.
By Joanne Mendes, Archives Assistant
Collection Overview
Title: Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Library of Management Research and Professional papers, 1845-1959
Predominant Dates:1906-1924
Primary Creator: Gilbreth, Frank Bunker (1868 -1924)
Other Creators: Gilbreth, Lillian Moller (1878-1972)
Extent: 100.0 Cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into four series:
1. N-file, ca. 1845-1941 (71.5 cubic feet)
2. N-file Oversized, ca. 1914-1919 (1 cubic foot)
3. N-file Photographs, ca. 1908-1941 (11.5 cubic feet)
4. N-file Blueprints, ca. 1906-1937 (8 cubic feet)
Date Acquired: 00/00/1939
Subjects: Armed Forces, Automobiles - design and construction, Bricklaying, Dentistry, Disabled veterans, Engineering, Epilepsy, Factory management, Gilbreth, Frank Bunker, 1868-1924, Gilbreth, Lillian Moller, 1878-1972, Home economics, Human engineering, Industrial arts - vocational guidance, Industrial engineering, Industrial management, Inventory control, Kitchens, Manufacturing, Military education, Motion Study, People with disabilities, Photography, Psychology, Purdue University--Baseball, Skill Study, Soap Manufacturing, Standardization, Time management, Typewriting, Women's Archives at Purdue University, Women - Employment, Women engineers
Forms of Material: Blueprints, Clippings (Information artifacts), Correspondence, Flow charts, Manuscripts (document genre), Pamphlets, Photographic prints, Scrapbooks
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Gilbreth Library of Management documents the pioneering research of Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Gilbreth in the fields of time and motion study. Commonly referred to as the N-file, the collection covers the Gilbreths quest to find The One Best Way in job performance, worker satisfaction, efficient office management, and home economics.
Company files in the collection include: New England Butt Company, Regal Shoe Company, Remington Typewriter Company, Sears & Roebuck, National Cash Register, Pierce Arrow, Eastman Kodak, Lever Brothers, and Cluett Peabody & Company. A small portion of the collection covers the Gilbreths family life and Frank's army career during World War I.
Biographical Note
Frank Bunker Gilbreth was born July 7, 1868 to John and Martha (Bunker) Gilbreth of Fairfield, Maine. The youngest of three children, Frank enjoyed a quiet childhood until his father's sudden death from pneumonia in 1871. For financial reasons, his mother was forced to move Frank and his sisters, Anne and Mary, to Boston where Martha opened a boardinghouse. Martha successfully managed the boarding house and along with a small income from her sister Caroline's artwork, was able to support the family and put her two daughters through college. After passing the MIT entrance exams in the summer of 1885, Frank decided to forgo higher education and entered the construction trade as a bricklayer's assistant. Frank noted that the bricklayers with whom he trained all had different approaches to bricklaying and he soon devised a method which eliminated unnecessary motions and greatly increased productivity. Frank quickly worked his way up within the company and was soon able to support his mother and aunt. In 1895, he started his own contracting firm, Frank Gilbreth and Company. The company became famous for finishing projects early and under budget. In 1902, Frank's firm finished building a laboratory for MIT in eleven weeks, a feat which so impressed a young engineering student that he begged the president of the university to arrange a meeting. The student was Andrey Potter (who later became the dean of engineering at Purdue University) and he and Frank Gilbreth became lifelong friends.
The marriage of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth began one of the most famous partnerships in engineering history. Lillian immediately became a full partner in Frank's business, working with him first from home but soon joining him on job sites, at business meetings, and participating in industrial conferences. Frank relied on Lillian tremendously and affectionately referred to her as "Boss." They collaborated on papers, speeches, lectures, and co-authored four books. In 1907, Frank met Frederick Winslow Taylor, the developer of time study, and became a disciple of the Taylor System. The Gilbreths became deeply involved in scientific management research and Frank was instrumental in the creation of the Taylor Society. In 1912, the Gilbreths left construction and focused their attention on scientific management consulting. They broke with Taylor in 1914 and formed their own form of scientific management which focused on the human element as well as the technical. In 1915, Lillian received her doctorate in psychology and incorporated her training into the family business. She saw the need to improve worker satisfaction which would in turn improve overall job performance and worker efficiency. Frank designed his systems to ease worker fatigue and increase productivity by studying each movement a worker made in a process he called micromotion study. The Gilbreths used still photographs and film strips to study worker movement in order to devise the "One Best Way" to perform a task. The Gilbreths also saw the need to improve the physical comfort of the worker and their innovations in office furniture design were ahead of their time and led the way to the study of ergonomics.
