Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
29 documents - page 1 of 2

Ralph H. Baer Papers

Creator:
Baer, Ralph H., 1922-2014  Search this
Extent:
16 Cubic feet (45 boxes and 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Audiocassettes
Cd-roms
Diagrams
Drawings
Interviews
Videotapes
Correspondence
Sketches
Photographs
Oral history
Notes
Manuals
Date:
1943 - 2015
Summary:
Ralph H. Baer was a German-born ordnance specialist, inventor, and engineer. He was a pioneer of early videogame technology. The papers include autobiographical materials; firearms notes, manuscripts, and photographs; and videogame and television engineering notes, diagrams, schematics, and video documentation.
Scope and Contents:
The Ralph Baer Papers include autobiographical materials and an extended oral history interview. The Papers also include materials about military small arms created by Baer during his World War II service. The largest portion of the collection documents Baer's work on video games.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 12 series.

Series 1: Autobiographical Documents, 1962-2006

Subseries 1.1: Manuscript, book and other documents, 1962-2006

Subseries 1.2: Other Media: CDs, VHS videos, periodical, 1991, 2000-2003

Series 2: WW II Small Arms Documents, 1943-1953

Subseries 2.1: Correspondence, 1950-1953

Subseries 2.2: Writings and notes, 1943-1948

Subseries 2.3: Drawings and schematics, undated

Subseries 2.4: Manuals and encyclopedias, 1943

Subseries 2.5: Photographs, 1945

Series 3: Hans Otto Mauksch Materials, 1944-1964

Subseries 3.1: Personal background information, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1964

Subseries 3.2: Instructional materials, 1944-1946, undated

Subseries 3.3: Ft. Riley, Kansas, 1946, 1953

Series 4: TV Game Documents, 1966-1972

Subseries 4.1: Working notes, diagrams and schematics, 1966-1971

Subseries 4.2: Administrative documents, 1966-1972 Subseries 4.3: Notebooks, 1966-1968

Subseries 4.4: TV game development documentation, 1966-1968

Series 5: Sanders Associates, Transitron, and Van Norman Industries, 1952-2003

Series 6: Product Development Documents, 1974-2015

Series 7: Product Guides and Technical Support, 1943-2011

Series 8: Legal and Patent Documents, 1966-2014

Series 9: Writings and Notes, 1946-1999

Series 10: Miscellaneous, 1961-2012

Series 11: Correspondence, 1983-2014

Series 12: Publicity and Awards, 1979-2015
Biographical / Historical:
Ralph H. Baer (1922-2014) was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1938. A graduate of the National Radio Institute (1940), Baer worked as a radio technician in the New York City area, servicing all types of home and auto radios. During World War II, Baer served in the United States Army, one year stateside, and two years in Europe. He was assigned to Military Intelligence and became an expert on military small arms. Baer returned to the United States with eighteen tons of foreign small arms for use in exhibits at Aberdeen, Maryland; Springfield, Massachusetts Armory; and Ft. Riley, Kansas.

After the war, Baer attended the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago, graduating with a BS in television engineering. In 1949, Baer joined a small electro medical equipment firm, Wappler, Inc., as their chief engineer. He designed and built surgical cutting machines, epilators, and low frequency pulse generating muscle-toning equipment. In 1951, Baer moved to Loral Electronics of Bronx, New York as a senior engineer, designing power line carrier signaling equipment for IBM. During 1952-1956, Baer worked at Transitron, Inc., in New York City as a chief engineer and later as vice president. In 1956, Baer joined Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire building airborne radar components. He became manager of the Electronic Design Department at Sanders and eventually Division Manager and Chief Engineer for Equipment Design. Baer retired in 1987.

At Sanders in 1966, Baer began an independent project experimenting with ways for consumers to interact with standard home television sets. Development of interactive TV Game (TVG) ideas became a company-supported project continued by Baer and assisted by William H. Harrison and William T. Rusch (download the TV Game chronology prepared by Ralph Baer in 2006). By mid-1967, ping pong videogames were played inside Sanders, patent disclosures were applied for, and hardware was designed. Baer and his associates called the devices they were developing "boxes" and numbered the various versions one through seven. In 1971, Magnavox became Sanders Associates's first videogame licensee. Between 1972 and 1975, Magnavox produced and sold over 700,000 units of Odyssey, a set of games played on its television receivers. Atari became a licensee in 1976 after the first of many lawsuits won by Sanders in pursuit of patent infringements.

During his tenure at Sanders and thereafter, Baer was a prolific inventor. His creations included many electronic toys and games and other consumer electronic products. Among the better known products based on Baer's work are Milton Bradley's Simon, Galoob's Smarty Bear Video, and Kenner's Laser Command. In 2004 President George W. Bush awarded Baer the National Medal of Technology.

Baer married Dena Whinston in 1952 and they had three children, James, Mark, and Nancy. Ralph Baer died on December 6, 2014, at the age of 92.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Ralph H. Baer Innovative Lives Presentation, August 15, 2009 (NMAH.AC.1179)

The presentation documents a moderated conversation about Baer's life and work. Baer reenacts, with his partner William Harrison, the first time he played "Odyssey," the first home video game for the consumer market, which he invented, and answers questions from the audience. Materials include original video (born digital), master videos, and reference videos.

Materials at Other Organizations

Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play at The Strong

Ralph H. Baer Papers, 1968-2010 inclusive; 1975-1998 bulk

The Ralph H. Baer papers are a compilation of correspondence, game designs, drawings, notes, reference materials, photographs, product descriptions, digital videos, schematics, electronic components, and manuals utilized by Ralph H. Baer throughout his lengthy career in the toy and game industry. The bulk of the materials are from 1975 through 1998.

U.S. Ordnance Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia

Materials consist of data on foreign small arms brought back from Europe in 1946 by Ralph H. Baer.

Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, New York

Holdings include set of seven recreations of "TV game" prototypes originally created between 1966 and 1969, donated by pioneering game developer Ralph Baer. One of Baer's game prototypes, known as the "Brown Box," was licensed by Magnavox and released in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey, the world's first commercial home video game console.

University of Texas, Austin, Briscoe Center for American History

Ralph H. Baer "Brown Box" replica, 1952-1983, 2006-2012

The Ralph H. Baer "Brown Box" replica includes a fully-functional replica of Ralph Baer's "Brown Box," the prototype video game console that was used as the basis of the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. The collection also contains related research materials.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Medicine and Science holds artifacts related to this collection including early video game prototypes and TV Game products.

TV Game Unit #1 (TVG#1); 1966; vacuum tube spot generator with Heathkit IG-62 Generator (See Accession 2006.0102.01)

Heathkit IG-62; used with TVG #1 (See Accession 2006.0102.02)

TV Game Unit #2 (TVG #2), aka the "Pump Unit," 1967; large aluminum chassis with wooden "pump" handle (See Accession 2006.0102.03)

TV Game Unit #7 (TVG#7), aka "Brown Box," 1967/1968; prototype for Magnavox Odyssey (See Accession 2006.0102.04)

Cardboard program cards for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.05)

Lightgun, 1967/1968; game accessory for Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.06)

TV Game Unit #8, 1968; "de/dt" (velocity responsive) ballgame chassis for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.07)

Magnavox Odyssey (Model ITL200) video game unit, 1972; with all accessories in the original carton (See Accession 2006.0102.08)

Milton-Bradley Company SIMON handheld microprocessor-control game, 1978 (See Accession 2006.0102.09)

Ideal Toy Company MANIAC microprocessor-control game, 1979, in original box with game instructions (See Accession 2006.0102.10)

Golf Game accessory, 1968; golf ball mounted on joystick handle for use with Brown Box (See Accession 2006.0102.11

"Brown Box" programming card, target shooting, 1967 (See Accession 2006.0102.12)
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Ralph H. Baer in 2003.
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. Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Books  Search this
Firearms  Search this
Games  Search this
Litigation  Search this
Inventions -- 20th century  Search this
Machine guns  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Weapons  Search this
Video games  Search this
Toys -- 20th century  Search this
Television -- History  Search this
Rifles  Search this
Pistols  Search this
Military intelligence  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes
Audiocassettes
CD-ROMs
Diagrams
Drawings -- 1940-1950
Interviews -- 2000-2010
Videotapes
Correspondence -- 1950-2000
Sketches
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1940-1950
Photographs -- 20th century
Oral history -- 2000-2010
Notes
Manuals -- 1940-1950
Citation:
Ralph H. Baer Papers, 1943-2015, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0854
See more items in:
Ralph H. Baer Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep82f137fe4-60d3-4527-aa78-fed55d4b4fef
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0854
Online Media:

Claude Williams Papers

Creator:
Williams, Claude, 1908-2004  Search this
Fouse-Williams, Blanche Y.  Search this
Extent:
1 Electronic discs (CD)
13 Cassette tapes
4.66 Cubic feet (14 boxes, 3 map- folders)
Container:
Map-folder 1
Map-folder 3
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Electronic discs (cd)
Cassette tapes
Letters (correspondence)
Photographs
Programs
Posters
Scrapbooks
Financial records
Awards
Business records
Audiotapes
Articles
Manuscripts
Date:
1920-2005
Summary:
Business and personal papers, photographs, and audio recordings of Claude "Fiddler" Williams, an award-winning jazz fiddler. Although Williams played music for almost a century the materials in this collection date largely from 1970 to 2005.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the later life and career of jazz violinist Claude "Fiddler" Williams. Materials include correspondence, photographs, unpublished writings, awards, business records, financial records, programs and a few music manuscripts. There is one scrapbook and several audio recordings. There are also an autographed poster from 1997 honoring five inductees to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, including Claude Williams, Merle Haggard, Patti Page, Woody Guthrie and Eddie Burris. While there are some materials from Williams's youth, the vast majority of the collection dates from 1970. Williams's second wife, Blanche Y. Fouse-Williams, was vigilant about saving his papers. She also managed his career for the last few years of his life. This accounts for the increased volume of materials documenting his later years. Materials generally are arranged in chronological order within series and subseries.

Series 1, Business Records, 1973-2005, undated, is divided into seven subseries and includes business records, information relating to tours and performances, awards and certificates, business and personal correspondence, financial papers, articles and newspaper clippings, and biographical information.

Subseries 1, Events, 1977-2004, undated, includes contracts, copies of newspaper clippings, performance programs, brochures, ticket stubs, travel itineraries, travel receipts, correspondence, materials regarding his work as a fiddle teacher, advertisements for performances, a certificate of recognition, and napkins saved from a Washington Education Television Association (WETA) performance at the White House in 1998. Materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 2, Itineraries, 1990-2001, includes lists and correspondence detailing locations, musicians, travel and lodging plans, and financial compensation for William's performances. Materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 3, Awards and Certificates, 1978-2002, contains awards and certificates of appreciation from the Steamboat Delta Queen, Annual Black Musicians Conference, Kansas City Chapter of the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors, and the Manhattan School of Music, as well as an invitation to a reception honoring Kansas City Jazz musicians from the Consul General of Japan. Materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 4, Correspondence, 1975-2004, consists of information relating to travel arrangements, tours, remuneration, music recordings, press kits, contracts, public television performances, involvement with the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as Williams's Smithsonian Folkways recording. Materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 5, Financial Papers, 1990-2005, includes information about travel and payment, hotel bills and receipts, invoices for performances, music recordings sales, royalty statements and copies of checks. Materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 6, Press, 1973--005, undated, includes magazines, newspaper clippings and articles, about Williams's performances and music, appearances and jazz festivals, as well as the Kansas City Jazz scene. Magazine titles include Kansas City Magazine , Missouri Alumnus , The Masters Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program , Jazz Ambassador Magazine , Kansas City Ambassador to Jazz , The Mississippi Rag , Fiddler Magazine , Jazz News , Jazz Times , Living Blues , Blues Access , and Kansas City . Materials are arranged by type and then in chronological order.

Subseries 7, Music, 1989-1995, undated, contains thirteen audio tape recordings, one CD, sheet music and set lists of music performed by Williams. There is an audio recording of Black and Blue: A Musical Revue , a Folk Master performance at Carnegie Hall. Williams's work with James Chirillo, an appearance on Birdflight , as well as recordings of live and studio performances are also included among these materials. There is a copy of Williams's CD Swingtime in New York and an interview from1992. Materials are arranged in chronological order.

Series 2, Personal Papers, 1978--005, undated, is divided into two subseries and contains letters, cards, postcards, invitations, copies of email, and requests for information and interviews. Most of the correspondence was addressed to Williams but there are materials that were sent to Blanche Williams. The correspondence is generally from fans, friends and family.

Subseries 1, Correspondence, 1978-2005, undated, consists of birthday cards from school age children, postcards, copies of newspaper clippings, White House and other government correspondence, congratulations or birthday wishes, as well as personal correspondence from friends inquiring about Williams's health and well-being. Also included is a draft for a chapter in a book on Claude Williams's contributions to jazz. Requests relating to research about Williams are also included. Materials are arranged in chronological order. Materials are arranged first by type followed by general correspondence in chronological order.

Subseries 2, Miscellaneous, undated, contains ephemera, autographs, affiliates list, well-wishes to Blanche Williams, a funeral program, mailing lists, lists of affiliated organizations, and a Count Bassie autograph.

Series 3, Photographs, 1977-2004, undated, includes personal and professional photographic prints and negatives of Williams. Subjects include performances and festivals, headshots and publicity, images of other musicians, family, friends, and posters with photographs created for his funeral. The majority of these photographs are of performances. Materials are arranged by subject.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1, Business Records, 1973-2005, undated

Subseries 1.1, Events, 1977-2004, undated

Subseries 1.2, Itineraries, 1990-2001

Subseries 1.3, Awards and Certificates, 1978-2002

Subseries 1.4, Correspondence, 1975-2004

Subseries 1.5, Financial Papers, 1990-2005

Subseries 1.6, Press, 1973-2005, undated

Subseries 1.7, Music; 1989-1995, undated

Series 2, Personal Papers, 1978-2005, undated

Subseries 2.1, Correspondence, 1978-2005, undated

Subseries 2.2, Miscellaneous, undated

Series 3, Photographs, 1977-2004, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Claude "Fiddler" Williams, 1908-2004, was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the son of a blacksmith. His musical gifts developed at a very early age, and he quickly became adept at the guitar, banjo, mandolin and cello, learning mostly by ear, without formal training. After hearing the jazz violinist Joe Venuti, the violin became his instrument of choice, and it remained so for the rest of his life. He migrated to Kansas City in 1927 and toured with several territory bands. Additionally Williams toured with the Twelve Clouds of Joy and the Cole Brothers, and in 1936, joined Count Basie's band as the first guitarist. After he was fired from Count Basie's band because John Hammond thought Williams's guitar solos were taking too much attention away from Basie, he went back to the violin (or "fiddle" as he preferred to call it) and focused exclusively on it for the rest of his life. Later he started his own band and toured with several jazz groups working for a short time with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). His band appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Nice Jazz Festival, and the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folk Life. Williams received numerous honors and awards, including induction into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, a proclamation from the city of Kansas City, and a 1998 National Heritage Fellowship which included a $10,000 award. President Bill Clinton invited him to perform at one of the parties celebrating his first inauguration. Williams continued to tour and perform until well into his nineties. He also gave instruction at Mark O'Connor's annual fiddle camp to young violinists. Mr. Williams died in April 2004.
Separated Materials:
Artifacts donated to the Museum's Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) include a suit and violin. See accession numbers: 2005.3105 and 2007.3020.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Claude Williams's widow, Blanche Y. Fouse-Williams, in 2005.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Technical Access: Do not use original materials when available on reference audio tapes.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Jazz -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Jazz musicians -- United States  Search this
Violinists  Search this
Musicians -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.
Photographs -- 2000-2010
Programs
Posters -- 1950-2000
Scrapbooks
Financial records
Awards
Business records -- 20th century
Audiotapes
Articles
Photographs -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- Music -- 20th century
Citation:
Claude Williams Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0909
See more items in:
Claude Williams Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep82736f8a2-824b-43e6-96c8-6449a163c087
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0909
Online Media:

Dorothy Horstman Oral History Field and Radio Show Recordings

Creator:
Horstman, Dorothy, 1930-1999  Search this
Cline, Patsy  Search this
Horstman, Madi  Search this
Horstman, Fritzi  Search this
Mare, Frank  Search this
Lynn, Loretta  Search this
Snow, Hank  Search this
Rodgers, Jimmie  Search this
Williams, Hank (Harold), 1934- (musician)  Search this
Tubb, Ernest  Search this
Acuff, Roy  Search this
Extent:
11 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Audiocassettes
Recordings
Oral history
Interviews
Date:
1959-1999.
Summary:
Tape recordings containing oral history and radio show recordings of country and western music, collected and produced by Dorothy Horstman.,Recordings include such musicians as Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Hank Snow, and Roy Acuff.
Scope and Contents note:
The Dorothy Horstman Oral History Field and Radio Show recording consist of 351 cassette audio tapes and 164 reel-to-reel audio tapes documenting her field research and radio shows dedicated to the creative process associated with the composers of Country and Western songs. Also included in her collection are 82 reel-to-reel audio tapes complied by Mrs. Horstman and her colleague Mr. Frank Mare. Mr. Mare is a microbiologist from New Jersey, currently residing in Covington, GA. In his free time he is an avid collector of Country and Western recording of the 1920s and 1930s, a music critic, a writer of liner notes, and an information guide to the Country and Western music genre.

