LOWELL MUSEUM CORPORATION
BOOTT/FLATHER COLLECTION
1836-1979
 
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FLATHER/BOOTT MILLS COLLECTION, 1836-1979
 
   The collection was transferred to the Lowell Museum by gift of Newell 
   Flather in 1983.  It comprises a large portion of the personal and business 
   records of Frederick A. Flather (1867-1967) and his son John Rogers 
   Flather (1899-1979), especially in their capacity as executive officers of 
   the Boott Mills Company, which together they served from 1905-1956.
 
   The Boott Mills records are primarily papers of the Flathers' as Treasurer 
   and Assistant Treasurer, strongest in reflecting the activities of the Board of 
   Directors, management relations with the labor force, and study and 
   analysis of engineering, production and industry-wide forces
 
   Personal papers of FAF include those associated with his social and 
   political activities in Lowell (particularly the Kirk Street Church and 
   YMCA); scattered records of the Boott Cotton Mills prior to 1905; and a 
   significant body of records from the three other companies with whom 
   FAF was associated before 1905 - The Pettee Machine Works of 
   Newton, Massachusetts, the Lowell Machine Shop, and the 
   McCormick/International Harvester Company of Chicago.
 
   There is, in addition, a large collection of general ephemera, much of it 
   related to the textile industry, or to Lowell History; a library that is useful 
   primarily in documenting the Flathers' approach to management, technical 
   and industrial relations issues; some scattered personal papers of JRF; and 
   records related to the history of the Flather family, their machine tool
   business in Nashua, and those associated with them (especially scrapbook
   material relating to John Jacob and Edith Nourse Rogers and legal business 
   records of Frank E Dunbar).
 
MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS AND PERSONAL PAPERS
PAGE
   
Frederick A Flather Papers, (1837)-1972: Biographical, family history, 
   personal papers, photographs, and memorabilia, including records related 
   to John Jacob and Edith Nourse Rogers and to the Flather family machine
   tool companies in Nashua, New Hampshire 
1

 
Pettee Machine Works, 1887-1892
4
Lowell Machine Shop, 1864-1905
6
McCormick/International Harvester Company, 1901-1905
8
Lowell YMCA: Treasurer's Papers, 1909-1917
9
Kirk Street Church Papers, 1859-1888
10
John Rogers Flather: Personal Papers, 1922-1979
11
Miscellaneous Personal Papers: Frank E. Dunbar (1906-1907) legal 
   business letterbook; Albert F. Bemis (1870-1936) scattered papers; 
   Arthur B. Emmons (c 1917), George W. Stone (c 1917), and Bullard 
   Family
12

 
Miscellaneous Manufacturing Companies: Papers of the Merrimack 
   Manufacturing Company, Columbus Manufacturing Company, Chicopee 
   Manufacturing Company, and Callaway Mills (LaGrange, Georgia)
13 
 
BOOTT COTTON MILLS, 1836-1905
 
Miscellaneous Records: Scattered records of the Boott Mills prior to its 
   reorganization in 1905, including some agent and treasurer's 
   correspondence (1850, 1883-1888), labor records (1864-1893), 
   consultant studies (1902-1903), photographs, and occasional financial 
   records
14 
 

 
 
BOOTT MILLS RECORDS, 1905-1956
 
Corporate and Legal Records - Board of Directors and Stockholders 
Records, Tax Case Papers, including records on plant and equipment
16 
Executive Records - General Management of Operations: Including cost 
production analysis and studies and consultant reports on plant, machinery 
and labor
17 

 
Executive Records - Treasurer's Working Files: Including some observations 
of plant, sales, equipment and labor
18 
Executive Records: Closing and Sale, 1949-56
19
Labor Records: Including legal papers relating to arbitration
20
Miscellaneous: Production Records
21
Miscellaneous: Financial Records
22
Miscellaneous: Sales Records and Ephemera, Textile Samples
23
Miscellaneous: Records of Affiliated Companies - Proprietors Locks and 
   Canals, Lowell Industrial Development Corporation, 1912-1954
24
Publicity and History
25
 
LIBRARY
 
Introduction
26
Bibliography
Business economics: management, marketing, accounting, New England 
   industry
28
Industrial relations and labor
34
Mechanical engineering: mill engineering
37
Textile industry: history
41
Textile industry: management and labor
45
Textile industry: technology
51
Lowell
55
General
57
 
FREDERICK A FLATHER PAPERS  (1837) - 1972
   Frederick A Flather served as an apprentice draftsman and foreman for 
   Flather & Company, a lathe and machine tool manufacturer that was 
   founded in Nashua by his father.  He served as superintendent of Pettee 
   Machine Works; assistant to the manager of Lowell Machine Shop; 
   superintendent at McCormick Harvester Company, in Chicago, in 1901. 
   He was later manager of works at International Harvester until 1905, when 
   he returned to Lowell to become treasurer and manager of Boott Mills. 
   By 1914 he had a controlling interest.
   He served as President and Director of the Proprietors of Locks and 
   Canals on the Merrimack River, and from 1906 through 1935, was 
   director of the Lowell YMCA and the Lowell YWCA.  He was also 
   active in the Northern Textile Association and the American Society of 
   Mechanical Engineers.
   He was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, March 21, 1867, the son of 
   Joseph Flather, who came from Bradford, Yorkshire, England in the 
   1850s; and of Carolina Drusilla Drake.  He married Mary Sutherland 
   Pritchard of Nashua in 1891.  She died a year later.  Alice Poor Rogers of 
   Lowell was his second wife.  They were married in 1891.  He had a 
   daughter, Mary Drusilla Riley, and two sons, John Rogers Flather of 
   Lowell, and Frederick Flather, Jr. of Andover.  He was a member of the 
   Kirk Street Congregational Church. 
Top of page
FAMILY HISTORY PAPERS
BOX
FOLDER
     
