Inventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. Winfield Taylor Papers, 1948-1960 and undated
[top]Descriptive Summary
Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University
Creator
J. Walter Thompson
Company.
Title
J. Walter Thompson Company. Winfield Taylor Papers,
1948-1960 and
undated
Language of Material
Material
in English
Extent
4.7 Linear Feet
About 2,770 Items
Abstract
About 2,770 Items
The J. Walter Thompson
Company (JWT), founded in 1864, is one of the largest and oldest enduring
advertising agencies in the United States. Winfield Taylor worked as a
copywriter in the Creative Department of JWT from 1934 until 1960, becoming a
Vice President in 1950.
The Winfield Taylor Papers span the years
1948-1960 and include correspondence, memoranda, call reports, Review Board
minutes, copy, product information, reports, and printed material. Notable
correspondents include Joan Didion, Norman H. Strouse, Henry C. Flower, Jr.,
Samuel Meek, and John Monsarrat. Major clients include Ford, Shell, and Pan
American.
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is restricted.
Review Board minutes may not be photocopied.
In addition, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal
Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
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.
Copyright Notice
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], J. Walter Thompson Company. Winfield
Taylor Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University.
Provenance
The J. Walter Thompson Company. Winfield Taylor Papers were received
by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a transfer in
1987.
Processing Information
Processed by the J. Walter Thompson Company Archives, 1979
Encoded by Angela McClendon
Completed June 2007
Accession 790718 is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our
local
Style Guide.
[top]
Biographical Note
The J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT), founded in 1864, is one of the largest and oldest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. Winfield Taylor worked as a copywriter in the Creative Department of JWT from 1934 until 1960, becoming a Vice President in 1950. Taylor was born in Wilmette, Illinois. He attended Dartmouth College and, prior to joining JWT, worked at Marshall Field and Company, Henry Hearst and McDonald, McCann-Erickson, and the Curtis Publishing Company.
[top]Collection Overview
The Winfield Taylor Papers span the years 1948-1960 and include
correspondence, memoranda,
call reports, Review Board
minutes,
copy, product information, reports, and printed
material. Notable correspondents include
Joan Didion;
Norman H. Strouse;
Henry C. Flower, Jr.;
Samuel Meek; and
John Monsarrat. Major clients include
Ford,
Shell, and
Pan American. Campaigns covered are
"Worth More...and Why"
for Ford, and
"This is the Captain Speaking"
for Pan
American. There are also materials pertaining to the following clients:
American Red Cross,
Champion Spark Plug,
Foundation for Commercial Banks,
Institute of Life Insurance,
Johns-Manville,
Pharmacraft,
Charles F. Orvis Company,
RCA,
Scott Paper, and
Standard Brands.
The collection is organized into two series: General Files and Client
Files.
The General Files Series includes
correspondence and memoranda of a general nature, unassociated with specific
clients or advertising campaigns, as well as miscellaneous personal items.
The Client Files Series documents Taylor's
work with several clients, with the bulk of materials pertaining to his work
for Ford and Shell.
[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.
- Taylor, Winfield.
- Strouse, Norman H.
- Flower, Henry C.
- Meek, Samuel W. (Samuel Williams), b. 1895.
- Monserrat, John, 1912-1995.
- Didion, Joan.
- Resor, Stanley Burnet, 1879-1962.
- Waldo, Ruth.
- J. Walter Thompson Company.
- Ford Motor Company.
- Shell Oil Company.
- Pan American World Airways, Inc.
- American Red Cross.
- Champion Spark Plug (Company)
- Institute of Life Insurance (New York, N.Y.)
- Johns-Manville Corporation.
- Radio Corporation of America.
- Scott Paper Company.
- Standard Brands, Incorporated.
- Advertising agencies--United States.
- Advertising executives.
- Advertising copy.
- Advertising--Airlines.
- Advertising--Automobiles--United States.
- Advertising--Petroleum industry and trade.
- Ford automobile--Marketing.
- Marketing.
- John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Related Material
Materials related to this collection may be found in other J. Walter
Thompson Company collections, including the Account
Files, Domestic Advertisements Collection,
Iconographic Collection, Newsletter Collection, Review Board
Records and the Sam Meek Papers.
 | List of Series in Collection | |||||||
 |  | General Files Series, 1953-1960 and undated | ||||||
 | | Client Files Series, 1948-1960 and undated [RESTRICTED] | ||||||
Detailed Description of Collection
General Files Series, 1953-1960 and undated
1 Box
Includes correspondence and memoranda of a general nature,
unassociated with specific clients or advertising campaigns, as well as
miscellaneous personal items.
Box 1
General correspondence and memoranda,
1953-1960 and undated
(4 folders)
Foreign correspondence,
1953,
1957-1958
Miscellaneous personal material,
1960 and undated
Client Files Series, 1948-1960 and undated [RESTRICTED]
10 Boxes
Materials document Taylor's work with several clients, with the
bulk of materials pertaining to his work for Ford and Shell. Materials include
correspondence, memoranda, call reports, Review Board minutes, copy, product
information, reports, and printed material.
The series is arranged into three subseries: Ford, Shell, and
Other Clients.
Note on Restriction: Review Board
minutes may not be photocopied.
Ford Subseries, 1948-1960 and undated
Correspondence and memoranda,
1948-1960
(11 folders)
Call reports,
1957-1960
(10 folders)
Minutes: 1958 Model Introduction Meeting,
1957
Minutes: Review Board,
1957-1958 [RESTRICTED: No photocopying]
(2 folders)
Copy,
1953
(2 folders)
Includes
"Worth More and Why"
--Best Ford
Ad for 1953.
