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Container:

Box 1

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints / Series 1: Photoprints

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8d8122c4b-9924-448e-94ad-e28ebe06315e

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0315-ref543

Container:

Box 1

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints / Series 1: Photoprints

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a1999340-2e3d-4f77-b15f-f5ab73384d28

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0315-ref547

Container:

Box 1

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints / Series 1: Photoprints

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep89526d8eb-5a72-4a8e-ad2d-eae977bb0960

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0315-ref551

Container:

Box 1

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Scope and Contents:

Engraving by Chapman from painting by Drummond, European Magazine (in Division of Physical Sciences, National Museum of American History), 56,807.

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints / Series 1: Photoprints

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep835e782f0-2652-4f2c-b418-b1193272a526

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0315-ref555

Container:

Box 3

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints / Series 1: Photoprints

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep81b6727f6-5645-4337-8644-db11f144d5b9

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0315-ref610

Container:

Box 4

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints / Series 1: Photoprints

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep846651cbc-4b9c-4d6e-915f-7c8ac438fdde

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0315-ref635

Names:

Rutherford, Ernst, 1871-1937  Search this

Extent:

1 Item

Container:

Box 5

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Local Numbers:

55,386 (OPPS Neg.)

Related Materials:

OPPS copy print filed alphabetically.

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Scientists  Search this

Collection Citation:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File: photoprints / Series 1: Photoprints / Ernst Rutherford (1871-1937)

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep88de557c3-eb2f-4ab1-b81a-d684ac6ea750

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0315-ref687

Collector:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Names:

United States Military Academy -- Stereographs -- 1900-1920  Search this

Series Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

1 Item

Container:

Box 4 (Stereographs)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Photographs

Stereographs

Place:

West Point (N.Y.) -- Stereographs

Date:

ca. 1910

Scope and Contents:

One view of the West Point Cadets' Marching Band.

Restrictions:

Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs musst be handled with gloves, unless protected by plastic sleeves.

Series Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Military bands -- Stereographs  Search this

Military education -- Stereographs  Search this

Military art and science -- Stereographs  Search this

Marching bands -- Stereographs  Search this

Bands (Music) -- 1900-1920  Search this

Colleges -- Stereographs  Search this

Soldiers -- Stereographs.  Search this

Students -- Stereographs  Search this

Musicians -- Stereographs  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1910-1920

Stereographs -- 1880-1900

Series Citation:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).

Digitization of Series 2.2: Stereographs was made possible by Andrew and Anya Shiva.

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series 2: Other Collection Divisions / 2.2: Stereographs / Military

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b684b273-b5b6-4261-974b-4c1a7c38c758

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s02-ref2808

Creator:

Craton, Forman H., 1902-1983  Search this

Names:

General Electric Company  Search this

Extent:

4.15 Cubic feet (13 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Letters (correspondence)

Memoirs

Personal papers

Diaries

Date:

1902-1983

Summary:

Diaries and memoirs, profusely illustrated with photographs and other mementos, which describe Craton's life, education and work experience as an engineer at General Electric in minute detail, and include his comments on the culture, current events and politics of the times; and correspondence, mostly letters from Craton to his wife and to his mother.

Scope and Contents:

This memoir is the autobiography of a man whose entire career from college graduation to retirement was spent working in one of the giants of American industry, the General Electric Company. His life spanned more than three quarters of the twentieth century and the detail in which it has been recorded provides much scattered historical, cultural, social and economic information about the period.

It is part contemporaneous diary written on a daily or weekly basis, part a record of chronological periods of Mr. Craton's life reconstructed from notes, scattered diary entries, sketches, photographs and memory and part a record of specific experiences, for example the family's boating years, Mr. Craton's time at the War Production Board, his religious life. Mr. Craton referred to it as "my 40-volume autobiography-----a continuous story of my life since birth. I estimate there are at least three million words in this record-----" in a two page autobiographical account written November 28, 1978 for Milton Wise, a former classmate.

References to Mr. Craton's work at G.E. appear in the daily and weekly diary entries but are in separate sections in the record of Mr. Craton's life that was written after his retirement. The story of those years is divided into two sections, one relating to home, family and friends and another to his career at G.E. These sections on his work contain a significant amount of information on the company's transportation interests and the manufacture and merchandising of locomotives and locomotives parts as well as descriptions of Mr. Craton's colleagues.

The year 1942 spent in Washington as a dollar-a-year man at the War Production Board and his account of his trips to Washington immediately before and immediately afterwards paint an interesting picture of war-time Washington, its hotels, restaurants, and cocktail lounges and the social life of which they were a part. They also give some indication of a Federal government rapidly expanding to meet war-time needs at home and abroad.

Major current events occurring during Mr. Craton's lifetime are also noted. They begin with the arrival of the Graf Zeppelin in New York In October 1928; the election of Herbert Hoover as president in that year as well as subsequent presidential elections were recorded as were the depression of the thirties and its effect on family life, and World War II. Developments in the space program and the landing of the astronauts on the moon were watched on television and noted in the memoirs.

The record is replete with Mr. Craton's disapproval of labor unions and their activities and his bias about Jews and Blacks, and reference to social classes that he considered his inferiors. Entries throughout the years from childhood on describe friends, acquaintances and fellow workers in minute detail. They also describe every woman with a pretty face or good figure noticed on the street, in a store, restaurant or hotel and document the drinking that was one aspect of recreational life at the time among some groups.

Looking back on the period from 1949 to 1963 from the vantage point of 1977 Mr. Craton divided it into 3 periods. In the one he entitled "Emancipation" there is a lengthy description of their friendship with the Brightmans, biographical details of the members of the Dinner Club, a detailed account of Bab's wedding and the birth of the first grandchild. This record of friends, family and activities is heavily illustrated with photographs and clippings.

Numerous references to the family's daily living and travel expenses show the changes that occurred in the price level over the years and caused Mr. Craton major concern about inflation.

The memoirs are profusely illustrated with photographs of family, friends and places visited as well as with magazine pictures, menus, programs, and other mementos.

Much of the collection is typed on 8-1/2 by 5 inch notebook sheets. Much is handwritten in a small, neat script. Photographs are labeled.

The Container List indicates by folder whether the contents are diary or memoirs written after the fact.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into two series.

Series 1: Memoirs, 1902-1983

Series 2: Correspondence, 1923-1982

Biographical / Historical:

Childhood and Youth

Forman Craton, an only child, was born on June 23, 1902 in Syracuse, New York. His mother, Annie Fairbanks Hutchison was the granddaughter of General Orrin Hutchison, a man of some prominence in Onondaga County, New York. His father, Dr. Samuel Boyce Craton, was the great grandson of Joshua Forman, the founder of Syracuse, New York. Dr. Forman earned his medical degree at Syracuse University and became an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist. Somewhat later he confined his practice to diseases of the eye.

Mr. Craton's memoirs recount several unpleasant memories of a dark, gloomy house on McClennan Ave. in Syracuse where he spent his earliest years. Among them were the death of a brother who was a "blue" baby, a series of colds, coughs, sore throats and other respiratory complaints, getting sick on street cars, fear of dogs, and fear of being banished from home for misbehavior.

About April 1, 1908 the family moved to 326 Highland Ave., a socially better neighborhood where they spent the next 7 years which are described by Mr. Craton as among the happiest in his life. The long winters offered a multitude of winter activities for children. They built snowmen, snow forts, snow houses. There were few cars so the streets were not cleared and youngsters went sledding and tobogganing on nearby hills. The tennis court at the Sedgwick Farm Club was flooded for skating and hockey. Indoors the children played "house" with appropriate rearrangement of the furniture or hide-and-seek in houses with large attics. In good weather, hopscotch, baseball and football took over along with climbing trees and riding bicycles.

Burten Holmes' travel pictures, special movies such as "Birth of a Nation" and later Jack London's "The Sea Wolf" as well as books and records were part of the cultural scene. Magazines too, "St. Nicholas", "Boys' Life" and "American Boy" were available. At his mother's instigation young Craton began a stamp collection.

Most of the neighborhood families, including his, belonged to the Sedgwick Farm Club, two and a half blocks from his house. It had large rooms, bowling alleys, a squash court, tennis courts, a children's playground. Dancing school which he attended was held at the club once a week. He also attended Sunday School regularly.

