The collection consists of negatives relating to the RCA Victor Company which was formed in 1929 when the Radio Corporation of America acquired the Victor Talking Machine Company. The majority of the negatives feature sound and television equipment manufactured by RCA. These images include phonographs, radios, radio-phonograph combinations, records, speakers, amplifiers, microphones, facsimile machines, televisions, equipment involved in the transmission and reception of television and radio, radio equipment created for use by government agencies and motion picture equipment. Many images show the interiors of RCA equipment, or feature individual radio and television components, such as radio and television tubes. A number of images feature machinery and employees engaged in manufacturing RCA equipment, particularly television components. RCA recording artists and actors/actresses appear in another significant segment of the images, both in candid and posed images taken in recording studios and in promotional photographs from films. Images used in RCA advertising also appear in the collection.

The Audio series contains images related to non-broadcast sound equipment. The series is organized into eleven subseries: Commercial sound equipment, Equipment, Intercom, Loud speakers, Manufacturing sets & records, Meters, Microphones, Phonographs & transcriptions, Record changers, Sound trucks, and Speakers. The series materials date from 1930 to 1977. The Meters subseries are primarily images of audio meters like decibel and acoustic gauges measurements, but it’s possible other types of meters are in this subseries related to broadcasting. Additionally meters appear in other series such as the Radio/TV broadcasting series.

The Aviation equipment series consists of direction finders, transmitters, receivers, antennas, control panels, ground controls, radio compasses, commercial airline equipment and aircraft, helmets, radio sets, and other aviation related parts and equipment. These images date from 1933 to 1971. Related materials can also be found in the Government projects series.

The Beverage inspection machine series includes images of an apparatus used for detecting the presence of foreign particles or dirt in or on transparent bottles. This machine was used in quality control in plants for milk and other bottled beverages. Images in this series are mainly of the machine itself, but also include parts, factory and warehouse interiors of bottling facilities for Coca-Cola and other unidentified companies. The materials in this series date from 1945 to 1960.

The Circuits series contains images related to electrical currents and is organized into eleven series by type: Breadboards, Circuit boards, Circuitry, Head wheel, Heat pipe, Hybrid, Integrated circuit, Keyer, Micro-circuit, Modules, and Oscillators. Materials date from 1930s to 1976. There are some related materials in Computers, Government projects, and Tests/experiments series.

The Computer series are images of equipment, components, and parts. The series is arranged into five subseries: Bizmac, Card punch/punch tape, Card readers, Equipment, Spectra-70. There are some overlap in the Equipment subseries. The materials date from 1944 to 1977. Related materials can be found in the Government projects series.

The Government projects series consists of images related to electronic equipment produced for government agencies. The series is divided into twenty-two subseries either by military branch or by type of equipment. The subseries are: Air Force, Armament systems: Army, Aviation laser warning receivers, Aviation radio transceiver, Aviation situation displays, Aviation transmitters, Computer systems, Government sound, HF receiver/transceiver, Integrated Radio Room (IR2), Japanese Data Link, Marine Corps, Navy, Radar, Radio sets, Tactical Communications satellite (TACSAT), Telecommunications security (TSEC), and United States Postal Service (USPS). The images date from 1933 to 1977. There are related materials in the Aviation equipment, Computers, and Scientific equipment series. Though NASA is a government agency, NASA and other space related projects are in the series: Space.

The Heating and cooling series contains images of temperature control equipment related to either refrigeration or thermal heating. The series is arranged into two subseries: Cooling and Thermal and dates from 1937 to 1977.

The Motion pictures series are images of film equipment such as projectors, cameras, processors, camera controls, as well as equipment related to the Photophone. The series is divided into two subseries: Equipment and Photophone and dates from 1930 to 1976.

The Packing, parts, and styling series consists of images of packaging, parts/components of products, and artistic renderings of products. The series is divided into three subseries: Packing, Parts, and Styling. Styling was a department within the RCA company. The materials date from circa 1930 to 1976.