The collection is organized into three series. Series 1 comprises the 351 cassette audio tape recordings of the oral history interviews that Mrs. Horstman conducted in the field. They contain the social history of the music, the creative process behind song writing for each artist or theme, and often include biographies and backgrounds of the individuals she interviewed. Series 2 contains 164 reel-to-reel audio tapes of Mrs. Horstman's WNYC radio shows. They trace the history and influence of the music, often using primary material from her interviews that no longer exist in other forms. The shows are devoted to individual artist, composers, or themes, and often include her own commentary and insight. Shows 113-127 are based on the chapters of Mrs. Horstman's book, Sing Your Heart Out Country Boy. Shows in this series without a playlist could not be listened to because of preservation reasons and therefore are unavailable for use. Series 3 comprises the 82 reel-to-reel audio tapes compiled by Frank Mare and Mrs. Horstman. They consist of tape recordings of songs that are in Mr. Mare's personal collection. They were made at the request of Mrs. Horstman as part of her research of the music and her personal
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 3 series.

Series 1: Oral history and field recordings, 1961-1999

Series 2: Radio show recordings, 1972-1977

Series 3: Frank Mare and miscellaneous recordings, 1959-1976
Biographical/Historical note:
Songwriter and Journalist Dorothy Horstman (1930-1999), began her love affair with Country and Western music early in life. She was born in Georgia, adopted and raised in Louisiana. She attended the University of Texas at Austin in the 1950s and became a registered nurse. In 1959 she married James Horstman and would later make her home in New York City, taking her love for Country and Western music with her. It is here that her interest in the creative process of song writing moved from a personal interest to one that would include a more public persona. Although never academically trained, Mrs. Horstman spent four decades between 1954-1999, conducting countless interviews with some of the most important artist and performers in Country and Western music. Following the example of Sigmund Spaeth, Dorothy left no door closed in her search for the facts and origin to a particular song. In the mid-1970s, she put her research to work in her own weekly WYNC radio show. Many will remember her signature opening of "Hello Country Fans. . ."

In 1975 Mrs. Horstman published her first book titled, Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy, in it she continued to work with the concept she originated known as song annotation or the process of learning the origin and inspiration of a song and its connection to the people.

Prior to her death in September 1999, Dorothy had just completed work on her second book titled, America's Best Loved Country Songs. It is being posthumously published.

Dorothy Horstman once wrote that "Country music is as American as mom's apple pie. . . (covering such values as) God, country, home, mother, good and evil, right and wrong." Spanning four decades the Dorothy Horstman Oral History Field and Radio Show recording collection portrays the astonishing range of this genre. Contained within it are such country legends as Jimmie Rodgers who, is not only known as the "Father of Country Music," but who also helped move country music from its hillbilly roots of instrumentals to its modern day vocal sound and style. Ernest Tubb, who throughout his fifty year career in the business helped some of country music's greats, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Pasty Cline, Charlie Walker, and Hank Snow get their start. Roy Acuff once named the "King of Country Music" by baseball great Dizzy Dean, who along with Fred Rose formed Acuff-Rose Publications, Nashville's first country music publishing company. And the Carter Family, also known as the "first family of country music," who blended tradition songs and lyrics with their own musical and vocal techniques to help put country music on the map during the 1930s.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Madi and Fritz Horstman, 2000.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research and access to user copies of tapes, on site by appointment.
Rights:
Copyright restrictions. Fritzi and Madi Horstman retain all rights to these recordings. Contact the Archives Center for more information.
Topic:
Country musicians  Search this
Country music  Search this
Radio programs, Musical  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes -- 1950-2000
Audiocassettes
Recordings
Oral history
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Citation:
Dorothy Horstman Oral History Field and Radio Show Recordings, 1959-1999, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0723
See more items in:
Dorothy Horstman Oral History Field and Radio Show Recordings
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8381f0acc-99f4-405c-b616-5f3c203d2921
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0723

New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society Collection

Creator:
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library  Search this
Duke Ellington Society, New York Chapter  Search this
Names:
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this
Extent:
1.1 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Newsletters
Oral history
Audiotapes
Interviews
Date:
1960-1991
Scope and Contents note:
68 cassette audiotape recordings of oral history interviews and presentations, and 55 newsletters compiled by the New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society, 1960-1991.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1: Agendas and Newsletters, 1986-1995

Series 2: Audio Cassetttes, 1986-1995, undated
Biographical / Historical:
The New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society is located in New York and focuses on the life and career of musician and composer, Edward "Duke" Ellington.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Morris Hodara, February 4, 1992.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use on site, by appointment, but collection is unprocessed.
Rights:
Certain restrictions on usage: Any use of these recordings for publication (in electronic or print form) must provide a credit line with the name of the speaker or interviewee, the name of the person conducting the interview, and the date (when available). The credit line also must contain the following statement: "original recording in the Duke Ellington Society Archives at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, New York, New York." Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Jazz -- 1950-2000  Search this
Music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Musicians -- United States  Search this
Jazz musicians -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Newsletters -- 1950-2000
Oral history -- 1950-2000
Audiotapes -- 1950-2000
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Citation:
New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society Collection, 1960-1991, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. (See Conditions Governing Use for additional credit line information.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0390
See more items in:
New York Chapter of the Duke Ellington Society Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b4d16810-e018-4107-a903-24915edcc557
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0390

Brookhaven National Laboratory Bubble Chamber Records

Creator:
Brookhaven National Laboratory  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Electricity and Modern Physics  Search this
Names:
United States. Dept. of Energy  Search this
Extent:
1.67 Cubic feet
Container:
Box 1
Box 2
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Motion pictures (visual works)
Logs (records)
Photographs
Date:
1959 - 1960
Scope and Contents:
Documentary materials relating to the construction and operation of the 80-inch hydrogen bubble chamber at Brookhaven National Laboratory: a 16mm film of the construction of the bubble chamber; 6 reels of audiotapes from the operation of the bubble chamber, 8 rolls of 70mm film of particle tracks; 3 rolls of 35mm film of particle tracks; a log book of the bubble chamber, recording the discovery of the Omega-minus particle; an operations manual for the chamber; and a "user package" for the chamber. Some of the film records the discovery of the Omega-minus particle.
Arrangement:
1 series. Unarranged.
Separated Materials:
The bubble chamber itself is in the Division of Medicine and Science. See Accession No. 1978.2309.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Brookhaven National Laboratory, through Bernard J. McAlary, December 15, 1994.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Particles (Nuclear physics)  Search this
Particle tracks  Search this
Nuclear physics  Search this
Bubble chambers  Search this
Accelerators  Search this
Subatomic particles  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes -- 1950-2000
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1960-1980
Logs (records)
Photographs -- 35mm -- 1950-2000
Photographs -- 70mm -- 1950-2000
Citation:
Brookhaven National Laboratory Bubble Chamber Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0522
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8fb4a4bcd-cecb-4421-9948-870d5d36a399
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0522

Michio and Aveline Kushi Macrobiotics Collection

Creator:
Kushi, Aveline, 1923-  Search this
Kushi, Michio, 1926-  Search this
Ohsawa, George  Search this
Extent:
29 Cubic feet (88 boxes)
339 Cassette tapes
218 Video recordings
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Cassette tapes
Video recordings
Videotapes
Vernacular photographs
Snapshots
Lectures
Audiotapes
Cookbooks
Date:
1960-2006, undated
bulk 1970-1989
Summary:
Publications, photographs, articles, audio and video recordings, and teaching materials relating to the rise of Macrobiotics in the United States, as popularized by Michio and Aveline Kushi. The bulk of the material was produced for the Kushi Foundation, Kushi Institute, and East West Foundation.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the work of Michio and Aveline Kushi as writers and teachers in popularizing macrobiotics in the United States. It consists largely of publications and recordings produced by three organizations created by the Kushis: the East West Foundation, the Kushi Foundation, and the Kushi Institute. The collection also includes publications and recordings created by others involved in macrobiotics and related areas. The materials in this collection span the years 1960 through 2006, but the bulk of the material is from the 1970s and 1980s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: East West Foundation, 1966-1991; undated

Subseries 1.1: Publications, 1966-1991

Subseries 1.2: Foundation Information, 1974-1988; undated

Series 2: Kushi Foundation, 1968-1999; undated

Subseries 2.1: Background Information, 1987-1989

Subseries 2.2: Forms and Publications, 1968-1995; undated

Subseries 2.3: One Peaceful World Campaign Information, 1973-1999

Subseries 2.4: One Peaceful World Press Publications, 1991-1999

Series 3: Kushi Institute, 1979-1999; undated

Subseries 3.1: Educators' Materials, 1983-1994

Subseries 3.2: Student Materials, 1979-1981; undated

Subseries 3.3: Course and Conference Materials, 1979-1999; undated

Subseries 3.4: Patient Files, circa 1980s-1991 (Restricted)

Subseries 3.5: Kushi Foundation Prison Project, 1993-1996

Subseries 3.6: AIDS Research Project, 1983-1989;undated

Subseries 3.7: Video Tapes, 1983-1989; undated

Sub-subseries 3.7.1: Educational, 1984-1989; undated

Sub-subseries 3.7.2: Promotional, 1983; undated

Subseries 3.8: Audio Tapes, 1980-1997; undated

Sub-subseries 3.8.1: Lectures, 1984; undated

Sub-subseries 3.8.2: Consultations, 1980-1982; undated (Restricted)

Sub-subseries 3.8.3: Simon's Rock College Summer Conference, 1987

Sub-subseries 3.8.4: , Summer Conference, 1988

Sub-subseries 3.8.5: Summer Conference, 1989 and 1990

Sub-subseries 3.8.6: Summer Conference, 1993

Sub-subseries 3.8.7: Summer Conference, 1997

Sub-subseries 3.8.8: Other and Unidentified Materials, 1985-1989; undated

Series 4: Michio Kushi Papers, 1981-1995; undated

Subseries 4.1: Biographical Information, undated

Subseries 4.2: Papers and Publications, 1981, 1995; undated

Subseries 4.3: Correspondence, 1984-1992

Series 5: General Publications, 1978-1996, undated

Subseries 5.1: Books by Michio and Aveline Kushi, 1979-1997

Subseries 5.2: Articles relating to Macrobiotics, 1982-1993; undated

Subseries 5.3: Books relating to Macrobiotics, 1978-1996

Subseries 5.4: Foreign Books, 1979-1995

Series 6: Other Macrobiotics Organizations and Publications, 1960-2006; undated

Subseries 6.1: East West Center of Washington, D.C., 1981-1988

Subseries 6.2: Oshawa Foundation, 1960-1990, undated

Subseries 6.3: Macrobiotic Organizations and Publications, 1969-2006; undated

Subseries 6.4, Miscellaneous Materials, undated

Series 7: Photographs, 1964-1971, 1994; undated
Biographical / Historical:
Macrobiotics is both a comprehensive vegetarian diet and a spiritual world view based on ancient Asian beliefs and practices. Founded by Sagen Ishizuka, macrobiotics began as a reaction to the introduction of western foods into Japan in the late nineteenth century. Ishizuka attempted to restate traditional Japanese beliefs in modern scientific terms in A Chemical Theory of Long Life, published in 1897, and A Method for Nourishing Life, published in 1898.

Ishizuka believed that the key to good health was the relationship between potassium and sodium. Health is maintained when these two elements are in good balance. If there is not a good balance, then one will become ill. Ishizuka believed the best way to maintain this balance was through a cereal based diet.

Ishizuka, along with his disciples, founded the Food Cure Society in 1908 to advance his ideas. After his death in 1910, society members, including Manabu Nishihata, a physician and social activist, carried on the work.

Yukikazu Sakurazawa, also known as George Ohsawa, joined the Food Cure Society in 1919. In 1923, after the destruction of his company in an earthquake, Ohsawa joined the staff of the society full time to disseminate its ideas. Mr. Ohsawa wrote many books for the society including a biography of Ishizuka. Ohsawa's most important contribution to the philosophy of macrobiotics was the incorporation of the concepts of Yin and Yang into macrobiotics.

In the 1930s Ohsawa traveled as a representative of the society across Europe to spread the philosophy of macrobiotics. After disagreements with the leadership of the society, Ohsawa left the organization in 1939 to start his own group.

Following his release from prison during World War II for his peace efforts, Ohsawa established macrobiotic teaching centers in Yokohama and Tokyo. It was at this point that Ohsawa met Michio Kushi. Michio Kushi was born in Kokawa, Wakayama-Ken, Japan, on May 17, 1926. While a student at Tokyo University, he became involved with the World Federalist Movement (WFM), an American organization working for world peace. It was through the WFM that Kushi met George Ohsawa. Kushi studied under Ohsawa for one year and then moved to New York City in 1949 to study political science at Columbia University.

While living in New York, Kushi came to believe that by returning to a traditional diet of whole, natural foods, humanity would regain its physical and mental balance and become more peaceful. It was at this time that Kushi began to teach the macrobiotic way of life.

Aveline Kushi was born Tomoko Yokoyama in 1923 in Yokota, Japan. Before coming to the United States for higher education in 1951, she was a member of the World Government Association, run by George Ohsawa. She married Michio Kushi in 1954 and was an active partner in their macrobiotic efforts. She wrote cookbooks and an autobiography. Aveline Kushi died in 2001.

Michio Kushi's work in New York grew steadily until 1965 when a pregnant woman died due to her decision to go on an austere form of the diet. After the death of this woman many medical authorities came out against macrobiotics. The close proximity in time of this incident and the death of George Ohsawa greatly damaged the movement. After these incidents Kushi decided to start over in Boston.

After the move to Boston, Kushi emerged as a prominent teacher and started to develop his own interpretation of macrobiotics. Kushi founded the East West Foundation and began to publish the magazine, The Order of the Universe. In 1970, East West Journal, intended for the general public, began publication. The scope of East West Journal was not limited to macrobiotics. It covered a variety of New Age topics and became the center of one of the first New Age networks. East West Journal provided contacts for people interested in eastern philosophies.

In 1975 Kushi began summer residence courses for serious students of macrobiotics and in 1977 he founded the Kushi Institute, now located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshire Mountains. The mission of the Kushi Institute is to train people in the ways of macrobiotics. The Institute offers a variety of classes around the themes of "health, healing, and well being." In the 1980s the Kushi Institute expanded its programs by creating the Kushi Foundation Prison Project and conducting research in the fight against AIDS. In 1986 the Kushi Foundation started the One Peaceful World campaign. This campaign's mission was to remind the public that peace begins with the individual, family, and community.

Sources: "Aveline Kushi 78, Leader in Health Food Movement," Associated Press, July 6, 2001 http://www.imss.macrobiotic.net/avelinekushi.html (consulted October 1, 2008) "Aveline Kushi, 78, Advocate of Macrobiotic Diet for Health," New York Times, July 23, 2001
Separated Materials:
In addition to the archival materials, the Division of Science, Medicine, and Society (now Division of Medicine and Science) acquired sixty-six artifacts. See accession numbers 1997.3165 and 1999.3026.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History by Michio and Aveline Kushi in August, 1997.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.

