm
Type:
Books
History
Place:
Turkey
Bröthen
Türkei
Date:
1999
19th century
Topic:
British--Travel--History  Search this
British--Travel  Search this
Travelers' writings, English  Search this
Biografie  Search this
Briten  Search this
Reise  Search this
Reiseliteratur  Search this
Travel  Search this
Travelers  Search this
Britten  Search this
Reisbeschrijvingen  Search this
Description and travel  Search this
Call number:
DR427 .S33
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_848975

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