The Unseen Legacy of Walter L. Shaw: An Innovator's Journey

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     Almost exactly ninety-five years after the subject of this article was born in Vineland, a modest gathering of people congregated at the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society’s museum to celebrate his life and contributions to the world of telecommunications.  The atmosphere was festive, for it was the holiday season.  Snowflakes slowly tumbled down to the icy ground, rising and dancing in the winter wind, in no particular hurry to see which landed first.  

     Before I was on the Board of Trustees, I was a volunteer, and at this particular event I served as an usher for the guests.  I knew very little about the person we were celebrating that night.  Who was this man whose bust still resides in the VHAS museum?  What did he accomplish to deserve such an evening?  Who was Walter L. Shaw?

     Born on December 20, 1917, in Vineland, New Jersey, Walter L. Shaw was a creative genius who would contribute significantly to the growing telecommunications industry in the United States. Shaw would demonstrate that, despite his poor socio-economic circumstances and the challenges posed by corporate interests, his inventions would pave the way for breakthroughs that remain integral to modern communications.

     After earning a degree in engineering, Shaw began his career at Bell Laboratories, a division of AT&T, where he worked in the research and development department. However, in 1952, he resigned after discovering that the company wanted full rights to any inventions he developed, whether during work hours or on his own time. Recognizing that antitrust violations could jeopardize Bell's monopoly, Shaw opted to wait it out. Unfortunately, AT&T secured exclusive rights to the entire phone system for another 30 years, severely limiting Shaw's ability to test or market his innovations. Unable to provide for his young family, and no recourse for his inventions to be exposed to a wider audience, Shaw fell into a period of depression and financial hardship.

     Shaw finally found employment with the Philadelphia-based electronics company Philco.  While this did not serve as a panacea to his ills, it did provide him with a modicum of financial stability.  Shortly thereafter, during the height of the Cold War, Shaw was called to serve his country.  Between the years 1955 and 1956, Shaw worked on the Distant Early Warning (DEW) system at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska.  If nuclear missiles were to be launched from the Soviet Union, the United States had to be able to detect and launch their own missiles in response.  It was this early detection system that Shaw was tasked to develop.

     This period proved fruitful as Shaw earned a substantive income and collaborated with some of the brightest minds in the world.  Unfortunately for Shaw, this would only last for one year.  After his military discharge, Shaw was eager to support his family.  The pursuit of financial stability took a dark turn. Through some dubious connections, Shaw began his relationship with elements of the criminal underworld.

     One group within the mafia that were interested in Shaw’s inventions were illegal gambling bookmakers.  They were interested in Shaw’s device, known as a “black box” that would allow them to redirect a phone call to another destination, further obfuscating their activities from the authorities. This collaboration proved lucrative, elevating Shaw's financial status for a brief period.

     However, his association with the mafia attracted the attention of law enforcement. The FBI began to investigate, leading to Shaw's eventual arrest. During the televised McClellan Committee hearings, which focused on organized crime, Shaw represented himself without a lawyer, ultimately admitting to being the inventor of the black box. He was sentenced to 366 days in Dade County Jail, serving nine months. This ordeal distanced Shaw from his family, particularly his son, Thiel.

     By the 1970s, a change in the economic and political climate led to the court case MCI v. AT&T in 1974, indicating a slow shift towards telecommunications deregulation. However, during this time, Shaw's relationship with his son deteriorated. Thiel was arrested for burglarizing homes and spent several years in prison, a painful reflection of the family's decline.

     To his detriment, Shaw was a prolific inventor but did not have the business acumen to be financially successful.  He was a sensitive man who could not navigate the contentious nature of the business world.  As an example, the impetus behind the creation of the speakerphone was due to the need for a woman who was suffering from polio, confined to an iron lung, to be able to communicate with her family.  When Bell would not let Shaw test his speakerphone on their lines, he simply donated hundreds of speakerphones to the Iron Lung Foundation, much to the dismay of his financial backers. 

      By the time Shaw passed away on July 21, 1996, he was nearly unknown.  His life story, characterized by brilliance yet marred by corporate and social hurdles, speaks to the often-unrecognized sacrifices of innovators. Shaw held numerous patents, including designs for the speakerphone, touch-tone dialing, and the first automated burglary alarm system, which called the police directly.