After one term at a private school young Craton transferred to Lincoln, the neighborhood public school, where he finished the 8 grades in 6 years. In summarizing his early years Mr. Craton remarked on the varied backgrounds of his school friends and the fact that rich and poor children mixed well and played together. He mentioned being conscious of class distinctions as early as 1912 and this awareness reappears throughout his life.

The comfortable life of young Forman's early years changed abruptly with the untimely death of his father, Dr. Craton, on February 26, 1915. The family income dropped from $10,000 to $12,000 annually, a very good one for that period, to about $1,500 a year from his father's estate. Shortly after his father's death the boy and his mother moved to 410 Douglas St. It was a "nice flat" but the lad was aware that the neighborhood was not as good as Highland St. Forman gradually lost touch with his old playmates (his mother resigned from the Sedgwick Farm Club to save money) and the boy soon became part of the Douglas St. crowd.

The young Forman began his high school days at North High School. Two of the city's characteristics were important to him during this period. The NY Central R.R. ran through downtown Syracuse and watching the trains was a fascinating pastime. The Erie Canal on which boats were hauled by horse through the city competed with the NY Central for by his attention. Although too slight for competitive sports he was an enthusiastic fan of the football and baseball teams at school. His lone outside activity at school was dramatics.

Work experience during his high school years included several one or two day-at-a-time jobs shoveling snow for the NY Central, laboring work at a steel company, tips for errands at the State Fair, and Christmas clerking at a men's store. His first full time job was as gardener for the Calthop sisters during the summer of 1919, at 20¢ an hour. In the fall of 1919 he got a job working after school and on Saturdays at Bardeen's, a book publishing company. The summer before university he was a machinist's helper at Solrag Process Co. That summer he and his mother moved to a flat at 205 Waverly Ave, a block from Syracuse University where he enrolled in the fall.

To his bitter disappointment the young man was not asked to join Phi Delta Theta, his father's fraternity and this caused great unhappiness in his early days at the university. Because of the necessity to be practical about earning a living for himself and his mother he put aside his interest in writing and cartooning, and majored in mechanical engineering. He excelled in his college work, and was invited to join several honorary fraternities in engineering and mathematics. He made a number of friends both male and female and in spite of his early bitterness over his rejection by his father's fraternity had a satisfying college career. After intercession by a friend of his father's about which Forman later wrote that he was ashamed, he received and accepted a bid from Phi Delta Theta in the middle of his college years.

In August 1923 the Cratons vacationed at Star Island, in the Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire, where young Forman quickly became friends with Willette Flitschner, from Louisville, KY. whom he would marry in a few years.

Young Manhood

During his final year at college an interview with Mr. George Pfeiff who was recruiting for a new course in Factory Management at the General Electric Co. led to a job offer in Schenectady, NY. After some soul searching about leaving his mother in Syracuse he left for the job at General Electric in Schenectady. His career at General Electric lasted 38 years.

Homesickness was a serious problem as Forman Craton began his career with the company. With the exception of vacations he had spent all of his young life, including his college years, in Syracuse. He went directly from a vacation at Star Island where Willette was also vacationing to a plant employing 22,000 people in a city in which he was a stranger. His proclivity for introspection, always strong, and his sensitivity to people and his surroundings are clearly evident in his letters to his mother and to Willie in August and September, and recur frequently throughout the years. He turned to poetry at this time for solace, particularly Sara Teasdale. The year 1924 ends with two letters to Willie declaring his love.

Because the young man had been recruited for the Factory Management Course he was moved from spot to spot in the plant, some assignments lasting a week, others several weeks. In 1925 Forman enrolled in an accounting course at G.E. that involved home work. That and almost daily letters to his mother and Willie left him little free time. Still troubled by home-sickness and unhappy in his work, after much agonizing he asked for a transfer to "test" which in effect meant starting again.

He had become convinced that his interests lay in engineering rather than in manufacturing and the test course pointed its members toward design, application engineering and technical sales.

A young Mr. Craton left for the General Electric facility in Erie, a plant with 5000 employees, on January 10, 1926 and never looked back. The transfer brought him immediate satisfaction and pleasure in his work and began a lifetime career. He found Erie and its people interesting, began attending the Unitarian Church where he met and enjoyed knowing a number of young people. His early months there were spent in rented rooms but late in the year he rented an apartment at 1308 W 9th Street in preparation for his marriage to Willie.

Family Life

Forman Craton and Willie Flitschner were married January 27, 1927. He made his first trip for the company, the first of an endless number, in 1927. The year 1928 was a banner year for the young couple. A daughter named Barbara and always called Bab was born on August 28 at Hamot Hospital. His salary having been increased to $42.00 a week in February, they bought a secondhand, dearly beloved Dodge for $225. In late June Forman wrote the first paragraph of his first short story, in an endeavor to follow through on his interest in writing. The year 1928 was also the year that the Graf Zeppelin which had left Germany in October 13 arrived in New York on October 15. In November the Cratons voted for Herbert Hoover who won the presidency by a large electoral majority. His Democratic opponent was Al Smith.

On May 24, 1932 a new baby, Roger Phelps Craton, was born. As the depression hit bottom Mr. Craton's salary was cut to $1900 a year, his work week to 4 days and he felt lucky to still have a job.

The death of Willie's mother made 1935 a sad year for the family. Increasing responsibilities at GE as business improved kept Mr. Craton busy at the plant and frequently out of town. As his responsibilities increased the necessary and expected business entertaining increased keeping him away from home often during the evenings in Erie. He was out of town more frequently also and business entertaining often involved drinking and late nights.

The war years meant greater responsibility at the plant and long working hours for Mr. Craton and the restrictions felt by all families as rationing affected family eating habits and recreation, especially the use of automobiles.

For several years after the children were born Mr. Craton's mother either lived with the family or visited for long periods of time. His mother had become harassed by worry, fears and discontent

and no effort by Mr. Craton seemed to assuage these. This situation continued through out the thirties. On November 19, 1939 Mr. Craton wrote "all of this makes life at home unnatural, strained, unpleasant and nerve wracking."

Mr. Craton's frequent and long business trips made the responsibility for his mother especially difficult for his wife. It was January 1944 before the elder Mrs. Craton left the Craton house to reside at St. Margaret's Home with many misgivings on her part and Mr. Craton's.

His mother's death occurred on September 28, 1947 and an inheritance of about $20,000 from her made building a longed for new home possible in 1948.

Another crisis in their family life was the suicide of Willette Craton's father, "the Colonel", on April 10, 1946. Long widowed he had remarried at age 70, apparently not very successfully. He was also driven by financial worries. What estate there was went to the second wife with only the proceeds of a $1,000 insurance policy to Willette Craton, causing some feeling of resentment.

Graduation from university were important family occasions as were the children's marriages.

Thanksgiving was generally spent with Bab and Tom Moore and their family, Christmas with Roger and Joan and theirs.

Children and Grandchildren

A daughter named Barbara and always called Bab or Babbie was born on August 28, 1928 at Hamont Hospital. Her brother, Roger Phelps Craton was born on May 24, 1932.

Both children did well in school, received good grades, and were a source of pride and satisfaction with their behavior, appearance, and accomplishments. Bab wanted a year at Southern Seminary in Buena Vista, Virginia before entering college. Despite their concern about the expense the Cratons agreed because they feared she could not get all the necessary credits in the Erie public school. Her graduation from Southern Seminary was an important family occasion which involved visiting the Robeys and other relatives living in the area.

Bab left Erie in late September 1946 for her first year at Syracuse University. By 1949 she was a senior at Syracuse University and Roger was a senior at Strong Vincent High School and well-thought of as a young sailor at the Erie Yacht Club.

Bab graduated from college in June, 1950 and she and Tom Moore, an architectural student, were married in August. Since he had one more year for his degree in architecture she went to work in an office in Syracuse. Roger graduated from high school that year and entered the University of Pennsylvania in the fall of 1975.

The first grandchild, Elizabeth Forman Moore, was born on September 15, 1952. Her father Tom joined an architectural firm in Berea, Ohio where they lived for a time before moving to Brecksville, Ohio. A second grandchild, Peter Moore born in 1955 was followed by another girl, Margaret Joanna Moore, born October 2, 1957 and called Peggy.

