Contemporary Corporate Archives

Company archival records are an essential component in fully understanding a corporation’s progression from fledgling entrepreneurial enterprise to industry giant. Special Collections & Archives’ growing collection of late 20th- and 21st-century resources focuses on the records of innovative companies and leaders who have shaped the world economy. The contemporary corporate archives prioritize the records of groundbreaking companies and businesspeople considered essential to the development of the global business world since the mid-20th century. The collection includes personal and institutional papers of leaders and firms, with a focus on the financial industry.

Examples of these contemporary archives include records of firms and individuals recognized for advances in technology; financial institutions such as investment houses, venture capital firms, hedge funds, etc., responsible for the development of modern global finance infrastructure; papers of significant leaders and thinkers in the financial field; and biotechnology industry records, especially those that illustrate Boston-area biotech development in the 1980s. These contemporary archives contain a variety of resources, from paper records to audio-visual materials to digital materials of all types.

Highlights

  • Pair of polarizing lenses held by man standing out of frame

    Polaroid Corporation Collection

    Records from one of the most creative and innovative companies of the 20th century.

  • Caricatures of a group of people, one male caricature is colored in

    Peter O. Crisp Papers

    Peter O. Crisp was a founding partner of Venrock Associates, a venture capital company founded by members of the Rockefeller family.

  • Man in suit standing next to framed pictures

    Lehman Brothers Records

    Records the history of the investment banking firm from 1868 until 2007, the bulk of the material dates from the 1960s to the 2000s.

  • Woman in print dress standing on Stock Exchange floor surrounded by men

    Muriel Siebert Collection

    American businesswoman Muriel F. Siebert (1928-2013) was the first woman to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and the first woman to own and direct a brokerage firm that was a member of the NYSE.

  • Digital display on building reading genzyme GENERAL Listed on NASDAQ

    Henri A. Termeer Papers

    Document the career of an entrepreneur and biotechnology executive known for leading Genzyme Corporation from 1983 to 2011.

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Man pointing to book bound in parchment