Summary Information
Bernice Fitz-Gibbon Papers
1937-1977
- Fitz-Gibbon, Bernice, 1894-1982
Micro 1097
4 reels of microfilm (35mm)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, an advertising executive who was one of the leading career women of the mid-twentieth century. Included are advertising copy written while in the employ of the Gimbels and Wanamaker's stores (1939-1954) and for her own firm, Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, Inc. (1954-1962); biographical material and publicity; speeches, articles, columns, and other writings; and personal miscellany. Many of the shorter writings concern the advertising field and her ideas on the position of women in business and as homemakers and consumers.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr1097 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, one of the first successful women in the retail advertising field in the United States, was born on September 6, 1894 and raised on a farm near Waunakee, Wisconsin. She attended Sacred Heart Academy and Convent and at age 17 taught for one year at a country school in Springfield Corners. In 1918 Fitz-Gibbon graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a major in English and philosophy. She spent the 1918-1919 school year teaching English in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
After some work in the newspaper field, Fitz-Gibbon moved to Chicago. There she joined Marshall Field's “College Squad” and learned the retail advertising business. Moving on to New York, she briefly worked for Wanamaker's and about 1923 joined the advertising staff at Macy's. During her twelve years at Macy's she created the slogan “It's Smart to be Thrifty,” which was widely heralded in advertising circles and the retail trade and which brought her national attention.
In 1936 Fitz-Gibbon resigned and returned to Wanamaker's to become their advertising director. As advertising director, Fitz-Gibbon insisted on full and specific product information. Unlike many retail advertisers of the time, her style was informal, witty, and informative, a style which brought her notice, success, and awards. She also relied heavily upon her extensive literary background and rich imagination in her ads, which were full of humor, alliterations, and puns. Her impact on New York is indicated by a cartoon in the New Yorker, which showed a matron searching her living room. “Where is the thesaurus and the French dictionary?“ she asks her husband. “I'm reading the Wanamaker's ad.”
In 1940 Fred Gimbel persuaded her to come to Gimbels, where she created another famous slogan, “Nobody but nobody but Gimbels.” and continued styling her ads “the way people speak.” During this time she wrote her autobiography, Macy's, Gimbels, and Me (1951)
In 1954 Fitz-Gibbon left Gimbels to open her own advertising agency, Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, Inc. To make her name better known to prospective accounts, she gave frequent speeches and wrote many articles and magazine columns. Among the honors she received were selection as “Woman of the Year in Business” by the women editors of the Associated Press (1955) and “Man of the Year” by the University of Wisconsin Alumni Foundation (1957) and election to the Retail Advertising Conference Hall of Fame (the second person so honored) and the Copywriters Hall of Fame (1967). In 1956 Fortune designated her as one of the nation's top businesswomen. In the area of fashion she received the Gimbels Milwaukee Fashion Award in 1960 as the Wisconsinite who had made the most distinguished contribution to that field. In 1959 she was voted one of the ten best coiffured women in the world.
Bernice Fitz-Gibbon was married to Herman Block, an attorney, who died in 1951. They had two children, Peter Block and Elizabeth Block Wing. Bernice Fitz-Gibbon died in 1982.
Scope and Content Note
The Bernice Fitz-Gibbon Papers document her long career in retail advertising, providing insight into her innovative approach, as well as the creation, evolution, and reworking of her ideas. The amount of publicity she generated nationally during her career is also amply documented. The largest part of the collection documents the period she worked for Gimbels (1940-1954) and for her own agency, Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, Inc. (1954-1962). The collection consists of advertising copy, biographical publicity and brief biographical sketches, writings, and personal miscellany. There are almost no business records or personal correspondence in the collection. The disposition of the records of Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, Inc. at the time she retired is unknown. Because of the poor quality of the originals, the entire collection has been microfilmed and the original papers destroyed.
The collection is organized in four series: Advertising Copy, Biographical Publicity, Writings, and Personal Miscellany.
ADVERTISING COPY consists of newspaper ads, proofs, photostats, and a few original layouts. These range in date from about 1939 to about 1963, but are mainly from her work at Gimbels and at her own agency. Prior to microfilming, the copy consisted of numerous large scrapbooks. The arrangement of the material within these volumes was chronological, although some sections were out of order and there was some overlap between volumes. Occasional writings such as her articles for Coats & Clark's (1958-1959) and for Haire Publications (1959-1962) and miscellaneous items are also included. Of particular note is one entire scrapbook, “Salute to Ireland,” which details an extensive ad campaign directed by Fitz-Gibbon and sponsored by Gimbels and American Airlines in 1949. Included are ads, publicity in newspapers and on the radio, photos of window displays, and details of the Miss Ireland Contest. Another volume concerns Pranges of Wisconsin.
BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLICITY consists mainly of published articles (1937-1963), which were originally mounted in four additional scrapbooks, and some loose items. The brief biographical sketches are materials of the type sent for introductory purposes to publications and to organizations who hosted her.
