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Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company photographs and other materials

Donor:
Bethlehem Steel Corporation  Search this
Manufacturer:
Consolidation Coal Company  Search this
Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company  Search this
Extent:
23 Cubic feet (99 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Photograph albums
Window displays
Date:
1885-1940s
Summary:
The collection documents the building, operation and daily life of coal mining communities in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio between 1911 and 1946. The collection is a valuable for the study of mining technology and the social conditions of the time period and regions.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists mostly of photographs depicting Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company mines and mining towns in Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Subjects include worker housing, schools for miners' children, gardens, churches, recreational facilities, health services, company stores, safety, mining machinery, construction of mines and related structures, and the interiors of mines.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1: Background Materials, 1904-1933

Series 2: Photographs, 1885-1940s

Subseries 2.1: Photograph Albums, 1885-1932

Subseries 2.2: West Virginia Division, 19091-1917

Subseries 2.3: Glass Plate and Film Negatives, 1911-1940s

Subseries 2.4: Numbered Photographs, 1911-1930

Subseries 2.5: Miscellaneous, 1913, 1916
Historical Note:
The Consolidation Coal Company was started in 1864 to mine bituminous coal deposits in Maryland's Cumberland region. it expanded by acquiring other mine companies as well as rail and other transportation companies. It went into receivership in 1932. The Pittsburgh Coal Company, founded in 1900, took over the firm in 1945 and formed the Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company.

The Consolidation Coal Company (Maryland)

The Consolidation Coal Company was incorporated in Maryland on March 8, 1860, for the purpose of effecting a merger of a number of coal operators mining the Georges Creek basin in Allegany County, Maryland. Because of the Civil War, during which Confederate armies frequently blocked the region's only outlet to market, the company was not actually organized until April 19, 1864. Starting life as the dominant operator in this small but significant coal field, "Consol" rose to become the nation's top producer of bituminous coal.

The Georges Creek or Cumberland Coal Field, occupying part of the triangle of western Maryland, contained a high-quality, low-volatile bituminous steam coal which was also, thanks to the Potomac River, the coal of this type most accessible to Eastern markets. Coal had been mined in the region beginning in the 1700s, and the first coal company, the Maryland Mining Company, had been incorporated in 1828. However, large-scale development could not occur until the mid-1840s, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reached Cumberland and provided reliable transportation. This also coincided with the development of ocean steam navigation and a rapid growth in the number of railroad locomotives and stationary steam engines. Cumberland coal was ideal for ship bunkering, and much of the output was shipped to New York Harbor. Naturally, New York capitalists and manufacturers played a leading role in developing the field. Lewis Howell's Maryland and New York Iron and Coal Company rolled the first solid U.S. railroad rail at its Mount Savage mill in 1844. The Consolidation Coal merger was put together by New Yorkers such as William H. Aspinwall, Erastus Corning, the Delanos and Roosevelts, and the Boston financier John Murray Forbes, who already had substantial investments in the region.

Upon its formation, the Consolidation Coal Company acquired the properties of the Ocean Steam Coal Company, the Frostburg Coal Company, and the Mount Savage Iron Company totaling about 11,000 acres. The last named company brought with it control of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, which connected the mines to the Baltimore & Ohio and later the Pennsylvania and Western Maryland railroads. In 1870, Consol absorbed the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company of 1840, the next largest operator in the field, and gained an additional 7,000 acres. Further purchases from the Delano interests gave it over 80 percent of the entire Cumberland Field.

Soon after its hated rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, gained access to the Cumberland Coal Field, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began purchasing large blocks of Consolidation Coal stock to protect its traffic base in 1875, eventually gaining a 52 percent interest. A B&O slate of directors was elected in February 1877, with Charles F. Mayer of Baltimore as president, and the company offices were moved from New York to Baltimore.

