Secretary's files, 1887-1933
Part of collection: RCA Victor Camden/Frederick O. Barnum III collection (2069)
Dates
- Creation: 1887-1933
Scope and Contents
Secretary's files series is organized into two subseries: Contract file; Contract file analysis. This series consists of documents removed from the Secretary's Contract File because of supposed historical value. At some point after 1980, they became associated with the B.L. Aldridge file in Series II, but were not part of them.
The first subseries of original contracts and agreements pertain to the formation of RCA between 1919 and 1932. This includes prior rights acquired from the Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company Limited , the construction of American transmission stations by the Marconi; world radio communication rights; the dissolution of the American Marconi company; disputes over the Marconi and Alexanderson alternator patents; the disputes among RCA, GE and Westinghouse; and the antitrust suit.
The second subseries, "Contract File Analysis," consists of copies of cover sheets from the Contract File giving the contract number, the name of the parties and an abstract of the action. The series appears to have been produced in 1929-1933 at the time of the antitrust suit, when RCA became an independent company for the purpose of determining which agreements should be assigned to which of the new RCA subsidiaries and which were no longer in force.. The sheets include most of the important contracts entered into by RCA or inherited from predecessors down to early 1933. The oldest contract is dated 1887.
Extent
From the Collection: 250 Linear Feet
Additional Description
Access Restrictions
No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.
Subjects
Related Names
Creator
- From the Collection: RCA Corporation (Organization)
- From the Collection: Barnum, Frederick O., III (Collector, Person)
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository