Title: James G. Zimmerman Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1875-1941

Creator:

• Zimmerman, James G. (James Garfield), 1878-1939

Call Number: Mss 1054; PH 6577

Quantity: 2.6 c.f. (7 archives boxes) and 71 photographs (1 archives box)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of James G. Zimmerman, a Wisconsin inventor, consisting primarily of his research and patent applications for various inventions. Prominent inventions documented include color photograph processing, a dry cell storage battery, a Shadograf machine, an automatic pencil eraser, and an internal combustion engine (the Lawrence engine). Also includes correspondence between Zimmerman and Paul A. Lawrence, brothers Clarence Irving Zimmerman and Oliver B. Zimmerman, and various companies primarily regarding the aforementioned inventions; and diaries and class notes documenting his years at the university as a student in electrochemical engineering.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss01054

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James Garfield Zimmerman was born on December 7, 1878 in Wisconsin. His father, Charles F. Zimmerman, was born circa 1849 in Prussia. His mother, Elizabeth, was born in Wisconsin in 1849. Charles and Elizabeth were married in Milwaukee and had six children: Flora E. (b. 1872), Oliver B. (b. 1874), Viola M. (b. 1877), James G., Clarence I. (b. 1879), and Lilian H. (b. 1883).

James attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1899 to 1904, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electro-Chemical Engineering. He returned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1912-1913 and earned a second degree in Electrical Engineering. He taught classes at the School of Automotive Electricity in Milwaukee in 1921-1922, where he was also the secretary of the Society of Automotive Electricity.

Sometime after 1917, James Zimmerman married Fannie Otjen. She died during childbirth soon after they married, along with the twins she was carrying. In 1923, he married Katharine Hall. They had one child, born in 1924, named James (Jimmy) Hall Zimmerman.

Zimmerman had various engineering and research and development jobs throughout his life, including jobs at the Mechanical Appliance Company in Milwaukee working with electric motors and generators; Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company in West Allis working with electrical and mechanical machinery; Splitdorf Electrical Company in Chicago working with magnetos, spark plugs, and electrical appliances; and the Burgess Battery Company in Madison working with dry batteries and mufflers.

James was an inventor, and spent much of his time creating and promoting his various inventions. This required considerable time and money; often he received loans from his wife, Katharine, and his mother-in-law, Josephine, which caused some strain in the family. The inventions that James spent the most time on included a dry cell storage battery and a color photographic process. Other inventions of note include a Shadograf machine, an automatic pencil eraser, and various inventions related to the automobile. He held numerous patents, although none of them ever brought much, if any, success. He was also involved in helping to sell and promote the inventions of his friends, and was heavily invested in the Lawrence Engine Cycle, invented by P.A. Lawrence. James died while in Gentry, Arkansas of an abscessed burst appendix on April 20, 1939.

List of patents owned by James G. Zimmerman (list not exhaustive):

Patent #	Date (filed; approved)	Description
1,023,543	1911; 1912	Resistance element
1,055,963	1912; 1913	Current collecting device for dynamo-electric machines
1,178,772	1911; 1916	Electrical measuring instrument
1,187,796	1910; 1916	Fluid pressure governor
1,200,687	1913; 1916	Potential starter
1,223,549	1912; 1917	Circuit-protecting apparatus
1,231,109	1913; 1917	Automatic synchronizer
1,579,464	1918; 1926	Method and means for producing colored photographs
1,583,381	1918; 1926	Film Pack
1,741,802	1923; 1929	Rheostatic circuit
1,746,330	1926; 1930	Color photography
1,892,691	1929; 1933	Coating Composition for Dry Cells
1,892,692	1929; 1933	Dry Cell
1,916,709	1927; 1933	Dry Battery
1,972,123	1931; 1934	Shadow Projector
2,075,492	1932; 1937	Storage battery plate

The James G. Zimmerman papers document Zimmerman's life and work as an inventor and electrochemical engineer. The papers date from 1875-1941, with the bulk of the materials documenting the period between 1899-1939. The collection largely consists of notes, sketches, blueprints, and patent specifications of various inventions on which Zimmerman worked during his lifetime. Major inventions include a color photographic process, dry cell storage battery, a Shadograf machine, automatic pencil eraser, and the Lawrence engine. Also present is correspondence between Zimmerman and fellow inventors, family, and businesses regarding his or others’ inventions. Aspects of his electrochemical engineering life is represented in the collection through his university journals and class notes from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his teaching materials from the School of Automotive Electricity.

