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Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Guide to the Pillsbury Company Bake-Off Collection
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAH.AC.0690
- Creators:
-
Pillsbury Company
- Dates:
-
1933-1998
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
2.15 Cubic feet7 boxes
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
Material documenting Pillsbury's Bake-Off from its inception in 1949 through its 50th anniversary in 1999. Papers include primarily cookbooks issued after Bake-Offs, biographies of contestants and VHS videos of five Bake-Offs.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into fivce series.
Series 1: Historical Background Series 2: Cookbooks, 1933-1998
Series 3: Bake-Off Contestants, 1957-1998
Series 4: Videotapes of Bake-Offs, 1950, 1955, 1968, 1976, 1996
Series 5: Advertisements, 1949-1983
Historical
Historical
The Pillsbury Company donated these materials to the Archives Center in 1999 as part of the company's celebration of its fiftieth anniversary of the Pillsbury Bake-Off. The inspiration for the contest was to acquire recipes using Pillsbury's Best Enriched Flour for placement inside bags of the flour. The first contest, held in New York City's Waldorf Astoria in 1949, was so successful that Pillsbury decided to hold the contest each year. In the mid-1970s, however, the Bake-Off began to be held every other year with the result that the 50th anniversary Bake-Off in 1998 was, in fact, the 38th contest. An indicator of the status of this on-going baking event, especially in its early years, was the attendance of Eleanor Roosevelt at the first contest, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor at the second, and Mamie Eisenhower in 1962.
Administration
Author
Susan B. Strange
Processing Information
Collection processed by Susan B. Strange, 2001.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by The Pillsbury Company, through Ms. Jackie Peterson (letter from Craig Orr to her, April 5, 2001).
Digital Content
More …Using the Collection
Preferred Citation
Pillsbury Bake-Off Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
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.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Keywords
| Keyword Terms | Keyword Types | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Contests -- United States | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Food | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Housewives -- United States | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Baking | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Baked products | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Cookery, American | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Print advertising | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Tear sheets -- 1940-2000 | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Videotapes | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu
