John J. Nesbitt, Inc. and family records
Scope and content note
This collection documents various marketing records of John J. Nesbitt, Inc., as well as some personal history of Albert J. Nesbitt, president of John J. Nesbitt, Inc. The records span a time period from the 1912 to 1987 with a bulk range of 1935-1970. It largely consists of Nesbitt Inc. publications in the form of marketing pamphlets and ephemera, product catalogs, annual reports, and one copy of "Nesbitt’s Newsbits" (1961), the official company newsletter. Other records include correspondence, awards and dedications awarded to Albert J. Nesbitt, clippings, one book titled "This I Believe," and photographs of various members of the Nesbitt family, Nesbitt facilities and products. The collection is particularly useful to those interested in products and technologies developed and produced by John J. Nesbitt, Inc. as well as early heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products for schools.
Dates
- 1910s-1970s
Access restrictions
The collection is open for research use.
Usage restrictions
Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.
Biographical Note
In the early 20th century John J. Nesbitt (1869-1941) founded John J. Nesbitt, Inc. in Atlantic City, NJ. The company was the leading manufacturer of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning units for schools. In 1926 the company moved their operations to Philadelphia.
John married Elizabeth Dunlevy (1871-1932) of Philadelphia in 1898. Their children, Albert, John and Harry, ran the family business with their father until his death in 1941, when Albert became president of the company. The company continued to produce heating and cooling equipment for schools until World War II, when it began to produce munitions for the Philadelphia Ordinance District. For its work during the war, the company received four Army/Navy "E" Awards. After the war, Nesbitt Inc. continued to be an innovator and producer in the heating and air conditioning industry. Nesbitt Inc. was sold to ITT in 1965.
Albert Nesbitt (1899-1977) studied engineering at Drexel's evening school and received an honorary Doctor of Engineering in 1952. He was a member of Drexel's Board Trustees from 1953-1970, serving as Chairman of the Board from 1966 to 1968. In honor of his many contributions to Drexel, the university dedicated Nesbitt Hall in honor of Albert and his wife Irene on October 17, 1970. In 1974, Drexel renamed its College of Home Economics as the Nesbitt College of Design, Nutrition, Human Behavior, and Home Economics at Drexel University.
Extent
0.5 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Albert J. Nesbitt was the first child of John J. Nesbitt, the founder of John J. Nesbitt, Inc., which manufactured heating and ventilating units for schools in the early twentieth century. In 1941, Albert became the president of the company after his father's death. The company continued producing heating and cooling elements for schools. During World War II, the company devoted their facilities to produce munitions for the Philadelphia Ordinance District for which they were awarded four Army/Navy "E" Awards.
This collection documents various John J. Nesbitt, Inc. products and activities, as well as some personal history of Albert J. Nesbitt. The records span a time period from the 1912 to 1987 with a bulk range of 1935-1970. It largely consists of Nesbitt publications in the form of marketing publications, ephemera, catalogs, annual reports, and one official company newsletter. Other records found in the collection include correspondence, awards and dedications awarded to Albert J. Nesbitt, clippings, one book titled "This I Believe," and photographs of various members of the Nesbitt family, Nesbitt facilities and products. Records in the collection are useful for researchers interested in Nesbitt company products or early heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technology in general.
Arranged into 5 series:
Missing Title
- Publications
- Photographs
- Awards and Dedications
- Correspondence
- Clippings
Provenance
The collection was donated by John and Sandy Nesbitt.
Processed by
Hoang Tran, February 2014.
- Annual reports
- Awards
- Black-and-white photographs.
- Clippings
- College trustees
- Color photographs
- Drexel Institute of Technology -- History
- Drexel University -- History
- Drexel University. Nesbitt College of Design Arts
- George Moll Advertising Agency (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- Heating and ventilation industry
- John J. Nesbitt, Inc.
- Nesbitt, Albert J. (Albert James) (1899-1977)
- Publications
- School buildings -- Heating and ventilation.
Source
- Nesbitt, John J., III, III (John James) (Donor, Person)
- Title
- John J. Nesbitt, Inc. and Family records1910-1974
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Hoang Tran
- Date
- 2014 February
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
Repository Details
Part of the Drexel University Archives Repository
W. W. Hagerty Library
3300 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104 United States
215.895.6706
215.895.2070 (Fax)
archives@drexel.edu