Until the turn of the century, Consolidation Coal's mining operations were confined to the small soft coal region of western Maryland. The company purchased the 12,000 acre Millholland coal tract near Morgantown, W.Va. in 1902 and acquired controlling interests in the Fairmont Coal Company of West Virginia and the Somerset Coal Company of Pennsylvania the following year. These acquisitions boosted Consolidation's annual production more than six-fold in only three years. The company purchased the 25,000 acre Stony Creek tract in Somerset County, Pa., in 1904. The Fairmont Coal Company purchase included a joint interest in the North Western Fuel Company, which owned and operated docks and coal distribution facilities in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

In 1906, the Interstate Commerce Commission held a formal investigation of rail ownership of coal companies, which resulted in the passage of the Hepburn Act and its "Commodities Clause," which prohibited railroads from dealing in the commodities they hauled. In anticipation of the new regulations, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad sold its entire holdings of Consolidation stock to a Baltimore syndicate headed by Consol president Clarence W. Watson, J. H. Wheelwright and H. Crawford on April 26, 1906. At the time of the B&O's divestiture, the aggregate annual output of Consolidation's mines totaled more than 10 million tons and the company controlled more than 200,000 acres. The John D. Rockefeller interests began purchasing Consol securities in 1915, eventually securing a controlling interest. The company's offices were returned to New York City in May 1921.

After the B&O divestiture, Consol began expanding into the Southern Appalachian coal fields, which were just being opened by railroads on a large scale. The mines in this region yielded a low volatile coal that provided an ideal fuel source for stationary steam engines, ships, and locomotives. Of equal importance, operators in the remote mountains had been able to resist unionization and thus achieve lower operating costs, while all of Consol's previous holdings had been in the so-called "Central Competitive Field" to the north, which had been unionized in the 1890s. Consolidation Coal purchased 30,000 acres in the Millers Creek Field of Eastern Kentucky in 1909 and 100,000 acres in the Elkhorn Field the next year. In February 1922, Consol secured a long term lease and option on the Carter Coal Company, whose 37,000 acres straddled the borders of Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky. In 1925, Consol became the nation's largest producer of bituminous coal, excluding the captive mines of the steel companies.

During the Great Depression, Consolidation Coal experienced serious financial difficulties and was forced into receivership on June 2, 1932. The Rockefellers liquidated their holdings at a loss, and the Carter Coal Company was returned to the Carter heirs in 1933. Consol was reorganized and reincorporated in Delaware as the Consolidation Coal Company, Inc. on November 1, 1935, and was able to retain its position as one of the nation's top coal producers. Eventually, stock control passed into the hands of the M.A. Hanna Company group of Cleveland, dealers in coal and iron ore. Although production reached record levels during the Second World War, management feared a recurrence of the collapse that had followed World War I. It also faced the prospect of increased competition from oil and natural gas and the loss of traditional markets such as home heating and locomotive fuel. As a result Consol opened negotiations with another large producer, the Pittsburgh Coal Company, which was the dominant operator in the Pittsburgh District.

The Pittsburgh Coal Company

The Pittsburgh Coal Company was a product of the great industrial merger movement of the late 1890s. In 1899, two large mergers were effected in the Pittsburgh District.

The Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on October 1, 1899 to merge the properties of over 90 small firms operating mines along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh. Some of these operations dated to the early 1800s, and all of them shipped coal down the Ohio-Mississippi River system by barge from close to the mine mouth, or later by the railroads built along the river banks. The combination controlled 40,000 acres of coal land, 100 steam towboats, 4,000 barges, and facilities for handling coal at Cincinnati, Louisville, Vicksburg, Memphis, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

The Pittsburgh Coal Company was incorporated in New Jersey as a holding company on September 1, 1899 and acquired the properties of over 80 operators located in the areas back from the river on both sides of the Monongahela south of Pittsburgh. The combination was engineered by some of the most prominent Pittsburgh industrialists, including Andrew W. Mellon, Henry W. Oliver, and Henry Clay Frick. It controlled over 80,000 acres and six collector railroads, the longest of which was the Montour Railroad. Most of its output was shipped by rail, with a large share being transferred to ships on the Great Lakes for distribution throughout the industrial Midwest. The company owned coal docks and yards at Chicago, Cleveland, Duluth, West Superior, Sault Ste. Marie, Ashtabula, Fairport and Thornburg. Subsequently, the company expanded in southwestern Pennsylvania and the Hocking Valley of Ohio through the lease of the Shaw Coal Company in 1901 and the purchase of the Midland Coal Company in 1903. Most of the properties were vested in a separate Pittsburgh Coal Company, an operating company incorporated in Pennsylvania.

