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Oral histories

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings

Found in 33 Collections and/or Records:

Bronfman family

 Series
Accession: 2173Identifier: 2173-I.
Scope and Contents:

Series I. Bronfman Family contains two subseries.

Subseries A. Research Materials for Samuel Bronfman: The Life and Times of Seagram's Mr. Sam by Michael Marrus; The core of these records was created by John Scott, who was hired by the family to write a biography of their patriarch Samuel Bronfman. The remaining records in this subseries were created by Marrus when researching Samuel Bronfman: The Life and Times of Seagram's Mr. Sam.

Subseries B. Bronfman Family Papers; contains documents such as births, deaths, and marriages of some of the Bronfman family and relatives; correspondence, and newspaper clippings.

Dates: 1682-1996; Majority of material found within 1930-1990

Charles DeMirjian oral history interview transcript

 Collection
Accession: 2269
Abstract:

Charles H. DeMirjian (1925-) was a packaging design manager with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The record consists of a thirteen-page transcript of a taped interview of DeMirjian conducted by then-director of the Hagley Museum and Library Glenn Porter. In his reminiscences, DeMirjian recounts his training and career history, plus some observations on his mode of work.

Dates: 1997 May 23

Cinecraft oral histories

 Collection
Accession: 2021-206
Abstract:

Cinecraft, Inc. is a corporate film and video production house. The company was founded in 1939 by Ray Culley (1904-1983) and Betty Culley (1914-2016) in Cleveland, Ohio. Ray Culley served as president of the company until his retirement in 1970. During his tenure, Cinecraft specialized in commercial productions for business, industry, trade organizations, and, in some cases, government agencies and social service organizations. Cinecraft was one among hundreds of production houses in the U.S. during the middle decades of the twentieth century that specialized in a motion pictures commonly referred to as non-theatrical, industrial, commercial, business and/or sponsored films. This collection includes five interviews with former employees as well as relatives of Cinecraft employees.

Dates: 2021

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

Eddie Dowling and Longwood Garden project oral histories (transcripts)

 Collection
Accession: 1875
Abstract:

Longwood Gardens is a series of formal display gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, that was developed by Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) after he purchased the site from the Peirce family in 1906. The collection is comprised of two oral history interview projects. The first is with Eddie Dowling (1889-1976), an actor, screenwriter, playwright, director, producer, songwriter, and composer. The second project is commissioned oral histories with people with remembrances of du Pont and the development of Longwood Gardens.

Dates: 1968; 1974-1975

Gardner Associates records

 Collection
Accession: 2808
Abstract:

Gardner Associates performs oral history research for corporations and institutions in the Delaware Valley area. The company was founded in 1987 by Joel R. Gardner (1942-). Gardner Associates records reflect the company's business operations from 1988 through 2014. The collection has been arranged into three series: Administrative and consulting files; Clients and proposals; and Articles, publications, and presentations. The Clients and proposals series is the largest series, consisting of correspondence, research notes, interview transcripts, and project proposals.

Dates: 1985-2014

Henry Miller oral history interview transcript

 Collection
Accession: 2355
Abstract:

Henry Miller (1845-1926) was first employed at the Brandywine Works of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. In 1922, he was one of the oldest surviving employees when he was interviewed by Alfred I. du Pont (1864-1935). In the interview, Miller describes the layout of the Brandywine Works as it changed over time, as well as the various apparatus and processes used in the manufacture of gunpowder and its constituent ingredients.

Dates: 1922

History of Kevlar oral history interviews

 Collection
Accession: 2014-249
Abstract:

Kevlar is a synthetic fiber developed by chemists Stephanie Kwolek (1923-2014), Paul Morgan (1911-1992), and Herbert Blades in 1965 while working at the DuPont Company. The oral histories presented here document the research and development processes that transformed Kevlar from a novel polymer in the laboratory to a life-changing product in the marketplace.

