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Automation

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Scope Note: Automatic factories; Automatic production; Computer control; Engineering cybernetics; Factories--Automation; Automatic Machinery; Automatic control; Feedback control systems; Servomechanisms. .

Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:

Arnold M. Kneitel papers

 Collection
Accession: 2675
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.

Dates: 1947-1981

Arthur D. Hall III papers

 Collection
Accession: 2628
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.

Dates: 1951-1999

Brown Instrument Company records

 Collection
Accession: 1728
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.

Dates: 1925-1960

Electrical power systems records

 Collection
Accession: 2612
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.

Dates: 1904-2014

James W. Scarlett papers

 Collection
Accession: 2662
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.

Dates: 1953-2004; bulk 1970-1990

Leeds & Northrup records

 Collection
Accession: 1110
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.

Dates: 1911-1939

"Office Automation," handbook and newsletter supplements

 Collection
Accession: 2803
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.

Dates: 1955-1960

Tel-Gas Corporation sales album

 Collection
Accession: 2022-206
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.

Dates: 1965-1966

Trundle Engineering Company album

 Collection
Accession: 2020-212
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.

Dates: 1930

Walter E. Trabbold papers

 Collection
Accession: 2683
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.

Dates: 1950-1978