Letters between Charles Lang Freer and Secretary of the Smithsonian Charles Doolittle Walcott between April 13, 1908 and September 19, 1919. Topics include Freer's evolving bequest to the Smithsonian, his thoughts on the nature and goals of his museum, and the construction of the building in Washington, DC.
Freer accession number F1908.1908.17a
Letters between Charles Lang Freer and Charles D. Walcott
Arrangement:
Organized chronologically under correspondent.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 02.1Walcott
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Letters (correspondence)
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Douglas Volk and Leonard Wells Volk papers, circa 1858-1965, 2008, bulk circa 1870-1935. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
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.
Collection Citation:
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Collection, Acc. 1992.0023, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
United States of America -- District of Columbia -- Washington
Varying Form:
Victorian Garden, formerly known as.
General:
The Enid A. Haupt Garden was dedicated on May 22, 1987. It is located between the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arts and Industries Building, and south of the Smithsonian Institution Building, commonly referred to as the Castle. This 4.3 acre area actually sits atop the Quadrangle complex - an underground facility made up of three Smithsonian museum spaces: the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the National Museum of African Art, and the S. Dillon Ripley Center. Above-ground kiosk entrances to the Sackler and African Art museums are located in the Haupt Garden itself. The Haupt Garden contains three discrete gardens within it: the Parterre, the Moongate Garden, and the Fountain Garden.
After the Castle's construction was completed in 1855, the area to its south became known as the South Yard. In 1887, it functioned as a zoo for bison to promote the conservation of their over-hunted population. The bison were moved to the newly-established National Zoological Park in 1889, and for nearly a century, the South Yard was home to a number of different buildings including the Aerodrome Shop, a solar radiation lab, a bug house (where beetles cleaned skeletal remains of animal specimens), temporary storage and collection buildings, a U.S. Army hangar, and a greenhouse and Quonset hut for the Office of Horticulture. In 1976, the Smithsonian's Office of Horticulture (now Smithsonian Gardens) planted the Victorian Garden parterre on the South Yard, in celebration of America's Bicentennial and to complement a Victoriana exhibition on horticulture in the adjacent Arts and Industries Building. This garden was inspired by a similar parterre made for the 1876 Centennial celebration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter authorized $500,000 for the planning and construction of the Quadrangle - an underground complex built in the South Yard - to house the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the National Museum of African Art, and the S. Dillon Ripley Center. In 1982, the Victorian Garden was removed. Construction on the Quadrangle spanned from June 21, 1983 to 1987. Architect Jean Paul Carlhian of the firm Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbot was in charge of designing the Quadrangle complex which incorporated an initial design concept by Japanese architect Junzo Yoshimura.
Once basic construction was complete and soil returned to the ground-level (i.e. roof) of the Quadrangle, it was clear that there was more room for gardens beyond the reincorporated parterre. Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley invited philanthropist Enid A. Haupt to tour the garden site, hoping Mrs. Haupt would finance a Zen garden west of the parterre. In fact, she financed the entire design and construction of the new garden with a $3 million endowment, stipulating that the garden be mature when it opened in 1987. With funds in place, work on the garden began, with the primary goal being to harmonize the stylistically varied buildings in and around the Quadrangle (the three entrance pavilions to the underground museums, the Smithsonian Castle, Freer Gallery of Art, and the Arts and Industries Building). The design of the garden was a collaborative effort between principal architect Jean Paul Carlhian, the landscape architectural firm Sasaki Associates, Inc., landscape architect Lester Collins, and James R. Buckler, Director of the Smithsonian's Office of Horticulture. Together they designed the three gardens described below.
Enid A. Haupt (1906-2005) was a publishing heiress and philanthropist who especially supported American horticulture. In addition to this garden, Mrs. Haupt's horticultural philanthropy created and/or preserved several renowned garden spaces including The Enid A. Haupt Glass Garden at the Howard A. Rusk Institute, NYU Medical Center in New York City; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York; The Haupt Fountains on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.; River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia; and The Cloisters in New York City. In 1994, the American Horticultural Society awarded her the Liberty Hyde Bailey award for her philanthropy.
The Parterre is the Victorian-style centerpiece of the Haupt Garden. It is a carefully manicured garden with a changing palette of colors and textures, laid out in symmetrical patterns that are redesigned every few seasons. Designs incorporate such motifs as diamonds, fleurs-de-lis, and scallops. While parterre is a French term meaning "on the ground," parterres as an ornamental garden style originated in 16th century Renaissance Italy.
The Moongate Garden is next to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and was inspired by the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China. The Temple of Heaven was designed using a geometrical, axial layout, centered on the cardinal points of the compass. The Moongate Garden's dominant features are stone and water, which symbolize the body and spirit of the earth in Chinese culture. Two 9-foot-tall pink granite moon gates stand on the southwest and northeast corners of the garden; two more lie as benches in the opposite corners. A circular platform lies in the center of a granite-paved square pool, connected by bridges to each side of the square.
The Fountain Garden is next to the National Museum of African Art, and was modeled after the Court of the Lions at Alhambra, a 13th-century Moorish palace in Granada, Spain. As with most Islamic gardens, the Fountain Garden is symmetrical and includes a central fountain with four water channels. Respectively, these channels represent paradise itself, and the four rivers of paradise described in the Koran: water, milk, honey, and wine. At the garden's north end is a chadar - a patterned, sloping stone ramp that has water running down it.
The Renwick Gates are cast iron carriage gates at the garden's entrance on Independence Avenue. The gates were erected in 1979, based on an 1849 drawing by James Renwick, Jr., architect of the Castle. The design includes piers made of the same sandstone that went into the Castle's great reddish walls from a quarry in Seneca, Maryland.
A European linden tree once stood in the northeast corner of the South Yard. When construction on the Quadrangle began, Secretary Ripley directed that the tree remain unharmed. Construction personnel and arborists minded the tree, helping it live through the end of construction. However, it died of old age two years later, in 1989.
The Downing Urn was originally erected on the National Mall in 1856 in memory of landscape designer and horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852). The urn was restored in 1972. In 1989, it was moved to where the linden tree had stood in the Haupt Garden.
