Guide to the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., Contracts Collection 1892-1901 AIS.1963.24
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., Contracts Collection
Collection Number
AIS.1963.24
Extent
5.63 Linear Feet(9 boxes)
Date
1895-1901
Abstract
Business records of Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., 1892-1901. Collection documents acquisitions of machinery and technology such as cranes, presses, drills, and pumps. Records include blueprints, photographs, carbon copies of telegrams, signed forms, memorandums, and correspondence.
Language
English
.
Author
John McKissick. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process on May 10, 2004.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman) Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
History
Industrialist and inventor of the compressed air brake George Westinghouse incorporated the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company in 1891. With its giant factory located in East Pittsburgh, Pa., the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company soon became the Edison General Electric Company's main rival in the contest to provide electricity to the United States. While Edison General Electric pioneered the generation and distribution of direct current (DC) electricity, Westinghouse put all of its efforts into the development of alternating current (AC) systems. AC systems were capable of transmitting significantly more electricity from more distant sites, thus enabling the supply of power to rural areas or smaller urban centers. Westinghouse supported the research of the great Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla, and purchased patent rights to his revolutionary polyphase AC system. Edison General Electric launched a high-profile public relations campaign against the "danger" of AC systems, but scientific and commercial reason was on the side of Westinghouse. The next decade witnessed the wide adoption of AC systems around the country and overseas, with Westinghouse and Edison GE competing for markets in electrical goods, generators, turbines, and delivery systems.
Scope and Content Notes
This collection consists of records relating to the purchase of goods by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company during the years 1892-1901. Outlays of this kind are called "capital expenditures" and differ from overhead or operating costs. Capital expenditures are investments made in technology, which continue to produce profit once it has been obtained, unlike raw materials, which are used and incorporated into products. These records therefore document activities undertaken at the highest level of management. Records include typed memoranda, handwritten notes, carbon copies of telegrams, blueprints and photographs of machinery, and signed forms. Items procured include cranes, lathes, drills, engines, pumps, and presses. Records relating to a single purchase were bound together in heavy paper sleeves. Each sleeve records contract and order number, date, title of company, and item(s) ordered. Most frequently, the final document in each sleeve is a letter granting permission to the company purchasing agent to procure the stated items at a given price. This form letter is usually signed by the second vice president, the superintendent of works, and the assistant superintendent. The collection has been arranged in a single series, ordered alphabetically by company. For multiple contracts with the same company, records are ordered chronologically.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Acquistion Information
Gift of Joseph A. Miller, 1963.
Preferred Citation
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. Contracts Collection, 1892-1901, AIS.1963.24, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Previous Citation
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. Contracts Collection, 1892-1901, AIS.1963.24, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Westinghouse Contracts, 1892-1901, ais 63:24, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Processing Information
This collection was processed by John McKissick in 2004.
Copyright
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects
Corporate Names
Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company -- Records and correspondence
Genres
Business records
Other Subjects
Business and Industry
Manufacturing industries -- Capital investments -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
