Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Instruments
name: label: Creator
content: Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969
topic: label: Topic
content: Surgical instruments and apparatus
label: Topic
content: Surveying -- Instruments -- 1800-1810
label: Topic
content: Mail-order business -- Catalogs
label: Topic
content: Engineering instruments
label: Topic
content: Wild flowers -- Specimens
label: Topic
content: Magnetic instruments
label: Topic
content: Surveying -- Instruments -- 1870-1940
label: Topic
content: Consumer goods -- Catalogs
label: Topic
content: Specimens -- list of
label: Topic
content: Mathematical instruments
label: Topic
content: Spectrum analysis -- Instruments
label: Topic
content: Retail trade
label: Topic
content: Architectural design
label: Topic
content: Scientific apparatus and instruments industry
label: Topic
content: Architectural drawing
label: Topic
content: Artists' materials
label: Topic
content: Microscopes
label: Topic
content: Scales (Weighing instruments)
label: Topic
content: advertising -- Specimens -- 1840-1950
label: Topic
content: Industrial productivity -- measurements
label: Topic
content: Drawing
label: Topic
content: Dental instruments and apparatus -- 1880-1940
label: Topic
content: Laboratories
label: Topic
content: Optics
label: Topic
content: Dental instruments and apparatus -- 1930-1970
label: Topic
content: Dental instruments and apparatus
label: Topic
content: Scientific apparatus and instruments
label: Topic
content: Medical instruments and apparatus
label: Topic
content: Zoological specimens -- Collection and preservation
label: Topic
content: Specimens -- catalog of
label: Topic
content: Measuring instruments industry
label: Topic
content: Measuring instruments
label: Topic
content: Plant specimens
label: Topic
content: Tools
label: Topic
content: Architecture
label: Topic
content: Chemistry -- 19th century
label: Topic
content: Chemistry -- Distillation
label: Topic
content: Medical Equipment
label: Topic
content: advertising -- Business ephemera
label: Topic
content: Medical supplies
label: Topic
content: Surveying and surveying instruments
label: Topic
content: Chemistry
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Instruments is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
creator: label: Creator
content: Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969
setName: label: See more items in
content: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Instruments
abstract: label: Summary
content: A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Instruments forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
function: label: Function
content: Scientific instruments manufacturing
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.56 Cubic feet (consisting of 10 boxes, 1 folder, 1 oversize folder, 1 map case folder.)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1800-1965
label: Date
content: bulk 1830-1930
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Instruments
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Ephemera
label: Type
content: Printed ephemera
label: Type
content: Sales letters
label: Type
content: Business cards
label: Type
content: Trade catalogs
label: Type
content: Trade literature
label: Type
content: Sales catalogs
label: Type
content: Sales records
label: Type
content: Manufacturers' catalogs
label: Type
content: Publications
label: Type
content: Receipts
label: Type
content: Commercial catalogs
label: Type
content: Surveying instruments
label: Type
content: Trade cards
label: Type
content: Catalogs
label: Type
content: Manuals
label: Type
content: Invoices
label: Type
content: Business ephemera
label: Type
content: Advertisements
label: Type
content: Mail order catalogs
label: Type
content: Advertising cards
label: Type
content: Advertising
label: Type
content: Advertising mail
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Print advertising
label: Type
content: Business letters
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Letterheads
label: Type
content: Periodicals
label: Type
content: Advertising fliers
label: Type
content: Catalogues
label: Type
content: Printed material
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Instruments is arranged in two subseries.  Researchers are advised to look both under the company name and under the category of catalogue of products it produces.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: In 2016, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund, the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History implemented the use of minimal level processing standards to increase information about and facilitate access to more of our collections.

For this subject, minimal processing included arrangement to the folder level, based on prior processing and preservation action, with retention of the pre-existing arrangement when possible, if applicable. Otherwise, an order was imposed by the Processing Archivist. Some materials were consolidated to eliminate excess bulk but items within folders were not arranged further. The guide may or may not include a more refined list of folder contents. Nonarchival housing was replaced for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not
all been removed.

Minimal level processing and machine-readable finding aid completed by Nicole Blechynden 2016 October.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Ephemera
label: Genre/Form
content: Printed ephemera
label: Genre/Form
content: Sales letters
label: Genre/Form
content: Business cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Trade catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Trade literature
label: Genre/Form
content: Sales catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Sales records
label: Genre/Form
content: Manufacturers' catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Publications -- Business
label: Genre/Form
content: Receipts
label: Genre/Form
content: Commercial catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Surveying instruments
label: Genre/Form
content: Trade cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Manuals
label: Genre/Form
content: Invoices
label: Genre/Form
content: Business ephemera
label: Genre/Form
content: Advertisements
label: Genre/Form
content: Mail order catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Advertising cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Advertising
label: Genre/Form
content: Advertising mail
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Print advertising
label: Genre/Form
content: Business letters
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Letterheads
label: Genre/Form
content: Periodicals
label: Genre/Form
content: Advertising fliers
label: Genre/Form
content: Catalogues
label: Genre/Form
content: Printed material
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Instrument category covers devices and tools used in arts and sciences, including but not limited to architecture, biology, medicine, geography, physics, chemistry and related laboratory investigation, navigation, in industry with machinery, astronomy, and a variety of optics including reading glasses.  An emphasis on engineering and survey work is evident in the volume of Drawing and Surveying catalogues present. 

Materials include a small sampling of business records, particular invoices and receipts, with also some advertisement, correspondence, financials, import/export documents. The bulk of material is comprised of product catalogues, many with detailed descriptions, specifications, and illustrations, plus pricing information.  A number of catalogues are in German.  A small portion of the catalogues are not instruments per se, but are accompaniments used with instruments.  For example, specimen slides for microscopes.  A few company publications are present as well. Several guides on the use of or history of some apparatus are present, as are a few stand-alone illustrations, though most catalogues are heavily illustrated.  

No extensive runs or complete records exist for any single company, brand, and no particular depth is present for any singular subtopic though some publications may provide general and historical overviews of a person, company, or facet of industry.  Separate folders were used for a few companies which have a small bulk of material.  Companies of note: Bausch & Lomb, Sperry Corporation and Wheelco Instrument Company.

With the industries and trades represented in this category, there is overlap with Hardware, Tools, and Mensuration.
relatedmaterial: label: Forms Part Of
content: Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material