OVERVIEW
Minnesota Historical Society
Conwed Corporation.
Conwed Corporation records.
1921-2010.
Materials in English.
Records of a St. Paul-based manufacturer of commercial
ceiling and interior products, building construction and remodeling products,
insulation and padding materials, wooden office furniture, and other products.
Includes records of predecessor Wood Conversion Company.
38.0 cu. ft. (33 boxes, including 55
volumes, and 2 oversize folders containing 21 items).
See [Detailed Description](a9) for shelf
locations.
HISTORICAL NOTE
The Wood Conversion Company was incorporated in 1921 in Delaware by eleven
stockholding companies, including the Weyerhaeuser firms. The headquarters was
located in Cloquet, Minnesota. The headquarters later moved to Saint Paul, although
the company's plant operations remained in Cloquet. On August 1, 1967, an amended
certificate of incorporation filed in Delaware changed the name of the corporation
to Conwed Corporation. In 1985, the Conwed Corporation was sold to Cardiff Equities
Corporation, a subsidiary of the Leucadia Corporation of New York.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The collection includes historical information; annual and other reports; financial
statements, auditor's reports, and quarterly reports; news releases and news
bulletins; product information files; and photographs, films, and video and audio
tapes. Volumes include journals, time books, payroll records, advertising samples
and posters, and technical, sales, and service manuals.
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
- Historical Information
- Reports
- News Releases
- Product Information Files
- Miscellany
- Technical Materials
- Accounting Records
- Advertising Materials
- A-V Materials
RELATED MATERIALS
Conwed newsletters and Wood Conversion Company annual reports and newsletters are in
the Minnesota Historical Society library collection.
A group of Wood Conversion Company advertisements, architectural drawings, and
similar papers is cataloged separately in the Minnesota Historical Society
manuscript collections.
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the
catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials
about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using
these headings.
Topics:
Advertising.
Architecture--Designs and plans.
Building materials industry -- Minnesota.
Business enterprises -- Minnesota -- Saint
Paul.
Forest products industry -- Minnesota.
Lumber trade -- Minnesota.
Manufactures -- Minnesota -- Cloquet.
Marketing.
Weyerhaeuser records.
Persons:
Walter, Henry E., 1907-.
Organizations:
Wood Conversion Company.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Access Restrictions:
Access to records less than 25 years old requires written permission.
Use Restrictions:
Quotation or publication, beyond the fair use provisions of the copyright law,
from records less than 25 years old requires written permission.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Conwed
Corporation Records. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.
Accession Information:
Accession numbers: 13,595; 14,415; 14,450; 16,002; 16,042
Processing Information:
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, December 1985
Additions by: Dennis E. Meissner, September 1990; David B. Peterson, June 2009;
Monica Ralston, August 2012
Catalog ID number: 001735089
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Historical information
151.K.13.7B
1
Certificate of amended and restated certificate of incorporation
of Conwed Corporation,
May 27, 2010.
Historical Information compiled by J. B. Lockhart,
1921-1981.
Manuscript (in several sections) on company history.
E. W. Davis, "Wood Conversion Co. 25 Year Club,"
1951.
Don Valsvik, "Early History of Conwed's Entrance in the Office
Interiors Business,"1981.
Miscellaneous historical information (mostly printed),
1947, 1980-1984.
Miscellaneous historical sketches,
undated and 1923-1972.
Transcript of oral history interview with Henry E. Walter,
October 19, 1989.
56 pages.
Interviewed by Chuck Twining.
Wood Conversion Company: Twenty-five Year Report of Mill
Operations (1921-1946),
undated.
Reports
151.K.13.7B
1
Internal annual reports (divisions and departments),
1925-1959.
5 folders.
Annual reports to stockholders, 1953-1984.
3 folders.
Fiber Products, Inc. annual reports, 1953-1954, and notice to
Wood Conversion Company stockholders regarding its merger into the
company, 1955.
Data extracted from annual financial reports,
1922-1932.
Financial statements, November 1948-November
1970.
[0.2 cubic feet empty, letter]
151.K.13.8F
2
Consolidated income statements,
1956-1960.
