Guide to the Keuffel & Esser Company Papers 1800-1990s MG 1639

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary
Historical Note:
Scope and Content Note
Access Points
Related Material
Administrative Information

Series Descriptions and Container List

Series 1: Corporate Records

Series 2: Product/Work/Plan/Architectural Records

Guide to the Keuffel & Esser Company Papers
1800-1990s
MG 1639
The New Jersey Historical Society
52 Park Place
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Contact: NJHS Library
(973) 596-8500 x249
library@jerseyhistory.org
https://www.jerseyhistory.org
© 2006 All rights reserved.
The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher
Processed by Nikki Taheri.

Finding aid encoded by Julia Telonidis. July 2006. Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Finding aid written in English.


Descriptive Summary

Creator: Keuffel & Esser Co.
Title: Keuffel & Esser Company Papers
Dates 1862-2004
Abstract: The collection consists mostly of materials pertaining to the Hoboken, NJ based company Keuffel & Esser, manufacturers of
drafting and surveying equipment.
Quantity: 10 linear feet (5 manuscript boxes and approx. 50 rolls)
Collection Number: MG 1639

Historical Note:

Wilhelm Johann Diedrich Keuffel and Herman Esser were partners in the firm of Keuffel & Esser which was founded in July 1867 at 79 Nassau St. Manhattan. They were two German immigrants,who were importers and jobbers of drawing materials and mathematical and surveying instruments. Keuffel (1838-1908), born in Walbeck, Germany and was employed in the hardware business in Germany and Birmingham, England, prior to his immigration to Hoboken, NJ, in 1866. The next year he joined with Herman Esser (1845-1908) who was originally from Wuppertal-Elbertfeld. In 1875, the firm was incorporated as Keuffel & Esser Company (also known as K & E) and moved from Manhattan to Third and Grand Street in Hoboken, New Jersey. Wilhelm J. D. Keuffel died in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1908. Herman Esser retired from Keuffel & Esser Co. in 1902. He was back in Bad Godesberg am Rheim, Germany in April of 1902 and died there in April 1908. The company continued to prosper under new leadership.

In the coming decades, Keuffel & Esser began to expand, opening showrooms, offices and new factories in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Detroit, and Montreal. They first manufactured surveying instruments in 1885 and introduced an innovative new line of surveying equipment in the 1890s. The company’s first product was hard rubber curves and triangles. Later products included drafting paper, surveying instruments, and drafting aids such as slide rules. Keuffel & Esser held patents for a wide range of slide rule features, including improved cursor indicators, functions and scales, and the adjustable body mechanism. The company was so successful that in 1965 it went public on NASDAQ. However, in the coming years, rapid changes in technology including the development of calculators, CAD systems and laser surveying systems, had a detrimental effect on Keuffel & Esser, which shrank drastically after 1972. In 1982 Keuffel & Esser filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and eventually was bought out by several companies including Azon Corporation. Currently, Azon Corporation owns the Keuffel & Esser name and trademarks.

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Scope and Content Note

The collection contains records of the Keuffel & Esser Company including correspondence, reports, minutes, ledgers, equipment
drawings, architectural drawings and plans, corporate records, proposals and lease agreements and contracts pertaining to
both their domestic and international business.

**Special note:** This collection in only partially processed. There are hundreds of architectural and equipment drawings that have not been
processed or incorporated into this finding aid. They are stored in both 5th floor storage and at the offsite facility. Patron
access of these drawings is currently very limited. These drawings will be incorporated into the rest of the collection at
a later time.

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Access Points

The entries below represent persons, organizations, topics, forms, and occupations documented in this collection.
Subject Names:
Busch, A.E.
Esser, Herman.
Grogan, Edward T.
Keuffel, Wilhelm J. D.
Nye, Thomas R.
Schermerhorn, H. F.
Volpe, George S.
Wood, Sam Jr.
Subject Organizations:
Keuffel & Esser Co.
Subject Topics:
Drawing instruments.
Mechanical drawing.
Slide-rule.
Surveying instrument industry.
Surveying–Instruments.
Subject Places:
Belgium.
Chicago (Ill.)
Hoboken (N.J.)
Japan
Newark (N.J.)
Ontario.
Puerto Rico.
Washington (State)
Document Types:
Architectural drawings.
Contracts.
Letters (Correspondence)
Manuals.
Minutes.
Plans (Drawings)
Stock certificates.

