Inventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. Wallace W. Elton Papers, 1909-1990
[top]Descriptive Summary
TitleJ. Walter Thompson Company. Wallace W. Elton
Papers,
1909-1990
Creator
J. Walter Thompson Company.
Extent
9 Linear feet
6,750 Items
Repository
6,750 Items
Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library
Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185
Language
English.
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsAccess to some portions of the Wallace W. Elton Papers is
restricted.
In addition, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal
Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Also, 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 the J. Walter Thompson Company Archives
have not been transferred to Duke University. For further information, see the
section on copyright in the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. J. Walter Thompson Company. Wallace W.
Elton Papers. Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University.
Provenance
The Wallace W. Elton Papers were transferred to the Special
Collections Library by the J. Walter Thompson Company in 1987. An addition to
the papers was donated by Jane Elton (Mrs. Wallace Elton) in 1991. Processing
of this collection was supported in part by gifts from the J. Walter Thompson
Company Fund and the John and Kelly Hartman Foundation.
Encoded by Alvin Pollock
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
[top]
Biographical Note
| 1907, Dec. 15 | Born, Dorchester, Mass. |
| 1929 | Received a Ph.D. from Brown University; editor of The Brown Jug |
| 1929-1939 | Assistant Art Director, NW Ayer & Son advertising agency, Philadelphia, Pa. |
| 1935 | Married Mary Helen Birchard |
| 1941 | Senior Art Director, J. Walter Thompson Company and Lennen and Mitchell agencies, New York |
| 1942-1945 | Lt. Commander, United States Naval Reserve |
| 1945, Dec. | Director, Art Department, (rehired) J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1950 | Elected Vice President, J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1952-1961 | Copy Supervisor, Elected Vice President, J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1952- | Creative Group Head, J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1956 | Elected to the Board of Directors, J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1960-1964 | Member of the Executive Committee, J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1961 | Elected Executive Vice-President, J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1963 | Elected Senior Vice-President, J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1965 | International Executive Service Corps advertising and marketing advisor in Taiwan; leave of absence from J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1966 | Retired from the J. Walter Thompson Company; Vice President, International Executive Service Corps (1966-1987) |
| 1967- | Brown University, Regional Director of Associated Alumni; Alumni Trustee; Regional Vice President of Associated Alumni |
| 1977 | Married Jane Vrooman Rice |
| 1984 | Inducted into Art Directors Hall of Fame |
| 1991, Feb. | Died, Coral Gables, Fla. |
Wallace W. Elton was a member of the following advertising and art organizations: the National Society of Art Directors, the New York Art Director's Club, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Eastern Region Chairman.
[top]Collection Overview
The papers of Wallace W. Elton span the years 1909 to 1990, although
the bulk of the material dates from the 1940s to the 1960s. They consist of
correspondence, memoranda, financial records, advertisements, military records,
reports, photographs, drawings and other artwork, diaries, scrapbooks,
memorabilia, printed material, and clippings. The collection documents the
career of Elton; advertising history, especially agency management and the role
of the creative director; and the automobile industry, especially advertising
campaigns. Clients of the
J. Walter Thompson Company represented in the
collection include
Chesebrough-Pond's,
Ford Motor Company, and
Pan American World Airways.
Aspects of Elton's education, his service in the
United States Navy, his career, and professional
projects and associations, including the
International Executive Service Corps, are
documented in the
Personal Series. An alumnus of
Brown University, Elton was active in the affairs
of the university from about 1967 to 1985. The
Personal Series includes correspondence with
Brown University's president and others. The
series includes advertisement proofs from
NW Ayer & Son, where Elton directed the art
and layout work for the
Atlantic Refining Company, the
Ford Motor Company, and other accounts. After
resigning from the
J. Walter Thompson Company, he became a Vice
President for the
International Executive Service Corps [IESC], a
non-profit group formed to help improve the performance of private enterprises
in developing countries. Detailed diaries recorded during Elton's IESC travel
describe his work for the organization and include original illustrations.