Unlike the Consolidation Coal Company, which had grown by gradual accretion, the Pittsburgh Coal Company had been created in a single stroke. As with many mergers of the period, its capitalization probably contained a high percentage of "water" in anticipation of profits from future growth. Unfortunately, the years after the merger saw explosive growth in the coal fields of Southern Appalachia instead. Although farther from major consuming centers, they enjoyed several advantages. The coal itself was superior, low-volatile with higher BTU content and altogether cleaner than the high-volatile coals of Ohio and the Pittsburgh District. As already noted, the southern mines were also non-union. With the inroads of Southern Appalachian coal, the Pittsburgh Coal Company continuously lost ground in the crucial Lake and western markets from 1900 to 1915. The company's capitalization proved unwieldy in the unsettled economic conditions following the Panic of 1907. A reorganization plan was devised under which a new Pittsburgh Coal Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania on January 12, 1916 by merging the old Pittsburgh Coal Company of Pennsylvania and the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company. The old holding company was then liquidated and the stock of the new operating company distributed to its stockholders. Dissension between the common and preferred stockholders delayed consummation of the plan until July 16, 1917.

The Pittsburgh Coal Company, which had all its operations in the Central Competitive Field, had a much more difficult time than Consolidation in breaking the 1923 Jacksonville Agreement with the United Mine Workers in 1925-1927 and reverting to non-union status. The three-year struggle ended the company's ability to pay dividends. Pittsburgh Coal survived the Depression without receivership but with ever-increasing arrearages on its preferred stock. By the end of World War II, its managers were just as eager as those at Consol to attempt greater economies through merger. The Pittsburgh Coal Company and the Consolidation Coal Company merged on November 23, 1945, with exchange ratios of 65 to 35 percent. Pittsburgh Coal Company, the surviving partner, changed its name to the Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company.

The Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company

After the merger, the M.A. Hanna Company interests of Cleveland became the dominant factor in Pitt-Consol's affairs. Hanna had transferred its pre-merger Consol stock to its subsidiary Bessemer Coal & Coke Corporation in 1943. This led to a restructuring whereby Pitt-Consol acquired Hanna's share of the North Western-Hanna Fuel Company in April 1946 and the Hanna coal properties in eastern Ohio on June 16, 1946 These included large reserves of strippable coal that accounted for about 20 percent of the state's production. Pitt-Consol later acquired Hanna's holdings of coal land in Harrison, Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, on December 30, 1949. It purchased the New York Central Railroad's 51 percent interest in the Jefferson Coal Company, giving it full control, in 1952 and merged it into the Hanna Coal Company Division.

Pitt-Consol sold its last major railroads, the Montour Railroad and the Youngstown & Southern Railway to the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad on December 31, 1946. The Northwestern Coal Railway had been sold to the Great Northern system, and the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad had been sold to the Western Maryland Railway in May 1944.

In addition, a new Research and Development Division was created to fund projects aimed at developing more efficient production methods, new outlets for coal consumption, coal-based synthetic fuels and chemical byproducts. A new coal gasification plant opened at Library, Pa., in November 1948, and the company began the manufacture of a smokeless fuel briquette under the trademark "Disco" at Imperial, Pa., in 1949. An experimental coal slurry pipeline was built in Ohio in 1952.

During the 1950s and early 1960s, Pitt-Consol made many changes in its coal holdings, selling high-cost or less desirable properties, diversifying its reserves across many different coal fields, rationalizing property lines to permit large mechanized underground or strip mines and forming joint ventures with steel companies to secure guaranteed customers. Pitt-Consol acquired the Jamison Coal and Coke Company in 1954 and the Pocahontas Fuel Company, Incorporated, a large producer of low-volatile Southern Appalachian coal, in 1956. In the latter year, it sold its Elkhorn Field properties to the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. As Pittsburgh District operations became less central, the corporate name was changed back to Consolidation Coal Company in April 1958.

