Scope and Contents:

The records of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation are a series of fragments, lacking the complete runs of corporate and executive documents that normally comprise a business archive. The surviving records give a reasonable overview of the company's history and activities, but one which is lacking in depth.

Correspondence and memorabilia of its executive officers consist largely of material collected by Robert McMath, Vice President (Finance) and Secretary. These include organization papers, directories, annual and quarterly reports to the stockholders and internal statistical reports. McMath’s correspondence deals with an assortment of subjects, including those related to the financial downturn of the 1930s and its effect on business and industry. Other letters pertain to plant visits, construction activities, destruction of securities, financial progress of competing steel companies, investments, the benefits of free enterprise over communism, and Bethlehem’s contribution to World War II. Although the bulk of the letters are addressed to McMath, some are directed to Bethlehem Steel Chairman Eugene G. Grace and Charles Schwab.

There are bound collections of documents regarding major mergers and acquisitions and the issuance of stock and bond issues, these documents are most useful in tracing the evolution of corporate structure. Also from McMath's office are scattered legal files of which the most important is a transcript of testimony from the anti-trust proceedings barring the merger with the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company in 1968.

Scope and Contents: Series II. Corporate Operations is comprised of six subseries.Subseries A. Corporate Documentation; mainly includes articles of association, by-laws, minutes, agreements, financial reports, canceled stock certificates and registers, and related documents regarding Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Limited, The Seagram Company, Ltd. and subsidiaries. The records also document selected acquisitions. Subseries B. Financial Records; this subseries contains six volumes of Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Limited payroll registers (1933-1945); and miscellaneous fragmentary financial records for Atlantic Distilling Company Limited (1927-1929), Distillers Corporation Limited (1927-1941, 1971), Premartin y Ca. (1853-1871; in Spanish), and unidentified companies (1917-1928).Subseries C. Legal Records; includes agreement files pertaining to the company's early years and provide insights into its development, especially capital projects. Financial statements for D.C.-S.L. and selected subsidiaries.Government regulation in regards to customs and excise regulation; the Food and Drugs Act; labeling approvals and regulation; liquor control; taxation; trade agreements; and the wartime prices and trade board. Included in these documents is a large collection of bottle label registrations. Trademark records include trademark registrations, renewals and assignments. Royal Warrants from Canada, Denmark, England, Greece, India, Netherlands and Sweden. Subseries D. Plants and Manufacturing Processes; this subseries contains records pertaining to manufacturing plants in Canada, the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Mexico and include plans, agreements, histories, payroll, clippings, and staffing records. The materials are arranged by plant location. Production and Processes records document manufacturing, machinery, packaging, cooperage, and warehousing.Subseries E. Real Estate; This subseries contains records documenting the Seagram Building (375 Park Avenue); 1410 Peel Street, Montreal (Canadian headquarters); Bronfman investment-property Harrison Hot Springs Hotel Company, Limited (B.C.); the Seagram Stadium (Waterloo, Ontario); and the Seagram Tower (Niagara Falls, Ontario). Subseries F. Agriculture and Research Records; This subseries documents Seagram research on distilling; fertilizers; corn; yeast; enzymes; and grain development including triticale. The tritcale and grain research was supported by the Rosner...