There are also newspaper accounts of IESC activities.
The bulk of the
Personal Series documents Elton's executive
roles in the
J. Walter Thompson Company's corporate
administration and the creative departments. Company policies, administrative
issues including change in the organization, recruitment, and marketing plans
are documented. In personal notes, Elton recorded his private observations
about the management of the company and client relations. His interest in the
history of the company continued after his retirement and is demonstrated in
his participation in Retired Directors Reunions and contributions to the J.
Walter Thompson Company Archives Fund. Materials that document Elton's work
with
J. Walter Thompson Company clients or campaigns
are in the
Clients Series and the
Advertisements Series. While the former focuses
on administrative issues in the creative process and the later series focuses
on the advertisements and other graphic materials, there is considerable
overlap between these two series.
The
Clients Series documents communications with
clients; the development and production of advertisements and campaign
implementation; campaign presentations; and marketing schemes. Call reports
record meetings or other communications with clients and are scattered
throughout the files. The collateral material, which includes brochures,
package and label designs, and other point-of-sale materials, were parts of
advertising campaigns created to supplement display advertisements in magazines
and newspapers and outdoor advertising. They were given directly to consumers
or distributed by the clients.
The Ford Motor Company is the subject of the bulk
of the
Client Series. Since the Detroit Office of the
J. Walter Thompson Company is responsible for the
Ford account, a substantial amount of correspondence and memoranda from this
office is in the series. It documents the interplay between the creative team
in the New York office and account management in the Detroit office, and
thereby demonstrates features of J. Walter Thompson Company corporate
organization. Correspondence and memoranda from
Norman H. Strouse document his management of the
Ford Motor Company account in Chicago. Some
campaigns were developed as lengthy projects, for example "Project X," an
around-the-world tour for the 1958 Ford, and entailed extensive planning and
time to accomplish. The
Ford Motor Company files include documentation for
all phases of such projects, including security measures to preserve the
secrecy of the project during the planning phases. "Project M" developed around
the concept of using
Princess Grace [Grace Kelly] and the palace at
Monaco to introduce the 1963 1/2 model year cars. The
J. Walter Thompson Company negotiated an agreement
between the
Ford Motor Company and
United Feature Syndicate for use of the services
of
Charles M. Schulz and the rights to use Schulz's
Peanuts comics characters in advertising. The subsequent work executed for the
Ford Motor Company's Falcon model is described in
the
Clients Series and the advertisements are in the
Advertisements Series.
Most of the advertisements in the
Advertisements Series are from Elton's personal
portfolio. For many of the advertisements in the series, he was responsible for
the creative idea for the ad copy. Elton sometimes depicted himself, and his
wife, as characters in the advertisements. Insight into the creative process
and the agency-client relationship can be studied through editorial notes
attached to the advertisements or accompanying textual materials which provide
information about the campaign or the artwork. A scrapbook contains
photographic reproductions of older advertisements paired with tear sheets and
proofs of contemporary advertisements developed by
J. Walter Thompson Company.
Ford Motor Company automobile models were
advertised during the year preceding their introduction on the market and,
although the publication dates are printed on most of the advertisements, the
model year is not always obvious. Several
Chrysler Corporation (competitive) advertisements
are interfiled with the Ford materials.
Norman Rockwell was the artist for some of the
Pan American World Airways advertisements. The
history of outdoor advertising can be studied from materials in the
Personal Series,
Advertisements Series, and
Pictures Series.
Some of the portraits of
Wallace W. Elton in the
Pictures Series are by photographer
Yousuf Karsh.
J. Walter Thompson Company executives and staff
are depicted at meetings and social events.
Henry Ford and
Edsel Ford and various models of
Ford Motor Company cars, trucks and tractors are
also depicted. In addition to photographs in the
Pictures Series, there are photographs of
Wallace Elton and
International Executive Service Corps activities
in the
Personal Series.
