DACS

jwtresorlibrary Inventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. New York Office. Resor Library Records, 1822-1967 Processed by: JWT Archives staff; machine-readable finding aid created by: Jessica Wood The John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing HistoryDavid M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Duke University Durham, N.C., USA

Aleph Number: 004176602

Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: March 2009Processed by JWT Archives staff, August 1981; finding aid encoded by Jessica Wood, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, March 2009 Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS and our local Style Guide Inventory of the J. Walter Thompson Company. New York Office. Resor Library Records, 1822-1967 The John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing HistoryDavid M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript LibraryDuke University Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185 USA

Descriptive Summary David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University J. Walter Thompson Company. New York Office. J. Walter Thompson Company. New York Office. Resor Library Records, 1822-1967 Material in English 4.5 Linear Feet 616 Items For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) is one of the largest and oldest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. The Resor Library was a project initiated by Helen Lansdowne Resor to enhance the intellectual and cultural environment in the JWT New York corporate headquarters at the Graybar Building on Lexington Avenue. The Resor Library Records contain books and book inventories, as well as correspondence, memoranda and invoices related to purchases of books for the JWT Resor Library between 1927-1930. The bulk of the books were published between 1890 and 1919. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this 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 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

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 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company. New York Office. Resor Library Records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Provenance

The Resor Library Records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a transfer in 1987.

Processing Information

Processed by JWT Archives staff, August 1981

Encoded by Jessica Wood, March 2009

Multiple accessions were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

Historical Note

In 1927 the New York office of the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) moved from 244 Madison Avenue to the Graybar Building at 420 Lexington Avenue. The event provided Helen Lansdowne Resor an opportunity to create a showcase in JWT's new corporate headquarters. She commissioned Norman Bel Geddes to design a lecture hall and hired numerous interior designers (among them Elsie de Worl) to decorate specific offices. Additionally, she commissioned Samuel Yellin to create iron grill-work for the executive wing and moved an entire Colonial kitchen to serve as a private dining room.

Lansdowne Resor wished to improve not only the visual appeal of the offices but also the intellectual and cultural environment. Therefore she commissioned noted historian Lewis Mumford to compile a list of three thousand books to be purchased for the use of company employees. Mumford was likely chosen because of his views on the study of civilization; Mumford emphasized the importance of the study of the interrelationships between social, economic and artistic events. He applied this approach in particular to the study of America's history and as a result is largely credited with the re-discovery and renewed appreciation of our popular cultural heritage.

Mumford solicited input from a variety of sources: existing book lists; outside experts; employees' recommendations; as well as his own choices. He divided the books into three general categories: Science, Arts, and Ideologies. Sub-categories were included under each general heading.

The project of physically collecting the individual volumes fell to Fanny Bell of the Research Library. Bell was charged to supply the volumes as quickly and cheaply as possible, which Bell began to do in February 1927. In April 1927 she discovered Dauber and Pine Bookshops, a used book dealer on Fifth Avenue. For the next six years, Dauber and Pine was the primary supplier for the library. By 1930 books began to disappear from the collection. The last survey, taken on October 23, 1967 listed 44 remaining titles. Sometime later the collection was dispersed. Materials in this collection comprise all the volumes that remain of the library.

[Notes derived from those written by JWT Archives staff.]

Collection Overview

The Resor Library Records contain books and book inventories, as well as correspondence, memoranda and invoices related to purchases of books for the JWT Resor Library between 1927-1930. The bulk of the books were published between 1890 and 1919.

The collection consists of two series: General Files and Books. The General Files Series contains correspondence, memoranda, invoices, book lists, and inventories related to Resor Library book purchases. The Books Series contains books purchased for and housed in the Resor Library.

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.

J. Walter Thompson Company. J. Walter Thompson Company. New York Office. Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990. Resor, Helen Landsdowne, 1886-1964. John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. Related Material

Related materials may be found in the following Hartman Center collections of the J. Walter Thompson Company Archives:

Colin Dawkins Papers

Norman H. Strouse Papers

Artifacts and Memorabilia

Newsletter Collection

Contents of Collection General Files, 1927-1967 (2 boxes)

Contains correspondence, memoranda, invoices, book lists, and inventories related to the Resor Library. Maintained in the original order received from JWT Archives.

