J.M. DALGLISH COMPANY:
An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
Creator: | J.M. Dalglish Company (Saint Paul, Minn.), creator. | |
Title: | Business records. | |
Dates: | 1942-1951. | |
Abstract: | Photographs, design blueprints, motion picture films, and correspondence of a metal fabricating company established in 1927 as general manufacturing agents for various products. The company fulfilled defense contracts during World War II and manufactured lawn mowers and similar items afterward. | |
Quantity: | 2.6 cubic feet (3 boxes and 3 microfilm reels), 1 master film reel: 8mm., and 1 user video file: MP4 (833 MB). | |
Location: | See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
Photographs, design blueprints, motion picture films, and correspondence of a metal fabricating company established in 1927 as general manufacturing agents for various products. The company fulfilled defense contracts during World War II and manufactured lawn mowers and similar items afterward.
Photographs document each stage of product production: components used in it; assembly line workers (including women); the packing and shipping of the units; the managers of the firm; construction of company buildings; and marketing and advertising of the firm's products, especially lawn mowers.
Microfilm (3 reels) consists largely of blueprint drawings of product designs. Films document lawn mower tests.
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
Correspondence Files | ||
Advertising Materials | ||
Engineering Drawings | ||
Photographs |
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. J.M. Dalglish Company Records. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples
Accession Information:
Accession number: 14,685
Location of Master File:
Digital master of film recording is maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and is managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.
Processing Information:
Processed by: David B. Peterson, 1992
Digitization and encoding by April Rodriguez, March 2023.
Digital video transferred from the master film recording by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes (March 2023).
Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.
Catalog ID number: 990017294140104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
CORRESPONDENCE FILES
Box | |||||||||||||
143.C.6.7B | 1 | Herbert Dalglish correspondence, undated and 1942-1951. | |||||||||||
Personal letters (1942) to Herbert F. Dalglish from his mother Grace and wife Cecile while he was in Washington, D.C. (?); interoffice communications (1947); prospectus for the J.M. Dalglish Company (1947); application for a position with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company by Herbert Dalglish (1949); and three agreements between Herbert Dalglish and Simon C. Ryan relating to Dalglish's patents (1951). |
Herbert Dalglish correspondence, 1947. | |||||||||||||
General business materials including correspondence with and membership roster of the Jefferson Islands Club and correspondence with a member, Harry B. Hawes; minutes of LEMA (Lawn Equipment Manufacturers Association), a proposed organization to promote an extended lawn equipment sales season; and salesmen's itineraries. |
Robert M. Dunning correspondence, 1947. | |||||||||||||
Dunning was a patent attorney. |
ADVERTISING MATERIALS
Box | |||||||||||||
143.C.6.7B | 1 | Advertisements and miscellaneous materials, [194-]. | |||||||||||
Several advertisements for lawn mowers and a small tractor, and a booklet describing products Dalglish produced during World War II, its management, and its future plans. The second folder contains an assortment of photographs, blueprints, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous material. Includes a copy of a booklet, "Dalglish Engineered Products." |
Newspaper clippings, 1944, 1947. Articles about the firm and its products. |
Unavailable | Mower Test, Sideplate Jig. 1 16mm reel. | ||||||||||||
Lost. Listed in accession file but not found within the collection. |
Shelf Q-9-A (Room B-105.7) | Lawn Mower test, Florida, January 12, 1947. 1 master film reel (11 minutes, 22 seconds): silent, B&W; 8mm. reversal positive camera original and 1 user video file: MP4 (833 MB). | ||||||||||||
Contains footage of push non-gas powered lawn mower being tested outdoors and brief home movie footage. | |||||||||||||
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ENGINEERING DRAWINGS
Reel | |||||||||||||
M569 | 1 | Lawn mowers and parts, [1945-1947]. 1 35mm microfilm reel. | |||||||||||
Blueprints of lawn mowers and parts, as well as some correspondence and engineering records of designs for their chocks, balks, mooring bitts, rudders, rocking rollers, and packing cases. Microfilm prepared by the company. |
Reel | |||||||||||||
M569 | 2 | "War work, June 20, 1947." 1 35mm microfilm reel. | |||||||||||
More drawings and blueprints of rudders, mooring bitts, rocking rollers, balks, bolts and brushes, chocks, and hatchets. Microfilm prepared by the company. |
Reel | |||||||||||||
M569 | 3 | "War work," [circa 1945]. 1 35mm microfilm reel. | |||||||||||
Blueprints of rudder stock, mooring bitts, chocks, milling machine layout, lugs, hose end plug, balks, contract of normal spending, and lawn mowers. |
Box | |||||||||||||
143.C.6.7B | 1 | Miscellaneous Blueprints: | |||||||||||
Automatic welding jig no. 2, 1945. | |||||||||||||
18-inch lawn mower, 1945. | |||||||||||||
AP2 rudder, 1944. | |||||||||||||
Tapered balk, 1945. | |||||||||||||
Box | |||||||||||||
143.C.6.9B | 3 | Headend Railroad Car. |
PHOTOGRAPHS
Box | |||||||||||||
143.C.6.8F | 2 | Loose Photographs: | |||||||||||
These are enlargements of photographs found in the photograph albums in Box 3. | |||||||||||||
Microtone plant views, St. Paul. | |||||||||||||
Bailey Bridge Erector Set (M4), [194-]. | |||||||||||||
A portable aluminum floating bridge erected in the field, used by the U.S. Army. The Army acquired plans from the British which were redesigned by Dalglish engineers. The company completed 900 sets. A more complete description can be found in the booklet, "Dalglish Engineered Products," in Box 1. | |||||||||||||
Rudders, [194-]. | |||||||||||||
Large contra-guide rudders for the T2 tanker. Dalglish engineers redesigned much of the internal structure. | |||||||||||||
Roller chocks, [194-]. | |||||||||||||
These held down the main engine plates on cargo vessels. | |||||||||||||
Balks, [194-]. | |||||||||||||
Lawn mowers, [194-]-[195-]. | |||||||||||||
Expositions and advertising, [194-]-[195-]. | |||||||||||||
Includes building and interior office scenes, and personnel. | |||||||||||||
General, [194-]-[195-]. 2 envelopes. | |||||||||||||
Three sheets on grey paper, apparently for advertising purposes, and ten sheets of sepia-finished photographs. | |||||||||||||
Miscellaneous, [194-]-[195-]. |
Box | |||||||||||||
143.C.6.9B | 3 | Photograph Albums: | |||||||||||
Volume 1, [194-]. | |||||||||||||
Includes: Building construction, Balk, Rudder, Bailey bridge, Roller chocks, Mooring bitts, and Miscellaneous. | |||||||||||||
Volume 2. [194-]. | |||||||||||||
Includes: Pans, Shovels, Offices and manufacturing plants (interior and exterior views), Personnel (not identified), and Shop photographs. | |||||||||||||
Volume 3. [194-]. | |||||||||||||
Miscellaneous photographs. |
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Bridges, Prefabricated -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Defense contracts -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Engineering firms -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Lawns -- Equipment and supplies -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Marine engineering -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Military bridges -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Mowing machines -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- War -- Economic aspects -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- War work -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Women.
- Persons:
- Dalglish, Herbert M., 1911-.
- Dunning, Robert M.
- Organizations:
- Jefferson Island Club.
- Document Types:
- Blueprints.
- Motion pictures.
- Photographs.