Copy (1956, 1957 models),
1956-1957
Copy (1958 model),
1957-1958
(2 folders)
Box 3
Copy (XK model--Fordet),
1958
Copy (1959 model),
1958-1959
(2 folders)
Copy (1960 model),
1959-1960
(2 folders)
Copy (1961 model),
1960
Songs,
1958
Ideas,
1956-1957
Advertising plans (1957 model),
1957
Advertising plans (1958 model),
1957-1958
(2 folders)
Model data (1957 model),
1957
(7 folders)
Box 4
Model data (1958 model),
1957-1958
(17 folders)
Box 5
Model data (1959 model),
1958-1959
(9 folders)
Model data (1961 model),
1960
(7 folders)
Reports: Research Department,
1956-1959
(6 folders)
Box 6
Reports: Production Status,
1957-1958
(2 folders)
Foreign models: Britain,
1957
Foreign models: Germany,
1958
Speeches and writings (unknown author),
1956
Promotion campaign (1957 model),
1956-1957
Printed material,
1952-1960
Reports: Ford Marketing Research (1957 model),
1957-1958
(2 folders)
Reports: Ford Marketing Research (1958 model),
1957-1958
(6 folders)
Reports: Ford Product Engineering (1958 model),
1957
Box 7
Model T Instruction Book
(reprint),
1954
Advance Advertising Information for
FDAF Committees,
1954
Advertising-Merchandising FDAF
Digest (Prepared and distributed by JWT Detroit),
1957
The News at a Glance (Prepared
and distributed by Field Service Department, JWT Detroit),
1959-1960
Clues to Successful Truck
Operators,
1957
The Ford Dealer,
1957 and
1959
Ford Times,
1957-1958
Pamphlets for employees,
1957
Ford: All the Facts,
1957
Ford: All the Facts,
1959
1959 Ford Facts,
1958
Supplement to
Used Car Promotional Handbook for Ford
Dealers,
1959
Mail promotions,
1959-1960
Automobile and truck brochures (1957 model),
1957
Automobile and truck brochures (1957
model--retractable hardtop),
1957
Box 8
Automobile and truck brochures (1958 model),
1959
Automobile brochures (1959 model),
1959
Truck brochures (1960 model),
1960
Miscellaneous,
1952-1959
Shell Subseries, 1956-1960 and undated
Correspondence and memoranda,
1957-1960
(4 folders)
Review Board minutes, call reports and notes regarding
meetings,
1957-1958
(2 folders)
Copy,
1957-1960
(8 folders)
Box 10
Shell Proposition,
1957-1960
Consumer Purchase Panel reports,
1958
Art time schedules,
1957
Estimates,
1957-1958
(2 folders)
Printed material,
1956-1959 and undated
Reports,
1956 and
1958
Newspaper clippings,
1957-1958
Shell News,
1957 and
1959
Miscellaneous,
1957 and undated
Other Clients Subseries, 1953-1960 and undated
American Red Cross, 1957
Correspondence and memoranda,
1957
Copy,
1957
Champion Spark Plug, 1958
Copy,
1958
Foundation for Commercial Banks, 1959-1960
Copy and memoranda,
1959-1960
Institute of Life Insurance, 1957
Copy and memorandum,
1957
Johns-Manville, undated
Copy, undated
Charles F. Orvis Company, 1957-1958
Correspondence,
1957-1958
Copy,
1958
Printed material,
1957-1958
Pan American, 1957-1960
Correspondence and memoranda,
1957-1958
Copy,
1958-1960
(3 folders)
Printed material (Jet clipper service),
1958 and
1960
Pharmacraft, 1959-1960
Memorandum and copy,
1959-1960
RCA, 1953 and 1959
Copy,
1953 and
1959
Scott Paper Company, 1957 and 1959
Correspondence and memoranda,
1957
Copy,
1957 and
1959
Stardard Brands, Inc., 1957, 1959-1960
Tender Leaf Tea: Memoranda,
1957
Chase & Sanborn: Correspondence and memorandum,
1959
Chase & Sanborn: Copy,
1959-1960
(2 folders)
Miscellaneous copy, 1957-1959 and undated
Separated Material
The following materials were separated from the collection by the J.
Walter Thompson Co. Archives:
Advertisements for Ford, Shell, American Red Cross and Pan American
have been relocated to the J. Walter Thompson Company Domestic Advertisements
Collection. Cross-reference sheets giving the headline of each advertisement
are found in the first folder labeled
"Copy"
for each client. Thirteen Ford proof books dating from 1940 to 1957 and 11
Shell proof books dating from 1948 to 1956 have also been placed in the
Domestic Advertisements Collection, but may not be cross-referenced within the
collection.
Photographs and negatives of Shell's
"City of Tomorrow"
advertisement were
placed in the J. Walter Thompson Company's Photograph Collection (presently
called the Iconographic Collection) in the Clients series. A slide of this
advertisement is also available in the Iconographic Collection, Clients
Subseries, Slide SF34.
Duplicates of miscellaneous issues of the
J. Walter Thompson Company News dating
from 1957 to 1959 were discarded. A complete set of this publication for this
period may be found in the J. Walter Thompson Company Newsletter
Collection.
Two reel-to-reel tape recordings of Ford commercials, circa 1956, were
transferred to the J. Walter Thompson Company. New York Office. Media Center
Audio-Visual Collection in 1982.
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Index to Significant Correspondents
Didion, Joan
: Box 1 (Folder 3)
Flower, Henry C., Jr.
: Box 1 (Folders 3 and 7)
Meek, Samuel W.
: Box 11 (Folder 7)
Monsarrat, John
: Box 11 (Folder 7)
Resor, Stanley B.
: Box 1 (Folders 1 and 3)
Strouse, Norman H.
: Box 1 (Folders 1, 2, 3, 7, and 13)
Waldo, Ruth
: Box 1 (Folder 3)
