The JWT Legal Department Records date from 1936-1979, with the majority of materials dating from the 1950s. The collection primarily contains release forms, photographs and publications associated with JWT campaigns. The collection also contains routine legal contracts which list the terms of agreement between the client, talent and the J. Walter Thompson Company. Companies represented in the collection include Ford, Gillette, Kodak, Lever Brothers, Pacific Mills (Cocheco Manufacturing Company), Pan American , Quaker Oats, Radio Corporation of America (RCA), Seven-Up, Singer, and Uncle Ben's. Photographers mentioned or whose work appears in the collection include Richard Avedon, Ralph Bartholomew, Anton Bruehl, Horst, Otto Mayo, Valentino Sarra, and Francesco Scavullo.
Restrictions on Access: Materials may not be photocopied.
Processed by Ferriss Buck, July 1986
Encoded by Jessica Wood, March 2009
Accessions 2644, 32A9, 34A2, 34A1, 36A1, 6464, 6612, 68A1, 8107, 8648, 8858, 9578, 10363, 10365, 10396, 11165, 12180, 12180, 12874, 12882, 17038, 3342, 10277, 12337, 13006, 13746, 13777, 14295, 19029, 22586, 22588, 24764, 25789, 19396, 19397, 19400, 16063, 19432, 20851, 20912, 20945, 20963, 20964, 20965, 20966, 20967, 38A15, 63A22, 24707, 26821, 34A5, 37B16, 38A16, 39A26, 77A7 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.
The collection is divided into six series: Model Releases, Photographers, Publications, Reports, Model-Client-Date Cards, and Overscale Talent Releases. The Model Releases Series and the Photographers Series contain photographs and photostats of models as they often appeared in an advertisement. Attached to the visual is a signed release by the model specifying the length of the contract, the client and the date. The Publications Series contains an assortment of publications requiring model releases, and especially Ford newsletters from the 1950s. The Reports Series consists of contour sheets for Pacific Mills, as well as a Kodak marketing consideration. The Model-Client Date Cards Series consist of index cards of models used by the various clients. The Overscale Talent Releases Series include routine legal contracts which list the terms of agreement between the client, talent and the J. Walter Thompson Company. They specify the length of the contract, the client and the date. The bulk of the contracts are in their original format and therefore have actual signatures of the talent. "Overscale" refers to the fact that these contracts remunerated above normal union scale wages.
The Model Releases are arranged alphabetically by client and then by model and date. The Photographers files are arranged alphabetically by photographer and then by client and date. The Publications are arranged alphabetically by client and then by the name of the publication and date. Reports are arranged by client. The Model-Client index cards are arranged alphabetically by model in the first two boxes and by client (Kodak only) in the third box. The Overscale Talent Releases are arranged alphabetically by client, then by the talent name and then by date.