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Related Material

See also: Four Keuffel & Esser Catalogs, 6th floor books, Call numbers 681.2 K42-K516 (6th floor stacks)

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 1639, Keuffel & Esser Co. Papers, The New Jersey Historical Society.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Susan I. Sherwood, 2004.

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Series Descriptions and Container List

Series 1: Corporate Records

Scope and Content:

This series contaings items pertaining to the corporate activities of Keuffel & Esser from many of their offices including
those in Seattle, Washington, Puerto Rico, Canada, including meeting minutes, stock certificate books, insurance records
and lease agreements.

Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Company correspondence, mostly pertaining to the property on the West Ohio Street lot in Chicago 1911-1945
1 2 Minutes of meeting of the board of directors of Keufel & Esser companies in USA 1960-1969
1 3 Minutes of meeting of the board of directors of Keufel & Esser companies in USA 1970-1989
1 4 Corporate records of H.Dell Foster Co., subsidiary of Keufel & Esser 1970-1979
1 5 Corporate records Limited of Keufel & Esser in Ontario, Canada 1960-1964
1 6 Corporate records Limited of Keufel & Esser in Ontario, Canada 1965-1969
1 7 Corporate records Limited of Keufel & Esser in Ontario, Canada 1970-1979
1 8 Corporate records Limited of Keufel & Esser in Ontario, Canada 1980-1989
1 9 Corporate records of Keufel & Esser Company of Washington Inc. (Seattle, Washington) 1955-1961
Box Folder Title Date
2 1 Laser Systems & Electronic, Inc. of Tullahoma, TN minutes of directors meetings–Affiliate of Keuffel & Esser 1974-1979
2 2 Incorporation records of Keuffel & Esser in Puerto Rico 1968-1985
2 3 Incorporation records of Keuffel & Esser in NJ and Delaware 1968-1985
2 4 Keuffel & Esser of Wisconsin stock certificate books (2) ca. 1950s
2 5 Contracts 1980s
2 6 Clerk’s handwritten notes 1985-1886
Box Folder Title Date
3 1 Invoices 1960s-1990s
3 2 Keuffel & Esser real estate in Hoboken n.d.
3 3 Correspondence regarding insurance 1970s
3 4 Rokuoh Keuffel & Esser (Japanese Joint Venture) 1980s
3 5 Lease agreements (mostly pertaining to Belgium) 1970s-1980s
3 6 Keuffel & Esser Chicago branch documents
3 7 Equipment lease agreements 1967-1975
3 8 Equipment lease agreements 1976
3 9 Equipment lease agreements 1977-1984

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Series 2: Product/Work/Plan/Architecural Records

Scope and Content:

This series contains materials pertaining to the products produced by or related to Keuffel & Esser including information
about products offered, architectural building plans, equipment information and manuals.

Box Folder Title Date
4 1 Product quotations 1970s
4 2 Paperwork NIP Height Gauge–T Machine 1970s
4 3 Taconic Plot Plans 1970s
4 4 Hazardous Product Listing and Product Safety Information 1950s-1970s
4 5 Production record book 1962-1982
4 6 Production record book 1983-2002
Box Folder Title Date
5 1 Installation and Maintenance instructions 1983-2002
5 2 Equipment Information 1983-2002
5 3 Product catalog Leroy Products group 1983-2002
5 4 Operators Instruction Manual–Blade Coater 1983-2002
5 5 Building Guidelines (Belgium) 1973-1975
5 6 Building Plans (mostly Belgium) n.d.
5 7 Equipment drawings 1973-1975

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