Dates: 2014-2015

Hologic Digital Mammography oral histories

 Collection
Accession: 2020-201
Abstract:

Hologic, Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of medical X-ray imaging instruments with a primary focus on mammography and women's health. The company was founded in 1985 by S. David Ellenbogen (1938-2001) and Jay A. Stein (1942-) in Bedford, Massachusetts. This oral history collection brings together interviews with the individuals involved in inventing, researching, and commercializing digital mammography and breast tomosynthesis at DuPont, Sterling and Hologic.

Dates: 2019-2021

Hounshell and Smith oral history transcripts

 Collection
Accession: 1878
Abstract:

Science and Corporate Strategy is a scholarly history of research and development at the DuPont Company authored by David A. Hounshell (1950-) and John Kenly Smith (1951-). As part of their research, Hounshell and Smith conducted sixty-one oral history interviews with forty-seven current and former chemical engineers involved in DuPont's R & D programs. The interviews constitute an exhaustive first-person account of DuPont's research programs with special emphasis on personalities and the organizational culture of the various DuPont research facilities.

Dates: 1981-1988

Howard Potts oral history interview transcript

 Collection
Accession: 2107
Abstract:

Howard Potts (1900-1978) was a supervisor for the American Car and Foundry shipyard. In the oral history done by Hagley Museum curatorial staff with Potts, he comments on a series of photographs taken at the yard during the time he worked there and describes the process involved in wooden shipbuilding and sailmaking.

Dates: 1975

IBM Technical History Project oral histories

 Collection
Accession: 2089
Abstract:

The IBM Technical History Project was begun in 1980 following the suggestion that books be written about IBM's technical history. The books that were subsequently written were based, in part, on 361 oral history interviews. This collection contains the interviews bound in eight volumes.

Dates: 1980-1991

J. Edgar Rhoads oral interview transcript

 Collection
Accession: 2326
Abstract:

J. Edgar Rhoads (1883-1981) was a partner and eventually head of J.E. Rhoads & Sons, a commercial tannery that specialized in the manufacturing of leather belts for mechanical applications. In his oral history, Rhoads recalls the major events in his life to about 1950, with considerable background material on his family. Additionally, he discusses his family's company, J.E. Rhoads & Sons, rural childhood, civic and charitable activities, particularly his work in Europe after both world wars and with the United China Relief.

Dates: 1969

John K. Jenney oral history transcript

 Collection
Accession: 1564
Abstract:

John K. Jenney (1904-2005) was the director of the Foreign Relations Department at DuPont Company. In the oral history, Jenney reminiscences on his early life in Syracuse, New York; his time at Princeton University; and his career with the DuPont Company, dating from the 1920s to the 1960s.

Dates: 1975

McShain family oral history interviews

 Collection
Accession: 1990-271
Abstract:

John McShain (1898-1989) was a Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.-based building contractor, whose firm, John McShain, Inc., was by 1950 the fiftieth largest construction firm in the United States, with contracts in excess of $100,000,000. This collection consists of thirteen audiotapes of oral history interviews with John McShain's family and friends. People interviewed include Mary McShain, Polly McShain, Vincent and Jacqueline O'Brien, and Cardinal Krol.

Dates: 1990

Oral histories on work and daily life in the Brandywine Valley

 Collection
Accession: 1970-370
Abstract:

The collection comprises approximately 200 oral history interviews with 152 individuals conducted by museum staff between 1954 and 1990. The majority of the individuals interviewed had either worked at the DuPont Company powder yards on Brandywine Creek during the yards’ final decades of operation or had lived in the surrounding communities, although the collection also includes interviews with those who worked in other local industries. The interviews are largely biographical in nature covering a period from about 1900 to 1960 and address a wide range of subjects relating to daily life and work in the Brandywine Valley.

Dates: 1954-1990

Oral history interview with André and Bobbie Harvey

 Collection
Accession: 2017-235
Abstract:

William "André" Harvey (1941-) is an American sculptor and artist primarily known for finely detailed realistic bronze casting, in particular, animals. He also works in stone, casts sculptural jewelry in gold, watercolors, photography, and creates collages. He is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society. His wife and business partner, Roberta Rush "Bobbie" Harvey (1941-), manages the Harveys’ sculpture gallery and art business, maintaining client lists and provenance records, managing sales and exhibition loans, and promoting André’s work. In this interview, André and Bobbie Harvey discuss the training, experiences, and travels that led them to the art world, the sculpture business they built together beginning in the 1970s, and the process of bringing a piece of art into the world, from conception to execution to exhibition to sale. They also reflect on the cultural and historical conditions that influenced their decision to pursue careers in art, and the personal and mutual satisfactions of following artistic passion and cultivating community connections.

