Title: International Harvester Company Glass Negative Series
Inclusive Dates: circa 1900-1939

Creator:

• International Harvester Company

Call Number: Micro 2029; PH 3702; PH 3703; PH 3704; PH 3705; PH 3706; PH 3707; PH 3708; PH 3709; PH 3710; PH 3711; PH 3712; PH 3713; PH 3714; PH 3715; PH 3716; PH 3717; PH 3718; PH 3727; PH 3728; PH 4285

Quantity: 40 reels of microfilm (35 mm), approximately 4,000 photoprints, 3,200 copy negatives, and 5,000 glass plate negatives

Repository:

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

Archival Locations:

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

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Microfilmed copies, prints, and some originals of over 12,000 glass plate and nitrate negatives from the Advertising, Extension, Consumer Relations, and Engineering Departments of the International Harvester Company, a Chicago, Illinois based manufacturer of trucks, engines, farm machinery and implements, and construction equipment formed in 1902. Images include depictions, from approximately 1900 to 1939, of the company's product line, factories (McCormick, Deering, Plano, Champion, Osborn and Weber Wagon Works), dealerships and showrooms, employees, expositions and county fairs, agricultural methods and practices, field testing of equipment, foreign subsidiaries, manufacturing equipment and processes, product development and servicing, promotional activities, rural landscapes and small towns, road construction, railroads, binder twine mills and plantations. Among the subjects documented are the activities of a large-scale, diversified, multinational manufacturing corporation, the mechanization of agriculture, the growth of the modern transportation industry, and the transition of the United States to an urbanized industrial nation.

Note:

The project to arrange, microfilm, print, and describe the series was made possible by a grant from the Brooks and Hope B. McCormick Foundation.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr2029

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The negatives transferred from the International Harvester Company were originally part of the picture files of various photo, publication, and engineering departments. Activities of these departments included the production of corporate publications such as Harvester World, U.S. Tractor Farming, sales literature, operator's manuals, parts catalogs, posters and ephemera, annual reports, and educational materials for use by the extension and other IHC divisions.

The over 12,000 large-format negatives were arranged in negative number order and microfilmed. A 35 mm reduction negative was created for each microfilmed image by direct-duplicate copying and an additional 4×5" copy negative was created for approximately 3200 of the more exceptional or significant images. About 4000 of the original negatives were printed and these prints have been organized into eighteen subject lots. Most of the prints are 11×14", however some were printed as 8×10", usually in cases where the negative has not been retained.

Described in more detail below are the eighteen subject photo lots and the microfilm. A portion of the original glass negatives have been retained as have the reduction negatives and the 3200 copy negatives. Additional photos and microfilm document work done on the collection. The original negatives, reduction negatives, copy negatives, and additional photos and microfilm are not described below but are recorded in the catalog entry only.

Each image is cataloged in an automated database and indexed by date, product type or name, setting, purpose, subject matter, and image quality.

Access Restrictions

Access is to the microfilm and to the prints only. Consult the reference archivist regarding access to the negatives.

Processing Information

Processed by Liz Chilsen, 1985-1986.