[top]
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.
- Ford Motor Company.
- Chesebrough-Pond's.
- Pan American World Airways.
- Advertising executives.
- Advertising--Management.
- Advertising agencies--New York.
- Advertising agencies--Michigan--Detroit.
- Advertising campaigns.
- Advertising--Automobiles--United States.
- Advertising, Outdoor.
- Art directors
- International Executive Service Corps.
- Brown University.
- Diaries
- Commercial art
- Elton, Wallace W.
- Schulz, Charles M.
- Strouse, Norman H.
- Karsh, Yousuf, 1908-.
- John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Detailed Description of Collection
Personal Series, 1929-1990, undated (bulk 1946-1976).
Includes correspondence, memoranda, advertisement proofs, artwork,
military records, diaries, notes, scrapbooks, photographs, clippings, printed
material and reprints, and memorabilia. See also oversize materials. Arranged
by subjects which reflect the chronology of
Wallace W. Elton's education and career path:
Brown University,
NW Ayer & Son,
United States Navy, the
J. Walter Thompson Company, and the
International Executive Service Corps. The
J. Walter Thompson Company materials are
arranged alphabetically by folder title within the subject.
Box 1
Brown University
Alumni activities, 1967-1985, undated
The Brown Jug, cover
illustration by Wallace W. Elton, 1929, June
NW Ayer & Son:
Atlantic Refining Co., advertisement proofs with
illustrations by Elton ("3 Little Men"), 1934
Ford Motor Company, watercolor sketches by James
Williamson, undated
United States Navy:
Officer Service Record, 1942-1955, undated
Miscellaneous, 1943-1954, undated
J. Walter Thompson Company:
American Association of Advertising Agencies
Convention, 1958, Apr. 24-26
Biographical Files (Wallace W. Elton), 1949-1966,
undated
Board of Directors, 1987-1988
Building Decor: Memoranda from Margaret Tempest,
1960-1963
Clippings:
1964, 1989
Creativity, 1961-1962, undated
Company policies, 1956-1957, undated
Outdoor Advertising: 18th National Competition and
Exhibit of Outdoor Advertising Art, sponsored by Art Directors Club of Chicago
(dismantled scrapbook), 1950
"Out From Behind the Drawing Board" (Art Department),
undated
Resignation, correspondence, 1966, Feb.
Box 2
J. Walter Thompson Company:
Retired Directors Reunion at Duke University (May
25-27, 1990) and Contributions to J. Walter Thompson Company Archives, 1990,
undated
Retirement, financial planning, 1957-1976
T-Square, undated
Miscellaneous, 1952-1966, undated
International Executive Service Corps:
Scrapbook (dismantled), 1966-1971
Travel diary, 1965-1969
(2 folders)
Travel diaries and illustrations, 1968-1971 (removed
from binder)
Travel diary, 1970-1971
Miscellaneous, 1965-1976, undated
Box 3
Miscellaneous:
1951-1970, undated
American Yacht Club,
The First Hundred Years of American
Yacht Club, Wallace W. Elton, Chairman of the Editorial Board,
1983
Clients Series, 1946-1964, undated (bulk 1951-1964).
Includes correspondence, memoranda, artwork and storyboards,
scripts, marketing proposals, meeting agendas and minutes, budgets and lists of
expenses, itineraries, reports, contracts, notes, speeches, ad copy, awards,
scrapbooks, photographs, memorabilia, clippings, and printed material. See also
oversize materials. Arranged alphabetically by names of clients. Clients with
extensive material are further arranged chronologically and then by subject
categories relating to special projects or topics within the chronology.
