CALIFORNIA FOUNDRY HISTORY INSTITUTE (CFHI)

CFHI ARCHIVES

The California Foundry History Institute collects and preserves documents protographs, artifacts and ephemera related to the history of the metal casting industry (foundries and suppliers) in California. An important facet of the archive is the recorded oral histories of the men and women who have played a significant role in the development of our state's foundry industry.
The CFHI Archive continues to grow and is fast becoming the most comprehensive collection of foundry history ever compiled. CFHI's Board of Directors is actively seeking a permanent academic repository to make the Archive accessible to students and scholars seeking foundry history information.
ARCHIVE:
The CFHI ARCHIVE CONTAINS 8 RECORD GROUPS:
1.Regional California Foundry History: Indexed by California Counties and Cities. Oftentimes, these files include copies of old city directory foundry listings and other archival treasures.
2.Corporate Histories: Indexed by foundry name of metal casters both past and present. Files may include advertisements, company stationery and records, owner/employee information, brochures, and sales catalogs.
3. Personal Histories and Biographies: recorded oral interviews and photographs of prominent foundry men and women.
4. Trade and Professional Associations: Extensive histories of the California Foundry History Institute (CFHI); the California Cast Metals Association (CCMA); Northern California, Central California and Southern California Chapters of the American Foundry Society (AFS) aka American Foundrymen's Society (AFS) aka American Foundrymen's Association (AFA); Southern California Chapter of the Non-Ferrous Founders Society (NFFS); and other foundry, metal casting and metal working associations.
5. Artifacts, Castings, Tool and Patterns: A fascinating array of old foundry tools, wooden patterns made of pine, redwood or mahogany, a cast pulley system, cast iron stove door, decorative signs and plaques, center-piece for the spokes of a wagon wheel, brass door-knocker and many other examples of foundry work.
6. Technology, Engineering, Metallurgy: Records containing foundry technology, continuing education, environmental concerns, apprenticeshops and employee training, engineering drawings, and casting information on building the LA Aquaduct system, the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge and other historic and decorative castings in California.
7. Military and National Defense: Foundries' role in providing castings for World War II.
8. Miscellaneous: national foundries and foundry publications, castings in U.S. History and the World.
LIBRARY:

In addition to the Archive, CFHI has collected and indexed 150 books, pamphlets, periodicals, videos and films pertaining to technical, engineering and historic foundry topics.

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