J. Walter Thompson Company. Company Histories, Memoirs and Reminiscences, 1890s-2010 and undated

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Access note. Collection contains original audiovisual items that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.
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Summary

Creator:
J. Walter Thompson Company
Abstract:
Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) was one of the oldest and largest advertising agencies in the United States. It was headquartered in New York. In 2023 the agency was absorbed into marketing and communications firm VML. The collection includes correspondence, company histories, employee memoirs, biographies and reminiscences collected by the JWT New York Office's Information Center. Some histories include client lists and individual campaign case histories. Histories of individual JWT offices include Rome, Chicago, and London. Includes narratives written by James Webb Young, James Kennedy, Charles Raymond, Colin Dawkins and George Richardson Jr. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
3.7 Linear Feet
Language:
Material in English
Research Center:
John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Collection ID:
RL.00743

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes correspondence, company histories, employee memoirs, biographies and reminiscences collected by the JWT New York Office's Information Center. Some histories include client lists and individual campaign case histories. Histories of individual JWT offices include Rome, Chicago, and London. Includes narratives written by James Webb Young, Howard Henderson, James Kennedy, Charles Raymond, Colin Dawkins and George Richardson Jr.

Acquisition information:
The J. Walter Thompson Company. Company Histories, Memoirs and Reminiscences were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1987-2010.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier, February 2011

Encoded by Richard Collier, February 2011

Accessions 810729B, 831201A, 2010-0004 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Loose additions from Chicago Office reunion processed by Richard Collier, September 2026.

Arrangement:

Organized into series: General Company Histories; Memoirs and Reminiscences; Oversize Materials; Audiovisual Materials.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains original audiovisual items that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

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.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], J. Walter Thompson Company. Company Histories, Memoirs and Reminiscences, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1w057