Dates: 2017

Oral history interview with Frederick Orthlieb

 Collection
Accession: 2018-228
Abstract:

Frederick Orthlieb (1945?-) is a mechanical engineer, professor, and tradesperson who has rehabilitated, upgraded, and modernized historical telescopes. While the telescopes are obsolete for current research work, after rehabilitation they are capable of productive and effective use for familiarization, secondary and higher education, and institutional and public outreach. In this interview, Orthlieb talks about his career and work refurbishing telescopes.

Dates: 2018 April 17

Oral history interview with James Cortada

 Collection
Accession: 2018-227
Abstract:

James Cortada (1946-) is a management consultant and business historian. In this interview, Cortada discusses the collection of computing history books that he donated to Hagley Library.

Dates: 2018 June 7

Oral history interview with Ken White

 Collection
Accession: 2023-203
Abstract:

Kenneth M. White (1923-2020) was an industrial designer who formed his own design firm in 1947 called Ken White Associates, Inc., which developed plans and designs for thousands of independent and academic bookstores throughout the United States, as well as many other types of retail businesses. This collection is a two-part interview in which Ken White discusses the early parts of his life and career as an industrial designer.

Dates: 2019 June 26-2019 June 27

Oral history interview with Marshall Johnson

 Collection
Accession: 2023-204
Abstract:

Marshall B. Johnson (1938-) is an industrial designer who worked for some of the most well-known small appliance companies and designed many popular consumer products, as well as often doing their graphic and packaging design. This is an interview with Marshall Johnson in which he talks about his life and career as an industrial designer.

Dates: 2018 October 24

Oral history interviews on cultivated mushroom industry

 Collection
Accession: 2018-219
Abstract:

Over half the mushrooms in the United States are grown in and around the town of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, which proudly calls itself the mushroom capital of the world. This oral history collection brings together interviews with individuals whose experiences capture the many different kinds of work and knowledge involved in mushroom cultivation, harvesting, packing, distribution, and marketing, and how those processes have changed over time.

Dates: 2018-2019

Oral history interviews on Wallace Carothers

 Collection
Accession: 1994-311
Abstract:

Wallace Hume Carothers (1896-1937) was chemist and inventor of Neoprene artificial rubber and Nylon synthetic fiber. He worked as a chemist in E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's Fundamental Research Program from 1928 until his death in 1937. This collection contains five interviews conducted in July and August of 1978 with Wallace Carothers’s friends and colleagues. The interviewees primarily share stories and focus on their feelings surrounding Carothers’s personality, work, and suicide.

Dates: 1978

Oral history interviews on Z. Taylor Vinson

 Collection
Accession: 2013-265
Abstract:

This oral history project was initiated to provide supplementary material for Hagley’s 2015 exhibit, Driving Desire, that feature items from the Z. Taylor Vinson Transportation Collection. The three interviewees are; Rick Shnitzler, Fred Simeone, and Yann Saunders, all were personal acquaintances of Z. Taylor Vinson as well as highly involved in either collecting or dealing auto ephemera and/or automobiles.

Dates: 2013-2014

Oral history interviews with former employees of DuPont Company's Textile Fibers Department

 Collection
Accession: 2010-215
Abstract:

The Textile Fibers Department of the DuPont Company was established in 1936 as the Rayon Department, which specialized in researching and developing synthetic fibers for fabrics such as Nylon, Orlon, Dacron, and Lycra. The collection consists of oral history interviews conducted by Joseph Plasky, with former employees of DuPont's Textile Fibers department.