Plantings include saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana), Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis), weeping Higan cherry (Prunus pendula 'Pendula Rosea'), golden shrimp plant (Pachystachys lutea), coneflower (Echinacea), dusty miller (Senecio cineraria), and pansy (Viola x wittrockiana).
Persons associated with the garden include: Enid A. Haupt (donor, 1987). Jean Paul Carlhian (principal architect, 1987). Lester Collins (landscape architect consultant, 1987). Constantine Seferlis (stonecarver, 1979). James Renwick Jr. (architect, 1849). James Goode (SI Castle keeper, design and construction supervisor, 1979-1987). S. Dillon Ripley (Smithsonian Secretary, 1964-1984). Michael Riordan (horticulturist, 1995- ).
Related Materials:
Enid A. Haupt Garden related holdings consist of 3,124 35mm slides (photographs), 979 photographic prints, 15 contact sheets, 12 transparencies, and digital images
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Gardens -- District of Columbia -- Washington Search this
Genre/Form:
Digital images
Slides (photographs)
Photographic prints
Negatives
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Gardens Image Library, Archives of American Gardens, Smithsonian Institution.
Watkins, J. Elfreth (John Elfreth), 1852-1903 Search this
Extent:
24.28 Cubic feet (64 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Drawings
Manuscripts
Photographs
Publications
Date:
1891-1914
bulk 1891-1900
Summary:
This collection includes information about Samuel P. Langley and his colleagues, as well as documentation of Langley's work. The collection includes biographies of Langley and his assistant Charles Manly, newspaper clippings, correspondence, manuscripts regarding Langley's aircraft, photographs and drawings, work requisitions for the Aerodromes, a sketchbook, specifications and measurements for Langley's experiments, the Langley Memoirs on Mechanical Flight and the Langley "Waste Books."
Scope and Contents:
This collection includes information about Langley and his colleagues, as well as documentation of Langley's work. The collection includes the Aerodrome project waste books, biographies of Langley and his assistant Charles Manly, newspaper clippings, correspondence), manuscripts regarding Langley's aircraft, photographs and drawings, work requisitions for staff labor on the project, a sketchbook, specifications and measurements for Langley's experiments, and manuscript material from the Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight.
The National Air and Space Museum's Samuel P. Langley Collection was drawn from several sources in the Smithsonian Institution. Parts of the collection were separated at undetermined dates from the institutional records of Langley's time as Secretary (now held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives [SIA], as the Samuel P. Langley Papers, 1867-1906, Record Unit 7003) for several purposes:
Design papers and notes from Langley's aerodrome project were used for restoring the Langley Aerodromes for exhibits beginning in 1917.
Correspondence from the papers was consulted when controversies arose between the Wright brothers and the Smithsonian, and over credit for the design of the motor built by Stephen M. Balzer and extensively modified by Charles Manly, which was used on Aerodrome A.
Technical drawings of the Aerodromes were drawn from the SIA in the 1970s for conservation purposes.
Other material was added to the collection over the years:
Correspondence, memoranda, notes and label scripts from Langley exhibits from 1913 through the 1960s.
Design notes and work records from Langley's workshop were stored with the Aerodromes in the Museum's collections, and were later transferred to the Archives Division.
Biographical material on Langley, and correspondence to the Museum on Langley and the Aerodromes.
Material from the foundation of the Langley Aerodynamic Laboratory (now NASA's Langley Research Center) in 1913.
In addition to Record Unit 7003, researchers may wish to consult these Smithsonian Institution Archives' collections:
Record Unit 31, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1866-1906, with related records to 1927.
Record Unit 34, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1887-1907
Record Unit 7268, J. Elfreth Watkins Collection, 1869, 1881-1903, 1953, 1966 and undated.
The Archives Division of the National Air and Space Museum holds the Charles M. Manly Papers, (Acc. 1999-0004). Manly was Samuel Langley's assistant in the Aerodrome project from 1898 to 1903.
Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.
Arrangement:
The Samuel P. Langley Collection is arranged in the following series:
Series 1 - Waste Books: Langley and his staff used waste books - bound ledgers - to keep records of their work on the aeronautical projects, which Langley inspected frequently.
Series 2 - Scrapbooks: A collection of 18 scrapbooks containing newspaper and magazine clippings on "Aerial Navigation". Projects by Langley, Maxim, Lilienthal and many obscure aeronautical experimenters are included. Other clippings are included in Series VIII and XI.
Series 3 - Aeronautical Research and the Aerodromes: This series consists of notes, data, drawings and memoranda from Langley's aeronautical research at both the Smithsonian and the Allegheny Observatory. Subseries 2 contains material used in various Smithsonian exhibitions of the Langley Aerodromes. Some additional material is included in Series 11.
Subseries 3.1 - Design and Construction
Subseries 3.2 - Langley Aerodrome Exhibits
Series 4 - Correspondence: Letters and memoranda written by and sent to S. P. Langley and his assistants, C. M. Manly and J. E. Watkins. Additional correspondence is included in Series 11.
Subseries 4.1 - S. P. Langley Correspondence
Subseries 4.2 - S. P. Langley's Assistants' Correspondence
Subseries 3 - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Series 5 - Manuscripts, Papers, Articles: Manuscripts, published articles and papers by Langley and others. See also Series 11.
Subseries 5.1 - Works by S. P. Langley
Subseries 5.2 - Miscellaneous Manuscripts, Articles, and Notes
Series 6 - Photographs: Photographs, mainly of Langley's Aerodromes. Additional photographs are included with Series 11.
Series 7 - Trade Catalogues and Ephemera: Trade catalogues and price lists from various suppliers and dealers found stored with the "Aerodrome A" at the Museum's Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland.
Series 8 - Miscellaneous Files
Series 9 - Flat Boxes and Oversized Material: Ledgers, drawings, test data, publications
Series 10 - Shorthand Diaries: A collection of 37 notebooks containing notes in an unidentified shorthand system, dating from 1898 to 1902, with 8 notebooks bearing partial dates or undated.