Flather Family: Genealogy, 1947-1972
10
1
Alice Rogers Flather: 1876-1970
10
2
Frederick A. Flather, Jr: 1907-1936
10
3
Joseph Flather: 1837-1907
10
4
Joseph J. Flather: 1862-1926
10
5
Drake Family: Genealogy, 1926-1951
10
6
Drusilla Drake Flather: Drawing of tombstone
10
7
Frederick Flather: Paper "The Merrimack River"
10
8
 
ROGERS CLIPPINGS & SCRAPBOOK
 
John J. Rogers: Memorial Scrapbook, 1925 with funeral photos
11
1
John J. Rogers, 1922: Miscellaneous letters
11
2
John J. Rogers/Edith Rogers: speeches and canvassing cards
11
3
Edith Nourse Rogers: Campaign clippings 1925-1956
11
4
 
ADMINISTRATOR'S ESTATE PAPERS
 
Elizabeth A. Smith Estate, 1918, 1943-1944; Rogers Estate, 
1916-1917; Drake Estate, 1888-1896; Mary Prichard Flather Estate, 
1892-1913; Frederick A. Flather's Will; Alice Rogers Flather's Will; and 
Mary Rogers Dunbar's Will
12 
 

 
BIOGRA PHICAL PAPERS, 1867-1967
Biographical directory statements; birth certificates (copy); resumes; 
notes
13

 
1

 
Who's Who listings, 1933-1958
13
2
Obituaries, 1967
13
3
Poem about FAF, JRF, and Associates, by Mrs. Dunbar
13
4
PERSONAL AND GENERAL BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE, 1888-1957
Chronological correspondence, 1888-1967 - Letters and Papers 
received: 
   Includes some business correspondence from those associated with 
   Flather companies and investments, club and other social 
   correspondence, with ephemera, occasional copies of outgoing letters, 
   and all correspondence on outside activities of a professional nature, 
   including textile and engineering associations
14-16 
 
 
 
 

 
Outgoing Office Duplicates, 1934-1955
17
FLATHER MACHINE COMPANIES
Flather Planer & Shaper Company, 1910-1916
18
1
Flather Company, Nashua, New Hampshire (Machine Tools) 1890: 
   Three notebooks: stock and purchasing price account; list of screws, 
   nuts, bolts; specifications, 1889
18 
2 
Riley Rip Bits: Correspondence, 1931-1950
18
3
INVESTMENT NOTEBOOKS AND PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
Personal account books; record of stock purchases, 1888-1960s
19
POCKET MEMORANDA AND DIARIES
1884-1911
20
1912-1956
21
1959-1962
22
Personal notes, some notes informal and interspersed with comments on 
work activities
WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Lowell Textile School: Laboratory report, 1897
13
5
Lowell Textile School: Notebooks, 1897-1898
13
6
Lowell Textile School: Paper on Steam Traps, 1898
13
7
Writings and Speeches, 1908
13
8
Presentation of NACM medal to Lowell Textile School Students
13
9
MEMORABILIA
Ames Campaign: Lowell Scrapbook, 1906
23
Medals, badges, wallet
24
1
Address lists, Birthday and Christmas lists
24
2
Certificates and Masonic documents,  1 tube
30A
7A
PHOTOGRAPHS
Childhood portraits
30A
13A
NACM Board, 1907
30B
11B
New England Textile Association: Southern trip, 1920
30B
9B
NACM, 1916, 1927; Roosevelt's address to code enforcers, 1934 
1 tube
30A
10A
Photograph with Hoyt, c 1915
30A
14A
Family and Friends, including John Jacob Rogers, 1925
30A/B
12A/B
PETTEE MACHINE WORKS, 1887-1892
   Records of Frederick A. Flather, who joined the company in 1887, 
   and became Assistant Superintendent and later Superintendent of the 
   works.  The company manufactured textile mill machinery, much of it 
   under license from foreign patent-holders, at its plant in Newton 
   Upper Falls.
   Flather's records from his period of service at Pettee include some job 
   diaries that relate to his connection with Flather family machine tool 
   concerns in Nashua, New Hampshire, in addition to his supervision of 
   production at Pettee.  A number of records begun in Newton were 
   continued by Flather when he returned to Nashua late in 1892 and 
   after he began his association with the Lowell Machine Shop in the 
   following year.  Most significant among these are patent papers dating 
   from 1891, which he assigned to the Lowell company after obtaining 
   a release from Pettee; but they include job diaries and machine notes.
Top of page
 
JOB DIARIES  
 
Daily Memoranda, 1889-1890  5 volume
1
1
Daily Memoranda, #1-4, 1890-1891: Notebooks of daily activities and 
problems on shop floor  4 volume
1

 
1
 
Diary, 1890  1 volume 
Calendar desk diary, noting whereabouts of FAF and major activities
1

 
2

 
 
COST AND SUPPLY RECORDS
Estimates and Analysis: Revolving flat cards, 1891: Evaluating costs of 
production and modification
1

 
11

 
Cost Analysis: castings, February, 1892: Analysis of one month's production
1
11
Equipment list, c 1891: List of supplies and equipment needed to reduce 
production costs and maintain quality
1

 
11

 
MACHINERY SPECIFICATIONS, NOTES, PLANS, CATALOGS
Photographs: Pettee Products
1
5
Specifications of Pettee Products
1
6
Blueprints and drawings: plant and machinery
1
7
Machine specifications and sketches: notebook, 1887-1891  1 volume
1
18
Tests of machine performance; consultant reports; running cost analysis; 
mill costs
1

 
15

 
Ephemera
1
8
Catalogues
1
9
Specifications and trade catalogue: Alsace Carding Machine
1
16
Notes on mill engineering and on review of competitive models, 
1888-1893  5 volume
1

 
13

 
 
ADMINISTRATIVE AND LABOR RECORDS
 
Correspondence, 1887-1892: Including sales and production reports, 
estimates, orders and notices; chronological
1
 
14
 
Orders: Notebook, 1887-1889
1
10
Orders: Summaries
1
10
Monthly Activity Statistics and Summary Sheets, 1887-1892
1
12
Apprentice hired, 1889-1890:Notes on apprentices' tasks and 
performance
1
4
Poll of hands to determine support for hourly pay system, 1892  1 piece
1
17
LOWELL MACHINE SHOP, 1864-1905
   Records of Frederick A Flather, who worked as assistant to 
   Charles Hildreth at the Lowell Machine Shop from 1893 until 1902,
   primarily concerned with plant improvements and the mechanical 
   engineering aspects of machinery production.  The papers include 
   price lists and catalogs that pre-date Flather's time with the Machine 
   Shop; a significant group of plant plans and construction specifications; 
   some production shop records and machinery specifications; and an 
   interesting group of papers resulting from a study tour of Mexican 
   textile mills
   Among the job diaries and notebooks are some memorandum books 
   that begin during Flather's service at the Pettee Machine Works. 
    Incidental job notes and work diary entries may also appear in the 
   collection of pocket memo diaries in the Personal Papers of 
   F A Flather; and among the job diaries and machine notes (see 
   especially notes on mill engineering) listed in the Pettee Machine 
   Works and facilities
Top of page
CORPORATE AND LEGAL RECORDS
     
Stockholders' Offering, 1905  1 piece
4
12
Patents: Correspondence and assignments, 1891-1905: Flather's 
   assignments of patent to Pettee Machine Works, and from Flather 
   and Pettee to Lowell Machine Shop
4 

 
 
1-3 

 
 
 
GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE & SALES RECORDS
 
General correspondence, 1892-1901  2 folders
4
9-10
Summary of orders shipped, 1901-1902
4
8
Estimates: Cost and price analysis and correspondence 1898-1900
4
6
 
PLANT AND BUILDING RECORDS
 
Foundry extension and construction: plan and specifications, 
   1897-1899
5

 
1

 
Foundry and power plant extension: Engineering notebooks, 
   1894-1899  6 volume
5

 
3

 
Main yard & foundry buildings: plans, 1899
5
3
 
SALES AND CATALOGS AND EPHEMERA
 
Catalogs: Engineers & Machinists tools 1864, 1867  2 volume
2
1
Ring frames, 1894  1 volume
2
2
Warpers and slashers, 1895  1 volume
2
3
Revolving flat carding engines, railway heads, and drawing frames, 
1897  1 volume
2

 
5

 
Fly frames, 1898  1 volume
2
6
Worsted Machinery, 1898  1 volume
2
7
Machinery, 1899  1 volume
2
8
Cotton machinery, 1902  1 volume
2
9
Price lists of cotton machinery, 1886, 1899
2
4
Order forms (blank)
4
13
PRODUCTION AND MACHINERY
Production records and shop notes; machinery specifications and 
   operating tests; studies and cost analysis of products, both Lowell 
   Machine Shop and comparative		    
Notes on machine specifications; shop notes, (1889)-1897   4 folders
3
1-4
Daily work notebooks, 1892-1900  4 volumes
3
5
Review of competitive and comparative models, US manufacturers: trip 
notes, 1893-1895  4 volumes
3

 
6

 
Production Summary: worsted machinery, 1898-1901
4
4
Correspondence relating to machinery, 1893-1900
4
4
Table: comparison of Lowell Speeder and Fly Frame  1 piece
4
4
Report to Charles L. Hildreth relating to Pridman Moulding Machine, 
1894
4

 
11

 
MEXICAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY STUDY, 1898
Itinerary
6
1
Photograph: composite shots of mill floors  1 piece
6
2
Correspondence, 1898-1899
6
3
Expenses, 1898-1899
6
4
Newspaper & Journal Articles (reference file)
6
5
Maps  2 pieces  (print)
6
6
Tariff Procedures, 1897  1 piece  (print)
6
7
PHOTOGRAPHS
Machinery, c 1895, including two shots of an industrial exhibition 
showing Boott Mills display adjacent to that of Lowell Machine Shop
30A
2A
 
Portrait: Charles Hildreth, 1893  1 piece
30A
3A
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER (1901-1905), 1907, 1912-1913*
   Records of Frederick A. Flather who joined the McCormick 
   Harvesting Machine Company in 1901 prior to their merger into the 
   International Harvester Company in 1902.  Flather was appointed 
   Superintendent of the McCormick Reaper Works in Chicago in 
   December 1901. On August 12, 1902 the J.P. Morgan Company 
   helped McCormick merge with the Deering Manufacturing Company 
   and lesser agricultural implements manufacturers to form the 
   International Harvester Company. Flather helped to coordinate the 
   manufacturing activities of the newly joined companies.  He held the 
   office of Superintendent of Works until 1904 when he became 
   Manager of Works until 1905, both positions under E.A. Clark, 
   formerly of the Deering Company.
   Most of Flather’s records are correspondence with corporate 
   leaders of International Harvester and Plant Managers concerning 
   problems of reorganization and new plans. Reports to and from 
   Flather document progress and are filed together with the 
   correspondence, by date with a name and subject index. General 
   subjects include: supplies, labor, personnel changes, new products, 
   where what products are made, old rivalries, auditing what former 
   companies are worth, organizing manufacturing processes and 
   plants, plans and policies. Outgoing correspondence adds 
   references to the Flather family, Lowell, cotton, investments, 
   charities and the YMCA.  In 1908, Flather surveyed causes of 
   cupolas (Blast Furnaces) “burning out.”  Reports on this subject, 
   many of them on oversized sheets, are filed together with other 
   technical reports.  Flather’s expertise in iron making is reflected in a 
   series of correspondence with the American Society for Testing 
   Materials in 1903. Diaries, address books and appointment books 
   fill some gaps and make connections.  Also in the Collection are 
   stock ownership papers (1903-1915), clippings and excerpts 
   from published materials.
   The McCormick Company and Deering Company had been fierce
   competitors for ten years preceding the merger that gave the new 
   company a sudden monopoly.  Personnel from all the former 
   companies did not immediately cooperate.  The power struggles 
   and problems of defining and protecting assets, and labor relations 
   problems reflected here are still relevant.
* There is a full inventory and index to this collection in the first file 
folder
Top of page
Correspondence and Reports
1902-1904 arranged by date and indexed by subject and name
     
Outgoing letters from Flather  1901-1904 has its own name index. 
   Lowell, Cotton, Charities, YMCA
IH2
1
 
Letters to and from Harold McCormick  1901-1902 Hiring F.A. 
   Flathers as Superintendant
IHI
1
 
Correspondence 1902 - one folder 
   New Personnel, auditing companies, personality of 
   George W. Perkins of  J.P. Morgan Company, meetings with 
   Deering Company people, Committee on valuations of inventories, 
   Manufacturing Committee, Statisticians, organization of 
   manufacturing,
 IH1

 
 
 
 
 
 2




 
 
Address book of employees, probably 1902, Chicago
IH2
2
 
Correspondence 1903 - one folder 
   Standards for hiring employees, how to organize manufacturing, 
   Flather moving his household goods, Manufacturing Committee 
   meeting schedule, new products and where made, personnel policy, 
   inventory committee, labor, procedures, appraisal of buildings, 
   manufacture of iron power struggle with E.A. Clark. 
IH1
 
 
 

 
3
 
 
 

 
 
Correspondence 1904 - one folder 
   New personnel assignments, profit sharing elsewhere, products of 
   each plant, foundry statements, personnel list at McCormick Reaper 
   Work selling excess steel, labor, unions, plans, policies, committees 
   reports 
IH1
 
 

 
4
 
 

 
   Monthly Reports:  April, May, August, September, October, and 
   of season
   Organization, statistics, labor quality safety, extravagance, 
   committees, compensation, inspection, prices, problems, progress 
   at each plant.		    
 
Exelsior Journal 4/22/1904 
   Plans for Laval cream separation
IH2

 
2

 
 
Correspondence 1904-(1904) one folder 
   Flather’s termination from International Harvester and transition to 
   Treasurer at Boott Mills
IH1

 
5

 
 
Diary and Address Book
IH2
2
Comparisons of Costs and Problems at Foundries – especially 
Cupolas
IH2
 
3

 
Grey Iron Cost Sheets  8/31/1904 Charts from Milwaukee, Osborne, 
Deering.
Comparative Cost and Practice, Maleable Iron Foundries  7/8/1904 
Chart
Comparative Cost of Labor on Binder Frames, Mower Frames, and 
Mower Wheels, 11/4/1904 2 page letter, 4 big charts
Statistical Cost Comparison of Productive Labor at Grey Iron 
Foundries 11/30/1904 Charts
Causes of Cupolas Burning out too rapidly   18” x 20” charts
Whiting Cupola at Foundry No. 2    Fragment undated
Letters to Flather from Fumt, Rice, Evans, Wood, Prof. Channing 
Whitaker, 11/29/04 – 12/9/04  Theories about Cupolas burning out.
Blueprint and Letter from Wood on Whiting Cupola at Foundry #2
Record of blast pressure at Cupolas  1899    Graphs
 
American Society for Testing Materials  5/26 – 8/13/1903
IH2
4
One bound volume of correspondence discussing the following 
subjects: 
     suffer content in iron making 
     silicon grading pig iron 
     fracture grading 
     chemical analysis 
     meetings, voting, decisions of committees 
     price of iron 
     furnace men
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
Stock Agreements, Certificate, Transfers, Announcements
1903,  1904, 1907, 1912-1915
IH2
 
5
Published materials
IH2
6
Newspaper clippings  1903, 1907 
Magazines  Harvester World  1912 
   Two page history of International Harvester, 
   Biography of William Deering with photo, logos  (Also available 
   at library of Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration)
Reprint:  Bemis Bag Factory of Brooklyn – branch in Pepperell, MA 
1929
Excepts:  photocopy:  13 pages from book 
   “The Century of the Reaper” by Cyrus McCormick (II)
LOWELL YMCA: TREASURER'S PAPERS, 1909-17
   Papers of Frederick A Flather as treasurer of the city YMCA. 
   Records relate primarily to the construction of the new building; the 
   campaign to raise funds for it; and the association's war work effort. 
   Ephemera and clippings refer to activities of a number of other US 
   branches.
Top of page
Clippings, Ephemera, and Memorabilia    
Scrapbook I: Lowell YMCA activities, 1909  1 volume
7
1
Scrapbook II: References to building and fundraising of other YMCA 
Chapters, primarily in Massachusetts  1 volume
7

 
2

 
Clipping file: General & Lowell, unarranged
7
3
Photographs: Fundraising banquets, c 1910  2 pieces
7
4
Ephemera: Lowell
7
5
Ephemera: Outside Lowell - Annual reports, building and fundraising 
   brochures, tracts and printed statements
7

 
6

 
Fundraising Records    
Building Fund: Subscription lists, 1913  
1
Treasurer's Correspondence, 1909-1917, unarranged  2 folders
8
2-3
JJ Rogers' letter, 1913
8
7
Building and Property Records
Architectural competition, contracts, agreements, legal case papers, 
1909-17  unarranged
8
4
Building Plans, specification, and construction costs: correspondence, 
plans and invoices  unarranged
8
5
Property Papers: Land acquisition, tax papers, easements, and permits, 
1910-1913  unarranged
8
6
KIRK STREET CHURCH PAPERS, 1859-1888
Programs, clippings, etc, 1886-1888  1 volume
9
1
Loose papers, 1859-1882: Includes plan of church
9
2
Photographs: Interior views
30
4
   also
30B
4
Top of page
JOHN ROGERS FLATHER: PERSONAL PAPERS, 1922-1979
   John Rogers Flather, son of Frederick A Flather, was born in 1899, 
   attended Phillips Academy in Andover, and joined the Boott Mills as 
   assistant treasurer shortly before he completed the Harvard Business 
   School in 1922.  He had largely assumed day to day management of 
   the mill by the end of World War II, and continued to work with the 
   company after its sale in 1953.  The few extant personal papers 
   contain little of interest except for the working papers and copies of 
   an address in 1972 on "Why Did The Lowell Mills Close?"; and a 
   number of thoughts and notes on his management philosophy. 
   These, along with the application for draft deferment and his 
   miscellaneous shop notes, give some insight into the working history 
   of the Mill.  But the treasurer's office working files in the Boott Mill: 
   Executive records are a fuller record of JRF's career in the industry 
   and his approach to management.
Top of page
Biographical Papers
CV and written resume, 1938
27
1
Application for draft deferment, 1942: Includes memo summarizing 
   defense contracts
27

 
2

 
Obituaries, 1979
27
3
Personal Correspondence
Chronological file, 1923-1951
27
4
 
"Why Did The Lowell Cotton Mills Close?"  
Working files for, and text of speech, 1972  2 folders
27
5-6
Copies of Boott Mills wage case materials, 1949
27
7
Notes concerning industry programs, c 1966
27
8
Articles on the history of the industry and mill histories
27
9
Miscellaneous Writings    
Harvard Business School Papers, 1922
28
1
Miscellaneous Chap notes
28
2
Memo re: "Guiding Thoughts,"  1924, and other notes
28
3
Notes for remarks at Harvard Business School, 1953  l folder
28
4
Notes on early textile communities, 1970
28
5
Miscellaneous
Papers relating to houses in Lowell, 1951-1979
28
6-7
Photographs and Memorabilia
Certificates, masonic documents  1 tube
30B
6B
Portraits
30
15
Phillips Andover Academy: School photograph, c 1915  1 piece
30
16
MISCELLANEOUS PERSONAL PAPERS
Albert F. Bemis, 1870-1936
Director of Boott Mills: personal correspondence; Article: Self 
   Preservation New England's Prime Industrial Problem
25

 
1

 
Arthur B. Emmons
Letters (for publication?) on the effects of War and "Manners," c 1917
25
2
George W. Stone
Letter to Ruth (?), 1917
25
4
Frank E. Dunbar
Letterbook, out, February, 1906-March 1907: 
   Outgoing letters of his business law practice
25

 
4

 
Bullard Family
Photographs of mid-19th century portraits  2 pieces
30B
25
Top of page
MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURING COMPANIES
Merrimack Manufacturing Company    
Employee roster
26
1
FA Flather's report on a study of Huntsville (Ala) Mill, 1932
26
5
Columbus Manufacturing Company
Financial Statement, 1905
26
2
Chicopee Manufacturing Company    
Engineers Report, 1943
26
3
Callaway Mills, LaGrange, Georgia
Production Report, 1934, 1935, 1942
26
4
Top of page
BOOTT COTTON MILLS RECORDS
1836-1905
   
MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
 
Corporate and Executive Records
Record of Boott stock sale: 4 shares to T. Budlong, 1836  1 piece
29
3
Correspondence with agent of Suffolk Manufacturing Company: 
   Reduction of production, 1850
29B

 
4B

 
Questionnaire on consumption of raw cotton completed for National 
Association of Cotton Manufacturers and Planters, 1869  1 piece 
29B

 
6B

 
Agent's letters to Treasurer, 1883,
29B
7B
Treasurer's Incoming Letters, 1887-1888  1 volume
29A
Report on condition of Boott Mills, 1902: Consultant study by 
   Walter E Parker, including a full building and machinery inventory; 
   report on production and costs; summary of wage rates and waste 
   factors; review of Southern competition; and recommendations for 
   reorganization
29B



 
 
9B



 
 
