Mary Elizabeth Hallock Greenewalt papers


Musical Edition


Collection 0867

( Bulk, 1879-1950 ) 1769-1950, undated
(18.2 Linear feet ; 39 boxes, 29 volumes, 23 flat files)
© The Historical Society of Pennsylvania1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Series III

Legal 1920-1936   ; 9 boxes, ___ flat files


Musical Guide by Ted Houghtaling


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In the writings of Mary Elizabeth Hallock Greenewalt, great length is taken to explain that there is no direct correspondence between sound and color. According to her, they “speak in different ways” and are always subject to the interpretation of the artist and the experiences they bring to each piece. I’m not certain if Mrs. Greenewalt was a synesthetic. This piece, instead of relying on historical verisimilitude assumes she might have been. If not, I can only wonder what drives someone to spend the majority of their life exploring the bridge between the worlds of the seen and the heard. I thought it would be an interesting idea to put aside any pressure to provide a strict textual interpretation and instead attempt to explore the dream world of Mrs. Greenewalt. The very place where her thoughts, with all their meanings, resonances and impressions would have gestated and found themselves expressed in the light of day. She would later take these ideas and call her art, nourathar, derived from Arabic and literally translated as ‘essence of light’.

Ted Houghtaling is a sound designer working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You can learn more about him and his music at tedhoughtaling.blogspot.com.

 a. Patents 1920-1934 

Scope and Contents

This section offers correspondence surrounding Greenewalt’s patent filings as well as copies of the original patents.
Box Folder

Patent 1,345,168, Illuminating Means and Notes on Similar Inventions 1918, undated 

 14 1

Patent No. 1,357,773, Improvement in Rheostat 1920 

 14 2

Patent No. 1,385,944, Notation for Indicating Lighting Effects 1921 

 36 3

Patent No. 1,481,132, Improvement in Methods of and Means for Associating Light and Music 1924 

 14 3

Patent No. 16,825, Improvement in Methods of and Means for Associating Light and Music 1927 

 14 4

Patent No. 16,825 Certification, Improvement in Methods of and Means for Associating Light and Music 1927 

 14 5

Patent No. 1,654,873, Means for Controlling Light 1928 

 36 4

Patent No. 1,714,504, Improvement in Color Systems for Light and Color Players 1929 

 14 6

Patent No. 1,731,772, Improvement in Instruments for Light and Color Play 1929 

 14 7

Patent No. 1,731,772 Certification, Improvement in Instruments for Light and Color Play 1929 

 14 8

Patent No. 1,945,635, Improvement in Light Color Instruments 1934 

 14 9

Patent No. 1,945,635 Certification, Improvement in Light Color Instruments 1934 

 14 10

Serial No. 165,621 Systems in Illumination (Patent No. 1,949,101) 1927-1933 

 15 1

Patent No. 1,949,101, Systems in Illumination (Serial No. 165,621) 1934 

 36 5

Serial No. 676,201 Improvement in Light Regulators and Intensity Indicators 1923-1928 

 15 2

Serial No. 159,609 Improvement in Motor-Actuated Switches 1927-1931 

 15 3

Patent No. 1,854,547, Motor-Actuated Switches (Serial No. 159,609) 1932 

 36 6

Serial No. 164,597 Light-Color Instrument 1927-1933 

 15 4

Serial No. 753,911 Mercury Switches and Mercury Switch Systems 1921-1931 

 15 5

Serial No. 709,283 Current Translating Mechanisms 1924-1931 

 15 6-7

Patent No. 1,793,284, Current Translating Mechanisms (Serial No. 709,283) 1931 

 36 7

Serial No. 179,697 Improvement in Signaling Means 1927-1931 

 15 9

Patent No. 1,820,899, Lighting Appliances (Serial No. 705,568) 1931 

 36 8

Originals, Serial No. 753,911 Mercury Switches and Mercury Switch Systems 1921-1931 

 15 10

Greenewalt Patents 1920-1934 

 36 9

Original Patent Application Envelopes 1923-1933 

 15 11

Patent Applications, Receipts 1922-1927 

 16 1

Patent Applications, Light & Color Play Improvements 1924-1930 

 16 2

Light-Scale Shorthand Design & Notes 1920 

 16 3

Writings Supporting Patent Claims undated 

 16 4

Patent Materials, Colored Arc undated 

 16 5

Patent Materials, Colored Strips undated 

 16 6

Patent Materials, Color Paper Disks undated 

 16 7

Originals, Box 16 undated 

 16 8

Greenewalt v. Stanley Company of America, Volume 1, Three Briefs 1930 

 16 9

Patents Cited Against Greenewalt, 1,820,899 undated 

 17 1

Patents Cited Against Greenewalt, 1,945,635 undated 

 17 2

Patents Cited Against Greenewalt, 1,731,772 undated 

 17 3

Patents Cited Against Greenewalt, 1,793,284 undated 

 17 4

Patents Cited Against Greenewalt, 1,357,773 undated 

 17 5

Patents Cited Against Greenewalt, 1,714,504 undated 

 17 6

Methods for Controlling Light, Color Sketches, Graphs, Musical and Color Notes and Drawings 1928, undated 

 17 7
Oversize

Methods for Controlling Light, Color Sketches, Graphs, Musical and Color Notes and Drawings circa 1928 