Box 3
American Petroleum Institute,
1962
Beecham Products, 1961
Blue Cross/Blue Shield (United Medical Service),
1961-1963, undated
Chesebrough-Pond's:
1963
(2 folders)
1962-1963, undated, Prince Matchabelli
1963, undated, Cutex
Box 4
Chesebrough-Pond's:
1963-1964, Angel Face Cosmetic Products
1963-1964, Creams
Crocker-Anglo National Bank, ca. 1960-1961,
undated
(2 folders)
Crocker-Citizens Bank, 1963, Apr.-Nov.,
undated
(2 folders)
Crocker-Citizens Bank, 1963; Labatt,
1963
Congoleum Nairn, 1961-1962,
undated
Eastman Kodak Company, 1956-1963,
undated
Box 5
Ford Motor Company, 1946-1950
(7 folders)
Box 6
Ford Motor Company , 1951-1953
(7 folders)
1953:
Ford Motor Company at Fifty
Box 7
Ford Motor Company, 1954-1955
(5 folders)
Box 8
Ford Motor Company:
1956-1957: 1957 Retractable Hardtop
"Project X": 1957, Apr.-1958
(8 folders)
Box 9
Ford Motor Company: "Project X": World
Highways Expedition trophy, 1957
Box 10
Ford Motor Company:
"Project X": 1958, May: Documentary script, "One
Road," 1958, May
"Project Y": 1957, Aug.-Dec.
1958 Campaign: First Program marketing presentation
booklet, 1957, July
1958, July
1958, Aug.-Nov., Brussels World's Fair
(2 folders)
1959-1961, May, Charles M. Schulz and "Peanuts"
characters
Box 11
Ford Motor Company:
Charles M. Schulz and "Peanuts"
characters:
1959, Oct.-Nov., Contract with United Features
Syndicate
1961, June-1963, General
1963-1964, Contract Amendment
1963, Documentary Film by Lee Mendelson
1964, undated, General
1960, Plans for 1964 World's Fair
1961-1963, "Project M":
1961-1962, n.d, Background information for Aug. 9,
1962 meeting
1962, June-Sept., "Project M"
(3 folders)
Box 12
Ford Motor Company:
"Project M":
1962, July, Report :"Project M: An advertising and
promotion opportunity for the introduction of the 1962 1/2 cars"
1962, Oct.-1963, Apr.
(2 folders)
1962, Nov.-1963, May: Union with Ferrari
1963, Jan.-Aug.
(3 folders)
Box 13
Ford Motor Company:
1963, Sept.-1964
(4 folders)
undated, "Product Philosophy Report,"
(3 folders)
Box 14
Ford Motor Company:
Advertising Awards, 1956-1960
Collateral literature:
1953-1964, undated
(3 folders)
Color and upholstery samples, 1959
Competitors (Lincoln-Mercury), 1955
Ford Dealers Association, 1962, Sept.-Nov.,
undated
Box 15
Ford Motor Company:
Outdoor advertising:
"National Outdoor Advertising Awards, 1934 to date,"
1962 (dismantled scrapbook)
(3 folders)
Designs for billboards, 1948-1955, undated
Institute of Life Insurance, 1961-1963
(2 folders)
Jones Dairy Farm, undated
Labatt, 1963, undated
(See also Crocker Citizen Bank)
Lever Brothers Company: Lux Toilet Soap,
1963, Apr.
Unilever Conference on Creative Advertising,
1962-1963, undated
Unilever Conference on Creative Advertising-Speeches,
1962
Box 16
Liggett & Meyers Tobacco Co.,
1962-1963,
(2 folders)
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.,
1962-1963
Meredith Publishing Company, 1962-1963,
undated
Pan American World Airways: Collateral
literature, undated
R.T. French, 1960-1962, undated
Miscellaneous, undated
Pictures, 1909-1990, undated (bulk 1930-1990).
Includes photographs, a set of reproductions, captions, and press
releases. See also oversize materials. Arranged into personal, clients, and
miscellaneous sections.