Another Moore grandchild, Charles Andrew, born July 3, 1965 shortly became a cause of much

family concern and anxiety because of his failure to thrive and respond developmentally. By April 1970 he was placed in the Sunnyhaven Home in Columbus, Ohio. He was transferred to a state hospital in Breckville in the spring of 1973. Sunnyhaven felt he could no longer be helped there and he had become more difficult to manage. Mr. Craton never became reconciled to Charles' retardation or the fact that he was born to his adored daughter.

Peg Moore the youngest child was thinking about college during the annual Thanksgiving visit in 1974-she was interested in one with a strong art curriculum. Peter Moore was an increasingly excellent football player in high school, winning several awards. He planned to enter Wooster College in the fall, having graduated from high school in 1975 the same year Elizabeth graduated from Bowling Green University. She was attending classes at the Univ. of Georgia, working in the Admissions Office and living at 2511 Planthersville Road in Decatur.

Roger Craton at the University of Pennsylvania joined the fraternity to which his father and grandfather belonged. He was active in Masks and Wigs and also played lacrosse. He graduated with high honors in 1954 and married Joan Gibson the following November.

Roger and Joan Craton moved to Detroit, he to work in a bank and finish his M.A. degree at night.

By 1960 Roger was working for the Ford Motor Company. His first child, a boy named Lincoln after Joan's father, was born May 30, 1960. Cynthia, his second child was born on August 1, 1962. Both of these children attended private schools and lived in London for the several years during which Roger Craton worked for Ford in London.

By 1971 Roger had returned to Ford in Detroit, and had bought a large home in Bloomfield Village, Birmingham, Michigan. He had been appointed comptroller of Ford's North American Automotive Operations, a 30 million dollar a year business.

On July 5, 1980 Roger phoned his parents that he was leaving Ford to become chief finance officer with a seat on the board of directors of Chesebrough-Pond Corporation effective August 1, 1980. His new annual compensation was to be $300,000. Thus meant that the Roger Craton family would move to Greenwich, Connecticut in June 1981 when Cynthia Craton would graduate from high school.

A Thirty Eight Year Career At The General Electric Co.

The following account of Mr. Craton's career was written by him in November 1978 at the request of Milton Wise of the class of 1924 of Syracuse University, who was compiling a book on the surviving members of their class at the College of Applied Science.

"On July 7, 1924 I reported in Schenectady for General Electric's new Factory Management Course and thus began a rewarding GE career that was to span the next 38 years. However, a year on this course convinced me I was slanted more toward engineering than manufacturing. So I transferred to the "test" course, which pointed its members toward both design and application engineering as well as technical sales. It proved to be a good move.

Long fascinated by trains and discovering GE's deep involvement in rail transportation apparatus, I soon transferred to the Erie, Pa. plant where I finally headed traction motor test nights and later took locomotive test. The latter was an impossible dream come true, involving electric locomotive riding and operation on the 4-mile test track. In November 1926 I moved into railway control engineering at Erie to design circuitry for gasoline-electric cars and various types of electric-drive locomotives. Also I had an indoctrination course on traction motor design and application.

In 1930 the Lackawanna suburban electrification out of Hoboken was inaugurated. It included two 3,000-volt trolley-battery-diesel locomotives for transfer freight service between the Jersey City and Secaucus yards. I'd done the control engineering on these locomotives and helped put them into service, This included the thrill of operating the locomotive pulling a 105-car freight train up grade out of Jersey City, through the Bergen Hill tunnel and on to Secaucus, to me an incredible experience. This assignment was my first intimate exposure to railroading and years later I wrote an article about it which appeared in TRAINS Magazine.

In 1931 I moved from design into locomotive application engineering and commercial work, the two functions being combined at Erie. However we were fast sinking into the abyss of the Depression. By 1932 the only active job we had was apparatus for the Pennsylvania Railroad electrification; if you weren't fortunate enough to be working on that, and I wasn't, it was touch and go whether you'd be short-timed or dismissed. I got down to four days a week and 157 per month with a wife and two children to support but I hung onto my job. That was the bottom. In 1933 things began to improve slowly, I was assigned the New Haven Railroad commercial work at Erie. The New Haven was progressive and interested in dieselization as well as possibly extending their electrification to Boston. We made extensive diesel-switcher studies culminated by an initial order for ten units. This was followed in 1937 by an order for six 3,600-hp 216-ton 11,000/600-volt AC/DC passenger locomotives for operation into Grand Central. On September 21, 1938 while running freight tests on these, we found ourselves in the middle of the hurricane of that date, another experience I wrote about for TRAINS.

In the late 1930s GE and American Locomotive Co. were partners in the diesel business; they built 100 tons and up using our equipment and we anything below 100. I was assigned promotion of our diesels with the New England railroads. This meant extensive traveling involving memorable episodes. My experiences on the Boston & Maine, where we had a demonstrator, were particularly noteworthy and were covered by a TRAINS article entitled "Joy & Pain on the Boston & Maine."

In 1940 I became manager of Industrial Haulage at Erie which had responsibility for the GE mining and industrial locomotive business, about to come on strong with World War II in the immediate offing. This was my first managerial job. I became active in the Mining & Industrial Electric Locomotive Section of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and was chairman of the section. Also I spent much of 1942 in Washington as a dollar-a-year man on the War Production Board and was responsible for scheduling the manufacture of all locomotives in the U.S. below 100-tons; these included both diesel and steam as well as the military requirements. I made a 2-month trip to Hawaii in early 1945 to appraise the postwar market for diesels in the sugar industry.

In 1945 I became assistant general sales manager and in 1947 general sales manager of GE's locomotive and transportation equipment business. The product line included electric-drive locomotives of all types and sizes, electrical propulsion equipments sold to other builders for locomotives, subway and rapid-transit cars, trolley cars and coaches, off-highway vehicles, and a large parts business. After the war we had a period of inflation and labor trouble including a 9-week strike which made pricing and shipping promises difficult. Also as 1950 approached we struggled to get our business up to $100,000,000 annually, which would keep about 5,000 employees busy at Erie. So it was a challenging and interesting time.

In the early 1950s due to rapid growth the Company was reorganizing, decentralizing and establishing new measurements. In 1953 a study team was formed to recommend how the Company's foreign operations could be blended smoothly into all this. On the team were four from international operations, four from domestic, and the chairman, an international man. On this team I represented the Company's heavy apparatus business. The nine of us holed up in a New York hotel for over a year on this when we weren't traveling around on interviews including a 3-week trip to Central and South America. It was one of the most fascinating of my business experiences.

After this I returned to my marketing job at Erie, the position having been upgraded slightly from "sales" to "marketing" in the reorganization. In 1956 I spent three months taking the Company's Advanced Management Course. Back in Erie again, I headed a team to study the reorganization of our own business. we spent four months on this and presented our report in May 1957. We recommended the business be split up into three decentralized sections: 1) Locomotives; 2) Equipments; 3) Parts sales. Our recommendations were adopted and the department reorganized. I became general manager of the equipment business, a position I held until my retirement o July 1, 1962 at age 60.

Equipment doesn't sound as glamorous as locomotives but actually is more so. We'd adapted our locomotive propulsion apparatus to oil-well drilling which put us into that business; I've visited an oil-well drilling platform 60 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. With expansion of open-pit mining and the proliferation of heavy off-highway vehicles, our motorized-wheel business was booming. Mass transit was promising an even greater future. Also we supplied electrical equipments to Alco and Baldwin as well as our own associates in the Erie Plant. These lines along with parts kept some 2,500 people busy in our Equipment Section."

Finances

It took 17 years thanks to his early career change and the depression for Mr. Craton's salary to reach %5,000. The next step up meant that he was eligible to join Elfun, an investment fund for G.E. managers and executives.

With the end of the depression and the increasing industrial activity caused by war production Mr. Craton's salary had risen to $6,700 a year. Overtime and extra compensation brought this to $8,500. By November 1946 several increases had raised his base salary to $9,000 and following a long strike at the plant this figure was raised to $9,720. A March 13, 1946 journal entry noted that Mr. Craton's income tax for 1945 was $1,800 -- "more than he used to make". One of the satisfactions of these increases was the purchase of a small boat that added a great deal to the family's recreation.

