Oral & video history documentation

The Lemelson Center's oral and video history projects increase historical documentation on invention and innovation in the United States.
Above: Guitarist G.E. Smith is featured in the Electric Guitar Video Documentation Project. Smithsonian photo by Jeff Tinsley.

Full descriptions of the following collections may be found by searching the archives and manuscripts section of SIRIS, the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. Unless otherwise noted, all collections are housed in the NMAH Archives Center. For further information, contact the Archives Center Reference Desk.

Oral & video history documentation is listed in alphabetical order by subject of interview. Date of interview is in parentheses.

Sendzimir cold-rolling steel mill video documentation (1996) Inventor Tadeusz Sendzimir, a Polish immigrant, designed and installed the first "Z" Mill for cold rolling stainless steel in the United States. The videohistory documents the story of a new approach to the rolling process of steel technology and consumer demand for a new product. Videos document the mill in operation and interviews with active and retired workers. The Sendzimir mill’s control pulpit is in the collection of the Museum’s Division of the History of Technology. 1 cu. ft: 2 boxes containing original, master, and reference videos arranged by topic.