Summary

Creator:

J. Walter Thompson Company

Extent:

1.2 Linear Feet
circa 275 Items

Language:

English.

Collection ID:

RL.00763

Background

Scope and Content:

The James Webb Young Papers chiefly consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, and publications and span the years 1927-1984. These materials provide insights into Young's career as well as the operational aspects of the J. Walter Thompson Company, especially the early development of their international branch offices.

From the perspective of James Webb Young's entire career in advertising, this collection reflects a small portion of his contributions to the J. Walter Thompson Company and the advertising business as a whole, for which he was awarded in 1945 the Gold Medal for a distinguished career in advertising. While these papers represent Young's pioneering work in establishing the J. Walter Thompson Company abroad as well as reflect some his contributions to public service advertising and advertising strategy, primarily through The Compleat Angler, A Footnote to History, and other works in the Publications category, they are an incomplete record of his distinguished career.

The International Branch Notebooks category primarily contains correspondence, minutes, memoranda, research reports and tables which pertain to the organization and initial operations of J. Walter Thompson branch offices abroad, particularly in London, Africa, South America, and Europe during the late 1920s and early 1930s. A substantial amount of this material focuses upon J. Walter Thompson's advertising for General Motors, especially for markets in Europe and South America. Though Young officially retired in 1928, he served as Consultant and director (1928-1964) and became a key figure in establishing the earliest international branch offices for the J. Walter Thompson Company. Among the correspondents in this series are Sam Meek, Stanley Resor, and Henry C. Flowers.

In the Publications category are works written by Young, some of which were privately printed by the Piñon Press in Coapa, New Mexico. The works published by the Piñon Press have been individually cataloged and can be searched by author and title. The Publications category includes editions of A Technique for Producing Ideas and How to Become an Advertising Man. As a whole, these works reflect aspects of Young's advertising philosophy and strategies, and partially document his involvement in public service advertising in the United States as well as his early career from an autobiographical perspective.

Biographical / Historical:

Chronology

Date	Event
1886, Jan. 20	Born in Covington, Ky.
1907	Appointed Advertising Manager and Book Designer of the Western Methodist Book Concern, Covington, Ky.
1907	Married Elizabeth Johnson
1912	Joined the J. Walter Thompson Company Cincinnati Office as a copywriter
1913	Promoted to Manager, J. Walter Thompson Company Cincinnatti Office
1916	Appointed Vice President of the J. Walter Thompson Company
1917	Appointed Senior Vice President in charge of the Western Division of the J. Walter Thompson Company
1927	Traveled to Europe to open J. Walter Thompson offices in Europe
1928	Retired from the J. Walter Thompson Company and lived on a ranch near Pena Blanca, N.M.
1928-1964	Consultant and Director of J. Walter Thompson Company
1931	Appointed Professor of Business History and Advertising, School of Business, University of Chicago
1939-1941	Founded the War Advertising Council, which later became the Advertising Council.
1940	Published A Technique for Producing Ideas
1964	Retired again from the J. Walter Thompson Company
1973, Mar. 6	Died, Santa Fe, New Mexico

In addition to his roles in the J. Walter Thompson Company, Young developed for the Creel Committee for Public Information a propaganda plan to be implemented on the Western Front during World War I and held a number of public and private positions, including President of the Board of Trustees of the Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Acquisition Information:

The papers of James Webb Young were transferred to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library from the J. Walter Thompson Company in 1987.

Processing information:

Processed by: Donna Longo DiMichele and Daniel L. Daily

Processing of this collection was supported in part by gifts from the J. Walter Thompson Company Fund and the John and Kelly Hartman Foundation.

Encoded by Stephen Douglas Miller

Physical Location:

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.

Rules or Conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed Terms

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:

Advertising, Public service -- United States
Advertising -- Europe
Advertising -- South America
Advertising -- Automobiles
Advertising -- Biography

Names:

Piänon Press
General Motors Corporation -- Advertising
J. Walter Thompson Company
John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Young, James Webb, 1886-
Meek, Samuel W. (Samuel Williams), 1895-
Flowers, Henry C.
Resor, Stanley Burnet, 1879-1962