Sam and Harvey Avedon

Summary: Documentation of various aspects of Lenox China as retained by employees at different levels throughout the company, including several Vice Presidents and two Presidents of Lenox China. Heavily represented topics include the disposition of Lenox museum and archival items, the Lenox Heritage Gifts program, special market products (such as Temperware), product development, fair trade, advertising and promotion, and the Lenox Retail Stores.

Sam and Harvey Avedon (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files kept by Sam and Harvey Avedon, President and Vice President of Alladin Plastics, respectively, dating from the early to mid-1960s. The documents pertain primarily to lawsuits against Jerrold Stephan Co. over unfair competition practices, and patents for molded plastic chairs. Included are memoranda, letters, patents, trademarks, patent applications and court proceedings.

The documents in this sub-series, with the exception of one item, actually date from before Alladin Plastics was acquired by Lenox in 1968.

William L. Bracy: A single folder kept by President of Lenox China and Crystal, William Bracy, dating from 1992. The file pertains to the Total Research Quality Award presented to Lenox by the Total Research Corporation. Included are memoranda and a Total Research Corporation information packet.

Peter R. Cheyney (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files kept by Vice President of Advertising and Marketing Communications for Lenox China and Crystal, spanning from 1983 to 1990. The files pertain to several subjects, including the establishment of Lenox first quality retail stores, the New Jersey State Museum (including preparations for the Lenox Centennial) and the Smithsonian collection. Included are memoranda, floor plans, planning documents, handwritten notes, news clippings and budget materials.

Among the documents relating to Lenox first stores is a draft Standard Form of Agreement for Interior Design Services between Lenox and Michael Graves and Associates (located with the documents for the Lenox Store at Cherry Creek Mall, Denver).

R. M. Clement: A single folder kept by Public Relations Manager R. M. Clement, consisting of press releases regarding the Monte Carlo line of art/giftware in 1954.

Francis J. Dallahan (arranged alphabetically topic): Selected files kept by Vice President of Marketing for Lenox China and Crystal, Frank Dallahan. The records pertain to several subjects, including the reproduction of the funerary mask of King Tutankhamun (produced by Lenox for an American Express card member promotion), Lenox/Boehm Bird and Woodland Wildlife plates and the potential development of a casual dinnerware line, Lenox Every Day, referred to at the time as the L.E.D. project. Included are memoranda, reports, letters and project binders.

Mary Errickson (arranged chronologically by date): Selected correspondence kept by the Administrative Assistant for Lenox Special Markets, Mary Errickson, dating primarily from 1977. The letters, all outgoing, include responses to customer orders, china identification requests and affirmations of Lenox Special Markets' role in the sale of products for use in dealer and sales incentive programs. Scattered throughout the correspondence are letters sent by Errickson's secretary, Deborah Joachim.

F. Michael Gallagher (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files kept by Controller F. Michael Gallagher, spanning from 1977 to 1980. The documents pertain primarily to surveys, profiling the company as a whole, for financial publications, and to a lesser extent, labor and wage issues. Included are memoranda, news clippings, forms and budget reports.

Richard R. Gillespie (arranged alphabetically by topic): The former contents of two notebooks kept by Vice President of Sales for Lenox China and Crystal Richard R. Gillespie, dating from the 1960s and 1970s. The first notebook pertains to the sale, by Lenox, of Schweizerglas's Hofbauer Crystal giftware products, while the second pertains to sales and profit contributions of various giftware items.

Edward Hobson (arranged chronologically by year): Three items, consisting of a small notebook, a memo pad and a kiln record sheet, kept by Kiln Operator Edward Hobson. The items, dating from 1949 to 1963, detail the operation of various kilns at Lenox China, including step-by-step operating instructions, firing temperatures and times, burner and control settings, etc.

Robert H. LaRosa (arranged chronologically by compilation date): The contents to a survey of Lenox, Incorporated's archival holdings, conducted by Director of Safety and Loss Prevention Robert H. LaRosa in 1995, including as augmented in 1998. The two surveys include inventories, memoranda, retention schedules and 4x6 color photographs of archival holdings for Gorham, Hartmann Luggage, Kirk Stieff, Lenox Crystal and Lenox China (facilities in Pomona, Cranbury and Lawrenceville, NJ).

Julie Lawrence (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files kept by Manager of Lenox Showrooms, Julie Lawrence, dating primarily from the early to mid-1980s. The files chiefly pertain to Lenox museum collection items and their loan to various museums and department stores, including loans for an exhibit in Japan. Included are memoranda, letters and inventories.

