Copy of The Twelve Principles of Efficiency with inscription from Fred G. Meyer to Oran B. Robertson, 1924; circa 1945
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Inscriber
- Meyer, Fred G., 1886-1978
- Title
- Copy of The Twelve Principles of Efficiency with inscription from Fred G. Meyer to Oran B. Robertson
- Dates
- 1924; circa 1945 (inclusive)19241945
- Quantity
- 0.18 cubic feet, (1 slim letter document case)
- Collection Number
- Coll 1103
- Summary
- Copy of the sixth edition of Harrington Emerson's book "The Twelve Principles of Efficiency," with a typed inscription from Fred G. Meyer (1886-1978) to Oran B. Robertson (1917-1999). Meyer was the founder of the Fred Meyer grocery and department store chain, which he established in Portland, Oregon, in the 1920s. Robertson began working at Fred Meyer in 1945, and became the company's chief executive following Meyer's death.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical Note
Fred G. Meyer (né Grubmeyer) was born in Germany in 1886, and immigrated to the United States with his family at age 2. In 1909, Meyer moved to Portland, Oregon, where he sold coffee and tea door-to-door and managed sidewalk stands. In 1919, he married Eva Chatfield Chiles (1887-1960).
In 1922, Meyer opened a Piggly Wiggly store in Portland with his younger brother Henry and a third partner. However, he had a falling out with his partners, and by 1927 had established Fred Meyer, Inc., a self-service store. In the course of his career operating Fred Meyer, Inc., Meyer added departments to his stores including clothing, pharmaceutical drugs, hardware, and toys, making him a pioneer in the development of one-stop shopping.
By the time he died in 1978, Fred G. Meyer controlled 63 stores in five states and had more than 10,000 employees. Although he had not been a generous donor during his lifetime, his will called for the bulk of his estate, valued at $120 million, to be used to create a charitable trust.
Sources: "Fred G. Meyer (1886-1978)," by Fred Leeson, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/meyer-fred/; vital statistics via Ancestry.com.
Biographical Note
Oran Benjamen Robertson was born in 1917 in Turner, Oregon. In 1945, he began working for Fred Meyer, Inc. as director of engineering, a job that entailed designing new stores and remodeling older ones. At the start of his career, one of his challenges was proving to his boss, Fred G. Meyer, that nicer stores were more profitable. To that end, he upgraded some stores without informing Meyer. Though this angered Meyer, the redesigned stores sold more merchandise, proving Robertson's hypothesis correct.
Robertson became a vice president in 1959, and first vice president in 1972. The following year, he was appointed to the newly created job of vice chair. When Meyer died in 1978, Robertson became the board chair and chief executive officer. As CEO, Robertson adopted a consensus-based leadership approach that involved the whole management team. During his tenure as CEO, sales at Fred Meyer stores tripled from $645 million to $1.8 billion. Robertson retired in 1988 and died in 1999.
Sources: Obituary in the Oregonian, August 16, 1999, page B1; vital statistics from Ancestry.com.
Content Description
The collection consists of a copy of the sixth edition of Harrington Emerson's book "The Twelve Principles of Efficiency," with an inscription from Fred G. Meyer to Oran B. Robertson. The inscription was typed on a piece of paper that was then glued to the first inside page of the book; Robertson's name and Meyer's signature are handwritten in green ink. In his inscription, Meyer claims that the principles outlined in the book were responsible for the United States' industrial achievements in the 20th century, and names other corporations that have successfully used them. Meyer concludes the inscription by asking Robertson to make the book his "business Bible" to use as "a reference and daily guide."
Use of the Collection
Preferred Citation
Copy of The Twelve Principles of Efficiency with inscription from Fred G. Meyer to Oran B. Robertson, Coll 1103, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Gift of James C. Aalberg, December 2022 (RL2022-160).
Related Materials
The Oregon Historical Society Research Library also holds an oral history interview with Fred G. Meyer, SR 9474, which is available online in OHS Digital Collections at https://digitalcollections.ohs.org/sr-9474-oral-history-interview-with-fred-g-meyer; and an oral history interview with Oran B. Robertson, SR 9496, available online at https://digitalcollections.ohs.org/sr-9496-oral-history-interview-with-oran-b-robertson.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Executives--Oregon--Portland
- Industrial efficiency
Personal Names
- Meyer, Fred G., 1886-1978
- Robertson, Oran B. (Oran Benjamen), 1917-1999
Form or Genre Terms
- books
- inscriptions
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Emerson, Harrington, 1853-1931 (author)
