Guide to the United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records
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Guide to the United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records NMAH.AC.0277 Craig Orr and Alison Oswald 2012 Archives Center, National Museum of American History P.O. Box 37012 Suite 1100, MRC 601 Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 [email protected] http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives Table of Contents Collection Overview ........................................................................................................ 1 Administrative Information .............................................................................................. 1 Biographical / Historical.................................................................................................... 4 Arrangement..................................................................................................................... 5 Scope and Contents........................................................................................................ 4 Bibliography...................................................................................................................... 7 Names and Subjects ...................................................................................................... 7 Container Listing ............................................................................................................. 9 Series 1: Historical Background Materials, 1901 - 1985.......................................... 9 Series 2: Executive Records, 1927 - 1987............................................................ 12 Series 3: Correspondence, 1890, 1901 - 1915...................................................... 14 Series 4: Wilson Palmer Files, 1925 - 1952.......................................................... 15 Series 5: Research and Development Department Records, 1914 - 1980............. 17 Series 6: Legal Records, 1900 - 1968................................................................... 61 Series 7: Engineering Records, 1904 - 1979......................................................... 74 Series 8: Employee/Personnel Materials, 1908 - 1981.......................................... 77 Series 9: Mutual Relief Association Incorporated, 1906 - 1951, 1902.................... 79 Series 10: Athletic Association Records, 1929 - 1962........................................... 82 Series 11: Industrial School Records, 1909 - 1938............................................... 84 Series 12: Northeastern University Students' Cooperative Work, 1951 - 1960....... 89 Series 13: Aberthaw Construction Company Records, 1918 - 1920...................... 91 Series 14: Publications, 1898 - 1987..................................................................... 93 Series 15: Product Literature, 1952 - 1979............................................................ 98 Series 16: Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1902 - 1981.............................. 103 Series 17: Photographs, 1907 - 1981.................................................................. 110 Series 18: Audiovisual Materials, 1934 - 1972..................................................... 335 United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records NMAH.AC.0277 Collection Overview Repository: Archives Center, National Museum of American History Title: United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records Identifier: NMAH.AC.0277 Date: 1898 - 1987 Extent: 145 Cubic feet (296 boxes) Creator: United Shoe Machinery Corporation Language: Collection is in English. Some materials in French, German, and Spanish. Summary: The collection documents the activities of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation of Beverly, Massachusetts, manufacturers of shoe machinery equipment. The collection consists of engineering records, legal records, research and development records, employee/personnel records, correspondence, company catalogs, product literature, advertising materials, photographs, and moving images. Administrative Information Acquisition Information The collection was donated by United Shoe Machinery Corporation, through Kevin Cochrane on November 20, 1987. Separated Materials Materials at National Museum of American History The Division of Work and Industry holds artifacts related to the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. Some artifacts include a drafting table (1989.0259.349), tool chest (1989.0259.348), and molds for shoes, shoe heels, shoe welts, threads, needles, awls, and show wax. Related Materials Materials at Other Organizations Lynn Historical Society & Museum, Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn, Massachusetts businesses collection, 1888-1991 Small volumes and pamphlets of shoe and shoe-related industry businesses in Lynn, Massachusetts, including miscellaneous articles and histories on the shoe industry in Lynn, manuals, catalogs, broadsides, patents, handbooks, patterns, price lists, brochures, and legal materials. Businesses represented include Beaudry Machine Company, Beckman Machine Page 1 of 349 United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records NMAH.AC.0277 Company, Bresnahan Shoe Machinery Company, George W. Emerson & Company, Hamel Shoe Machinery Company, Gregory & Read Co., David Knox & Sons Machinery Company, Krippendorf Kalculator Company (manufacturers of a mechanical device to compute pattern values), Peerless Machinery Company, Quarmby & Hilliker, Machine Builders, Swain, Fuller Manufacturing Company, W.J. Young Machinery Company, and George J. Kelly, Inc. (maker of shoe polish). United Shoe Machinery Company Records, 1915-1974 Materials assembled by Edward F. McCarthy, director of USM research, including notebooks, diagrams, manuals, brochures, catalogs, code sheets, flow charts, price lists, handbooks, lectures, directories, lexicons, catalogs of other firms, personal notebooks on shoe construction (1927-1931), factory visits to other shoe companies, and production of leading manufacturers (1939-1960), and floor directory of the plant; ledgers listing machines shipped and returned from the Lynn and Puerto Rico plants (nine volumes, 1935-1974); and machine development materials, including patents, chiefly those of Edward Quinn. Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) Salem, Massachusetts An accession in 1987 of institutional archives, includes publications, photographs, advertisements, lectures, scrapbook of shoes made for United Shoe Machinery Corporation of Beverly, Massachusetts, shoes from which are in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum (87020). Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, Massachusetts The United Shoe and Machinery Company Collection contains a large quantity of the company's patents, most of which pertain to the production and manufacture of shoes. Additionally there are patents for golf balls, nail guns, and magnetic closures. The majority of the remaining materials are Quarter Century Club documents ranging from financial and membership records, to pictures and other ephemera. The remainder of the collection consists of miscellaneous objects including sample knives and knife parts from the Booth Brothers Company. University of Connecticut, Dodd Center Emhart Corporation Records, undated, 1883-1989 Emhart Corporation was a multinational company located in Farmington, Connecticut. Prior to its 1989 merger with Black & Decker, Emhart operated in over one hundred countries with a worldwide work force of 30,000 employees. Emhart's products included machines for the manufacture of glass bottles and shoes; filling, sealing and packaging machinery; security systems; electronics; chemical products; metal fasteners; rubber processing equipment; and consumer and do-it-yourself products. Brand name products included True Temper® hardware and sporting goods, and Price Pfister® plumbing fixtures. Emhart's domestic roots went back to the American Hardware Company, founded in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1902. Beverly Public Schools (Beverly, Massachusetts) Beverly Public Schools/Beverly trade school records, 1909-1995 Materials relating to the establishment and operation of the Beverly trade schools, including trustee minutes, annual reports, curriculum journals, correspondence, photographs, programs and ephemera, and calendars. Cornell University, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Page 2 of 349 United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records NMAH.AC.0277 [United Shoe Machinery Corporation publications], 1911-1913 Harvard University, Baker Library [United Shoe Machinery Company, of New Jersey, et al. court proceedings], 1911-1917 United Shoe buildings and properties The Cummings Properties now owns and leases "the Shoe." Available Formats A digital access copy for "Shoes on the Move" available in the Smithsonian Digital Asset Management System (DAMS). Do not use physical VHS or Betacam SP copies. Processing Information A portion of the collection was processed by Craig A. Orr, 1987; revised by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2012-2013; processing of glass plate negatives completed by Vanessa Broussard- Simmons, archivist; Alison Oswald, archivist; Franklin Robinson, archives technician; Joe Hursey, archivist; David Peterson, volunteer; and Anne Jones, volunteer. Trade literature documenting the United States shoe industry was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, National Museum of American History Branch in January 2001. The finding aid was authored by Craig A. Orr and Alison Oswald. Preferred Citation United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Restrictions The collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view materials in cold storage and audio