Search Results

Creator:

Barnaby, Ralph S. (Ralph Stanton), 1893-1986  Search this

Names:

Early Birds of Aviation (Organization).  Search this

Soaring Society of America  Search this

United States. Navy  Search this

Barnaby, Ralph S. (Ralph Stanton), 1893-1986  Search this

Extent:

3.15 Cubic feet ((7 legal document boxes))

2.94 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Diaries

Manuscripts

Photographs

Publications

Maps

Date:

1915-1986

Summary:

Ralph Stanton Barnaby (1893-1986) was an aviation pioneer. Barnaby was the first licensed glider pilot in the United States and the first to successfully launch a glider from an airship. He organized and directed the Navy's first school for glider pilots. Barnaby also served as president of the Early Birds and helped organize the Soaring Society of America, as well as authoring a number of books on gliders and paper airplanes.

Scope and Contents:

The Ralph Stanton Barnaby collection consists of approximately two cubic feet of materials relating to Barnaby's personal life and his relationship with the Early Birds of Aviation, Inc. This collection contains approximately one-fourth of Barnaby's personal papers, the remainder being held by the National Soaring Museum and the Franklin Institute. Before being accessioned into the Archives, documents from the Museum's biographical files were added to the collection. These documents are indistinguishable from the donated material and so remain part of this collection.

This collection consists almost entirely of correspondence, newsletters, news clippings, and publications relating to early aviation. A problem arises initially from the fact that all of the material in this collection is supposed to relate to Barnaby's relations with the Early Birds. As the majority is correspondence, it would be logical to arrange by individuals and/or offices first, but the fact that offices in the Early Birds organization were rotated yearly and that much of the correspondence is of a personal nature makes this difficult.

Materials in this collection date between 1911 and 1986 and the bulk dates ranging between 1930 and 1980, when Ralph Barnaby was most active in the Early Birds of Aviation, Inc. The materials were broken down into four series.

The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Archives received from the estate only those materials relating to his Early Birds affiliation, with his other materials going to the National Soaring Museum and the Franklin Institute. Any researcher interested in information relating to Barnaby's soaring experiences or personal life which NASM does not have should contact these organizations.

Biographical / Historical:

Ralph Stanton Barnaby was born 21 January 1893 in Meadville, PA, but moved to New York City in 1900, Barnaby has his first taste of aviation in 1905, when Roy Knabenshue flew his dirigible over the city. In 1908 Barnaby went to Belleville, New Jersey to see Thomas Baldwin fly what became the Signal Corps Dirigible No. 1. With his inspiration, Barnaby designed, built and flew his first glider in Roxbury Connecticut on 18 August 1909. After improved designs and additional flights, Barnaby was awarded the Fèdèration Aèronautique Internationale Soaring Certificate #1 for the United States, signed by Orville Wright. Now thoroughly bitten by the aviation bug, Barnaby forsook his chosen career as an artist and attended Columbia University, graduating in 1915 with a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical engineering. From Columbia, Barnaby went to the Elco Boat Company, where he worked with Alexander Graham Bell on the design and production of high-speed subchasers for the U.S. Navy. In 1916, he took the position of Assistant Chief Engineer and head of the Engineering Department at the Standard Aero Corporation, under Charles Healy Day.

When America entered World War I, Barnaby resigned from Standard Aero and accepted a commission in the Navy, serving overseas until the spring of 1919. Barnaby then came home and attended the Navy Flight School at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida and the Aviation Ground School at M.I.T., after which he was awarded his wings. Barnaby served as the First U.S. Navy representative on the Army-Navy Standards Committee and, in 1920, he was made Project Engineer for the Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On 31 January 1930 Barnaby performed the first successful glider release from USS Los Angeles during tests at NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey. These tests led to the later operation of powered aircraft from USS Macon and USS Akron. During 1930 he also authored Gliders and Gliding, established the U.S. Navy's Glider School, NAS Pensacola, Florida and served as Chief Engineer and Assistant Manager of the Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia. Following the conclusion of the glider/dirigible tests, Barnaby was promoted to the rank of Lt Commander. In 1930 Barnaby joined the recently founded organization known as the Early Birds of Aviation, Inc.

From 1933 to 1939 Barnaby was assigned to a variety of bases in as many roles ranging from aircraft inspector at the Baltimore Naval Aircraft Factory (1933-1934) to repairs officer, NAS Pensacola (1934-1939). In 1938 Barnaby was promoted to the rank of Commander and a year later became Assistant Chief Engineer at the Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia, where he remained until America's entrance into World War II. During the war, Barnaby was assigned to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard handling the design and procurement of troop and cargo-carrying gliders. In 1944 Barnaby was responsible for establishing and directing the Naval Aircraft Modification Unit, Johnsville, Pennsylvania, later known as the Naval Development Center and from 1945 to 1947 Barnaby served as Commanding Officer. In 1947 he retired from the U.S. Navy at the rank of Captain.

Following his retirement, Barnaby took a position at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Pennsylvania. where he worked in a variety of capacities including Aeronautics Consultant to the Director of the Science Museum and Chief of the Aeronautics Section He was responsible for planning and directing air traffic control research and aeronautical engineering and for the acquisition of many of the Institute's early flight artifacts, most notable their Wright Model B Flyer, the type Barnaby was taught to fly by George W. Beatty in 1912. When he passed away, Barnaby held the title of "Keeper Emeritus, Hall of Aviation."

Aside from his Navy and professional career, Barnaby had a multitude of other interests. Prior to witnessing the Knabenshue and Baldwin dirigible flights, Barnaby wanted to be an artist and studied at the Art Students League in New York City. He was a skilled craftsman, working in several mediums, but is best known for his sculptures. Examples of his work include bronze busts of famous naval leaders at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, pieces at the Mariner's Museum at Newport News Virginia, the bronze of the Wright Brothers at the Wright Memorial in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and the bas relief of Thomas E. Selfridge, first man to die in an air crash at Fort Myer, Virginia. In addition, most of the medallions and pins cast and presented by the Early Birds of Aviation were designed by Barnaby. Numerous examples of self-designed greeting cards designed by Barnaby reflect his artistic talents.