The Consolidation Coal Company, CONOCO and CONSOL Energy, Inc.:

Consol continued to expand into the early 1960s. On April 30, 1962, it absorbed the Truax-Traer Coal Company of Illinois. Truax-Traer also mined lignite in North Dakota, a low-grade but low-sulfur coal that was taking a greater share of the power generation market as environmental laws placed greater restrictions on high-sulfur coal from the Central Competitive Field. The following year Consol acquired the Crozer Coal and Land Company and the Page Coal and Coke Company, owners of additional reserves of low-volatile, low-sulfur steam coal in southern West Virginia.

In 1966, just two years after the company marked its centennial, Consolidation Coal was acquired by the Continental Oil Company (Conoco). This was part of a general trend whereby U.S. oil companies extended their reach by acquiring coal reserves and large coal producers. In turn, Conoco was acquired by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company in 1981. This purchase was motivated by DuPont's desire to obtain better control of chemical feedstocks in an era of high oil prices. Consolidation Coal was not a major factor in the Conoco acquisition and did not really fit into DuPont's strategy, especially after coal and oil prices declined. As a result, it was quickly sold off when DuPont was restructured a decade later. In 1991, a new holding company CONSOL Engery, Inc. was incorporated as a joint venture of DuPont Energy Company and the German energy conglomerate Rheinisch-Westfalisches Elektrizitatswerk A.G., through its wholly owned subsidiaries Rheinbraun A.G. and Rheinbraun U.S.A. GmbH. Consolidation Coal Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of CONSOL Energy, Inc. DuPont eventually sold most of its half interest, so that by 1998, Rheinbraun affiliates owned 94% of CONSOL Energy stock, while DuPont Energy retained only 6%. CONSOL Energy purchased the entire stock of the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company on September 22, 1998. CONSOL Energy stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CNX" in 1999, with an initial public offering of more than 20 million shares.

CONSOL Energy produced more than 74 million tons of coal in 1999, accounting for approximately 7% of domestic production. The company currently operates 22 mining complexes, primarily east of the Mississippi River.

Source

Historical note from the Consolidation Coal Company Records, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

The Archives Center holds a number of collections that document coal.

Coal and Gas Trust Investigation Collection (NMAH.AC.1049)

Hammond Coal Company Records (NMAH.AC.1003)

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records (NMAH.AC.0071)

Lehigh Valley Coal Company Records (NMAH.AC.1106)

Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company Records (NMAH.AC.0282)

Materials in Other Organizations

Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

CONSOL Energy, Inc. Mine Maps and Records Collection, 1857-2002

AIS.1991.16

The CONSOL Energy Inc. collection contains coal mine maps, related documents and topographical information, as well as surface maps and detailed information on mine accidents. Additionally, there are technical drawings, outside notes on multiple mines, traverse and survey books, information on companies and railroads with which CONSOL conducted business, and a variety of non-print materials including photographs, negatives and aperture cards. Digital reproductions of selected material are available online.

CONSOL Energy Inc. West Virginia and Eastern Ohio Mine Maps and Records Collection, 1880-1994

AIS.2004.22

The CONSOL Energy Inc. West Virginia and Eastern Ohio Mine Maps and Records Collection contains coal mine maps as well as surface maps and detailed information on mine accidents in West Virginia and Eastern Ohio. Additionally, there are technical drawings, related documents, traverse and survey books, publications and photographs.