1Mumford list of original 125, 1927 Apr. 2 Preliminary list, 1927 May 27-June 17 First thousand, 1927 June 8, 2 copies(2 folders) Preliminary list, 1927 June 29 Preliminary list, 1927 June Second thousand, 1927 June 17 Final list: Dauber and Pine copy, 1927 Oct.(4 folders) Final list: company copy, 1928 Sept.(4 folders) Correspondence, memoranda and invoices regarding dealers other than Dauber and Pine, 1927-1929(3 folders) Correspondence, memoranda and invoices regarding Dauber and Pine, 1927-1928(8 folders) 2Correspondence, memoranda and invoices regarding Dauber and Pine, 1929-1935(6 folders) Correspondence and memoranda regarding Lewis Mumford, 1927-1930(4 folders) Correspondence and memoranda regarding progress on Resor Library, 1927-1930 Lists of missing books, 1930-1942 Inventory of books, 1966-1967 Books, 1822-1928 (8 boxes)

Contains books purchased for the Resor Library at the recommendation of Lewis Mumford. Organized alphabetically by title.

3Binyon, Laurence. Painting in the Far East: An Introduction to the History of Pictorial Art in Asia Especially China and Japan, Second edition. New York: Longmans, Green & Co.; London: Edward Arnold, 1913 4Birrell, Augustine. Obiter Dicta. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893 Buckle, Henry Thomas. History of Civilization in England, vols. I-II. London: John W. Parker & Son, 1857 Butler, Samuel. Hudibras: A Poem, vols. I-II. London: Ackerman, Strand, 1822 Carlyle, Thomas. Frederick the Great, vol. I. London: Chapman and Hall,1858-1865 5Carlyle, Thomas. Frederick the Great, vols. II-V. London: Chapman and Hall, 1862-1865 6Carlyle, Thomas. Frederick the Great, vol. VI. London: Chapman and Hall, 1862-1865 Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. Don Quixote, vol. I. Translated by Henry Edward Watts. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1898 7Compayre, Gabriel. Abelard and the Origin and Early History of Universities. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893 Croce, Benedetto. European Literature in the Nineteenth Century. Translated by Douglas Ainslie. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1924 Cushing, Frank Hamilton. Zuni Folk Tales. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902 Farrand, Livingston. Basis of American History: 1500-1900, vol. 2 of American Nation: A History. Edited by Albert Bushnell Hart. New York: Harper & Bros., 1904 Faure, Elie. Ancient Art, vol. 1 of History of Art. Translated by Walter Pach. New York: Harper & Bros., 1921 Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison and John Jay. The Federalist, vol. I. Washington, D.C., M. Walter Dunne, 1901 8Holroyd, Charles. Michael Angelo Buonarroti. London: Duckworth and Co., 1911 Homer, Iliad of Homer. Translated by Alexander Pope. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1899 9Pater, Walter. The Renaissance. New York: MacMillian and Co., 1901 Ruskin, John. Fors Clavigera: Letters, vols. I-IV. London: George Allen, Sunnyside, Orpington, 1896 Ruskin, John. Sesame and Lilies. London: George Allen, Sunnyside, Orpington, 1898 Ruskin, John. Seven Lamps of Architecture. London: George Allen, Sunnyside, Orpington, 1898 10Ruskin, John. Stones of Venice, vols. II and III. London: George Allen, Sunnyside, Orpington, 1898 Smollett, Tobias. The Expedition of Humphry Clinker. London: George Routledge and Sons., Ltd., 1895 Thackeray, William Makepeace. Irish Sketch Book. London: Smith, Elder & Co.; Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1886 Thackeray, William Makepeace. Lovell the Widower. London: Smith, Elder & Co.; Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1886 Whitehead, A.N. Organization of Thought, Educational and Scientific. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1917