Series 11 - Additional Material: After the publication of the Langley Collection finding aid, two additional boxes of correspondence, manuscript material, drawings and photographs were found in the Museum's rare book room, the Ramsey Room. This material has been included as a separate series.
Biographical / Historical:
Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) was an astronomer, a pioneer of aeronautical research, and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1887-1906). As a young man, Langley studied civil engineering and pursued this as a career until 1864, when his interest in astronomy led him to positions at the Harvard Observatory, the Naval Academy, the Western University of Pennsylvania and the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh. In 1887, Langley was named Secretary of the Smithsonian, and spent the following years in the research, construction and tests of flying machines. On May 6, 1896, his unpiloted Aerodrome No. 5, powered by a 1hp steam engine, flew nearly three quarters of a mile. This flight surpassed by more than ten times the best efforts of any predecessor. In 1898, at the request of the Army's Board of Ordnance and Fortifications, Langley started work on another design - the Great Aerodrome, also known as Aerodrome A. However, two attempts at launching the aircraft in 1903 failed. In addition to his scientific experiments, Langley's writings include Experiments in Aerodynamics and The Internal Work of the Wind, and the Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight, published posthumously. Samuel P. Langley died in Aiken, South Carolina, on February 27, 1906.
A Timeline of Early Aeronautical Milestones and Samuel P. Langley's Life and Career
August 22, 1834 -- Samuel Pierpont Langley born to Samuel Langley and Mary Sumner Williams Langley in Roxbury Massachusetts.
1843 -- William Henson and John Stringfellow publish their design for the "Aeriel", a steam-powered "Aerial Steam Carriage".
1845 -- Langley begins to attend the Boston Latin School.
1847 -- Henson tests a model of his aircraft.
1848 -- Stringfellow and Henson build and test a steam powered model aircraft. It has a wingspan of 10 feet (3.5 meters), and it flies 131 feet (40 meters) before crashing into a wall.
1849 -- Sir George Cayley tests a towed triplane glider. In one test, it flies several yards with a local boy as a passenger.
1851 -- Langley graduates from the Boston High School; begins work as an apprentice with a Boston architect.
circa 1852-1864 -- Langley works for architectural and engineering firms in St. Louis and Chicago.
1853 -- Cayley's coachman flies a glider across Brompton Dale, Yorkshire. The coachman resigns his position after the flight. Cayley conceives the rubber band–powered model airplane. Michel Loup designs a powered twin propeller monoplane with a wheeled undercarriage.
1853-1854 -- L C. Letur tests his parachute-glider design. Letur is killed in a test flight in 1854.
1855 -- Joseph Pline coins the word "aeroplane" to describe a propeller-driven dirigible.
1862 -- Gabriel de la Landelle coins the word "aviation", and later, "aviateur" - aviator.
1864 -- Langley returns to Roxbury. He begins work, with his younger brother John, on a five foot focal length telescope, which they complete over three years.
1864-1865 -- Samuel and John Langley tour Europe.
circa 1865 -- Langley is hired as observatory assistant at the Harvard University Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
January 1866 -- The Aeronautical Society of Great Britain (later named the Royal Aeronautical Society) is founded.
circa 1866 -- Langley is hired as assistant professor of mathematics at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. Duties include restoring the Academy's astronomical observatory to operation.
1867 -- Langley is named professor of Astronomy and Physics at the Western University of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. Duties include directorship of the Allegheny Observatory. His tenure at Allegheny will begin his work at the popularization of science through lectures and writing newspaper and journal articles.
1868 -- Stringfellow builds a model triplane.
1869 -- Langley proposes a system of standard time distribution via the telegraph to railroads and cities. The Pennsylvania Railroad signs on for the service. Langley joins a U.S. Coast Survey expedition to Oakland, Kentucky, to observe the August 7th solar eclipse. He observes later eclipses in 1870, 1878, and 1900.
1870 -- The Allegheny Observatory begins twice-daily time signals to the Pennsylvania Railroad's offices. Other railroads, businesses, and government offices later subscribe to the service. The income from the system aids the operation of the Allegheny Observatory and Langley's research work. Langley travels to Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, to observe a solar eclipse.
1879-1880 -- Langley designs and builds his bolometer for the measurement of the energy of incident electromagnetic radiation.
1879 -- Victor Tatin designs and flies a compressed air-powered seven foot long model.
1881 -- Langley organizes an expedition to Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada Range for solar observations and other scientific studies.
1883 -- Alexandre Goupil builds a bird-shaped unpowered airplane that briefly lifts off in a tethered test while carrying two men.
1884 -- The U.S. Signal Service publishes Langley's report on the Mount Whitney expedition.
1886 -- Langley's interest in aeronautics is kindled by a paper on bird flight by a Mr. Lancaster at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Buffalo, New York. Lancaster also describes making small flying models which he describes as "floating planes" and "effigies".
1887 -- Langley designs and builds his large whirling table at the Allegheny Observatory for the study of aerodynamics; begins aeronautical experimental work. He coins the term Aerodromics for the art of building flying machines from the Greek aerodromoi.
January 12, 1887 -- Langley is appointed Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
November 18, 1887 -- Langley is named Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on the death of Secretary Spencer F. Baird. He retains the directorship of the Allegheny Observatory, dividing his time between Washington and Allegheny until 1891 when James E. Keeler becomes director of the observatory.
1887 -- Hiram Maxim, an American living in Great Britain and inventor of the Maxim machine gun, begins work on a large powered biplane test rig.
1888 -- Langley publishes The New Astronomy.
1889 -- The National Zoological Park is founded, due to Langley's support. A site in Washington's Rock Creek Park is selected by Langley and Frederick Law Olmstead. The Zoo becomes part of the Smithsonian in 1890, and is opened in 1891.
1890 -- Langley founds the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; its first home is in a wooden building behind the Smithsonian Castle. In 1955, SAO moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
March 28, 1891 -- First successful flight of one of Langley's rubber-powered models.
1891 -- Work begins on Langley's "Aerodrome No. 0", powered by two small steam engines. Construction is halted before the aircraft is completed.
