Consumer Reports. National Association of Consumers records, 1937-1964 and undated

Navigate the Collection

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
Consumer Reports (Firm)
Abstract:
Consumer Reports is a product testing and consumer advocacy nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., founded in 1936. The National Association of Consumers was a consumer advocacy and lobbying organization founded in 1946 and active until around 1957-1958. The National Association of Consumers records include correspondence, drafts and notes for articles and speeches, meeting minutes, membership lists, bylaws and other printed materials that primarily document the administrative life of the organization. Included in the collection are correspondence and writings of Colston Warne and Helen Hall, and food safety projects relating to the pork and poultry industry, including Trichinosis. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
3.0 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11818

Background

Scope and content:

The National Association of Consumers records include correspondence, drafts and notes for articles and speeches, meeting minutes, membership lists, bylaws and other printed materials that primarily document the administrative life of the organization. Included in the collection are correspondence and writings of Colston Warne and Helen Hall, and food safety projects relating to the pork and poultry industry, including Trichinosis.

Biographical / historical:

Consumer Reports is a product testing and consumer advocacy nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., founded in 1936. The National Association of Consumers was a consumer advocacy and lobbying organization founded in 1946 and active until around 1957-1958.

The National Association of Consumers (NAC) formed in 1946 as a private-sector initiative to continue the consumer advocacy work of the Office of Price Administration's Consumers Advisory Committee when the government agency was disbanded after World War II. Helen Hall, vice chairperson of the Consumer Advisory Committee and director of the Henry Street Settlement, was named president of the NAC. Membership in the organization consisted of both individuals and local chapters, made up of existing consumer organizations as well as newly formed organizations. Originally headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAC moved to the Henry Street Settlement in New York and later to Amherst, Mass. The NAC was a registered lobbyist that advocated for a wide range of issues, including food standards, product labeling, rent control, milk prices as well as for the creation of Cabinet-level consumer protection agencies. The NAC's status as a lobby eventually restricted its ability to secure private-sector funding and its viability declined through the 1950s. In 1955 the NAC reorganized as an educational corporation and pursued a merger with the Council on Consumer Information, which never materialized. Dr. William Haller, an economist at Dickinson College, took on the role of executive secretary in 1955, but NAC operations stalled and the organization was effectively inactive around 1957.

Source: Consumer Reports, historical note on National Association of Consumers, Consumer Reports Archives records.

Acquisition information:
The Consumer Reports. National Association of Consumers records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2019.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier, Feb. 2020;

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2019-0130

Arrangement:

Organized alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Consumer advocacy
consumer protection
Consumers -- United States
Lobbying
Names:
John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
National Association of Consumers

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Consumer Reports. National Association of Consumers records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.