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Electronic industries

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings

Found in 40 Collections and/or Records:

Alexander Magoun advertising collection

 Collection
Accession: 2464-81
Abstract:

Alexander Magoun was the curator for the David Sarnoff Library from 1998 until 2000. After earning his Ph.D. in American History from the University of Maryland in 2000, he led the David Sarnoff Library as the Executive Director from 2000 until 2009. This collection includes advertisements from RCA and other companies for radios, televisions, phonographs, and other consumer electronics.

Dates: 1888-1989

Alfred Hermann Sommer papers

 Collection
Accession: 2500
Abstract:

Alfred Hermann Sommer (1909-2003) was a physical chemist who specialized in photoemission research and development. After fleeing from the German Nazi regime and working in London, he immigrated with his family to the United States in 1953. He took a job with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) at its David Sarnoff Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked until 1974. The collection consists of several of Sommer's articles, publications, and patents.

Dates: 1947-1993

Allen D. Cardwell Manufacturing Corporation records

 Collection
Accession: 2333
Abstract:

The Allen D. Cardwell Manufacturing Corporation was a major producer of radio and telecommunications equipment during the twentieth century. Cardwell sold its products to the United States Government, major corporations, and individual consumers. The records contain technical information such as patents and design drawings, as well as a vast array of sales and promotional material from the 1920s.

Dates: 1897-1960; Majority of material found within 1920-1960

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

Charles A. Rosencrans lab notebooks

 Collection
Accession: 2549
Abstract:

Charles A. Rosencrans (1908-1991) was an RCA engineer who specialized in radio transmission. His notebooks largely consist of fragmentary handwritten notes from both his career at RCA and from his studies in electrical and mechanical engineering at Lehigh University.

Dates: 1929-1959

Consumer electronics history collection

 Collection
Accession: 2464-79
Abstract:

The Radio Corporation of America (renamed RCA Corporation in 1969) was best known for its pioneering radio and television development and manufacturing. This small collection consists of non-RCA material collected by the David Sarnoff Library, as well as clippings relating to the library's closure.

Dates: 1920-2015

Creed and Company Limited manufacturing plant album

 Collection
Accession: 2000-225
Abstract:

Creed and Company Limited was originally founded as Creed, Bille & Company Limited by Frederick George Creed (1871-1957) and Harald Bille (1879-1916) in 1912 to manufacture and sell telegraphy equipment. In the early 1900s, Creed had invented several machines that facilitated the sending and receiving of Morse code messages. Much of Creed and Company's manufacturing capacity was in Croydon, London, England. These photographs show a group tour of the Creed and Company Limited plant in Croydon on October 14, 1954.

Dates: 1954

David Sarnoff Library records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-73
Abstract:

The David Sarnoff Library was established at the David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, New Jersey in 1967 as a showcase for the accomplishments of long-time Radio Corporation of America (RCA) head David Sarnoff. After five years of activity, the Library was largely moribund until the arrival of Alex Magoun as Curator (later Executive Director) in 1998. Under his leadership, the Library expanded its mission to include the history of RCA in general and the David Sarnoff Research Center in particular. Due to lack of funding, the David Sarnoff Library closed in 2009. The collection documents the creation and evolution of the Library through board of directors records, correspondence, reports, oral histories, and photographs.

Dates: 1960-2009

David Sarnoff papers

 Collection
Accession: 2464-55
Abstract:

David Sarnoff (1891-1971) was the iconic leader of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for most of the company's history. For many years the only Jewish executive in the communications field, Sarnoff was highly influential in the development of radio and television. The focus of the David Sarnoff papers is the original David Sarnoff Collection assembled by Sarnoff to celebrate his career. However, the papers also include the extensive photographic, publicity, and administrative files created by his staff at RCA and a substantial audiovisual component.

Dates: 1871-1983

David Sarnoff Research Center records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-09
Abstract:

The David Sarnoff Research Center (DSRC) in Princeton, New Jersey was the central research organization for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) from 1942 to 1987. Following GE’s acquisition of RCA in 1986, the DSRC was donated to SRI International as a contract research laboratory. Renamed the Sarnoff Corporation in 1997, it was integrated into SRI in 2011. The records document the pioneering research of its scientists and trace the history of the organization from its establishment into the twenty-first century.