1891 -- Otto Lilienthal, a German mechanical engineer, begins a program of flight research using piloted hang gliders of his own design. He and his brother Gustav will go on to design and build 18 gliders over the next five years, making approximately 2,000 flights. Langley's Experiments in Aerodynamics is published by the Smithsonian.
1892 -- Langley's "Aerodrome No. 1" designed and built. Not flown.
1892-1893 -- "Aerodrome No. 2" and "Aerodrome No. 3" are designed and built. "No. 3" is powered by compressed air. Neither is flown.
1893 -- A 38 foot scow is converted into a houseboat with a workshop and launch platform for Aerodrome testing. In May, it is towed down the Potomac to a point near Quantico, Virginia, off Chopawamsic Island. In November, "Aerodrome No. 4" is taken to the houseboat for testing.
November 20, 1893 -- Test flight of "Aerodrome No. 4" - it falls in the water.
December 7, 1893 -- Second flight of "Aerodrome No. 4" – it falls in the water.
July 31, 1894 -- Maxim's large test rig rises briefly from its support rails during a test run.
August 1-4, 1894 -- Octave Chanute and Albert Zahm sponsor the Conference on Aerial Navigation in Chicago, bringing together an international assembly of aeronautical researchers.
October 1894 -- Test flight of modified "Aerodrome No. 4", using improved catapult. Aircraft falls in the water. "Aerodrome No. 5", with a one horsepower gasoline burning steam engine, is also tested. It flies 35 feet for three seconds before stalling and falling into the river.
November 12, 1894 -- Lawrence Hargrave, an Australian researcher, links together four of his box kites, adds a simple seat, and flies to an altitude of 16 feet in the device.
1894 -- Chanute publishes his book Progress in Flying Machines.
1895 -- James Means publishes the first of his three >Aeronautical Annuals.
May 6, 1896 -- "Aerodrome No. 6" is launched from the houseboat's catapult; the left wing collapses and the aircraft lands in the water. Aerodrome No. 5 is launched at 3:05 PM and flies about half a mile in a minute and a half at an altitude reaching 100 feet – the first sustained flight of a heavier than air apparatus. In a second flight at 5:10, Aerodrome No. 5 makes three circles, climbs to about 60 feet, and is airborne for one minute and thirty-one seconds. The flight is witnessed and photographed by Alexander Graham Bell (box 45, folder 9).
June 1896 -- Chanute and Augustus Herring establish a camp at the Lake Michigan dunes near Miller, Indiana to conduct flight tests on a number of gliders – several of Chanute's designs, including his multiwing "Katydid", Herring's copy of a Lilienthal design, and a Chanute-Herring triplane collaboration.
August 9, 1896 -- Lilienthal's glider stalls and crashes from an altitude of about 50 feet. Lilienthal dies of his injuries the next morning. His last words are "Opfer müssen gebracht warden" - "Sacrifices must be made".
November 28, 1896 -- "Aerodrome No. 6" is flown from the houseboat – it flies 4800 feet in one minute and forty-five seconds.
July 1897 -- Ader completes his "Avion III", also known as the "Aquilon". It features two 20-horsepower steam engines and twin tractor propellers, and a wingspan of nearly 56 feet. The aircraft weighs approximately 880 pounds. Ader attempts a flight on October 14; "Avion III" is unable to rise off the ground.
March 25, 1898 -- Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt suggests the military use of the Langley "Aerodrome" to Navy Secretary John D. Long (box 40, folder 10).
April 6, 1898 -- Langley proposes a scaled-up version of the "Aerodrome" for military use to a joint Army-Navy board meeting at the Smithsonian. He requests $50,000 to build a large, piloted version of his earlier designs. The proposed aircraft is called the "Great Aerodrome", or "Aerodrome A".
June 1898 -- Charles M. Manly, a Cornell University engineering student, is hired as Langley's "assistant in charge of experiments".
October 1898 -- Major work begins on the "Great Aerodrome", also known as "Aerodrome A".
December 12, 1898 -- A contract is signed between Langley and Stephen M. Balzer of New York. Balzer is to design and build a 12 horsepower motor to power the "Aerodrome". On the same date, Langley writes to the U.S. Army Board of Ordnance and Fortifications, agreeing to design and build a flying machine. He estimates a cost of $50,000 to build his machine.
May 1899 -- A new, larger houseboat equipped with a turntable and catapult is delivered in Washington.
May 30, 1899 -- Wilbur Wright sends a letter to Langley at the Smithsonian, requesting material pertaining to aeronautical research. He says in his letter that he wishes "… to begin a systematic study of the subject in preparation for practical work." Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Richard Rathbun directs his staff to assemble a package of papers, including Langley's Story of Experiments in Mechanical Flight and Experiments in Aerodynamics. The Wright brothers receive the package three weeks later. They later credit the material they received from the Smithsonian with giving them a "good understanding of the nature of the problem of flying."
June 7 - August 3, 1899 -- Additional flights of "Aerodrome No. 5" and "No. 6" are made from the houseboat at Chopawamsic Island.
July 1899 -- Langley visits Ader's workshop in Paris.
July 1899 -- The Wright Brothers build a five foot biplane kite.
October 2, 1899 -- Percy Pilcher dies of his injury after his Lilienthal-type glider breaks up in flight.
May 1900 -- Langley and the staff of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory observe the May 28 solar eclipse in Wadesboro, North Carolina.
August 1900 -- The Wrights begin to build their first glider, a biplane design with a 17 foot wingspan.
September 1900 -- The Wrights arrive at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to test their glider on the dunes. They begin test flights in early October.
July 1901 -- The Wrights return to Kitty Hawk with a new biplane glider.
August 1901 -- Langley creates the Children's Room, with exhibits designed to inspire interest in science, technology and natural history, in the Smithsonian Castle.
Autumn 1901 -- The Wright brothers return to Dayton and begin a program to develop their own fundamental aeronautical data, building a wind tunnel and a test rig mounted on a bicycle.
