Inventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. Lucile Turnbach Platt Papers, 1926-1930

J. Walter Thompson Company. Lucile Turnbach Platt Papers, 1926-1930

J. Walter Thompson Company.

1.2 Linear Feet
900 Items

Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library

English.

Collection is open for research.

However, 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.

The copyright interests in the J. Walter Thompson Company. Lucile Turnbach Platt Papers 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.

[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company. Lucile Turnbach Platt Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.

The Lucile Turnbach Platt Papers were transferred to the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library from the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) in 1987.

Processed by: Katherine Rose

Completed April 1997

Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller

Processing of this collection was supported in part by gifts from the J. Walter Thompson Company Fund and the John and Kelly Hartman Foundation.

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

The papers of Lucile Turnbach Platt, former employee of the J. Walter Thompson Company's Personality Department, span the years 1926 to 1930; some Items are undated. The materials primarily document the creation of a testimonial advertising campaign for Simmons beds and boxsprings, and Beautyrest mattresses. The papers illustrate the selection of spokespersons, photographing of them and their home interiors, travel arrangements, delivery and removal of beds, and payment for their services. The materials chiefly consist of office memoranda and other correspondence among Platt, other JWT staff and product spokespersons. The collection also includes photographs and negatives, a few samples of advertisements, lists of women approached to participate, unsigned copies of contracts, and drafts of testimonials. Most of the files relate to soliciting very prominent American and foreign women to endorse Simmons products, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Mrs. Charles Crocker, Mrs. John Sargent Pillsbury, Mrs. Perry Tiffany, Mrs. Robert T. Vanderbilt, and Mrs. John W. Wanamaker III, among many others. Endorsers were paid between $1,000 and $5,000 for permission to use their names, photographs, and testimonials. Photographs of bedrooms were shot on location in the women's homes. The materials are arranged with miscellaneous Simmon's account files first, alphabetically by title, then files are arranged alphabetically by the spokesperson's name.

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.