Consolidation Coal Company Records, 1854-1971, bulk 1864-1964

AIS.2011.03

The Consolidation Coal Company (Consol) was created by the merger of several small operators mining the Georges Creek coal basin in Allegany County, Maryland. The company expanded rapidly in the early twentieth century through the purchase of substantial tracts in the coal fields of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky as well as docks and distribution facilities in the Great Lakes region. By 1927, Consol was the nation's largest producer of bituminous coal. Following a merger with the Pittsburgh Coal Company in 1945, the company pursued a policy of acquiring companies which afforded opportunities for greater diversification while selling off unprofitable lines. In addition, a new research and development division was created to fund projects aimed at developing more efficient production methods and new outlets for coal consumption. The records of the Consolidation Coal Company and its affiliated companies are arranged in seven series. Minute books and contract files provide the most comprehensive documentation in this collection.
Provenance:
Donated to the National Museum of American History in 1987 by Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
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 intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Accidents  Search this
Children -- 20th century  Search this
Coal miners  Search this
Company towns  Search this
Churches  Search this
Coal mines and mining -- Safety measures  Search this
Construction  Search this
Dams  Search this
Gardens  Search this
General stores  Search this
Hospitals  Search this
Housing  Search this
Kindergarten  Search this
May Day  Search this
Mine safety  Search this
Mines -- Kentucky  Search this
Mines -- Maryland  Search this
Mines -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Mines -- West Virginia  Search this
Mining corporations  Search this
Mining equipment  Search this
Mining -- Kentucky  Search this
Mining -- Maryland  Search this
Mining and minerals industry  Search this
Mining -- Pennsylvania  Search this
Mining -- West Virginia  Search this
Railroads -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Schools -- school houses -- Classrooms  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- 20th century
Photographs -- 20th century
Photograph albums -- 20th century
Window displays
Citation:
Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company photographs and other materials, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1007
See more items in:
Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company photographs and other materials
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86027ae9f-9a84-4277-adcf-d0b5e919ac6a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1007
Online Media:

Annual Report of the Chief of Transportation and Telegraph Department of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1865. (pamphlet)

Collection Creator:
United Telegraph Workers.  Search this
Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this
Container:
Box 849
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. 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:
Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
See more items in:
Western Union Telegraph Company Records
Western Union Telegraph Company Records / Series 27: Addenda / Addenda for Miscellaneous
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b508b888-5a93-4bc7-8423-c0e6c143d7e1
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0205-ref11956

Who has got mail?

Title:
History of mail in America
Author:
Osborne, Linda Barrett 1949-  Search this
Subject:
United States Postal Service History  Search this
United States Postal Service History  Search this
Physical description:
236 pages illustrations (some color) 22 cm
Type:
Juvenile literature
Instructional and educational works
Illustrated works
History
Juvenile works
Matériel d'éducation et de formation
Ouvrages illustrés
Place:
United States
Date:
2023
Topic:
Postal service--History  Search this
JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / United States  Search this
JUVENILE NONFICTION / People & Places / United States  Search this
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Social Science / Politics & Government  Search this
Postal service  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1161061

Boating Across Traditions: Marshallese Canoes and Fishing Gigs in the Ozarks

Creator:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this
Type:
Blog posts
Smithsonian staff publications
Blog posts
Published Date:
Wed, 04 Oct 2023 00:02:00 GMT
Topic:
Cultural property  Search this
See more posts:
Festival Blog
Data Source:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:posts_24bc130215ecd243986c26da7987c270

A Look into the World Premiere of Faith in Blackness: An Exploration of Afro-Latine Spirituality

Creator:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this
Type:
Blog posts
Smithsonian staff publications
Conversations and talks
Blog posts
Published Date:
Mon, 02 Oct 2023 17:31:00 GMT
Topic:
Cultural property  Search this
See more posts:
Festival Blog
Data Source:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:posts_e020973bef045e883af9e77518a56cf9