September 19, 1902 -- The Wrights complete assembly of their new glider and begin flights the same afternoon. They continue the flights through the autumn. After an early crash, continual modifications improve the design. Wilbur writes to his father, "We now believe the flying problem is really nearing its solution." On their return to Dayton, the brothers file a patent on their design.
July 14, 1903 -- The houseboat is towed down the Potomac to a spot opposite Widewater, Virginia, about 40 miles from Washington.
August 8, 1903 -- Langley's "Quarter-Size Aerodrome" makes a successful flight from the houseboat.
September 3, 1903 -- Work is begun on erecting the "Great Aerodrome" on the houseboat catapult.
October 7, 1903 -- The "Great Aerodrome", piloted by Manly, is launched by the houseboat catapult at 12:20 PM. The aircraft is snagged by the catapult launch car, and drops into the river. Langley was in Washington, and does not witness the attempt. The wreckage of the "Aerodrome" is salvaged.
December 8, 1903 -- The refurbished "Great Aerodrome" is readied for flight on the houseboat, now moored below Washington at Arsenal Point at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. At 4:45 PM, the aircraft, with Manly at the controls, is launched. The tail assembly drags along the launch track, and the "Aerodrome's" tail begins to collapse. The "Aerodrome" drops into the river. Manly is briefly trapped by the wreckage, but cuts himself free and is rescued. In the aftermath of the crash, Langley is ridiculed in the press. Though the Army withdraws its support, Langley receives offers of financial support from businessmen to continue his aeronautical work. He politely refuses these offers and ends his aeronautical activities.
December 17, 1903 -- The Wright brothers make four flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The first flight covered a distance of 120 feet and lasted 12 seconds; in the fourth flight, the "Flyer" traveled 852 feet in 59 seconds.
June 1905 -- The Smithsonian's accountant, W. W. Karr, is accused of embezzling Institutional funds. He is later convicted and imprisoned. Langley holds himself responsible for the loss, and thereafter refuses to accept his salary.
November 1905 -- Langley suffers a stroke.
February 1906 -- Langley moves to Aiken, South Carolina to convalesce.
February 27, 1906 -- After suffering another stroke, Langley dies.
March 3, 1906 -- Samuel Pierpont Langley is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Boston.
May-October 1914 -- The "Great Aerodrome" is refurbished and is tested on Lake Keuka, Hammondsport, New York; the tests are conducted by Glenn Curtiss. Using the Manly-Balzer motor and mounted on pontoons instead of using a catapult launch, the "Aerodrome" makes several short flights, the longest lasting about five seconds. Later a Curtiss 80-hp engine is substituted for the Manly-Balzer motor and a flight of about 3,000 feet is made on September 17. The Smithsonian Institution later displays the "Aerodrome" with an exhibit label that reads "The first man-carrying aeroplane in the history of the world capable of sustained free flight." This claim causes a rift between the Institution and Orville Wright (Wilber Wright had died in 1912) that is not fully mended until 1942. The Wright 1903 "Flyer" is presented to the Smithsonian Institution on December 17, 1948. Today, the "Flyer" is on exhibit in the Milestones of Flight Gallery of the National Air and Space Museum's Mall Building; Samuel Langley's "Great Aerodrome" is displayed at the Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
The Smithsonian Aeronautical Staff:
Langley's staff engaged in his aeronautical work as listed in waste books, drawings and correspondence:
The Smithsonian Aeronautical Staff
F. C. Bache -- Laborer with the U.S. Fish Commission, then located at the Smithsonian.
Carl Barus -- Formerly of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Weather Bureau. Hired in 1893 as a physicist; acted as the liaison between Langley and the Aerodrome project staff. Part of the crew on the houseboat.
Louville Eugene Emerson -- Laborer.
George L. Fowler -- An engineer, Fowler was hired by Langley to help design an engine for the Aerodromes.
William Gaertner -- Instrument maker.
Heed, Jr. -- Name found in a shorthand diary dated 1899 - presumably, a Smithsonian secretary or assistant.
Augustus Moore Herring -- An independent aeronautical experimenter and skilled designer and pilot of gliders; hired by Octave Chanute in 1894 and by Langley as chief assistant in 1895. Herring resigned (or was dismissed) in November 1895 and resumed work with Chanute. In 1908, he competed with the Wrights for the Army Flyer contract, but did not complete a finished aircraft.
Edward Chalmers Huffaker -- An engineer and aeronautical experimenter; built gliders based on the observation of bird flight; had delivered a paper at the International Conference on Aerial Navigation in Chicago, 1893. Recommended by Chanute, Huffaker was hired by Langley in December, 1894. He resigned from the Smithsonian in 1898 and went to work for Chanute.
L. C. Maltby -- Machinist, 1891-1899; assisted in motor design and oversaw the fabrications of the metalwork for the Aerodromes. Part of the crew on the houseboat.
Charles Matthews Manly -- Graduate of Cornell University (1896). Hired by Langley and placed in charge of construction of the Great Aerodrome in 1898. Piloted the Great Aerodrome on its two launch attempts, 1903. Manly resigned from the Smithsonian in 1905. He served as a consulting aviation engineer for different government agencies and corporations, including the British War Office, 1915; the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation 1915-1919 (from 1919-1920 as the assistant general manger); and as a member of the US Commission to the International Aircraft Conference, London, 1918. Manly also completed and edited Langley's Memoir on Mechanical Flight which was published by the Smithsonian in 1911.
Charles B. Nichols -- Smithsonian cabinet maker (1890-1893), in charge of construction of the small rubber powered models.
R. Luther Reed -- Smithsonian carpenter foreman (1880-1904). In charge of construction of Aerodromes No. 5 and 6 following between Herring's departure and Manly's arrival. Worked on design of the Great Aerodrome and the second houseboat. Part of the crew on the houseboat.
B.L. Rhinehart -- Smithsonian mechanic. Built a small steam motor for Aerodrome No. 0 in 1891. Performed design work on an experimental gasoline motor, c.1896.
William L. Speiden -- Draftsman or designer (1893-1899).