Box 16
Personal:
Elton, Wallace W., 1909-1969, undated
NW Ayer, U.S. Navy, International Executive Service
Corps, Retired Directors, 1930s-1990, undated
Box 17
Personal:
People, including Wallace W. Elton and J. Walter
Thompson Company staff, 1964-1983, undated
Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, presentation about
Wallace W. Elton, 1984
Art Directors Club Hall of Fame Election Dinner, 1985,
Dec.
Clients:
Ford Motor Company:
Automobiles, undated
Henry Ford and Sons, 1930-1959, undated
Ford Falcon-"Peanuts" group, including Charles M.
Schulz, 1960
Miscellaneous, undated
Advertisements Series, 1946-1963, undated
Chiefly color advertising proofs and tear sheets, some with
correspondence, memoranda, and notes attached; pencil and chalk sketches and
"roughs;" photographs; and a scrapbook. Arranged alphabetically by client; the
Ford Motor Company is arranged in
chronological order according to model year.
Ovsz. Box 4
"Old Friends and New," undated (dismantled
scrapbook):
(Clients:
Chesebrough-Pond's;
Douglas Aircraft Co.;
Eastman Kodak Co.;
Fanny Farmer Candy Shops;
Florida Citrus Commission;
Ford Motor Co.;
J.B. Williams Co.;
Kraft Foods Co.;
Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corp.;
Lever Brothers;
Libby, McNeill & Libby;
Oneida;
Pan American World Airways;
Penick and Ford\Vermont Maid;
Pineapple Growers of Hawaii;
Radio Corporation of America\RCA Victor;
R.T. French Co.;
Scott Paper Co.;
General Time Corp.\Seth Thomas Clocks;
Shell Oil Co.;
Swift & Co.;
U.S. Brewers;
U.S. Marine Corps; and
United States Lines)
P. Ballantine & Sons, 1953; Chrysler, undated;
Crocker-Anglo National Bank, ca. 1960; Crocker-Citizens Bank, 1963; Florida
Citrus Commission, 1951-1952
Ford Motor Company:
1946-1958
(4 folders)
Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts" characters,
1960-1963
Ford Motor Company: Early Models (by
NW Ayer & Son?), undated
Labatt,
1963;
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company,
1963
Pan American World Airways,
1953-1957
J. Walter Thompson House Advertisements,
1951 and 1956
Ovsz. Box 2
Ford Motor Company:
1950-1963
(4 folders)
Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts" characters,
1960-1963
Pan American World Airways,
1953-1957
Oversize Materials
Personal Series
J. Walter Thompson Company:
Outdoor Advertising: 18th National Competition and
Exhibit of Outdoor Advertising Art, Art Directors Club of Chicago (dismantled
scrapbook), 1950, Feb. 14-15
JWT Ovsz. Box 5
J. Walter Thompson Company:
Cy Klauck drawings (gift to Wallace Elton),
1959
Opening of Pittsburgh Office, signed booklet,
1961
International Executive Service Corps,
1982-1984
Clients Series
Chesebrough-Pond's, 1963;
Eastman Kodak, 1950
Ford Motor Company:
Brussels World's Fair, 1958; "Project M", 1962; 1963
Model: "The Big Change . . .," Ford Motor Company supplement to the
Chicago Tribune, 1963, April
4; Advertising Awards, 1951-1955; Collateral Literature, 1939-1954?; Ford
Dealers Association, 1962; Outdoor Advertising: 1949; "National Outdoor
Advertising Awards, 1934 to date," (dismantled scrapbook), 1962
Oversize Cabinet
OC:V:10:
Ford Motor Company:
Charles M. Schulz and "Peanuts"
characters, 1961-1963
Collateral literature, 1955-1963
Marty Links and "Bobby Sox," 1947
Seat belt safety, "Ford Safety Story Blankets
Nation," 1955
Ovsz. Box 4
Personal:
Elton, Wallace W. by Yousuf Karsh,
undated
Brown University, Miscellaneous, undated
Clients:
Ford Motor Company: Automobiles,
1965
