William J. Hammer Papers
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Hammer, William J. (William Joseph), 1858-1934 (electrical engineer)
setName: label: See more items in
content: William J. Hammer Collection
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1851-1957
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0069, Series 1
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: The correspondence is arranged in two chronological subseries: Boxes 1-9, Incoming and outgoing, 1879-1935; and Boxes 9-9A, outgoing, 1902-1928. The reason for this arrangement is not known. Each document is numbered and a calendar listing of each letter showing names of correspondents and date has been prepared. (See "List of Correspondence" in control file)
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This series consists of correspondence, mostly incoming, from 1879-1935, but also includes diaries, notebooks, biographical information, patent material, pamphlets, writings by Hammer, and a badge, 1925. The correspondence consists mostly of letters to and from Hammer regarding his project of thirty-four years, his Historical Collection of Incandescent Electric Lamps for which he built a permanent home in New York City. There are also many letters from companies and businesses, universities and individuals, for whom Hammer served as a consultant. Some of Hammer's correspondents were well known scientists of the day: Alexander Graham Bell, Henri Becquerel, Pierre and Madam Curie, Lord Kelvin, and Secretary S.P. Langley of the Smithsonian Institution, to mention a few. There is extensive correspondence related to Hammer's research, including his work on selenium and radium. Also included is correspondence between Hammer and professional societies in which he held membership. The correspondence between 1925 and 1935 is devoted to the cataloguing of his collection and to the establishment of a museum at Dearborn, Michigan, in honor of Thomas A. Edison, a project Henry Ford agreed to fund.