John Elfrith Watkins -- Assistant engineer of construction with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Joined the Smithsonian as an honorary curator in the Steam Transportation section in 1885. Named curator of Transportation in 1887. He rejoined the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1892, and later worked at the Field Columbian Museum as director of Industrial Arts. Watkins returned to the Smithsonian in 1895 as the National Museum's curator of Technological Collections. In 1898, he was named curator of the Division of Technology. Watkins also served the Smithsonian as Engineer of Property, 1888-1889, and Chief of Buildings and Superintendence, 1896-1903. Watkins carried on much of the Aerodrome project's correspondence, and was the project's expert in steam engine design.
George B. Wells -- Smithsonian messenger (1894-1903). Most of the collection's shorthand notebooks (Series X) bear his name; possibly, he acted as Langley's stenographer.
William Crawford Winlock -- Curator, Bureau of International Exchange (1889-1899).
Related Materials:
Parts of the collection were separated at undetermined dates from the institutional records of Samuel Langley's time as Secretary (now held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives [SIA], as the Samuel P. Langley Papers, 1867-1906, Record Unit 7003).
In addition to Record Unit 7003, researchers may wish to consult these Smithsonian Institution Archives' collections:
Record Unit 31, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1866-1906, with related records to 1927.
Record Unit 34, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1887-1907
Record Unit 7268, J. Elfreth Watkins Collection, 1869, 1881-1903, 1953, 1966 and undated.
The Archives Division of the National Air and Space Museum holds the Charles M. Manly Papers, (Acc. 1999-0004). Manly was Samuel Langley's assistant in the Aerodrome project from 1898 to 1903.
Langley Technical Files: The Archives Division's technical files are housed in the Archives-Library reading room of the Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Material on Langley and his Aerodromes are housed in folders in the technical files Aircraft Series and in the Biographies Series. Because material from the Samuel P. Langley Collection is thought to have been transferred into the Technical Files, these file headings are included here. In the listings, "Images Available" refers to digital image files available through the Archives Division's image database; these images may be viewed in the Museum's reading rooms.
Langley Technical Files: Aircraft Series Technical Files
Langley (Samuel P.), General -- Photos, Images Available. Folder(s): AL-198600-80
Langley Technical Files: Biographies Series Technical Files
Langley, Samuel Pierpont, general -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-01
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-02
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Aero) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-03
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Aero) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-04
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Astro) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-05
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Astro) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-06
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/Rocket) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-08
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles by/French) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-09
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-10
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-11
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-12
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-13
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (articles on) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-14
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (Awards and Honors) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-15
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (Wright Controversy) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-16
Langley, Samuel Pierpont (Obituaries) -- Documents. Folder(s): CL-094000-17
Langley, Samuel Pierpont -- Photo Dupes. Folder(s): CL-094000-40
Langley, Samuel Pierpont -- Photos. Folder(s): CL-094000-80
Langley, Samuel Pierpont -- Negatives. Folder(s): CL-094000-85
Langley, Samuel Pierpont -- Images available.
Provenance:
Smithsonian generated, transfer, unknown.
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 Permission Requests.
These records are the official minutes of the Board. They are compiled at the direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian, who is also secretary to the Board, after
approval by the Regents' Executive Committee and by the Regents themselves. The minutes are edited, not a verbatim account of proceedings. For reasons unknown, there are no
manuscript minutes for the period from 1857 through 1890; and researchers must rely on printed minutes published in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution instead.
Minutes are transferred regularly from the Secretary's Office to the Archives. Minutes less than 15 years old are closed to researchers. Indexes exist for the period from
1907 to 1946 and can be useful.
Historical Note:
The Smithsonian Institution was created by authority of an Act of Congress approved August 10, 1846. The Act entrusted direction of the Smithsonian to a body called
the Establishment, composed of the President; the Vice President; the Chief Justice of the United States; the secretaries of State, War, Navy, Interior, and Agriculture; the
Attorney General; and the Postmaster General. In fact, however, the Establishment last met in 1877, and control of the Smithsonian has always been exercised by its Board of
Regents. The membership of the Regents consists of the Vice President and the Chief Justice of the United States; three members each of the Senate and House of Representatives;
two citizens of the District of Columbia; and seven citizens of the several states, no two from the same state. (Prior to 1970 the category of Citizen Regents not residents
of Washington consisted of four members). By custom the Chief Justice is Chancellor. The office was at first held by the Vice President. However, when Millard Fillmore succeeded
to the presidency on the death of Zachary Taylor in 1851, Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney was chosen in his stead. The office has always been filled by the Chief Justice
since that time.
The Regents of the Smithsonian have included distinguished Americans from many walks of life. Ex officio members (Vice President) have been: Spiro T. Agnew, Chester A.
Arthur, Allen W. Barkley, John C. Breckenridge, George Bush, Schuyler Colfax, Calvin Coolidge, Charles Curtis, George M. Dallas, Charles G. Dawes, Charles W. Fairbanks, Millard
Fillmore, Gerald R. Ford, John N. Garner, Hannibal Hamlin, Thomas A. Hendricks, Garret A. Hobart, Hubert H. Humphrey, Andrew Johnson, Lyndon B. Johnson, William R. King, Thomas
R. Marshall, Walter F. Mondale, Levi P. Morton, Richard M. Nixon, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, James S. Sherman, Adlai E. Stevenson, Harry S. Truman, Henry A.
Wallace, William A. Wheeler, Henry Wilson.
Ex officio members (Chief Justice) have been: Roger B. Taney, Salmon P. Chase, Nathan Clifford, Morrison R. Waite, Samuel F. Miller, Melville W. Fuller, Edward D. White,
William Howard Taft, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan F. Stone, Fred M. Vinson, Earl Warren, Warren E. Burger.
