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Inventory of the Charles W. Hoyt Company Records, 1894-1973 and undated (bulk 1909-1928)

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Descriptive Summary

Title
Charles W. Hoyt Company Records, 1894-1973 and undated (bulk 1909-1928)
Creator
Charles W. Hoyt Company
Extent
4.4 Linear Feet
3,300 Items
Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University
Language
English.
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Administrative Information

Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
However, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of legal responsibility and privacy rights form before using this collection.
Access to one scrapbook in the Charles W. Hoyt Papers is closed for preservation reasons; a photocopy is available for use. Two Nazi Medals may be used only with staff supervision. For further information, consult a reference archivist.
In addition, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Charles W. Hoyt Company Records, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Charles W. Hoyt Company Records were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a gift in 1995. The records were donated by Tony Hoyt on behalf of the Hoyt family.
Processing Information
Processed by Phoebe Evans. Processing was supported in part by gifts from the John and Kelly Hartman Foundation.
Completed August 24, 1998
Encoded by Richard Collier, Katherine Rose
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
            

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Biographical Note

Charles W. Hoyt

Winthrop Hoyt

Everett Red Hoyt

The Charles W. Hoyt Company, Inc.

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Collection Overview

The records of the Charles W. Hoyt Company advertising agency span the years 1894-1973 with the bulk dating between 1909-1928. The collection primarily documents the founding and operation of the company, and to a lesser extent the personal activities of the Hoyt family (Charles, Effie, Winthrop, and Everett) and Winthrop's service during World War II in the U. S. Army Air Force. Materials include correspondence, scrapbooks, company publications and manuals, financial records, clippings, diaries, writings, drawings, photographs, house advertisements, Nazi medals, song lyrics, and printed material. Very little information exists in the collection concerning the Hoyt Company's clients. The only client advertisements that survive were produced for Merck and Co. The Hoyt company scrapbooks document some activities for clients including Arnold Bakers, Golden Blossom Honey, Jamaica Tourist Board, KLM, Stanley Home Products, the Charles B. Woolson Co. and the State of New Hampshire. The collection contains correspondence between family members as well as between the company and Merck and Co., the Charles B. Knox Co., and William Benton, one of the founders of the Benton and Bowles advertising agency. Another notable person mentioned in the collection is Hoyt Company employee Samuel Meek, who would go on to become an important executive for the J. Walter Thompson Company advertising agency. The collection is organized into the Company Series; the Family Series; and the Winthrop Hoyt World War II Series. Large-format items are located in the Oversize Materials.
The Company Series contains the bulk of material in the collection and is concerned with the founding, and subsequent operation of the Charles W. Hoyt Company from 1909 to 1965 by Charles W. Hoyt (until his death in 1928), and then by his sons Winthrop and Everett "Red" Hoyt. The Company produced and sold advertising and marketing plans to clients in addition to providing other advertising services. Charles Hoyt's philosophy of "planned" advertising is well-documented.
The Family Series consists of personal diaries, correspondence, photographs and other printed materials relating to Hoyt family members as distinct from the activities of the Charles W. Hoyt Company. Family members for whom materials exist include Charles W. Hoyt, Effie Smith Hoyt, Winthrop Hoyt, and Everett "Red" Hoyt.
The Winthrop Hoyt World War II Records Series documents Hoyt's service during the war as an intelligence officer in the United States Army Air Force. It includes correspondence and writings, photographs, Nazi medals and other materials.
Oversize Materials include items removed from other series due to their size.
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Subject Headings

These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
  • Charles W. Hoyt Company.
  • Benton, William, 1900-1973.
  • Hoyt family.
  • Hoyt, Charles W., 1862-1928.
  • Hoyt, Effie Smith, ?-1963.
  • Hoyt, Winthrop, 1900-1989.
  • Hoyt, Everett Red, 1905-.
  • Meek, Samuel W. (Samuel William), b. 1895
  • Advertising agencies.
  • Advertising agencies--United States.
  • Advertising executives.
  • Benton and Bowles.
  • Charles B. Knox Co.
  • Charles B. Woolson Company.
  • Merck and Co.
  • United States. Army air forces--History--World War, 1939-1945.
  • World War, 1939-1945.
  • World War, 1939-1945--Military intelligence--United States.
  • Clippings.
  • Diaries.
  • Scrapbooks.
  • Photographs.
  • John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Related collections in the Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Library include the D'Arcy Masius Benton and Bowles Archives, the Samuel William Meek Papers and the Postcard Collection.
List of Series in Collection
Company Series, 1909-1967 and undated
Family Series, 1894-1973 and undated (bulk 1908-1941)
Winthrop Hoyt World War II Series, 1942-1946 and undated
Oversize Materials
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Detailed Description of Collection