Series 3, Subseries 3.4: Patient Files and Subseries 3.8: Consultation Audio Tapes are restricted for seventy-five years (to 2066).

Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Technical Access: Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Vegetarianism -- 1960-2000  Search this
Macrobiotic diet -- 1960-2000  Search this
New Age Movement -- 1960-2000 -- United States  Search this
Family -- 20th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Videotapes
Vernacular photographs
Snapshots
Lectures -- 1950-2000
Audiotapes -- 1950-2000
Cookbooks -- 1900-1990
Citation:
Michio and Aveline Kushi Macrobiotics Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0619
See more items in:
Michio and Aveline Kushi Macrobiotics Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8d8330b7a-a8c2-465a-9f17-e0e96147ed36
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0619
Online Media:

George W. Sims Papers

Author:
Sims, George W.  Search this
Collector:
National Anthropological Archives  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Community Life  Search this
Extent:
5 Cubic feet (22 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Manuscripts
Audiotapes
Scrapbooks
Slides (photographs)
Place:
Carmel (Calif.)
Panama Canal (Panama)
California
Date:
1896-1981.
Summary:
Collection documents Sims's activities as a traveler and his interest in historic restoration. It includes forty-one notebooks, 6,000 color slides, a smaller number of photographic prints, forty-one stereo view cards, and three boxes of personal papers and ephemera. While some images are personal, the majority form a documentary record of various subjects and places and provide biographical information on Sims.
Scope and Contents:
These papers document Sims's activities as a traveler and his interest in historic restoration. They consist of forty-one notebooks, Series 1-4; and three boxes, Series 5-9, of personal papers and ephemera. Series 5-7 are particularly valuable for biographical information. Series 10 includes 6,000 color slides, a smaller number of photographic prints, and forty-one stereo view cards. The total volume of the collection is approximately eleven linear feet.

The notebooks cover the years 1896, 1908-1913, 1918, and 1934-1976. The notebooks are written in a documentary styles that is enhanced by literary touches and perceptive details. The subjects include visits to several national parks, the Boronda adobe, and travel on most continents.

The 6,000 35mm slides that Sims took between 1944 and 1976 portray the use of the automobile in travel, national and international touring, and family travel. They are organized by either trip or location. They document his collecting, research, and restoration interests, and complement his written and artistic work. In technique, Sims's photographs are at least a cut above amateur photography. The slides remain in the order in which the Archives Center received them. In some cases they are organized, captioned, and numbered as a slide program. In other cases, while they are captioned they are not part of a specific slide program that Sims organized. Usually the identification in the Detailed Container List represents Sims' s own captions, which have been copied from the slide sleeves.

While some images are personal, the majority form a documentary record of various subjects and places. All the slides are dated and labeled or captioned, either on box inserts or on the slides themselves. The slides are generally organized by trip. Of particular interest is the documentation of Sims's restoration of the Boronda adobe. These slides are well captioned and show the step by step process.

The slides include many early Kodachromes from the 1940s in excellent condition. These represent the few examples of this type in the Museum. Although these slides are not extraordinarily rare, they are a very early example of the color process.

There are also black and white prints and a few color prints. Some of these document an automobile trip along the California coast in the 1930s. All the black-and-white prints portray the photographer for Sims's concern to document his travels adequately and in a meaningful way.

The three document boxes of supplemental material includes articles, correspondence (for example, a letter to Sims from the Henry Ford Museum thanking him for donating an oral history of a motoring trip he had taken), business cards, certificates of achievement, hotel ephemera, news clippings (Series 12), published travel accounts, printed travel brochures, and audio tapes (Series 11), in which Sims recounts many of his trips over the years. This material is valuable because it provides biographical information on Sims. It also may be useful for exhibits and research. Much of the material—the hotel ephemera and the printed travel brochures and accounts—is similar to ephemera in the Warshaw Collection.

Sims's photographs are similar in content to two other collections in the Archives Center. The Clyde W. Stauffer Family Photographic Album portrays family automobile trips across the United States between 1935 and 1940. The Donald Sultner Welles Collection of travel slides documents locations throughout the United States and around the world.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 12 series.

Series 1:Notebooks, 1896-1975

Series 2: Political Notes, 1964-1976

Series 3: Comments on Vietnam, 1954-1975

Series 4: Moon Landings, 1969-1976

Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1896-1981, undated

Series 6: Correspondence, 1920-1987

Series 7: Biography, 1911-1938

Series 8: Published Material, 1927-1966

Series 9: Artifacts, 1913-1937

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1936-1962

Series 11: Audio Materials

Series 12: Newsclippings, undated
Historical:
Boronda Adobe

In 1946 George W. Sims purchased the old Boronda adobe in the Carmel Valley of California, and over the next ten years he restored it.

The Boronda adobe was built above the Carmel River in 1832 by José Manuel Boronda on his 7,000 acre Rancho de Los Laureles land grant. José was the son of Don Manuel Boronda, the first schoolteacher in California. José was married to Juana Cota of Santa Barbara. The sixty-four foot long house has adobe walls twenty-seven inches thick and hand-hewn redwood beams. Senor and Senora Boronda lived there with their fifteen children. It was in this house that Senora Boronda reputedly made a new cheese much liked by her neighbors and today known as Monterey Jack cheese. She eventually produced enough to sell to the surrounding community.

The Boronda family sold the ranch and adobe to Nathan W. Spaulding in the late 1860s or early 1870s. He was a mayor of Oakland, California. The next owner was the Pacific Improvement Company in the early 1880s, the forerunner of Del Monte Properties Company. A small cheese factory was built to commercialize the product under the name "Monterey Jack." Nevertheless, the adobe eventually became abandoned as a house. Before Sims purchased it the adobe was used as a shelter for dairy cows.

Sims plastered the outside walls to protect the soft adobe bricks and whitewashed the interior walls. The original dirt floor was covered with a floor of two-inch clear, heart redwood, random planks. It slopes downhill as does the roof of the house. The entire house follows the topography of the site. Sims left several cables stretching across the crudely raftered ceiling to support the walls.

Sims reroofed the house with one hundred year old roof tiles from the old Vasquez adobe in Monterey, California. He also constructed a workshop on the cement foundation of the old cheese factory and milk barn, added a carport, and built a fence protected patio of the Mexican type, adjacent to a Spanish garden with gravel paths. The patio walls were made of adobe created from Carmel Valley soil.

The first floor of the adobe consists of a long living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bath. An inside staircase was added and leads to the second floor living room, two bedrooms, and a bath. All of the rooms on the main floor are on a different level. The kitchen at one end of the house is thought to date to the 1790s when the land belonged to the Carmel Mission.
Biographical / Historical:
George W. Sims (1896-1986) was a tax lawyer, certified public accountant, world traveler, and collector of pre-Columbian objects. He spent his childhood in Fairfax County, Virginia. At age seventeen he began the study of law at the Washington College of Law (now American University), and worked at night as a telephone company traffic manager. He was employed as a clerk in the Panama Canal Zone by the Panama Railroad Company, Commissary Branch, from 1915-1916. Sims left Washington, DC, because he needed money for school and received a better salary in Latin America. "The pay was 25% higher there [Panama] than in the U.S.A., because the risks of Yellow Fever were great, and work and living conditions less satisfactory than at home." (Box 8, folder 6) This was the first of his many trips to other countries. He then returned to Washington and graduated from law school.

Between 1918-1919 he served as sergeant first class in the aviation section of the Signal Corps. He was stationed for a time at the Vichy (France) Hospital Center, a part of the United States Base Army Hospital, No. 115. After the war Sims did graduate work in accounting at Benjamin Franklin University in the District of Columbia, studying at night. During the day he worked in the Navy Department's communications section.

In 1919 Sims and a few friends traveled west on one of the early automobile trips across the United States. In July he visited Fresno, California. He returned that same year to Washington, DC, and "made plans for making the West (and Fresno) his permanent home." In January, 1924, Sims returned with his wife to fulfill those plans and thus began his long time love affair with the West and California." (Scrapbooks: Vol. 38, Box 8, folder 2)

After his first wife Katherine died in 1946, Sims spent much time on world cruises. His destinations included North, South, and Central America, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Between 1946 and 1956 he also purchased and restored the 1832 Boronda adobe in Carmel, California.

Sims married Emma Marenchin Sims on her birthday November 2, 1971 in Santa Barbara, California. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Sims (1914-? ) worked in the public health field after graduating from Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She remarked, "My world opened up when I married George." Sims died in 1986.
Provenance:
Collection donated by George W. Sims, January 10, 1985.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Travel photography  Search this
Adobe houses  Search this
Pre-Columbian objects  Search this
Vichy France  Search this
Audio tapes  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 20th century
Manuscripts
Audiotapes
Scrapbooks -- 20th century
Slides (photographs) -- 1950-2000
Photographs -- Phototransparencies -- 20th century
Citation:
George W. Sims Papers, 1896-1981, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0127
See more items in:
George W. Sims Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85d82cdde-b7ee-4b6e-b9f6-6698d75d53d0
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0127
Online Media:

Go Forth and Serve: African American Land Grant Colleges Audiovisual Collection

Creator:
National Museum of American History (U.S.)  Search this
Bunch, Lonnie G.  Search this
United States. Department of Agriculture  Search this
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.  Search this
Names:
Go Forth and Serve: Black Land Grant Colleges (Exhibition) (Washington, D.C.: 1990)  Search this
Howard University  Search this
Former owner:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History  Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot
18 Videocassettes (VHS)
15 Cassette tapes
38 Videocassettes (Video 8)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Videocassettes (vhs)
Cassette tapes
Videocassettes (video 8)
Videotapes
Oral history
Interviews
Audiotapes
Date:
1992-1993
Summary:
An oral history project that grew out of the exhibit "Go Forth and Serve" which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the drafting of the second Morrill Act, which provided funds for the founding of land grant schools of higher education for black students.
Scope and Contents:
Oral history interviews, on film and audio, on the subject of African American land grant colleges, conducted in conjunction with the exhibition "Go Forth and Serve" at the National Museum of American History in 1990.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into one series. It is organized alphabetically by the name of college or university that is the subject of the interview.
Biographical / Historical:
"Go Forth and Serve", an exhibition curated by Lonnie Bunch and Spencer Crew, opened in March 1990 at the National Museum of American History to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the drafting of the second Morrill Act, which provided funds for the founding of land grant schools of higher education for black students. The exhibition was co-sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. There was a subsequent newsletter, and oral interviews were conducted.
Provenance:
Collection made by the Smithsonian Institution Division of Cultural History, National Museum of American History.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Reference copies must be used. Access and use of audiovisual materials available in the Archives Center reading room.
Rights:
Reproduction may be limited due to intellectual property rights. No releases exist.
Topic:
Alcorn State University  Search this
Tennessee State University  Search this
Fort Valley State University  Search this
South Carolina State University  Search this
Delaware State University  Search this
Prairie View A & M University  Search this
West Virginia State University  Search this
Langston University  Search this
Lincoln University (Jefferson City, Mo.)  Search this
University of Maryland Eastern Shore  Search this
Kentucky State University  Search this
State universities and colleges  Search this
Genre/Form:
Videotapes -- 1990-2000
Oral history -- 1950-2000
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Audiotapes -- 1950-2000
Citation:
Go Forth and Serve: African American Land Grant Colleges Audiovisual Collection, 1992-1993, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0614
See more items in:
Go Forth and Serve: African American Land Grant Colleges Audiovisual Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8ba9d0324-51aa-4f0c-8584-230fd86526d1
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0614

Amelia Earhart Project Recordings

Creator:
Jourdan, David W.  Search this
Long, Elgen Marion, 1927-  Search this
Names:
Nauticos Corporation  Search this
Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937  Search this
Noonan, Frederick  Search this
Extent:
4.5 Cubic feet (5 legal document cases and 13 cassette tape boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
1959-1998
Summary:
This donation consists of 156 separate interviews or sound sources collected by Elgen Long while he was researching and writing his book, Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved which promotes the theory that Amelia Earhart's aircraft came to rest at the bottom of the ocean near Howland Island.
This collection is in English.
Scope and Contents:
The donation consists of 156 separate interviews or sound sources, some comprising two or more tape sides. Most of them are interviews conducted by Long, including interviews with: crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Itasca; Naval and Coast Guard officials; mechanics and engineers involved in the maintenance of Earhart's aircraft; New Guinea and Australia residents and radio operators; friends, family and associates of Earhart and Noonan; and advocates of alternative disappearance theories. There are also radio interviews and a few movie soundtracks and miscellaneous items. The total running time of the collection is 13,209 minutes (220sca hours). This donation also includes a hard drive which holds 387 audio files in .mp3 or .mp4 format (each file is an interview with the possibility of multiple interviews per tape).
Arrangement:
Arrangement by donor.
Biographical / Historical:
Elgen Long collected oral recordings, both interviews and sound sources, while he was researching and writing his book, Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved which promotes the theory that Amelia Earhart's aircraft came to rest at the bottom of the ocean near Howland Island. These tapes were also used throughout Long's partnership with David W. Jourdan, founder of the deep-sea exploration company Nauticos, during their three attempts to locate Earhart's aircraft on the ocean floor (2002, 2006, and 2017).
Provenance:
David Jourdan, Gift, 2020, NASM.2020.0025
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Topic:
Aeronautics  Search this
Underwater exploration  Search this
Flights around the world  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Sound recordings -- Audiotapes -- Audio cassettes -- Music
Citation:
Amelia Earhart Project Recordings, NASM.2020.0025, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NASM.2020.0025
See more items in:
Amelia Earhart Project Recordings
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2e9335b2f-1f78-465d-9314-4c94c3885e5e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nasm-2020-0025

William "Cat" Anderson Collection

Creator:
Anderson, William "Cat", 1916-1981 (musician)  Search this
Names:
Cat Anderson Quintet  Search this
Duke Ellington Orchestra  Search this
Lionel Hampton Orchestra  Search this
Mingus Quintet  Search this
Bechet, Sidney (musician)  Search this
Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994  Search this
Carter, Benny, 1907-2003  Search this
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this
Fitzgerald, Ella, 1917-1996  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978  Search this
Humphrey, Muriel  Search this
Johnson, Lucy Bird  Search this
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973  Search this
Tatum, Art, 1909-1956  Search this
Webster, Ben  Search this
Extent:
5 Cubic feet (12 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Transcripts
Oral histories (document genres)
Oral history
Phonograph records
Photographs
Recordings
Interviews
Clippings
Audiotapes
Awards
Audiocassettes
Articles
Date:
1940-1981
bulk 1963-1977
Scope and Contents note:
Primarily audiotapes, sheet music, and photographic images. Also: correspondence, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, itineraries, awards, and ephemera.,Of particular interest are recordings or photographic images, including the personalities listed below, and President and Mrs. Tubman of Liberia; also, two interviews and three recordings of Cat Anderson as guest with various university and college jazz bands.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into four series.

Series 1: Music

Series 2: Original tapes and recordings

Series 3: Photographs

Series 4: Miscellaneous
Biographical/Historical note:
Cat Anderson (Sept 12, 1916 - April 29, 1981) was one of the premier trumpet players of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Known for his effortless high notes, he was a strong section leader and a great soloist whose style exhibited humor and precision. He grew up in Jenkins= Orphanage in Charleston, SC, received basic music training there, and participated in many of their famous student ensembles. He formed and played with the Cotton Pickers, a group of orphanage teens while still a young man. Before joining Ellington in 1944, he played in several big bands, including Claude Hopkins and Lionel Hampton. Anderson left the Ellington organization from 1947 through 1949 again to lead his own group. From 1959 to1961 and after 1971 Anderson free lanced, working with the Ellington orchestra intermittently. He died in 1981 after receiving honors from the US Air Force, the Prix du Disque de Jazz, and the City of Los Angeles.
Related Archival Materials:
Related artifacts include: awards, plaques, mutes, trumpet mouth pieces, and the Jon Williams/Cat Anderson simulator in the Division of Cultural and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life). See accession: 1998.3074.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History in January 1998, by Dorothy Anderson, Cat Anderson's widow. It was acquired through negotiations with her, her brother, Mr. John Coffey and her nephew, Andrew Brazington. The materials were picked up from Mr. John Coffey of upper N.W. Washington, DC on January 21, 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Master tapes not available to researchers.
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.