 Top of page
Labor Records
Wage and cost rates, 1864-1893: A shop by shop summary of 
   piecework rates, with some cost analysis; Workers' names appear 
   Index 
29A 

 
 
Papers relating to piece work rates, 1878-1890
29B
1B
Time Sheet, Oct-Nov 1874  1 piece
29B
2B
 
Plant, Power, and Equipment
Water Power Usage Statement, 1865: Transcript of an extract from 
   the records of Richard D Rogers, Treasurer
29A 

 
Report on Condition and Resulting Limitations of Plant and Equipment 
(Walter E Parker) 1902
29B

 
10B 

 
Sketch Plan Showing Proposed Reorganization (Lockwood, Greene, 
and Company) April 1903  1 piece
29B 

 
11B
 
 
Financial Records
Check Register (stubs) 1850-1853: Apparently a record of dividends 
   paid, rates paid Locks and Canals, and other major expenditures at 
   the corporate level; drawn on Boston Merchants Bank
29A 

 
 
Miscellaneous Bills and Receipts, 1900
29B
8B
 
Photographs
Boott Mill yard: employees, c 1870  1 piece
30B
1B
Boott Mill yard: view, c 1880  1 piece
30A
1A
Stereo view, Boott mills
30A
1A
Photographs of Lowell Machine Shop exhibit showing Boott Mills 
display c 1895)  2 pieces
30A/B
 
2A/B 

 
 
BOOTT MILLS RECORDS
1905-1956
 
BOOTT MILL CORPORATE AND LEGAL RECORDS, 
1905-1954
 
Board of Directors
Treasurer's Reports to Directors, 1915-1954: Includes monthly 
   statements and annual reports, summary of earnings, balance sheets, 
   assets and liabilities, account of sales and purchases, tax statements, 
   and some audits
32-38 
 

 
Treasurer's Files for Reorganizations Period  (1906) 1913-1914 
(1916): 
   Includes notebooks with financial statements, machinery schedules, 
   plant improvements and operating costs, from 1906.  File papers, 
   unarranged, include correspondence with Wellington Sears, and 
   with directors, copies of Financial records and legal documents, 
   transcript of stockholders' reorganization meeting, with proxies 
   voting lists, and miscellaneous papers, including meeting transcripts 
40






 
Assistant Treasurer: Board of Directors Files, 1928-1939: 
   J R Flather's record of board meetings, copies of paper referred 
   to board, annual meeting notes and papers, and memoranda 
61-62 

 
 
Letters and memos to Board of Directors 1914-1929  3 folders
31
2-4
Agreement with Bank on 1905 Reorganization
31
1
Tax Case, 1945: Testimony before Appellate Tax Board
42
Tax Case, 1945: Floor Plans showing Mill Plant, c 1890-1945; 
   accompanying photograph
43
1
Tax Case, 1945: Graphs showing selling price of good, 1920-1945
43
2
Tax Case, 1945: Notebook working files for preparation of brief  2 
   volumes
43
 
3
Exhibits for unidentified court case, c 1920  3 folders Includes 
machinery lists, annotated maps and surveys, 1911-1912
41 

 
 
Stockholders
Miscellaneous Records, 1905, 1914-1954: Lists of stockholders 
   (1926); notes supporting treasurer's report; incomplete file of 
   Directors' reports to stockholders (1938-52); dividend, stock sale 
   and meeting notes; memoranda regarding company policy, 
   1932-1935, and other commentary
39 
 

 
 
BOOTT MILLS EXECUTIVE RECORDS
1905-1954
 
GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION
 
Studies and Reports
General Reports on Industry Conditions, 1922, 1940-1951: Including 
   EW Axe and Company, Cotton and Rayon Textile Companies: 
   Comparative investment values and opportunities (1946); 
   George Batten and Company: Investigation of New York and 
   Philadelphia Markets (1922)
44 
 
 

 
Reports on Boott Mills Operations and Plant, 1909-1946 2 boxes
45-46
Power plant studies by J.A. Stevens and others, 1909-1917, Lowell 
Electric (1928);
45
1-4
Plant and labor study by L.A. Hackett (1911) including mill layout
45
5
Industrial audit report on labor situation (1916)
45
6
Organization of labor force for production 1934-1946
46
Machine study by Textile Development Company (1928)
45
7
Safety, usage and arrangements by Charles T Main, Inc  (1935, 1945)
45
8
Efficiency Study Program, 1943-51: Working files and records - 
   Papers of W.A. Hawkes of Albert Rawason Associates and of 
   G.W. Gionet of Boott Mills, including observations of work 
   performance, records of Employee-Management Committee, 
   procedural memoranda by job assignment, and individual employee 
   work records 
47 
 
 
 

 
 
Cost Analysis
Cost Analysis and Estimate Records, 1905-1915: Notebooks and 
   style sheets on fabrics with construction specifications and labor 
   and raw material costs
48-49 

 
 
Miscellaneous Cost Records, 1905-1952
50
 
Plant and Machinery
Machine Files, 1906-1954: Test results on Swain Turbine, machine 
   schedules, reports and correspondence, 1906-1907; miscellaneous 
   machine memos, 1906-1913; machine statement showing an 
   account of new machinery purchases, 1909; machinery lists: 
   including distribution of machines by floor, 1920; piece rates, 1919; 
   hourly rates, 1919; machine list, 1954; papers on spinning frame 
   gears, 1946
51 
 
 
 
 

 
Proposed Bleaching and Finishing Plant: Files, 1926
52
1
Plant Plans: Mill property, 1928
52
2
Photographs, 1911, 1945: Includes one Merrimack River Panorama, 
   @1915; power study photographs, 1911; oil storage tank 
    installation, 1940s; and building photographs, 1943 (1940s) 
30

