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.