Copyright status of items varies. Signed copies of releases on file.
Occupation:
Composers -- 20th century  Search this
Topic:
Music -- 20th century  Search this
Music -- Acoustics and physics  Search this
Musicians -- 20th century  Search this
Piano and synthesizer music  Search this
Inventions -- 1980-2000  Search this
Synthesizer music  Search this
Electric engineering -- 1980-2000  Search this
Band musicians  Search this
African American musicians  Search this
Jazz musicians -- United States  Search this
Inventors -- 20th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuscripts -- Music -- 20th century
Transcripts
Oral histories (document genres)
Oral history
Phonograph records
Photographs -- 20th century
Recordings
Interviews
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Clippings -- 20th century
Audiotapes -- 1940-1980
Awards
Audiocassettes
Audiotapes
Articles -- 1940-1980
Citation:
William "Cat" Anderson Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0630
See more items in:
William "Cat" Anderson Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep891a9a0e4-7c4f-4956-b81e-6d65c57e1f29
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0630
Online Media:

Catherine Hann Papers

Creator:
Hann, Catherine (Huynh bach Thuy)  Search this
Names:
United Nations. Office of the High Commissioner for Human RIghts.  Search this
United States Catholic Conference. Migration and Refugee Services  Search this
Extent:
0.6 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Interviews
Oral histories (document genres)
Correspondence
Identity cards
Diaries
Audiotapes
Checkbooks
Date:
1953-2006
Summary:
Papers relating to Catherine Hann's life in Vietnam (1953-1981), her flight by boat to Malaysia and stay at Pulau Bidong refugee camp (February --September 1981), her immigration to the United States (September 1981), and her work in Maryland as a circuit board assembler, manicurist and esthetician.
Scope and Contents:
The Catherine Hann Papers are divided into five series: Life in Vietnam, pre-1981; Stay in Malaysia, 1981; United States, 1981-2006; Oral History Interviews, 2002, 2006; and Photographs, 1955-2005.

Series 1 consists of four documents from Hann's life in Vietnam: an official copy of Hann's 1953 birth certificate, her college student ID, her Gia Long High School student ID and her 1974 South Vietnamese identity card.

Series 2 documents Hann's stay in the Pulau Bidong refugee camp off the coast of Malaysia and her family's medical processing in Kuala Lumpur. Especially interesting is a small diary Hann kept in 1981 documenting the building of the fishing boat, the voyage in the Gulf of Thailand, the stay at Pulau Bidong and Kuala Lumpur, and the family's first few months in the United States. There is an English translation of the diary. Other materials in this series include letters sent by relatives and friends to Hann in the refugee camp, papers documenting a family member's attempt to sponsor the family in the U.S., and hand-made Certificates of Commendation awarded to Hann's husband for his work in the refugee camp. The original letter with attached photographs from the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur granting permission for the family to immigrate is included.

Series 3 describes Hann's life in the United States as she transitioned from refugee to financially successful American citizen. Uncommon pieces of ephemera are cancelled checks repaying a loan from the United States Catholic Conference for the purchase of plane tickets from Malaysia to the United States. Also included are papers from Hann's seventeen years in the electronics industry, textbooks for manicurist training, a ledger and checkbook from Hann's short-lived Nails & Beauty Spa, Inc., and daily schedules with earnings from her current job at Totally Polished.

Series 4 consists of the original audiocassettes, reference CDs and typed transcript of an oral history conducted by Susan B. Strange, associate curator, with Hann on March 7, 2006, as well as a typed transcript of a December 14, 2002, interview with Hann conducted by Daniel Ekman, a student at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland.

Original photographs in Series 5 document Hann's life in Vietnam, her husband's work in the refugee camp, the family's departure from Pulau Bidong, and Hann at work at Fairchild Space Co. Also in Series 5 is a folder with photocopies of seven photographs taken in 2005 by a Smithsonian staff member of Hann working at her manicure table. Smithsonian negative numbers are included with the photocopies; releases from the photographer, Hann, and the woman having a manicure, are in the Archives Center's control file for this collection. In the same folder are photocopies of five photographs (originals retained by Hann) showing Hann's life in Vietnam; the Archives Center scan number is printed on each photocopy. Hann granted copyright in these five photographs to the National Museum of American History on April 22, 2006; the release form is in the Archives Center's control file.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series with chronological arrangement.

Series 1: Life in Vietnam, 1953-1981

Series 2: Stay in Malaysia, 1981

Series 3: United States, 1981-2006

Series 4: Oral History Interviews, 2002, 2006

Series 5: Photographs, 1955-2005
Biographical / Historical:
Catherine Hann was born in Saigon, State of Vietnam, on November 14, 1953 as Huynh bach Thuy. (She changed her name to Catherine Hann when she became a naturalized American citizen on June 19, 1987.) Hann, her parents and younger siblings lived in Saigon where her father worked as an instructor at Truong Quan Y, a South Vietnamese Army medical school. In 1968 Hann's family moved further south to Rach-Gia in Kien Giang province to care for Hann's recently-widowed paternal grandmother. Hann, the eldest of twelve children, stayed behind in Saigon, living with a great-uncle, so that she could continue attending Gia Long High School, one of the most prestigious and academically challenging public schools for girls in the country.

After graduation from Gia Long in 1973, Hann attended the University of Science in Saigon where she studied to become a biologist. In 1975, Hann's father, who had worked in a South Vietnamese military hospital in Rach-Gia since his arrival there in 1968, was sent to a "re-education camp." Hann returned to Rach-Gia to be with her mother and to help support the family. She then began attending a teacher training program in Rach-Gia where she trained as a biology teacher. At the training program, Hann met Han Huu Vinh who became her husband in 1976. After graduation, Hann taught biology in a high school in Rach-Gia while her husband taught mathematics in the same school. Their son, Kinh, was born in 1977.

In addition to supplementing the family income with her teacher salary, she also purchased unprocessed rice or "rough rice," had it milled, and sold the resulting white rice. To make a little more money for the family, the hulls and other residue from the milling process were sold as hog food. The future looked bleak, and Hann and her husband decided to take their young son and flee the country.

After two failed attempts to escape by boat, the Hanns were luckier the third time. A family friend obtained permission to build a fishing boat, a small wooden craft only 11.5 meters by 2.1 meters. Hann's family, one of the initiators and organizers of the scheme to use the fishing boat as a means of escape, hired a man who had served in the South Vietnamese Navy to navigate. At 2:05 a.m. on the morning of February 14, 1981, ninety-two people left Rach-Gia on the overloaded boat and headed southwest. Three days later the fishing vessel, towing another boat found stranded after being attacked by pirates, docked at Pulau Bidong, an island off the coast of Malaysia. After five months in the United Nations refugee camp on Pulau Bidong, Hann, husband, son, brother, and husband's nephew were taken to Kuala Lumpur for processing in preparation for immigration to the United States.

Hann's husband's sister, a naturalized American living in Rockville, Maryland, was their sponsor, and on September 11, 1981, the five-member family group arrived in the United States. The five continued to live together for about four years before Hann's brother and her husband's nephew went out on their own. After being on welfare and receiving intensive English-language training, Hann and her husband gradually became self-sufficient. Hann's first job was working in the cafeteria at Montgomery College in Rockville which she left to work at Denro Labs doing electronic assembly. Hann's husband's first job was at Solarex testing solar panels.

After almost ten years in the electronic assembly field, a Vietnamese friend encouraged Hann to train as a manicurist, and in 1992 Hann graduated from the Aesthetics Institute of Cosmetology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. At first she only manicured her own nails, but a year or so later Hann began working on Saturdays at a busy nail salon while continuing to work full-time in the electronics industry. When she learned that doing facials and waxing was faster and more profitable than doing manicures, Hann obtained training and a license to become an esthetician. After her week-day employer, Orbital Science Corp., moved to Sterling, Virginia, in 2000, a long commute for Hann, she started working full-time as an esthetician and manicurist at Totally Polished in Potomac, Maryland.

Hann works six days a week at Totally Polished, and on her day off she spends the morning doing manicures and waxing for private clients in their homes. This hard work has enabled Hann and her husband to pay off the mortgage on their single-family house in Gaithersburg and purchase a rental house in Florida. Their only child, Kinh, also has done well, earning a Master's Degree from the University of Maryland and now (2006) working on his PhD in biomedical engineering. Kinh is employed by Digene Corporation; he bought a house three years ago; and, as his mother proudly states, he drives a brand new BMW. Hann's stated reason for fleeing her country was "for my son's future;" the family's hard work and sacrifices seem to have made her hopes come true.
Separated Materials:
In 2005, the Division of Work and Industry collected manicure tools and soldering test equipment from Hann; in 2006 the division collected facial and waxing-related objects from Hann. Clothing worn on the boat fleeing Vietnam was donated in 2006 to the Division of Home and Community Life, along with tweezers Hann purchased in Saigon and carried throughout her immigration experience. The wedding of Kinh Hann to Leila Poursedehi in 2008 is documented in the Archives Center Weddings Documentation Collection, collection number 1131. The Vietnamese wedding dress that Leila Poursedehi wore at their wedding dinner was donated to the costume collection in the Division of Home and Community Life in 2008.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Catherine Hann, March 18, 2006.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Manicuring  Search this
Naturalization  Search this
Emigration and immigration  Search this
Refugees  Search this
Beauty culture  Search this
Vietnam War, 1961-1975  Search this
Vietnamese Americans -- Biography  Search this
Small business  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 2000-2010
Interviews
Oral histories (document genres)
Correspondence
Identity cards
Photographs -- 1950-2000
Diaries -- 20th century
Audiotapes
Checkbooks
Citation:
Catherine Hann Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0921
See more items in:
Catherine Hann Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85731561f-8d9f-426e-87e6-76c6c86e99d3
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0921
Online Media:

Joseph Pedott Papers

Creator:
Joseph Enterprises, Inc. (San Francisco, California)  Search this
Pedott, Joseph, 1932-2023  Search this
Extent:
2 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertisements
Oral history
Audiotapes
Interviews
Design drawings
Photographs
Packaging
Date:
circa 1976-2005, 2008
Summary:
Papers relating to products developed and marketed by Joseph Enterprises, Inc., including the Chia Pet and the Clapper. The collection includes internal business documentation including correspondence, design drawings, and photographs. Print advertising and packaging samples as well as audiovisual materials make up an important part of the collection. The video collection includes commercials for the Chia and Clapper products as well as clips of product mentions in popular entertainment. In addition, there are two recorded oral history interviews with Joseph Pedott.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the Chia Pet, the Clapper, and other products of Joseph Enterprises, Inc. Other materials include packaging and advertising campaigns by Joseph Pedott Advertising & Marketing for other companies. While fragmentary and limited in extent, these materials illustrate the progress of Joe Pedott's career from a one-man advertising agency to a modest scale, enduring marketing business. The papers include early advertising work for small local clients and for a national client (Eversharp/Parker Pen) and well as early television for a variety of retail products. There is little on unsuccessful products, often just a few advertisements. The materials are complemented by the oral history interviews.
Arrangement:
Collection organized into eight series.

Series 1: Oral History Interviews, September 2004, April 2008

Series 2: Chia Pet, 1981-2005, undated

Series 3: The Clapper, 1976-1985, undated

Series 4: Scribe Ett, 1981, 1984, undated

Series 5: Eversharp Pen Company, undated

Series 6: Various Products, 1985, undated

Series 7: Newspaper Clippings, 1989-2004, undated

Series 8: Audiovisual Materials, 1979-2005, undated

Subseries 8.1, Commercials, 1979-2005

Subseries 8.2, Promotions, 1996-2001
Biographical / Historical:
Joseph Pedott (1932-2023) was born April 14, 1932 in Chicago. He attended the University of Illinois, where he and friend Daryl Peters, began the advertising company, Pedott & Peters. They successfully began producing commercials for automotive and retail companies and made a large amount of money by the time they reached the age of twenty-one. After making a bad business investment the partners focused on completing college. They began building up the company upon graduation.

Pedott and Peters worked together for several years before deciding to dissolve the partnership. Pedott then began working for R. Jack Scott, a Chicago advertising agency. Pedott worked for Scott for just over two years and during that time, out-performed those with more experience in the advertising field. Pedott left Chicago for San Francisco in 1956. He worked briefly at a small firm on commission before forming his own agency, Joseph Pedott Advertising & Marketing. Pedott's firm was innovative in advertising techniques. The company was the first to use "dealer tagging," a technique used at the ends of television commercials. During the last five seconds of the commercial consumers would learn where the advertised item could be purchased.

While attending a Chicago house wares show Pedott noticed the Chia Pet. He spoke with the product owner and learned that while the product was selling well, the owner was losing money on every Chia sold. Pedott bought the name and concept and reworked the manufacturing of the product after a trip to Mexico to witness first hand how the Chias were made. Later pedott moved Chia manufacturing to China. Pedott created a new company, Joseph Enterprises, Inc., (JEI) to manufacture the Chias. Joseph Pedott Advertising ran the advertising campaigns for all of JEI's products while continuing to work for non JEI clients.

After improving the quality of the product, the "new" Chia arrived on the market in 1982 and quickly expanded throughout the country, sold largely at drugstores. Today, the Chia Pet has large name recognition among the American public and continues to be a popular gift, especially at Christmas time. The line has expanded beyond the original ram and bull shapes to include a variety of animals (pig, elephant, kitten, dinosaur, etc.) as well as famous cultural icons such as Jerry Garcia, Bugs Bunny and various Looney Tunes characters, and Homer and Bart Simpson. In addition, the Chia Herb Garden entered the market in the mid-1990s.

Pedott's other success, the Clapper, came about through the advertising campaign for the Great American Turn On. Pedott discovered that the original product did not work properly and felt the owners were cheating their customers. JEI bought the product, including the patent, and reworked the electrical wiring to ensure that the company was selling a high quality product. As with the Chia Pet, The Clapper and its advertising, like the Chia, are familiar to a large number of Americans.

Note: Material for this section was taken from Joe Pedott Oral History Interview Abstract, September 20, 2004, Joseph Pedott Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Related Materials:
Materials in the National Museum of American History

The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds artifacts related to this collection (Accession # 2005.3116) that include:

1. Chia Pet Handmade Clay Decorative Planter with Chia Seeds, Chia pet dog

2. Chia Pet Handmade Clay Decorative Planter with Chia Seeds, Chia pet ram

3. Chia Pet Handmade Clay Decorative Planter with Chia Seeds, Chia pet bull

4. Chia Pet Handmade Clay Decorative Planter with Chia Seeds, Chia-saurus

5. Chia Pet Handmade Clay Decorative Planter with Chia Seeds, Chia Shrek character

6. Handmade Clay Decorative Planter with Chia Seeds, Donkey from Shrek

7. Chia Pet Handmade Clay Decorative Planter with Chia Seeds, Jerry Garcia Chia

8. Bigmouth: A portable, plastic garbage bag holder

9A. CD Mobile antenna with packaging

9B. CB Mobile monitor with box

10. Video recorder with packaging

11. Metal detector with packaging

12. Pen set with frame and packaging

13. Light switch with box

14. Light switch with packaging

15. Jar lid opener with box

16. Tapeless measure with packaging

17A. Pen, engraving

17B. Pen, engraving with packaging

17C. Pen, engraving with packaging

17D. Pen, engraving with packaging

18A. Knife, Pumpkin cutter

18B. Knife, Pumpkin cutter

18C. Knife, Pumpkin cutter

18D. Knife, Pumpkin cutter

18E. Knife with packaging

18F. Pumpkin cutter with packaging
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Joseph Pedott, 2005.
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:
Novelties  Search this
Toys  Search this
Popular culture  Search this
Marketing  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertisements
Oral history
Audiotapes
Interviews
Design drawings
Photographs -- 1950-2000
Packaging
Citation:
Joseph Pedott Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0898
See more items in:
Joseph Pedott Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c1a7ec84-0a30-48f5-9447-f102700bd4b4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0898
Online Media:

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Documentation Project

Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.)  Search this
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (Napa, California)  Search this
Interviewee:
Bazán, Mario  Search this
Cline, Diane Hardigree  Search this
Fay Turnball, Mary Jane, 1924-2020  Search this
Fay, Nathan, 1914-2001  Search this
McPherson, Daniel  Search this
Ocho-Aylala, Benjamin  Search this
Painter, Brooks  Search this
Shapleigh, Terri  Search this
Silacci, Michael  Search this
Winiarski, Barbara, 1933-2021  Search this
Winiarski, Julia  Search this
Winiarski, Stephen  Search this
Winiarski, Warren, 1928-  Search this
Extent:
3 Cubic feet (11 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Business records
Clippings
Interviews
Newsletters
Oral history
Photographs
Videotapes
Date:
1960-2006, 2019
Summary:
The collections documents the growth and development of the American wine industry, 1996-2002, using the Stag's Leap Wine Cellars as a case study. Materials include oral and video histories, photographs, business records, and printed materials.
Scope and Contents:
The Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (SLWC) Documentation Project was conducted by an inter-disciplinary team at the National Museum of American History. It is a part of a larger effort by the Museum's American Food and Wine team to document and interpret the changing ways in which Americans have produced, prepared, and consumed their food and drink, especially in the years after World War II. Team members are Nanci Edwards (Office of Project Management and former Collections Manager of the Museum's Agriculture Collection), John Fleckner (Senior Archivist, Archives Center), Rayna Green (Curator, Division of Home and Community Life), and Paula Johnson (Curator, Division of Work and Industry). Jeff Tinsley of the Smithsonian's Office of Photographic Services accompanied the team and shot many of the slides and color photographs.