Dates: 1899-2008; Majority of material found within 1942-1995

DuPont Company, Patent Department records

 Collection
Accession: 2804
Abstract:

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company, commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. It manufactured paints, dyes, and photographic products, and focused on applied research. This collection consists of materials related to patents and patent research. It includes patent proposal logs and patent search files from several DuPont Company departments related to photographic film and electronic products. The departments include: Photo Products, Electrochemical (Elchem), Electronics, Imaging Systems, and Photosystems and Electronics Department. This collection would be useful for examining research trends and patented product development.

Dates: 1926-2001

Edward J. Nossen collection of RCA contract proposals

 Collection
Accession: 2761
Abstract:

Edward J. Nossen (1930-2016) was an engineer in the Radio Corporation of America's Government Systems Division at Camden, New Jersey. He invented a range-determining system that can rescue air craft. The Radio Corporation of America (renamed RCA Corporation in 1969) was best known for its pioneering radio and television development and manufacturing. In addition to consumer electronics, RCA was a major player in the development of electronics for industrial and military applications. This small collection consists of contract proposals and technical reports that were mostly submitted by RCA Government Systems Division, Camden. The proposals have Nossen's name written on the cover. The proposals and reports relate to communication systems being developed between 1964 and 1990.

Dates: 1964-1990

Fred L. Bechly papers

 Collection
Accession: 2586
Abstract:

Fred L. Bechly (1924-2004) was an electrical engineer who worked for RCA's Camden, New Jersey, plant, where he aided in the invention of the Tricolor Kinescope Monitor, which became the standard for color television. His papers describe his work with RCA in television and video recording from 1944 to 1983.

Dates: 1944-2004

Frederick O. Barnum III collection of RCA Victor Company negatives

 Collection
Accession: 1995-220
Abstract:

For over fifty years the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was one of the country's leading manufacturers and vendors of radios, phonographs, televisions, and a wide array of consumer and military electronics products. The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and the Victor Talking Machine Company merged in 1929 becoming the RCA Victor Company in 1930. This merger allowed RCA to consolidate the research, engineering, manufacturing and sales of RCA products. This collection consists of negatives, a majority of which 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 waves, radio equipment created for use by government agencies and motion picture equipment.

Dates: circa 1930-1977

General Radio Company history

 Collection
Accession: 2416
Abstract:

The General Radio Company was incorporated in 1915, in Cambridge, Massachussets by Melville Eastham (1885-1964), and was famed for their development and manufacture of electronic instruments, test equipment, laboratory standards throughout the twentieth century. The General Radio Company History materials largely document the efforts to write a synthetic history of the General Radio Company in the late 1980s and early 1990s, supported by the IEEE History Center. While Joseph F. Keithley headed the project, it was conceived as a collaborative endeavor with various persons each writing a chapter on their topic of specialty. Additionally, there is a large binder labeled, “Company Data” containing alphabetically organized information about other firms involved in the manufacture and development of precision measuring instruments over the course of the twentieth century.

Dates: 1987-2007; Majority of material found within 1987-1993

H. Ray Warren papers and audiovisual materials

 Collection
Accession: 2022-225
Abstract:

H. Ray Warren (1921-2011) was a physicist, engineer, and inventor at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for thirty-one years, working primarily on magnetic tape recording innovations. Warren's papers and audiovisual materials form a small collection that documents developments in magnetic recording for audio and video tape, primarily related to magnetic heads and low crosstalk processing signals. This collection is arranged into eight series: Personal files; Patent files; Proposals; Reports and technical data/information; SelectaVision files; Publications and reprints; Work meeting notes and photographs; and Audio and video recordings. The documentation is fragmentary; none of the sets of papers is complete.

Dates: 1955-1994

Herbert Belar papers

 Collection
Accession: 2767
Abstract:

Herbert Belar (1901-1997) was an inventor and research scientist in the field of acoustical engineering at the RCA David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, New Jersey for thirty-eight years. He developed "hi-fi" recording, the phonetic typewriter, and the electronic music synthesizer. This small collection of Herbert Belar papers reflects the professional daily work of an acoustical engineer from the 1930s through the 1960s. There is significant documentation on the phonetic typewriter, the 200 speech communication system, the music composing machine, and the electronic music synthesizer. Notable inclusions are information related to the development of "hi-fi," film motion pictures sound recording, and phonographic records recording. There is only one file that discusses Belar's work at the MAD Laboratory.

