Research

Scope and Content Note

The series consists of a "job book" listing orders received for printing jobs, and several dozen examples of printed items. At the Syracuse State School the print shop was part of the Boy's Vocational Department. Under the direction of a head teacher, the vocational program taught the fundamentals of printing simple letterheads, cards, blanks, form letters, and other types of printed matter, as well as the proper use and care of materials.

The job book (January 1956-August 1966) shows the date and weekday the order was placed, item ordered, number of pages in the print run, and a consecutive job number for the year. Jobs were totaled for each month with the number of total printed pages. Production was reported as part of the director's report on school activities.

Samples of items printed include those for both institutional or office use and as promotion for "social" occasions. Most institutional items are blank forms without dates. Material includes various reporting or tabulation forms; weekly time records; requisitions, ordering forms, and vouchers; forms for patient fund accounts; vaccine charts, accident report forms, and prescription forms; accident report forms; message/telephone forms; and letterhead stationery and envelopes.

Other items include promotional (institution-sponsored) literature and event posters (largest size is 9 x 12 inches); tickets for raffles or benefits; invitations to school events (e.g., open house, annual picnics); certificates of achievement or course work completion; report schedules; employee identification cards; professional business cards; notices of social events (typically staff banquets or parties, especially for CSEA union members and including election ballots); and printed rules of conduct, such as an employee "code of service," and list of behaviors and "attitude" rightly shown by parolees. Dates occasionally appearing on this material range from 1948-1953.