The papers are divided into three series, FAMILY AND SCHOOL MATERIALS, INVENTION MATERIALS, and VISUAL MATERIALS. The FAMILY AND SCHOOL MATERIALS includes four subseries: Pre-college composition notebook, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Automotive Electricity, and Oliver B. Zimmerman. The INVENTION MATERIALS includes seven subseries: Writing utensils, Color photography, Clarence Irving Zimmerman, General/other inventions, Lawrence Engine correspondence, Dry cell storage battery, and Shadograf. The VISUAL MATERIALS series includes two subseries: Family and school materials, and Invention materials. All series and subseries are arranged roughly chronologically. This represents both an original and imposed order.

Within the FAMILY AND SCHOOL MATERIALS series, the Pre-college composition notebook subseries consists of a single composition notebook from an unknown date prior to Zimmerman's college years. The University of Wisconsin-Madison subseries reflects the education that Zimmerman acquired at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the turn of the 20th century (1899-1903). It includes class notes, scrapbooks, and various ephemera, and is arranged chronologically. The School of Automotive Electricity subseries consists of the material related to his year teaching at the school of Automotive Electricity in Milwaukee (1921-1922). It includes research notes and numerous blueprints on spark plugs and magnetos, among other automobile-related inventions. He taught at the school, and he was secretary of the Society of Automotive Electricity during this time. The Oliver B. Zimmerman subseries includes information regarding Zimmerman’s death and personal life in the form of telegrams, letters, and documents (1937-1941). It should be noted that these papers were organized by James’s brother Oliver, and include letters and documents composed after Zimmerman’s death. Their original order has been maintained.

The INVENTION MATERIALS series forms the crux of this collection, and is the most informative in explaining Zimmerman's life as an inventor. The materials date from 1875-1939. The series is arranged chronologically, and has both an original and imposed order. Most subseries consist of research notes and sketches, patent materials, and correspondence with individuals or companies regarding particular inventions. The Clarence Irving Zimmerman subseries includes the thesis and research notes of James's brother Clarence, although it is apparent that James helped his brother in this work. The Lawrence Engine correspondence subseries consists solely of correspondence about the Lawrence Engine, invented by P.A. Lawrence. It appears that Zimmerman was heavily involved in the promotion of the Lawrence Engine. The correspondence covers quite a few years, and personal matters are also often discussed in the correspondence between the two men. Files within the individual subseries are arranged chronologically, and most retain their basic original order. The correspondence with companies under General/other inventions is also partially arranged alphabetically. Files relating to Zimmerman's research on batteries were scattered throughout his collection, therefore the Dry cell storage battery subseries has an imposed order which is arranged chronologically. The battery correspondence, however, was very well organized by date and individual. Examples of Zimmerman’s photographic process and Shadograf cut-outs can be found in the VISUAL MATERIALS series.

Within the VISUAL MATERIALS series, the Family and school materials subseries includes a few photos of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and two group photos from his time at the School of Automotive Electricity. The Invention materials subseries includes many examples of his work and experimentation with color photography. Examples of cut-outs he used with his Shadograf machine are also present. Numerous unlabeled photographs are present that depict the various inventions on which Zimmerman worked.

Further information about James G. Zimmerman and his family can be found in the Hall, Zimmerman and Viebahn Family Papers, 1808-1966 (Mss 1053, PH 6579).