Another of Barnaby's hobbies was paper airplanes. Barnaby used a design he perfected while acting as liaison officer at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio in 1927 to win Scientific America's First International Paper Airplane Competition in 1967. In 1968, he authored How to Make and Fly Paper Airplanes which sold widely and discussed holding a program with the Smithsonian on paper airplane construction.

In addition to being a Past President of the Early Birds of Aviation, Barnaby was a member and/or officer of many other aeronautical organizations. In 1960 he was named an "Elder Statesman of Aviation" by the National Aeronautics Association. He was also Fellow of the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences, Founder of the Soaring Society of America, member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association, Past President of Aero Club of Pennsylvania, member of the Gliding Committee of the Fèdèration Aèronautique Internationale, member of the Twirly Birds, the Philadelphia Glider Council, the Golden Eagles, the Army/Navy Club, the Society of Automotive Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, founder of the New York Model Aero Club and member of the Scientific Research Society of America.

Barnaby's awards are diverse and include the Legion of Merit for Naval Services, U.S. Navy Air Medal and the Medal of Merit from Columbia University. He was the 1955 recipient of the Paul Tissandier Diploma from the Fèdèration Aèronautique Internationale and was named to the Helms Athletic Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport of soaring and gliding in America.

Ralph Stanton Barnaby Timeline

1893 -- Ralph Stanton Barnaby born, 21 January, Meadville, Pennsylvania.

1900 -- Family moved to New York City.

1904-1908 -- Grace Church Choisters School, New York City; Trinity School.

1909 -- Designed, built and flew his own glider, 18 August, Roxbury Falls, Connecticut.

1911 -- Co-founded New York Model Aero Club.

1912 -- Took flying lesson with George Beatty, Long Island, New York.

1915 -- Graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University.

1915-1916 -- Worked with Alexander Graham Bell on designing high-speed boats for the Navy with the Elco Company, Bayonne, New Jersey.

1915-1916 -- In charge of sub-chaser assembly and testing at Montreal, Quebec.

1917 -- Joined Standard Aero Corporation with Charles Healy Day, was made Assistant Chief Engineer and head of Engineering Department.

1917 -- Accepted a commission in the United States Navy at rank of ensign; First Navy representative on the Army-Navy Standards Committee.

1917-1918 -- Attended Aviation Ground School, M.I.T.

1921 -- Promoted to rank of Lieutenant in U.S. Navy.

1920-1922 -- Project Engineer, Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia

1922-1927 -- Specification Division, Bureau of Aeronautics, Washington, DC.

1928-1929 -- Liaison officer, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.

1929-1933 -- Returned to Specifications Division, Bureau of Aeronautics, Washington, DC.

1930 -- 31 January, became the first individual dropped in a glider from a dirigible, USS Los Angeles.

1930 -- Authored Gliders and Gliding, Roland Press.

1930 -- Organized and directed the U.S. Navy's glider school, NAS Pensacola

1930 -- Served as Chief Engineer and Assistant Manager of the Naval Aircraft Factory.

1931 -- Promoted to rank of Lt. Commander, U.S. Navy.

1933-1934 -- Inspector for Naval aircraft, Baltimore, Maryland.

1934-1936 -- Repairs Officer, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida.

1936 -- Married Margaret E. Elston.

1937-1939 -- Assigned to Fleet Air Base, Coco Solo, Canal Zone.

1938 -- Promoted to rank of Commander, U.S. Navy.

1939-1941 -- Assistant Chief Engineer, Naval Aircraft Factory.

1944 -- Established the Naval Air Development Center, Johnsville, Pennsylvania.

1945-1947 -- Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Development Center, Johnsville, Pennsylvania.

1947 -- Retired from U.S. Navy at rank of Captain.

1947 -- Accepted position at Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1950 -- Served as Captain of the first American soaring team to participate in an international gliding event, Sweden.

1967-1968 -- Winner of the First International Paper Airplane Competition and authored How to Make and Fly Paper Airplanes.

1986 -- Passed away, 15 May, Center City, Pennsylvania.

General:

Additional Materials: The following materials were transferred to the National Air and Space Museum Aeronautics Division -- one Early Bird cap, one trophy, two plaques, medals, pins, and official Early Bird envelopes.

Provenance:

Ralph Stanton Barnaby, gift, 1987, 1987-0048, Not NASM

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:

Gliding and soaring  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Periodicals  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Genre/Form:

Correspondence

Diaries

Manuscripts

Photographs

Publications

Maps

Identifier:

NASM.1986.0048

See more items in:

Ralph Stanton Barnaby Papers

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg23121cf42-0f18-4da1-96c9-27eb2fed0abf

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-1986-0048

Creator:

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company  Search this

Author:

Garrett, John W. (John Work), 1820-1884  Search this

Latrobe, Benj. H. (Benjamin Henry), 1807-1878  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this

Extent:

33 Cubic feet (76 boxes, 46 map-folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Annual reports

Correspondence

Drawings

Glass plate negatives

Negatives (photographic)

Photographs

Tracings

Date:

1827-1987

Summary:

The collection consists of correspondence, invoices, drawings, photographs, and negatives and other printed literature documenting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from its inception in 1827 to its merger with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in the 1960s.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists of correspondence, engineering drawings, notes, photographs, transparencies, negatives, glass plate negatives, printed materials, and newspaper clippings documenting the Baltimore and Ohio railroad from its inception in 1827 to its merger with the Chesapeake and Ohio in the 1960s.

Arrangement:

The records are arranged into ten series.