Mr. Craton became eligible for the GE stock plan in 1953 and was authorized to purchase 900 shares of company stock over the next 10 years at $71.00 a share. His stock in GE enabled him to retire at age 60 instead of 65. He noted that the 2500 shares he owned in 1965 for which he had paid about $60,000 over the years had a market value of $300,000. It was the income from the Elfun trusts and the dividends from G.E. stock, substantial contributions to his retirement income, that made the extensive travel during his early retirement years possible.

Despite the post-war salary increases and his investment income that appeared to keep pace with the inflation of those years, inflation was an abiding concern for Mr. Craton.

Leisure Time

As a young single man much of Mr. Craton's social life revolved around the Unitarian Church. He enjoyed the young people he met at church-related social affairs and found them interesting.

After their marriage the Cratons played bridge with friends, occasionally played poker for small stakes, went to movies, and attended lectures and concerts at Chautauqua during the season. They entertained and were entertained by friends for cocktails and dinner and made weekend visits to friends living out of town. Swimming, walking the beach and picnics at Peninsula, a local recreation area, were important when the children were young. They were regular television viewers with a number of favorite programs. The Watergate hearings were watched daily during the second Nixon administration and all space shots were followed with interest. The week-end sports programs were watched with anticipation and pleasure. Mr. Craton's interest in opera is well-documented and he was a regular radio and television fan of the Metropolitan Opera performances. He also bought and played frequently recorded arias.

A friendship with the Brightmans developed into a more active social life than usual but this subsided after the Brightmans left Erie.

Recreation during the years from 1945 to 1964 was centered in the Yacht Club which Mr. Craton joined when he bought a small boat. Boating then became a major recreational activity. Young Roger quickly became an excellent sailor, participating in sail boat races with skill and enthusiasm. The first boat was replaced by a larger but still modest one. Mr. Craton's interest eventually resulted in his being elected commodore of the Erie Yacht Club, a highly prized distinction. The Cratons participated in all of the Yacht Club activities, using it for dinner, dancing, and special occasions, even after Mr. Craton sold his boat.

Mrs. Craton joined a local book club in 1928 and was still a member in 1982.

Most of the home repair and upkeep was done by Mr. Craton, a careful and persistent workman who was proud of his results. He was indefatigable in searching for parts and pleased to avoid what he considered outrageous charges, particularly by plumbers. Mrs. Craton did most of the gardening but he helped with the heavy work.

During periods when Mr. Craton was keeping a diary on a daily or weekly basis much of his spare time was devoted to writing it. He also spent many hours in creative writing in an effort to get published and for a brief period in drawing cartoons for possible publication.

Mr. Craton became an avid photographer and gave it special emphasis after the children were born and during vacations. He also used a movie camera for some occasions.

During his retirement years Mr. Craton was a regular attendant at the YMCA Friday speakers luncheon, lunched with a friend on a weekly basis and he and Willie enjoyed frequent dinners out with the Reeds and the Ogdens, friends of long-standing.

For a period of years immediately following retirement Mr. Craton was actively engaged in fundraising for the United charities campaign, particularly among G.E. retirees and played a major role in a capital fund drive for the Booker T. Washington YMCA.

Religious Life

As a small child Mr. Craton went to Sunday School at the May Memorial Unitarian Church in Syracuse where the minister was the Reverend John H. Applebee. After his father's death when he was twelve years old he went to the church service with his mother. In his teens he also belonged to the Young People's Religious Union. He was one of two delegates from May Memorial selected to attend the Unitarian Laymen's Third Annual Institute at Star Island, Isles of Shoal, off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July 28 - August 11, 1923 where he first met and fell in love with Willette, his wife.

In Schenectady as a young man on his first job Mr. Craton attended All Souls Unitarian Church. He liked the people and the minister, the Reverend Ernest Caldecott, very much and depended heavily on the church for his religious and social life during a period of severe loneliness and homesickness. He began however to have some problems with Unitarianism. Although he enjoyed the sermons as lectures he found them lacking in spirituality. During this period Mr. Craton was also unhappy with the factory management course at General Electric. He felt he was not suited to the manufacturing part of the General Electric Co. although he was much impressed by the vast scope of the company. He finally worked out a transfer from factory management to "test" that resulted in a transfer from Schenectady to Erie, PA and the real beginning of a satisfying career in GE.

The Unitarian church in Erie was neither as large nor as socially well-connected as that in Schenectady but the people were hospitable and the Reverend Charles Judson Dutton an interesting minister. Despite his concerns about the lack of spirituality he continued to attend the church until the children were ready for Sunday School. Both Cratons felt that the children needed a different Sunday School for their religious initiation.

The Cratons tried St Paul's Episcopal for a time and then the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in the early 40's. There they remained first they attended without joining the church. His attendance was spotty because he was overwhelmed with work and travel. Later the yacht club activity took up the weekends and attendance dropped to Christmas and Easter. The Cratons finally joined the Presbyterian Church because they wanted Bab and Tom Moore to be married there. His retirement did not get Mr. Craton to resume regular attendance but Mrs. Craton was a faithful volunteer in the church library for many years.

Health

Mr. Craton's health as a child seems to have been unexceptional. There were coughs, colds, upper respiratory complaints and several of the common childhood diseases but nothing out of the ordinary.

As a young man he developed an intermittent bladder problem that medication helped some and that seemed to be more nuisance than serious. This was life-long. There was also a chronic urethritis that he noted with concern. While he recorded a number of minor ailments in his journal he lost little or no time from work. The first hospitalization was for an appendectomy in 1947. Mr. Craton's care and concern about his own health carried over to his wife and children. He seemed excessively upset about the children's routine childhood illnesses.

Once Mr. Craton reached the management level at the Corporation he made annual visits to the Mayo Clinic for physical examinations paid for by the company. These were continued for many years after his retirement when Mrs. Craton became a Mayo patient also. The Clinic findings for both of the Cratons are recorded in some detail.

Having disregarded a doctor's advice about a car trip to Florida in 1969 Mr. Craton spent several weeks hospitalized there and several more recovering enough to return to Erie. A detached retina in the summer of 1970 resulted in hospitalization, surgery and a long period wrestling with double vision. Much dreaded prostate surgery occurred in 1971 successfully.

The annual visit to the Mayo Clinic in 1973 brought a diagnosis of angina pectoris, use of nitroglycerine, orders to cut his drinking to one drink a day, to cut down on sweets and to walk every day.

Chronic emphysema was beginning to interfere with Mr. Craton's physical activity and to diminish his pleasure in those he pursued.

Another detached retina meant another hospitalization and recovery period. This was followed by ambulatory surgery for a fracture of a hand. A severe bronchitis took Mr. Craton back to Hamot Hospital again in the first week of February. By this time Mr. Craton was almost living the life of an invalid whose physical condition dictated his activity or lack of it. In May of 1982 there was another hospitalization for tests all of which negative. Following the second retina surgery Mr. Craton in his words "developed a post-operative nervous condition that lasted for months, that required doctoring, extensive use of Valium...For months I had to fight depression, apprehension and the jitters. I had no appetite and lost perhaps as much as twenty pounds". (Special note at beginning of Diary for the year 1978)

During his working and retirement years there were a number of dental problems that seemed to be exacerbated by his objections to the dentist's charges. He continued with the same dentist year after year and also continued complaining about him.

Mr. Craton's Writing

Mr. Craton had interests from a very young age in writing and in drawing cartoons. The interest in writing was life-long, that in cartoons short-lived. Because of the necessity to be practical about earning a living for himself and his mother, Mr. Craton put aside his interest in writing and cartoons and majored in mechanical engineering. Throughout his life however he continued to try to write for publication and document his life whenever he could find the time to do so. In June 1927 for example, six months after his marriage he wrote his first short story. In 1934 after a vacation trip to Canada he tried another short story. The memoir itself is testament to his writing interest. The diary sometimes abandoned for lack of time was always returned to -- once after a lapse of 27 years. This gap was filled during his retirement years when he also wrote extensively on particular periods of his life or special activities such as boating.

A number of statements scattered throughout the memoirs indicate that regular entries were important to him, helped him cope with problems and enhanced his enjoyment of his good times.

Mr. Craton also tried persistently when he could find the time to write and rewrite for publication. While he had no success with his interest in short-story writing and none with the cartoons he submitted to Collier and the Saturday Evening Post for publication, he did succeed with several articles about trains and railroads. An article about diesel electric locomotives in industry resulted in a check for $35.00 and publication in the magazine Purchasing in 1944. Another milestone was the publication in Steel of an article for which he was paid $55.00.