Company Series, 1909-1967 and undated

Documents the founding and operation of the Company and is divided into the following categories: Company Manuals, Correspondence, Financial Records, Photographs, Printed Materials, Scrapbooks, and Writings.
Company Manuals, 1912-1965
Contains manuals written and compiled by Charles W. Hoyt and by his sons. They detail Charles's philosophy of advertising, describe the Hoyt Company's practices and standards of operation, and provide biographical information about employees and their responsibilities. The manuals are comprised of clippings, memoranda, printed materials, and writings of Charles W. Hoyt. Some contain biographical data on Charles, Winthrop, and Everett Hoyt, and other executives. Only two client plans survive in the collection -- one for Merck and Co. and the other for ABC Manufacturing Company. Arranged chronologically.
Box 1
1912-1917   (2 folders)
Report entitled "Analysis of a Complete Advertising Campaign"
1924 June 15
"Marketing and Advertising Plan for the ABC Manufacturing Company"
1925
"The Laws of Successful Advertisement Writing," compiled by Charles W. Hoyt
1925-1927
Standard Practice, Account Executive, written for R.L. Talley
[ca. 1950]
Planning report, "Consumer Advertising Program, Merck and Co., Inc., 1951-1953"
1960 July 29
Sales Manual
1965 Dec.
Sales Manual
Correspondence, 1909-1967 and undated
Contains correspondence between the Charles W. Hoyt Company and its business associates or clients. The majority of the correspondence with the Company is letters of congratulations or condolence, except for the letters between William Benton and Winthrop Hoyt.
Includes letters pertaining to Charles W. Hoyt's resignation from Armour and Company and his founding of the Charles W. Hoyt Company in 1909; others are between Winthrop Hoyt and William Benton, one of the founders of the Benton and Bowles advertising agency. Their correspondence discusses the founding of Benton and Bowles and Winthrop Hoyt's proposal to Benton that he work for the Hoyt Company to assist in its reorganization. (See also the D'Arcy Masius Benton and Bowles Archives in the Hartman Center.)
Correspondence relating to client accounts exists only for Merck and Co. (manufacturing chemists). Correspondence with the Charles B. Knox Co. predates Hoyt's acquisition of the account. Arranged chronologically.
Box 1
1909
Relating to Charles W. Hoyt's resignation from Armour and Company and founding of the Charles W. Hoyt Company
1924-1929
Between William Benton and Winthrop Hoyt
1924-1957 and undated
Relating to Winthrop Hoyt's employment in England
1928
Relating to the death of Charles W. Hoyt
1928
Congratulating Winthrop Hoyt on his election as President of Charles W. Hoyt Company
1929-1967
Between Charles W. Hoyt Company and Merck and Co.
1934-1948
Relating to the acquisition of the Charles B. Knox Co. account
Financial Records, 1909-1963
Records of financial conditions, client lists, and annual billings of the Charles W. Hoyt Company survive for most years of the company's existence. There are lists of income and expenses, billings listed by client, general conditions, and gross profits for the Hoyt Company. Also includes an expense book of trial balances and comparative statements from the first ten years of the company's existence. Arranged chronologically.
Box 1
1909-1919
Trial Balances and Comparative Statement, in a George B. Woolson Economy Expense Book
1913-1963
Photographs, 1924-1963 and undated