Series 1, Historical Background, 1827-1987

Series 2, Bridge Histories, 1867-1966

Series 3, President's Office, 1826-1880

Series 4, Correspondence, 1826-1859

Series 5, Business Records, 1894-1914, and undated

Series 6, Agreement, 1870

Series 7, Drawings, 1858-1957, and undated

Subseries 7.1, Indices and Lists, 1924-1943, undated

Subseries 7.2, Bailey's Station, 1887; 1899; 1901

Subseries 7.3, Baltimore Belt Railroad, 1895, undated

Subseries 7.4, Bay View and Canton Bridges, 1884-1885

Subseries 7.5, Big Seneca Creek Viaduct, 1905

Subseries 7.6, Bollman Bridges, undated

Subseries 7.7, Boyds, Maryland Station, 1886; 1927

Subseries 7.8, Bridewell Station, undated

Subseries 7.9, Bridges (general), 1893-1917

Subseries 7.10, Brunswick, Maryland, 1890-1907

Subseries 7.11, Building Materials List, undated

Subseries 7.12, Building Signs, 1911-1912

Subseries 7.13, Camden Station, 1881-1942 (not inclusive)

Subseries 7.14, Camden Station (related), 1881-1915

Subseries 7.15, Centenary Bridge Models, 1927

Subseries 7.16, Central Office Building, undated

Subseries 7.17, Chestnut Street Station, 1925-1952

Subseries 7.18, Coaling facilities, water tanks, turntables, and miscellaneous structures, 1888-1912

Subseries 7.19, Cumberland Station, 1910-1955

Subseries 7.20, Curtis Bay Branch, 1900-1911

Subseries 7.21, Frederick Station, 1908-1915

Subseries 7.22, Hyattsville Station, 1913

Subseries 7.23, Keedysville Station, undated

Subseries 7.24, Laurel Station, undated

Subseries 7.25, Ledger, undated

Subseries 7.26, Lieperville Station, 1889

Subseries 7.27, Locust Point, 1881-1957

Subseries 7.28, Maps, 1862; 1918

Subseries 7.29, Martinsburg, West Virginia, 1913-1927

Subseries 7.30, Miscellaneous Buildings, 1875-1956

Subseries 7.31, Miscellaneous Large Photographs, undated

Subseries 7.32, Miscellaneous Structures, 1890-1916

Subseries 7.33: Mt. Clare (general)

Subseries 7.34, Mt. Clare New Blue Line Stable, 1899; 1905

Subseries 7.35, Mt. Clare New Car Shops, undated

Subseries 7.36, Mt. Royal Station, undated

Subseries 7.37, Newton Falls and Fairpoint, Ohio, 1909

Subseries 7.38, Patapsco River Bridge, 1883

Subseries 7.39, Plans for house no. 1846 (N. Gay Street, Baltimore, Maryland), undated

Subseries 7.40, Point of Rocks Station, 1951

Subseries 7.41, Scales, 1903

Subseries 7.42, Signal towers, 1900-1908

Subseries 7.43, Stations (general), 1866-1907

Subseries 7.44, Sykesville Station, undated

Subseries 7.45, Untitled, undated

Subseries 7.46, Warnings, 1894-1911

Subseries 7.47, Woodstock Station, undated

Subseries 7.48, Miscellaneous (rolled), 1858-1930 (not inclusive)

Series 8, Photographs and Copy Prints, 1872-1980s (not inclusive)

Subseries 8.1, Photographs, 1872-1980s

Subseries 8.2, Copy prints, 1901-1931, undated

Subseries 8.3, Indices and Lists, 1909-1920

Series 9, Negatives, 1850-1983 (bulk 1920s-1930s)

Subseries 9.1, Glass plate negatives (unidentified), undated

Subseries 9.2, Glass plate negatives (numbered), 1850-1957 (bulk 1920s-1930s)

Subseries 9.3, Negatives by number, undated

Subseries 9.4, Negatives by location, 1870; 1978-1983

Subseries 9.5, Negatives by subject, 1922-1930s, undated

Series 10, Stations and Buildings, 1884-1982

Biographical / Historical:

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) was the nation's first extensive steam powered railroad. It was founded by Baltimore merchants in 1827 as a means of promoting trade and making Baltimore competitive with other east coast ports. The original intent of the founders was to provide direct and fast access to the Ohio River, and the markets that the river reached. The railroad, however, went beyond the Ohio River and its lines went as far west as St. Louis and Chicago. The B&O was also known for its use of an electric locomotive in the mid 1890s. It also had a completely air conditioned train, and it was a forerunner in the use of diesel-electric locomotives. Company activities paralleled those of other American railroads and over the course of its life included expansion, near bankruptcy, innovations, regulations, and finally buy out. In February 1963, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) completed its purchase of the B&O. Today, B&O is part of the CSX Transportation (CSX) network.

John Work Garrett president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 1858-1884, was born in Baltimore, Maryland July 31, 1820. He was the second son of Elizabeth Stouffer and Robert Garrett. He married Rachel Ann Harrison, the daughter of Thomas Harrison, a Baltimore merchant. They had one daughter, Mary and two sons Robert and Thomas Harrison Garrett.

After attending Lafayette College (Pennsylvania) for two years John W. Garrett left in 1836 to become associated with his father's commission business in Baltimore. The commission house which dealt in wholesale groceries, produce, forwarding and a commission business expanded to establish direct connections with Latin America, seek outlets in Europe and develop its own banking operations. In time its financial operations overshadowed the commission and shipping business.

When John W. Garrett began to invest heavily in Baltimore and Ohio Railroad stock, the road was in competition with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the stock was not popular. Its value rose steadily over the years. Mr. Garrett was elected a director of the railroad in 1855. His report as chairman of a subcommittee on the need for additional funds to complete the line to the Ohio River led to his election to the presidency of the road on November 17, 1858, a position he held for 26 years. New policies with emphasis on economy, personal supervision and gradual expansion were inaugurated and consistently maintained, in spite of a general financial crisis, Mr. Garrett's first year in office showed a net gain in earnings.

Sympathetic to his southern friends during the Civil War, Mr. Garrett nevertheless supported the Union. He recognized the inevitability of Confederate defeat by superior northern resources. Confederate leaders blamed him for their inability to seize Washington and he received warm appreciation for his services to the Union cause from President Lincoln. The railroad stretched along the theater of war and twice crossed Confederate territory. It was, therefore, a main objective for southern attack. Branches were frequently damaged by Confederate raids, but the main line to Washington became important for the transport of troops and supplies. The Baltimore and Ohio carried out the first military rail transport in history and the transfer of 20,000 men from the Potomac to Chattanooga in 1863 was a major triumph for its president.

