Scope and Content:

The Alfonse A. Acampora papers record the evolution of important aspects of military and commercial communications systems. His research in the sciences of information technology and image projection for satellite communications and facsimile apparatus is particularly well documented. Most of the collection relates to his work at RCA Globcom.

Three of Acampora's lab notebooks (1973-1984) can be found in Record group 26.

Abstract:

Arnold M. Kneitel (1923-2012) worked in the Film Department of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, specializing in marketing research for Mylar polyester film. His papers are related to his career he preserved at home and include ephemera relating to the marketing of Mylar and papers on office management information systems and the early years of word processing, among other items.

Abstract:

Arthur D. Hall (1924-2006) was a systems engineer who spent the first part of his career with Bell Telephone Laboratories and later taught at the University of Pennsylvania and conducted an independent consulting business. In the latter capacity he developed a patented automated agricultural production system that the called "Autofarm," but was unable to make the leap from invention to true innovation. It was an early, but failed attempt at "green" farming. The Arthur D. Hall III papers represent a portion of his total archive that survived at the time of his death and was removed from his home office in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The main focus of the papers is Hall's work to develop Autofarm and his unsuccessful attempts to secure funding and market the concept to paying customers. There are smaller amounts of material dealing with his career at Bell Labs and his writing and publishing efforts.

Abstract:

The Brown Instrument Company developed, manufactured, and sold industrial controls and measuring instruments, such as thermometers, pressure gauges, voltmeters, and pyrometers. The company was founded in 1857 by an English engineer and inventor, Edward Brown (1834-1905). The records of the Brown Instrument Company consist of research files documenting the development of measuring instruments and industrial control systems used in continuous process manufacturing.

Scope and Content:

The Charles B. Dieterich papers are composed of internal office correspondence, reports, schematics, notes, articles, and news clippings from Dieterich’s work on the improvement of digital storage, control systems, and sound for the VideoDisc project from 1978 to 1984.

Four of Dieterich's lab notebooks (1975-1987) can be found in Record group 26.

Scope and Content: This series describes Sperry's inventions and entrepeneurial activities in the two decades (1880-1900) when he was considered one of America's electrical pioneers. It documents his efforts to develop arc lighting systems, stationary power, mining machinery, and electric traction. The records describe the operation of the Sperry Electric Light, Motor, and Car Brake Company, which was founded in 1883 to set up electric power stations and manufacture component parts. These are fragmentary, but they do contain copies of Sperry's agreements with his financial backers and correspondence that traces his efforts to patent his inventions and secure customers.Records documenting Sperry's associations with the Electric Mining Machine Company and Independent Electric Company are far more complete. These files, which include incoming correspondence, letter books, sales books, and account books, trace Sperry's efforts to develop electric mine cars and undercuttting equipment. Sperry's letter books contain copies of a large number of reports he sent to the engineers at General Electric for analysis and comment. These letters show that Sperry was able to draw on the expertise of many of GE's young engineers who were, during the 1890s, graduating from engineering schools in relatively large numbers. These young engineers helped orient Sperry to the early twentieth-century world of professional engineering.The Chicago-Cleveland records document Sperry's relationship with the Link-Belt Company, which rented him space to manufacture his electric mine cars. The records also show that Link-Belt provided his company with both technical support and legal advice when he became embroiled in a number of patent infringement suits during the mid-1890s.The correspondence of the Goodman Manufacturing Company traces Sperry's continued involvement with coal-mining machine industry through the 1920s. These records show that Sperry continued to help make policy decisions and served as a consulting engineer long after he left Chicago.During the late 1890s, Sperry's primary interest was in street railways. His correspondence from this period describes his effort to develop and patent his electric governor and car brake. Correspondence with GE engineers show that Sperry's street car employed a mode of power transmission similar to that in his mine locomotive. The records describe Sperry's efforts to market his street cars as well as his...

Abstract:

The Leeds & Northrup Company thrived throughout the twentieth century as a premier manufacturer of precision measuring and scientific equipment. The bulk of the Leeds & Northrup Electrical Power Systems records come from three employees, whose work at Leeds & Northrup spanned from 1928-1981: W. Spencer Bloor (1918-2002), Nathan Cohn (1907-1989), and S. Byron Morehouse. All worked within the Instrumentation and Controls for Electric Power Application Division. The records include papers, presentations, correspondence, memos, blueprints, and other materials relating to the development of a national electrical power grid in the United States. Technological and commercial developments in automatic electric power generation control, stabilization of energy load across regions, and problems of interconnection feature prominently in these materials.

Scope and Content:

The Grazyna Meray papers are composed of manuals and guidelines for the RCA Solid State Technology Center, Design Automation and course packets from the RCA Continuing Engineering Education and RCA Engineering Technology programs.

Six of Meray's lab notebooks (1969-1971) can be found in Record group 26.

Abstract:

From 1906 to the 1970s, the Honeywell corporation grew from specializing in thermostats and home heating into military engineering, cameras and computing. James Warren Scarlett (1937-2016) was a team leader and electrical engineer at Honeywell through the crucial 1970s period where they led the world in developing process control technology for industrial plants. His records illustrate the development of Honeywell's Industrial Process Control Division's TDC 2000 and TDC 3000 systems. The collection has particular strengths in materials documenting the design of the user interface, sometimes referred to as the man-machine-interface (MMI). Materials include reports, papers, presentation slides, books, correspondence, and business cards.

Abstract:

The Leeds & Northrup Company traces its origins to Morris E. Leeds & Company, established by Morris E. Leeds (1869-1952) in 1899 to develop and manufacture precision instruments. Their records consists of minutes from the Development and Executive Committes and the Cooperative Association.

Abstract:

Richard Hunt Brown (1903-1978) was an engineer and president of Automation Consultants, Inc., a firm that provided a subscription updating service for monthly newsletters, with pages containing reviews and descriptions, prices, and images of new equipment and appliances. This collection consists of five volumes of "Office Automation: Integrated and Electronic Data Processing," published in 1955 with updated content provided as newsletters/supplements between 1955 and 1960.

Abstract:

The Tel-Gas Corporation manufactured, sold, and leased remote-control self-service gasoline station pumps and other allied equipment. Herbert W. Timms (1929-2014) was an oil industry specialist and inventor. One of his inventions was gas pumps that could be activated by an attendant inside a convenience store and automatically reset. This item is an album containing a sales sample promotional catalog and photographs dating from 1965 to 1966.

Abstract:

The Trundle Engineering Company was an industrial engineering management consulting company based in Cleveland, Ohio. Clients would hire Trundle Engineering Company to perform studies on their organization or operating methods. One aspect of the business was the design and manufacture of custom machinery for increased efficiency. This album is a salesman sample photograph album providing an overview of inventions and technology developed by the Trundle Engineering Company. Machinery represented here includes spiral meat-cutting machine, matchbook cover book-cutting machine, traffic signal control boxes, spinning machine for making artificial silk, ice cream freezing machinery, remote control spotlight, and a golf ball center compression test machine.

Abstract:

Walter E. Trabbold (1921- ) was vice president of the Bank of Delaware from 1968 to 1981, and spent forty-one years in the banking industry. He was a pioneer in bank automation, bank information systems, and cash management systems. The papers include Trabbold's personal collection of technical bulletins, annual reports, correspondence, several of his publications on the banking industry, as well as newspaper clippings and other material related to data and information management systems related to banking.