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Wayne I. Pribble Papers

A description of his papers at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Pribble, Wayne I.
Title: Wayne I. Pribble Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1946-1987
Quantity: 4.5 linear ft.
Abstract: Collection includes the records of Wayne Pribble's companies, Barrier-Pribble and Pribble Plastics Products; mold drawings produced by Barrier-Pribble and Pribble Plastics Products; and drafts and papers related to Pribble and J. Harry DuBois' book, Plastics Mold Engineering.
Language: English
Repository: Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
222 Waverly Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Wayne I. Pribble was an American engineer, manufacturer, and author in the plastics field.

Pribble was a graduate of the General Electric Co. apprentice training program at Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was trained as a toolmaker but never practiced that profession and was instead employed as a mold designer by the Plastics Division of the General Electric Co. in Fort Wayne, 1937-1942. In 1942, he was promoted to product engineer and continued in that capacity until resigning in 1948 to form his own company.

Pribble formed Barrier-Pribble and Co., Inc. in 1948 with Alvis L. Barrier. In 1954, this company became Pribble Plastics Products, a custom mold maker specializing in thermosetting molding. Pribble Plastics Products closed in 1981 and was sold in 1983. Pribble went on to buy and sell hard-to-find used books and sell computer programs for Apple and IBM computers.

In collaboration with J. Harry DuBois, Pribble wrote the majority of the text for Plastics Mold Engineering, originally published by the American Technical Society of Chicago in 1946. The National Society of Plastics Engineers obtained publishing rights and issued a revised and enlarged text in 1965 as part of the Polymer Technology Series of SPE and published by Reinhold Publishing Company; a 3rd edition followed in 1978, and a 4th edition in 1987.

Pribble was a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association of the Society of the Plastics Industry, National Councilman for the Northern Indiana Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers, National Treasurer of the National Society of Plastics Engineers and recipient of the Society of Plastics Engineers Presidents Cup in 1948.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Wayne I. Pribble Papers includes the records of Wayne Pribble's companies, Barrier-Pribble and Pribble Plastics Products; mold drawings produced by Barrier-Pribble and Pribble Plastics Products; and drafts and papers related to Pribble and J. Harry DuBois' book, Plastics Mold Engineering.

Barrier-Pribble and Pribble Plastics Products contains company records, an annual appraisal, mold designs and records, a scrapbook, and related materials.

Drawings includes mold drawings for various plastic items and an index to the drawings.

Plastics Mold Engineering papers contains manuscripts, communications, research materials, purchasing orders and royalty receipts, galley proofs, reviewer comments and correspondences, and other materials related to the writing, editing, and publication of the book. The majority of materials are related to the 4th edition.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Collection is arranged alphabetically by topic.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has numerous holdings in the areas of plastics and industrial design. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing. In particular, see also the J. Harry Dubois Papers.

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Subject Headings

Persons

DuBois, J. Harry (John Harry), 1903-
Pribble, Wayne I.

Corporate Bodies

Barrier-Pribble (Firm)
Pribble Plastics Products.
Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.

Subjects

Plastics -- Molds.
Plastics industry and trade.
Thermosetting plastics.

Genres and Forms

Brochures.
Business records.
Correspondence.
Drafts (documents)
Drawings (visual works)
Manuscripts for publication.

Occupations

Authors.
Engineers.
Manufacturers.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Wayne I. Pribble Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Transfer from National Plastics Center and Museum, 11/06/2008. Originally, gift of Wayne Pribble, 1997.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: DGI/MM
Date: 2006
Revision history: Feb 2009 - converted to EAD (MRC); 12 Jun 2013 - map-case locations updated (MRC); Jun 2014 - items rehoused, itemized, and processed for offsite (DRF)