Yankee, a magazine with a circulation of about 350,000 accepted and paid $250 for an article entitled "Candle Light" that was based on visits to the Isles of Shoals when Mr. Craton was a young man. Trains also accepted a railroading article "Joy and Pain on the Boston and Maine" for which it paid $45.00 and in December 1970 published "Tarzan Jr." and paid $125.00 for it. The published articles were a source of pride and satisfaction.

Travel

Travel was an important part of Mr. Craton's life. His business trips were frequent and often lengthy, taking him away from wife and family. They included time spent in Hawaii, Australia, Mexico and Venezuela on G.E. business.

Family travel included frequent trips of short duration to visit family or friends, annual trips to the Mayo Clinic combined with visits to family or friends, and trips to Buena Vista, Virginia where cousins, the Robeys lived and operated Southern Seminary, a girls preparatory school. The earliest vacation trip of note was in 1931 to Colorado. This was by car, driving an average 300 miles per day for a total mileage of 3,940 miles. Gasoline averaged 15¢ a gallon, oil 25¢ a quart. There was a trip to Canada in 1933, a Great Lakes Cruise in 1936.

During the war Mr. Craton was sales manager for locomotives for industry, the military, the Maritime Commission and underground mining. Because G.E. thought there was a potential post-war market in Hawaii, particularly in the sugar fields Mr. Craton was sent there while wartime travel restrictions were still in effect to determine the design of a standard diesel electric unit for use in Hawaii.

This trip began a life long love affair with the islands that resulted in seven more trips of several months each with Mrs. Craton after he retired.

During those seven years the Cratons spent two or three of the worst months of the Erie winter in Hawaii.

Mr. Craton's retirement at age 60 meant a real emphasis on travel that started with a nine week trip to Europe in 1962 and included Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy and was followed by several months in Florida in early 1963. In 1964 there was a South Sea Island cruise followed by several months in Hawaii, in 1966 a trip of 80 days around the world and in 1967 a return to Europe, with close friends, Barbara and Charles Reed. 1968 saw a trip to the North Cape, the Scandinavian countries, Russia and Ireland.

A trip to Florida in 1969 was an unfortunate one. Mr. Craton spent much of it in hospital and recovering from a back problem. There was a return to Hawaii in 1971 but a planned return in 1972 had to be cancelled because a bleeding intestinal tract sent Mr. Craton into the hospital again. Several months were required for recuperation.

In June 1972 the Cratons returned to Canada, this time to Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Vancouver, and again in January 1973 returned to Kappa Sands, Kauai, Hawaii where they spent Erie's worst winter months each year from 1973 through 1977.

A second detached retina for Mr. Craton prevented any winter travel in 1978 but by June of 1978 the Cratons were able to visit Joan and Roger Craton who by then were living outside London. It was a memorable trip with a number of short trips beyond the London area.

Mid March of 1979 took the Cratons on a trip to the American south. Their first stop was to see their great-grandchild Carrie, and then on to Charleston, Savannah, Hilton Head and Jekyll Island, where they visited their friends the Bauschards. Mr. Craton did not enjoy much of this trip, would have preferred being home but realized that his wife needed both a change and less work and more rest than she got at home. They cut the trip short by a week and returned home.

The last recorded trips were to see Joan and Roger and their new home in Connecticut in late March and Roger's summer place in Good Hart in July 1982.

Provenance:

Gift to Smithsonian from Mrs. Willette Craton, October 9, 1992

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Electrical engineers  Search this

Electric engineering -- 20th century  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 20th century

Letters (correspondence) -- 1920-1930

Memoirs

Personal papers -- 20th century

Diaries -- 20th century

Citation:

Forman H. Craton Collection, 1902-1983, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Sponsor:

Digitization of this collection was made possible by Andrew and Anya Shiva.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0454

See more items in:

Forman H. Craton Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep87de554a2-534e-4403-9b26-3dda0ae6edaa

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0454

Creator:

Flack, Audrey  Search this

Names:

Arizona State University  Search this

Atlantic Center for the Arts (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.)  Search this

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art  Search this

Guild Hall of East Hampton  Search this

Louis K. Meisel Gallery  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Janson, Anthony F.  Search this

Extent:

34.6 Linear feet

0.897 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Motion pictures (visual works)

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Date:

1950-2022

Summary:

The papers of painter Audrey Flack measure 34.6 linear feet and 0.897 GB and date from 1950-2022. The collection documents Flack's career as an artist through biographical material, correspondence, extensive project files, writings and notes by Flack and others, exhibition catalogs, news and magazine clippings, other printed and digital material, and scrapbooks. Also found are photographs by Audrey Flack as well as photographs of the artist and works of art.

There is an 18.8 unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes project files; correspondence; photographs, slides and negatives of works of art, exhibition installations, events, Flack and others; teaching notes; biographical information including resumes, awards, calendars, address books and identification cards; writings, notes and diaries by Flack; scrapbooks; sketches; financial records; commission applications; contracts; audio visual material including mini-DVs, VHS , DVDs and Super 8 film of interviews and lectures by Flack; and printed material including newspaper clippings, articles and posters. Materials date from circa 1950-2022.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter Audrey Flack measure 34.6 linear feet and 0.897 GB and date from 1950-2022. The collection documents Flack's career as an artist through biographical material, correspondence, extensive project files, writings and notes by Flack and others, exhibition catalogs, news and magazine clippings, other printed and digital material, and scrapbooks. Also found are photographs by Audrey Flack as well as photographs of the artist and works of art.

Biographical material includes curricula vitae, diplomas, an award certificate, and bibliographies of monographs and articles by and about Audrey Flack. Flack's correspondence documents her professional activities and business dealings.

There is correspondence with galleries, museums, arts organizations; architects and foundries; and academic institutions. Included are letters from Arizona State University, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Cooper Union, Guild Hall, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, and the Museum of Modern Art. There are letters from art historians and critics, including Flack's correspondence with Anthony Janson. Letters from publishers and agents pertain to book projects, proposals for articles, and requests to reproduce artwork in monographs or catalogs.

Interviews with Flack from the 1970s through the 1990s are found, recorded on sound and video. Writings and notes include manuscript versions for a book, typescripts of speeches, and a notebook. Also found are audio and video recordings of lectures and talks by Flack discussing her paintings and sculptures. The collection includes extensive project files on Flack's commissioned public works and exhibitions. The files also include correspondence concerning book projects, permission requests, and Flack's participation in art educational programs, and some projects are documented with recorded sound and moving images, two if which are in digital format.

Printed material consists of catalogs of Flack's shows, invitations and announcements to openings, press releases, reproductions of artwork, exhibition posters, clippings, periodicals, and books reflecting Flack's professional activities from the 1950s-2008. Photographs are of portraits by Flack, Flack by herself and with colleagues and students, as well as of the artist's studio. Also found are photographs of artwork.

There is an 18.8 unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes project files; correspondence; photographs, slides and negatives of works of art, exhibition installations, events, Flack and others; teaching notes; biographical information including resumes, awards, calendars, address books and identification cards; writings, notes and diaries by Flack; scrapbooks; sketches; financial records; commission applications; contracts; audio visual material including mini-DVs, VHS , DVDs and Super 8 film of interviews and lectures by Flack; and printed material including newspaper clippings, articles and posters. Materials date from circa 1950-2022.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1951-2006 (Box 1; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1950-2009 (Boxes 1-3; 2.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Interviews, circa 1970-1998 (Boxes 3-4; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1970-2007 (Boxes 4-6; 2.15 linear feet)

Series 5: Project Files, 1966-circa 2007 (Boxes 6-11, FC 18-21; 5.6 linear feet, ER01-ER02, 0.897 GB)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1950-2008 (Boxes 11-16, OV 17; 4.1 linear feet)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1977-2008 (Box 15; 2 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, 1966-2009 (Boxes 15-16; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1950-2022 (Boxes 22-41, OV 42-43; 18.8 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Audrey Flack (1931-) is a painter and sculptor in New York City and in Long Island, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Cooper Union in 1951 and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Yale University in 1952. In the 1950s, she was part of the New York School that included the Abstract Expressionist painters Franz Kline and Jackson Pollock. By the 1960s, Flack had turned to painting in a realistic manner. She pioneered the technique of incorporating photographic images from contemporary sources such as magazines and newspapers; the art form became known as Photorealism. Her subjects have included families, celebrities, and public figures. An early work, The Kennedy Motorcade captured President John Kennedy moments before he was assassinated. Flack's paintings have also centered on the varied experiences of women as depicted in her Vanitas series done in the 1970s. Flack was the first Photorealist painter to have a work acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. By the 1980s, Flack was creating sculptures, goddess figures and other mythological deities of various cultures. The sculptures, many of monumental proportions were executed as commissioned works for public spaces. Flack's commissions have included Civitas: Four Visions, South Carolina, Galatea Fountain, South Pasadena, Florida, Islandia, New York City Technical College, and The Art Muse, Tampa, Florida. Further, Audrey Flack has also worked in other media such as photography and printmaking.

