Anniversary albums

Launching into the future requires looking fearlessly forward while the full appreciation of history requires looking thoughtfully back. But in the balance between the two, for a fleeting moment, resides the restless present. To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the founding of HP, hpNOW took a trip to the HP Archives to see what the company was saying about itself in the present, as that present existed on anniversaries along the way.

The work to be done, 1937

The Sears-Roebuck drill press listed as part of the original working capital of the company. Dave transported it west from Schenectady in the rumble seat of his car. The same drill press was still in use in the machine assembly department in 1949.

College chums Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard had discussed a business partnership as early as 1934, but it was during the summer of 1937 that they actually began laying the foundation for the Hewlett-Packard Company.

On August 23, 1937, Bill, Dave and Noel Porter met to brainstorm tentative plans for a fledgling business venture and to determine the roles each would play in its creation. Typewritten notes of the meeting include their ideas about:

• The nature of the work to be done — It would be limited entirely to manufacturing and merchandising of their own goods;
  
• The type of work they would attempt — High-frequency systems, including receivers, seemed like a good idea;
  
• The name of the company — The Engineering Service Company might be a good tentative name; and finally
  
• The organization — A partnership of equals; each investing $200 in cash or equipment, with a good bookkeeping system and technical information files.

Twenty-eight months later, as Hewlett-Packard closed the books on its first year of operation, company ledgers show revenues of $5,369(US) with two employees. The plan was working.

Review the original discussion notes (.pdf,451KB) as well as the first progress sheet (.pdf,200KB) detailing action items and responsibilities.

Mem'ries 'n stuff, 1949

Program from an "E" Awards ceremony honoring HP's contributions to the national defense.

An arching banner adorned with the original HP logo sweeps across the top of the cover page and asks the reader, "WATT'S CURRENT?" This 1949 issue of the company's employee magazine proudly proclaims that the success of Hewlett-Packard is proof positive that "it can happen here." And its pages feature first-person chronicles of the ups and downs of the 10-year journey from one-car garage to a (then) just-completed, state-of-the-art, 21,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

"Today," the 10-year anniversary issue declares, "HP is mighty close to being a million-dollar business that provides jobs — and darned good jobs — for 150 people.

"But ten years ago this month when Bill and Dave started their big business venture, their total assets included (1) a good education, (2) high principles, (3) a lot of native ability, imagination, and judgment, and (4) about $500 in the bank."

[Editor's Note: HP Archive records actually set the numbers at 166 employees and $2.2 million in revenue for 1949.]

This is Hewlett-Packard, 1954

By 1954, things at Hewlett-Packard were hopping. The company was dominating the field of electronic measurement with a product line of 225 instruments. A well-trained sales force fanned out to every major city of the United States. Company revenues surpassed $12 million and 709 employees buzzed through its expanding physical facilities.

The employee magazine, Watt's Current, published a special 15-year anniversary issue detailing the history of Hewlett-Packard including, the evolution of its products, philosophy of civic engagement and management style. Extra copies were printed as sales tools for potential customers clamoring to know more about the company.

"We hope you will enjoy reading the story of Hewlett-Packard," the foreword concludes. "It is the story of the things we have achieved — all of us, together. It is a story of which we can be very proud."

Take a mind's-eye tour of HP's state-of-the art physical facilities as described by Watt's Current in 1954.

The first two decades, 1959

When its 20th anniversary rolled around, Hewlett-Packard had been a publicly traded company for two years. Its unique corporate objectives were already in place when the company's earliest acquisition of the F.L. Moseley Company was completed. With this strategic acquisition, HP made its entry into the plotter business, an important precursor to HP's renowned printers.

By the time anniversary cake No. 20 was baked, HP was already a global company with European marketing offices in Geneva, Switzerland, and a manufacturing plant in Boeblingen, (then) West Germany. Glistening new corporate headquarters were nearly complete at 1501 Page Mill in Palo Alto — today's HP Labs — and revenues generated by the company's 2,378 employees had soared to $48 million.

A special anniversary report in 1960 highlighted two decades of HP growth and achievement, and focused on products, facilities, engineering, manufacturing, worldwide sales force and of course, the HP philosophy.

Peruse the company's progress as documented in "The First Two Decades." (pdf,4039KB)

Measuring progress, 1964

In 1964, MEASURE, the company's new employee magazine, set out to eschew the usual trappings of silver anniversaries, namely: nostalgia and fanfare. At that juncture, it was considered far more important to focus on the company's character and forge ahead rather than basking in a glorious past.

"…this special issue of MEASURE is presented — not so much as an historical account — but as a picture of Hewlett-Packard here and now," the editor wrote. "It is not an easy picture to take because the company is far too busy to sit still for a definitive portrait." Revenues that year were $126 million and 7,092 employees had their eyes on the prize.

The issue's theme centered on decisions formulated early in the life of the company by which the founders guided it through its remarkable first quarter century. They were presented as "decisions for dynamic growth."

Check out company statistics and locations (pdf,211KB) of its manufacturing operations at 25.

Not that long ago, 1975

MEASURE took the full year in 1975 to reflect upon the company's legacy and progress in each of its six issues. Company revenues in its 35th year were $981 million and the ranks of HP employees worldwide had expanded to 30,239.

The March issue featured a profile of Bill Girdner, the second employee hired by Bill and Dave while still operating from the garage on Addison Street. In 1975, Girdner was celebrating his 35th anniversary as an HP employee and heading up a section in Data Systems, working on disc and tape heads.

The test of time, 1989

At 50, HP had become a major player in the computing industry. The Addison Street garage was designated as a California historical landmark and the birthplace of the "Silicon Valley" in 1988, the same year HP's DeskJet printer made its debut and HP moved into the top 50 on the Fortune 500 listing.

In 1989, HP celebrated 50 years of innovation. Revenues reached nearly $12 billion and the anniversary cake served 95,000 employees worldwide. The company that Bill and Dave built had not only survived through five decades of constant challenge and change but it had actually thrived.

The March MEASURE featured a special commemorative section drawing on old photographs, company ledgers and personal recollections to once again take note of how far HP had come. It offered snapshots of HP and the society surrounding it decade by decade, highlighting innovative products and practices along the way.

In the closing paragraphs of that issue, Gordon Brown, editor of MEASURE from 1968 to 1982, offered an insight as timely today as it was when he wrote it. Commenting on the way HP's people were meeting considerable change within the company, its organizations, its strategies and its markets, he offered up a pearl of wisdom.

"The fact is," Brown said, " as old timers can affirm, the 'good ol' days' were just as demanding in their way as today. There were no easy paths to success, no sure things. Change was a way of life, just as it is today. The one exception is that remarkable set of beliefs and values that gave — and will continue to give — the company and its people a special sense of partnership and achievement."

And so it remains. Happy 65th Anniversary HP. May it still be only the beginning.

Enjoy MEASURE's The test of time (pdf, 2381KB) and HP's 50th anniversary book of lists. (pdf,544KB)