The Gilbreths work in time management and efficiency carried over into their personal lives. Early on, Frank and Lillian agreed to have twelve children, six boys and six girls, a feat which they accomplished in seventeen years. The children Anne, Mary (died at the age of six from diphtheria), Ernestine, Martha, Frank Jr., Bill, Lillian, Fred, Dan, John, Bob, and Jane soon became willing participants in their parents studies. The older children were assigned younger siblings to care for and all had daily housekeeping tasks, including the toddlers, who were given table legs to dust. Often Frank would recruit the children for help with his research including his motion studies on typing and surgery. The Gilbreths success raising a large family in which both parents worked full time was a testimony to their achievements in management and efficiency and their love for one another. After Frank's sudden death from a heart attack in 1924, Lillian not only carried on with their work but also managed to put every child through college. Lillian retired in 1968 and died January 2, 1972.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections
Alternate Extent Statement:
183 boxes
Access Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. However, there are a few boxes of restricted materials. Please see the full finding aid for details.
Use Restrictions:
Copyright and literary rights are held by the Gilbreth family. Permission to publish materials from this collection must be obtained from the Gilbreth family.
Physical Access Note:
24 hours notice is required to access the collection.
Acquisition Source:
Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth
Acquisition Method:
Dr. Lillian Gilbreth donated the collection to Purdue University in 1939. The collection was shipped to the university in 1940 and was sorted and processed on site by Dr. Gilbreth. A small portion of the collection including the personal books of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth is housed at Purdue's Industrial Engineering Department located in Grissom Hall.
Separated Materials:
Blueprints, oversized materials, and photographs were seperated from the collection and placed in their own series for preservation purposes.
Original/Copies Note:
For more information please see http://e-archives.lib.purdue.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/gilbreth.
Related Materials:
Frank B. and Lillian M. Gilbreth Library of Management Videos
MSP 7, Frank and Lillian <span class="highlight0 bold">Gilbreth</span> papers, Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries
The Gilbreth Book Library located with Purdue University's School of Industrial Engeering
A. A. Potter Papers
UA 2.06, Edward C. Elliott Papers
Preferred Citation:
MSP 8, Gilbreth Library of Management papers, Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries
Processing Information:
The collection was shipped to the university in 1940 and was originally sorted and processed on site by Dr. Gilbreth. In 2006, archive staff created an updated finding aid and took steps to preserve the collection. All materials have been housed in acid-free, lignin-free folders and boxes. All newsprint has been photocopied.
Finding Aid Revision History:
Revised locations 2/26/2010
Other Note:
The original order of the materials as established by the Gilbreths has been retained. The N-file is arranged in a mnemonic filing system, a control index is located in the addendum.
Other URL:
http://collections.lib.purdue.edu/fa/pdf/gilbrethLOM.pdf
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: N-file, ca. 1845-1941],
[
Series 2: N-file Oversized, ca. 1914-1919],
[Series 3: N-file Photographs, ca. 1908-1941],
[
Series 4: N-file Blueprints, ca. 1906-1937],
[
All]
- Series 3: N-file Photographs, ca. 1908-1941
- Box 145: Stereo Movie, n.d.
- Folder 1: Cloth strip with micromotion photographs attached depicting soap packaging
- Box 146: Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: NE, home economics / model kitchen, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0006, German factory forms, office equipment, and factory interior, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0019 v. I, clocks and micro-chronometers, n.d.