Walter Horn papers

Creator:
Horn, Walter William, 1908-1995  Search this
Names:
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
University of California, Berkeley -- Faculty  Search this
Charles, Fred  Search this
Duft, Johannes, 1915-  Search this
Dupree, A. Hunter  Search this
Eggenbacher, Christopher  Search this
Harbison, Peter  Search this
Koehler, Wilhelm Reinhold Walter, 1884-1959  Search this
Kunzelman, Charles J.  Search this
Panofsky, Erwin, 1892-1968  Search this
Sennhauser, Hans Rudolf  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Smith, John T.  Search this
von Hummel, Edeltraut  Search this
von Hummel, Helmuth  Search this
Extent:
2.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1908-1992
bulk 1943-1950
Summary:
The papers of art historian and World War II Monuments Man Walter W. Horn measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1908 to 1992, with the bulk of material dating from 1943 to 1950. Walter Horn taught art history at the University of California, Berkeley from 1938 to his retirement in 1974. During World War II, Horn served as Head of the U. S. Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFAA.) The papers contain biographical materials; professional correspondence; records documenting his service in the MFAA; administrative files relating to his work at the University of California, Berkeley; and scattered photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian and World War II Monuments Man Walter W. Horn measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1908 to 1992, with the bulk of material dating from 1943 to 1950. Walter Horn taught art history at the University of California, Berkeley from 1938 to his retirement in 1974. During World War II, Horn served as Head of the U. S. Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFAA.) The papers contain biographical materials; professional correspondence; records documenting his service in the MFAA; administrative files relating to his work at the University of California, Berkeley; and scattered photographs.

Biographical materials include certificates, transcripts, registration books, and diplomas, immigration papers and supporting documentation, birth certificate, passports, and Horn's application for U.S. citizenship. Also found here are papers relating to Horn's academic work, such as bibliographies, curriculum vitae and a few other miscellaneous materials.

The bulk of the papers consist of professional correspondence between Horn and his colleagues. Many of the letters relate to Horn's scholarly publications and projects, especially his seminal work The Plan of St. Gall: A Plan of the Architecture and Economy of, and Life in a Paradigmatic Carolingian Monastery (1979). Prominent correspondents include Meyer Schapiro, Wilhelm Koehler, Fred Charles, Christopher Eggenbacher, Johannes Duft, Hunter Dupree, Peter Harbison, H.R. Sennhauser, and John T. Smith.

Papers and records documenting Horn's World War II service in the the U. S. Army Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section have been arranged in one series. There are scattered letters, including ones from Erwin Panofsky, Charles J. Kunzelman, and Helmuth and Edeltraut von Hummel. There are also letters of inquiry about the recovery of the crown jewels of The Holy Roman Empire. Also found in this series are official Army documents, including a directory and inventory of recovered gold coins; receipts for transporting recovered artwork; art looting investigation, interrogation, and arrest reports; and reports on Horn's investigation and recovery of the crown jewels and the gold coin investigation. There is scattered printed material and photographs of the recovered gold coins and of Helmuth and Edeltraut von Hummel.

Horn's papers also contain a few administrative files from his tenure at the University of California, Berkeley, and one folder of color photographs of Horn's papers being prepared for shipment to the Archives of American Art.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 5 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1908-1989 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, 4)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1937, 1949-1992 (1.2 linear feet; Box 1-2, 4, OV 5)

Series 3: U.S. Army Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section Files, circa 1938-1989 (0.6 linear feet; Box 2-4, OV 5-6)

Series 4: University of California, Berkeley Administrative Files, 1938-1976 (0.1 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 5: Photographs, 1989 (1 folder; Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
Walter William Horn (1908-1995) was a professor of art history at the University of California, Berkeley. During World War II, he served in the Army Intelligence Unit of the Monument, Fine Arts and Archives Section (MFAA.)

Walter Horn was born in Waldangelloch, Germany and graduated from the Gymnasium in Heidelberg in 1926. He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg, Berlin and Hamburg. In 1934 he received his Ph.D. in art history from the University of Hamburg, studying under Erwin Panofsky. His dissertation on the facade of the Church of St. Gilles was published in 1937. Horn fled Nazism in Germany and immigrated to the United States.

In 1938 Horn accepted a position at the University of California at Berkeley as a lecturer in art history, becoming the first state sponsored teacher of art history within California. He quickly became a professor and co-founded the university's Department of Art History.

Horn married twice. His first wife was Ann Binkley Rand. His second marriage was to Alberta West Parker, a physician. They had three children, Michael Peters, Peter Matthew, and Rebecca Ann.

In 1943, Horn became a naturalized American citizen and was soon inducted into the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Detailed Interrogation Center, and by 1945 was serving as a lieutenant in the Third Army Intelligence Center. His German language skills were put to use interrogating prisoners of war and personnel of the Gestapo and S.S. Horn later continued his interrogation work in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). After the war, Horn was assigned to the Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section (MFAA) and became one of the Monuments Men responsible for tracking and recovering art works and other cultural heritage objects that had been systematically looted and hidden by the Nazis.

