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Subseries 7D: Matter Sent Out (MSO), 1914-1947
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
This is the largest subseries and encompasses all the public relations material that Ivy Lee and Associates made available to the press and other interested individuals for its varied clients. In the letter of gift T. J. Ross states that the MSO material was "produced by him [Ivy Lee] or under his direction, as well as those representing an extension of his life's work." This series does not represent a comprehensive list of all of Lee's clients, since he may have only been a consultant and advisor for many companies and did not distribute materials to news organizations. The MSO material represents quite a variety of materials. Much of it is typed sheets of information sent to major newspapers to be printed as news and was not meant as advertising copy, although some companies do have advertising material in the collection. Many of these were composed at the last minute in relation to crises such as accidents, strikes, company buyouts, and congressional investigations. Also included are speeches distributed in full or part to area news organizations. Many of these were written by Lee, or with his help and expertise. The printed material includes annual reports, advertisements, speeches, and informational pamphlets.
Since this subseries comprises 87 boxes explaining in detail the contents of each box would be too time consuming and tedious. For descriptive purposes I have grouped together companies doing the same type of business, some of the smaller companies and organizations are not noted at all in the description that follows. Therefore, if the researcher is only interested in Ivy Lee's work for the railroads one can read through that section. A researcher interested in one specific company should go directly to the folder listing to request boxes of interest. The researcher will also want to examine the oversize materials and photographs series to make sure there is not information on a client in these series. The first use of a company or organization name has been highlighted making it easier for the researcher to identify an area of interest. The dates given after in parentheses represent the span of years for the public relations material in the Ivy Lee Papers and not necessarily the years that the company or organization was in existence.
Lee was a proponent of trade industry associations believing that cooperative effort would help improve production and expand markets. Many of the clients represented in this subseries were trade associations created with Lee's urging. The Cotton Textile Institute, American Petroleum Institute, the Copper and Brass Research Association, Eastern Presidents Conference, Association of Railroad Executives, Anthracite Operators, and the National Board of Fire Underwriters are among the associates represented. For descriptions of the these holdings please see the subject groupings they fall into.
The subject groupings are:
Miscellaneous
Entertainment Industry
Financial Interests
Food Producers
Natural Resources (including coal, petroleum, and minerals)
Non-Profit Organizations
Public Utilities
Rockefeller Interests (including family information and non-profit work)
Transportation (including railroads, subways, ships, and automobiles)
MISCELLANEOUS
This subseries contains the public relations output for a variety of Ivy Lee & Associates clients that do not fit into the other classifications. Description for only the larger companies has been printed. The miscellaneous descriptions are arranged in alphabetical order by company name.
Allied Liquor Industries Inc. (1941-1946) was an organization composed of principal distillers, importers, rectifiers, and whiskey brokers founded in 1941. The aim of Allied was to support public relations activities of the liquor industry as a whole. Their main worry was to prevent the enactment of prohibition laws during war time and to help the industry cooperate with the government during war. The majority of the miscellaneous MSO material consists of speeches, minutes, press releases, polling information on prohibition, and statistical reviews of liquor sales.The printed material consists of newsclippings, and informational pamphlets. Newsletters were put out weekly to keep members up to date on issues affecting the industry such as legislation. In 1943 Allied created a Women's Bureau to promote the cause of moderation as opposed to prohibition. Women Today was put out weekly by the Women's Bureau consisting of chatty articles on current events and providing information on all subjects, not just on the liquor industry. Licensed Beverage Industries (1946) was formed by a merger of Allied and the Conference of Alcoholic Beverage Industries. This organization was a nationwide community relations organization formed "to merit and maintain favorable public opinion." The MSOs document its first public relations activity, "Clean-Up-For-Good-Will," to convince liquor retailers to maintain attractive establishments.
The American Tobacco Company (1928-1943) was the producer of Lucky Strike cigarettes. The American Cigar Company was a subsidiary that produced Cremo Cigars. The miscellaneous MSO material consists of press releases on the health benefits of smoking, facts on the tobacco industry, taxes paid by the industry, information on exports, sales figures, statistics especially on women's smoking habits, and stockholder information. The printed material consists of annual reports, stockholder information, public relations pamphlets, newspapers articles, and advertisements.
