JRL: Yale & Towne Manufactoring Co.

Finding aid prepared by Francesca Ford.
Finding aid encoded by Betsy Pittman in 2002 and 2003.

This finding aid was prepared with generous support from the Connecticut Humanities Council.

© 2003 University of Connecticut


Overview of the Records
	Creator:	University of Connecticut--Stamford. Yale & Towne Project.
	Title:	Yale & Towne Manufcturing Company Records.
	Dates:	1869-2001
	Abstract:	Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company was established in 1868 by Linus Yale and Henry Towne in Stamford, Connecticut. Yale & Towne Manufacturing was the leading employer in the Stamford, Connecticut, area for many years.
	Quantity:	2.5 linear feet
	Identification:	MSS20020113

History

Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company was established in 1868 by Linus Yale and Henry Towne in Stamford, Connecticut. Linus Yale was the inventor of the tumbler lock. He died in New York on December 24, 1868, never knowing that his company would become the leading manufacturer of locks in the world. Henry Towne expanded the company from locks to materials handling in 1875. Yale & Towne Manufacturing was the leading employer in the Stamford, Connecticut, area.

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Scope and Content

The collection contains a broad range of materials documenting building history, union strikes, and employee memoirs at the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company in Stamford, Connecticut, including correspondence, newspaper articles, magazine articles, oral history audio tapes, photographs, video tapes, maps and artifacts.

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Organization
	Series I: History (n.d., 1878 - 2001) consists of maps, photographs, and videotape.

	Series II: Oral Histories and Employee Memoirs (n.d., 1874 - 2001) consists of audio tapes collected by University of Connecticut students, as well as photographs and newspaper clippings donated to the Yale & Towne Project by former employees.

	Series III: Strike History (1869 - 1988) contains newspaper articles collected by University of Connecticut students and research conducted by David Kelly for his thesis at Yale University entitled "The Strike at Yale & Towne and the Stamford General Strike" which is also included in the collection.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

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Index Terms
	This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
	Organizations:
		Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company
	Places:
		Stamford (Conn.)
	Subjects:
		Hardware Connecticut History.
		Locks and keys Connecticut History.
		Manufactures Connecticut.
		Stamford (Conn.) Business, industries and trades Manufactures.
		Stamford (Conn.) Labor.
		Trademarks Connecticut Stamford History Sources.
	Document Types:
		Artifacts.
		Audiotapes.
		Correspondence.
		Interviews.
		Magazines.
		Maps.
		Newspaper clippings.
		Oral histories.
		Photographs
		Videotapes.

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Related Material

Separated Material

Hennessy, Thomas F. Locks and lockmakers of America. Rev. 3rd. ed. Park Ridge, Ill.: Locksmith Publishing Corp., c1997. Call Number 3

#887: The Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company vs. Yale's Hardware Store. Appellant's brief. Superior Court, No. 43277. June 26, 1934 Fairfield County, CT: Supreme Court of Errors of the State of Connecticut. October Term, 1934. Call Number 4

Same as above, except instead of Appellant's brief, the title is: Plaintiff's appeal from Superior Court for Fairfield County. (2 copies) Call Number 5

Fifty Years of a Successful Industry, 1868-1918. Stamford, CT: Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company, c1919. Call Number 2

History of the Trade-Mark "Yale." 4th edition . Stamford, CT: Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company, c1930. Call Number 1

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Item, Folder #], Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company Records. Jeremy Richard Library, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Collected by the Yale & Towne Project and University of Connecticut--Stamford students and presented to the Jeremy Richard Library in July 2002.

Accruals

Additional materials were added to the collection in November 2002 and December 2003.

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Detailed Description

Series I: History, n.d., 1878-2001

1:1

Site History, 1978

1:2

Site, 19th Century photo reproductions including Stamford Historical Society Collection, n.d.

1:3

Site Map, Photo reproduction, 1908

1:4

Henry Street building, construction, 1920

1:5

Building description/history, 1980

1:6

Demolition, photos and negatives, 1982

1:7

Site photo, 1982

1:8

Environmental Impact Study, 1983

1:9

Site Photos, 2001 March

1:10

Site Photos from Christine Irwin, 2000 May 5

1:11

National Register Nomination, and correspondence, 1980

1:12

Urban Development Action Grant/Newspaper article "Developer Abandons Plan for Yale & Towne Project", 1979

2:13

Four factory scenes, photo reproductions, 1900

Stamford Historical Society Collection Photo reproductions

[photocopy] 1900

1920

1945-1946

ca. 1950

Historic Neighborhood News, Spring, 2000-2001

"Stamford" Beers Atlas [photo reproduction], 1878

"Birds Eye View Stamford" [photo reproduction], 1883

Daily Advocate supplememt, 1912 April 3

"Once a Lock Company", Stamford Advocate, n.d.

Saturday Evening Post Advertisements, 1910 September 24 and October 15

Site Tour video tape, 2001 April

Yale & Towne site map, March 1921

Shelf

"Plot Plan of Yale & Towne Mfg. Co.", map mounted on plywood, 1921 March

1:13

"Discovering the Lost World of Yale & Towne", Historic Neighborhood News, Spring 2000

2:27

"Wages and Hours of Work in the Lock and Wood Screw Industries", State of Connecticut, Department of Labor, May 1937

2:28

The Magazine of Management, 1948 Fall

6:43

Strike accounts (New York, Bridgeport and Stamford, Connecticut papers), 1945 November - 1946 April

Heather Alexander's Project Notes for "Unlocking Yale & Towne: The Impact of a Giant Industry on its Surroundings, 1868-1955", 2001-2003

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Series II: Oral Histories and Employee Memoirs, n.d., 1874-2001

2:13

Stamford Advocate article, 1874 May 8

Yale & Towne Advertisement, n.d.

Stamford Advocate article, n.d.

Stamford Advocate article, 1934 May 27