NEW YORK — Ira Galtman is part of a small community of corporate archivists. They are historians, cataloguers and documentarians for large companies. They keep track of how companies change their products over time, while also looking for ways for the company to harken back to its history.
For nearly three decades, Galtman's job has been to document how American Express went from a packing, shipping and express stagecoach company in New York in 1850, to the inventor of the traveler's cheque in the 1890s to the credit card company it is today. He's also popular on TikTok, where cardmembers ask him regularly for AmEx trivia.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How did you start in this role?
A: I loved history from a very early age. I majored in history in college, went to grad school at NYU to initially get a PhD in history, and I pivoted while I was in grad school. I decided to not go through an academic route, but to go into the archive world. And I was fortunate enough that at NYU there was an archival management program. So I was able to get a certificate in that as part of my graduate work.
I've now been with American Express for over 28 years. Had the opportunity to start in the late 90s, so it was a time of transition. I serve as both the company's archivist as well as historian. And so each of those roles are slightly different, but they definitely complement one another.
Q: What's been one interesting project you've worked on?
A: We did a project showing American Express's role in the Civil War, which was really interesting. We were shipping materials to Union soldiers in the field and being able to support the U.S. government. We also shipped election ballots for the 1864 election.