Audrey Flack has taught and lectured at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad, including Cooper Union, Pratt Institute of New York, and the Studio Art School International, Florence, Italy. She has been a Visiting Professor at a number of universities, including the University of North Dakota, University of Tennessee, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her paintings, watercolors, and sculptures have been featured in solo and group exhibitions in major museums and galleries. Flack's artwork has also been shown in a number of traveling exhibitions including "Saints and Other Angels: The Religious Paintings of Audrey Flack" sponsored by Cooper Union and "Breaking the Rules: Audrey Flack, A Retrospective, 1950-1990" organized by the J.B. Speed Museum. Flack has been represented by the Louis K. Meisel Gallery, the Vered Gallery, and the Gary Snyder Gallery. Among the many awards and honors she has received are the Honorary Ziegfeld Award, National Art Education Association, an Honorary Doctorate, Lyme Academy of Art, and the U.S. Government National Design for Transportation Award. Audrey Flack has also written two books and numerous articles. Audrey Flack lives and works in New York and in East Hampton, New York.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Audrey Flack conducted by Robert C. Morgan, February 16, 2009.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Audrey Flack in 2009 and 2022.

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Motion pictures (visual works)

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Citation:

Audrey Flack papers, 1950-2022. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.flacaudr

See more items in:

Audrey Flack papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c12179ce-d722-47e1-b806-32a27e29d8f3

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-flacaudr

Maker:

Viasoft, Inc.  Search this

Physical Description:

paper (overall material)

wood (overall material)

glass (overall material)

wire (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 38.2 cm x 55.5 cm x 2.4 cm; 15 1/16 in x 21 7/8 in x 15/16 in

Object Name:

Photograph

Place made:

United States: Arizona, Phoenix

Date made:

1989

Credit Line:

Gift of Allen Systems Group

ID Number:

1997.3053.01

Catalog number:

1997.3053.01

Nonaccession number:

1997.3053

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Computers

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-2fdc-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1187082

Creator:

New York University  Search this

Arthur, James, 1842-1912 (machine shop owner)  Search this

Names:

Jones, Ezekiel  Search this

Extent:

15 Cubic feet (32 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Reports

Sales catalogs

Advertisements

Publications

Clippings

Business records

Inventories

Patents

Manuscripts

Press releases

Date:

1743-1967

Summary:

A collection of diverse archival materials on the subject of watches and clocks assembled by James Arthur (1842-1912).

Scope and Contents note:

These records contain material on the Arthur collection of clocks and watches. Includes publications, inventories, manuscripts, reports, photographs, advertisements, catalogues, newspaper clippings, patents, and business records; correspondence files of NYU curators concerning the administration of the collection; a watch record book of sales of Ezekiel Jones, carried on bookkeeping, 1822 and 1825; and a copy of the Smithsonian-NYU permanent loan agreement, 1964.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into 10 series.

Series 1, Correspondence, 1937-1964 (bulk 1950-1957)

Series 2, Subject Files

Series 3, Organizations

Series 4, The Arthur Collection at New York University, 1930-1968

Series 5, Patent Specification (Unprocessed)

Series 6, Horological Pamphlets and Articles, 1743-1947 (Unprocessed)

Series 7, Miscellaneous, 1825-1966 (Unprocessed)

Series 8, Clock Makers Directory, 15 volumes (Unprocessed)

Series 9, Press Clippings about watches and clocks (Unprocessed)

Series 10, Photographs (Unprocessed)

Biographical/Historical note:

James Arthur owned and operated a New York machine shop for patent models. He came to the United States from Scotland in 1871. Fourteen years later he established Arthur Machine Works in New York City for the construction of original and special machinery. He was a skillful, ingenious, highly trained mechanic. While not technically a clockmaker or a watchmaker, he was especially interested in horology and timekeeping devices. From boyhood, clocks and watches were his hobby and he was a discriminating collector.

For more than forty years, he collected watches and clocks from many countries and periods. Arthur was quick to recognize any features of a clock or watch that gave it a distinctive character. His fondness for the fine points of the machinery did not blind him to distinctions of form and beauty in the cases, to originality in the maker, or to the historical significance of the work. He was devoted to the science no less than to the art of timekeeping. Arthur's collection contained some 1,200 watches, 300 clocks, and numerous accessories.

Provenance:

Collection donated by New York University, 1964.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Watches  Search this

Collectors and collecting  Search this

Clocks and watches  Search this

Horology  Search this

Models (Patents)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1850-1900

Reports

Sales catalogs

Advertisements

Publications

Clippings

Business records -- 19th century

Inventories

Patents

Manuscripts -- 19th century

Press releases

Photographs -- 20th century

Citation:

James Arthur Clock and Watch Collection, 1743-1967, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Lent by New York University.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0130

See more items in:

James Arthur Clock and Watch Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8eb766704-3ca2-4615-835b-c8b334f70231

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0130

Maker:

Texas Instruments  Search this

Physical Description:

cardboard (overall material)

metal (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 51 cm x 41 cm; 20 1/16 in x 16 1/8 in

Object Name:

photograph

Place made:

United States: Texas, Dallas

Date made:

ca 1966

1966

Credit Line:

Texas Instruments

ID Number:

CI.336025

Catalog number:

336025

Accession number:

319050

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Computers

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-c4ad-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1369397

Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Names:

Dymo Industries  Search this

Industrial Design Affiliates  Search this

Mattel Toys  Search this

Product Specialists  Search this

Ronco Teleproducts  Search this

Stansbury Company  Search this

Walter Dorwin Teague Associates  Search this

Extent:

5 Cubic feet (15 boxes, 1 oversize folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Correspondence

Clippings

Memorandums

Manuals

Design drawings

Slides (photographs)

Date:

1955 - 1995

Summary:

The collection documents the inventing and design work of Benjamin Stansbury.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the inventing and design work of Benjamin Stansbury. It contains correspondence; photographs and slides; memoranda, manuals and other internal company documents; design drawings; clippings; and trade literature. The bulk of the material relates to Stansbury's work at the Stansbury Company and the PULSAR electric toothbrush.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Personal Materials, 1954-1983

Series 2: Walter Dorwin Teague and Associates Records, 1959-1971

Series 3: Dymo, 1961, 1966

Series 4: Mattel Toymakers, Inc., 1962-1966

Series 5: Product Specialists, 1962-1971

Series 6: Innovation, undated

Series 7: Industrial Design Affiliates, 1964-1973

Series 8: The Stansbury Company, 1966-1994 (bulk 1978-1990)

Series 9: Ronco Teleproducts, Inc., 1978-1980

Series 10: Pulse Innovations, Inc., 1990-1995

Biographical / Historical:

Benjamin H. Stansbury, Jr. (September 26, 1934-March 11, 1996) was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and graduated high school from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (founded in 1883 as an engineering school). He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Architecture, earning a BS in Engineering in 1957. From 1957 to 1961, Stansbury worked for Walter Dorwin Teague Associates in New York as an industrial designer. At Teague, Stansbury worked on a variety of products and missile components. In 1960, he won the Industrial Design Institute Design Award Citation for the Euphorian dental chair (for Ritter Dental). While at Teague, Stansbury met Helen Marie Beheney (December 5, 1935-July 27, 2014) who was a secretary. The couple married in 1961 in California and had two children, Claude and Jacqueline.