This collection chronicles the growth and development of American viticulture and viniculture from its revival in the 1960s to the present. It offers a case study in the art and business of making fine wine from the bud to the bottle. Warren Winiarski, founder of SLWC in California's Napa Valley, is deeply interested in the legacy of American winemaking and his winery's place within its broader history. The Winiarski family has generously participated and financially supported the creation of this collection.

The documentation touches on all aspects of the wine business, including picking grapes in the vineyards, making wine in the cellar, marketing it from the business office, and promoting its sales in the tasting room and around the globe. SLWC employees describe the land, the work, the tools, the technical processes, the passions, and the motivations that create SLWC's world famous wines. The collection also provides insights into wider patterns of American immigration history, agricultural and environmental history, ethnic community development, land use in the West, product marketing, and consumerism.

The archival collection is mainly comprised of recorded oral history interviews, documentary photographs, and video footage created by the documentation team in 1997. It also includes company newsletters, vineyard and winery production data sheets, wine labels, and related printed materials collected in 1997 with additional materials added occasionally.

It is divided into seven series, including interviews and abstracts, audiotapes, photographs and slides, videotapes, business records, and printed materials.
Arrangement:
Series 1: Interview Transcripts and Abstracts, 1997, 2003

Series 2: Oral History Interview Sound and Video Recordings, 1996-1997

Subseries 2.1: Sound Recordings, 1997

Subseries 2.2: Video Tapes, 1996-1997

Series 3: Photographs, circa 1960-2000

Series 4: Video Tapes, undated

Subseries 3.1: Family Photographs: circa 1960-1980

Subseries 3.2: Smithsonian Documentary Photographs: 1997, 2000

Series 5: Business Records, 1974-1998

Series 6: Printed Materials, 1994-2005

Series 7: Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Thirtieth Anniversary, 2003
Biographical / Historical:
The history of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars is a family history. It is also a story, in microcosm, of the development of Napa Valley, California as an international wine region and of the rising global acclaim for California wines. Building on the skills and knowledge of earlier Napa winemakers, Warren Winiarski became one of the most influential vintners in the region and his premium wines some of the most prized.

Winiarski arrived in Napa Valley in 1964 with his wife, Barbara, and their children. Like many Napa winemakers of this era, he left behind another career, in his case, an academic position at the University of Chicago to create a family business in a rural setting. At the time, Napa was just beginning to rebuild its reputation after Prohibition, a devastating vine disease, and the widespread production of cheap wines had soured the image of California wines. After apprenticing with several local winemakers, including Lee Stewart and Robert Mondavi, he purchased the land and winery that would become Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (SLWC) in 1972. Winiarski's choice of land was based, in part, Nathan Fay's success in growing Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in an adjoining vineyard; Winiarski later added Fay's property to SLWC.

To commemorate the American bicentennial in 1976, a blind wine tasting at L'Academie du Vin in Paris pitted the best of America's new wines against French classics. Stunning the international wine community, many American wines outscored their French counterparts, with SLWC's 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon taking first place in its division. The accomplishment brought SLWC and Napa Valley worldwide recognition. It excited a great demand for California wines and a new appreciation for American winemaking techniques, which combined new scientific methods with Old World traditions.

The Paris Tasting added momentum to changes already underway in the cultural, financial, and physical landscape of the Napa Valley. It spurred the development of many new wineries, the expansion of acreage under grape cultivation, and the growth of the region's tourism industry. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was an integral part of these transformations. It continues to play a vital role in the region and the wine industry.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

American Wine History Documentation Project Records, 1976-2002, Archives Center collection # 817, has recorded interviews, photographs, and other documentary materials created and collected by the American Food and Wine History team.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry holds many artifacts from SLWC, including a wine barrel, grape picking knives, shovels, and other vineyard tools; lab equipment used in winemaking; wine bottles, labels, glasses, and other consumer products; and a bottle of the award winning 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon. See accessions: 1998.0181 and 1998.3058.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Only reference copies of audiovisual materials may be used.
Topic:
Wine industry  Search this
Wine and wine making  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes -- 1990-2000
Business records -- 20th century
Clippings -- 1950-2000
Interviews -- 2000-2010
Newsletters -- 20th century
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Photographs -- 20th century
Videotapes -- 1990-2000
Citation:
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Documentation Project, 1960-2002, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0816
See more items in:
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Documentation Project
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b66d3155-9c39-46df-abf0-c60cec0ba74b
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0816
Online Media:

W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews

Interviewee:
Sun Ra  Search this
Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-  Search this
Taylor, Billy  Search this
Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987  Search this
Wells, Ronnie  Search this
Whiting, Margaret  Search this
Towers, Jack  Search this
Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978  Search this
Pullen, Don, 1941-  Search this
Roney, Wallace  Search this
Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-  Search this
Pizzarelli, John, 1960-  Search this
Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004  Search this
Shepp, Archie, 1937-  Search this
Sanders, Pharaoh  Search this
Grant, Felix, 1918-1993  Search this
Scott, Jimmy  Search this
McPhail, Jimmy  Search this
McPartland, Marian  Search this
McFerrin, Bobby  Search this
Krall, Diana  Search this
O'Connell, Helen  Search this
Mulligan, Gerry  Search this
Metheny, Pat  Search this
McShann, Jay  Search this
Horn, Shirley, 1934-  Search this
Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000  Search this
Hill, Andrew, 1937-  Search this
Hendricks, Jon, 1921-  Search this
Keane, Helen  Search this
Kaminsky, Max, 1908-  Search this
Jordan, Sheila, 1928-  Search this
Humes, Helen, 1913-1981  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Harris, Eddie, 1934-  Search this
Heath, Jimmy, 1926-  Search this
Frishberg, Dave  Search this
Ennis, Ethel  Search this
Farmer, Art, 1928-  Search this
Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-  Search this
Hampton, Slide  Search this
D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-  Search this
Daniels, Billy  Search this
Davison, Bill  Search this
Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-  Search this
Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020  Search this
Conyers, John, 1929-  Search this
Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003  Search this
Byard, Jaki  Search this
Brown, Ruth  Search this
Carter, Betty, 1930-  Search this
Byron, Don  Search this
Betts, Keter, 1928-  Search this
Bellson, Louis  Search this
Bowie, Lester, 1941-  Search this
Blakey, Art, 1919-1990  Search this
Allen, Steve, 1921-2000  Search this
Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000  Search this
Bailey, Benny, 1925-  Search this
Collector:
Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-  Search this
Names:
Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971  Search this
Davis, Miles  Search this
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this
Gillespie, Dizzy, 1917-  Search this
Extent:
10 Cubic feet (39 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Black-and-white photographic prints
Publicity photographs
Date:
1940s-2005
Summary:
Publicity photographs of musicians and entertainers, mostly jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie, but including many rock and even a few classical performers. The collection also contains tape recorded radio interviews conducted between 1970 and 2003. In addition there are posters relating to musical performances.
Scope and Contents:
This collection was formed by W. Royal Stokes in the course of his professional work as a music and arts critic. It is composed primarily of publicity portraits of musical performers, both single acts and groups. The emphasis is on jazz musicians and singers, although many rock stars and groups, and other popular musical performers are included. Even a few classical musicians are represented. The pictures are primarily mass-produced black and white publicity photographs distributed to newspapers, writers, etc., by agents for entertainment personalities. Some prints were made from the original negatives, while others clearly were made from copy negatives after typography was stripped together with a print and re-photographed. However, there are some rarer original photographs included in the collection, such as personal color snapshots, higher quality prints by art photographers, etc. Nearly all the prints are unmounted, and are 8 x 10 inches or smaller in size. The bulk of the photographs date from circa 1970 to 2000, however, a number of the earlier photographs are included as well as slightly later examples.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into nine series.

Series 1, Photographs of Musicians and Ensembles, circa 1970-2000; undated

Subseries 1.1, Musicians and Ensembles

Subseries 1.2, Recording Company Photographs

Subseries 1.3, Unidentified Musicians

Series 2, Photographs of Performances, 1987-2002; undated

Subseries 2.1, Music Festivals, 1987-2002; undated

Subseries 2.2, Concerts, Music Clubs and Other Venues, 1920s-1940s and circa 1980s-1990s; undated

Series 3, Formal and Informal Groups, circa 1980s-2000; undated

Series 4, Photographs of Musicians in Films, Radio, Television and Theater, 1940s-2000; undated Series 5, Photographs of Subjects and Products related to Musicians and Music, 1970-2000; undated

Series 6, Photographs of Non-Musicians, circa 1980s-2000; undated

Series 7, Interviews with Musicians, 1970-2003

Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1970-2003

Subseries 8.1, Audio Recordings - Audiocassettes

Subseries 8.2, Audio Recordings-Audiotapes

Series 9, Posters, 1976-1990; undated
Biographical / Historical:
Born in Washington, D.C., W. Royal Stokes served in the Army and then embarked on an academic career, teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, Tufts University, Brock University and the University of Colorado. He left the academic profession in 1969 and become a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, journalist, and critic and authority on jazz music. A follower of jazz since his teens in the 1940s, Stokes has written about music for such publications as Down Beat, Jazz Times, and the Washington Post, and hosted the public radio shows "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say . . ." and "Since Minton's". Today he is the editor of the quarterly Jazz Notes, and is the author of The Jazz Scene: An Informal History From New Orleans to 1990 and Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson.. He is also the author of Living the Jazz Life: Conversations with Forty Musicians about Their Careers in Jazz (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Dr. Stokes lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of Ameican History:
Duke Ellington Collection, 1928-1988 (AC0301)

Herman Leonard Photoprints, 1948-1993

Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Reference Prints [copyprints], 1923-1972

Jazz Oral History Collection, 1988-1990

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, 1910s-1970s (mostly 1930s-1960s)

Jeffrey Kliman Photographs

Stephanie Myers Jazz Photographs, 1984-1987, 2005

Chico O'Farrill Papers

Paquito D'Rivera Papers, 1989-2000.

Louis Armstrong Music Manuscripts, undated

Tito Puente Papers, 1962-1965.

Audrey Wells "Women in Jazz Radio Series, 1981-1982

Mongo Santamaria Papers, 1965-2001

Ramsey Lewis Collection, 1950-2007

Earl Newman Collection of Monterey Jazz Festival Posters, 1963-2009

James Arkatov Collection of Jazz Photographs, 1995-2003

Francis Wolff Jazz Photoprints, 1953-1966

Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, circa 1920s-2006

Jazz Oral History Program Collection, 1992-2009

Leslie Schinella Collection of Gene Krupa Materials
Provenance:
Donated by W. Royal Stokes to the Archives Center in 2001.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Jazz musicians -- 1950-2000 -- United States  Search this
Musicians  Search this
Publicity  Search this
Portraits -- Musicians  Search this
Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Entertainers  Search this
Rock music  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Publicity photographs
Citation:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0766
See more items in:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b79b5a94-c967-451e-bafb-e62dc2d8ff45
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0766
Online Media:

American Wine Documentation Project

Interviewer:
Edwards, Nanci  Search this
Fleckner, John A., 1941-  Search this
Green, Rayna, 1942- (Curator)  Search this
Johnson, Paula, Curator  Search this
Creator:
National Museum of American History (U.S.)  Search this
Names:
Red, White, and American (symposium, Washington, D.C. 1996).  Search this
Crew, Spencer R., 1949-  Search this
Interviewee:
Abreu, David  Search this
Barrett, James L. , 1926-2013  Search this
Black, Hollis  Search this
Black, Pat  Search this
Black, Tom, 1959-  Search this
Brambila, Gustavo  Search this
Browning, Keith  Search this
DePuy Dickenson, Joanne, 1927-  Search this
Dias Blue, Anthony  Search this
Draper, Paul, 1936-  Search this
Gallagher, Patricia  Search this
Gates, David S.  Search this
Grgich, Mike (Miljenko), 1923  Search this
Herrera, Rolando  Search this
Kinzbrunner, Rick  Search this
Kuhn, Ron  Search this
Mandy, Steven , Dr.  Search this
Orr, James  Search this
Robledo, Reynaldo  Search this
Schuster, Danny  Search this
Spurrier, Steven  Search this
Taber, George  Search this
Winiarski, Warren, 1928-  Search this
Speaker:
Foley, Dennis  Search this
Levenstein, Harvey A., 1938-  Search this
Extent:
3 Cubic feet (10 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Interviews
Photographs
Print advertising
Programs
Videotapes
Date:
1976-2005
bulk 1996-2001
Scope and Contents:
The collection is divided into six series. It includes mostly printed materials and interviews, and dates from approximately 1976 to 2005. There are wine-related event materials, interview transcripts and audiotapes, printed material and histories from people and institutions representing a wide spectrum of the wine business. Wine-related objects, such vineyard and winery tools, are stored with the Museum's artifact collections; documentary materials are held in the Archives Center. Materials from each special event are organized into separate series, which contain records generated at the events and interviews. Series one contains the "Red, White and American Records," series two the "Collectors Event," and series three the "Wine Writers Event." Interviews conducted independently of these events are included in series four. All of the interviews have been partially transcribed and include an abstract and various forms of audiotapes and discs. Series five is composed of printed materials that relate to both specific individuals in the wine business and to more general American wine topics. Most of this material consists of photocopies of original articles. There are also files with materials by and about specific wine writers, such as Anthony Dias Blue, William Heinz, and Dick Rosano. Series five also contains an original telex of George Taber's article about the 1976 Paris Tasting. Series six consists of visual materials, including two landscape photographs of an vineyard in Oregon and two videotaped documentaries on Napa.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Red, White, and American : Wine in American History and Culture Records, 1976-1996

Series 2: Collections Event, 2001

Series 3: Reflections: A Day in the Life of a Wine Writer Event, 2002

Series 4: Interviews, 1997-2001

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1997-2001

Series 6: Visual Materials, undated

Series 7; Interviews, 2013
Biographical / Historical:
The American Wine History Project began in 1996 with the intention to document the history of American winemaking, mainly for the post-1950 period. While the project includes winemaking areas around the country, the focus has been on northern and central California. The Project explores the convergence of craft, culture, science, technology, and the environment in modern American winemaking. In conjunction with the project, the Smithsonian held a 2-day symposium, "Red, White and American," with a small accompanying exhibition, entitled, "Doubtless as Good: Jefferson's Dream for American Wine Fulfilled," in 1996 and began gathering objects and other documentation.

