Sargent and Company Records

Series I: Administrative Records (>undated, 1878-1955, bulk 1902-1954) is comprised of eight subseries: Annual Reports (1939-1942), Reports to Stockholders (1917-1954), Reports (1903-1955), Office Files (1878-1955, bulk 1902-1955), Union Relations (1902-1954, bulk 1946-1954), Stanley R. Cullen Files (1941-1955), Cost Analyses (1909-1952, bulk 1909-1936), Private Journals and Ledgers (1888-1921). Reports were undertaken by the company to appraise policies and procedures or to examine developments affecting the industry. Reports were prepared in-house or by consultants. Office Files consists of alphabetically arranged subject files, including such topics as employee relations, foremen's training, trade associations and public relations. A few publications are also included. Union Relations contains subject files, surveys, reports and publications. Included in these files are materials regarding communism in the work force, employee attitudes, strike negotiations, and publications from the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (U.E.). Stanley R. Cullen Files represent the personal files, daily activity loges, and notebooks of the company's personnel director. Costs Analyses contains records of standard costs and labor and production expenses. Private Journals and Ledgers is a very small subseries consisting of five bound volumes, some with security locks, of general and private records.

Series II: Legal Records (1830-1953) includes general agreements, specific electrotype agreements and settlements. Correspondence (1871-1917) is arranged alphabetically by subject or name. Lawsuits and Opinions (1870-1912) is arranged alphabetically by subject and includes extensive material on the Yale and Towne suit against Sargent and Company. Patents (1830-1916) includes patent designs, patent assignments, and patents. This subseries represents a thorough record of the company's technological expertise for nearly 90 years.

Series III: Correspondence (undated, 1884-1942) is arranged in four subseries: General Correspondence (1884-1912), Selected Topical Correspondence (1896-1942), Sales Correspondence (1886-1942), and Letter Copy Books (1887-1903). General Correspondence has four sections. The first section is an alphabetically arranged section of general business letters, incoming and outgoing (1885-1887). The second section, alphabetically arranged, contains general business correspondence, incoming and outgoing (1894-1902). The third section consists of a partial alphabetical sequence of letters (A-C and T-W only) from 1884-1912. The fourth section consists of letters chronologically arranged from 1911 to 1918. Selected Topical Correspondence contains papers and letters regarding a variety of topics, including: the Association of Hardware Manufacturers, the coffin hardware department and its dealings with funeral goods companies, the New York and Chicago offices of Sargent and Company, foundry data, Ziegler Sargent's work with Hopkins Grammar School, inventors, machinery, purchases of plants and products, J. B. Sargent's foreign trips, the screw industry, and hunting traps. Sales Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and includes materials dating 1886 and 1937-1942, the bulk of which dates 1942. The correspondence is from sales agents, company managers and customers. Letter Copy Books comprise the fourth subseries. Included in these bound volumes are letter press copies of outgoing letters of H. B. Sargent and E. R. Sargent. Also there are New York Office letter books, credit books, order books and general letter books.

Series IV: Production Records (undated, 1866-1950) is organized into eight subseries: Machinery Repair Manuals (undated), Plant Orders (1823-1850), Inventories (1880-1900, 1948-1950), Production (1866-1950), Specifications: World War II Production (1940-1949), Blueprints (1920-1944), Process Sheets and Production Schedules (1944, 1946), and Product Cost Records (1916-1924). Production includes subject files regarding inventory, equipment information, emergency product change records, defense housing, and hardware specifications. Blueprints consists primarily of designs for wartime production of ordnance parts, housing hardware and other military products. Product Cost Records includes 25 volumes of systematically sampled cost analysis books for the period 1916-1924.

Series V: Labor Records (1864-1927) is arranged in six subseries: Employee Registers (1854-1919) consists of bound volumes that record the name, address, date employed and previous employment history of Sargent and Company employees. Payroll records, maintained by date or by department, comprise the bulk of this series. Wage Ledgers, Salary Ledgers, and Piece Work Ledgers all contain employees' name, weekly rate and aggregate salary. Contracts contains records of subcontracting work and apprentice agreements. Other Labor records contains labor related materials that are not appropriate for the previously identified subseries.

Series VI: Sales (1852-1955) is organized into three subseries: Sales Records includes notices from management to salesmen, confidential prices, sales manuals and various account books and price books. Sales Journals consist of bound volumes with titles such as “Coffin Hardware,” “New England Territory,” “Locks” and “Small Exports.” Catalogs includes catalogs from Sargent and Company and other companies.

Series VII: General Accounts (1858-1955) includes the following subseries: Cash Books (1867-1910), Day Books—New York Office (1900-1910), Day Books (1872-1880), Journals (1864-1888, 1900-1927), Invoices Payable (1899-1904), Check Registers (1878, 1897, 1906-1910), Trial Balances (1897-1926), Ledgers (1864-1928), and Financial Records and Accounts (1868-1954). Ledgers includes sets of ledgers for the New York and New Haven offices, coffin hardware and states. Financial Records and Accounts consists of various ledgers, journals and internal financial statements.

Series VIII: Predecessor and Subsidiary Companies (1853-1879) is a small series that contains the limited records of Peck and Walter Manufacturing Company, the predecessor of Sargent and Company, and two subsidiary firms—Sargent Card Clothing Company and the Sargent Wharf Company. This series is comprised of record books pertaining to the initial formal organization of these companies.

Series IX: Sargent Family Papers (1720-1955) consists of genealogical materials collected by Zeigler Sargent and other family members, personal and some business correspondence of family members. Biographical materials and family photographs. Zeigler Sargent's manuscripts and notes regarding family and Sargent Company history constitute a substantial portion of the series. Also included is the Sargent genealogical publication, Sargentrivia. Records in this series are alphabetically arranged by family member name and then by type of material.