- Folder 4: 0021, unidentified people gathered around a table, n.d.
- Folder 5: 0028 v. I, various factory studies, including Lux and Lifebuoy soap factories, n.d.
- duplicates from series
- Folder 6: 0028 v. II, bricklaying and factory studies, n.d.
- duplicates from series
- Folder 7: 0028 v. III, various studies, n.d.
- duplicates from series
- Folder 8: 0028 v. IV, various studies, n.d.
- duplicates from series
- Box 147: Photographs, ca. 1909-1911
- Folder 1: 0028 v. V, various factory studies, n.d.
- duplicates from series
- Folder 2: 0028 v. VI, various factory studies, n.d.
- duplicates from series
- Folder 3: 0028 v. VII, various factory studies, n.d.
- duplicates from series
- Folder 4: 0030-18, epileptic studies (?), n.d.
- duplicates from series
- Folder 5: 0030-20A, diagram of an engine lathe, n.d.
- duplicate from series
- Folder 6: 0031-1, bricklaying studies, ca. 1909
- Folder 7: 0031-2, bricklaying studies and chronocyclegraphs, ca. 1911
- Folder 8: 0031-3, factory workers and factory interiors, n.d.
- Box 148: Photographs, ca. 1913-1916
- Folder 1: 0031-4, factory workers, ca. 1916
- Folder 2: 0031-5, factory workers, 1913
- Folder 3: 0031-6, surgery, 1914
- Box 149: Photographs, ca. 1914; n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-6, surgery, 1914
- Folder 2: 0031-7, factory workers, German (?), n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-8, offices, some are Gilbreth offices, n.d.
- Folder 4: 0031-9, tools, diagrams, and offices, n.d.
- Folder 5: 0031-10, micromotion strips of workers, n.d.
- Box 150: Photographs, ca. 1913-1914
- Folder 1: 0031-11, people, workers, soldiers, surgeon, etc., n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-12, piano playing, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-14, special chairs and tables, ca. 1914
- Folder 4: 0031-15, unidentified man, n.d.
- Folder 5: 0031-15A, baseball, ca. 1913
- Folder 6: 0031-17, portraits, n.d.
- Folder 7: 0031-18, fencing; Berlin, Germany, ca. 1914
- Box 151: Photographs, ca. 1914-1915
- Folder 1: 0031-18, fencing; Berlin, Germany, ca. 1914
- Folder 2: 0031-19, various studies and chronocyclegraphs, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-19A, micromotion strips; outdoor scenes and various studies, n.d.
- Folder 4: 0031-20, beds, wire models, and chronocyclegraphs, ca. 1914-1915
- Box 152: Photographs, 1911; n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-21, chronocyclegraphs and bricklaying, ca. 1911
- Folder 2: 0031-22, typing, crippled soldiers, and Frank Gilbreth, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-24, photographs and micromotion strips; typing, golf swings, office workers, Nantucket, and cyclegraph machine, n.d.
- Box 153: Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-24, photographs and micromotion strips; typing, office workers, Nantucket, Lillian Gilbreth, and cyclegraph machine, n.d.
- folders 3-5 of 5
- Folder 2: 0031-25, micromotion strips; golf, n.d.
- Box 154: Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-26, micromotion strips; baseball and factory workers, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-27, micromotion strips; factory workers and outdoor scenes, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-28, micromotion strips; outdoor scenes, n.d.
- Box 155: Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-29, typing, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-30, micromotion strips; golf, Gilbreth family, and soldiers, n.d.
- Box 156: Photographs, ca. 1916; n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-30, micromotion strips; golf, Gilbreth family, and soldiers, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-31, micromotion strips; workers, offices, and bricklayers, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-32, photographs and chronocyclegraphs; golf, shaving, typing, and Frank Gilbreth, ca. 1916
- Folder 4: 0031-33, office workers, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, dentist, and hospital, n.d.
- Box 157: Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-33, office workers, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, dentist, and hospital, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-34, office and factory workers, handicapped people, and Lillian Gilbreth typing, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-35, soldiers, Washington, D.C., and Frank Gilbreth in uniform, n.d.