PH 3702	Series: Best of Collection Physical Description: 281 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Exceptional quality or historically significant images: An overview of the type of material available in the collection but not strictly representative of the collection as a whole. Views include landscapes, industrial plants, manufacturing scenes, farm machinery, expositions, small towns, cities, dealerships, marketing campaigns, the McCormick family.
PH 3703	Series: Plants and Operations, circa 1900-1930 Physical Description: 511 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Industrial plants, manufacturing processes, and industrial operations of the International Harvester Company: Interior and exterior views of industrial plant sites, assembly lines, electrical generators, foundries, metalworking machines, finishing and painting rooms, materials handling, warehouses, railroad yards, shipping and loading docks, industrial accidents, research and testing laboratories and equipment, and unidentified parts photos.	⇧
PH 3704	Series: Employee Relations, circa 1900-1929 (bulk 1912-1918) Physical Description: 246 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Photographs of employees, employee services and programs, plant administration, and related activities of the International Harvester Company: McCormick Works Club House; dining halls, recreational centers, health care services, providers, and facilities; improvements in work place conditions, educational activities, portraits of working people. Group portraits at meetings of employee clubs and organizations, corporate conferences.	⇧
PH 3705	Series: Photo Department Operations, circa 1900-1930 Physical Description: 142 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Photographs related to IHC photographic departments and operations: Documentation of the diversity of operations and techniques employed in a large industrial photo department of the period. Masking, highlighting, retouching and labelling techniques; field and studio conditions, motion picture crews. Photographs reveal procedures for the production of material to illustrate corporate advertisements, parts and operators' manuals, posters, catalogs, and educational materials.	⇧
PH 3706	Series: Dealerships and Promotion, circa 1900-1930 Physical Description: 323 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: IHC dealerships, service programs, promotional and commemorative material: Documents the extent and diversity of the company's sales and service network. Interior and exterior views of farm implement and truck dealerships; displays, showrooms, service and parts distribution, promotional events, parades, the “Red Baby” service truck, calendars, commemorative coins, catalogs, posters, advertisements, material related to company history. Meetings of Extension Department evening classes, research plots.	⇧
PH 3707	Series: Harvesting, circa 1900-1930 Physical Description: 592 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note Harvesting methods and the design, manufacturing and use of harvesting machines produced by International Harvester: Haying machines; mowers, tedders, rakes stackers, loaders, and balers. Corn machines; binders, pickers, ensilage cutters, feed grinders. Threshing machines, headers, cotton and potato pickers. Field testing and use and studio views of parts, details, and attachments. See also Grain binders	⇧
PH 3708	Series: Grain Binders, circa 1900-1928 Physical Description: 287 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Design, manufacture, and use of grain binders produced by the International Harvester Company: Horse drawn binders in the field, harvesting scenes, studio views of parts, attachments, and details. Exceptional views of rural landscapes and life in the United States at the turn of the century.	⇧
PH 3709	Series: Soil Preparation, circa 1910-1930 Physical Description: 475 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Machines and implements used in soil preparation and maintenance; tillage, planting, cultivation, and fertilization: Plows, disc harrows, manure spreaders, cultivators, planters, seeders, rotary hoes, lime spreaders, spraying units.	⇧
PH 3710	Series: Tractors, circa 1910-1929 Physical Description: 194 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Manufacture, marketing, service, and use of tractors and engines produced by IHC: Field and studio views of McCormick-Deering 10-20, 15-30, Farmall Regular tractors, crawler and industrial tractors, and engines on farms, construction sites and industrial settings. Non-agricultural processes and/or subject matter include: land clearing, snow plowing, excavation, circus, baseball, horse racing, motion picture.	⇧
PH 3711	Series: Trucks, 1913-1929 Physical Description: 414 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Manufacture, marketing, service, and use of trucks produced by IHC: Depicted are delivery trucks, truck fleets with small businesses and employees, farm and livestock operations, ambulances, buses, fire engines, and long-haul trucks. Studio views of interchangeable body and frame design, dealerships and showrooms, service stations, advertising and promotional events, copy photographs from heavily retouched original photoprints. Exceptional documentation of the growth of highway transportation, and the urbanization of the United States, particularly in New York and New Jersey.	⇧
PH 3712	Series: Sahara Trucks, 1927-1929 Physical Description: 37 8×10" photoprints from original negatives. Most images were taken with a 3×4" amateur camera.  Scope and Content Note: Photograph of events, scenes, and activities surrounding a promotional campaign in which Baron Bror von Blixen drove an International Harvester Company truck across the Sahara Desert: Included are scenes of African village life, von Blixen and travel party posed with truck, promotional campaign upon their return to the U.S.	⇧
PH 3713	Series: Road Construction and Street Maintenance, 1916-1929 Physical Description: 65 8×10" photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Use of IHC trucks, tractors, and construction equipment in the creation and maintenance of roads, highways, and city streets: Included are depictions of excavation, tree removal, paving, snow removal, erection and servicing of telephone lines, laying culverts and water pipes. Equipment includes graders, earth movers, trucks, and tractors.	⇧
PH 3714	Series: Cream Separators, 1918-1929 Physical Description: 60 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Design, marketing, promotion, and use of the Primrose Ball-Bearing Cream Separator: Marketing techniques include use of a giant model of the Primrose. Included are delivery, service, display, advertising and copy photographs from heavily retouched photoprints.	⇧