Quarterly reports, 1961-1984.
News Releases
151.K.13.8F
2
General news releases, November 1971-March 1979.
2 folders.
Internal news bulletin,
January 1978-December 1984.
8 folders.
Advertising news releases, December 1973, February
1974-Aug.1976.
6 folders.
151.K.13.9B
3
Advertising news releases, September 1976-April 1978.
6 folders.
Distribution-Fabricator Brochure #27: Tufflex, Nu-Wood,
1958[?].
Installation data for electrically heated homes.
2 folders.
Field laboratory for heating studies.
Bulletins (by individual),
1961-1964.
Monthly reports: Advertising, building products, industrial
products, 1960-1964.
"The Big W" (Weyerhaeuser Sales Co., special edition),
1923.
Contact Magazine log of articles,
1951-1985.
Magazines are in MHS Serials Collection.
Other companies' forms and printed matter,
1949-1983.
2 folders.
Product Information Files
Files contain advertising and technical literature, as well as some
correspondence and memoranda.
151.K.13.9B
3
Plastics, 1972-1979.
8 folders.
Building products review, 1969.
Construction products group.
Construction ventures, 1974.
Developing business, 1972.
Developing business group, 1973-1974.
2 folders.
DCAB: Cabinetry program, 1972-1973.
2 folders.
DRET: Retail, 1972-1973.
2 folders.
151.K.13.10F
4
Industrial group, 1973-1974.
2 folders.
IFAB: Fabricating division, 1972-1973.
2 folders.
IAUT: Automotive products,
1971.
INTEST Division (International Acoustical Testing Laboratory,
Inc.), 1973-1976.
4 folders.
ONI (Oriented Net Ltd.),
1975-1976.
SBF-RPM, 1977.
Environmental fibers:
Bonded fibers, 1972-1978.
7 folders.
Building products, 1974.
Construction ventures, 1973-1975.
2 folders.
Environmental F/V/SFB, 1974-1977.
5 folders.
IPSS. Oil Sorbent Program,
1972.
Sorbents/Fibers, 1978-1980.
Office interiors:
DSC. Space Control Division,
1972-1973.
2 folders.
151.K.13.11B
5
Contract Furniture Group, 1974-1976.
3 folders.
Space Division: Office furniture,
1975.
Office interiors,
1977-1980.
4 folders.
Building products, 1972, 1975.
2 folders.
151.K.13.12F
6
Ceiling products, 1978-1979.
2 folders.
Commercial, 1976-1977.
2 folders.
Commercial products, 1972, 1974, 1975.
3 folders.
Miscellany
+141
Balsam-Wool hall-vent poultry house: how to assemble,
May 1944 [?].
151.K.13.13B
7
Time Books, June 1921-November 1923. Volumes
3-6.
Monthly payroll record books, June 1927-December 1936.
Volumes 10-15.
Development Dept. list of books and periodicals,
1938-ca. 1962. Volume 16.
+141
Nu-Wood decorator file,
undated.
151.K.13.13B
7
Scrapbook, 1962-1963. Volume 17.
Articles about the company and about Cloquet.
Conwed sale to Cardiff Equities Corporation,
1984-1986.
2 folders.
Technical Materials
151.K.13.14F
8
Technical manuals regarding building products (#4, #48, #85,
#164), [ca. 1940s]-[1960s].Volumes
18-21.
151.K.14.1B
9
Technical products sales manual (#2). Volume 22.
Industrial products sales manuals (#4, #26, #30). Volumes
23-35.
Technical Sales Service. Building products manuals: Sound
control. Volumes 26-27.
Proven products: Points for electrically heated and air
conditioned homes (#4). Volume 28.
151.K.14.2F
10
Proven products: Points for electrically heated and air
conditioned homes (#8, #121). Volumes 29-30.
Building products sales manual (#43),
1970.Volume 31.
Building products literature, 1973-1974.
Volume 32.
Building products technical manual. Volume 33.
151.K.14.3B
11
Building products salesman's price book (Wood Conversion Co.).
Volume 34.
Sound control manuals, 1970.Volumes
35-36.