Since 1997, National Museum of American History staff members have traveled to California to conduct interviews, take photographs and video footage, and gather materials for the Smithsonian collection from grape growers, winemakers, winery owners, and others important to the business, including wine writers and chefs. Some of the materials were generated from events in Napa, such as the collectors and wine writers events, that were held specifically for the purpose of adding documentation to the Smithsonian project. The documentation project is on-going so materials will continue to be added to the collection.
Provenance:
Some of the materials were generated by the Smithsonian Institution, such as those in series 1 through 3. Others were given by separate donors between 1996 and 2002.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Wine industry  Search this
Wine and wine making  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes -- 1990-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Photographs -- 1950-2000
Print advertising
Programs -- 1980-2000
Videotapes -- 1990-2000
Citation:
American Wine Documentation Project, 1976-2002, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0817
See more items in:
American Wine Documentation Project
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c0ebfa21-e4c3-4bf2-ab52-27e5f59f9dd8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0817

Joan and Robert K. Morrison Collection

Creator:
Morrison, Joan, -2010  Search this
Morrison, Robert K.  Search this
Beirne, Barbara T.  Search this
Names:
Gold Star Mothers, Inc.  Search this
Peace Corps (U.S.) -- 1960-1970  Search this
Moore, Harold (Gold Star parent)  Search this
Moore, Irma (Gold Star parent)  Search this
Extent:
6 Cubic feet (20 boxes )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiocassettes
Transcripts
Black-and-white photographic prints
Oral history
Audiotapes
Date:
1985 - 1987
Scope and Contents:
The collection is comprised of 139 audiocassettes (original copies only), 80 transcripts and tape summaries, and photographs (including some negatives). The transcripts and photographs also exist in single copies only, but they may be used with care by researchers.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in four series.

Series 1: Original Audio Cassette Tapes, 1983-1986

Series 2: Transcripts/Tape Summaries, 1984-1986

Series 3: Photographs, 1984-1986

Series 4: Reference Tapes and CDs, undated
Biographical / Historical:
In 1985, Joan and Robert Morrison conducted approximately 100 oral history interviews with a wide variety of Americans about their experiences during the 1960s. They also collected photographs of each of their interviewees—one taken during the 1960s and the other taken at the time of the interview. Portions of fifty-nine of those interviews were published in their 1987 book, From Camelot to Kent State: The Sixties Experience in the Words of Those Who Lived It (Times Books). Some of the new photographs, which were taken by Barbara Beirne, also were exhibited at The New School in 1989.

The interviewees include civil rights activists, anti-war activists, Vietnam War soldiers, Gold Star mothers, Peace Corps members, Weathermen, black leaders, and counter culture figures. Some of the narrators are members of the rank-and-file, others played leading roles. The in-depth interviews focus on three main questions: 1) What motivated you to act as you did in the Sixties? 2) What actions did you take and what were the results? 3) How did your experiences in the Sixties affect the way your life has developed since then?

Source Information taken from memo to National Museum of American History Collections Committee.
Provenance:
The Morrison's donated this collection of audiocassettes, transcripts, and photographs to the National Museum of American History Archives Center in 1989.
Restrictions:
Tape recordings not available for playback until researcher copies are made; researchers must use transcripts until then.
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.

Some original interviews have restrictions; these have been withheld by the Morrisons' until they can get clearances from the interviewees.
Topic:
African Americans -- Civil rights  Search this
United States -- History -- 1960-1990  Search this
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Protest Movements  Search this
Peace movements -- 1960-1970  Search this
Soldiers -- 1960-1970  Search this
Civil rights  Search this
Portraits -- 1960-1970  Search this
Civil rights workers  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiocassettes
Transcripts
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Oral history
Audiotapes
Citation:
Joan and Robert K. Morrison Collection, 1983-1987, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0359
See more items in:
Joan and Robert K. Morrison Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep822fab27b-07fb-46f8-90e2-3cdf43e1aabc
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0359
Online Media:

Computer Oral History Collection

Creator:
Blanch, Gertrude  Search this
Bloch, Richard M.  Search this
Bradburn, James  Search this
Brainerd, John G.  Search this
Brown, George W.  Search this
Brown, Gordon S.  Search this
Buchholz, Werner  Search this
Burns, Robert  Search this
Atanasoff, John V.  Search this
Atchison, William  Search this
Auerbach, Issac  Search this
Bartik, Jean  Search this
Bauer, William  Search this
Beek, Allan  Search this
Bernstein, Mort  Search this
Bigelow, Julian  Search this
Coleman  Search this
Cohen, I. Bernhard  Search this
Computer History Forum.  Search this
COT Meeting.  Search this
Coombs, John  Search this
Crawford, Perry O.  Search this
Couret, Lynn  Search this
Campbell, Robert V.  Search this
Campaigne, Howard  Search this
Cannon, Edward  Search this
Canning, R.G.  Search this
Clem, Mary  Search this
Cass, James  Search this
CODASYL Meeting.  Search this
Clippinger, Richard F.  Search this
MIT Club Talks (Brown & Wiener).  Search this
Andrews, Ernest G.  Search this
American Federation of Information Processing Societies  Search this
Alt, Franz  Search this
Alrich, John  Search this
Association for Computing Machinery.  Search this
Association for Computing Machinery.  Search this
Argonne National Laboratories R.  Search this
Allard, Gerry  Search this
Aiken, Howard  Search this
Adams, Charles  Search this
Acton, Forman  Search this
Halstead, Maurice H.  Search this
Harmon, Leon  Search this
Harvey, Samuel  Search this
Hazen, Dean Harold  Search this
Gruenberger, Fred  Search this
Gunning, William  Search this
Hagen, Glenn E.  Search this
Hall, W.  Search this
Greenwald, Irwin  Search this
Greenwarld, Sidney  Search this
Griswold, Ralph E.  Search this
Grosch, Herbert R. J.  Search this
Goheen, Harry E.  Search this
Good, I.J.  Search this
Goteib, C.C.  Search this
Granholm, Jackson  Search this
Israel, David R.  Search this
Huskey, Harry D.  Search this
Kates, Josef  Search this
Juncosa, Mario  Search this
Householder, Alston S.  Search this
Horwitz, Bernhard R.  Search this
Hurd, Cuthbert R.  Search this
Howard, Bernard  Search this
Hopper, Grace Murray, 1906-1992  Search this
Holbrook, Bernard  Search this
Horner, Joseph  Search this
Horn, Robert J.  Search this
Herold, Henry  Search this
Herget, Paul  Search this
Holberton, Betty  Search this
Hertz, Ted  Search this
Elkins, Harold  Search this
Estrin, Gerald  Search this
Edwards, Walt  Search this
Elbourn, Robert  Search this
Eckert, J. Presper (John Presper), 1919-1995  Search this
Eddy, Robert Philip  Search this
Downey, William  Search this
Eckdahl, Donald  Search this
Dodd, Stephen  Search this
Dotts, Richard D.  Search this
Dietzhold, Robert  Search this
Dimsdale, Bernard  Search this
Desch, Joseph  Search this
Dickinson, Arthur H.  Search this
Curtiss, John H.  Search this
Dederick, Louis S.  Search this
Glazer, T.  Search this
Givens, Wallace  Search this
Gill, Stanley  Search this
Geisler, Murray  Search this
Garrison, Ken  Search this
Frankel, Stanley  Search this
Forrester, Jay W.  Search this
Forrest, Cameron B.  Search this
Forbes, George  Search this
Fenaughty, Alfred L.  Search this
Fein, Louis  Search this
Feign, David  Search this
Farrand, William R.  Search this
Fall Joint Computer Conference, 12/6/72.  Search this
Fall Joint Computer Conference, 11/17/71.  Search this
Everett, Robert  Search this
Nelson, Eldred  Search this
Neisius, Vincent  Search this
Northrop, John  Search this
Neovius, G.  Search this
Parker, R.D.  Search this
Palevsky, Max  Search this
Phelps, Byron R.  Search this
Patrick, Robert  Search this
Pickrell, D.  Search this
Phister, Montgomery  Search this
Pollmyer, R.  Search this
Polachek, Harry  Search this
Quady, Emmett  Search this
Postley, John A. R.  Search this
Rajchman, Jan  Search this
Ream, Norman  Search this
Reed, Irving S.  Search this
Rees, Mina  Search this
Rhodes, Ida  Search this
Rice, Rex  Search this
Rochester, Nathaniel  Search this
Rogers, Jim  Search this
Rogers, Stanley  Search this
Rosenberg, Milton  Search this
Rosenthal, Paul R.  Search this
Rubinoff, Morris R.  Search this
Salzer, John M.  Search this
Samuel, Arthur L. R.  Search this
Sarkissian, Harold  Search this
Schuette, Roger  Search this
Serrell, Robert R.  Search this
King, Paul  Search this
Kilpatrick, Lester  Search this
Killian, James  Search this
Kaufold, Leroy R.  Search this
Lanzarotta, Sandy R.  Search this
Kreuder, Norman L.  Search this
Korn, Irving  Search this
Kirsch, Russell  Search this
Lovell, Clarence A.  Search this
Lehmer, Derrick H.  Search this
Legvold, Sam  Search this
Larson, Harry  Search this
Martin, Richard R.  Search this
Marden, Ethel  Search this
Madden, Don R.  Search this
Lowe, John  Search this
McPherson, John C.  Search this
Mendelson, Jerry  Search this
Mason, Daniel R.  Search this
Mauchly, John R.  Search this
Michel, J.G.L. R.  Search this
Miller, Frederick G.  Search this
Menzel, Donald H.  Search this
Metropolis, Nicholas C.  Search this
Mitchell, Joel  Search this
MITRE Meeting.  Search this
Mills, Roger L.  Search this
Morton, Paul  Search this
Mumford, Louis  Search this
Mock, Owen  Search this
Morse, Philip B.  Search this
Wilkinson, James H. R.  Search this
Wilkes, Maurice R.  Search this
Wizenbaum, Joe  Search this
Williams, Charles  Search this
Wieselman, Irving  Search this
Wiener, Robert  Search this
Wild, Arthur  Search this
Wieser, C. Robert  Search this
Wrench, John W. R.  Search this
Woodger, Michael  Search this
Yowell, E.C. R.  Search this
Youtz, Pat  Search this
Woo, Way Dong  Search this
Wolfe, Philip  Search this
Woodbury, William R.  Search this
Wood, Ben D.  Search this
Zemanek, Heinz  Search this
Zuse, Konrad  Search this
Smagorinsky, Joseph  Search this
Slutz, Ralph R.  Search this
Skramstad, Harold R.  Search this
Skillman, Sherwood R.  Search this
SIAM/SIGNUM Meeting.  Search this
SIAM-72.  Search this
SHARE XXXVIII.  Search this
SHARE Meeting for Pioneers.  Search this
Taylor, Norman  Search this
Tanaka, David  Search this
Strong, Jack  Search this
Stibitz, George  Search this
Steele, Floyd G. R.  Search this
Sprague, Richard E.  Search this
Snyder, Samuel  Search this
Smith, Charles V.L.  Search this
TV Program KQED.  Search this
Uncapher, Keith  Search this
Torfeh, Mark  Search this
Travis, Irven  Search this
Todd-Tausskky, Olga  Search this
Tomash, Erwin  Search this
Toben, Gregory  Search this
Todd, John  Search this
Wheeler, R.J.  Search this
Whirlwind Discussion.  Search this
Ware, Willis H.  Search this
Wegstein, Joseph Henry  Search this
Wagner, Frank  Search this
Wang, An R.  Search this
von Hippel, Arthur  Search this
von Neumann, John  Search this
Armer, Paul, 1924- (computer technician)  Search this
Interviewee:
Rabinow, Jacob, 1910-  Search this
Former owner:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Computers, Information and Society  Search this
Extent:
43.5 Cubic feet (158 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Interviews
Oral history
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Videotapes
Date:
1969-1973, 1977
Summary:
The Computer Oral History Collection (1969-1973, 1977), was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 with the main objective to collect, document, house, and make available for research source material surrounding the development of the computer.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 43.5 cubic feet of material documenting the development of the computer.
ABC -- Atanasoff-Berry Computer

ACE -- Automatic Computing Engine

ACM -- Association for Computing Machinery

ALGOL -- ALGOLrithmic Language

ALWAC -- Axel Wenner-Gren Automatic Computer

ARPA -- Advanced Research Projects Agency

BACAIC -- Boeing Airplane Company Algebraic Interpretative Computing System

BARK -- Binar Automatisk Rela Kalkylator

BINAC -- Binary Automatic Computer

BIZMAC -- Business Machine

BMEW -- Ballistic Missile Early Warning (System)

BUIC -- Back-up Interceptor Control

CADAC -- Cambridge Digital Automatic Computer

CALDIC -- California Digital Computer

CEC -- Consolidated Electrodynamics Corporation

CEIR -- Council for Economic and Industry Research

COBOL -- Common Business-Oriented Language

CODASYL -- Conference on Data Systems Languages

CONAC -- Continental Automatic Command

COMTRAN -- Commercial Translator

CPC -- Card Programmed Calculator

CRC -- Computer Response Corporation

DARPA -- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DINA -- Digital Network Analyzer

DDA -- Digital Differential Analyzer

EDSAC -- Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator

EDVAC -- Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer

EAM -- Electric [or Electronic] Accounting Machines [or Methods]

ENIAC -- Electronic Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer

ERA -- Engineering Research Associates

ERMA -- Electronic Recording and Machine Accounting

FADAC -- Field Artillery Data Computer

FSQ -- Fixed Special eQuipment

IAS -- Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton University)

ICBM -- Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

ILLIAC -- Illinois Automatic Computer

INTERCOM -- Intercommunication System (Programming Language)

JOHNNIAC -- John [von Neumann's ] Integrator and Automatic Computer

JOSS -- Johnniac [John's Integrator and Automatic Computer] Open Shop System

LARK -- Livermore Atomic Research Computer

LAS -- Laboratories of Applied Science

LGP -- Librascope

MAC -- Magnetic Automatic Calculator/Multiple Access Computer

MADDIDA -- Magnetic Drum Digital Differential Analyzer

MAGIC -- Machine for Automatic Graphics Interface to a Computer

MANIAC -- Mathematical Analyzer, Numerical Integrator, and Computer

MIDAC -- Michigan [University of] Digital Automatic Computer

MIDSAC -- Michigan [University of} Digital Special Automatic Computer

MINAC -- Minimal Automatic Computer

MIT -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MITRE -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Establishment

MX -- Missile, Experimental

NATDAN -- North American Digital Anaylzer

NATPAC -- North American Programmed Automatic Computer

NDRC -- National Defense Research Committee [of Office of Scientific Research and Development, World War II]

NELIAC -- Naval Electronics Laboratory International Algebraic Compiler

NORC -- Naval Ordnance Research Calculator [or computer] [Naval Ordnance Proving Ground]

NTDS -- Naval Tactical Data Systems

ONR -- Office of Naval Research

ORACLE -- Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine

ORDVAC -- Ordnance Discrete Variable Automatic Computer [AEC]

OSRD -- Office of Standard Reference Data [National Bureau of Standards]

PACT -- Project for the Advancement of Coding Techniques

QUAC -- Quadratic Arc Computer

RAMAC -- Random Access Memory Accounting Machine

RAYDAC -- Raytheon Digital Automatic Computer

REAC -- Reeves Electronic Analog Computer

RECOMP -- Reliable COMPuter

RESISTOR -- Reusable Surface Insulation Stresses [NASA computer program]

SCERT -- Systems and Computer Evaluation Review Technique

SCM -- Smith Corona Merchant

SEAC -- U.S. Bureau of Standards Eastern Automatic Computer

SHARE -- Society to Help Avoid Redundant Effort

SHOT -- Society for the History of Technology

SIAM -- Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

SILLIAC -- Sydney [version of the ] Illiac

SIMSCRIPT -- Simulation Script

SNOBOL -- String-Oriented Symbolic Language

SSEC -- Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator

SUBROC -- Submarine Rocket

SWAC -- U.S. Bureau of Standards Western Automatic Computer

TPM -- Tape Processing Machine

UDEC -- United Digital Electronic Computer

UNIVAC -- Universal Automatic Computer

WEIZAC -- Weizmann Automatic Computer [at Weizmann Institute]

WISC -- Wisconsin Integrally Synchronized Computer
NT=No Transcript

R=Restricted
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.

