Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company Collection

Important Update (4/2016): Our Yale & Towne Collection has been moved from UConn Stamford campus to the UConn Storrs campus, Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.  

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of the
Collection

History

Scope and Content

Organization

Restrictions

Index Terms

Related Material

Administrative
Information

 

Detailed Description

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

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

Series III: Strike History,
1869-1988

 

Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company
Collection

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
Collection

  Creator: University of Connecticut–Stamford. Yale &
Towne Project.
  Title: Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company Collection.
  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 Collection.
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
 
3 “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
 
5 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
 
4 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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Contents

                           

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
 
2:14 Worker housing newspaper articles, 1926 March
5
 
2:15 Al Koprowski letter, 2000 June 21
 
2:16 Employee sports photos and articles, 1922-1923
  “Yaletowne’s Girl Bowlers Grown Famous”, Photograph
from Stamford Advocate, ca. 1927
 
2:17 Hogan Family memoirs, photos and newspaper
articles, 1922-2000
 
2:18 Mehan Family memoirs, photos and correspondence,
1942-1993
 
2:19 Apprentice School photos and oral history,
1909-1946
 
2:23 Employee memoirs correspondence, 1918-2001
 
2:24 Lock Museum History, photos, 2001
 
2:25 25 Ann Durland Files, n.d.
 
2:26 Yale & Towne vs. Yale Hardware Store, 1936
 
2:28 “We Cut the Finest Keys”, photographs of commerical
key sign, n.d.
 
2:29 “Yale in the World of Tomorrow”, pamphlet from New
York World’s Fair, 1939
 
3 “Linus Yale, Jr., Lock Expert”, advertisement from
Saturday Evening Post 1910 October 15
  “Mr. Never-Close-the Door, Mr.
Always-Slam-the-Door-Goodbye”, Advertisement from
Saturday Evening Post, 1910 September 24
  “Once a Lock Company”, Stamford Advocate,
n.d.
  Wartime Identification Badge, n.d.
  “Your Earnings Record”, Record of earnings of Helen
Gacher Cossett, 1937-1951
 
5 Employee badge, Lucy Bivona, 1943
  Oral History audiotape Ed Chrostowski, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Bruno Cornilio, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Helen Gacher Cossett,
2001
  Oral History audiotape Jean Davis, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Ann Duplex, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Ann Durland, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Jane Karwoski, 2001
  Oral History videotape John Valmis, Ann Durland,
and Frank Spisinski, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Lucy Bivona Morabito,
2001
  Oral History audiotape Carmine Salvatore and
Dominic Sabia, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Ron Salvatore, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Frank Spisinski, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Jerome Sturm, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Charles Vail, 2001
  Oral History audiotape Julius Wilensky, 2001
  Oral History videotape Paul Lee, 2001
 
5:Binder Transcript of Julius Wilensky, Manager Yale &
Towne, oral history, 2001
  Transcript of John Valmis, Ann Durland, and Frank
Spiniski, employees of Yale & Towne, videotape,
2001
  Transcript of Carmine Salvatore and Dominic Sabia,
employees of Yale & Towne, oral history, 2001
  Transcript of Jerome Sturm, Union Lawyer for the
International Association of Machinists, oral history,
2001
  Transcript of John Valmis, employee of Yale &
Towne, oral history, 2001
  Letter from Jack Cavanaugh, reminiscences of work
at Yale & Towne, 1999
  Letter from John Valmis, reminiscences of work at
Yale & Towne, 2000

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Contents

                           

Series III: Strike History, 1869-1988

 
2:20 Correspondence and newspaper article, 1890
 
2:21 Union organization efforts, 1937
 
2:22 Newspaper articles, 1945-1980
  David Kelly thesis “The Strike at Yale & Towne
and the Stamford General Strike”, 1988 May 18
 
6:27 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1869-1870
 
6:28 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1873-1874
 
6:29 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1890
 
6:30 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1892
 
6:31 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1894
 
6:32 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1945 March – May
 
6:33 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1945 September – October
 
6:34 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1945 November – December
 
6:35 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1946 January
 
6:36 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1946 February
 
6:37 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1946 March
 
6:38 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1946 April
 
6:39 Stamford Advocate articles [photo
reproductions], 1947 February
 
4:40 David Kelly’s Research Notebook Volume I, n.d.
 
4:41 David Kelly’s Research Notebook Volume II,
n.d.
 
6:42 David Kelly’s Research Notebook Volume III,
n.d.
 
6:43 Periodical accounts of strike, November 1945-April
1946
 
3 Life Magazine, 1946 January 14
  Newspaper article “Unions in a Company Town”, 1983
October 30

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