Scope and arrangement
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.
The Chester F. Carlson papers are arranged in thirteen series:
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1912-1969
General Correspondence consists of incoming letters to Carlson from scientists, colleagues and individuals involved in Zen meditation, parapsychology and similar beliefs.
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Family Correspondence contains the papers of Dorie Carlson (Mrs. Chester F. Carlson), 1945-1975; Hawkins family, 1898-1968 and Roy Carlson, 1941-1972.
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1938-1963
Technical Correspondence concerns Carlson's business relationship with the Battelle, Haloid and Xerox corporations. The other technical correspondence is with his associate Otto Kornei, 1934-1967 and also with the Design for Learning Project, 1966-1968.
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Contribution Files are the organizations that solicited Carlson's funds and also those groups to which he may have contributed. The files contain letters for solicitations with the accompanying literature and Carlson's response. The correspondents include: African National Congress, American Cancer Society Inc., American Civil Liberties Union, Business Executive Move for Vietnam Peace, California Institute of Technology, Care Inc., Epilepsy Foundation, Harlem Education Program, International League for the Rights of Man, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP, National Sharecropper Fund, Planned Parenthood Federation, Ramakrishna-Vivananda Center, Margaret Sanger Research Bureau and Zen Meditation Center.
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1935-1960s
Technical Papers consist of technical papers, notebooks and the patent file. The technical papers, A-Z, alphabetically arranged by author and title, concern the development of physics between 1935-1960s. The Laboratory Notebooks were kept by Carlson during the development of xerography. The notebooks are arranged in two series. Series A. 1921-1963 and Series Ep. 1938-1961. The remaining notebooks relate to general laboratory work, 1951-1956, patent department, 1950-1951, the notebook of Carlson's assistant Otto Kornei, 1938 and a notebook titled "Air Dynamics Thermo Kinetic Separator Vertical Levitator". The Battelle Memorial Institute produced the "Electrophotography Progress Report 1944-1947" (2 vols.).
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Subject Papers are basically non-scientific subjects concerned with Carlson's outside interests; for example, the Center for the Study for Democratic Institutions and the American Society for Psychical Research.