Series 1: Transcripts, 1967-1973, 1977

Series 2: Supplemental Documentation, 1922-1974

Series 3: Patents, 1940-1973

Series 4: John Vincent Atanasoff's Materials, 1927-1968

Series 5: Audio Tapes, 1967-1974, 1977

Series 6: Video Tapes, 1968-1972
Biographical / Historical:
The Computer Oral History Collection (1969-1973, 1977), was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 with the main objective to collect, document, house, and make available for research source material surrounding the development of the computer. The project collected taped oral interviews with individuals who figured prominently in developing or advancing the computer field and supplemental written documentation--working papers, reports, drawings, and photographs. The AFIPS provided the "seed" money to support the project and to aid the Smithsonian with its expenditures. Interviews were conducted by I.B. Cohen, A. Dettinger, Bonnie Kaplan, Elizabeth Luebbert, William Luebbert, Robina Mapstone, Richard Mertz, Uta Merzbach, and Henry Tropp. In some instances, the audio tapes and/or transcripts are not "formal" interviews, but rather moderated panel discussions/meetings, or lectures delivered by interviewees.
Related Materials:
The Archives Center contains several "computer" related collections:

American National Standards Institute, 1969-1979

Association for Computing Machinery Collection, 1958-1978 (Washington, D.C., Chapter)

N.W. Ayer Advertsing Agency Records, 1889-1972

Paul Armer Collection, 1949-1970

Robert G. Chamberlain Numerical Control Collection, 1954-1984

J. Childs Numerical Control Collection, 1952-1970

Computer Standards Collection, 1958-1978

Computer World Smithsonian Awards Collection, 1989-2001

Data Processing Digest Collection, 1955-1974

Max Holland Machine Tool Industry Collection, circa 1941-1990

Grace Murray Hopper Collection, 1944-1965

Information Age Exhibition Records, 1979-1990

Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project Records, 1950-1957

Instrument Society of America Collection, 1911-1969

Odex I Walking Robot Collection, 1973-1986

Jacob Rabinow Papers, 1910-1917; 1947-1990

Terry M. Sachs Collection, 1965-1969

Scientists and Inventors Portrait File, circa 1950-1980

Share Numerical Analysis Project Records, 1964-1970

SHARE Records, circa 1954-1984

Cliff Shaw papers, circa 1954-1985

Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Records, 1956-1992

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, circa 1754-1965

Whirlwind I Computer Collection, 1945-1959

B.H. Worsley Collection, 1946-1959

Within the National Museum of American History there are other related collections that may be found in the Division of Medicine and Science. These collections contain both artifacts and documents. Artifacts include: digital computing machines, automatic digital computers and electronic calculators, logic devices, card and tape processors, slide rules, integrators and integraphs, harmonic analyzers and synthesizers, differential analyzers, other analog computing devices, space measurement and representation, time measurement, and combination space and time measurement. Documentation includes the Electronic Computers History Collection and the Mathematical Devices History Collection. Photographs and video materials can also be found. The Smithsonian Institution Archives contains administrative documentation regarding the Computer History Project.
Provenance:
The Computer Oral History Collection was a cooperative project of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) and the Smithsonian Institution. This project began in 1967 and was concluded in 1973. This collection was transferred to the Archives Center in approximately 1986 from the Division of Information, Technology & Society, formerly known as the Division of Electricity.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but original audio tapes and videotapes are stored off-site. Reference copies do not exist for all of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Computers  Search this
Engineers  Search this
Mathematics  Search this
Mathematicians  Search this
Physicists  Search this
Scientists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Oral history
Sound recordings -- Compact disks
Transcripts
Videotapes
Citation:
Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0196
See more items in:
Computer Oral History Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b666ccc2-1644-4513-9a64-89be727d5419
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0196
Online Media:

Donald H. Sultner-Welles Collection

Collector:
Sultner-Welles, Donald H. (Sultner, Donald Harvey), 1914-1981  Search this
Printer:
Janus, Allan  Search this
Interviewee:
Hanfstaengl, Erna  Search this
Names:
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra  Search this
Chautauqua Institute  Search this
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation  Search this
Holland-America Cruises  Search this
Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945  Search this
Extent:
87.6 Cubic feet (331 boxes, 2 map-folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Passports
Photographs
Travelogs
Receipts
Ephemera
Files
Filmstrips
Lecture notes
Personal papers
Silver-dye bleach process
Contracts
Notebooks
Prints
Press releases
Ships' passenger lists
Project files
Magnetic tapes
Posters
Postcards
Vertical files
Dye destruction process
Travel diaries
Letters (correspondence)
Professional papers
Bank statements
Correspondence
Audiotapes
Series 12.
Clippings
Card files
Concert programs
Dye destruction photoprints
Biography files
Awards
Business records
Birthday cards
Date:
circa 1790-1981
bulk 1945-1980
Scope and Contents:
This collection is primarily the work of one individual, Donald Harvey Sultner, known professionally as Donald Sultner-Welles (1914-1981). The collection forms a written and visual record of Sultner's family, life, and career from 1913-1980. Its major strength is Sultner's photographic documentation of the world during his travels, ca. 1950-1980. Work by other photographers and artists, correspondence, greeting cards, and contemporary memorabilia and ephemera are included, along with fewer than fifty examples of earlier materials, ca. 1790-1900, collected by Sultner.

The entire collection reflects Sultner's lifework and interests. Housed in boxes the collection is organized into eleven series: Personal Papers; Professional Papers; Lecture Materials; Biographical Materials; Transparencies; Photoprints; Photonegatives; Prints, Drawings, Mixed Media; Audio Tapes; Miscellaneous; and Steve Eyster Addenda. The arrangement within each series is based as closely as possi-ble on Sultner's own organization of the materials. However, in several instances similar materials were found separated and have been placed together. In addition, obvious filing mistakes and spelling errors have been corrected. The spelling of geographic place names is based on Official Standard Names prepared by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, Office of Geography, U.S. Department of the Interior. Not all names given by Sultner were found in the gazetteers, so there may be errors.

The bulk of the collection consists of 2-1/4-inch by 2-1/4-inch color transparencies (Series 5). However, the manuscript materials (Series 1-4) provide a detailed complement to the transparencies. For example, from the mid-1950s until the late 1970s, Sultner kept a travel diary (Se-ries 1). Written on the backs of postcards, this stream-of-consciousness journal reflects not only his daily trips, but his impressions of the countries and thoughts on his photography. A juxtaposition of cards with images is especially useful in understanding what Sultner photographed as well as why and how he photographed it. Sultner's professional corre-spondence (Series 2) documents the various types of groups before which he performed and equipment manufacturers dealt with for cameras, projectors, and so on. Notes, drafts, and final lectures (Series 3) present the performance side of Sultner. This material, when viewed with tapes of concerts and slides, begins to recreate the photo-concert as Sultner presented it. Scrapbooks (Series 4), kept by Sultner from the 1940s to the 1980s, present Sultner's life and career in chronological fashion.

The transparency portion of the collection (Series 5), containing over 87,000 images, is especially rich because of its documentation of the countries of the world. People are seen at their daily tasks, such as washing clothes, marketing, shopping, and eating. Cities are documented as they changed over the years. Two areas in particular will be of spe-cial interest to European and Asian researchers. The first is Sultner's USIS Asian tour in 1959. He visited Japan, Java, India, Korea, the Phil-ippines, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The serene, prewar cities and coun-tryside of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam evince nothing of the devastation to come in the 1960a and 70s.

The second area of interest is Sultner's passion for documenting archi-tecture. As a guest of the German government in 1954, Sultner documented the devastation of World War II and photographed both the reconstruction of bombed buildings and the construction of buildings reflecting "new" postwar architectural styles. In addition to photographing post-WW II styles, throughout his career Sultner documented Palladian, baroque and Rococo architecture. This interest manifested itself in several of his lectures.

A third subject area of interest to Sultner was gardens. Among his first lectures following his USIS tour was "Gardens of the World." Sultner de-veloped this theme into an ongoing commitment to ecology, culminating in a filmstrip, "The Time is Now" (Series 10), prepared for the Hudson River Conservation Society in the 1960s. Carl Carmer, a noted author, wrote the text for the filmstrip. Sultner's taped interviews, lectures, and program music (Series 9) complement the transparencies. During his USIS-sponsored Asian tour in 1959, Sultner recorded impressions of his trip on tape. Interviews with people living in the countries he visited, radio interviews, and his own personal reflections are included. Of particular interest are his "No Harm Asking" interviews in Manila (tape #2), his interview of two French hotel managers in Saigon discussing post-French control conditions (tape #9), and--perhaps the most unusual--his discussion with Erna Hanfstaengl about her personal relationship with Adolf Hitler (tape #107). Scripts for lectures (Series 3) round out the documentation of Sultner's profes-sional work.

Because of the arrangement of the transparencies, it is necessary to check several areas for the same subject. For example, Vietnam images are in the "World" section alphabetically under Vietnam (box 81). Sult-ner also lectured on Vietnam, so there are Vietnamese images in the "framed subjects" (Boxes 137-138). Another example, perhaps more compli-cated, but more common to Sultner, was his distinguishing between images of unidentified "People" and identified "Portraits." Transparency stud ies of human beings will be found under the subseries "People." "Subjects --Portraits," various countries in the subseries "World," and "Lectures." There are also individuals in the black-and-white photoprints (Series 6), and photonegatives (Series 8). The painter and print-maker Charles Shee-ler appears in a number of locations, as does tenor Roland Hayes. Another area of complexity with regard to people concerns the transparencies and negatives. Sultner interfiled his transparencies and negatives of iden-tified individuals. For appropriate storage, these two different formats have been arranged in separate series. Therefore, instead of container lists for the two series, there is a combined alphabetical index to both (pp. 166-206).

Of tangential interest are the photoprints (Series 6), etchings, wood-cuts, and other prints (Series 8) collected by Sultner. One particular subseries of interest contains photographs presented to Sultner by Asian photographers during his 1959 tour. Over 45 images were given to Sultner and represent the standards of camera-club photography in the 1950s. Thesecond subseries consists of over 25 prints by the Italian-American art-ist Luigi Lucioni (1900- ). For further information on this artist,see The Etchings of Luigi Lucioni, -A Catalogue Raisonne', by Stuart P.Embury (Washington, 1984). Lucioni also painted Sultner's portrait in1952 and the "People" section of the transparencies contains a number of images of Lucioni at work. Another significant category is the Japanese prints, including two by a major nineteenth-century artist, Ando Hiro-shige (1797-1858).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eleven series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1923-1981

Series 2: Professional Papers, 1954-1980

Series 3: Lecture Materials, 1952-1980

Series 4: Biographical Materials, 1954-1980

Series 5: Transparencies, 1947-1980

Series 6: Photoprints, 1913-ca. 1980

Series 7: Photonegatives, 1929-1981

Series 8: Prints, Drawings, Mixed Media, ca. 1790-1979

Series 9: Audio Tapes, 1947-1980

Series 10: Miscellaneous, 1947-1980

Series 11: Steve Eyster Addenda, 1937-1980
Biographical / Historical:
Donald Harvey Sultner was bom in York, Pennsylvania, on April 13, 1914, the son of Lillian May Arnold Sultner and Harvey A. Sultner. In 1923 Sultner attended the Lewis Institute in Detroit, Michigan, to overcome a speech impediment. He entered the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1932 and graduated in 1936. Sultner studied merchandising and sang in the glee club, then under the direction of composer Harl MacDonald. Sultner, a baritone, continued his interest in music and studied voice with Reinald Werrenrath and with Florence Benedict and Bruce Benjamin in New York City. In the late 1940s and early 1950s he appeared in concert with accompanists at schools, clubs, and resort hotels along the East Coast. It appears that photography was always an important part of Sultner's life. Using a small format (120) camera, he recorded his vacation travels around the United States and Canada, parties, and his family. While living in New York, Sultner continued photographing friends and family and began photographing the famous people he encountered on his concert tours. In the early 1950s he began taking 2-1/4-inch by 2-1/4-inch color transparencies (slides) of landscapes and architecture as he traveled giving concerts.

Sultner, who had taken the stage name of "Sultner-Welles," began what was to be his lifework as a professional "photo-lecturer" in 1952. He illustrated his talks on nature, art, architecture, and the environment with his color slides. In 1954 Sultner toured West Germany as a guest of the Bonn government, and in 1959 he lectured in Asia under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. He was dubbed the "camera ambassador." Constantly adding new material to his collection of slides, Sultner traveled extensively throughout the United States, speaking before garden clubs, cultural organi-zations, and schools. He also appeared aboard various ships of the Holland-America line during a number of cruises abroad.

Sultner had established his performance style by the early 1960s. He expanded his lectures to include a combination of art, words, and music. The expanded presentation resulted in the "photo-concert," a unique synthesis of light and sound that Sultner frequently per-formed with a symphony orchestra. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra commissioned "Concertino for Camera and Orchestra" by Eric Knight with Sultner in mind. The world premiere was in Baltimore in March 1979. While he spoke on many art, garden, and architectural topics, Sultner specialized in subjects relating to the baroque and rococo periods and Palladian architecture.

Sultner died of cancer in York, Pennsylvania, on March 25, 1981, at the age of 67.

1914 -- April 13, born York, Pennsylvania.

1929 -- In Detroit at Lewis Institute to overcome a speech impediment.

1932 -- To University of Pennsylvania.

1935 -- Summer trip to Roanoke (VA), Picketts, Hershey (PA); fall trip to New England for fraternity (AXP) convention.

1936 -- Spring glee club trip; graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; summer trips to Newport News (VA), northern trip to Canada, Picketts (PA).

1937 -- Fall trip to Williamsburg (VA), Duke University (NC); Sultner family begins building "Glen Hill" (Dover, PA).

1938 -- Summer at home, and Picketts (PA), Camp Pratt.

1939 -- Spring trip to Washington, D.C.; September trip to The Homestead (WV), Hot Springs (WV), Virginia; Lake Mohonk (NY).

1940 -- Summer trip to New Orleans, Blowing Rock (NC); winter trip to Skytop Club (NY); fall trip to Atlantic City (NJ), Philadelphia (PA), Annapolis (MD).

1941 -- Winter 1941-42 appearance in "Hit the Deck." Lake Mohonk (NY) with Ted Walstrum (Sept. 22-23); Skytop Club (NY) (February); summer trip to Canada, Lake Chazy (NY) (Aug. 17-23).

1942 -- Spring in Atlantic City (NJ); summer to Buck Hill Falls, Lakes Chazy and Mohonk.

1943 -- Summer trip to Mohonk (NY).

1944 -- Summer: To Toronto (Ontario), Muskoka Lake, Bigwin Island, Montreal (Quebec), Mohonk (NY).

1945 -- Summer: To Winnepesauke (ME), Woodstock (NY), Ogunquit (ME), Bridgeport (CT).

1946 -- To Mohonk (NY), Ogunquit (ME), Old Saybrook (CT), Nantucket (RI).

1947 -- Singing tour of Canada and New England; winter-spring tour to Georgia and Florida.

1948 -- To Florida and Nassau, Feb.-Mar., Vermont, July-Aug.; Nassau-Havana-Miami-Bermuda, October.

1949 -- Singing tour of North and South Carolina.

1950 -- Summer trip to South.

1951 -- To District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, [New Jersey?], New York, Vermont.

1952 -- January 9: first public photo-concert, Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts, Philadelphia; trips to Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont.

1953 -- To Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont.

1954 -- Guest of German government for a study tour in the fall. To District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia.

1955 -- To Holland; Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia.

1956 -- To California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia.

1957 -- Holland-America Cruise to Germany, Austria, Italy. To Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia.

1958 -- Holland-America Cruises to Germany, Austria, Holland, Italy, Switzerland. To Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota., Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin.

1959 -- United States Information Service (USIS)-sponsored tour of Asia: Burma, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam. Also visited Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Spain; Alaska, California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania.

1960 -- Holland-America Cruise to Austria, Belgium, Caribbean, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Morocco. To Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

1961 -- To Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland; Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode.Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

1962 -- Portfolio, "Autumn in Vermont," with introduction by Carl Carmer, published in Autumn issue of Vermont Life. Holland-America Cruise to Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Sweden. To Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia.

1963 -- Holland-America Cruise to Caribbean, Canada, Sweden, Thailand. To Alabama, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, N;w York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington.

1964 -- Holland-America Cruise to Germany, Canada, England, Holland, Wales. To Delaware, District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia.

1965 -- Holland-America Cruise to Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Wales. To Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia.