The Power series contains images related to the product of voltage and currents. The series has been organized into five subseries by type: Generators, Power supply, Rectifiers, Transformers and Voltage. The materials date from circa 1930 to 1977.

The Publicity series contains images related to advertising, press, and promotions. There are headshots of musicians, celebrities, and personnel, product images, organizational and financial charts, and company images. The series is organized into ten subseries: Advertising; Artwork; Celebrities; Charts; Copy work; Exports; Logos; Personnel, Publicity & Promotional Shots; Select a Lesson; and Television publicity. The materials date from circa 1930 to 1977.

The Radio series are images of equipment, components, parts, and details. The series is divided into six subseries: Amateur Rect. Trans.; Auto; Crystals; Police radios; Radio - Phonographs; and Radios. The materials date from 1930 to 1976. The materials in the Crystals subseries may also relate to television, optics or lasers as well as radio equipment.

The Radio/TV broadcasting series consists of views of broadcast equipment including parts, components, details, and construction/manufacturing/assembly. The series has been arranged into sixteen subseries: Amplifiers; Antennas; Equipment; Microwave; Modulators; Monitors; Multiplexers; Radio stations; Receivers, transmitters, and transceivers; Speech input; Switches; Television stations; UHF; Video; and Wave form/waveguides. The materials date from circa 1930 to 1977.

The RCA buildings/facilities series show exterior and interiors of RCA warehouses, factories, plants, and offices. Some images include workers, work areas, equipment, machinery, and/or products. The series has been organized into five subseries: Area shots, Buildings, Identified plants/laboratories, Plant change over, and Unidentified factories/laboratories. The materials date from circa 1930 to 1977.

The Recorders, projectors, and cameras series are images of equipment, components, parts, and details. The series is arranged into six subseries: 16mm, Cameras, Projectors, Recorders, Tape recorders, and TV cameras. There is some overlap between the subseries. The materials date from circa 1930 to 1977.

The Scientific equipment series are images of equipment, components, parts, and details. The series is arranged into six subseries: Electron Microscope, Lasers, Medical electronics, Metal detectors, Optics, and Radar. The materials date from 1933 to 1977. Additional materials related to optics can be found in the Television series. Additional materials related to Radar can be found in the Government projects series.

The Space series contains images of projects related to space exploration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The series is organized into eleven subseries by project: Apollo; Coherent Synthetic Aperture Radar (CSAR); Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS); Extravehicular Communications System (EVCS); Gemini; Lunar; NASA; Nestor; Saturn/Apollo; Skylab; and TIROS. The materials date from 1959 to 1977.

The Telecommunications series contains images of equipment, components, parts, and details. The series is arranged into six subseries: Equipment, Facsimile equipment, Mobile, Speech, Telephones, and TELEX. The materials date from 1930 to 1977.

The Television series consists of images of television equipment, components, parts, and details. The series is organized into five subseries: Color Television, Industrial TV equipment, Test charts, Theater Television, TV sets 1930s-1960, and USSR. The materials date from 1930 to 1976. There are some related materials in the Radio/TV broadcasting and the Recorders, projectors, and cameras series.

The Tests/experiments series is divided into three subseries: Equipment, Experiments, and Test equipment T.M.V. The images in these subseries are of equipment details, parts, test setups, experimental machinery, results from experiments, charts, and other test equipment. These materials date from the 1930s to 1977.

The Tubes series is organized into two subseries: Harrison and Tubes. The Harrison materials document the facilities, equipment, and machinery of manufacturing tubes. There are some images of tubes. These images date from 1934 to 1946. The Tubes subseries is images of tubes, most tubes are identified by number type. These materials date from 1933 to 1976.

Films series contains twenty-one films related to the military or space exploration. The films related to the military involve projects with the Army, Navy or the Air Force. The NASA films relate to Apollo 11, the Challenger, and the Solar Max repair. The films date from 1958 to 1984.