With the advent of peace Mr. Garrett turned to rebuilding and strengthening the railroad. He replaced equipment and track damaged by the war, then extended the system by securing direct routes to Pittsburgh and Chicago and arranging an independent line into New York. Wharves were built at Locust Point for ocean liners and a system of elevators erected. The B&O. built its own sleeping and dining cars, established hotels in the mountains and created its own express company. By 1880, after battles over rates with other trunk lines, a costly rivalry with the Pennsylvania Railroad over the eastern route and charges of discrimination against local shippers Mr. Garrett was at the height of his success. He cooperated in establishing the B. and 0. Employees Relief Association for accident and life insurance, a hospital system, saving and building funds, and arrangements for improving sanitation in the work place. He was on friendly terms with Johns Hopkins, a trustee of John Hopkins Hospital, and with George Peabody, founder of the Peabody institute of which he was also a trustee. Garrett County, Maryland was named in his honor.

John W. Garrett died on September 26, 1884 within a year of his wife's death in a carriage accident. During his connection with the railroad the stock increased from $57 to $200; at the outbreak of the Civil War the railroad was operating 514 miles of rail, gross earnings were $4,000,097 and net per mile was $4246.1 By 1864 gross earnings were $10,138,876 and net per mile, $7113.2 By the end of his presidency mileage had increased to 1711 miles and net earnings were $4535 per mile.3

References

1 -- National Cyclopedia of American Biography -- Vol. 18:3

2 -- National Cyclopedia of American Biography -- Vol. 18:3

3 -- National Cyclopedia of American Biography -- Vol. 18:3

Related Materials:

Materials at Other Organizations

Maryland Historical Society

Baltimore and Ohio Museum

Provenance:

This collection was donated to the National Museum of American History by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the 1960s.

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:

Bridges  Search this

Construction  Search this

Engineering -- 19th century  Search this

Railroads  Search this

Repairing -- Railroads  Search this

Railway engineering -- 1860-1890  Search this

Genre/Form:

Annual reports

Correspondence -- 19th century

Drawings -- 1860-1890

Glass plate negatives

Negatives (photographic)

Photographs

Tracings

Citation:

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1086

See more items in:

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8e652d903-bb57-46a8-a205-c7cbfe89f444

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1086

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Emery C. Leonard  Search this

Place:

Great Falls C. and O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

28 Apr 1918

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Malpighiales Violaceae Violoideae

Published Name:

Viola hirsutula Brainerd

Barcode:

00403685

USNM Number:

2163314

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3061efc3f-a9ff-4495-a769-e9ca409d3f65

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2182761

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Emery C. Leonard  Search this

Place:

Great Falls C. & O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

19 Oct 1919

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Fagales Betulaceae Betuloideae

Published Name:

Betula nigra L.

Barcode:

00387572

USNM Number:

2163684

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/30921a729-e5ea-4122-a9c8-b87341627ec4

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2201349

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

F. L. Boettcher  Search this

Place:

Washington Canal, Dismal Swamp., Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

30 May 1893

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Cornales Nyssaceae

Published Name:

Nyssa aquatica L.

Barcode:

03097747

USNM Number:

859618

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3f3d66977-246d-48b1-a50d-a14c2f97d328

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_14466481

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Jessie Baker Norton  Search this

Place:

Sandy flatland along canal Gilmerton., Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

17 Jul 1915

Taxonomy:

Plantae Monocotyledonae Liliales Smilacaceae

Published Name:

Smilax rotundifolia L.

Barcode:

03939048

USNM Number:

588864

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/36f54c395-076c-483e-81f5-c5d7f30afb7f

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_15703942

Creator:

Clark, George Howard, 1881-1956  Search this

Names:

American Marconi Company.  Search this

Radio Corporation of America.  Search this

Former owner:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Electricity and Modern Physics  Search this

Extent:

220 Cubic feet (534 boxes, 25 map-folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Technical manuals

Clippings

Patents

Correspondence

Blueprints

Letters patent

Photographs

Sale catalogs

Technical drawings

Date:

circa 1880-1950

Summary:

The collection forms a documentary record of over half a century of the history of radio, with the greatest emphasis on the period 1900-1935. The collection includes materials that span the entire history of the growth of the radio industry. It is useful for those historians and other researchers interested in technological development, economic history, and the impact of applications of technology on American life.

Scope and Contents:

The materials accumulated in this collection represent the overriding collecting passion of one individual, George H. Clark. The collection forms a documentary record of over half a century of the history of radio, with the greatest emphasis on the period 1900-1935.

The collection includes materials that span the entire history of the growth of the radio industry. It is useful for those historians and other researchers interested in technological development, economic history, and the impact of applications of technology on American life.

In particular, the collection is rich in biographical information on the men who developed the technical aspects of radio and the industry; information on the inception, growth, and activities of radio companies, most notably the National Electric Signaling Company and RCA; and in photographs of all aspects of Radioana.

While most materials document technical aspects of radio, there is much information (e.g. Series 109, 134) on broadcasting and on the early history of television.

The collection, housed in over 700 boxes (about 276 linear feet), was organized into 259 numbered "classes" or series by Clark. Sixty series numbers were never used or were eliminated by Clark and combined with other series. The unused numbers are scattered throughout the filing system. The collection also includes material from series that were eliminated. These materials were never reclassified and are included as an unprocessed series at the end of the series descriptions. The collection also contains material that was never assigned a "class" designation by Clark (Lettered Series: D, E, F, G, H).

The arrangement of the collection is Clark's own; his adaptation of the Navy filing system he helped devise in 1915. Clark periodically revised the filing system and reclassified items within it.

Clark assigned class numbers to types of equipment (e.g. broadcast receivers), systems (impulse-excited transmitters and systems), scientific theories (circuit theory), and topics (company history, biography). Box 1 contains descriptions of the classification system.

