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Irvin R. Weir Collection
An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University
Finding aid created by: Michele Combs
Date: 30 Jan 2026
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| Return to finding aids search |
Finding aid created by: Michele Combs
Date: 30 Jan 2026
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Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Weir, Irvin Reed, 1897-1980 |
| Title: | Irvin R. Weir Collection |
| Dates: | 1932-1970 (bulk: 1942-1952) |
| Quantity: | 1.0 linear ft. |
| Abstract: | Scrapbook, photographs, and printed material related to American electrical engineer Irvin R. Weir |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives |
Irvin R. Weir (1897-1980) was an American electrical engineer who worked in radio and television.
Born in Prairie Creek, Indiana, Weir received his BS and EE from Rose Polytechnic Institute (now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) in Terre Haute, Indiana. He joined General Electric in 1921, initially in their test department in Schenectady, New York and then in the transmitter division of GE's Radio Department in Syracuse, where he worked on the development of high power radio and television transmitters. Weir was project manager for production of the first microwave radar equipment for gun control during World War II, and directed installation of some television stations that led to the development of microwave relay systems for pipeline control and communications. Weir remained with GE until his retirement in 1962. He died in Jacksonvile, Florida on 28 Oct 1980.
The Irvin R. Weir Collection consists of photographs, printed material, and a scrapbook.
Photographs, all but two of which are black and white, consist of images taken during a television transmission test by DuMont Laboratories and photographs taken at an RCA Victor television production facility.
Printed material consists of clippings, newspapers, brochures, and assorted other items.
The Scrapbook contains photographs, clippings, maps, Chamber of Commerce programs and other printed items, and church-related material.
Series are arranged alphabetically; material within each series is in no particular order.
Access Restrictions:
The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance 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.
Persons
Weir, Irvin Reed, 1897-1980.
Corporate Bodies
Allen B. DuMont Laboratories.
General Electric Company.
RCA-Victor Company.
Subjects
Radio -- Transmitters and
transmission.
Television -- Design and
construction.
Television -- History.
Television -- Transmitters and
transmission.
Women electronic industry workers.
Places
Syracuse (N.Y.) -- History.
Genres and Forms
Clippings (information artifacts)
Newsletters.
Photographs.
Scrapbooks.
Occupations
Engineers.
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Irvin R. Weir Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Purchase, 2025.
Photographs
Printed material
Scrapbooks
| Photographs | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Television signal images, Mt. Greylock 1944 | ||||||||||
| According to handwritten information on the back, these fuzzy images were made from the signal of television station WNBT at a receiver on top of Mt. Greylock (3,489 feet) in the Berkshires area of Massachusetts, as part of a test by DuMont Laboratories. Several of the photographs feature a man idenfied on the back as Oscar Brandt, an engineer at DuMont Laboratories and later at Lockheed. | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | RCA television factory [circa 1945?] | ||||||||||
| These images appear to have been taken at an RCA Victor television production facility. They show various areas of the facility, including an assembly line and a testing setup. Many of the pictures feature women employees. | |||||||||||
| Printed material | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Miscellaneous [1932], 1944, 1966, 1970, undated | ||||||||||
| Clippings include an article about DuMont Laboratories' Oscar Brandt with a photo, and a group portrait of "The 77 Club," a group of GE engineers who were instrumental in moving the company to the forefront of research in radio, television, sonar, radar, and other electronics. Weir is 9th from left. There is an issue of the Terre Haute Tribune with coverage of Rose Poly's 1966 homecoming week, and an issue of Operation Breadbasket News with Martin Luther King Jr. on the front page. There is also a brochure about the Teleplex method of learning Morse Code, with additional typed instructions. | |||||||||||
| Scrapbooks | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | [Volume 1] Scrapbook circa 1942-1962 (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Pages are extremely fragile/brittle. Exercise great care in handling. | |||||||||||
| Contents of the scrapbook include clippings, photographs, and assorted.printed and handwritten items. Much of the first half of the scrapbook pertains to GE's announcement and construction of its new Electronics Park facility in Syracuse, New York, and associated business and union issues. Photographs are all technical in nature, and relate to television research and production. The second half of the scrapbook includes a number of handwritten quotations, prayers, poerms, and stories. | |||||||||||