PH 3715	Series: Twine Production and Use, circa 1920 Physical Description: 73 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Plantations, manufacturing, marketing, sale, and use of IHC binder twine with IHC grain binders: Views of sisal plantations in Yucatan, Mexico, (possibly also Cuban and/or Philippine plantations), shipping, delivery of raw materials, marketing and promotional materials. Noteworthy views of dockworkers and manufacturing.	⇧
PH 3716	Series: Views, circa 1900-1930 Physical Description: 171 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Photographic views of rural and urban landscapes from the Glass Negative Series of the International Harvester Company Collection; exceptional documentation of rural and small town life in this period: Included are views of farm lands, farm buildings, dairy cattle and other livestock, sheaved grain, barns, houses and family views, gardens, backyards, grain elevators, city streets, parks, gas stations, garages, docks, and railroad yards.	⇧
PH 3717	Series: Identifiable Foreign Views, 1900-1928 Physical Description: 96 prints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Photograph of IHC activities outside of the U.S.: Included are pictures of horse-drawn farm machines in the field, shipping, foreign agencies or dealerships, hand methods of farming, farm yards and conditions, and sisal plantations. Countries include France, Mexico, Algiers, Sweden, India, Norway, and Russia.	⇧
PH 3727	Series: Miscellaneous Prints from Unavailable Negatives, circa 1900-1930 Physical Description: 63 8×10" photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Photographs of farm machinery, agricultural implements, trucks, and other IHC products from negatives which were not donated to the SHSW at the time of the project.	⇧
PH 3728	Series: Wagons, circa 1905-1920 Physical Description: 94 photoprints from original negatives  Scope and Content Note: Photographs of farm wagons, manure spreaders, and machine gun carts manufactured by IHC: Included are studio shots of Weber and Bettendorf wagons showing frame and box constructions and variations. Carts to carry machine guns and ammunition are set up in a studio and crated for shipping.	⇧
Micro 2029	Series: Microfilm Portion Physical Description: 40 reels of microfilm (35 mm)  Scope and Content Note The picture files as a whole are duplicated on this microfilm. They appear to fall into 24 distinct subseries. Most bore letter codes followed by sequential item numbers assigned by the photographic department in which or for which we have assumed the negatives were produced. The letters AMC, C, D, I, M, MC, O, ODH, and PO indicate these subseries. MC stands for McCormick Division or Works, while AMC and M are believed to be its subsets. Other divisional designation include D for the Deering works and line of implements; C= Champion, O= Osborne, ODH= Osborne disk harrows. I refers to IH, an indication of the centralization of the company's promotional programs which occurred around 1915. These numbers have been retained and serve as identification numbers for the microfilmed images. Internal evidence suggests that there were 10 other series which originally bore no prefix letter, but which appear to have been numbered by the same hand. These were produced for the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company around 1900. Prefix letters for the ten subseries have been assigned by the processing archivist as follows: AA, BB, EE, FF, GG, KK, LL, NN, QQ, SS, TT, UU, VV and WW. All of the negatives were placed in subseries and item number order prior to microfilming beginning with AA. Two informational targets were used in special circumstances during the filming. “Intentional duplicate exposure” appears when the camera technician decided to make more than one exposure of a single negative. This was done for badly stained, very thin, or very dense negatives, to ensure that information appearing in the original would be preserved. “Defective Original” indicates that the quality of the original negative prevented a good quality 35 mm negative from being made. This target was usually used for negatives that were stained, or had been retouched or treated with an etching compound. As much as possible, an attempt was made to film the negatives in identification-number order. However, because of technical limitations, this was not always possible. Single images are occasionally shot out of sequence, and sometimes small groups of images were spliced onto the microfilm at the end of the reel. In most cases, the images will only appear one or two frames out of order. There are two printed indexes to the microfilmed images. One is a subject guide which lists identification numbers according to one of nine broad subject areas: dealerships, employee relations programs, expositions and fairs, farming, places, plants and operations, portraits, product lines, and railroads. A second index serves as a master list of all negative identification numbers and includes such information as date, place, setting, function, activity, product, and image quality. These indexes come from an MS Access database compiled at the Historical Society. Many of the data elements used to index the images appear in code. Below is a listing of the codes and their definitions. Date Date: appears as Year\Month\Day Activity or Function ADM Administration ADV Advertising ASS Assembly DEA Dealerships DEL Delivery EMR Employee relations EXT Extension Division FAM Family MAI Maintenance MFG Manufacturing MOP Machine operation MPO Machine posed P&O Plants and operations R&D Research and development RAW Raw materials RR Railroads Setting BYD Barnyard DLE Dealership exterior DLI Dealership interior EXP Expedition EXT Exterior F Field FYD Farmland INT Interior PLE Plant exterior PLI Plant interior PYD Plant yard RD Road RRY Railroad yard ST Studio STR Street YD Yard Portrait EM Employee FG Formal Group FI Formal individual IG Informal group II Informal individual	⇧
Reel   1	AA 1 - 564
Reel   2	AA 578 - 1395
Reel   3	AMC 23 - 400
Reel   4	BB 1 - 46
Reel   5	C 665 - 4000
Reel   6	D 1708 - 12807 - 5
Reel   7	EE 14 - 57
Reel   8	FF 4 - 1004
Reel   9	GG 3 - 96
Reel   10	I Oversize 525 - 36675
Reel   11	I 6 - 29431
Reel   12	I 29433 - 31768
Reel   13	I 31769 - 34298
Reel   14	I 34300 - 35720
Reel   15	I 35721 - 37224
Reel   16	I 37227 - 38424
Reel   17	I 38425 - 39704
Reel   18	JJ 2 - 102
Reel   19	KK 1 - 27
Reel   20	LL 1 - 11
Reel   21	M 2 - 147
Reel   22	MC 1 - 1078
Reel   23	MC 1084 - 2619
Reel   24	MC 2621 - 4363
Reel   25	MC 4365 - 8034
Reel   26	NN 1 - 29
Reel   27	O 510 - 3341
Reel   28	O 3344 - 5679
Reel   29	O 5687 - 7488
Reel   30	O 7492 - 11375
Reel   31	ODH 305 - 4574
Reel   32	ODH 4603 - 7130
Reel   33	ODH 7137 - 12201
Reel   34	PO 58 - 9564
Reel   35	QQ 14 - 1614
Reel   36	SS 1 - 44
Reel   37	TT 4 - 57
Reel   38	UU 1 - 3
Reel   39	VV 1 - 16
Reel   40	WW 12 - 95