Joseph J. McArdle (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files kept by Product Manager Joseph J. McArdle, dating from 1976, and relating to the Lenox Heritage Gifts program and reproductions of the Walter Scott Lenox vase, originally produced in 1887. Included are reports, minutes, memoranda, order cards, stationery and product labels.

A. A. Milbury (arranged alphabetically by title): The former contents of two binders of sales figures and forecasts for giftware, apparently kept by Lenox employee A. A. Milbury. The contents of one binder, with figures spanning from 1956 to 1964, pertain to piece counts and quarterly percentages for giftware items discontinued between the years of 1959 and 1964, while the other, spanning from 1954 to 1960, concerns sales percentages, piece counts and sales forecasts for giftware. Included are sales figure data tables (typically with a small photograph of the giftware item affixed) and memoranda between Lenox employees, including district sales managers.

William R. Miller (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files kept by William R. Miller, a Lenox employee beginning in 1953, who was Plant Manager for Pomona (1964-1970), [Senior] Vice President for Manufacturing (1970-1986) and Senior Vice President for Technical Services for Lenox China and Crystal (1987). The documents, dating from Miller's Vice Presidencies, pertain primarily to Lenox backstamps and the opening of Lenox corporate headquarters in Lawrenceville, NJ. The sub-series includes memoranda, back stamp samples, site plans, press clippings and a copy of the HOK architecture firm's quarterly report.

T. Stephen Neale (arranged alphabetically by topic): Two folders kept by Assistant Manager for Advertising and Promotion T. Stephen Neale, dating from 1959 to 1960. The files pertain to loans of Lenox pieces to the Brooklyn Museum's Victoriana exhibit and to the creation of the White House China Room by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. Included are press clippings, letters and loan receipts.

Geoffrey Nunes (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files kept by Vice President and General Counsel Geoffrey Nunes, spanning the mid- to late 1970s. The files pertain largely to the American Fine China Guild and fair trade laws, as well as other, product-specific issues. Included are memoranda, letters, press clippings, handwritten notes, court proceedings and statements and draft agreements/contracts.

The folder entitled Morrison and Kline "'Winslow Homer' -- U.S. Bicentennial Society (D347), 1972-1975," containing material originally kept by Vice President of Marketing David Wilkinson, was previously included by Nunes in the folder entitled "Morrison and Kline "Winslow Homer" (D437), 1973-1976."

Orville A. Petty, II: A single file of miscellaneous correspondence, dating from the 1970s, between Senior Vice President Orville A. Petty, II, and various correspondents, including Robert P. Bonham and Vice President of Marketing David Wilkinson, primarily regarding Lenox Special Markets. Included are memoranda and letters.

Among the correspondence in this sub-series are letters relating to a proposal for Lenox products to be sold in Japan, Australia and Guam by Noritake.

Joy A. Radcliffe: A single folder kept by Manager of Sales Promotion for Lenox China and Crystal, Joy A. Radcliffe, relating to Lenox's relationship to Brown-Forman, as well as inquiries regarding the potential listing on the National Register of Historic Places of the original Lenox plant in Trenton, NJ. Included are memoranda, letters, and a presentation script and slide transparencies for a Brown-Forman stockholders' meeting.

Nancee Robinson (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files kept by General Manager of Lenox Retail Shops at Trenton, Nancee Robinson, spanning from 1972 to 1987. The records relate to Lenox museum pieces (specifically those loaned for an exhibit at the former New Jersey Governor's mansion, Morven) and, to a lesser extent, Lenox history and the history of pottery in Trenton. Included are memoranda, letters, news clippings, loan forms, inventories, packing lists and exhibit layouts.

Safford P. Sweatt (arranged alphabetically by topic): Selected files of Safford P. Sweatt, a Lenox employee who served as Vice President of Marketing for Lenox China and Crystal, and subsequently as President of Lenox China beginning in 1985. The documents, primarily from Sweatt's tenure as Vice President of Marketing, relate to advertising, sales events (such as the "Lenox Event"), sales analysis, and goals and plans for specific product lines. Included are press clippings, correspondence, and reports and proposals.

Among the items in this sub-series is a 1989 letter from First Lady Barbara Bush congratulating Lenox China on its centennial.

Donald R. Young: A single folder kept by Manager of Marketing Services, Donald R. Young, dating from 1981-1982, relating to temporary plant shutdowns in Pomona, NJ, and Mt. Pleasant, PA. The records, consisting of memos and reports, pertain largely to efforts to encourage as many customer orders as possible prior to shutdown.