Dates: 1928-2020; Majority of material found within 1938-1966

H.O. Sooy papers

 Collection
Accession: 2300
Abstract:

Harry O. Sooy (1875-1927) worked at Berliner Gramophone Company and Victor Talking Machine Company and was involved in the development of American sound recording. His papers contain a diary photocopy that is either a typed original or transcript of a diary that Sooy kept from the time of his employment with Eldridge R. Johnson (1867-1945) from 1898 to the end of 1925. Also included are four miscellaneous items: formula for grading and grinding precious stones, regulations governing the Victor Cooperative Beneficial Association, Red Cross benefit concert, and United War Work Campaign concert.

Dates: 1898-1925

John Okolowicz collection of publications and advertising on radio and consumer electronics

 Collection
Accession: 2014-277
Abstract:

Advertising, both print and radio, developed as a prominent industry in the early decades of the twentieth century as popular magazine circulation exploded and the radio became ubiquitous in American households. This collection consists of digital access copies of publications, including employee magazines, and magazine advertisements for radios and other related household electronics dating from 1912 to 1980.

Dates: 1903-1988

KEMET Electronics Corporation printed ephemera

 Collection
Accession: 2841
Abstract:

KEMET Electronics Corporation specializes in passive electronic components, including getters (an essential element in vacuum tubes) and capacitors. The name "KEMET" was derived from the words "chemical" and "metallurgy." This small collection consists of employee newsletters and ephemeral publications from KEMET Electronics dating from the 1970s through the 2000s, with some related materials, including a small group of annual reports from Union Carbide from the 1950s.

Dates: 1926; 1944; 1951-2010

Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America engineering drawings

 Collection
Accession: 2464-83
Abstract:

The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Corporation of America was founded in 1899 as the American branch of Guglielmo Marconi’s (1874-1937) Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company of London. Because of its emphasis on providing radio transmitter receivers for ships and fostering oceanic communications, the U.S. Navy commandeered the company during World War I. After the war, both government and industry colluded to buy out the British company; they created the Radio Corporation of America in its stead in 1919. This collection includes around 1,300 engineering and technical drawings from the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America . Subjects depicted range from circuit diagrams, wiring layouts, and switchboard schematics to architectural plans for aerial towers and carrying case designs.

Dates: 1905-1921

Nicholas F. Pensiero collection of RCA Victor photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1996-211
Abstract:

RCA Victor was an American electronics company. Nicholas F. Pensiero (1918-2003) worked for RCA's Marketing Division. This collection contains sixteen photographs in which Gladys McHugh is the model posed using RCA Victor appliances. The remainder of the photos are candids, some taken inside or near RCA offices.

Dates: 1935-1945

Nicholas F. Pensiero papers

 Collection
Accession: 2138
Abstract:

Nicholas F. Pensiero (1918-2003) worked in the Marketing Division of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), a leading American electronics company. The papers comprise a portion of Pensiero’s files retained by him after retirement in 1984. They include a variety of pieces relating to the history of RCA and its predecessor, the Victor Talking Machine Company. There are memoirs (copies) of two RCA engineers, an advertising scrapbook dating from 1938 to 1942, and a set of dust jackets for 78rpm records dating from 1912 to 1938.

Dates: 1904-1984; Majority of material found within 1974-1984

Radio Corporation of America photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1995-292
Abstract:

Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was incorporated in 1919, entered the broadcasting field in July 1921 and shortly thereafter began to sell home broadcasting equipment manufactured by GE and Westinghouse. The collection consists of photographs and negatives relating to Radio Corporation of America (RCA), the Victor Talking Machine Company, which was purchased by RCA in 1929, and the RCA-Victor Division of Radio Corporation of America.

Dates: circa 1878-1960

Radio Corporation of America, RCA Victor Division secretary's records

 Collection
Accession: 2658
Abstract:

For over fifty years the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was one of the country's leading manufacturers and vendors of radios, phonographs, televisions, and a wide array of consumer and military electronics products. This collection contains the records from the Secretary's Office of the Victor Talking Machine Company and its successors RCA Victor Company, Inc., and Radio Corporation of America's RCA Victor Division. They consist of minutes of the Executive and Management Committees, an internal annual report and two contract files for supplying sound equipment to movie studios.