WRITINGS include speeches, articles, and columns. The speeches and articles are arranged chronologically and cover the period from 1939 to 1965, although primarily documenting the period of her self-employment. They are preceded by several lists which give some indication of Fitz-Gibbon's estimate of their relative importance. In addition, there is a list of speeches by others which do not appear in the papers. For some speeches and articles, the collection includes variant drafts, correspondence and programs, and research material. Following the chronological series are miscellaneous writings and poems which do not seem to be associated with particular speeches or articles. Four series of columns are included: “Fitz and Starts” for Good Housekeeping (1956-1956); “Fitz and Shoes” for the National Shoe Retailers Association's National Footwear News (1957-1958); advertising columns for Coats and Clark's in three series -- “Merchandising of Home Sewing Products Today,” “Needlecraft Products Merchandising Today,” and “Education of Women” (1958-1959); and “Bernice Fitz-Gibbon Speaks Her Mind” for Haire Publications, which appeared in the “Profit Parade” management department of its many retail clothing business publications (1959-1966). Most of the series are incomplete and the dates are approximate.
The 1967 edition of her autobiography, Macy's, Gimbels, and Me, is available in the Historcal Society Library but is not part of the microfilm.
PERSONAL MISCELLANY contain incidental material, but there are a few items of interest, notably her contract with Gimbels, which stipulated a salary of $50,000.00 per year plus 3/4 of 1 percent of the net profits of the store before federal taxes.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Elizabeth Block Wing, La Crosse, Wisconsin, October 22, 1982. Accession Number: MCHC82-64
Processed by Myrna Williamson, 1987.
Contents List
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Series: Advertising Copy
: Filmed without a frame counter.
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Copy written as a Gimbels and Wanamaker's employee
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Reel
1
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Volume 1, 1941-1953
: Includes Wanamaker's, 1939-1941.
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Volume 2, 1941, 1945-1947, 1949-1954
: Include Wanamaker's, 1939, undated; includes Gimbels Southgate (Milwaukee), 1954; includes ONT Thread, 1958.
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Reel
1
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Volume 3, 1948-1953
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Reel
1
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Volume 4, 1949 (“Salute to Ireland”)
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Copy for Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, Inc.
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Reel
1
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Volume 5
: Includes Journal-American, 1954-1955; Sommer & Kaufman (San Francisco), 1959-1960; Boy Scouts, 1955 (1 ad).
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Reel
1
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Volume 6
: Includes Richs (Knoxville), 1955; Coats and Clark's, 1958-1959; and Hengerer's (Buffalo), 1959.
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Reel
1
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Volume 7
: Includes Hathaways, 1957; John Wanamaker's/Westchester, 1955-1957; Gimbels, 1961-1962; and Carrs (West Orange, New Jersey), 1957.
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Reel
1
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Volume 8
: Includes Strooks, 1955-1958; Rosewin (Kansas City, Missouri), 1958; and Genesco Shoes (Nashville), 1960-1962.
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Reel
2
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Volume 9, Denver Dry Goods, 1958-1960
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Reel
2
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Volume 10
: Includes Wood, 1961; Talbotts, undated; Roos/ Atkins, 1960; Haire Publications, 1959-1962; and Madame Alexander, 1959-1961.
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Reel
2
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Volume 11, Pranges of Wisconsin, 1960-1962
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Reel
2
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Volume 12
: Includes Apex Discount Store (Pawtuckett, RI), 1961-1962; Seventeen, 1961-1962; Stewarts (Baltimore), 1962; Pranges, 1962-1963; Pogues (loose preliminary layouts), undated; and Miscellaneous loose items, 1963, undated.
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Reel
2
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Volume 13, 20th Century Fox, 1954
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Series: Biographical Publicity
: Volumes filmed without a frame counter.
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Scrapbooks
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Reel
2
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Volume 13, continued, 1955, 1958-1961
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Reel
3
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Volume 14, 1937-1955
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Reel
3
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Volume 15, 1955
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Reel
3
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Volume 16, 1955-1958
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Reel
3
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Volume 17, 1962-1963
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Reel
4
Frame
1
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Short biographical sketches, undated
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Series: Writings
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Speeches and articles
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Reel
4
Frame
22
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Circa 1939-1965
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Reel
4
Frame
914
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Undated
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Columns
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Reel
4
Frame
1082
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“Fitz and Starts,” Good Housekeeping, 1955-1956
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Reel
4
Frame
1143
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“Fitz and Shoes” National Footwear News, 1958-1959
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Coats & Clark's, 1958-1959
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Reel
4
Frame
1230
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“Merchandising of Home Sewing Products Today”
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Reel
4
Frame
1244
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“Needlecraft Products Merchandising Today”
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Reel
4
Frame
1262
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“Education of Women”
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“Bernice Fitz-Gibbon Speaks Her Mind,” Haire Publications, 1959-1966
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Reel
4
Frame
1356
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Series: Personal Miscellany, 1948-1977
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