Conservation Survey of The Sarnoff Collection at The College of New Jersey

FAIN: PG-263580-19

College of New Jersey (Ewing, NJ 08628-0718)
Margaret Pezalla-Granlund (Project Director: May 2018 to present)

A preservation assessment of the Sarnoff Collection consisting of more than 6,000 objects documenting major developments in communication and electronics through the lens of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Initially part of a museum and technical archive located at RCA’s research laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, the collection was transferred to The College of New Jersey in 2010.  It consists of vacuum tubes and early versions of phonographs, radios, televisions, computers, and flat screen technology, along with assorted RCA memorabilia. Among its highlights are the audion, a limited run vacuum tube manufactured in 1915; the first commercially available color television set (1954); and experimental recordings made in 1955 from the world’s first programmable electronic synthesizer.

The purpose of the conservation survey of the Sarnoff Collection at The College of New Jersey is to identify objects of particular preservation concern (including plastics, electronic components, and other unstable or hazardous materials) and prioritize remedial, preventive, and storage-related conservation actions for the Collection.