Horn led the team of Monuments Men who recovered the stolen Crown Jewels or Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire. The Crown Jewels, including a crown and sceptre, were discovered walled up in a passage in Nuremburg. Horn also recovered a collection of gold coins valued at $2,000,000 in 1946. He tracked the coins primarily through interrogations of Edeltraut von Hummel. Edeltraut's husband Helmuth von Hummel served as the chief secretary to Martin Bormann, leader of the Nazi Party Chancellery.

After the war, Horn resumed teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Art History until his retirement in 1974. He also helped establish the University Art Museum. In 1949, the school implemented a requirement that all employees must sign a loyalty oath to affirm their allegiance to the state constitution and disavow any intent to overthrow the government. There was substantial outcry among the university faculty and several professors who refused to sign were fired. Horn signed the loyalty oath under protest in 1950. He wrote a letter to the press explaining his decision and expressing his concerns.

In 1979, a decades long collaboration with distinguished architect Ernest Born resulted in The Plan of St. Gall, a three volume work on medieval architecture. The book was praised as a monumental undertaking by the scholarly community upon its publication.

Walter Horn died of pneumonia in 1995.
Related Materials:
Walter Horn papers, 1917-1989, are located at The Getty Research Institution Special Collections.
Provenance:
Walter Horn donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1989. Additional papers were donated by his wife Dr. Alberta Parker Horn in 1998 and 2002.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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:
Art historians -- California -- Berkeley  Search this
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Art thefts -- Germany -- History -- 20th century  Search this
Crown jewels -- Holy Roman Empire  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Walter Horn papers, 1908-1993, bulk 1943-1950. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.hornwalt
See more items in:
Walter Horn papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94f78cd8e-2b64-4ea9-af93-f998c908bca4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-hornwalt
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Lois A. Bingham, 1981 April 16

Interviewee:
Bingham, Lois A., 1913-1996  Search this
Interviewer:
Pennington, Estill Curtis  Search this
Subject:
Adams, Ansel  Search this
National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Lois A. Bingham, 1981 April 16. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11724
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212541
AAA_collcode_bingha81
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212541
Online Media:

Maxwell House can, "Salutes Richard Petty"

Physical Description:
steel (overall material)
plastic (overall: lid material)
Measurements:
overall: 17 cm x 15.7 cm; 6 11/16 in x 6 3/16 in
Object Name:
coffee can
Credit Line:
Gift of David D. Miller III
ID Number:
1994.0214.01
Catalog number:
1994.0214.01
Accession number:
1994.0214
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4d7605d5d-db0c-45cb-ba3b-1f73b9ba447f
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2036926

Deep Sea Thermometer

Measurements:
overall: 8 3/4 in; 22.225 cm
overall: 9 in x 3/4 in; 22.86 cm x 1.905 cm
Object Name:
thermometer
ID Number:
PH.316284
Catalog number:
316284
Accession number:
224564
See more items in:
Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b2-6637-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_1762022
Online Media:

Auto Club Pennant

Physical Description:
wood (overall wood staff)
Measurements:
overall: 38 in x 16 1/2 in; 96.52 cm x 41.91 cm
Object Name:
auto club pennant
pennant
Pennant, with Wood Staff
Other Terms:
Pennant, with Wood Staff; Road
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. Mary Ringoes Walker Harper
ID Number:
TR.330529.01
Catalog number:
330529.01
Accession number:
293466
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4b614af99-6120-4582-a1ef-6d68654f36f2
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2007644

Auto Club Pennant

Physical Description:
wood (overall staff)
Measurements:
overall: 38 in x 16 1/2 in; 96.52 cm x 41.91 cm
Object Name:
auto club pennant
Pennant, with Wood Staff
Other Terms:
Pennant, with Wood Staff; Road
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. Mary Ringoes Walker Harper
ID Number:
TR.330529.02
Catalog number:
330529.02
Accession number:
293466
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4ba989872-48be-4082-9578-8ea24d8c4756
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2007646

