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[Identification of item], Evaporated Milk Association Collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Evaporated Milk Association Collection were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a transfer from Perkins Library in 2009. The collection was originally donated between 1929 and 1934.
Processed by Meghan Lyon, May 2010
Encoded by Meghan Lyon, May 2010
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Accessions included in this finding aid: 2009-0157.
Evaporated milk was developed over the course of the 19th century to address the need of armed forces in Europe to preserve food for long periods of time. Initially, milk was boiled and reduced, bottled with sugar, and then boiled again to create a seal. By the end of the American Civil War, sweetened condensed milk had grown in popularity, and its success encouraged inventors John B. Meyenberg and Louis Latzer to form the first unsweetened evaporated milk plant in Highland, Illinois. Meyenberg received an 1884 U.S. patent covering the process of sterilizing by steam under pressure. In 1885, evaporated milk was manufactured commercially for the first time.
The Spanish-American War further popularized evaporated milk as a sterile and transportable means of feeding troops. The introduction of homogenization in 1909 and continuous sterilization in 1922 led to increased consumption by the general public, and the milk was widely used to feed American troops during World War I.
The Evaporated Milk Association was organized by manufacturers in 1923, seeking to promote and encourage the consumption of evaporated milk, and also to research additional uses for the product. In the following years, recipes were developed and disseminated by the EMA through women's magazines, home economics professors, newspapers, and EMA pamphlets such as those sent to Duke Libraries. Furthermore, the Association sponsored numerous clinical studies (and reprinted independent studies) that encouraged the use of evaporated milk for infant feeding. This promotion was steadily expanded through the 1930s with an experimental kitchen, movies, educational outreach, and additional publications. The EMA sought to convince consumers that evaporated milk was a cost-effective, healthy, and safe product for budget-conscious family.
The Evaporated Milk Association continued to lobby and promote the industry throughout World War II and during the post-war period. It merged with the American Dairy Products Institute in 1987.
This collection originally arrived at Perkins Library as three binders of promotional materials from the Evaporated Milk Association. The materials have been transferred to Rubenstein Library and are no longer in binders.
The materials include both pamphlets and booklets covering a wide range of themes -- all relating to evaporated milk and targeting potential consumers. Topics include: recipes, both for regular cooking, desserts, and for preparing large quantities of food; studies and articles promoting infant feeding using evaporated milk; plays and activities for children centering on the emergency delivery of evaporated milk rations (among other supplies) to isolated areas; cost breakdowns of evaporated milk versus fresh milk, aimed at budget-conscious families; cartoons detailing the delicious flavor of evaporated milk; reprints of medical or scientific journal articles discussing evaporated milk's consumption in impoverished or malnourished communities, or by populations with various diseases; and articles about the history of evaporated milk, its manufacturing process, and general information about evaporated milk as a product. All of these pamphlets date from the pre-World War II period and are aimed at American readers.
The booklets and pamphlets have been kept in the order in which they were arranged in the binders. Dates are included when known.
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.