Scrapbooks within Series 8-13 (Personal Scrapbooks, General Scrapbooks, Billboard Project Files, Poster Project Files, Dirigible Project Files, and Urban Improvement Project Files) have been arranged into as accurate a chronological order as possible. They have been numbered consecutively within each series, and scrapbooks containing material concerning multiple products appear before those concerning individual products. Oversized materials from various series have been housed in Boxes 6-11, Boxes 12-32 (sols), BV 33, and OV 34, and are noted in the Series Description/Container Listing Section at the appropriate folder title with see also/see references. Additional oversized boxes may be listed with the appropriate series when they contain oversized material from one series only. The collection has been arranged into 13 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, 1943-1988 (Box 1, 12; 6 folders) Series 2: Correspondence, 1924-1999, n.d. (Box 1; 16 folders) Series 3: Notes, 1941-1997, n.d. (Box 1; 3 folders) Series 4: Writings by Others, 1962, n.d. (Box 1; 2 folders) Series 5: Artwork, 1958 (Box 1; 1 folder) Series 6: Photographs, 1913-1990 (Box 1, 12; .03 linear feet) Series 7: Printed Material, 1905-1999, n.d. (Box 1; 22 folders) Series 8: Personal Scrapbooks, 1942-1982 (Box 12-13; .06 linear feet) Series 9: General Scrapbooks, 1933-1951 (Box 2-5; 4.0 linear feet) Series 10: Billboard Project Files, 1929-1997 (Box 1, 6-7, 14-25, BV 33; 5.0 linear feet) Series 11: Poster Project Files, 1943-1963 (Box 7-8, 14; 1.6 linear feet) Series 12: Dirigible Project Files, 1944-1954 (Box 8-11, 14, 26-28; 3.7 linear feet) Series 13: Urban Improvement Project Files, 1903-1992 (Box 9, 14, 28-32, OV 34; 2.2 linear feet)
Access Note / Rights:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy. Original scrapbooks are closed to researchers because of their fragile condition.
Summary:
The collection measures 17.6 linear feet and dates from 1903 to 1999 (bulk 1924-1992) and documents the career of advertising designer and executive Douglas Leigh. Found are 83 volumes of publicity scrapbooks that contain mostly photographs, clippings, printed materials, and scattered letters, drawings, and blueprints. Also included are professional correspondence; photographs of project installations, aerial advertising, and entertainers; plaques and awards received by Leigh; and printed material, which includes clippings, press kits, advertising materials, designs and original sketches for projects by Leigh. The material reflects Leigh's continuously imaginative use of a wide range of media in promoting his clients' products. Among the projects/campaigns represented are 7up, Airships (Tydol, Flying Red Horse, MGM, Wonder Bread and others), Allied Chemical Tower, Amoco, BlueCross-Blue Shield, Camel cigarettes, Coca-Cola, EPOK, Eveready, Flamingo Frozen Foods, Four Roses Whiskey, Fram Oil Filters, Helmsley Building, Old Gold Cigarettes, Pan Am Building, Pepsi-Cola, R. J. Reynolds, Schaefer Beer, Spectaculars, Stag Beer, Times Tower Building, and Wilson Whiskey.
Citation:
Douglas Leigh Papers, 1903-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
The collection is available on 35 mm microfilm reels 5840-5848 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Use Note:
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.
Biography Note:
Douglas Leigh was born in Anniston, Alabama, in 1907. After graduating from the University of Florida in 1928, he began his career as a salesman for the General Outdoor Advertising Company of Atlanta, Georgia. He moved to New York City in 1930 and developed his ideas for animated and illuminated advertising signs primarily in the vicinity of Times Square. He established his own advertising company, Douglas Leigh, Inc., in 1933 and created the popular Camel Cigarette billboard that featured a man's face exhaling smoke rings over Broadway.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
The Douglas Leigh papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Leigh's widow, Elsie M. Leigh, in 2000.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
