Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0060.S02
Creators:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969
Dates:
circa 1850-1957
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
55 Boxes
approximately.
Repository:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. Series 2 materials include cinema lobby cards, fire insurance maps, photographs and scrapbooks of liquor and wine labels. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
This portion of the collection represents a significant accumulation of one type of material rather than a mix of various types of ephemera. The bulk of this material is Cinema Lobby Cards, Fire Insurance Maps and Sheet Music.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Photographs
Series 2: Stereographs
Series 3: Glass PLate Negatives
Series 4: Magic Lantern Slides
  • 2.1: Business Records [obsolete]
  • 2.2: Cinema Lobby Cards
  • 2.3: Fire Insurance Maps
  • 2.4: Liquor and Wine Labels and Advertisements
  • 2.5: Photographs
  • 2.6: Stereographs
  • 2.7: Sheet Music
  • 2.8: Rewards and Wanted Posters

Administration

Author
Vanessa Broussard-Simmons and Nicole Blechynden
Sponsor
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF). Digitization of Series 2.2: Stereographs was made possible by Andrew and Anya Shiva.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060, was 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.
Processing Information
In 2016, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF), the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History implemented the use of minimal level processing standards to increase information about and facilitate access to more of our collections.
The CCPF Collaborative Project resulted in approximately one-third of the collection receiving minimal processing which included arrangement to the folder level, based on prior processing and preservation action, with retention of the pre-existing arrangement when possible, if applicable. Otherwise, an order was imposed by the Processing Archivist. Some materials were consolidated to eliminate excess bulk but items within folders were not arranged further. The guides may or may not include a more refined list of folder contents. Nonarchival housing was replaced for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners were not removed.
The Business Records were reappraised during this effort and integrated with the most appropriate Subject Categories material. A few items were added to the Photographs subseries. All other portions of Series 2 were not impacted by the CCPF Collaborative Project.
Minimal level processing and machine-readable finding aids were completed by Nicole Blechynden from July 2016 thru September 2017, and Max Howell from November 2016 thru May 2017.
Series 2.1: Stereographs, digitized by Noah Stewart, digitization technician, 2022.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation note
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Conditions Governing Access note
Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogs restricted due to fragile condition. Researchers should consult microfilm in NMAH library for 1880-1983 editions, drawer 692.
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


Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
archivescenter@si.edu