 
 
17-20 

 
 
Miscellaneous letters, 1905-1954: Unsolicited resumes; requests for 
   literature; and other routine correspondence; including 
   correspondence with International Harvester on development of 
   industrial duck, 1905-1919
53


 
 
BOOTT MILLS EXECUTIVE RECORDS
WORKING PAPERS: 1909-1954
FREDERICK A FLATHER, TREASURER
 
Job diaries, 1909-1911, 1914, 1917
54
 
JOHN ROGERS FLATHER, TREASURER
 
Job diaries and manuals, 1923-1939: Notebooks, commencing with a 
   daily account of work performed and shop observations (1923); 
   becoming a set of informal pocket manuals outlining procedures, 
   mill layout, forms, observations on production and staff performance, 
   styles and style costs and specifications, power and plant factors, 
   policy and philosophy, with occasional sales notes
59 
 
 
 

 
Miscellaneous Papers, unarranged, 1931-1945: Correspondence 
   (and statistics) re finances, orders, fiber tests, long-range planning 
   (1936), job seekers, state of business (1941), arbitration case 
   (1941); Merrimack Manufacturing Co; J.J. Rerliner, survey service; 
   annual health report of Merrimack Hospital, Huntsville, Ala 
   (1932-1933); also report on plant visitation, Chelsea Clock Co. 
   (1945)
58 
 
 
 
 

 
Staff Organization & Personnel Files, 1946-1953
58
Sales and Marketing Notebooks, c 1946-1954: Sales organization 
   and sales history; analysis of competitor’s performance; prices 
55
Papers relating to individual fabric styles
56
Labor Files, 1944-1949
57
Policy and procedures for determining pay, correspondence with 
TWUA, tables and memoranda on labor costs Studies of Boott Mills 
in relation to industry-wide issues and performance, 1947-1953, 
including cost analysis, 1946-1947
60 
 

 
 
BOOTT MILLS EXECUTIVE RECORDS
CLOSING AND SALE (1949): 1953-1956
 
   John Rogers Flather arranged the sale of the mill, late in 1953, to 
   the Overseas Development Corporation, who resold the firm in 
   1955 to Northern Textiles Flather maintained separate files for all 
   business related to the sale and closing of the mill, and to record his 
   part as director and executive officer of the mill after its sale.  Papers 
   include some records dating from 1949-1953 on performance and 
   market factors, but are primarily concerned with the search for a 
   buyer and the arrangements for sales.
 
SUBJECT FILES, 1953-1955
Labor Notebook, 1953-1954: Correspondence and tabulation, 
   summary of business condition, 1953, and of recent labor 
   negotiations, wage rates, and plant practices
63

 
Sales Notes, 1953-1954: Abstracts, statements and analysis, including
   some cost and other general data 
 63 

 
Power File, 1955: re contracts for utilities
64
Subject Working Files, 1953-1954 (1955): General operating files 
   through the first months after sale, arranged by subject: banks, 
   machinery, personnel, tax, products, plant 
70

 
Subject Working Files, 1954-1955: General operating records relating 
   to management of buildings, completion of sale, etc
71

 
Subject Working Files, 1955-1956
72-73
 
SALE OF MILL, 1953-1956
Search Correspondence, 1953-1954: Correspondence with potential 
   purchasers and users, arranged by name of contact
66 

 
Search Reports, 1953-1954: Flather's reports to Directors on 
   prospects for use and sale of property
66

 
Correspondence with Agent and Buyers, 1954-1955: Letters with 
   Warner Textile Consultants, Overseas Development Corporation, 
   Northern Textiles
65

 
Correspondence: Users, 1955-1956: Letters with the tenants and 
   potential tenants of Boott Mills property
68-69
 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS
Duplicates and background papers, 1949-1954: Unarranged set of 
   copies of tables, charts, production records, cost statements, and 
   other material used to develop documents related to the closing and 
   sale of the mill, most of which apparently appears in other sections 
   of the records
67 
 
 

 
 
BOOTT MILLS LABOR RECORDS
1907-1954
 
WORKING GIRLS CLUB & BOOTT MILLS CAMP RECORDS 1907-1954
Financial statements, correspondence, reports, photos, programs, clippings Unarranged
76
Photographs, Salem Willows Works Outing, 1921 2 pcs
30A
21
 
SUPERVISION, WAGES, RATINGS, AND EMPLOYEE RECORDS: 1907-1937 (1960)
Photograph: Shop interior, c 1940  1 pc
30B
22B
Wage Schedules, 1907-1910
79
1-3
Agent's Report: Ethnic & Occupational Analysis of Employees, 1912 
    1 pc
79 
4
 
Employee List with Addresses, nd  1 pc
79
5
Miscellaneous Papers, 1916 nd  1 pc
79
6
Paper re: "second hands", 1916
79
7
Hourly and piece rate schedule, 1919
   See Executive Records: General/Machine Files
Miscellaneous Papers, 1929-1933
79
10
Applications for Employment, 1924, 1934
79
11
Rating of Supervisors: Promotion memos, 1926
79
9
Wages and Hours, 1936-1937 Includes comparison with other mills
79
12
Wage and hours history, 1906-1937
79
13
Rules for office Staff, nd
79
8
 
