Inventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. James Webb Young Papers, 1927-1984
[top]Descriptive Summary
TitleJ. Walter Thompson Company. James Webb Young
Papers,
1927-1984
Creator
J. Walter Thompson Company.
Extent
1.2 Linear Feet
ca. 275 Items
Repository
ca. 275 Items
Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library
Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185
Language
English.
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsAccess to the originals is restricted. Photocopies are available for
general use.
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.
Provenance
The papers of James Webb Young were transferred to the Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library from the J. Walter Thompson Company
in 1987.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company Archives: James
Webb Young Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University.
Processing Information
Processed by: Donna Longo DiMichele and Daniel L. Daily
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 Stephen Douglas Miller
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
[top]
Biographical Note
| 1886, Jan. 20 | Born in Covington, Ky. |
| 1907 | Appointed Advertising Manager and Book Designer of the Western Methodist Book Concern, Covington, Ky. |
| 1907 | Married Elizabeth Johnson |
| 1912 | Joined the J. Walter Thompson Company Cincinnati Office as a copywriter |
| 1913 | Promoted to Manager, J. Walter Thompson Company Cincinnatti Office |
| 1916 | Appointed Vice President of the J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1917 | Appointed Senior Vice President in charge of the Western Division of the J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1927 | Traveled to Europe to open J. Walter Thompson offices in Europe |
| 1928 | Retired from the J. Walter Thompson Company and lived on a ranch near Pena Blanca, N.M. |
| 1928-1964 | Consultant and Director of J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1931 | Appointed Professor of Business History and Advertising, School of Business, University of Chicago |
| 1939-1941 | Founded the War Advertising Council, which later became the Advertising Council. |
| 1940 | Published A Technique for Producing Ideas |
| 1964 | Retired again from the J. Walter Thompson Company |
| 1973, Mar. 6 | Died, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
In addition to his roles in the J. Walter Thompson Company, Young developed for the Creel Committee for Public Information a propaganda plan to be implemented on the Western Front during World War I and held a number of public and private positions, including President of the Board of Trustees of the Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
[top]Collection Overview
The James Webb Young Papers chiefly consist of correspondence,
memoranda, reports, and publications and span the years 1927-1984. These
materials provide insights into Young's career as well as the operational
aspects of the J. Walter Thompson Company, especially the early development of
their international branch offices.
From the perspective of James Webb Young's entire career in
advertising, this collection reflects a small portion of his contributions to
the J. Walter Thompson Company and the advertising business as a whole, for
which he was awarded in 1945 the Gold Medal for a distinguished career in
advertising. While these papers represent Young's pioneering work in
establishing the J. Walter Thompson Company abroad as well as reflect some his
contributions to public service advertising and advertising strategy, primarily
through
The Compleat Angler,
A Footnote to History,
and other works in the Publications category, they are an incomplete record of
his distinguished career.
The International Branch Notebooks category primarily contains
correspondence, minutes, memoranda, research reports and tables which pertain
to the organization and initial operations of J. Walter Thompson branch offices
abroad, particularly in London, Africa, South America, and Europe during the
late 1920s and early 1930s. A substantial amount of this material focuses upon
J. Walter Thompson's advertising for General Motors, especially for markets in
Europe and South America. Though Young officially retired in 1928, he served as
Consultant and director (1928-1964) and became a key figure in establishing the
earliest international branch offices for the J. Walter Thompson Company. Among
the correspondents in this series are Sam Meek, Stanley Resor, and Henry C.
Flowers.
In the Publications category are works written by Young, some of which
were privately printed by the Piñon Press in Coapa, New Mexico. The works
published by the Piñon Press have been individually cataloged and can be
searched by author and title. The Publications category includes editions of
A Technique for Producing
Ideas and
How to Become an Advertising
Man. As a whole, these works reflect aspects of Young's advertising
philosophy and strategies, and partially document his involvement in public
service advertising in the United States as well as his early career from an
autobiographical perspective.
[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.
- Resor, Stanley
- Meek, Sam.
- Flowers, Henry C.
- General Motors Corporation--Advertising.
- Advertising--Automobiles.
- Advertising--Biography.
- Advertising, Public Service-- United States.
- Advertising-- Europe.
- Advertising-- South America.
- Young, James Webb, 1886-.
- Piänon Press.