     Walter Shaw's contributions to telecommunications are profound, holding 39 patents and having laid the foundation for many advancements in the field. Sadly, his legacy as an inventor and innovator is overshadowed by the struggles he faced against corporate greed and personal hardships. In retrospect, his story invites us to examine the hidden narratives of those who, despite their challenges, have made significant impacts on the world. Shaw’s life is a testament to the struggles of protecting innovation, even in the face of overwhelming odds.

- Daniel Kuzma, VHAS Board Historian

Shortly after the American Revolution, painter Edward Hicks was born in Attleboro, Pennsylvania.  Although born to Anglican parents, Edward was raised by a close family friend who introduced him to the beliefs of the Society of Friends, or Quakers.  By 1813, he became a Quaker preacher, with his circuit taking him around the Philadelphia area.  In order to pay for his expenses, Edward began a small-time painting trade, decorating farm equipment and tavern signs.  Hicks was desperate to further supplement his income, and while decorative painting was the more lucrative endeavor, it clashed with Quaker sensibilities.  As more Quaker immigrants came to the fledgling United States, schisms between various sects arose.  This break between Quakers, as well as the potential financial windfall, encouraged Edward to focus more on painting than preaching.  Nevertheless, during his time, Edward was known more so as a preacher than a painter.  

Around 1820, Hicks began painting the first of over 60 versions of The Peaceable Kingdom.  The painting shows a number of various animals in an idyllic setting, with a group of Native Americans and colonists meeting in the background.  The latter was most likely an allusion to the peace treaty William Penn, founder of the Pennsylvania colony, had with the local Lenni Lenape tribe, with Hicks using the imagery from a painting by the famous Benjamin West.  Hicks greatly admired Penn for fostering an environment of religious tolerance and a sort of “peaceable kingdom” here on earth, allowing the Quakers to flourish in the commonwealth.  The animals in the piece were both prey and predator; a theme Hicks illustrated to demonstrate peace amongst God’s creatures.  This was based on the prophecy of Isaiah 11:6-9: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”  

Our story became one of local importance decades later in the early 1900s when a young Vinelander (and future president of the Historical Society) named Loren Flood had a chance meeting with Asbury “Brownie” Brown.  Brownie owned a shoe factory on Montrose Street and also took care of his neighbor’s horses.  One day, as Brownie was collecting refuse from a neighbor’s house with his horse and cart, Loren spotted a painting destined for the dump.  Loren asked Brownie if he could have it and he obliged.  Loren had it in his possession for a few years and told his mother he was going to give it to Frank Andrews of the Historical Society, as he had always been kind to Loren when he would ride his tricycle past the museum.  Mr. Andrews accepted the kind gift and hung it on the wall of the museum.  Years later, in 1962, after being a part of the museum for 40 years, the trustees learned that it may have value after a visitor offered $5,000 for the painting. This prompted the trustees to place the work in the museum’s vault. 

 In May of 1976, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, working with Sotheby’s auction house, held a “Discovery Day” where people could bring in artwork to be appraised.  President of the VHAS Nicolas C. Anastor and Vice President William Hughes went to the appraisal with the painting.  After waiting in line for hours, they were finally seen and were shocked when they were told that they had version number 60 of Hicks’ The Peaceable Kingdom, painted when he was 67.  This particular version has a more primitive quality than his earlier works and has a starkness that is absent in previous pieces.  They were given an appraisal value of $100,000-150,000 and the painting was sold to Sotheby Parke Bernet in New York City for $125,000.  After cleaning and commission fees, the Society received $110,600,  which was a world record price for a Hicks painting at that time.  Even so, Anastor stated that “we expected a little more.”  Today, versions of The Peaceable Kingdom are valued in the millions.  