Bethlehem Steel Company (1916-1930) was one of Ivy Lee's first major clients. Lee was called in to help advise and create public relations material concerning the production of armor plate used in the building of war vessels. Believing that United States entry into the war was inevitable, the company had invested a good deal of money into building new facilities. Around the same time Congress passed a bill authorizing the government to build an armor plate facility. Ivy Lee orchestrated a large public relations campaign to halt the government plant as a waste of taxpayer money. The MSO's from this period contain press releases and speeches by Charles Schwab and Eugene Grace, Bethlehem Steel leaders. After the war the Bethlehem Steel public relations material illustrates the peace time industries of the company in an attempt to help raise capital. The post war material contains press releases concerning construction and plant information, speeches, financial and stockholder information, and information on "The Bethlehem Plan," a company-sponsored plan for employee representation designed to preclude organization of a union. The printed MSOs cover the same topics as the miscellaneous MSOs. The Bethlehem Review was a bulletin of news for the employees of the company.
The Cotton Textile Institute (1926-1931) was founded in 1926 in part through the urging of Lee. The Institute was an association of cotton manufacturers who came together "to promote the progress and development of the cotton industry." Contained within the MSO material are press releases discussing the increased use of cotton in textiles especially for clothing, information and news, new uses of cotton along with the erosion of old uses, and merchandising material. Many of the MSOs are related to the use of cotton in the fashion industry. The printed MSOs contain articles, addresses, annual reports, pamphlets on fashion and new uses of cotton. The Association of Cotton Merchants of New York (1926-1930) contains the same type of information found in the Institute files. Also included are sales figures and a lot of material on fashions.
The Harmon National Real Estate Development Corporation (1926-1927) was a builder and seller of suburban tract housing mostly in the New York Metropolitan area. The MSO material was used to encourage buyers proclaiming the wonders of home ownership. The Harmon Review was sent to customers monthly, giving them news on the activities of the corporation.
The National Board of Fire Underwriters (1943-1946) includes public relations material responding to charges that underwriters acted as a monopoly. The press releases consist of news to members, information on a Department of Justice anti-trust investigation and the government laws proposed in relation to the investigation, as well as speeches. In addition there is information on two radio news shows underwritten by the Board giving schedules for the shows and commercial information. The printed material covers the same subject matter as the miscellaneous MSOs plus information on fire prevention.
The material for the Western Union Telegraph Company (1939-1946) includes stockholder information, speeches of the president, company history, and press releases on the purchase of the Postal Telegraph Company in 1943. The printed material consists of annual reports and agreements with the union.
The Wickwire Steel Company (1941-1946) materials are all printed consisting of information on the war products produced by the company and many advertisements. The researcher will also want to consult the oversize folder for Wickwire.
ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) (1932-1934) hired the Lee firm during the early 1930s. The firm created publicity to provide a better public image for ASCAP to counteract a suit brought by broadcasters, alleging that the royalties ASCAP demanded were too high. The material for Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1930-1946) was mostly created by the firm after Ivy Lee's death. The material contains miscellaneous press releases giving information to stockholders and on various broadcast procedures. The majority of material is printed. The miscellaneous printed material consists of annual reports, pamphlets and brochures generally on radio and two serial publications. Talks was a quarterly digest of the more thoughtful speeches broadcast over the CBS network. Listen contains reprints from CBS advertisements where the material was culled from various publications about CBS programs and shows. Marine Studios (1937-1939) was an aquarium built in Florida for tourists to view all types of ocean life. The firm did publicity during building and immediately after to attract tourists to what was the largest aquarium of its time. The researcher will also want to consult the visual materials series since much of the publicity was visual. One folder of material is available for United Artists, the National Association of Broadcasters and Muzak Inc.
FINANCIAL INTERESTS
Lee had considerable experience in financial matters from his days as a Wall Street reporter and his work for Harris, Winthrop & Co. which led to many clients in the financial world. Otto Kahn (1916-1931), head of Kuhn Loeb & Co., was a long standing client of the firm. Kahn publicized many of his memoranda and speeches on world financial matters through Ivy Lee & Associates. Many of the investment firms Lee represented distributed bulletins as a source of information for their investors and the general public. Dominick & Dominick (1924-1932) produced a bulletin of this sort and also distributed press releases on matters of concern to the investment house. Bankers Trust's (1920-1927) bulletin was Foreign Information and provided information on Europe generally dealing with financial and commercial matters. Liberty National Bank (1920-1921) a forerunner of New York Trust Company (1921-1946) distributed Present Day Scandinavia and The Index. New York Trust continued to produce The Index providing information for investors. Investment houses sparsely represented are Speyer & Co., Dillon Read & Co., Frazier Jelke & Co., and Kuhn Loeb & Co.