- Box 158: Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-36, photographs and chronocyclegraphs; soldiers with bayonets, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-37, truck assembly and testing of the blind(?), n.d.
- Box 159: Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-37, truck assembly and testing of the blind(?), n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-38, factory studies, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-39, factory studies, n.d.
- Folder 4: 0031-40, soap boxes, n.d.
- Box 160: Photographs, ca. 1920; n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-41, photographs and micromotion strips; Gilbreth family at seashore, soap boxes, and factory workers, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-42, photographs and micromotion strips; Lever Brothers warehouse, ca. 1920
- Folder 3: 0031-43, various factory studies, n.d.
- Box 161: Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: 0031-43, various factory studies, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-44, various factory studies, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0031-45, factory, school, and outdoor scenes, n.d.
- Folder 4: 0031-46, American Radiator Company and publicity shots, n.d.
- Box 162: Photographs, ca. 1914-1941
- Folder 1: 0031-46, American Radiator Company and publicity shots, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0031-47, various factory studies, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0032, scrapbook; cyclegraphs of various activities, n.d.
- Note; see Oversized Box 167
- Folder 4: 0078-2, handicapped children's school, n.d.
- Folder 5: 0104-1, unidentified women, n.d.
- Folder 6: 0201, New England Butt Company machinery, n.d.
- Folder 7: 0214, photograph of forms, n.d.
- Folder 8: 0231-4, photographs of blueprints and office interior, n.d.
- Folder 9: 0247, Packet Principal; office equipment, n.d.
- Folder 10: 0259-2, Fatigue Study; quick and slow motion studies, ca. 1919
- Folder 11: 0259-4, Fatigue Study; chair, n.d.
- Folder 12: 0265-9, hieroglyphics, n.d.
- Folder 13: 0265-17, school Labor Day activities with Lillian Gilbreth, 1941
- Folder 14: 0268, photograph unknown, n.d.
- Folder 15: 0269-1, explanation of chronocyclegraphs and office furniture, 1914
- Folder 16: 0270-3, micromotion strips; various studies, n.d.
- Folder 17: 0292-1, cameras, n.d.
- Folder 18: 0292-2, chronocyclegraphs; hand motions, n.d.
- Folder 19: 0299-6, tools, office, and shop machines, ca. 1920
- Folder 20: 0299-10, "Skill Study v. I;" office work, typing, and factory interiors, n.d.
- Folder 21: 0299-11, "Skill Study v. II;" office work, typing, and factory interiors, n.d.
- Box 163: Photographs, ca. 1912-1921
- Folder 1: 0299-12, photographs, micromotion strips and chronocyclegraphs; various factory and office scenes, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0303-2, unidentified man, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0304-2, "Therbligs of Motion;" various factory and bricklaying scenes, n.d.
- Folder 4: 0306, "One Best Way;" office furniture, ca. 1921
- Folder 5: 0324-2, chronocyclegraphs, ca. 1912-1921
- Folder 6: 0324-2A, chronocyclegraphs, ca. 1912-1921
- Folder 7: 0341, cyclegraphs, ca. 1913
- Folder 8: 0411, graphs with micromotion strips on handkerchief folding, ca. 1913
- Folder 9: 0412-6, handkerchief folding, ca. 1913-1915
- Box 164: Photographs, ca. 1918-1934
- Folder 1: 0429, photos of tables and graphs, ca. 1918-1919
- Folder 2: 0435, stock bin, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0561, typists, n.d.
- Folder 4: 0566, spelling, n.d.
- Folder 5: 0584, office desk supplies, n.d.
- Folder 6: 0601, pencil holder, n.d.
- Folder 7: 0655-1, model kitchen, model home, and Gilbreth Management Desk, ca. 1931-1935
- Folder 8: 0655-2, model kitchen and management desk, n.d.
- Folder 9: 0655-3, negatives and reprints from "The Model Kitchen is Remodeled", n.d.
