The Sammis papers are a small collection, but they are of interest to researchers for several reasons. First, they include an extensive collection of advertising materials produced by a manufacturer of machine tools, and secondly they provide some insights on the impact of World War II on advertising in that sector. Finally, although Gisholt was a major Wisconsin employer for many years, the Historical Society holds virtually no other research source material on the firm.
The papers have been arranged into three series: product literature and guides, advertising, and Gisholt Machine Co. administration.
PRODUCT LITERATURE AND GUIDES consists of extensive literature on the manufacturer's product (including some Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian translations), tool catalogs (1942, 1946), service manuals, sectional drawings for turret lathes, service guides, and bleed pages for trade publications. The advertising bleed pages reflect themes such as cost savings in production, safety, ease of operation (aimed at women), speed in production, and, most commonly, production for the war effort.
The ADVERTISING material consists of material from the Machine Tool Show in Chicago (September 17-26, 1947), correspondence, reference material on advertising, and personal papers relating to membership in the Milwaukee Industrial Advertising Association and the National Industrial Advertising Association. The NIAA material, the supplements to “A Guide for Effective War-time Advertising,” and an in-house survey on advertising preferences document well the theme of production for the war effort.
GISHOLT MACHINE CO. ADMINISTRATION files contain page proofs for a manual, “Job Evaluation and Job Relationships,” (1947) which contains very detailed job descriptions produced in conjunction with the plant committee; miscellaneous memoranda concerning administration; newsletters; information on profit sharing; and a 1945 annual report. Some additional corporate publications are held by the Historical Society Library. Additional information on Gisholt activities during World War II can be found in the August 30, 1942 edition of the Capital Times.