The trustees still had the task of physically bringing the painting to Sotheby’s in New York City.  Anastor, Hughes, and fellow trustee Mrs. Theresa Winslow (mother of present VHAS Treasurer Naomi Winslow) took public transportation up to the city with the painting in tow.  Anastor joked, “I bet we’re the only people who came to this sale by subway,” and according to a recent recollection made by Mrs. Winslow, Anastor also quipped “three hicks carrying one Hicks!”  The money from the sale was sorely needed, as the Society was running dangerously low on funding.  The money was first used for maintenance and repairs at the museum and the remainder was put into an investment fund which is still the basis for a majority of the museum’s savings today.  As of the publication of this article, the present location of the painting is not known.  This story is a cautionary tale for those quick to throw things away as well as negative reinforcement and encouragement for hoarders who will not part with anything that may have value.  Alas, as the old saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s Edward Hicks painting.”

- Daniel Kuzma, VHAS Board Historian

In our last article, the museum highlighted the history and contribution of the Puerto Rican American community in Vineland.  For this installment, we will focus on an individual who also came to Vineland in search of better opportunities.  July was “French-American Month,” therefore we will honor one of the most famous of the French immigrants who came to our city, the world-renowned glassmaker Victor Durand Jr.  

Our subject was born in Baccarat, France, in 1870. This region of France was famous for its glassmaking and home to the acclaimed glass factory the Cristalleries de Baccarat.  Victor Jr. followed his father and grandfather in joining the glass business. At fourteen years old, he left France to work at Whitall Tatum and Company in Millville, New Jersey, where his father was employed. Victor Jr. shortly thereafter left to work at the Wheaton Glass Company where he truly immersed himself in learning the craft, including the ancient art of glassblowing. 

In 1897, Victor Durand Jr. and his father were able to establish a factory of their own, which they named the Vineland Flint Glass Works. The company gained a reputation as a manufacturer of a variety of glass products including hand blown tubing, lamp chimneys, beer and whiskey bottles, and medicine bottles. Around 1915, additional product lines were added including one which is still produced in Vineland today: scientific and laboratory glassware. By 1920, Victor Durand Jr. became sole proprietor of the Vineland Flint Glass Works, which became the largest individually owned glass factory in the country.

In addition to producing the aforementioned products, Victor Durand Jr. wanted to establish a “fancy shop” or art glass shop that would manufacture artistic glassware similar to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Favrile glass , Frederick Carder’s Aurene glass, and Quezal art glass.  When Victor Durand Jr. learned the Quezal Art Glass and Decorating Company was winding down its affairs, he invited master glassmaker Martin Bach Jr. to Vineland to demonstrate his expertise and ability in mixing the requisite formulas for art glass.

In 1924, Bach Jr. was hired as the shop’s superintendent, formula maker and designer. He was placed in full charge of the operations in the Durand Art Glass division, which was blowing its first glass by December 1, 1924. Durand’s dream to create a line of beautiful and artistic glassware was certainly fulfilled and affirmed when in 1926, Durand Art Glass was awarded a medal of honor at the Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia.

The art glass department produced a full range of colorful and stylish pieces for the modern household, including vases, compotes, tableware, stemware, rose bowls and console sets as well as decorated lamp bases and art glass shades for lamps, chandeliers and sconces. Durand art glass was retailed in various cities throughout the country and by many famous retailers, including Macy’s in New York City and Marshall Field’s in Chicago.  The popularity of Durand’s glass also meant that many Vinelanders were under his employ and buoyed the city’s economy.   

In 1931, merger talks were already underway between the Vineland Flint Glass Works and the Kimble Glass Company when Victor Durand Jr. was unexpectedly killed in an automobile accident while returning from a visit to his dentist in Philadelphia. Durand's new vehicle did not have a windshield outfitted with safety glass, therefore his death was one of unfortunate irony.  In 1932, the Kimble Glass Company absorbed the Vineland Flint Glass Works and ceased production of art glass. 

 Although Durand’s production of art glass lasted only between the years of 1925-1931, the realization of Victor Durand Jr.’s dream remains an enduring legacy of the city of Vineland. He brought international attention to the glassworks in Vineland and was a philanthropist to many local causes throughout his life.  In 1973, Durand School on Forest Grove Road was named in honor of his wife Marie Dumas Durand, who was from the city of Grenoble, France.  A number of fine pieces from Durand’s art glass are on exhibit in museums throughout the nation, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC as well as our very own Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society museum.  Come visit and see firsthand the beauty and artistry of Victor Durand’s Art Glass.  Merci Monsieur Durand!

- Daniel Kuzma, VHAS Board Historian