"Lo-Tone" lighting systems: Lighting components manual. Volume
37.
151.K.14.4F
12
Lighting systems (miscellaneous), 1960s.
Volume 38.
Balsam-Wool and Tufflex market analysis (Volume 1),
1951-1955. Volume 39.
Balsam-Wool and Nu-Wood: Miscellaneous mimeographed materials
and advertising samples, 1935. Volume
40.
Bricover Plastonics merchandising manual. Volume 41.
151.K.14.5B
13
Product technical data. Volume 42.
Contract furniture creative specialty printing,
1974-1975.Volume 43.
Ventilation components. Volume 44.
Construction group, 1973-1974. Volume
45.
151.K.14.6F
14
Construction group: Direct media, 1970s.
Volume 46.
Industrial group: Direct media (ads). Volume 47.
Industrial group: Literature, [1973?].
Volume 48.
Developing business group: Direct media,
1973-1975.Volume 49.
151.K.14.7B
15
Developing business group: Literature,
1973-1975.Volume 50.
Balsam-Wool Blanket advertising book. Volume 54.
Advertising literature:
Balsam-Wool.
Balsam-Wool, Nu-Wood, and Tufflex.
Nu-Wood.
Lo-Tone and Nu-Wood.
Conwed.
Miscellaneous products.
2 folders.
Accounting Records
142.C.10.7
16
General journals (A,B), February 1921-March 1935.
Volumes 1-2.
Payroll book (A), Nov. 1923-April 1928.
Volume 7.
142.C.10.8
17
Payroll books (B,C), May 1928-October 1931.
Volumes 8-9.
Advertising Materials
144.D.4.7B
18
Balsam-Wool blanket advertising posters, 1929-1930.
Volumes 51-52.
Balsam-Wool and Nu-Wood advertising samples,
1929-1930. Volume 53.
Advertising sample book, 1950s-1965.Volume
55.
144.D.4.8F
19
Miscellaneous advertising literature.
Unbound.
+141
Items used in advertising display:
Balsam-Wool blanket insulation with reflective liners,
March 1956[?].
The "Coffee Corner": Nu-Wood ceiling tile,
undated.
Nu-Wood deluxe ceiling tile and acoustical ceiling tile,
undated.
2 items.
Wood Conversion calendars,
1963, 1964, and 1965.
3 items.
A-V Materials
151.K.14.8F
20
Photographs:
Photographs used in advertising and displays:
#CBP1241-CBP1249, #CBP1251-CBP1258.
19 folders.
Negatives found loose in files.
Company personnel.
7 folders.
Recreational.
Advertising.
Bricover photos: #CBP1216A-CBP1239.
23 folders.
Nu-Wood installation.
Halls and corridors.
Funeral homes and banks.
Nu-wood clips.
Churches.
Miscellaneous Nu-Wood.
Tuffwood.
Theaters and auditoriums.
Sheathing, Nu-Wood.
2 folders.
Schools.
Restaurants, taverns, bowling alleys.
Carpenter aprons: Balsam-Wool.
Balsam-Wool Quietele.
Panel-Tex.
Libraries.
Nu-Wood.
Historical.
DCAB1, DCAB5-DCAB8.
5 folders.
DRET18, 40, 41, 42.
4 folders.
Miscellaneous.
Sierra Pacific Power Company.
R3-R9, R11-R12.
9 folders.
Balsam-Wool:
Historical photos.
Builders blanket panel construction.
Product photos.
Product close-up.
Lettuce Pak color photo.
Negatives and photographs.
55 envelopes.
Matted negatives.
2 folders.
151.K.14.9B
21
Matted negatives.
Photos found loose in Box 8.
Miscellaneous negatives.
132 envelopes.
Including a few prints.
CBP. Building products:
Historical photographs.
Nu-Wood photos used in advertisements.
23 folders.
Wood Conversion plant, Cloquet.
G1-G9, 1953.
9 folders.
Negatives for historical corporate displays,
1963.
5 folders.
NV24: Emergency blanket.
B. Concrete insulation... Wold-Chamberlain
Field.
Coded advertising photo files:
M521-M524, M526, M528, M529.