1966 -- Holland-America Cruise to Caribbean, Germany, France, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland. To New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia.

1967 -- Holland-America Cruise to Caribbean, Austria, Denmark, England, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Wales. To Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia.

1968 -- To Germany; Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia.

1969 -- To England, France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland; Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia.

1970 -- Holland-America Cruise to Caribbean, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden. To Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia.

1971 -- Holland-America Cruise to Caribbean, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Sweden. To Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania.

1972 -- Holland-America Cruise to Asia, Pacific, Caribbean, Africa, Austria, Italy, Japan, Thailand, Turkey. To California, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia.

1973 -- Holland-America Cruise to Austria, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Iceland, Sweden. To California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont.

1974 -- To Germany, Switzerland; California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia.

1975 -- To Austria; California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia.

1976 -- To Canada; Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah.

1977 -- To Canada, Germany; New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia.

1978 -- To Scotland; Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina.

1979 -- To England; Florida.

1980 -- To Florida.

1981 -- March 25: Sultner dies of cancer, York, Pennsylania.
Introduction:
The Donald H. Sultner-Welles Collection, ca. 1790-1981, came to the National Museum of American History in 1982 from the estate of Mr. Sultner. The collection was created by Sultner over his adult life and represents one of the most extensive collections of color transparencies created by one individual and held in a public repository. Sultner's emphasis was on world culture. He took the majority of his photographs in the eastern United States, western Europe, and Asia. Gardens, architecture, and people are the three major subject areas represented in the collection. Of additional interest are Sultner's taped impressions of his 1959 United States Information Service (USIS)-sponsored Asian tour. The collection occupies 309 boxes and covers more than 83 cubic feet.

The Donald H. Sultner-Welles Collection is open to researchers in the Archives Center, third floor east, of the National Museum of American History, between 12th and 14th Streets, on Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20560. The Archives Center is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Written and telephone (202/357-3270) inquiries are welcome and researchers are encouraged to contact the Archives Center before their arrival. The FAX number is 202/786-2453.

This is the eleventh in a series of occasional guides to collections in the Archives Center. Finding aids to other collections are available. The Guide to Manuscript Collections in the National Museum of History and Technology (1978) and an updated compilation contain brief descriptions of all archival holdings in the Museum. All current Archives Center holdings are available for search on the Smithsonian Institution Bibliographic Information System (SIBIS), an online database.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection 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.

A small number of letters and photographs are restricted until the year 2031. Identification list in box.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Portraits -- 20th century  Search this
Lecturers  Search this
Photographers  Search this
Gardens -- Photographs -- 1300-1980  Search this
Architecture -- Photographs -- 1300-1980  Search this
Travel photography -- 1950-2000  Search this
Genre/Form:
Passports
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Travelogs
Receipts -- 20th century
Ephemera
Files
Filmstrips
Lecture notes
Personal papers -- 20th century
Silver-dye bleach process
Contracts
Notebooks
Prints
Press releases
Ships' passenger lists
Project files
Magnetic tapes
Posters
Postcards
Vertical files
Dye destruction process
Travel diaries
Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.
Professional papers
Bank statements
Correspondence -- 1930-1950
Photographs -- Phototransparencies -- 20th century
Audiotapes -- 1940-1980
Series 12. -- Cibachrome (TM)
Photographs -- 20th century
Clippings
Card files
Concert programs
Dye destruction photoprints
Biography files
Awards
Business records
Birthday cards
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0145
See more items in:
Donald H. Sultner-Welles Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c00c15e0-d905-4a3c-ab89-6fbd2f9c5f7d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0145
Online Media:

Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture

Creator:
Mathis, Nathaniel, 1946- (barber, motivational speaker)  Search this
Interviewer:
Ruffins, Fath Davis  Search this
Extent:
5.5 Cubic feet (18 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Awards
Certificates
Correspondence
Interviews
Oral history
Black-and-white photographic prints
Videotapes
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- Small business -- 20th century
Date:
1946-2004
bulk 1970-2004
Summary:
Nathaniel Mathis is a Washington, D.C., hairstylist, inventor, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. His papers document his business life and community involvement.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the work of a hairstylist, inventor, entrepreneur, and public figure whose career reflects significant changes in the African American community in the later 20th century. It is rich in visual imagery created by and for this community. Business papers, correspondence, publicity, photographs, awards and certificates documenting Mathis's work as a highly regarded barber and hairstylist in Washington, D.C., and as member of the D.C. Board of Barbering and Cosmetology are included. Business papers offer insight into the workings of a small privately-owned business. Numerous publicity items and photographs offer evidence of African American style and fashion in New York and Washington, D.C., from the late 1960s through today. Additional material documents Mathis's activities as a community activist, motivational speaker and distance runner. The collection also includes photographs, oral history interviews, and audio-visual materials.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Biographical Information and Activities, 1946-2001, undated

Series 2: Beauty Business Documents and Advertising, 1969-2002, undated

Series 3: Publicity, 1963-2002

Series 4: Washington, D.C. Barbering and Cosmetology Boards, 1966-1997, undated

Series 5: Correspondence, 1967-2002, undated

Series 6: Awards and Certificates, 1969-2001, undated

Series 7: Photographs, 1966-1989, undated

Series 8: Video Materials, 1983-2002, undated

Series 9: Audio Tapes, 1998-2004, undated

Series 10: Memorabilia, 1992-1998, undated
Biographical / Historical:
"Nat Mathis (b. 1946) is a native Washingtonian. He is a man of many talents and measures his success in many ways: innovative hairstylist, entrepreneur, inventor, community activist, motivational speaker and distance runner. Mathis opened his first barber shop in 1969. He is the winner of many national and international hairstyling awards and competitions and was the first African American to win the International Hair Styling competition in Cairo, Egypt in 1981. Mathis was among the first African American hairstylists to embrace and popularize the Afro and, later, cornrows -- hairstyles which many view as expressions of black empowerment. Mathis himself seldom expresses a political ideology of hair, but by 1970, Nat was known among his many satisfied clients and peers as "the Bush Doctor" for his expertise in Afro style and maintenance. He has styled hair for many celebrities; made numerous television appearances; and has been a stylist for several productions at the Kennedy Center, and for two major motion pictures, including Nixon, for which he re-created period hairstyles. He is active in community affairs, gives motivational speeches throughout the Washington, D.C., area, and is particularly interested in mentoring young people. He currently operates a barber shop adjacent to his home in Capitol Heights, Maryland."

*Biographical information provided by Nat Mathis's Official Website, "A Man of Many Talents." http://www.natmathis.com (accessed 02 August, 2006).
Separated Materials:
Mr. Mathis donated three of his patented barbering vests (See Accession # 1998.0114) to the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).
Provenance:
Collection donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History by Nathaniel Mathis on April 9, 1998.
Restrictions:
The copllection is open for research.

Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.

Technical Access: Series 8, Video materials and Series 9, Audiotapes may not be used by researchers unless reference and viewing copies are made available.
Rights:
Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. The Archives Center does not own rights to the patent, trademark or any related interest in the artifacts.
Topic:
African American barbers  Search this
African American beauty operators  Search this
Barbers  Search this
Barbering  Search this
Barbershops -- Equipment and supplies -- 1970-2000 -- Washington (D.C)  Search this
Beauty culture  Search this
Hair  Search this
Hairdressing of African Americans -- 1970-2000 -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Inventors  Search this
Motivation -- Public speaking -- 1970-2000  Search this
Public speaking -- 1970-2000  Search this
Genre/Form:
Awards
Certificates
Correspondence -- 1970-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Interviews -- 2000-2010
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Videotapes
Citation:
Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0641
See more items in:
Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c5b4bd0f-53cd-4a97-b4ba-930fe65c5330
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0641
Online Media:

Cover Girl Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project

Creator:
Bunting, George L., Jr.  Search this
Brinkley, Christie  Search this
Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.  Search this
Colonel, Sheri  Search this
Giordano, Lynn  Search this
Ford, Eileen  Search this
Hall, L. C. "Bates"  Search this
Grathwohl, Geraldine  Search this
Huebner, Dick  Search this
Harrison, Fran  Search this
Lindsay, Robert  Search this
Hunt, William D.  Search this
McIver, Karen  Search this
MacDougall, Malcolm  Search this
Noble, Stan  Search this
Nash, Helen  Search this
Noxell Corporation.  Search this
Bergin, John  Search this
O'Neill, Jennifer  Search this
Oelbaum, Carol  Search this
Pelligrino, Nick  Search this
Poris, George  Search this
Roberts, F. Stone  Search this
Tiegs, Cheryl  Search this
Troup, Peter  Search this
Weithas, Art  Search this
Witt, Norbert  Search this
Names:
Noxzema Chemical Company  Search this
Extent:
15.5 Cubic feet (30 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Business records
Audiotapes
Bumper stickers
Annual reports
Oral history
Black-and-white photographic prints
Press releases
Scrapbooks
Television scripts
Videotapes
Tear sheets
Place:
Hunt Valley (Maryland)
Baltimore (Md.)
Maryland
Date:
1959-1990
Summary:
The Cover Girl Make-Up Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project, 1923-1991, is the result of a year-long study in 1990, which examined the advertising created for Noxell Corporation's Cover Girl make-up products from 1959 to 1990. The objective of the project was to document, in print and electronic media, the history of Cover Girl make-up advertising since its inception in 1959.
Scope and Contents:
Twenty-two oral history interviews (conducted by Dr. Scott Ellsworth for the Archives Center) and a variety of print and television advertisements, photographs, scrapbooks, personal papers, business records and related materials were gathered by the Center for Advertising History staff. The objective was to create a collection that provides documentation, in print and electronic media, of the history and development of advertising for Cover Girl make-up since its inception in 1959.

Collection also includes earlier material related to other Noxell products, including Noxzema, with no direct connection to the Cover Girl campaign.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Research Files

Series 2: Interviewee Files

Series 3: Oral History Interviews

Series 4: Television Advertising Materials

Series 5: Print Advertising Materials

Series 6: Company Publications and Promotional Literature

Series 7: Photographs

Series 8: Scrapbooks
Biographical / Historical:
George Avery Bunting founded the Noxzema Chemical Company in Baltimore, Maryland in 1917. In the 1890s, he left behind a teaching job on Maryland's Eastern shore to move to Baltimore, where he hoped to pursue a career as a pharmacist. He landed a job as errand boy and soda jerk at a local drugstore, where he worked while attending classes at the University Of Maryland College of Pharmacy. Valedictorian of the Class of 1899, Bunting was promoted to manager of the drugstore, which he purchased. Bunting began to experiment with the formulation of medicated pastes and compounds, which he marketed to his customers. In 1909, he began refining a medicated vanishing cream, which he introduced in 1914. "Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy," an aromatic skin cream containing clove oil, eucalyptus oil, lime water, menthol and camphor, was mixed by hand at his pharmacy. Marketed locally as a greaseless, medicated cream for the treatment of a variety of skin conditions, including sunburn, eczema, and acne, the product was renamed "Noxzema" for its reputed ability to "knock eczema." By 1917, the Noxzema Chemical Company was formed. During the 1920s, distribution of the product was expanded to include New York, Chicago, and the Midwest and, by 1926, the first Noxzema manufactory was built in northwest Baltimore to accommodate the demand for nearly a million jars a year.

Having achieved a national market by 1938, Noxzema Chemical Company executives pursued product diversification as a means to maintain the corporate growth of the early years. In the 1930s and 1940s, line extensions included shaving cream, suntan lotion and cold cream, all with the distinctive "medicated" Noxzema aroma.

In the late 1950s, Bill Hunt, director of product development at Noxzema, suggested a line extension into medicated make-up. Creatives at Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell & Bayles, Incorporated (SSC&B), Noxzema's advertising agency since 1946, suggested that the advertising for the new product focus on beauty and glamour with some reference to the medicated claims made for other Noxzema products. In contrast to other cosmetics, which were sold at specialized department store counters, Noxzema's medicated make-up would be marketed alongside other Noxzema products in grocery stores and other mass distribution outlets. After experimenting with names that suggested both glamour and the medicated claims (including Thera-Blem and Blema-Glow), Bill Grathwohl, Noxell's advertising director, selected Carolyn Oelbaum's "Cover Girl," which conveyed the product's usefulness as a blemish cover-up, while invoking the glamorous image of fashion models. These three elements of the advertising, wholesome glamour, mass marketing, and medicated make-up, remain central to Cover Girl advertising nearly a half-century later.

Beginning with the national launch in 1961, American and international fashion models were featured in the ads. The target audience was identified as women between eighteen and fifty-four and, initially, the "glamour" ads were targeted at women's magazines, while the "medicated" claims were reserved for teen magazines. Television ads featured both elements. Cover Girl advertising always featured beautiful women -- especially Caucasian women, but the Cover Girl image has evolved over time to conform to changing notions of beauty. In the late 1950s and 1960s, the Cover Girl was refined and aloof, a fashion conscious sophisticate. By the 1970s, a new social emphasis on looking and dressing "naturally" and the introduction of the "Clean Make-up" campaign created a new advertising focus on the wholesome glamour of the "girl next door," a blue-eyed, blonde all-American image. In the 1980s, the Cover Girl look was updated to include African-American, Hispanic and working women.

In January 1970, SSC&B bought 49% of the Lintas Worldwide advertising network. After SSC&B was acquired by the Interpublic Group of Companies in 1979, the entire Lintas operation was consolidated under the name SSC&B/Lintas in 1981. With the Procter & Gamble buy-out of the Noxell Corporation in September 1989, the cosmetics account was moved to long-time P&G agency Grey Advertising, in order to circumvent a possible conflict of interest between P&G competitor Unilever, another Lintas account. In 1989 SSC&B/Lintas, Cover Girl's agency since its launch in 1961, lost the account it helped to create and define, but the brand continues to dominate mass-marketed cosmetics.

This project is the result of a year-long study of advertising created for the Noxell Corporation's Cover Girl make-up products, 1959-1990. The effort was supported in part by a grant from the Noxell Corporation. The target audience was identified as women 18-54, and initially, the "glamour" ads were targeted at women's magazines, while the "medicated" claims were reserved for teen magazines. Television ads featured both elements. Cover Girl advertising has always featured beautiful women (especially Caucasian women), but the Cover Girl image evolved over time to conform with changing notions of beauty. In the late 1950s-1960s, the Cover Girl was refined and aloof, a fashion conscious sophisticate. By the 1970s, a new social emphasis on looking and dressing "naturally" and the introduction of the "Clean Make-up" campaign created a new advertising focus on the wholesome glamour of the "girl next door," a blue-eyed, blonde all-American image. Through the 1980s, the Cover Girl look was updated to include African-American and Hispanic models and images of women at work.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC0060)

N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records (AC0059)
Separated Materials:
"The Division of Home and Community Life, Costume Collection (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds eighty-six cosmetic items and one computer that were also donated by the Noxell Corporation in 1990 in conjunction with the oral history project. These artifacts include lipstick, manicure sets, brushes, make-up, eye shadow, blush, powder puffs, eyelash curler, nail polish, and mascara. See accession number 1990.0193.

"
Provenance:
Most of the materials in the collection were donated to the Center for Advertising History by the Noxell Corporation, 1990. All storyboards and videoscripts, and a large collection of business records and proofsheets were donated by George Poris in June 1990. All mechanicals were donated by Art Weithas in June 1990. (These contributions are noted in the finding aid).
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection 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:
Copyright and trademark restrictions.
Topic:
Women in advertising  Search this
advertising -- 1930-1940 -- California  Search this
Cosmetics -- advertising  Search this
Endorsements in advertising  Search this
Beauty culture  Search this
advertising -- 1950-2000  Search this
African American women -- Beauty culture  Search this
Modelling -- 1950-1990  Search this
Sex role in advertising  Search this
Radio advertising  Search this
Television advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Business records -- 20th century
Audiotapes
Bumper stickers
Annual reports
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Press releases
Scrapbooks -- 20th century
Television scripts
Videotapes
Tear sheets
Citation:
Cover Girl Advertising Oral History & Documentation Project, 1959-1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0374
See more items in:
Cover Girl Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep89b09e4c7-64e7-4074-b65e-0d097966d1e3
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0374
Online Media:

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By