The researcher interested in the public relations efforts for various foreign loans will want to consult the Poland, Rumania, and United States-French Financial News Agency files.
FOOD PRODUCTS
The firm engaged in public relations for a number of food producers and distributors. Armour Inc. (1923-1935), the meat packing company, was the largest food producer client of Ivy Lee & Associates. The material on Armour consists of stockholder information, the acquisition of Morris and Co., press releases, and consumer information. The printed material consists of information on the Packers Consent Decree, pamphlets offering information on the meat packing industry, financial reports and consumer information among others items.
Another client was General Mills Inc. (1928-1945) and its predecessor the Washburn Crosby Company. These files consist of press releases and pamphlets providing information on flour milling, sales, wheat production, the first Betty Crocker recipes, along with stockholder information.
The papers include a variety of small companies and organizations involved in the production of Cuban sugar; these have been combined under the heading Sugar Interests (1922-1934). The files contain reports on the current sugar market and production information on Cuban sugar. The later material refers to the International Sugar Council, an organization Lee helped established, that called for cooperative efforts to stabilize sugar prices throughout the world under the Chadbourne Plan. The papers contain one folder of information on Bacardi Rum.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Since the supply of coal and petroleum were very important to most industries, Lee took a strong interest in the production and distribution of natural resources. The oldest material found in the MSO subseries is from the Colorado Fuel and Iron Co. (1915-1927). Rockefeller first consulated with Lee over strikes at the company in 1914. The MSO material from 1915 and 1916 is almost exclusively on John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s testimony before the U.S. Commission on Industrial Relations concerning the strike of 1914. The other MSO material is on later strikes.
The Petroleum War Service Committee (1917-1918) and its predecessor the American Petroleum Institute (1919-1922) was an organization of petroleum producers created to coordinate the petroleum supply during the war and cooperate with the government. After the war its main focus was to promote the general interests of the petroleum industry. Publicity material consists of informational pamphlets, press releases, and bulletins with useful information to member companies. A. C. Bedford was chairman of the committee and institute and also director of Standard Oil Co. (1917-1942) another client of the firm. The Standard Oil Co. files contain many addresses by Bedford that relate to the condition of the petroleum industry. The 1927 file contains publicity material from a proxy fight involving John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to force Colonel Stewart the current Standard Oil Co. director to resign. Ivy Lee and Associates also did public relations work for Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. (1935-1944) producers of Mobil gas and a division of Standard Oil. The MSO material consists of press releases, annual reports, and information for stockholders.
Some of Lee's earliest public relations work was for anthracite coal operators during a 1906 coal strike. This association with coal producers continued when the Anthracite Operators (1921-1926) asked Lee to produce public relations material for them in regard to labor unrest. The firm also supplied press releases on coal production, a major concern when coal was the primary source of heat.
Other mining concerns that turned to Lee for public relations counsel were, the Anaconda Copper Co. (1923-1926), the Copper and Brass Research Institute (1921-1930), and American Smelting and Refining (1923-1930). The MSO's of American Smelting and Refining, a miner and producer of silver, refer to financial matters, annual reports, and employee relations. Lee developed the idea of the Copper and Brass Research Institute while providing advice to Anaconda. The Institute was composed of large copper manufacturers that carried out an extensive publicity campaign to stimulate use of copper and brass. The MSO material consists of advertisements, press releases, speeches, research findings, and informational brochures suggesting various novel and common uses of these metals. The researcher will also want to consult the additional materials in the oversize series. The Anaconda material closely resembles what was created for the Copper and Brass Research Institute.
Another mining concern was the production and sale of Chilean Nitrate of Soda (1930-1946). Nitrate was used as a fertilizer and the producers hired the Lee firm to help increase awareness and sales of the mineral to American farmers. The miscellaneous MSOs consist of press releases on production, uses of nitrogen, scientific experiments, and general business information on Chile. Farm for Victory was published by the Chilean Nitrate Education Bureau to provide information to farmers and gardeners to help increase the nations food production during World War II.
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
In the philanthropic field Lee is most well known for his work for the American Red Cross (1917-1920) during World War I. The Red Cross material consists of appeals for funds in various forms, press releases explaining the work of the Red Cross, and other material to make the fund raising campaign successful. Other fund raising campaigns include the United Hospital Fund (1916-1925), to collect funds for needy patients in New York city's private hospitals; the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (1922-1924); the Henry Street Settlement (1916-1918); and the Association for the Aid of Crippled Children (1940-1944). Please consult the folder listing for a complete roster of the charitable organizations that worked with the firm.
