u/TheFindoftheDay

Hey everyone,
I recently posted a bit about this collection in a Proto tools group and received incredibly positive feedback for trying to preserve its history. However, I need to be completely transparent about a major roadblock we’ve hit.
Despite launching a digital archive to showcase everything, our website traffic has hit zero over the last few days. Our physical storage space and time limits are officially maxed out. Our ultimate goal is to place this incredible piece of mid-century industrial history into a museum, university, or corporate archive intact as a single, complete collection.
Unfortunately, we’ve had no luck finding an institution yet. If we cannot secure an institutional home soon, we will be forced to liquidate the collection through small lots or single-item sales.
Breaking up this complete historical record—separating the rare 1960s Indy 500 reels from the thousands of Proto corporate photos, original marketing materials, and classified WWII engineering documents—is the absolute last thing we want to do. We have dedicated a massive amount of time, energy, and curatorial care to organize, summarize, and digitize this archive. It offers an unparalleled record of 20th-century American manufacturing, bridging classified WWII aerospace engineering and pioneering corporate craftsmanship.
How this community can help right now:
Do you have institutional connections? If you have any relationships or direct contacts at academic libraries, tool/industrial history museums, or aerospace archives, please introduce us.
Do you know an organization that should buy this? If you know an institution looking to secure a rare piece of American industrial heritage, point them our way immediately.
Give us your input: Have you successfully placed an industrial archive before? Are we reaching out to the wrong people? We welcome your advice, ideas, and leads in the comments.
Let’s work together to keep this history alive and whole before we run out of time.
👇 I am dropping the link to the full digital archive in the first comment below. Please check it out, take a look at the history, and share it with anyone who might have a lead.

I’ve spent the last few weeks digitizing the personal collection of H. William Oetjen, an engineer and executive at Proto Tools (Pendleton Tool Industries) during their "Jet-Age" peak.
I’ve put thousands of photos and documents onto a website built to document and preserve the history. I have original 8mm footage showing:
Tool Exhibitions: Rare clips of Proto tools being showcased and demonstrated at mid-century trade shows and events.
The Indy 500: Footage of Proto’s presence at the track, including forensic tool studies under racing conditions.
Oetjen was an NYU engineer who worked on WWII jet propulsion before moving to Proto, and he brought that "military-grade" mindset to the professional tool world.
The archive includes:
The Plomb-to-Proto Transition: Internal records of the brand’s evolution.
Technical Blueprints: Original manuals and design overlays.
The "Secret" Connection: Documents from Oetjen's time with the USAF that show how aerospace precision was applied to hand tools.
Unique Artifacts: Inscribed personal tools and corporate ledgers.
I'm sharing this here because this sub is the only place that would truly appreciate the depth of this brand's history. I’ve tried to make it as easy to browse as possible. It was my first time making a website so I’m sure I made some mistakes.
Link to the websites full archive in the comments!