- John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
 | List of Series in Collection | |||||||
 |  | Use Copies | ||||||
| | Original Copies | ||||||
 | | Oversize Materials | ||||||
Detailed Description of Collection
Use Copies
International Branch Notebooks, 1927-1930
Includes correspondence, memoranda, research reports, minutes,
tables, and surveys, which reflect the exigencies of establishing offices
abroad as well as the strategies, policies, and protocols to be followed by
these offices. Included are estimated billings for the
London office. Arranged chronologically, by
year.
Box 1
Notes on JWT Foreign Branch Management,
1927-1929
(3 folders)
Miscellaneous Data Having to do with Organization and
Early Operations of Foreign Offices,
1928-1930
Miscellaneous Data Concerning Organization of Foreign
Offices,
1928-1931
(2 folders)
Publications, 1950-1959
Divided into two subseries: Advertising and
Autobiographical.
Publications: Advertising,
1950-1953
Contains works written by Young and privately printed by the
Piandntilde;on Press in
Coapa, New Mexico. These works reflect his
philosophy of advertising as well as his role in developing propaganda to be
used on the Western Front during
World War I (A Footnote to History) and his
understanding of American capitalism during the early years of the
Cold War (A Story Still Untold). Arranged
alphabetically by title.
Box 1
The Compleat
Angler,
1953
A Footnote to
History,
1950
Mirror For a
Lady,
1954
Pills For the
Angels,
1952
A Story Still
Untold,
1951
Publications: Autobiographical,
1955-1956.
Contains photocopies of five books, privately printed by The
Piandntilde;on Press of Coapa, New Mexico. The works, as a whole, provide a
sketch of Young's childhood and adolescence as well as his early career and his
eventual advancement from a copy writer to a vice president in the J. Walter
Thompson Company. Arranged in the order of the author's chapter numbers.
Ego-Biography:
Chapter I-Boyhood,
1955
His Girl and His
Dinner: Chapter II of An Ego-Biography,
1956
The Itch for Orders:
Chapter III of An Ego-Biography,
1957
Hometown Boy Makes
Good: Chapter IV of An Ego-Biography,
1958
Full Corn in the
Ear: Chapter V of An Ego-Biography,
1959
Original Copies
International Branch Notebooks, 1927-1930.
Please see the description under Use Copies: International
Branch Notebooks,
1927-1930. (RESTRICTED)
Box 2
Notes on JWT Foreign Branch Management,
1927-1929(2 folders)
Miscellaneous Data Having to do with Organization and
Early Operations of Foreign Offices,
1928-1930
Miscellaneous Data Concerning Organization of Foreign
Offices,
1928-1931(2 folders)
Publications, 1950-1984.
Divided into two subcategories: Advertising and
Autobiographical. (RESTRICTED)
Publications: Advertising,
1950-1984.
Contains the originals of the use copies noted above as well
as English and foreign language editions of
A Technique for
Producing Ideas. There are multiple copies for some of the works.
Arranged alphabetically by title. (RESTRICTED)
Como Criar
Ideias, Fourth Edition,
1960
The Compleat
Angler,
1953
Eine Technik Zum
Produzieren von Ideen,
1975
A Footnote to
History,
1950
How to Become an
Advertising Man,
1979
Mirror For a
Lady,
1954
Pills For the
Angels,
1952
Box 3
A Technique for
Producing Ideas, Third Edition, Forward by William Bernbach,
1982
A Technique for
Producing Ideas, Third Edition,
1984
A Technique for
Producing Ideas, Fourth Edition,
1960
A Story Still
Untold,
1951
Publications: Autobiographical,
1955-1959.
Please see the description under Use Copies: Publications:
Autobiographical. Multiple copies of each work are present. Arranged in the
order of the author's chapter numbers. (RESTRICTED)
Ego-Biography:
Chapter I-Boyhood,
1955
His Girl and His
Dinner: Chapter II of An Ego-Biography,
1956
The Itch for Orders:
Chapter III of An Ego-Biography,
1957
Hometown Boy Makes
Good: Chapter IV of An Ego-Biography,
1958
Full Corn in the
Ear: Chapter V of An Ego-Biography,
1959
Oversize Materials
Oversize
3rd:JWT Range 5:B
International Branch Notebooks,
1927-1931
Oversize Cabinet
OC:V:14:
International Branch Notebooks,
1927-1929