Lee did public relations work for a number of religious organizations. He distributed publicity material for the Park Avenue Baptist Church (1922-1928) later to become the Riverside Church (1929-1946). Much of this work stems from John D. Rockefeller, Jrs. connection to the church. The material refers to the building of the Riverside Church and the use of its carillon. Lee had printed some of the sermons of Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick pastor of the Riverside Church. Lee helped in public relations work for various units of the Episcopal Church including, the Pension Fund, Theological School, and Church War Commission. For the Presbyterian Church, USA Lee did public relations work for the Layman's Committee. The Laymen's Inquiry into Foreign Missions affiliated with the Baptist Church, had a number of reports written with the help and advice of Ivy Lee & Associates. The researcher interested in this group will also want to consult the oversize series. The firm did public relations work for the William A. Sunday Evangelistic Association fundraising campaign in 1917. The firm did publicity for various projects of the Young Men's and Women's Christian Association.
Lee helped persuade Daniel Guggenheim to create a fund for the promotion of aviation which became the Daniel Guggenheim Foundation (1924-1942). Lee worked as public relations counsel for the Foundation. The firm produced press releases, booklets, pamphlets, and brochures. Some of the material is about ground breaking flights by Charles Lindbergh and Admiral Richard E. Byrd.
Lee was always willing to offer public relations counsel to his alma mater, Princeton University (1919-1926) but in addition to Princeton the firm also did public relations work for Harvard University, Brown University, and the University of Virginia. The work for Princeton, beside consultation, included creating materials for the Endowment Fund campaign in 1919 and 1920, and miscellaneous material for the University during the 1920s. Harcourt Parrish, a partner in the firm, was an alumni of the University of Virginia and did public relations work for the University.
PUBLIC UTILITIES
United States public utilities executives were especially concerned with the possibility of nationalization of utilities during the Depression. The Committee of Public Utility Executives (1935-1936) and the Commonwealth Southern Corp. (1935-1940) came to Ivy Lee and Associates to launch a public relations campaign against passage of the Wheeler-Rayburn Bill (Public Utility Holding Company Act). The material for the public relations campaign consists of legal opinions, excerpts from House and Senate testimony, reprints of editorial comments and press releases. Wendell L. Wilkie as president of the Commonwealth Southern Corp. played an active role in the campaign battling the Tennessee Valley Authority.
ROCKEFELLER INTERESTS
Lee created a wide range of material on the Rockefeller family and its philanthropic interests. Companies that the Rockefeller family had a major interest in have been separated from this section such as Standard Oil and the Colorado Fuel and Oil Company. Here the researcher will find public relations material, generally press releases, for the General Education Board (1914-1941), International House (1932-1938), Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial (1922-1923), Rockefeller Center (1935-1938) (see also Metropolitan Square material), the Rockefeller Foundation (1915-1920), Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1915-1939), and the Bureau of Social Hygiene (1917). The information on the family refers to weddings, John D. Rockefeller Sr.'s birthday, and press releases about John D. Rockefeller Jr. Much of the printed material on philanthropic concerns consists of annual reports, and pamphlets about the work of the organizations. The printed material on John D. Rockefeller, Jr. is of speeches, statements, and books he wrote such as the Colorado Industrial Plan. The researcher may want to look at the section on non-profit organizations. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was very involved in the Riverside Baptist Church.
TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRIES
Transportation industries represents the largest set of MSO files with companies from the commercial shipping, railroads, and the automotive industry. MSO's on commercial shipping are relatively small. Clients of interest are the Committee of the American Shipbuilders, and the American Shipping and Commerce Corporation, these files dating from 1920 and 1921 and the Steamship Conference of 1925.
With his work for the Pennsylvania Railroad (1920-1946) much of Lee's early client base was formed. Material for the Pennsylvania Railroad comprises 13 boxes. Much is general public relations material sent out by the company, including information on accidents, changes in schedules, acquisitions, financial information and the like. Also included are speeches made by W. W. Atterby, Elisha Lee, George D.,Ogden, and Samuel Rea and other officials of the railroad. Public relations material for the Long Island Railroad is included here since it was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The menu's for the railroad also include public relations material in the form of short articles on destinations of the Pennsylvania line, or information about the running of the railroad. The printed MSO's contain a variety of public relations information on the line. The researcher will find selected Pennsylvania News publications in the oversize series.