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Inventory

Barrier-Pribble/Pribble Plastics Products
Box 1 Appraisal report 1973 - Report of Pribble Plastics Products by Harding, Dahm & Company
Box 1 Corporation record 1948-1984 (2 folders)
Box 1 "Meet your staff" 1972 - biographies of people involved in plastic injection molding die design
Box 1 Mold designs 1949 (2 folders)
Box 1 Mold records: master sheets 1956-1969
Box 1 Operating instructions and press equipment 1956-1963
Oversize 1 PPP scrapbook 1959-1979
Drawings
Large schematic drawings of molds for a wide range of plastic items. Originally donated in a five-shelf flat file, the original shelving order and groupings have been retained. Although the larger drawings are numbered, some drawers contained smaller unnumbered drawings; these have been kept with the numbered drawings from that drawer on the presumption that they relate somehow to the numbered drawings.
Oversize 1 Index to mold drawings (3 boxes)
Map-Case 93 Mold drawings, #1100-1221 1950-1981 - includes 1 roll of unnumbered drawings
Map-Case 94 Mold drawings, #1505-1602, 1700-1761 1950-1981 - includes 1 folder of unnumbered drawings
Map-Case 95 Mold drawings, #1762-1799, 8000-8069 1950-1981 - includes 1 folder of unnumbered drawings
Map-Case 96 Mold drawings, #8070-8161 1950-1981 - includes 1 roll of unnumbered drawings
Map-Case 109 Mold drawings, #8162-8342 1950-1981 - includes 1 roll of unnumbered drawings
Plastics Mold Engineering papers
Box 1 3rd edition: education 1983 - information about the book's use in a plastics mold design and theory course
Box 1 3rd edition: figures 1973, 1975, undated
Box 1 3rd edition: royalties 1975-1982, 1984-1985
Box 1 3rd edition: miscellaneous 1971-1983 - communications, purchase orders, article clippings, and manuscript reviews with responses (2 folders)
Box 2 4th edition: appendix 1986
Box 2 4th edition: caption and figure list 1986
Box 2 4th edition: chapter 1 1986-1987
Box 2 4th edition: chapter 2 1986-1987
Box 2 4th edition: chapter 3 1986-1987
Box 2 4th edition: chapter 4 1986-1987
Box 2 4th edition: chapter 5 1986-1987
Box 2 4th edition: chapter 6 1986-1987 (2 folders)
Box 3 4th edition: chapter 7 1986-1987 (2 folders)
Box 3 4th edition: chapter 8 1985-1987 (4 folders)
Box 3 4th edition: chapter 9 1986
Box 3 4th edition: chapter 10 1984, 1987
Box 4 4th edition: chapter 10 1980, 1983-1984, 1986-1987 (4 folders)
Box 4 4th edition: chapter 11 1985-1987 (2 folders)
Box 4 4th edition: chapter 12 1976, 1982, 1986-1987
Box 5 4th edition: chapter 12 1986-1987
Box 5 4th edition: chapter 13 1984, 1987
Box 5 4th edition: chapter 14 1981, 1984, 1987
Box 5 4th edition: glossary 1980
Box 5 4th edition: index 1984, 1987
Box 5 4th edition: preface 1987
Box 5 4th edition: proofs and editing 1985, 1987 - editing key, galley proofs, and notes
Box 5 4th edition: reviews 1984, 1986 - manuscript reviewer comments and Pribble's response
Box 5 4th edition: table of contents 1987
Box 5 4th edition: research files: CAD/CAM 1979-1984 - conference papers, advertisements, correspondence, and magazine clippings related to computer-aided design/manufacture (2 folders)
Box 6 4th edition: research files: CAD/CAM 1982, 1984 - conference papers, advertisements, correspondence, and magazine clippings related to computer-aided design/drafting/manufacture/engineering
Box 6 4th edition: research files: miscellaneous 1974, 1978, 1983, 1985-1987 - magazine and journal clippings, brochures, and information packets (2 folders)
Box 6 5th edition material 1983, 1986-1987 - research materials and communications relating to finding an editor for the 5th edition
Box 6 Communications: J. Harry Dubois 1963-1965, 1976-1980, 1983-1984
Box 6 Communications: miscellaneous 1946-1974
Box 6 Photographs 1946, 1964, undated

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