7 folders.
R100-R105, R108-109, R111, R115.
10 folders.
Z207A, Z210A, Z211A.
3 folders.
Nu-Wood shingle backer.
Thermo-Pad siding underliner.
Farm buildings.
151.K.14.10F
22
Miscellaneous attic rooms.
Balsam-Wool sill sealer.
Lumber dealers and lumber yards.
Loose photographs and negatives from Box 9.
3 folders.
Coded photo files:
Wood Conversion plant,
1953.
G10-G40, G44-G48.
36 folders.
G49-G139 (Conwed Research Center, Roseville),
[1963?].
47 folders.
Test house garage laboratory.
5 folders.
B. Concrete insulation.
5 folders.
B1, B1A-B1F.
Pulping operations, Cloquet,
1940s.
Plant operations: Balsam-Wool and Nu-Wood.
2 folders.
Plant operations, General.
Unidentified photos.
Historical photos of plant operations, Cloquet: GA602-GA604,
DE602, GE601-GE616, GH-GK.
30 folders.
Company personnel and advertising: ID101-ID66.
7 folders.
Advertisements: BP210.
Product photos: Nu-Wood.
Photos from Box 10.
Movie stills: M500-M520, 1951, 1953.
21 folders.
Personnel no longer with the company.
St. Paul.
Photos appear to depict employees and activities.
Manufacturing/Marketing special awards group,
1976.
2 folders.
Nu-Wood offices, stores, rooms, and similar files,
#12-15.
4 folders.
151.K.14.11B
23
Nu-Wood, #16-19.
2 folders.
Experimental and test chambers.
Balsam-Wool, #18.
Installation.
Balsam-Wool, #2.
Panel-Tex and Sta-Lite tile rooms.
7 folders.
#3-8.
Advertising photos for Balsam-Wool, Tufflex, Nu-Wood, homes
and buildings.
24 folders.
#19-20, 23-44.
Coded photo files:
BNF634-BN1600: Home interiors.
11 folders.
BOA500-BOA639: Exteriors.
5 folders.
BP500-BP803: Details.
7 folders.
BQB602: Details, interiors, exteriors.
8 folders.
BR600-F105: Potato warehouses, homes, buildings,
interiors, exteriors, details.
36 folders.
29A-41B: Transparencies of homes: Rooms and decorative
details.
31 folders.
Transparencies: Various subjects.
7 folders.
Transparencies: Miscellaneous.
5 envelopes.
151.K.14.12F
24
Transparencies: Matted.
3 folders.
Transparencies: Unmatted.
Transparencies: Historical subjects.
Cloquet.
Miscellaneous meetings.
Logging operations.
Colored transparency.
Unidentified.
Red Wing photos.
Photo information sheets, release forms.
4 folders.
Loading pulpwood cars,
1942.
Plank.
Balsam-Wool.
Pneumatic process, K-20 Fiber.
2 folders.
Houses: General appliances.
GE/Balsam-Wool tests.
Cell-U-Form/Cell-U-Mat.
Farms.
Finished poultry houses.
Competitive.
Central Lumber Company.
Bulk testing.
Fiber.
Military housing.
K-25 Movie.
Porches.
Motels.
Housing projects: FHA.
Combination/miscellaneous conventions.
"Keep Minnesota Green" conservation program.
War photos.
Miscellaneous.
BP28-BP120: Interiors and exteriors of homes, structures,
detail work.
36 folders.
151.K.14.13B
25
BP122-BP206.
37 folders.
BP222-BP225: Test house.
4 folders.
DCF19-DCF68: Office furnishings.
40 folders.
CF84-CF122: Office furnishings.
21 folders.
CF1055-CF1061: Building interiors.
5 folders.
1138-1155 (Series 7000): Office partitions.
7 folders.
NV16-NV35: Partitions.
14 folders.
DB1-DB6: Office furnishings/partitions.
6 folders.
DCF2-DCF17: Office dictation furnishings.
6 folders.
DCS1-DCS46: Office furnishings.
37 folders.
BP226-BP386: House interiors and exteriors, test house,
miscellaneous.