Auto Club Pennant

Measurements:
overall: 38 in x 18 in; 96.52 cm x 45.72 cm
Object Name:
auto club pennant
Pennant, with Wood Staff
Other Terms:
Pennant, with Wood Staff; Road
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. Mary Ringoes Walker Harper
ID Number:
TR.330529.03
Catalog number:
330529.03
Accession number:
293466
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng460e6ab4a-3f05-4d0c-a5a8-72e3f554c37d
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2007648

Auto Club Pennant

Measurements:
overall: 38 in x 18 in; 96.52 cm x 45.72 cm
Object Name:
auto club pennant
Pennant, with Wood Staff
Other Terms:
Pennant, with Wood Staff; Road
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. Mary Ringoes Walker Harper
ID Number:
TR.330529.04
Catalog number:
330529.04
Accession number:
293466
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4be4d0880-8079-4801-a6c7-c816ce2fdcf9
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2007650

Auto Club Pennant

Measurements:
overall: 38 in x 18 in; 96.52 cm x 45.72 cm
Object Name:
auto club pennant
Pennant, with Wood Staff
Other Terms:
Pennant, with Wood Staff; Road
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. Mary Ringoes Walker Harper
ID Number:
TR.330529.05
Catalog number:
330529.05
Accession number:
293466
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng48f13a766-ce73-4581-9ac7-9ff384a0b8af
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2007652

Auto Club Pennant

Measurements:
overall: 38 in x 18 in; 96.52 cm x 45.72 cm
Object Name:
auto club pennant
Pennant, with Wood Staff
Other Terms:
Pennant, with Wood Staff; Road
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. Mary Ringoes Walker Harper
ID Number:
TR.330529.06
Catalog number:
330529.06
Accession number:
293466
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng42b65015f-5e40-4adc-8025-a62b9c7971d7
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2007654

traffic light controller

Physical Description:
metal (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
Object Name:
controller
Credit Line:
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration
ID Number:
TR.329786
Catalog number:
329786
Accession number:
283521
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4e5607392-b07e-40d9-b003-9971a1b66901
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2037122

livery for Hansom Cab driver

Physical Description:
silk (overall material)
cotton (overall material)
Object Name:
livery
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. James Parmelee
ID Number:
TR.310393
Catalog number:
310393
Accession number:
117780
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4a62bf9ea-5e10-42e1-b8a1-9db93369129c
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2037126

Ceramic coaster, Mineta*Rockefeller Dinner

Title:
Ceramic coaster, Mineta*Rockefeller Dinner
Measurements:
overall: 3/8 in x 3 5/8 in; .9525 cm x 9.2075 cm
Object Name:
Coaster ceramic
Date made:
October 17, 1986
Credit Line:
Gift of Norman Mineta
ID Number:
1987.3058.15
Nonaccession number:
1987.3058
Catalog number:
1987.3058.15
See more items in:
Political and Military History: Armed Forces History, General
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-08f4-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_1313936

plaster statue of Pedro

Physical Description:
plaster (overall material)
Measurements:
overall: 16 in x 6 1/2 in; 40.64 cm x 16.51 cm
Object Name:
souvenir statue
Credit Line:
Gift of South of the Border (through Ray Schafer)
ID Number:
1985.3162.01
Catalog number:
1985.3162.01
Accession number:
1985.3162
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4be01a8a5-9c80-4761-a9d7-8edbc56320c4
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2036928

salt shaker

Physical Description:
ceramic (overall material)
Measurements:
overall: 2 15/16 in x 2 1/16 in; 7.4422 cm x 5.2324 cm
Object Name:
salt shaker
Date made:
1960s
Credit Line:
Gift of Lorraine Grace Roberts
ID Number:
1984.3032.01
Catalog number:
1984.3032.01
Nonaccession number:
1984.3032
See more items in:
Work and Industry: Transportation, Road
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng4318ab239-54ea-47d3-8c21-a4eead96c152
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_2037045

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