Jack Gutzeit amateur radio operator records
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The collection includes records compiled during much of Jack Gutzeit's (1921-2003) lifelong avocation as an amateur radio operator, operating primarily under the call sign W2LZX. The bulk of the collection includes about 12,000 QSL cards sent to Gutzeit from operators around the world, along with many of his transmission logs and some other documents related to ham radio operator activities.
Biographical / Historical
Jacob M. "Jack" Gutzeit (1921-2003) was, in the context of this collection, an amateur radio operator, known by the call sign W2LZX. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and as a married man in the 1940s, moved to Flushing, Queens, where he lived for 60 years. He died in Delray Beach, Florida.
Gutzeit became interested in electronics as a teenager and built his own radio tubes. He became a licensed amateur, or "ham," radio operator in 1939. During World War II, Gutzeit enlisted with the Army in 1943 and was assigned to the 897th Signal Company in the Pacific theater. After the 897th was assigned to the Air Force's 81st Air Depot group, he served as a radioman on B-17s. He was discharged from the military at the end of the war at the rank of sergeant.
Gutzeit was engaged with electronics throughout his life, as a teacher at Brooklyn Technical School, as a salesman of electronic devices and components, and as senior advertising manager for QSL Magazine. He obtained a private pilot's license in the 1950s, flying a Cessna 172 along the East Coast. He was an award-winning radio operator and a member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).
Gutzeit married Ruth Rakoff in 1942, shortly before heading to war. They had two children, Sande and Howard; Sande arranged the donation of this collection to N-YHS.
(The above note is based on a biographical note included by the donor with the collection.)
Arrangement
The bulk of the collection consists of QSL cards and these remain in the order as received by N-YHS. These are generally sorted between cards received from United States and non-United States operators, then by prefix. A small addition to the collection was received later in 2021 and is appended as box 6 content.
Scope and Contents
The collection includes records compiled during much of Jack Gutzeit's career as an amateur radio operator. These primarily include QSL cards sent to Gutzeit from around the world, acknowledging his transmissions. By the donor's count, there are 12,034 cards. The bulk of the cards were directed to Gutzeit's call sign of W2LZX; about 1200 were directed to four other call signs Gutzeit used when operating under other licenses at offshore locations in the Caribbean. The cards were skimmed during processing for date range; the bulk appears to be from the 1970s-1990s, with a few extending back to the 1940s. Beyond the essential facts of the acknowledged transmission, the cards portray a variety of artwork, photographs, and text that center variously on the originating locale and/or radio operator/team of operators.
The collection also holds Gutzeit's logs of transmissions from 1974-2001, with earlier logs for a brief period in 1955 and in 1960-65. There are also a few documents related to ham operator organizations, Gutzeit's personal QSL cards, a collage compiled by his niece of images of some of his cards, and photographs of operators.
Subjects
Genres
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers by appointment only. Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. To schedule an appointment, contact the Print Room Librarian at printroom@nyhistory.org.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as: Jack Gutzeit amateur radio operator records, PR 418, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Sande Gutzeit Levine, 2021
About this Guide
Processing Information
Processed by archivist Larry Weimer, May 2021. A small addition to the collection was received in November 2021 and was added then by Weimer, found in box 6.
Repository
View Inventory
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes 1AO - 9Z4 (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes A - DL7 (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes DL8 - FY7 (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes G - HA (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes HB9 - JA0 (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes JD1 - OK3 (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes OA - SX (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes OK3 - UA2 (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes UA3 - UZ6 (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes V2A - YU1 (International)
QSL cards. Amateur radio prefixes YU2 - ZZ6 (International) and U.S. Territories, Etc.
Scope and Contents
Includes Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories, and other U.S. presence overseas (e.g., Antartica, Guantanamo Bay, Okinawa).
QSL cards. Gutzeit operating offshore with other licenses (1 of 2), 1981, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes Gutzeit operating with license 8P6CQ, Barbados, Feb. 1981 (US contacts).
QSL cards. Gutzeit operating offshore with other licenses (2 of 2), 1981-1987, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes 8P6CQ, Barbados, Feb 1981 (international contacts); ZF2FU,Caymans, Feb 1982, US and international contacts; J6LJG, St. Lucia, Feb 1984, US and international contacts; and C6ARD, Bahamas, Feb 1987, US and international contacts.
QSL cards from the United States
Additional QSL cards, international and United States (2 folders), 1970s-1990s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Holds additional cards received in late 2021.
Amateur radio operator logs, 1974-1993, inclusive
Scope and Contents
4 binders of logs. One log includes some correspondence related to Gutzeit's participation with the CQ DX Awards Committee, 1978-80.
Amateur radio operator log & scrapbook, 1983-1996, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Binder that includes a log for 1994-January 1996. The second half of the binder is a scrapbook with: various covers of CQ Magazine (1984-1995); various clippings, some with photos of Gutzeit (1980s); photocopies of Gutzeit's amateur radio station license from the FCC, with assigned call letters W2LZX (issued March 13, 1939); various prefix and other lists; OWLS Membership List; LIDXA roster of full and honorary members (1994); Constitution and by-laws for the North Jersey DX Association (1990) and rosters, membership recruiting procedure, and other documents for that organization; American Radio Relay League documents, such as field representative nomination rules and DX Century Club rules and honor roll (all 1990s).
Amateur radio operator log, 1996-1999, 2001, inclusive
Gutzeit's logs while operating under other licenses, 1955, 1980s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes 4 spiral logbooks for Gutzeit's transmissions as 8P6CQ, ZF2FU, J6LJG, and C6ARD. The log for J6LJG was used earlier by Gutzeit, with one page logging calls of January 1955.
Gutzeit's log "while engaged in portable & mobile operation", 1960-1965, inclusive
List of amateur radio prefixes, undated
Scope and Contents
Annotated, likely to show those prefixes that Gutzeit connected with and that have QSL cards in the collection. Attached is a donor-supplied count of the cards by broad category.
Gutzeit biographical note and personal QSL cards, circa 1939-1980s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes Gutzeit's original QSL card (with his Carroll Street, Brooklyn address), his later card with his Flushing, Queens address, and his cards for his St. Lucia and Bahamas call letters. Also includes a biographical sketch of Gutzeit provided by the donor.
"W2LZX", 2007
Scope and Contents
Booklet of images of collaged QSL cards from the Gutzeit collection, compiled by his niece, Mindy Belloff, 2007, who wrote a foreword and added comments at points. Booklet numbered #8.
Certificates, 1975, 1986, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Certificates recognizing Gutzeit's achievement in contacting all 6 recognized continental areas of the world.
Photographs, 1970s-1990s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Photos of various radio operators
Miscellaneous print matter, 1978, 1984, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Holds one issue of "The DX'ers magazine" (issue #589, Jan. 2, 1984); "The Radio Amateur's World Map"; tearsheet of article "Das Anti-Radar" (1978, in German); CQ stationery (envelope).