When Clark classified an item and filed it he also assigned a serial number. This classification begins with 1 (or 1A) for the first item in the class and continues with successive numbers as items were added. As a consequence, the order of individual items within a series reflects the order in which Clark filed them, not any logical relationship between the items. Clark created cross references for items dealing with more than one subject by making notations on blank sheets of paper placed in related series.

Clark made cross references between series when there was no logical relationship between them; that is, when a person using the collection would not normally look in the series. For example no cross reference would be made of an engineer from series 87 (portraits) to series 4 (biography), but one would be made from series 87 to series 142 (history of television) if the item showed the engineer, say, working on a television installation.

Clark created the insignia "SRM" as the sign on the bottom of all sheets of paper numbered by him for binding. SRM stood for Smithsonian Radio Museum. This replaced the earlier though not greatly used sign "CGM." For a time about 1930, the class number on each sheet was preceded by these: "C.G.M.", for Clark, Martin, and Goldsmith, the earliest contributors to what would become the Clark Radioana Collection. After about 1933-34 Clark used C.W.C. for Clark Wireless Collection.

There are many photographs located in most series throughout the collection. But there are also three exclusive photographic series. Lettered series A, B, C. See index; and also series descriptions under lettered series.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into 223 series.

Numbered Series 1-233:

Series 1, Library Operating System, 1915-1950

Series 2, Apparatus Type Numbers, 1916-1931

Series 3, Photographic Lists, 1925-1928

Series 4, Biographies of Radio Personages, Technical Index to Correspondents in Series 4

