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COLLECTION Identifier: HOLLIS5991942

United States War Production Board records

Overview

This collection consists of official records of the New England Regional Branch of the War Production Board. Much of the correspondence involves William A. Rossiter, who was the Chief Consultant of the Regional Priorities Department in Boston, Massachusetts. There is also a large amount of material relating to specific materials that were under regulated production during World War II.

Dates

  • Creation: 1941 - 1945

Conditions Governing Access

Access to these papers is governed by the rules and regulations of the Harvard Law School Library. This collection is open to the public, but is housed off-site at Harvard Depository and requires 2 business-day advance notice for retrieval. Consult the Special Collections staff for further information.

Conditions Governing Use

The Harvard Law School Library holds copyright on some, but not all, of the material in our collections. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be directed to the Special Collections staff. Researchers who obtain permission to publish from the Harvard Law School Library are also responsible for identifying and contacting the persons or organizations who hold copyright.

Extent

1 collection (11 Paige boxes)

This collection consists of official records of the New England Regional Branch of the War Production Board. Most of the records are forms, directives, orders, letters, inquiries, and procedure manuals, and span the dates 1941-1945. Much of the correspondence involves William A. Rossiter, who was the Chief Consultant of the Regional Priorities Department in Boston, Massachusetts. There is also a large amount of information on specific materials that were under regulated production during World War II. This collection may be useful to anyone researching war production regulation, local war effort and the war effort in general, government agencies, or the detailed treatment of certain materials during wartime.

The collection remains in the order in which it was received, with material generally arranged by department and division, type of form, or specific material.

Historical Information

The War Resources Board was established August 9, 1939, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as a civilian advisory group to collaborate with the Joint Army and Navy Munitions Board in formulating economic mobilization policies. It was abolished November 24, 1939. The Advisory Commission to the World War I Council of National Defense was revived, May 29, 1940. Three of its functional divisions (Industrial Production, Industrial Materials, and Labor), responsible for the stockpiling and delivery of critical raw materials, were integrated into the Office of Production Management, established January 7, 1941, to develop and execute policies relating to the production of defense materials. On August 28, 1941, OPM's Priorities Board was replaced by the Supply Priorities Allocation Board, which was responsible for coordinating the supply and allocation of defense-related materials and commodities. The Supply Priorities Allocation Board, and subsequently all of OPM, was superseded by War Production Board, January 1942.

Series List

  1. Series I. Field Service Programs, 1943-19451943-1945
  2. Series II. Preference Rating Orders (Obsolete), from theOffice of Production Management, Division ofPriorities
  3. Series III. Controlled Materials Plan [CMP]
  4. Series IV. Revoked Preference Orders
  5. Series V. "T" Transportation Orders(Obsolete)
  6. Series VI. "U" Utility Orders
  7. Series VII. "U" utility Orders Revoked(Obsolete)
  8. Series VIII. Blank monthly report forms for inventory, shipping,orders, production, consumption, etc.
  9. Series IX. Memos and instructions regarding procedures andrules relating to various materials
  10. Series X. Priority Regulations (Obsolete)
  11. Series XI. Field Processing Instructions
  12. Series XII. Subject File Inquiries
  13. Sereis XIII. Programs, Directives, Manuals
  14. Series XIV. Pages from the Manual of OperatingProcedures
  15. Series XV. "M" Direct Allocation Orders
  16. Series XVI. Controlled Materials PlanDivision
  17. Series XVII. Regulations applicable to the Controlled MaterialsPlan
  18. Series XVIII. Subject Files - General
  19. Series XIX. Miscellaneous forms
  20. Series XX. Field Service Bulletins
  21. Series XXI. Obsolete SubjectFiles

Physical Location

Harvard Depository

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated to the Harvard Law School Library by Professor Richard Field ca. 1975.

Processing Information

Processed by Anne Lozier, January 2000.

Title
United States. War Production Board. Records, 1941-1945: Finding Aid.
Author
Harvard Law School Library, Cambridge, MA 02138
Language of description
und
EAD ID
law00045

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections Repository

Harvard Law School Library's Historical & Special Collections (HSC) collects, preserves, and makes available research materials for the study of the law and legal history. HSC holds over 8,000 linear feet of manuscripts, over 100,000 rare books, and more than 70,000 visual images.

Contact:
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