Dates: 1912-1956

RCA Astro-Electronics Division records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-70
Abstract:

The RCA Astro-Electronics Division (AED) led RCA’s research and development efforts in space technology from the beginning of the space race to the acquisition of RCA by GE in 1986. The records consist primarily of the papers of scientists Bert Sheffield, Max Mesner, and Charles Vose documenting RCA’s pioneering research. In addition, the Art Gompper Astro Print Shop collection provides insight into the administrative and promotional side of AED.

Dates: 1910-1993

RCA Camden records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-76
Abstract:

The RCA Camden plant was originally established under the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1907. In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America acquired the Victor Talking Machine Company and soon made Camden the center of its own research, development, and manufacturing. Camden remained the company's primary advanced development site until GE acquired RCA in 1986. The records document RCA’s work in the space program, electron microscopy, nuclear fusion, and other fields through research records, correspondence, reports, photographs and films.

Dates: circa 1913-2006

RCA Corporation collection of television and company history photographs and audiovisual materials

 Collection
Accession: 2464-78
Abstract:

For over fifty years the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was one of the country's leading manufacturers and vendors of radios, phonographs, televisions, and a wide array of consumer and military electronics products. The Radio Corporation of America was incorporated in Delaware on October 17, 1919, and changed its name to RCA Corporation on May 9, 1969. This collection is primarily made up of moving images and sound recordings collected by the David Sarnoff Research Library relating to the RCA corporation dating from 1953 to 2009. There is a set of photographs related to the Nippon Television Network and two photograph albums, one of 30 Rockefeller Center and the other containing waveform and photo-radio equipment. This collection is organized into eight series: Broadcast programming, Communications, Events, History, Meetings, Popular recordings, Reference materials, and Nippon Television Network.

Dates: 1953-2009

RCA Harrison records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-71
Abstract:

RCA’s plant in Harrison, New Jersey was (originally founded in 1882) was acquired by RCA in 1930 and was the company's primary producer of receiving tubes for consumer, industrial, and defense electronics until the plant closed in 1976. The records consist primarily of the papers of engineers Ralph R. Fichtl (1918-2014) and Otto H. Schade, Sr. (1903-1981) on television and receiving tube development. Files include reports, ephemera, photographs, patents, and correspondence on their work and RCA Harrison in general.

Dates: 1924-1987

RCA Missile and Surface Radar Division photographs

 Collection
Accession: 2464-31
Abstract:

The Missile and Surface Radar Division (MSRD) of the Radio Corporation of America operated as a primary government and military defense contractor from 1953 to 1986, developing and implementing advanced radar systems. The photographs in the collection depict instrumentation, radar equipment, control equipment, and research facilities at both the MSRD and the Navy AEGIS Combat System Engineering Deveopment Site in Moorestown, New Jersey.

Dates: 1953-1981

RCA News and Information Department photographs

 Collection
Accession: 2464-68
Abstract:

The RCA News and Information Department served a public affairs role for RCA corporate headquarters at Rockefeller Center in New York City. The collection contains photographs and negatives created or commissioned by RCA that document much of RCA’s history and activities. Many of the photographs were organized by the News and Information Department into subjects that cover the history of radio, television, communications, and consumer electronics, with a particular emphasis on RCA”s role in that history. Additional photographs are grouped by RCA division and document their specific achievements, with the RCA laboratories being especially prominent. This collection also contains a large number of photographic negatives that were taken by the public relations firm, Carl Byoir & Associates, which showcase many of RCA’s products, events, and facilities.

Dates: 1860-1985; Majority of material found within 1900-1983

RCA publications

 Collection
Accession: 2464-82
Abstract:

The Radio Corporation of America (renamed RCA Corporation in 1969) was best known for its pioneering radio and television development and manufacturing. In addition to consumer electronics, RCA was a major player in the development of electronics for industrial and military applications. The collection contains promotional and technical publications, including brochures, scientific journal articles, and serials; which document the activities of RCA and its successors.