73 folders.
151.K.14.14F
26
"Enduring Beauty" photographs.
Ceilings.
Kordite photos and slides.
Wood Conversion Co. machinery.
Miscellaneous prints and negatives.
4 envelopes.
Coded photo files:
1033-1192 (Code letters BPH, CPH, BP, CBP): Interiors and
details.
142 folders.
151.K.15.1B
27
Coded photo files: Interior and exterior details:
763-906.
90 folders.
BP907-BP931.
21 folders.
HBP1000-HBP1024.
34 folders.
939-999.
45 folders.
HCP, HBP1001-HBP1033.
17 folders.
BP497-BP586.
44 folders.
151.K.15.2F
28
BP389-BP749.
161 folders.
CPH, CCP, CP1153-1185, 1148-1153.
20 folders.
CCP, CP1190-1276.
59 folders.
151.K.15.3B
29
CP1277-CP1365: Technical photos.
24 folders.
87, 5-888: Plastics.
5 folders.
IPL, PL915-PL971: Plastics.
6 folders.
Subject files:
Extra research/development laboratory views.
Miscellaneous photos.
Test farm barn: Nu-Wood and Balsam-Wool.
Temperature test: Thermocouples.
Refrigeration insulation.
Pre-fab homes.
Postwar houses.
Poultry houses.
Potato warehouse.
MNL20: Miscellany, interiors, exteriors,
details.
Miscellaneous photos found loose in files.
CF79B: Photos from Minnesota Historical Society used in bank
display.
Postcard photos of Cloquet Wood Conversion plant; Snapshots
of plant activities.
Albums:
A. Riverside (N.J.) plant construction,
1956-1958.
B-D. Cloquet plant expansion,
1946-1951.
3 volumes
151.K.15.4F
30
E-F. Cloquet plant expansion,
1951-1955.
2 volumes.
G. Miscellaneous plant expansion photos.
H. Wood Conversion Co. Advertising photos.
I. Show book: Industrial displays,
1960s.
J. "BP" display photos, June
1970.
K. Shows and exhibits,
1960s.
L. Photos of Wood Conversion plant, Cloquet.
M. Wood Conversion Co.
Unidentified.
Nu-Wood Interior Finish (book),
undated.
142.C.11.1
33
Oversize photographs:
Enlargements of plant photographs: Interior and exterior
views.
26 items.
Unidentified, but may be Wood Conversion plant, Cloquet.
William Carson.
First president, Wood Conversion Co.
Wood Conversion Co. general sales meeting,
1957.
144.D.5.1B
31
Films (16mm):
"Sorbent."
Blue film, answer.
"Better Homes in Jig Time."
Color print.
"Chuck Woods-Go-Giver."
"Make Room for Tomorrow."
"Happy House."
Kodachrome print.
"Sorbent."
8mm.
"Conwed Gold Film."
"Conwed Rock Face and the Impacted Ceiling System."
2 reels.
Color.
"Cell-U-Form Silent Print No. 1."
"Skyclass, Conference in Clouds,"
1972.
3 reels.
"Sorbent Film."
"Original Sorbent Film."
8 mm.
144.D.5.2F
32
Videotape recordings:
"Sorbent Films."
"Ladysmith Master."
"Sorbent."
"The Fires of 1918."
Interview with Henry Walter, September 22,
1989.
Interviewed by Harry Newby.
Audio tape recordings:
"60 Second Radio Spots": Farm panel (2), Stone face,
Sculptured look, Vinyl.
6 cassettes.
Farm panel.
Radio.
Sculptured look, November
1972.
Radio.
"Tobey's Tunes."
Sorbent: Sound effects and music.
Sorbent: Master narrative.
File Box containing 41 small filmstrips in tins. Most are
identified.
+141
Architectural Plans:
Garage laboratory, Wood Conversion Company test home project, Fairmeadows
addition, Stillwater.
West cross section,
September 22, 1959.
Proposed mechanical layout,
September 22, 1959.
Floor plan,
July 25, 1959.
Wall section detail,
September 25, 1959.
Perspective view of removable cabinets,
November 2, 1959.