Includes photographs of employees and company activities, most of which have been removed from scrapbooks for preservation purposes. See also Oversize Materials. Arranged chronologically.
Box 1
1924 July
International Advertising Convention, London
1941-1945 and undated
Miscellaneous photographs
1948
Gilbert commercial, CBS, from scrapbook, 1943-1963, (see Oversize Materials), page 39
1951
Board of Directors, from scrapbook, 1943-1963, (see Oversize Materials), page 61
1952
Christmas party, from scrapbook, 1943-1963, (see Oversize Materials), page 76
Undated
Group photographs, from scrapbook, 1943-1963, (see Oversize Materials), pages 68, 83
Printed Materials, 1909-1960
Consists of company publications, house advertisements, pamphlets, booklets, programs, commemorations of company anniversaries, clippings and other printed materials produced by the Charles W. Hoyt Company. See also the Oversize Materials. Arranged chronologically.
Box 1
1909-1928
Includes pamphlets, booklets, programs, commemorations and miscellaneous printed material. Materials from 1919 mention Sam Meek, who worked with the Charles W. Hoyt Company before joining the J. Walter Thompson Company advertising agency.
1914
Publication: Newspaper Classified Advertising
1917
Publication: The Preparation of a Marketing Plan, by Charles W. Hoyt
1919-1930
House advertisements
1919-1960
Clippings file consists of newspaper and magazine articles on Charles W. Hoyt and the Charles W. Hoyt Company, articles written by Charles W. Hoyt, and obituaries. See also Oversize Materials.
1927
Publication: Planned Advertising: the Planned Approach to Agency Efficiency, by George French
1939
30th Anniversary commemoration, Hoyt Chronicles, 1909-1939
1943-1945
Newsletter, Hoyt-Poloi
1944-1945
Travel and Recreation Survey, including an analysis of 1944 New England vacations
1960
Publication, C.B. Donovan: 50 Years at Hoyt Agency
Scrapbooks, 1924-1963
Contains scrapbooks compiled by the Hoyt Company which pertain to company anniversary celebrations, company activities and clients, as well as to the general state of advertising. Winthrop Hoyt's involvement and leadership with the American Association of Advertising Agencies is also documented in this subseries. The International Advertising Convention Scrapbook consists of printed material, programs, clippings, and other items from the convention, held in London in 1924. The scrapbook has been dismantled and foldered in its original chronological order. See the Photographs folders for photographs removed from the scrapbook. The 30th, 40th, and 50th Anniversary scrapbooks primarily consist of congratulatory correspondence, but also include a few clippings and printed materials. See also Oversize Materials. Arranged chronologically.
Box 1
1924 June-Oct.   (5 folders)
International Advertising Convention, London, England
Box 2
1939 Apr.
Charles W. Hoyt Company, Inc. 30th Anniversary Dinner
1949
Charles W. Hoyt Company, Inc. 40th Anniversary
1959
Charles W. Hoyt Company, Inc. 50th Anniversary
Writings on Advertising, 1913-1959
Consists of writings by Charles, Winthrop, and Everett Hoyt relating to advertising. See also the Family Series for additional writings by Charles and Winthrop. Arranged chronologically.
Box 2
1913-1925
Charles W. Hoyt, several articles on "planned advertising"
1924, 1941
Winthrop Hoyt, "Observations on the British Market," 1924, and Flying the Great Circle, 1941
1959
Everett Hoyt, "New York Market: In the Whole or in Segments, It's [sic] Nation's Biggest Buy"

