The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

Halpern, Carl

Carl Halpern Papers

1920-1986
2 boxes 1 linear feet
Call no.: MS 783
Depiction of Carl Halpern and family
Carl Halpern and family

Born in 1902, Carl Halpern grew up in the Bronx where he attended elementary school. Upon leaving school, he took several jobs, including shoe salesman and accounting clerk, before he was hired as an errand boy in 1917 at the Electro-Chemical Engraving Company. Halpern stayed with the company for more than 40 years, retiring as an Executive Vice President.

The collection consists chiefly of materials relating to Halpern’s tenure at Electro-Chemical Engraving Company, including company reports and inter-company memos, advertisements for products, and other materials related to the business. Of singular importance is Halpern’s memoir, which intertwines his personal history with that of the company during the nearly five decades he was associated with the business.

Background on Carl Halpern

Sadie and Abraham Halpern immigrated to the United States from Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. The couple met and married in New York City in 1900, and their first of four sons, Carl, was born in 1902. Five years later the young family moved to the the Bronx where Halpern attended school. By the end of elementary school, Carl began working at a number of different jobs including shoe salesman and accounting clerk before landing a job as an office boy in 1917 at Hauserman Metal Manufacturing Company, a predecessor to Electro-Chemical Engraving Company Incorporated. This job would prove to shape the rest of Halpern’s life–both professionally and socially–as he rose from errand boy with little formal education to Vice-President of the company at the time of his retirement in 1964.

During his early years at Electro-Chemical, Halpern returned to school in the evenings in order to earn his high school diploma. Later he attended City College and the Mechanics Institute in New York City where he learned mechanical drafting, blueprint making, and techniques for metal tooling and tool making. Always eager to acquire new skills, Halpern continued to take on additional resposilbities at Elctro-Chemical and over time he assumed a leadership role at the company.

Carl Halpern met his wife Nettie in 1924 at the wedding of his secretary and they were married the following year. The couple had two children: Joel in 1929 and Helen in 1938. After his retirement, Halpern wrote an incredibly detailed memoir tracing both his personal history as well as the history of the Electro-Chemical Engraving Company. Carl Halpern passed away in early 1986.

Contents of Collection

The bulk of the collection relates to Carl Halpern’s nearly fifty-year long association with the Electro-Chemical Engraving Company. Included in these materials are internal communications, reports, such as the General Survey of Manufacturing Facilities (c.1954), and company advertisements.

Halpern’s memoir provides the most detailed picture of the company’s operation over several decades. In it he records memories of staff who worked at the company, different types of equipment the company used and purchased, and changes in the company and its culture.

Related to the memoir are biographical pieces on Carl and Nettie Halpern, an article in The Bronx County Historical Society Journal about Carl’s early employment, and some personal correspondence.

dingbat for decoration

Inventory of Collection
Barnes, Eleanor: letter, Electro-Chemical Engraving Co. memories 1982 Box 1: 1
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: advertisements ca. 1960 Box 1: 2
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: annual report, pension fund 1959 Box 1: 3
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: bankruptcy 1965 Box 1: 4
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: bankruptcy, letter to creditors 1965 July 23 Box 1: 5
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: Christmas lists and expenses 1945-1958 Box 1: 6
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: company rules and union contract 1947 Box 1: 7
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: contract demands, Local Union #14531 1962 Box 1: 8
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: correspondence 1957, 1962-1963 Box 1: 9
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: Electro Analysis 1952, 1954 Box 1: 10

Bi-monthly newsletter.

Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: Etched Products Corporation advertisement and sample ca. 1950 Box 1: 11
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: Etched Products Corporation, auction sale 1959 Box 1: 12
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: General Survey of Manufacturing Facilities 1950 Box 1: 13
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: General Survey of Manufacturing Facilities ca. 1954 Box 1: 14
Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.: report and memos ca. 1954 Box 1: 15
Electroplating: technical notes ca. 1940 Box 1: 16
Halpern, Carl: Bronx County Historical Society Journal 1983-1990 Box 1: 17

Issues of the publication containing articles by Carl Halpern and his son Joel Halpern, recording memories of childhood, family, and his career at Electro-Chemical Engraving Co.

Halpern, Carl: correspondence 1960-1966 Box 1: 18
Halpern, Carl: dinner announcements 1938, 1940 Box 1: 19
Halpern, Carl: interview notes 1977 Aug 20 Box 1: 20
Halpern, Carl: interview transcript 1981 Box 1: 21

Interview conducted in 1976; transcript typed in 1981. See photocopies of the testimonial dinner photographs.

Halpern, Carl, Memoirs ca. 1980 p. 8-77 Box 1: 22
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs ca. 1980 p. 78-177 Box 2: 1
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs ca. 1980 p. 178-277 Box 2: 2
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs ca. 1980 p. 278-378 Box 2: 3
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs ca. 1980 p. 379-477 Box 2: 4
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs ca. 1980 p. 477-555 Box 2: 5

Includes appendices, which feature a copy of the payroll from the Electro-Chemical Engraving Co., ca. 1950s.

Halpern, Carl, Memoirs, additional material on family relationships 1981 July 23 Box 2: 6
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs, “autobiography” (drafts) ca. 1980 Box 2: 7
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs, biographical notes ca. 1980 Box 2: 8
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs, early jobs 1979 Dec Box 2: 9
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs, early jobs 1980 Box 2: 10
Halpern, Carl, Memoirs, family history ca. 1980 Box 2: 11
Carl, Halpern: resignation notices 1962, 1964 Box 2: 12
Halpern, Joel M., Letters: research, Electro-Chemical Engraving Co. 1976 Box 2: 13
Halpern, Joel M.: research, Electro-Chemical Engraving Co. 1976 Box 2: 14
Halpern, Nettie M., Biographical notes 1978 Dec Box 2: 15
Halpern, Nettie M., Recollections 1981 Box 2: 16

Notes recorded in 1965, typed in 1981.

List of names undated Box 2: 17
Negatives (photographic): Niagara Falls, family trip 1941 Box 2: 18
Photograph: family ca. 1953 Box 2: 19
Photograph: family ca. 1953 Map case 4: 5
Photographs (photocopies): dinner Box 2: 20

See interview transcript for background on images of Carl Halpern’s testimonial dinner.

dingbat for decoration
Provenance

Acquired from Joel M. Halpen.

Processing Information

Processed by Jason Fuller, September 2013.

For materials related to the Halpern family, see:

Copyright and Use (More informationConnect to publication information)

Cite as: Carl Halpern Papers (MS 783). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Subjects

Bronx (New York, N.Y.)Electro-Chemical Engraving CompanyGenealogy

Contributors

Halpern, CarlHalpern, Joel Martin

Types of material

Memoirs