Dates: 1919-2000

RCA Rocky Point Station records

 Collection
Accession: 2744
Abstract:

The Radio Corporation of America (renamed RCA Corporation in 1969) was a major American electronics company founded in 1919. RCA dominated electronics and communications for over fifty years. RCA Rocky Point Station was built as a communication hub known as Radio Central. Radio Central was the largest radio station in the world at one time, and its primary focus was intercontinental communications. This collection documents the activities of RCA Rocky Point Station, including its construction plans, blueprints, reports, and files relating to antenna data and calculations, building systems information, and radio propagation. Rocky Point Station was in operation from 1921 to 1978. This collection would be useful to researchers interested in RCA communications, early radio broadcasting, radio engineering, and radio propagation.

Dates: 1913-1978

RCA Solid State Division records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-75
Abstract:

The RCA Solid State Division (SSD) was responsible for leading RCA’s research, development, and manufacturing in semiconductors, integrated circuits, and optoelectronics. The records consist of the papers of scientists and administrators from the division’s facilities in Somerville, New Jersey and Findlay, Ohio.

Dates: 1950-2003

RCA technical reports

 Collection
Accession: 2464-69
Abstract:

The Radio Corporation of America (renamed RCA Corporation in 1969) was best known for its pioneering radio and television development and manufacturing. In addition to consumer electronics, RCA was a major player in the development of electronics for industrial and military applications. The RCA technical reports contain thousands of detailed scientific reports on RCA’s research and development in electronics. Most were created for internal use, but contract proposals and reports for nearly 700 different contract projects are also included.

Dates: 1924-1992

RCA Victor Camden/Frederick O. Barnum III collection

 Collection
Accession: 2069
Abstract:

For over fifty years the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was one of the country's leading manufacturers and vendors of radios, phonographs, televisions, and a wide array of consumer and military electronics products. The records of the RCA Corporation consist of three series: Secretary's files; B.L. Aldridge files; and the Camden Technical Library files. The collection is largely RCA technical reports, standards, engineering notebooks, manuals and miscellaneous publications. The Secretary's files document the formation of RCA. Aldridge's files deal almost entirely with the history of the Victor Talking Machine Company, RCA-Victor and the Camden Plant.

Dates: 1887-1983; Majority of material found within 1914-1968

RCA/Thomson Lancaster records

 Collection
Accession: 2464-74
Abstract:

The Radio Corporation of America (RCA)’s Picture Tube Division, later known as the Video Component and Display Division, was headquartered at a research and production facility in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1987, the French firm Thomson Consumer Electronics acquired RCA’s consumer electronics business, including the Lancaster plant, and operated the facility until Thomson shut down its consumer electronics operations in 2005. Materials in the collection document a diverse array of activities at the RCA/Thomson Lancaster plant between the facility’s early days of operation and its closure. Corporate memoranda, correspondence, product technical data, photographs, and audiovisual materials trace the development of RCA/Thomson’s picture tube product line. Corporate publications chronicle major moments in company history.

Dates: 1929-2006

Records of other RCA divisions

 Collection
Accession: 2464-80
Abstract:

The Radio Corporation of America (renamed RCA Corporation in 1969) was best known for its pioneering radio and television development and manufacturing. In addition to consumer electronics, RCA was a major player in the development of electronics for industrial and military applications. The Records of other RCA divisions include documentation of RCA's research and development before the Second World War, as well material from the famous patent dispute case Armstrong v. Radio Corporation of America and National Broadcasting Company.

Dates: 1908-2001

Robert W. Sarnoff papers

 Collection
Accession: 2464-04
Abstract:

Robert W. Sarnoff (1918-1997), son of RCA founder David Sarnoff, became president of NBC in 1956 and succeeded his father as president of RCA in 1965. This collection consists of films, videos and sound recordings dating from 1953 to 1979 documenting the life and career of Robert W. Sarnoff. The collection has been organized into six series: Events, Meetings, Press and media coverage, Speeches, Travel, and General.

Dates: 1944-1979

R.R. Wright collection of RCA ephemera

 Collection
Accession: 2574
Abstract:

R.R. Wright (1913-2009) was an employee of the RCA Corporation, one of the country's leading manufacturers and vendors of radios, televisions, and consumer electronics products. This is a small collection of ephemera Wright preserved throughout his thirty-three year long career with the company. Included are sample publications, manuals, stationery and small artifacts with RCA logos or advertising.

Dates: 1940-1973