Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from National Biscuit Company Salesman's Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: National Biscuit Company Salesman's Collection, M2017-017, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The National Biscuit Company Salesman's Collection was purchased by Special Collections in March 2015.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the National Biscuit Company Salesman's Collection was completed in June 2017.

Historical Note

Founded in 1898, the National Biscuit Company was the product of a merger among the American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company, the New York Biscuit Company, and the United States Baking Company. The new conglomerate consisted of one hundred-fourteen bakeries across the United States and was headquartered in New York City.

Though the name "Nabisco" was first used as the name for a specific product introduced in 1901 (a sugar wafer), and was used within the company at least as early as the 1930s (likely sooner), the corporate name was not shortened to Nabisco, Inc. until 1971.

In 1981, Nabisco merged with Standard Brands, Inc., which later became part of R. J. Reynolds. It has since become part of several more mergers and separations. It is currently a subsidiary of Mondelēz International.

Scope and Content

The National Biscuit Company Salesman's Collection consists of materials for the use of National Biscuit Company salesman, including blank order forms, a student's training guide, and a package catalog. Although none of the materials are dated, they may date from about the 1930s. possibly earlier. The order forms and student record book are empty, but a pasted in newspaper at the back of the packaging catalog suggests this may have been used by a salesman in Maine.

The catalog contains sample packaging for a range of products, as well as examples of different kinds of racks to present the products in store. The order forms are all unused, but have space for quantities, products, prices, and include a note on the use of display covers. The "student salesman's progress record" appears to have been a training tool. It walks through the company's training program, guided by the National Biscuit Company logo, and consists mainly of questions to be answered by trainees on the company, products, raw materials, processes, advertising, and even the use of forms.

Related Material

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Advertisements
• History of Food and Drink
• National Biscuit Company