DACS

nationalbiscuitcompany Guide to the National Biscuit Company photograph album, 1900-1935 Processed by: Alice Poffinberger; machine-readable finding aid created by: Noah Huffman David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Duke University Durham, N.C., USA

Aleph Number: 004054982

Machine-readable finding aid derived from MARC record via DukeMARC2EAD.xslDate of source: February 2010Processed by Alice Poffinberger, February 2010; Finding Aid encoded by Noah Huffman, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, February 2010 Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS and local Style Guide Guide to the National Biscuit Company photograph album, 1900-1935 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Duke University Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185 USA

Descriptive Summary David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University National Biscuit Company. National Biscuit Company photograph album, 1900-1935 Materials in English 1 item (0.6 lin. ft.) For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. The National Biscuit Company was founded in 1898, the product of a merger among the American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company, the New York Biscuit Company, and the United States Baking Company. The new conglomerate was headquartered in New York City with 114 bakeries across the United States. Over the next several decades the company grew by acquiring companies such as the F.H. Bennett Company, maker of Milk-Bone Pet Products, and the Shredded Wheat Company, maker of Triscuit Wafers and Shredded Wheat Cereal. The name "Nabisco" was first used as the name for a cracker introduced in 1901, but the corporate name did not change to Nabisco until 1971. The Uneeda Biscuit, National Biscuit Company's first packaged cracker, was the subject of the company's first million-dollar advertising campaign. Collection comprises a photograph album containing 129 gelatin silver prints and two cyanotypes by anonymous photographers. The majority of the photographs feature storefront and grocery displays of National Biscuit Company cookies and crackers, including Oreos, Animal Crackers, Fig Newtons, Graham Crackers, Uneeda Biscuits, among others. Several of the photographs indicate that the images were taken in Buffalo, New York, and many document the National Biscuit Company's sales force there, posed formally, attending sales meetings, or engaged together in leisure activities. The album also contains photographs of horse drawn delivery wagons, a display for Milk Bone dog biscuits, children dressed in costumes that promote company products, and a classroom of children "playing store." Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

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], in the National Biscuit Company photograph album, 1900-1935, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Provenance

Purchase, 2008

Processing Information

Processed by: Alice Poffinberger, February 2010

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, February 2010

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2008-0275

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

The National Biscuit Company was founded in 1898, the product of a merger among the American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company, the New York Biscuit Company, and the United States Baking Company. The new conglomerate was headquartered in New York City with 114 bakeries across the United States. Over the next several decades the company grew by acquiring companies such as the F.H. Bennett Company, maker of Milk-Bone Pet Products, and the Shredded Wheat Company, maker of Triscuit Wafers and Shredded Wheat Cereal. The name "Nabisco" was first used as the name for a cracker introduced in 1901, but the corporate name did not change to Nabisco until 1971. The Uneeda Biscuit, National Biscuit Company's first packaged cracker, was the subject of the company's first million-dollar advertising campaign.

Collection Overview

Collection comprises a photograph album containing 129 gelatin silver prints and two cyanotypes by anonymous photographers. The majority of the photographs feature storefront and grocery displays of National Biscuit Company cookies and crackers, including Oreos, Animal Crackers, Fig Newtons, Graham Crackers, Uneeda Biscuits, among others. Several of the photographs indicate that the images were taken in Buffalo, New York, and many document the National Biscuit Company's sales force there, posed formally, attending sales meetings, or engaged together in leisure activities. The album also contains photographs of horse drawn delivery wagons, a display for Milk Bone dog biscuits, children dressed in costumes that promote company products, and a classroom of children "playing store."

Subject Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Biscuits. Food industry and trade--United States--History. Food industry and trade--New York (State)--Buffalo--History. Grocery trade--United States--History. Grocery trade--New York (State)--Buffalo. C.J. Thompson & Co. John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. Nabisco Brands, Inc.--History. Nabisco, Inc.--History. National Biscuit Company--History. National Biscuit Company. Buffalo (N.Y.)--Commerce. Photograph album. Photographs. Cyanotypes Gelatin silver prints.