Stansbury left New York for Berkeley, California where he joined Dymo Industries, Inc. as Director of New Product Planning from 1961 to 1965. At Dymo, Stansbury crafted a new corporate image and supervised plant and office construction. From 1965 to 1966 he worked for Mattel Toymakers in Hawthorne, California as Director of Corporate Planning and Acquisitions. In 1966, Stansbury, along with John Pylant, formed Product Specialists in Santa Monica. Rudy Hurwich later invested in the company as a three-way partner. Product Specialists focused on product development, manufacturing and marketing. While at Product Specialists, Stansbury developed and built a folding polypropylene boat called the Stowboat (US Patent 4,556,009) available in three sizes (seven, eight and nine feet). His marketing included the phrase, "Let's Go Stowboating!" Stansbury obtained approximately thirty-five patents, many of which were design patents. Almost all of the patents issued to him were assigned to the company who contracted his services. In 1969, Stansbury founded Innovation, a company to take conceptual ideas to the point of commercialization and to then license or sell them.

In 1969, Stansbury was hired by Industrial Design Affiliates (IDA) of Beverly Hills to help turn around the faltering design practice. After years of creative frustration working for someone else, Stansbury left IDA and founded his own design firm, the Stansbury Company, in 1973. Stansbury believed in giving creative people as much freedom as possible and all of his employees were encouraged to be part of the creative process. His company provided full service product development--concept, design, appearance models, engineering development, prototype construction and testing, tool patterns, and pre-production models. A strong emphasis was placed on engineering and manufacturability. Some of the diverse products created included: an exercise bike, roller skates, a smokeless ashtray, a sewage treatment device for boats, cosmetic bottles, surgical rubber gloves, musical toys, a dental chair, packaging (Elvis concert album), and special effects (twenty-four foot alligator) for the film Alligator and miniature sets for the disaster film Meteor. In 1978, The Stansbury Company was awarded the Western Plastics Art and Design Award for the toy category (sun runner roller skates) and the rotational molding category (La Chair). Some of his clients included: Honda Motor Car, Mansfield Sanitary, Procter and Gamble, Max Factor & Company, Mattel Toys, Schlage Lock, Technicolor, Tomy Toys, Redkin, Jaybee Manufacturing, American Hospital Supply Company and Ronco Teleproducts, Inc.

Stansbury was also a senior consultant to the Bender Corporation, which advised large manufacturing facilities about air quality issues and engineering improvements. He worked with the company on matters related to fluid dynamic modeling and to devise optimal air movements/clearance within a structure.

Stansbury was heavily involved in local politics in Beverly Hills, California. He served as traffic commissioner (1973-1977) and as a planning commissioner (1977-1980). In 1980, Stansbury was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council serving as mayor in 1983 and 1988. After leaving politics, Stansbury continued to invent and in 1992, moved to King City, Ontario, Canada to pursue his invention of the PULSAR Electric Toothbrush (US Patent 5,259,083). The patent was later reissued (RE 35,941) on November 3, 1998. Stansbury was an initial shareholder in Pulse Innovations, Inc., a Canadian corporation formed to develop, market, and license the Pulse toothbrush. The other shareholders in Pulse Innovations included Spark Innovations, Inc. (SPI), a Canadian venture capital incubator and other investors. At SPI, Stansbury was Vice-President of technical services and acted as an engineering consultant and technical advisor on other products under development. In 1995, Procter & Gamble was given an exclusive development option for the Pulse toothbrush, but ultimately Procter & Gamble underwent a restructuring and returned its focus to core products which did not include electric toothbrushes. In 1996, Pulse entered into an agreement with Butler Gum, Canada's largest consumer oral care product company. Stansbury's children, Claude and Jacqueline sold their parents' shares in Pulse Innovations to other shareholders. Stansbury returned to the United States in 1995 and died on March 16, 1996, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Separated Materials:

Artifacts related to the Ronco Egg Scrambler are located in the Division of Work and Industry.

Artifacts related to The Mr. Dentist, Pulse toothbrushes, Hayes School Publishing Co. posters for ""Good Manners"" (1957) and Safety (1957), a Sesame Street learning kit and parent guides (1970) are located in the Division of Cultural and Community Life.

A Hayes School Publishing Company poster for ""Good Habit Check Charts"" (1959) is located in the Division of Medicine and Science.

Materials related to Helen Stansbury's volunteer work for the Democratic Party, especially a George McGovern Handbook, 1972 and Mike Dukakis materials, 1988 are in the Division of Political History (now Division of Political and Military History).

Provenance:

Collection donated to the Archives Center by Benjamin H. Stansbury's daughter, Jacquelyn Stansbury in 2015.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Toys  Search this

Inventors  Search this

Designers  Search this

Industrial design  Search this

Inventions -- 1950-2000 -- United States  Search this

Toothbrushes  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 2000-2010

Correspondence -- 1950-2000

Clippings -- 1950-2000

Memorandums -- 1950-2000

Manuals -- 1950-2000

Design drawings -- 1950-2000

Slides (photographs) -- 1950-2000

Citation:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1350

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep81e436904-f9f7-47c4-816f-cb6ef4a36524

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1350

Measurements:

overall: 2 in x 14 1/2 in x 7 in; 5.08 cm x 36.83 cm x 17.78 cm

Object Name:

Slides used by Dr. Roger Sperry

slides

ID Number:

1999.0302.10.01

Catalog number:

1999.0302.10.01

Accession number:

1999.0302

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Medicine

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-5235-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1400292

Measurements:

overall: 2 in x 14 1/2 in x 7 in; 5.08 cm x 36.83 cm x 17.78 cm

Object Name:

Slides used by Dr. Roger Sperry

slides

ID Number:

1999.0302.10.02

Catalog number:

1999.0302.10.02

Accession number:

1999.0302

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Medicine

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-5236-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1400294

Measurements:

overall: 2 in x 14 1/2 in x 7 in; 5.08 cm x 36.83 cm x 17.78 cm

Object Name:

Slides used by Roger Sperry

Slides used by Dr. Roger Sperry

slides

ID Number:

1999.0302.10.03

Catalog number:

1999.0302.10.03

Accession number:

1999.0302

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Medicine

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-5237-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1400295

Measurements:

overall: 2 in x 14 1/2 in x 7 in; 5.08 cm x 36.83 cm x 17.78 cm

Object Name:

Slides used by Roger Sperry

Slides used by Dr. Roger Sperry

slides

ID Number:

1999.0302.10.04

Catalog number:

1999.0302.10.04

Accession number:

1999.0302

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Medicine

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-5238-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1400297

Depicted:

American Association for the Advancement of Science  Search this

Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology  Search this

United States De Soto Expedition Commission  Search this

Boas, Franz, 1858-1942  Search this

Bond, Q. M.  Search this

Cammerer, Arno B.  Search this

Cushing, Frank Hamilton, 1857-1900  Search this

Davis, E. H. (Edwin Hamilton), 1811-1888  Search this

Densmore, Frances, 1867-1957  Search this

Dorsey, James Owen, 1848-1895  Search this

Drucker, Philip, 1911-1982  Search this

Fewkes, Jesse Walter, 1850-1930  Search this

Gatschet, Albert S. (Albert Samuel), 1832-1907  Search this

Geary, James A.  Search this

Goode, G. Brown (George Brown), 1851-1896  Search this

Hale, Horatio, 1817-1896  Search this

Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961  Search this

Henshaw, Henry W. (Henry Wetherbee), 1850-1930  Search this

Hewitt, J. N. B. (John Napoleon Brinton), 1859-1937  Search this

Hillers, John K., 1843-1925  Search this

Holmes, William Henry, 1846-1933  Search this

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942  Search this

Judd, Neil Merton, 1887-1976  Search this

Knez, Eugene I. (Eugene Irving), 1916-2010  Search this

Kroeber, A. L. (Alfred Louis), 1876-1960  Search this

Le Plongeon, Augustus, 1826-1908  Search this

Mason, Otis Tufton, 1838-1908  Search this

Matthews, Washington, 1843-1905  Search this

McGee, W J, 1853-1912  Search this

Merriam, C. Hart (Clinton Hart), 1855-1942  Search this

Mooney, James, 1861-1921  Search this

Morgan, Lewis Henry, 1818-1881  Search this

Pilling, James Constantine, 1846-1895  Search this

Powell, John Wesley, 1834-1902  Search this

Rink, Signe  Search this

Roberts, Frank H. H. (Frank Harold Hanna), 1897-1966  Search this

Royce, Charles C., 1845-1923  Search this

Stephenson, Robert L. (Robert Lloyd), 1919-  Search this

Stevenson, James, 1840-1888  Search this

Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1850-1915  Search this

Steward, Julian Haynes, 1902-1972  Search this

Struever, Stuart  Search this

Swan, James G., 1818-1900  Search this

Swanton, John Reed, 1873-1958  Search this

Upham, E. P. (Edwin Porter), 1845-1918  Search this

Washburn, Wilcomb E.  Search this

Willey, Gordon R. (Gordon Randolph), 1913-2002  Search this

Photographer:

Bachrach & Brother  Search this

Blackstone Studios  Search this

National Geographic Society (U.S.)  Search this

Bailey, Vernon Orlando  Search this

Dana (of New York)  Search this

Garrett, Gene  Search this

Gilbert, C. W.  Search this

Gill, De Lancey, 1859-1940  Search this

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942  Search this

Kemethy, Kets  Search this

Koby, Paul  Search this

McDonough, David  Search this

Parker, Charles  Search this

Phillips, H. C.  Search this

Rice (of Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Shuck, J. A.  Search this

Names:

Geological Survey (U.S.)  Search this

Artist:

Nicholson, Grace, -1948  Search this

Extent:

1 Print (photogravure)

8 Prints (halftone (including one newspaper clipping))

124 Prints (circa, silver gelatin, albumen, and platinum)

50 Copy prints (circa)

3 copper printing plates

1 Color print

1 Print (wood engraving)

3 Copy negatives (glass)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Prints

Copy prints

Color prints

Copy negatives

Photographs

Date:

circa 1860s-1970

Scope and Contents note:

This collection is an artificial collection of photographs, copper plates, and a few notes, all of which depict or relate to anthropologists, many of which were associated with the Bureau of American Ethnology.

Included are portraits of Franz Boas, Q. M. Bond, Arno B. Cammerer, Frank Hamilton Cushing, Edwin Hamilton Davis, J. Woodbridge Davis, Frances Densmore, James Owen Dorsey, Philip Drucker, Jesse Walter Fewkes (including photographs of his home by Frances Densmore), Albert Samuel Gatschet, James A. Geary, De Lancey W. Gill, George Brown Goode, Horatio Hale, Henry Wetherbee Henshaw, John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt, John K. Hillers, William Henry Holmes, William Henry Jackson, Eugene Irving Knez, Alfred Louis Kroeber, Pere Albert Lacomb, Augustus Le Plongeon, James Mooney, Lewis Henry Morgan, Carl Oschsicanes, James Constantine Pilling, John Wesley Powell, Frau Signe Rink, Frank Harold Hanna Roberts, Jr., Charles C. Royce, Robert Lloyd Stephenson, James Stevenson, Matilda Coxe Stevenson, Julian Haynes Steward, Steward Struever, James Gilchrist Swan, John Reed Swanton, Edwin P. Upham, Wilcomb E. Washburn, and Gordon Randolph Willey. Groups depicted include the staff of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1936; the De Soto Commission; officers of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1885; a 1920 expedition group to Hawikuk; staff of the Great Lakes Division, United States Geological Survey, in Salt Lake City, 1882; a group at Moundville, Alabama, 1932; the University of Nebraska archeological field party, 1920; the Pecos conference, 1927; John Wesley Powell with Wild Hank, Kentucky Mountain Bill, and Jesus Aloiso; and the United States Geological Survey staff, ca. 1894.

Among photographers represented are Vernon Orlando Bailey, Blackston Studios of New York, Dana of New York, Frances Densmore, Gene Garrett, C. W. Gilbert, De Lancey W. Gill, John K. Hillers, William H. Jackson, Kets Kemethy, Paul Koby, David McDonough, H. C. Phillips, Rice of Washington, D. C., and J. A. Shuck of El Reno, Oklahoma.

Local Call Number(s):

NAA Photo Lot 33

Location of Other Archival Materials:

Four photographs with negatives by Matilda Coxe Stevenson have been relocated to Photo Lot 23.

This collection includes photographs that have been removed from other collections in the National Anthropological Archives, including MS 4970, MS 4851, MS 4780, MS 4250, MS 4751, MS 4516, MS 4860, MS 4695, MS 4970, and MS 4558.

See others in:

Portraits of anthropologists, 1860s-1960s

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection requires an appointment.

Rights:

Copy prints of original photographs held by the American Philosophical Society, National Geographic Society, and National Archives cannot be copied. Copies may be obtained from these repositories.

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Photo lot 33, Portraits of anthropologists, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.PhotoLot.33

See more items in:

Portraits of anthropologists

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw315fa853c-2f6b-4db6-9f01-be3010ee1f93

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-photolot-33

Creator:

Arango, Javier, 1962-2017  Search this

Extent:

4.46 Cubic feet

0.641 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Catalogs

Diaries

Manuals

Maps

Programs

Photographic postcards

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Date:

1900-1955

bulk 1905-1918

Summary:

Early aviation catalogs, photographs, periodicals, class notes, and scrapbooks as well as other materials collected by Javier Arnago detailing the evolution of early aircrafts built before and during World World I.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of early aviation materials, collected by Javier Arango, pertaining to the development of early 20th century aircrafts. The bulk of the material consists of air meet programs and memorabilia, engine and aeroplane catalogs, articles and periodicals, maps and charts, postcards and correspondence, class notes and technical manuals, scrapbooks and journals, and a variety of photographs. Materials in English, French, German, and Dutch. Aviators pioneers include: the Wright Brothers, Henry Farman, Louis Bleriot, Hubert Latham, Glenn Curtiss, Louis Paulhan, and other French and American pilots. Aircraft manufacturers represented include: Wright Brothers, Curtiss-Wright, Blériot (France), Antoinette (Société Anonyme Antoinette) (France), Deperdussin (France), Farman, Voisin (France), and other American, French, German, and British inventors prior to World War I.

Arrangement:

Collection organized into eight sections by material type. The first three sections 'Aeroplane Catalogs,' 'Engine Catalongs,' and 'Air meet Programs' are in original order, which is alphabetically arranged by company, aircraft, or engine name and thereunder chronologically by year. The 'Periodicals' section is also alphabetically arranged by title and thereunder chronologically by year. 'Additional Text Materials,' 'Scrapbooks and albums,' and 'Class notes and journals' alphabetically arranged by creator's surname or title. The 'Photographs' section is organized by subjects or event, orginially grouped by Arango, and thereunder alphabetically arranged.

Biographical / Historical:

Javier Arango (1962-2017) was an investment consultant, aircraft collector, avid pilot, and board member of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Graduating at Harvard University, he studied the history of science and became an authority of World War I aviation focusing on the progression of warplanes. Establishing his Aeroplane Collection with the construction of a triplane in 1980, he began collecting original materials from the 1900s and 1910s. With a passion for understanding and preserving the history of flight, Arango amassed an exemplary study of the evolution of early aviation.

Provenance:

Javier Arango Living Trust, Gift, 2022, NASM.2022.0033

Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Topic:

Aeronautics  Search this

Aeronautics -- Competitions  Search this

Aircraft supplies industry  Search this

Airplanes -- Design and construction  Search this

Airplanes -- Motors  Search this

Antoinette Aircraft Family  Search this

Bleriot Aircraft Family  Search this

Breguet Aircraft Family  Search this

Bristol Aircraft Family  Search this

Burgess Aircraft Family  Search this

Curtiss, General, Aircraft  Search this

Deperdussin Aircraft Family  Search this

Ford Tri-Motor Family  Search this

Gallaudet Type C Military Tractor Biplane Family  Search this

Lockheed Aircraft Family  Search this

Moisant (Monoplane Co) 1914 Bluebird Monoplane  Search this

Nieuport Aircraft Family  Search this

Sloane Aircraft Family  Search this

SPAD Aircraft Family  Search this

Voisin Aircraft Family  Search this

Genre/Form:

Catalogs

Diaries

Manuals

Maps

Programs

Photographic postcards

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Citation:

Javier Arango Early Aviation Collection, NASM.2022.0033, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2022.0033

See more items in:

Early Aviation Collection [Arango]

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2a7794054-9fbe-430c-8b18-ec5aa5cd48e7

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2022-0033