 Flat File 10
Box Folder

Patent Applications, Light Control 1923-1935, undated 

 17 8

Patents on Color Lighting Fountains 1934, undated 

 17 9

Congressional Reports, Trademarks, Copyright 1927, 1935 

 17 10

Originals, Patent Applications, Light Control 1925, 1935, undated 

 17 11

 b. Lawsuits 1920-1936 

Scope and Contents

A good portion of boxes 18-24 contain a record of Greenewalt’s court filings, trial exhibits and testimony. Included in this record of Greenewalt’s legal battles are typed drafts in Box 20 of an unpublished 1934 manuscript titled: A to Z compilation of Patent Letters with Letters Patent depicting the Ways of the Large Capital Aggregations in which the United States Patent Office Proposes, Big Business Structure Disposes. Folder One contains a handwritten list of chapters. The letters touch on personal details such as Greenewalt’s family background, early investigations of pulse and rhythm, efforts to manufacture and market the color organ, and subsequent patent infringement suits. Some letters contain specific allegations of infringement, naming theatre owners, specific businesses, e.g. Cutler Hammer Company, whom Greenewalt claims reinvented its switches according to her designs These letters also provide references to other artists working with light and color during the 1920s and 1930s.
Box Folder

Federal Reporter, (Vol. 39 (2nd)-No. 1), May 26, 1930, "Greenewalt v. Stanley Co. of America, No. 684, pp. 102-104 1930 

 18 1

Transcript of Record, Mary Hallock Greenewalt v. Stanley Company of America, Volume II, Exhibit Record 1930 

 18 2

Mary Hallock Greenewalt v. Musical Arts Society, "Conclusion Answer to Defendant's Brief" 1936 

 18 3

Mary Hallock Greenewalt v. Musical Arts Society, Draft of "Conclusion answer to Defendant's Brief" 1936 

 18 4
Oversize

Mary Hallock Greenewalt v. Musical Arts Society, Proofs 1936 

 Flat File 11
Box Folder

Mary Hallock Greenewalt v. Musical Arts Society, Transcript of Testimony 1935 

 18 5-8

Mary Hallock Greenewalt v. Musical Arts Society, Transcript of Testimony 1935 

 36 10

Light Color Play Notes, Hoffmann Machinery Corporation, v. Pantex Pressing Company 1929 

 18 9

A to Z, A Compilation of Patent Letters with Letters Patent, First Draft 1934 

 19 1-6

A to Z, A Compilation of Patent Letters with Letters Patent, Second Draft 1934 

 19 7-16

Court Case, Various Patent Specification Pamphlets circa 1930, undated 

 20 1-2

Greenewalt v. Stanley 1932, undated 

 20 3

Syria Improvement Association and the Clavilux 1923-1924 

 20 4

Court Case, Affidavits 1920-1928 

 20 5

Greenewalt v. Musical Arts Society, Notes 1929, undated 

 20 6

Greenwalt v. Musical Arts Society, Slough and Canfield, Attorneys 1935 

 20 7

Court Case, "Patents in Suit" undated 

 20 8

Greenewalt v. Stanley, Arguments, Personal Notes 1929 

 20 9

Greenwalt v. Stanley, Exhibits circa 1930, undated 

 20 10

Other Dimmers, Citations, Exhibits. Electrical World, "Electricity at the New York Hippodrome" undated 

 20 11

Court Case, Various Patent Specification Pamphlets undated 

 20 12

Court Case, "Developments in the Electrical Industry During 1932" 1932 

 20 13

Court Case, Stage Lighting, Print Material 1919, 1926, undated 

 20 14

Exhibits, Photostatic Copies, Color Organ Designs undated 

 20 15

Evidence 1929 

 20 16

Defendant's Exhibits undated 

 20 17

Defendant's Exhibits, copy from 1915 Scientific America, "The Art of Mobile Color" 1931, undated 

 20 18

Writings Concerning Musical Arts Suit, Equity No. 4976 1923-1936 

 21 1

Writings Concerning Musical Arts Suit, Equity No. 4976, Originals 1923-1936 

 21 2

Color Organ Manufacturing Costs, Invoices and Checks 1926-1933 

 21 3

Color Organ Manufacturing Costs, Invoices and Checks, Originals 1926-1933 

 21 4

Greenewalt v. Westinghouse, Notes and Drafts circa 1934 

 21 5

Greenewalt v. Westinghouse, Notes and Drafts Originals circa 1934 

 21 6

Copy of Proofs, Plaintiff's Brief Greenewalt v. Musical Arts Association, Equity No. 4976 1936 

 21 7

Greenewalt v. Musical Arts Association, Draft Brief for Plaintiff 1936 

 21 8

Duplicates Box 21 

 21 9

Copies from Binder, "Mary Hallock Greenewalt, Stanley Company of America In Equity No. 684 Trial at Wilmington Delaware from 30th September 1929 Pages 383 to 684" 1920-1930 

 22 1

Originals, from Binder, "Mary Hallock Greenewalt, Stanley Company of America In Equity No. 684 Trial at Wilmington Delaware from 30th September 1929 Pages 383 to 684" 1920-1930 

 22 2

Greenewalt v. Stanley Company, Deposition of Samuel L. Rothafel, Defendant 1929 

 22 3

Greenewalt v. Stanley Company, Brief for Plaintiff 1929 

 22 4

Personal Notecards Regarding Court Cases undated 

 36 11

Personal Notes Regarding Patents and Reissues 1935, undated 

 36 12

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