Records of J. Weston Walch, Publisher

Collection

Identifier: Coll. 4247

Staff Only

Scope and Content note

This collection documents the founding, development, and products of J. Weston Walch, Publisher. Contents include correspondence, reports, newsletters, catalogs, published curricula, photographs, audiovisual material, and architectural drawings. These items reflect the company’s origins, management, property development, products, and employee experience. The published curricula included in this collection are the earliest guides produced by Walch in the late 1920s, a selection of learning posters, and a handful of audiovisual items. The majority of the company’s published curricula gifted to MHS, representing decades of debate, speech, and other subject area guides, has been added to the MHS library collection.

Dates

1927 - 2010

Creator

J. Weston Walch (Firm) (Organization)

Access

Unrestricted

Copyright

Access to collections at Maine Historical Society is not an authorization to publish. Rights and reproduction requests may be submitted in writing to the MHS Image Services Coordinator or Research & Administrative Librarian, subject to format.

Administrative note

John Weston Walch (1901-1998) was born in Brunswick, Maine, on November 27, 1901. In 1926, Walch moved to Portland, Me. to teach English and coach debate at Portland High School. In search of supplemental income and often queried by other debate coaches for use of his research and handbook material, Walch founded the Debater’s Information Bureau in the front room of his apartment on Horton Place. In his first year of operations, the fledgling publisher grossed almost $600 selling debate handbooks. By 1933, Walch had accumulated a handful of employees and a roster of regular customers, necessitating a move to a larger space and the purchase of more sophisticated printing equipment. Soon, Walch began publishing a periodical on high-school speech activities alongside his debate guides, and the company rebranded as Platform News Publishing.

In 1938, Walch purchased a business in Bangor, Me., which published English teaching material. With this addition, the company expanded beyond debate and speech publications, changing its name accordingly to J. Weston Walch, Publisher. In the decades that followed, Walch continued to publish debate handbooks, as well as an increasingly diverse array of subject area curricula. Walch’s wife Ruth and children Peter and Carolyn were all involved in the business, and staff numbers increased steadily as business thrived.

By the 1970s, debate teams had become less prevalent. Walch reluctantly dropped the company’s line of debate materials and refocused on their in-demand subject area publications. During this period, the company expanded its operations across several buildings on Valley, Gilman, and Congress Streets in Portland. The company remained in this location until the early 2000s when various building and zoning regulations impeded further development and the business relocated to Portland’s Riverton neighborhood.

While the Walch family sold the business in 2015, it remained a family-owned enterprise for nearly 90 years. Under new ownership, the company continues to publish educational materials in the Portland area.

Extent

4.75 Linear Feet (9 boxes + 17 architectural drawings, 1 poster)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series. Within each series, material is organized chronologically.

1. Company records, 1927-2010
2. Photographs and audiovisual material, 1970-2000

Provenance

Gift of the estate of Carolyn Walch Slayman, November 7, 2016 (acc. no. 2016.247).

Related Materials

The MHS library has a collection of J. Weston Walch curriculum guides. These include the company’s debate guides, speech material, and subject area educational guides. They can be found via the library’s Minerva catalog, searching the alternate author field for J. Weston Walch, Publisher.

The MHS museum collection has a set of educational cards produced by J. Weston Walch titled Telecocina Mexicana: Simulated authentic conversation activities (Past Perfect object id: 2016.247.001).

Processing note

The collection arrived in 24 cardboard boxes, grouped by material type. The majority of the boxes contained publisher’s catalogs and curriculum guides. Three boxes contained company records and photographs.

The catalog collection was heavily weeded. For catalogs from 1948-1981, a single copy from each year was retained, as the inclusion of company news in each rendered them unique. Starting in 1982, catalog content became more repetitive from year to year, so a sampling was kept, with those selected reflecting significant changes in content or design.

Approximately 250 published curriculum guides were separated from the collection and cataloged in Minerva. A VHS tape, an audiocassette, and a deck of Spanish language learning cards were separated from the above-mentioned curriculum material. The VHS and audiocassette tapes are housed with this collection, along with employee-related audiovisual material. The cards were added to the MHS museum collection and can be located via Past Perfect (see Related Materials). Additionally, two sets of architectural drawings were separated and housed in Riverside’s flat files; location information for the drawings can be found in the inventory. One poster created to commemorate Walch’s 75th birthday was likewise separated and housed in oversize.

The collection’s photographs and negatives were removed from labeled envelopes, sleeved, and arranged into general groups by subject. Identifying information from envelopes was preserved and informed the groupings.