Dates: 2007-2010; 2014-2020

Oral history interviews with John J. Raskob family

 Collection
Accession: 2004-208
Abstract:

John Raskob (1879-1950) was a financial executive for the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., General Motors, and financier of the Empire State Building. During the 1920s Raskob became active in Democratic Party politics and from 1928 to 1932 served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was an important financial backer of Governor Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944) when he ran for president in 1928. This collection consists of seven oral history interviews conducted between 2004 and 2005 with members of John J. Raskob’s immediate family, primarily his children and grandchildren. The interviews are largely personal in nature and often focus on family relationships.

Dates: 2004-2005

Oral history project notes on Wallace Hume Carothers

 Collection
Accession: 1985
Abstract:

Wallace Hume Carothers (1896-1937) was a chemist and inventor of Neoprene artificial rubber and Nylon synthetic fiber. He worked as a chemist in E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's Fundamental Research Program from 1928 until his death in 1937. The records include the handwritten transcripts of a series of interviews with persons who knew and worked with Carothers, conducted in 1978 and 1979. The interviews were conducted by Adeline Bassett Cook Strange (1917-2004), a teacher, researcher, and volunteer who spent her life dedicated to various charitable projects around Wilmington, Delaware.

Dates: 1925-1979; Majority of material found within 1978-1979

Parry Norling collection of DuPont Company records

 Collection
Accession: 2510
Abstract:

Parry Norling (1939-) was a career research chemist and manager with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Records consists of company documents and outside publications collected by Norling during his time at DuPont.

Dates: 1902-2004; Majority of material found within 1980-1995

Pennsylvania Railroad women workers' oral histories

 Collection
Accession: 1998-234
Abstract:

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) was chartered in 1846 to completing an all-rail road across the state. Between 1855 and 1874, the PRR underwent rapid expansion and emerged as one of the two largest railroad systems in the area east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio. This collection consists of two interviews conducted in 1998 in West Chester, Pennsylvania with five women who worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Dates: 1998

Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) photographs

 Collection
Accession: 1993-302
Abstract:

Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS), the nation's first mutual savings bank, was founded in 1816. In 1927 the Society commissioned Howe and Lescaze, a local architectural firm that had previously designed traditional style banks for the institution, to draw up plans for a new building to be constructed at the corner of 12th and Market Streets. This collection is composed of materials from two Philadelphia mutual savings banks which date from the first half of the nineteenth century. The collection has been divided into two series: Philadelphia Saving Fund Society (PSFS) and Western Savings Fund Society (WSFS) which was merged with PSFS in 1982. A significant part of the collection consists of photographs of bank buildings represented by traditional styles and in later years by contemporary suburban sites. The American banking industry has usually conducted business in formal bank buildings. The styles of these buildings have changed with passing fashions of architectural taste. This collection provides a good visual record of these developments.

Dates: 1816-1989

Rockland oral history interview transcripts

 Collection
Accession: 2264
Abstract:

Rockland is an unincorporated old mill village in New Castle County, Delaware, and was later surrounded by du Pont family estates. The collection contains twelve edited oral history transcripts by Mary Laird Silvia (1938-2013) with people who lived in Rockland.

Dates: 1999-2011

The Mill at Anselma oral history interviews

 Collection
Accession: 2019-226
Abstract:

The Mill at Anselma is a custom grain mill in Anselma, Chester County, Pennsylvania. This collection consists of seven oral history interviews conducted in 1982 and 1986 with individuals familiar with the Mill at Anselma. Most are members of the Collins family (the last residents of the mill), as well as other Chester County citizens. The interviews mainly focus on the mill, how it operated, and its service to the county, but also include numerous personal stories recounting life in early twentieth century rural Pennsylvania.

Dates: 1982-2001

Walt Biddle oral history interview transcript

 Collection
Accession: 2113
Abstract:

Walt Biddle (1925-1995) was a gardener in the household of Louise du Pont Crowninshield (1877-1958) and Francis B. Crowninshield (1869-1950) at Eleutherian Mills in Greenville, Delaware. In his oral history interview transcript, Biddle describes the Crowninshields and life at Eleutherian Mills in the 1940s and 1950s.

Dates: 1994