Acquisition Information

Presented by Elizabeth H. Zimmerman, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, September 2008. Accession Number: M2009-009

Processing Information

Processed by Emily Christopherson (Practicum student), May 2009.

Mss 1054	Series: Family and School Materials
Box   1 Folder   1	Subseries: Pre-college composition notebook, pre-1899
	Subseries: University of Wisconsin-Madison	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2	Class notes, 1899
	Diary scrapbook
Box   1 Folder   3	1899-1901
Box   1 Folder   4	1902-1903
Box   1 Folder   5	Ephemera, 1899-1903
	Subseries: School of Automotive Electricity	⇧
Box   1 Folder   6-7	Research notes and blueprints, 1917-1922
Box   2 Folder   1-2	Research notes and blueprints, 1917-1922 (continued)
Box   2 Folder   3	Lecture schedule, 1921
Box   2 Folder   4	Administrative data, 1921-1922
Box   2 Folder   5	Society meeting minutes, 1921-1922
	Subseries: Oliver B. Zimmerman	⇧
Box   2 Folder   6	James's last letters to Oliver, 1938-1939
Box   2 Folder   7	Legal matters/letters to Oliver after James's death, 1939-1941
Box   2 Folder   8	James's personal letters and items, circa 1937
	Series: Invention Materials	⇧
	Subseries: Writing utensils
Box   2 Folder   9	Automatic pencil eraser patents, 1875-1937
Box   2 Folder   10	Automatic pencil eraser notes, 1936-1937
Box   2 Folder   11	Automatic fountain pen filler, 1930-1937
	Subseries: Color photography	⇧
	Research notes
Box   2 Folder   12	Idea book #5, 1907-1908
Box   3 Folder   1-5	1923-1938
Box   3 Folder   6-9	Patent applications/specifications, 1910-1933
Box   4 Folder   1	Correspondence with companies, 1928-1936
	Subseries: Clarence Irving Zimmerman, 1909	⇧
Box   4 Folder   2	Circuits thesis
Box   4 Folder   3	Correspondence with James
Box   4 Folder   4	Patent applications and specifications
Box   4 Folder   5	Research notes on rectifiers and other subjects
	Subseries: General/other inventions	⇧
Box   4 Folder   6	Patent applications/specifications, 1913-1914
Box   4 Folder   7	Research ideas, 1926-1936
Box   4 Folder   8	Harry Dey electric car, 1926
	Correspondence
Box   4 Folder   9	A. Sudduth, 1927-1935
Box   5 Folder   1-2	Oliver B. Zimmerman, 1933-1938
Box   5 Folder   3-7	Companies, 1931-1935, 1938-1939
	Subseries: Lawrence Engine correspondence	⇧
Box   5 Folder   8	James with others, 1921-1938
Box   5 Folder   9-10	James G. Zimmerman and P.A. Lawrence, 1922-1937
Box   6 Folder   1-5	James G. Zimmerman and P.A. Lawrence, 1922-1937 (continued)
Box   6 Folder   6-8	James with companies, 1933-1938
	Subseries: Dry cell storage battery	⇧
	Research notes
Box   6 Folder   9	1927-1937
Box   7 Folder   1-2	, 1927-1937 (continued)
	Notebook
Box   7 Folder   3	1931-1932
Box   7 Folder   4	1934-1936
Box   7 Folder   5	Correspondence and notes to patent attorneys, 1928-1931
Box   7 Folder   6	Newspaper clippings on Drumm battery, 1930-1934
Box   7 Folder   7	Patent applications/specifications, 1937
Box   7 Folder   8	Battery casings, undated
Box   7 Folder   9	Subseries: Shadograf, 1931	⇧
PH 6577	Series: Visual Materials	⇧
	Subseries: Family and school materials
Box   1 Folder   1	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Box   1 Folder   1	School of Automotive Electricity
	Subseries: Invention materials	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2	Color photography
Box   1 Folder   3	General/other inventions
Box   1 Folder   4	Shadograf