Series 5, History of Radio Companies, 1895-1950

De Forest Radio Company, 1905-1930s

Jenkins Televsion Corporation, 1924-1931

Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, 1908-1929

National Electric Signaling Company, 1896-1941

Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company, 1906-1929

Radio Corporation of America, 1895-1950

Series 6, Shore Stations, 1900-1940

Series 7, Marine Stations, 1900-1930s

Series 8, Broadcasting Stations, 1910s-1940s

Series 9, Amateur Stations, 1910s-1940s

Series 10, Miscellaneous Information, 1911-1914

Series 11, Radio Antiques, 1921-1938

Series 13, Specifications of Radio Apparatus, 1910s-1930s

Series 14, General History, 1899-1950s

Series 15, Radio Companies Catalogues & Bound Advertisements, 1873-1941

Series 16, Log Books, 1902-1923

Series 17, Radio Companies' House Organs, 1896-1942

Series 18, Prime Movers, 1904-1911

Series 19, Batteries, 1898-1934

Series 20, Rectifiers, 1875-1935

Series 21, Motor Generators, 1898-1936

Series 22, Nameplates of Apparatus, 1928

Series 23, Switchboards and Switchboard Instruments, 1910-1935

Series 24, Radio Frequency Switches, 1905-1905-1933

Series 25, Transmitter Transformers, 1893-1949

Series 26, Operating Keys, 1843-1949

Series 27, Power Type Interrupters, 1902-1938

Series 28, Protective Devices, 1910-1925

Series 30, Message Blanks, 1908-1938

Series 31, Transmitter Condensers, 1849-1943

Series 32, Spark Gaps, 1905-1913

Series 33, Transmitter Inductances, 1907-1922

Series 34, Transmitter Wave Changers, 1907-1924

Series 37, ARC Transmitters, 1907-1940

Series 38, Vacuum Tube Type of Radio Transmitter, 1914-1947

Series 39, Radio Transmitter, Radio-Frequency, Alternator Type, 1894-1940

Series 41, Vacuum Tubes, Transmitting Type, 1905-1948

Series 43, Receiving Systems, 1904-1934

Series 45, Broadcast Receivers, 1907-1948

Series 46, Code Receivers, 1902-1948

Series 47, Receiving Inductances, 1898-1944

Series 48, Receiving Condensers, 1871-1946

Series 49, Audio Signal Devices, 1876-1947

Series 50, Detectors, 1878-1944

Series 51, Amplifiers, 1903-1949

Series 52, Receiving Vacuum Tubes, 1905-1949

Series 53, Television Receivers, 1928-1948

Series 54, Photo-Radio Apparatus, 1910-1947

Series 59, Radio Schools, 1902-1945

Series 60, Loudspeakers, 1896-1946

Series 61, Insulators, 1844-1943

Series 62, Wires, 1906-1945

Series 63, Microphones, 1911-1947

Series 64, Biography, 1925-1948

Series 66, Antennas, 1877-1949

Series 67, Telautomatics, 1912-1944

Series 69, Direction Finding Equipment, Radio Compasses, 1885-1948

Series 71, Aircraft Transmitters, 1908-1947

Series 72, Field or Portables Transmitters, 1901-1941

Series 73, Mobile Radio Systems, 1884-1946

Series 74, Radio Frequency Measuring Instruments, 1903-1946

Series 75, Laboratory Testing Methods and Systems, 1891-1945

Series 76, Aircraft Receivers, 1917-1941

Series 77, Field Portable Receivers, 1906-1922

Series 78, Spark Transmitter Assembly, 1909-1940

Series 79, Spark Transmitter System, 1900-1945

Series 82, Firsts in Radio, undated

Series 85: Distance Records and Tests, 1898-1940

Series 87, Photographs of Radio Executives, and Technical Types, 1857-1952

Series 90, Radio Terms, 1857-1939

Series 92, Static Patents and Static Reducing Systems, 1891-1946

Series 93, Low Frequency Indicating Devices, 1904-1946

Series 95, Articles on Radio Subjects, 1891-1945

Series 96, Radio in Education, 1922-1939

Series 98, Special Forms of Broadcasting, 1921-1943

Series 99, History of Lifesaving at Sea by Radio, 1902-1949

Series 100, History of Naval Radio, 1888-1948

Series 101, Military Radio, 1898-1946

Series 102, Transmitting & Receiving Systems, 1902-1935

Series 103, Receiving Methods, 1905-1935

Series 108, Codes and Ciphers, 1894-1947

Series 109, Schedules of Broadcasting & TV Stations, 1905-1940

Series 112, Radio Shows and Displays, 1922-1947

Series 114, Centralized Radio Systems, 1929-1935

Series 116, United States Government Activities in Radio, 1906-1949

Series 117, Technical Tables, 1903-1932

Series 120, Litigation on Radio Subjects, 1914-1947

Series 121, Legislation, 1914-1947

Series 122, History of Radio Clubs, 1907-1946

Series 123, Special Applications of Radio Frequency, 1924-1949

Series 124, Chronology, 1926-1937

Series 125, Radio Patents & Patent Practices, 1861-1949

Series 126, Phonographs, 1894-1949

Series 127, Piezo Electric Effect, 1914-1947

Series 128, ARC Transmitting & Reciving Systems, 1904-1922

Series 129, Spark Systems, 1898-1941

Series 130, Vacuum Tubes Systems, 1902-1939

Series 132, Radiophone Transmitting & Receiving System, 1906-1947

Series 133, Photo-Radio, 1899-1947

Series 134, History of Radio Broadcasting, 1908-

Series 135, History of Radiotelephony, Other Than Broadcasting

Series 136, History of Amateur Radio

Series 138, Transoceanic Communication

Series 139, Television Transmitting Stations

Series 140, Radio Theory

Series 142, History of Television

Series 143, Photographs

Series 144, Radio Publications

Series 145, Proceedings of Radio Societies

Series 146: Radio Museums

Series 147, Bibliography of Radio Subjects and Apparatus

Series 148, Aircraft Guidance Apparatus

Series 150, Audio Frequency Instruments

Series 151, History of Radio for Aircrafts

Series 152, Circuit Theory

Series 154, Static Elimination

Series 161, Radio in Medicine

Series 162, Lighting

Series 163, Police Radio

Series 169, Cartoons

Series 173, Communications, Exclusive of Radio (after 1895)

Series 174, Television Methods and Systems

Series 182, Military Portable Sets

Series 189, Humor in Radio (see Series 169)

Series 209, Short Waves

Series 226, Radar

Series 233, Television Transmitter

Lettered Series

Series A, Thomas Coke Knight RCA Photographs, circa 1902-1950

Series B, George H. Clark Collection of Photographs by ClassSeries C, Clark Unorganized and/or Duplicate Photographs

Series D, Miscellaneous

Series E, News Clippings Series F: Radio Publications

Series G, Patent Files of Darby and Darby, Attorneys, circa 1914-1935

Series H, Blank Telegram Forms from many Companies and Countries Throughout the World

Series I (eye), Miscellaneous Series

Series J, Research and Laboratory Notebooks

Series K, Index to Photographs of Radio Executives and Technical Types

Series L, Index to Bound Volumes of Photos in Various Series

Series M, Index to David Sarnoff Photographs

Series N, Federal Government Personnel Files

Series O, Addenda Materials

Biographical / Historical:

George Howard Clark, born February 15, 1881, at Alberton, Prince Edward Island, Canada, emigrated to the United States at the age of fourteen. He worked as a railroad telegraph operator for the Boston and Maine Railroad during high school and college. In his unpublished autobiography he wrote:

In 1888, when I was a lad of seven, I suddenly blossomed out as a scrapbook addict, and for years I gave up boyhood games for the pleasure of sitting in a lonely attic and 'pasting up' my books ... By 1897, in high school, I graduated to beautiful pictures, and made many large size scrapbooks ... Around that time, too, I became infatuated with things electrical, and spent many evenings copying in pen and ink the various electrical text books in the Everett, Mass., Public Library. Clark began collecting material pertaining to wireless or radio in 1902. In 1903 he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. During his last year of college he specialized in radio work under the instruction of Professor John Stone Stone and after graduation went to work for Stone's radio company, the Stone Telegraph and Telephone Company, of Boston.

In 1908 Clark took a competitive examination open to all wireless engineers in the United States and entered the civilian service of the Navy. He was stationed at the Washington Navy Yard, with special additional duty at the Navy's Bureau of Steam Engineering and at the National Bureau of Standards.

In 1915 Clark helped devise a classification system for Navy equipment, assigning a code number to each item. This system of classification for blueprints, photographs, reports, and general data, was prepared by Arthur Trogner, Guy Hill, and Clark, all civilian radio experts with the US Navy Department in Washington. In 1918 Clark adopted the 1915 Navy classification system for organizing the radio data he was accumulating. Clark created the term "Radioana" at this time. He began spending his evenings and weekends pasting up his collection and numbering pages. At this time he bound the accumulated material. It totaled 100 volumes.

In July 1919, after resigning from the Navy, Clark joined the engineering staff of the Marconi Telegraph Company of America, which became part of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) later the same year. His first work was at Belmar and Lakewood, New Jersey, assisting the chief engineer, Roy A. Weagant, in his development of circuits to reduce the interference caused by static (static reduction). Clark and his wife were assigned to the unheated Engineer's Cottage. His wife decided not to stay and left for Florida. Clark moved his trunks of wireless material to the heated RCA hotel at Belmar and spent most of the winter "pasting." As Clark mentions, "From that time on I was wedded to scraps."

After a year of work in New Jersey, Clark was assigned to the sales department in New York, where he devised the "type number system" used by RCA. This type number system, for example, gave the designation UV 201 to the company's first amplifier tube.

From 1922 to 1934 Clark was in charge of RCA's newly created Show Division, which held exhibits of new and old radio apparatus at state fairs, department stores, and radio shows. About 1928 Clark started an antique radio apparatus museum for RCA. RCA's board of directors announced:

Recognizing the importance of providing a Museum for the Radio Art to house the rapidly disappearing relics of earlier days, and the desirability of collecting for it without further delay examples of apparatus in use since the inception of radio, the Board of Directors of RCA has made an initial appropriation of $100,000, as the nucleus of a fund for the establishment of a National Radio Museum. A plan for ultimately placing the museum under the wing of the Smithsonian Institution was coupled with the goal of the Institution's gathering the largest possible library of wireless data.