LABOR RELATIONS: EXECUTIVE FILES, 1937-1954
Chronology of Labor Relations, 1945-1954: Management's paginated 
   typescript summary of industrial relations at Boott Mills
78A/B 
Chronological File, 1942-1953: Miscellaneous papers, including 
   memoranda re Louis Vergardos, 1942; union contracts, 1943, 
   1945, 1948; supervisors' manual, 1943; reports, union 
   correspondence, ballots, and remarks on contract negotiations; 
   notices relating to closing and terminations, 1953
74 
 
 

 
 
ARBITRATION, HEARINGS, AND GOVERNMENT REPORTS
Labor Hearings re Doffers, 1938: exhibits and notes
79
14
Board of Conciliation and Arbitration: loom fixers vs Boott Mills, 1940
79
15
Boott Mills vs Board of Conciliation and Arbitration, 1941-1942
79
17-18
Transcript of Action by TWUA against Boott Mills, 1947
77
16
 
DISPLACEMENT
Papers relating to Northeastern University Study of displaced workers, 1953
75
 
BOOTT MILL PRODUCTION RECORDS
1906-1954
 
MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTION RECORDS
Carding and Combing Records, 1906
80
1
Loom Production Reports, 1912-1914
80
2
Test Samples, 1917-1918, nd
80
3
Style History Sheets, 1920-1954
80
4-6
Specifications, costs, changes of each fabric style, and amended and 
updated to 1954 
Style Specifications Notebook, 1938
80
7
Production Flow Charts, 1949
80
8
Production Reports & Memoranda, 1930-1954
80
9
 
BOOTT MILLS MISCELLANEOUS FINANCIAL RECORDS
1905-1954 (1973)
 
MISCELLANEOUS FINANCIAL RECORDS
Annual Audit Reports, 1922-1923, 1939, 1943-1954
81
   See also Treasurer's Reports to Board of Directors (Corporate and 
Legal Records)
Insurance surveys and appraisals, 1931-1933
82
1-2
Budget Papers, 1953
82
3
Accounts receivable, 1921
82
4
Depreciation Chart, 1939-1973
82
5
Federal Tax history, 1917-1938
82
6
Miscellaneous Financial Statement, 1930-1953
82
8
Papers of J.M. Gilman, 1918-1953: Accounting office procedures, 
   including organization charts, cost accounting procedures (1953), 
   and description of bookkeeping and other record keeping 
   procedures
83 
 

 
Papers re Payroll Fraud, 1943
82
7
Expenditures, 1905-1913
82
9
Payroll Cost Analysis, 1949 1 pc
82
10
 
BOOTT MILLS SALES RECORDS
EPHEMERA, AWARDS, AND TEXTILE SAMPLES
 
SALES RECORDS, 1905-1955
Quotations and Terms, 1905
84
1
Price Lists, 1905-1943: Printed prices on cotton spot market from 
   NACM (1905-1931) and newspaper clipping; printed lists from 
   Parker Wilder and Wellington Sears, 1916 Price report, 1953-1954
84

 
2-5 
Invoice Record form Wellington Sears, 1914
84
6
Order, 1914
84
7
Trade Mark History, 1907-1955
84
8
Correspondence with Wellington Sears, 1905-1906
84
9
Correspondence with Parker Wilder, 1950
84
10
Average Weekly Dollar Sales, 1953
84
11
Marketing & Sales Date, 1928-1936
84
12
Trade Mark Letter, 1954
84
13
Sales Record by Style, c 1913
84
14
 
EPHEMERA
Order Forms
85
Labels
85
Envelopes
85
Advertising Proofs and clippings
85
Brochures, Display Ads, Display Photos, Exhibit, Photos
85
Presentation swatches
85
Cartoons on Toweling and Curtains: Clippings, 1930-1950
85
 
AWARDS
Miscellaneous certificates and awards
30A
23A/B
American Management Association Award, 1937
30A
24
 
TEXTILE SAMPLES
Made-Up Goods: Handmade display goods; factory made towels as 
sold and packaged
Sample 1
 
Marked Cloth Samples: Towel, Curtain, Clothing Fabrics.
Sample 2
Marked Cloth Samples: Industrial Grade Ducks, 1905-1919: 
   Including experimental samples run for International Harvester
Sample 3
 
Unmarked Cloth Samples: Especially cotton cords and twills, a
   rmy twills
Sample 4

 
   See Also: Sales ephemera-presentation swatches; Miscellaneous 
   Productions Records 
      - Test Samples
 
BOOTT MILLS RECORDS
AFFILIATED COMPANIES
 
LOCKS AND CANALS COMPANY
Miscellaneous papers, 1912-1947: Blueprints of power plant (1912) 
   and Aiken St Bridge; insurance survey, 1947; miscellaneous papers, 
   including Log of Flood, March 1936; user shares, 1930
85

 
 
 
LOWELL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Miscellaneous papers, 1932-1954
86
  
   Including: 
   Insurance Appraisal, 1932 
   Rental Advertisement, nd 
   Estimated Income Statement, 1932-1941 
   Property valuation lists, 1942, 1943 
   Bids of Boilers, nd
 
BOOTT MILLS
PUBLICITY AND HISTORY RECORDS
 
PUBLICITY AND HISTORY
Kirk Boott: Address by WH Carey; Notes, 1937
87
1
Clippings: reorganization, 1905
87
2
Personnel and Miscellaneous clippings, 1929-1967
87
3
National Industrial Information Broadcast, 1940: Spindle Wage 
   Chart 1 pc
87

 
4
Army-Navy "E" Award: Photographs, Scrapbook and Memorabilia 
   October 1, 1942 2 v
88

 

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