Family Series, 1894-1973 and undated (bulk 1908-1941)

Consists of personal materials relating to Hoyt family members, including Charles W. Hoyt, Effie Smith Hoyt, Winthrop Hoyt, and Everett "Red" Hoyt. The series is divided into the following categories: the Charles B. Woolson Company and Family Financial Records, Correspondence, Diaries of Winthrop Hoyt and Effie Smith Hoyt, Newspapers, Visual Materials, and the Writings and Drawings of Charles W. and Winthrop Hoyt.
Charles B. Woolson Company and Family Financial Records, 1906-1961
Includes ownership and activities of the George B. Woolson Company, a small mail order stationery business which Charles W. Hoyt operated from 1903-1928. A key product of the company was the Woolson Economy Expense Book. Also in this series are Charles and Winthrop's household and personal expense books, along with the investment records of Effie Smith Hoyt after the death of Charles W. Hoyt, including the value of his investments upon his death.
See also "Trial Balances and Comparative Statement" book located in the Financial Records category of the Company Series. Arranged chronologically.
Box 2
1906-1909
Charles W. Hoyt, household and personal expense book
1918-1928
George B. Woolson Co. correspondence
1919-1926   (2 folders)
Winthrop Hoyt, personal expense books
1928-1961
Effie Smith Hoyt, investment records
Correspondence, 1908-1973 and undated
Consists of correspondence to members of the Hoyt family. It includes letters to Effie and Everett Hoyt from Winthrop while at Camp Winnepesaukee. See also Company Series for additional correspondence to members of the Hoyt family. Postcards were photocopied and originals transferred to the Postcard Collection. Arranged chronologically.
Box 2
1908-1916
Postcards; see also Visual Materials folders in this series
1914 May 8
RSVPs for Winthrop Hoyt party at the New Haven Country Club
1918 and undated
Female friends to Winthrop Hoyt
1918-1919
Winthrop Hoyt to Everett and Effie Smith Hoyt, Camp Winnepesaukee
1918-1923
Relating to Winthrop Hoyt's student days at Yale College
1932-1933
Winthrop and Everett Hoyt to Effie Smith Hoyt
1963 Jan.-Feb.
Condolences relating to the death of Effie Smith Hoyt
1973
Get-well cards to Winthrop Hoyt
Diaries of Winthrop Hoyt and Effie Smith Hoyt, 1913 July 29-1919 Sept. 1
Includes two diaries kept by Winthrop Hoyt as a teenager when he led hiking trips in the White Mountains (Mt. Chocorua and Mt. Washington) of New Hampshire for Camp Winnepesaukee. A third diary was written by Effie Smith Hoyt on a trip to England and France in the summer of 1913. She also compiled a postcard album of her trip which is located in the Scrapbooks folders.
See also the Correspondence, Printed Materials, and the Visual Materials categories of the Family Series for materials related to Camp Winnepesaukee. Arranged chronologically.
Box 2
1913 July 29-Aug. 27
Effie Smith Hoyt, European trip
1918 Aug. 12; 1919 Aug. 18-Sept. 1
Winthrop Hoyt, Camp Winnepesaukee hiking trips
Newspapers, 1918-1919 and undated
Includes issues of newspapers, and a publication from Camp Winnepesaukee that describes the activities of the camp. Arranged chronologically.
Box 2
1918 July-Aug.
The Reveille, the newspaper from Camp Winnepesaukee
1919
Publication, Camp Winnepesaukee
Undated, Miscellaneous
Visual Materials, 1913, 1918-1919 and undated
Box 2
Photographs, 1918-1919 and undated
Consists of a photograph from Camp Winnepesaukee from 1918 or 1919, a photograph of Winthrop Hoyt as a child, and two photographs of unidentified boys.
Post Card Album, European Trip, 1913
Contains photocopies of a postcard album compiled by Effie Smith Hoyt on her trip to England and France in 1913. The album was dismantled and original postcards were transferred to the Postcard Collection.
Writings and Drawings of Charles W. and Winthrop Hoyt, 1894-1941
Includes the writings of Charles W. and Winthrop Hoyt and material while students at Yale University. Also included are a short story from 1941 about airline travel and the details of a business trip to the West Coast. Correspondence showing Winthrop Hoyt's work on the Yale News and other family letters are located under the Family Series Correspondence category. Arranged chronologically.
Box 2
1894
Charles W. Hoyt, "The Next Naval War"
1894
Charles W. Hoyt, "Mechanical Refrigeration and the Practicality of Small Plants," Honors Thesis, Yale University
1910-1914
Winthrop Hoyt, drawings, Worthington Hooker School
1922
Winthrop Hoyt, "The American Newspaper," and "Political Influence of Horace Greeley as Editor of the New York Tribune," Yale University
1941
Winthrop Hoyt short story, Flying the Great Circle

Winthrop Hoyt World War II Series, 1942-1946 and undated

Documents Hoyt's service during the war as an intelligence officer with the 7th Anti-Submarine Squadron, the 78th Bomb Squadron, the 45th Bomb Group, the 490th Bomb Group, and the 452nd Bomb Group. Hoyt was stationed in Jacksonville, Fla.; Boise, Ida.; Trinidad; and London. Contains correspondence, photographs, Nazi medals, song lyrics, writings, clippings, and printed material accumulated by Winthrop Hoyt while serving with the United States Army Air Force. Photographs are mostly aerial shots of submarines taken from Army Air Force planes. Arranged alphabetically.
Box 2
Correspondence, Army Air Force, 1942 Mar. - 1946 May
Miscellaneous correspondence, clippings, tickets and receipts, 1943-1944 and undated
Observations, wartime reminiscences by Winthrop Hoyt, undated
Photographs, 1942-1944 and undated
Song lyrics, undated
[ "Rum and Coca Cola," "Small Island," "Come and Join the Air Corps," and "The Flying Bigby Song" ]

Oversize Materials

Box 3

Company Series
Company Manuals: Sales Manual, revised, 1919-1927
Scrapbooks
International Advertising convention, London, 1924 July
Charles W. Hoyt Company, Inc., 1943-1963
Use Copy, pages 1-136   (2 folders)
Loose Items from Page 127, 1959
Box 4

Restricted and Closed Materials
Charles W. Hoyt Company Scrapbook, 1943-1963
Original CLOSED for preservation purposes. See Use Copy (photocopy) in Box 3
World War II: Two Nazi Medals, [ca. 1939]
NOTE: FOR USE ONLY WITH STAFF SUPERVISION