Lee was well known for his public relations work for the Interborough Rapid Transit Authority (1916-1932) or more popularly known as the IRT, part of the New York City subway system. The MSOs for the IRT, document the general public relations work done for the company along with newspaper advertisements, annual reports, strike material, and printed material such as the Interborough Bulletin. The early IRT material relates to a major strike in 1916. Much of the later material relates to a continuous campaign to raise the subway fare above five cents. The researcher will find the Subway Sun and Elevated Express in the oversize series.
Lee's work with the Pennsylvania Railroad and the IRT brought him into contact with other railroad organizations. The Association of Railroad Executives (1919-1922) was an organization formed after World War I to improve the image of the railroads once government control was abolished. He provided public relations counsel and advice to the Committee on Public Relations of the Eastern Presidents Conference (EPC) (1923-1925) an organization of railroad executives that sent public relations material to members and worked as a clearing house of information. The EPC produced a broadside at regular intervals titled Railroad Data that is in the oversize series.
The firm also had as clients some smaller railroad firms including; the American Locomotive Co., American Railway Association, Electric Railroads of New York State, Georgia Railway and Power Co., New York Railways Co., Trenton and Mercer County Traction Co., and the York Railways Co.
Chrysler Corporation (1929-1946) public relations materials are extensive. The MSO's consist of stockholder and financial information, the construction and occupancy of the Chrysler building in New York (1929-1930), and speeches especially by Walter P. Chrysler. During the early 1930s and onward, general sales figures and information, especially concerning Chrysler's introduction of its low end Plymouth line as competition with Ford's Model T, are included in the MSO's. During the 1940s much of the public relations material highlights the war work that Chrysler performed. The Printed MSO's contain annual reports, Chrysler Building material, advertisements, speeches, reference to the 1939 strikes, and publicity material on various cars. World War II produces much material on Chrysler's war effort including the publication of six books highlighting various aspects of the company's war work.
Ivy Lee and Associates also performed work for companies that supplied parts to the automobile industry. Briggs Manufacturing Co. (1933-1946) built car bodies and later tank bodies, and aircraft wings along with other metal work done during the war. The public relations material consists of information pertaining to strikes (1938-1941), annual reports, production information, and their contribution to the war effort. Photographs from Briggs during the war are included in visual materials series. The Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. (1936-1937) material consists of press releases on strikes. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (1936-1939) material is on a variety of topics including strikes (1936-1937), advertisements, annual reports, research developments, pamphlets, along with financial and stock information.
See also Series 8: Oversize
- Arrangement
Originally the firm pasted the material on manila sheets and bound these chronologically. The material has been disbound and arranged in alphabetical order by company, individual, or organization name. When the material for a company comprised more than one folder, in many cases the printed matter was separated into its own folder preceding the miscellaneous material. Included is one folder of miscellaneous MSOs, compromising only one item for these companies and it is arranged alphabetically within the folder.
Collection History
- Appraisal
Some routine material such as quarterly dividend statements was discarded, but substantive matter dealing with client image was saved. Items dealing with an individual wedding or death were also discarded, since they did not represent the majority of the public relations work done by the firm.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Paula Jabloner with the assistance of Katherine Couch and Shawn O'Neill in September 1992 to June 1993. Finding aid written by Paula Jabloner in September 1992 to June 1993.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research use.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Subseries 7D: Matter Sent Out (MSO); Ivy Ledbetter Lee Papers, MC085, Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
-
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library65 Olden StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540, USA
- Storage Note:
- Mudd Manuscript Library (mudd): Box 29-118
Find More
- Existence and Location of Copies
Digital images of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company "Subway Sun" and "Elevated Express" posters from 1918 to 1932 are available via the Digital PUL website.
- Names:
- Chrysler corporation
Columbia Broadcasting System, inc.
Copper & Brass Research Association (U.S.)
Cotton-Textile Institute.
Bankers Trust Company (New York, N.Y.)
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics
Dominick & Dominick
Allied Liquor Industries
American Red Cross
American Tobacco Company
Western Union Telegraph Company
T. J. Ross and Associates, Inc
Socony Mobil oil company
Standard Oil Company
Interborough Rapid Transit Company of New York
National Board of Fire Underwriters
New York Trust Company
Pennsylvania railroad
Princeton University
Princeton University. Class of 1898.
Kahn, Otto H. (1867-1934)
Lee, Ivy L. (Ivy Ledbetter) (1877-1934)
Lee, James W. (James Wideman) (1849-1919)
Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison) (1839-1937)
Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison) (1839-1937)
Rockefeller, John D., Jr. (John Davison) (1874-1960)