Chester F. Carlson papers

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Description: Chester Floyd Carlson (1906-1968) was an American patent attorney who invented xerography in 1938. Collection consists of correspondence, technical papers, writings, personal and financial papers, photographs, ephemera, and printed matter. General correspondence reflects Carlson's philanthropic interests; technical correspondence, laboratory notebooks, patent files, and other papers relate to his invention of xerography and to its commercial development. Other papers include family correspondence, diaries for 1928 to 1968, financial papers, speeches and other writings, scrapbooks of printed ephemera related to xerography, and photographs of trips to the Soviet Union and India. Also, papers relating to parapsychology and to the economic development of Guyana, 1966-1968.
Names: Carlson, Chester Floyd, 1906-1968 (Creator); Carlson, Dorie (Correspondent); Carlson, Roy, 1927- (Correspondent); Kornei, Otto (Author); Kornei, Otto (Addressee); Carlson family (Contributor); Battelle Memorial Institute (Publisher); Xerox Corporation (Contributor)
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1898 - 1975
Library locations: Manuscripts and Archives Division; Shelf locator: MssCol 472
Topics: Charities; Inventions -- United States; Office equipment and supplies industry -- United States; Parapsychology; Xerography; Guyana -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1966; India; Soviet Union; Inventors; Philanthropists
Genres: Diaries; Patents; Photographs; Scrapbooks; Ephemera; Correspondence; writings (documents)
Notes: Biographical/historical: Chester F. Carlson 1906-1968, patent attorney and inventor of xerography, was the son of poor Swedish immigrants. Carlson graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1930. One of Carlson's first jobs was with the patent firm of P. R. Mallory. One of the aspects of patents is that multiple copies of patents are often needed. Prior to the 1930s, before xerography, the process was costly and slow. Carlson, therefore, sought to develop a quick and inexpensive copying machine. Through extensive research, with many hours spent at the New York Public Library and with the assistance of a refugee physicist, Otto Kornei, he perfected the process. On October 22 1938, the first image read "10-22- Astoria". Carlson's invention did not sell at first, because of a lack of commercial interest. During the year 1944, the Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio agreed to market the process. In January 1947, the Haloid Corporation later the Xerox Co., made a licensing agreement with the Battelle Corporation. The first xerox machine was marketed in 1950; the royalties eventually made Carlson a multi-millionaire. Carlson was also known as a philanthropist. Carlson died in 1968; he was survived by his wife Dorrie Carlson and a daughter, Catherine.; Content: The Chester F. Carlson Papers contain the papers of Chester F. Carlson (1906-1968), attorney and inventor of xerography. The papers, by bulk, concern technical and scientific subjects and to a lesser extent family and outside interests. The main series are general correspondence, 1912-1969, technical correspondence, 1938-1963, contribution file, technical papers and subject papers.; Additional physical form: Available on microfilm; New York Public Library; *ZL-341; Acquisition: 1972 Carlson, Mrs. Chester F. Gift
Physical Description: Extent: 44 linear feet (86 boxes, 13 v.); 71 microfilm reels
Type of Resource: Text; Still image
Identifiers: NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12354885; MSS Unit ID: 472; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 0cd68c20-07fe-0139-a640-0242ac110005