- Note; see Oversized Box 167
- Folder 10: 0655-5, negative; Lillian Gilbreth at a desk, n.d.
- Folder 11: 0655-6, The Kitchen Practical; efficiency kitchen designed by Lillian Gilbreth, 1929-1930
- Folder 12: 0655-7, The Little House; efficiency model home, 1934
- Box 165: Photographs, ca. 1908-1929
- Folder 1: 0655-8, kitchen designs, ca. 1929
- Folder 2: 0695-2, stamps, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0704-1, photos of notes, 1908
- Folder 4: 0710-1, Pan American Union, 1916
- Folder 5: 0712-1, cyclegraphs; Remington typewriters, n.d.
- Folder 6: 0755-2, micromotion strips; handkerchief folding, n.d.
- Folder 7: 0805-1, U.S. battleships target practice, n.d.
- Folder 8: 0805-2, personal and family photos, ca. 1920-1923
- Folder 9: 0808-1, family photographs, n.d.
- Folder 10: 0811-2, photos of a photo shoot, n.d.
- Folder 11: 0816-100, motion study, 1925
- Folder 12: 0816-114, wooden toys, n.d.
- Note; see Oversized Box 167
- Folder 13: 0816-120, Psychotechnik Institute, 1921
- Folder 14: 0817-1, Frank Gilbreth, n.d.
- Folder 15: 0817-2, Frank Gilbreth's grave, n.d.
- Folder 16: 0817-3, World Power Conference, 1928, n.d.
- Folder 17: 0817-5, chronocyclegraphs, n.d.
- Folder 18: 0821, cruise ship, n.d.
- Folder 19: 0827-11, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, n.d.
- Folder 20: 0830-3, Lillian Gilbreth in Italy, n.d.
- Folder 21: 0843, epileptics, n.d.
- Folder 22: 0868, "The One Best Way", 1921
- Folder 23: 0877-2, "Motion Study in Surgery;" surgery photos, 1914
- Folder 24: 0896-2, crippled soldiers, ca. 1915-1917
- Folder 25: 0896-3, amputee typing, n.d.
- Folder 26: 0934, photographs of various forms, charts, and graphs, n.d.
- Box 166: Photographs, 1918-1923; n.d.
- Folder 1: 0934, photographs of various forms, charts, and graphs, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0941, various standardization studies, n.d.
- Folder 3: 0947-2, "The Training of the Soldier" photos, 1918
- Folder 4: 0967, Regal Shoe Company sizing equipment, 1923
- Folder 5: 0971-2, photo of chart, n.d.
- Folder 6: 0972-4, Pierce-Arrow Company; photos of charts, n.d.
- Folder 7: 0972-6, Pierce-Arrow Company; photos of charts, n.d.
- Folder 8: 0972-8, Pierce-Arrow Company; photos of charts, n.d.
- Folder 9: 0972-10, Pierce-Arrow Company; photo of factory, n.d.
- Note; see Oversized Box 167
- Folder 10: 0972-12, Pierce-Arrow Company; photos of charts, n.d.
- Folder 11: 0973-1, ca. 1919
- Folder 12: 0974-10, Lever Brothers, ca. 1922
- Folder 13: 0975-4, Erie Forge Company; unidentified family and factory interior, n.d.
- Folder 14: Photographs with Unknown N-file Numbers, reprints; unidentified studies, n.d.
- Box 167: Oversized Photographs, n.d.
- Folder 1: 0032, scrapbook; cyclegraphs of various activities, n.d.
- Folder 2: 0655-3, negatives and reprints from "The Model Kitchen is Remodeled", n.d.
- Folder 3: 0816-114, wooden toys, n.d.
- Folder 4: 0972-10, Pierce-Arrow Company; photo of factory, n.d.
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: N-file, ca. 1845-1941],
[
Series 2: N-file Oversized, ca. 1914-1919],
[Series 3: N-file Photographs, ca. 1908-1941],
[
Series 4: N-file Blueprints, ca. 1906-1937],
[
All]