Regents on the part of the Senate have been: Clinton P. Anderson, Newton Booth, Sidney Breese, Lewis Cass, Robert Milledge Charlton, Bennet Champ Clark, Francis M. Cockrell,
Shelby Moore Cullom, Garrett Davis, Jefferson Davis, George Franklin Edmunds, George Evans, Edwin J. Garn, Walter F. George, Barry Goldwater, George Gray, Hannibal Hamlin,
Nathaniel Peter Hill, George Frisbie Hoar, Henry French Hollis, Henry M. Jackson, William Lindsay, Henry Cabot Lodge, Medill McCormick, James Murray Mason, Samuel Bell Maxey,
Robert B. Morgan, Frank E. Moss, Claiborne Pell, George Wharton Pepper, David A. Reed, Leverett Saltonstall, Hugh Scott, Alexander H. Smith, Robert A. Taft, Lyman Trumbull,
Wallace H. White, Jr., Robert Enoch Withers.
Regents on the part of the House of Representatives have included: Edward P. Boland, Frank T. Bow, William Campbell Breckenridge, Overton Brooks, Benjamin Butterworth,
Clarence Cannon, Lucius Cartrell, Hiester Clymer, William Colcock, William P. Cole, Jr., Maurice Connolly, Silvio O. Conte, Edward E. Cox, Edward H. Crump, John Dalzell, Nathaniel
Deering, Hugh A. Dinsmore, William English, John Farnsworth, Scott Ferris, Graham Fitch, James Garfield, Charles L. Gifford, T. Alan Goldsborough, Frank L. Greene, Gerry Hazleton,
Benjamin Hill, Henry Hilliard, Ebenezer Hoar, William Hough, William M. Howard, Albert Johnson, Leroy Johnson, Joseph Johnston, Michael Kirwan, James T. Lloyd, Robert Luce,
Robert McClelland, Samuel K. McConnell, Jr., George H. Mahon, George McCrary, Edward McPherson, James R. Mann, George Perkins Marsh, Norman Y. Mineta, A. J. Monteague, R.
Walton Moore, Walter H. Newton, Robert Dale Owen, James Patterson, William Phelps, Luke Poland, John Van Schaick Lansing Pruyn, B. Carroll Reece, Ernest W. Roberts, Otho Robards
Singleton, Frank Thompson, Jr., John M. Vorys, Hiram Warner, Joseph Wheeler.
Citizen Regents have been: David C. Acheson, Louis Agassiz, James B. Angell, Anne L. Armstrong, William Backhouse Astor, J. Paul Austin, Alexander Dallas Bache, George
Edmund Badger, George Bancroft, Alexander Graham Bell, James Gabriel Berrett, John McPherson Berrien, Robert W. Bingham, Sayles Jenks Bowen, William G. Bowen, Robert S. Brookings,
John Nicholas Brown, William A. M. Burden, Vannevar Bush, Charles F. Choate, Jr., Rufus Choate, Arthur H. Compton, Henry David Cooke, Henry Coppee, Samuel Sullivan Cox, Edward
H. Crump, James Dwight Dana, Harvey N. Davis, William Lewis Dayton, Everette Lee Degolyer, Richard Delafield, Frederic A. Delano, Charles Devens, Matthew Gault Emery, Cornelius
Conway Felton, Robert V. Fleming, Murray Gell-Mann, Robert F. Goheen, Asa Gray, George Gray, Crawford Hallock Greenwalt, Nancy Hanks, Caryl Parker Haskins, Gideon Hawley,
John B. Henderson, John B. Henderson, Jr., A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., Gardner Greene Hubbard, Charles Evans Hughes, Carlisle H. Humelsine, Jerome C. Hunsaker, William Preston
Johnston, Irwin B. Laughlin, Walter Lenox, Augustus P. Loring, John Maclean, William Beans Magruder, John Walker Maury, Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, John C. Merriam, R. Walton
Moore, Roland S. Morris, Dwight W. Morrow, Richard Olney, Peter Parker, Noah Porter, William Campbell Preston, Owen Josephus Roberts, Richard Rush, William Winston Seaton,
Alexander Roby Shepherd, William Tecumseh Sherman, Otho Robards Singleton, Joseph Gilbert Totten, John Thomas Towers, Frederic C. Walcott, Richard Wallach, Thomas J. Watson,
Jr., James E. Webb, James Clarke Welling, Andrew Dickson White, Henry White, Theodore Dwight Woolsey.
Baekeland, L. H. (Leo Hendrik), 1863-1944 Search this
Collection Creator:
Baekeland, L. H. (Leo Hendrik), 1863-1944 Search this
Extent:
1 Item (6.9" x 4.5".)
Container:
Box 18, Folder 5
Type:
Archival materials
Biographies
Diaries
Place:
Yonkers (N.Y.) -- 1900-1910
Date:
1910 February 1-1910 May 31
Scope and Contents:
Inscription on flyleaf: "Journal from February 1, 1910 to May 31, 1910."
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
The administration of the United States National Museum required curators to submit regular reports on the activities of the departments, divisions, and sections. Prior
to about 1900 these reports were often made monthly and semiannually as well as annually. The reports were traditionally submitted to the Director of the National Museum to
be used in preparing the published Annual Report of the United States National Museum. The individual reports, however, were not reproduced in their entirety in the published
Annual Report and generally contain more information than is to be found in the published version.
Reports were stored by the Office of Correspondence and Reports (later known as the Office of Correspondence and Documents), and then by the Office of the Registrar.
Includes reports submitted to the Director of the United States National Museum by curators and administrators.
The papers of wildlife illustrator, painter, and cartoonist Paul Bransom measure 10.1 linear feet and date from 1862 to 1985. Almost half of the collection is comprised of Bransom's correspondence, which is particularly rich in documenting his early career as an illustrator, and his relationships with authors, art editors, and publishers from the 1900s to the 1940s. Correspondence also contains a wealth of cards, many of which bear reproductions or original artwork by his many artist friends. Also found in the papers are biographical essays, certificates and awards, memorabilia, writings and notes, business files, bibliographies, an artwork inventory, exhibition catalogs, clippings, printed illustrations, pamphlets, photographs, scrapbooks, and original artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of wildlife illustrator, painter, and cartoonist Paul Bransom measure 10.1 linear feet and date from 1862 to 1985. Almost half of the collection is comprised of personal and professional correspondence. Also found in the papers are biographical essays, certificates and awards, memorabilia, writings and notes, business files, bibliographies, an artwork inventory, exhibition catalogs, clippings, printed illustrations, pamphlets, photographs, scrapbooks, and original artwork.