Around 1933 the RCA traveling exhibition program ended and Clark started classifying his collected "radioana" material. The objects of the museum were eventually turned over for exhibit purposes to the Rosenwald Museum in Chicago and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, when space was not forthcoming at the Smithsonian. A list of objects sent to the two museums (with tag and case numbers) is in Series 1, Box A. The "radioana" collection remained under Clark's care during the 1930s, and became of increasing use to RCA. Clark continued to add to the material.

Between 1934 and 1942 Clark was in court many times regarding patent infringements. Clark's wireless data was useful and he testified frequently, for example, in RCA's suit against the United States in the Court of Claims over the Marconi tuning patents and in the Westinghouse Company's suit against the United States over the heterodyne. Patent specifications and material regarding these and other radio industry suits are found throughout this collection.

In 1946 RCA retired George Clark and denied him space to house his "radioana" collection. Clark wished to remain in New York and house the collection somewhere in the city where it would be open at all times to the public and where it would be maintained. He hoped to continue cataloguing the collection and writing books from its information. He wanted to keep the collection under his control for as long as he was capable of using it.

George H. Clark died in 1956 and his collection was subsequently given to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1959 the collection was given to the Smithsonian's new Museum of History and Technology, where space was available to house it. The collection remained in the Division of Electricity until the spring of 1983 when it was transferred to the Archives Center.

Brief Company Histories From The Radio Industry, 1900-1930s:

Introduction

At the end of the nineteenth century, when Guglielmo Marconi began his first wireless company, Western Union, Postal Telegraph, and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) were the major enterprises in electrical communications. General Electric, Western Electric, and Westinghouse were the major producers of electrical equipment. All these earlier developments set the stage for the expansion of the radio industry.

General Electric, which dominated the lighting industry, was formed in 1892 as a merger of the Edison and Thomson-Houston companies. It was active in building central power station equipment; controlled nearly all the important early patents in electric railways; took a leading part in the introduction of trolley systems; and was the principal supplier of electric motors. Westinghouse promoted the alternating current system and installed the first AC central station in Buffalo, NY, during the winter of 1866-1867. After years of patent litigation, in 1896 GE and Westinghouse agreed to share their patents on electrical apparatus.

American Bell Telephone Company purchased Western Electric in 1881. Western Electric had a strong patent position in telephone equipment and in industrial power apparatus, such as arc lamps, generators, motors, and switchboard equipment.

Until RCA was formed in 1919, these established electrical companies played no active part in the early development of the American radio industry. They were in difficult financial positions, reorganizing, or concentrating their efforts and resources on improving their existing products.

The revolution in "wireless" technology, which began in earnest after 1900, centered in New York City, home of the Lee de Forest and American Marconi companies, and in Boston, headquarters of John Stone Stone and Reginald Fessenden.

Information in this section was compiled from the Clark Collection; the Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry by W. Rupert Maclaurin, Macmillan Company, New York, 1949; and Radio Pioneers, Institute of Radio Engineers, Commemorating the Radio Pioneers Dinner, Hotel Commodore, New York, NY, November 8, 1945.

The De Forest Companies

Lee De Forest (1873-1961), inventor of the three-element vacuum tube or triode (1906) and the feedback circuit, was one of the first Americans to write a doctoral thesis on wireless telegraphy: "The Reflection of Short Hertzian Waves from the Ends of Parallel Wires," Yale University, 1899. The grid-controlled tube or audion of De Forest was first a radio detector, 1906-1907; in 1912 was adapted to an amplifier; and later to an oscillator. When it was perfected as a high vacuum tube, it became the great electronic instrument of electrical communications.

De Forest began work in the Dynamo Department at the Western Electric Company in 1899. Six months later he was promoted to the telephone laboratory. In 1900 De Forest went to work for the American Wireless Telegraph Company where he was able to carry out work on his "responder." However, after three months when De Forest refused to turn over the responder to the company, he was fired.

In the following year De Forest had a number of jobs, was active as an inventor, and created numerous firms to manufacture his inventions. In 1901 De Forest joined with Ed Smythe, a former Western Electric colleague and a collaborator in his research, to found the firm of De Forest, Smythe, and Freeman. Between 1902 and 1906 De Forest took out thirty-four patents on all phases of wireless telegraphy. The responder that he had been working on for so long never proved satisfactory.

The numerous De Forest companies, reflected his many interests and his inability to carry one project through to a conclusion. Unlike Marconi, but similar to Fessenden, De Forest had great inventive skill which resulted in a great number of companies; but none lasted long. The original partnership of 1901 led to the Wireless Telegraph Co. of America (1901), the De Forest Wireless Telegraph Company (Maine) (1902), and the American De Forest Wireless Telegraph Company (1903), to name a few.

The American De Forest Wireless Telegraph Company was incorporated after De Forest met a stock promoter, Abraham White. While many stations were built by this company, many never sent a message due to static interference. In 1907 two speculators from Denver with large holdings of company stock put the company out of business. The assets were sold to a new company that these speculators organized, the United Wireless Telephone Company. De Forest was forced to resign. He took the triode patents with him.

De Forest joined with one of White's stock salesmen, James Dunlop Smith, and together with De Forest's patent attorney, Samuel E. Darby, they formed a new corporation, the De Forest Radio Telephone Company in 1907. This company set out to develop wireless communication by means of the radio telephone.

In January 1910 De Forest staged the first opera broadcast, with Enrico Caruso singing. The Radio Telephone Company went bankrupt in 1911 following an aborted merger with North American Wireless Corporation. In 1913 he reorganized the company as the Radio Telephone and Telegraph Company and began producing the triode.

The Marconi Company brought a patent suit, claiming the triode infringed on the Fleming valve to which it had rights. In 1916 the court decided that Marconi had infringed the three element De Forest patent and that De Forest had infringed the two element Fleming valve. The result was that neither company could manufacture the triode.

In 1920 RCA acquired the De Forest triode rights through cross-licensing agreements with AT&T which had recently purchased the rights to it. De Forest's company was no match for GE, Westinghouse, and RCA. The De Forest Radio Company (1923) went bankrupt in 1928, was reorganized in 1930, and went into receivership in 1933. RCA eventually purchased its assets.

