Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Abrasive Industry

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Abrasive
Creators:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969
Dates:
1848-1948
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.9 Cubic feet
consisting of 2 boxes.
Repository:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Abrasive Industry forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
This material consists primarily of bills/receipts, scattered correspondence on letterhead stationery, trade catalogues, price lists, books, pamphlets, import/export documents and printed advertisements from manufacturers, distributors and importers of abrasive materials and machinery. Abrasive materials include emery papers and cloth, diamond flint papers, sand papers, millstones and grindstones. There are also some references to machines and tools for grinding, polishing and buffing purposes. A few of the companies also manufactured and sold materials for foundries.
A number of businesses manufactured and sold products other than abrasives. Such products include glue, cement, marble, leather belting, bricks, wood working machines, bone fertilizers and portable mills. The mills could be used for flour, paint, drugs, spices, coffee, grain and corn.
There are also a number of publications included among the materials. Most of these publications consist of periodicals and pamphlets relating to the abrasive industry and were published by abrasive manufacturing companies. Behr-Manning Incorporated produced Slices ( March-August, 1928) and The Triangle ( November, 1948) which were published in the interest of the hardware merchant. Pike Manufacturing Company created Pike Phertilizer which was a monthly news publication about Pike products or Pike employees and friends. Issues of the Pike Phertilizer include December 1926, February and September 1927, March, May and August 1928. These publications are among the other company related materials.
There are two pamphlets which discuss some aspect of the abrasive industry but were not produced by a manufacturing company. The one pamphlet is titled "Advice On How To Sharpen Wood-Working Tools" and the other is "Some Information on Grinding Cemented Tungsten Carbide." These pamphlets are found in the folder "related publication s".
The Carborundum Company produced a pamphlet titled "Tales Told in the Long House: Fifteen Selected Indian Legends as Handed Down in the Folklore of the Iroquois." This was published as a selection of legends that were narrated on the radio programs of the Carborundum Company. A photo copy of the original pamphlet is in the subject category "Indians" because it is more interesting as information pertaining to Native Americans.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The bulk of the materials date from 1890-1940 and is arranged alphabetically by name of company. There are three folders of material grouped by type: import/export documents, related publications and miscellaneous items.

Administration

Author
Vanessa Broussard-Simmons
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Abrasive Industry is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation note
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Abrasive Industry, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Conditions Governing Use note
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Materials in the Archives Center

Materials in the Archives Center
Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)

Forms Part Of


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Business ephemera Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ephemera Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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