The correspondence is particularly rich in documenting Bransom's early career as an illustrator, and his relationships with authors, art editors, and publishers from the 1900s to the 1940s. Correspondence also contains a wealth of cards, many of which bear reproductions or original artwork by his many artist friends. Correspondence often bears notes made by Bransom about the correspondent. Further documentation of Bransom's career is found in Notes and Writings, including narrative writings and lists of artwork and contacts; and in Personal Business Records, which contain records of transactions with various clients and galleries, as well as bibliographies of works illustrated by Bransom, and an art inventory created posthumously by Mario Cesar Romero.
Printed materials include exhibition records, which are often annotated, and copies of Bransom's illustrations and cartoons as they appeared in print. Also found are clippings about Bransom and other artists he knew; newsletters, pamphlets, and other materials related to organizations with which he was involved; and a copy of his book on animal drawing technique. Photographs depict Bransom, his childhood and family, homes and studios, friends, travels, and other events. Many of the photographs bear identifications by Bransom. The collection has a voluminous Artwork series, which includes two sketchbooks and hundreds of original sketches, drawings, and designs by Bransom, as well as a series of prints and original artwork by others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1862-1979 (Box 1, OV 12; 6 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1903-1984 (Box 1-5; 4.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Notes and Writings, circa 1927-1973 (Box 5, OV 12; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1912-1981 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Materials, circa 1905-1985 (Boxes 6-7, OV 12; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1885-1976(Boxes 7-8, 10; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 7: Scrapbooks, circa 1880s-1970s(Boxes 8 and 11; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 8: Artwork, 1903-1976 (Boxes 8-9, OV 13-22; 1.7 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Wildlife illustrator, painter, and cartoonist Paul Bransom was born in 1885 in Washington, D.C., and grew up sketching animals in his yard and at the National Zoo. He began work as a draftsman for the U.S. Patent Office at age 13, and went on to produce technical drawings for the Southern Railroad Co. and General Electric. He moved to New York City in 1903 and worked for the New York Evening Journal from 1904 to 1907, where he produced the comic "News from Bugville" and other cartoons. During this time, he befriended several New York artists in the cartoon trade, including James Swinnerton, Charles Sarka, T.S. Sullivant, Walt Kuhn, Rudy Dirks, and Gus Mager. He was a member of the Kit Kat Club and joined in their sketch classes and annual skelters. He sketched frequently at the New York Zoological Park, and was eventually invited by the director to use a room in the lion house as his studio. He married Grace Bond, an actress, in 1906.
Bransom's break as an illustrator came from art editor George Horace Lorimer of the Saturday Evening Post, who bought several of his drawings for Post covers around 1907. Bransom began illustrating animal stories regularly in magazines such as Delineator, Country Gentleman, An American Boy, Good Housekeeping, and Ladies Home Journal. In 1912, he illustrated a special edition Jack London's Call of the Wild, and soon after that, the first illustrated edition of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. During his career, Bransom illustrated 45 books and was a regular contributor to 35 magazines, illustrating works by popular writers such as Albert Payson Terhune, J. Frank Dobie, and Emma-Lindsay Squier. He also created animal scenes for advertisements.
In 1917, Bransom built a studio on Canada Lake, NY, in the Adirondacks and he and his wife split their time between the Canada Lake home and a winter apartment on 67th Street in New York City. In 1949, he bought a second summer home near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in what is now the Grand Teton National Forest. In Wyoming, Bransom hosted artist friends and taught outdoor classes for the Teton Artists Associated until 1962, when his health forced him from the high altitudes back to Canada Lake, NY.
Bransom held his first solo exhibition in 1925 at Arden Gallery in New York City, and had at least 18 solo exhibitions around the country throughout his life, including at the Warren E. Cox Gallery (1929), Charles Scribner's Gallery (1935), the New York Zoological Park (1942), the Society of Illustrators (1942), the Denver Museum (1950), and the Woodmere Gallery in Philadelphia (1963). He often exhibited in the annual group exhibition of the Society of Animal Artists, a group he co-founded in 1960 and served as its second president, from 1968 until his death. Bransom was also a member of the American Watercolor Society, the American Artists' Professional League, the Salmagundi Club, the Dutch Treat Club, and the Boone and Crockett Club. In 1974 Bransom was granted an honorary Doctor of Art degree from Weber State College in Ogden, Utah. In 1975 he won the Benjamin West Clinedinst Memorial Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Painting.
Paul Bransom died in 1979 at the age of 94.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds the Helen Ireland Hays papers related to Paul Bransom, which contains 36 audio cassette recordings of Hays interviewing Bransom, among other materials. The Special Collections Division of the Stewart Library at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah holds the Paul Bransom Collection, a collection containing artwork, books from Bransom's personal library, manuscript material and photographs donated by Bransom in 1972 and 1974.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of 17 items lent for microfilming (reel D254). Some of this material was later donated to the Archives, portions of which were then transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library and are available in their vertical file on Bransom. Loaned material is not described in this finding aid.
Provenance:
The material on reel D254 was lent for microfilming in 1966, portions of which were subsequently donated along with additional papers by Bransom between 1972 and 1975, and by his nephew's wife, Althea Bond, in 1980. Mario Cesar Romero, identified by an AAA collector as the "Curator of the Bransom collection" and creator of an inventory of Bransom's artwork, donated additional materials to the Archives in 1983 and 1986, including printed materials, photographs, correspondence, records from the artwork inventory project, and scrapbooks. In 1985, James Zayicek donated 11 sketches and eight greeting cards via Helen Ireland Hays, a writer and a noted friend of Bransom's.
Restrictions:
The bulk of the collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized 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.
Museums in New York : a descriptive reference guide to ninety fine arts museums, local history museums, specialized museums, natural history and science museums, libraries, botanical and zoological parks, commercial collections, and historic houses and mansions open to the public within the five boroughs of New York City / by Fred W. McDarrah ; foreword by Thomas P. F. Hoving ; special landmarks c...
