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- Title: Rare 1987 Signed First Edition: The Sayings of Shigeo Shingo (Provenance: COO David Hempson / Marietta Packaging)
An Exceptional Piece of Industrial History: Shigeo Shingo Autographed First Edition with Mid-1987 American Quality Assurance Provenance.
Up for sale is a uniquely significant, signed copy of The Sayings of Shigeo Shingo: Key Strategies for Plant Improvement, published in 1987 by Productivity Press (ISBN 0-915299-15-1).
Historical Provenance & Markings:
- The Autograph: Features an exceptionally crisp, authentic signature by Lean manufacturing pioneer Shigeo Shingo. The signing includes his traditional, stylized kanji characters \"著者\" (meaning Author) and a stamped event date of OCT 19 1987.
- The Inscription: The upper margin of the iconic \"Scientific Thinking Mechanism\" flowchart page features the bold, block-printed ownership library mark of \"D. HEMPSON.\"
- The Connection: In October 1987, David Hempson was serving as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) and former Director of Quality Assurance for Marietta Packaging—placing him at the executive forefront of the American manufacturing and quality control movement exactly when Norman Bodek and Productivity Press brought Shingo to the United States for his historic corporate lecture and consulting tours.
Condition:
The book is in excellent condition. The interior pages, flowcharts, and diagrams remain remarkably clean, crisp, and bright. Crucially, the \"D. Hempson\" ownership ink and Shingo\'s original signed page are completely un-erased, unaltered, and preserved in their original state to protect the unbroken chain of provenance.
This is an investment-grade artifact representing the exact historical crossroads where Japanese Lean philosophies (TPS) directly intersected with American industrial operations. It is a premier addition to any corporate archive, institutional library, or serious operational excellence collection.