Marconi Companies

Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) came from a wealthy and well connected Italian family. He was able to spend his time developing his inventions and following his own course of action. Marconi spent his entire life developing wireless communication into a "practical" reality. In 1905 Marconi invented a directional antenna. In 1909 he shared with Karl Ferdinand Braun the Nobel prize in physics. And in 1912 he invented the time spark system for the generation of continuous waves. The principal patents in his name were improved types of vertical antennas; improved coherer; magnetic detector for the detection of wireless signals; and improvements on methods of selective tuning. Two other inventions of great importance to the Marconi companies' patent structure were the Oliver Lodge tuning patent and the Ambrose Fleming valve.

In 1895 Marconi made the first successful transmission of long wave signals. The following year he met William Preece, engineer-in-chief of the British Post Office, who was interested in inductive wireless telegraphy. This meeting led to the formation in 1897 of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company Ltd. In 1898 he transmitted signals across the English Channel. In 1899 an American subsidiary was formed. The various Marconi companies were the dominant enterprises in both British and American wireless until 1919 when RCA was formed.

From a business standpoint, wireless did not become profitable until long distance communications were accomplished. On December 12, 1901 in St. John's, Newfoundland, Marconi received a telegraph signal in the form of repetitions of the Morse telegraphic letter "S" transmitted from the Marconi station at Poldhu, Cornwall, England. This success, however, was met by opposition from vested interests, particularly the Anglo-American Telegraph Company whose cables terminated in Newfoundland.

So as not to restrict his company's future to one front alone, Marconi decided to exploit the field of communication with ships at sea. In order to control this field he decided in 1900 to lease his apparatus rather than sell it outright. This strategy did not work. Competition developed in Germany (Telefunken Corporation) and the United States (American De Forest and its successor, United Wireless) and Marconi was forced to sell rather than lease apparatus to the navies of various countries. He nevertheless retained numerous restrictions. This led to further friction. At the height of this debacle English stations worldwide refused to communicate with ships without Marconi equipment. This absurd and dangerous situation had to change and coastal stations opened up to all senders in 1908.

Marconi's system was based on spark technology. He saw no need for voice transmission. He felt the Morse code adequate for communication between ships and across oceans. He, along with most others, did not foresee the development of the radio and the broadcasting industry. He was a pragmatist and uninterested in scientific inquiry in a field where commercial viability was unknown.

For these reasons Marconi left the early experimentation with the radio telephone to others, particularly Lee De Forest and Reginald Fessenden.

National Electric Signaling Company

Canadian-born Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932), one of the principal early radio inventors and the first important inventor to experiment with wireless, left the University of Pittsburgh in 1900 to work for the U.S. Weather Bureau. There he invented the liquid barretter, an early radio receiver, and attempted to work out a means for wireless transmission of weather forecasts. After a squabble over patent rights, Fessenden resigned in 1902.

The National Electric Signaling Company (NESCO), primarily intended to support Fessenden's work on wireless, telegraphy, and telephony, was formed by Fessenden and two Pittsburgh capitalists, Hay Walker, Jr. and Thomas H. Given. It began as an inventor's laboratory and never proved successful as a business venture.

Fessenden recognized that a continuous wave transmission was required for speech and he continued the work of Nikola Tesla, John Stone Stone, and Elihu Thomson on this subject. Fessenden felt he could also transmit and receive Morse code better by the continuous wave method than with a spark-apparatus as Marconi was using.

In 1903 Fessenden's first high-frequency alternator needed for continuous wave transmission was built to his specifications by Charles Steinmetz of GE. In 1906 Fessenden obtained a second alternator of greater power from GE and on Christmas Eve broadcast a program of speech and music. The work on this alternator was given to Ernst F. W. Alexanderson. It took years for Alexanderson to develop an alternator capable of transmitting regular voice transmissions over the Atlantic. But by 1916 the Fessenden-Alexanderson alternator was more reliable for transatlantic communication than the spark apparatus.

Fessenden also worked on continuous-wave reception. This work arose out of his desire for a more effective type of receiver than the coherer, a delicate device that was limited by its sensitivity on a rolling ship at sea. In 1903 he developed a new receiving mechanism - the electrolytic detector.

As his work progressed Fessenden evolved the heterodyne system. However, due to faulty construction and the fact that it was ahead of its time, heterodyne reception was not fully appreciated until the oscillating triode was devised, thus allowing a practical means of generating the local frequency.

Between 1905 and 1913 Fessenden developed a completely self-sustaining wireless system. However, constant quarrels between Fessenden, Walker, and Given culminated in Fessenden's forming the Fessenden Wireless Company of Canada. He felt a Canadian company could better compete with British Marconi. As a result, his backers dismissed Fessenden from NESCO in January of 1911. Fessenden brought suit, won, and was awarded damages. To conserve assets pending appeal, NESCO went into receivership in 1912, and Samuel Kintner was appointed general manager of the company.

In 1917 Given and Walker formed International Signal Company (ISC) and transferred NESCO's patent assets to the new company. Westinghouse obtained majority control of ISC through the purchase of $2,500,000 worth of stock. The company was then reincorporated as The International Radio Telegraph Company. The Westinghouse-RCA agreements were signed in 1921 and International's assets were transferred to RCA.

RCA

The development of the radio industry accelerated after 1912. This was due to several factors, the most important of which was the passage of legislation by the US government requiring ships at sea to carry wireless. This created a market incentive and spurred the growth of the industry. Also, with the outbreak of World War I, the larger electrical companies turned their manufacturing output to radio apparatus, supporting the war effort. Three firms were prominent in this industrial endeavor: AT&T, GE, and Westinghouse.

AT&T's early contributions to this effort centered on their improvements of De Forest's triode, particularly in the evolution of circuits, the redesign of the mechanical structure, and an increase in the plate design. The importation of the Gaede molecular pump from Germany created a very high vacuum. The resulting high-vacuum tube brought the practical aspects of the wireless telephone closer to reality. By August 1915 speech had been sent by land wire to Arlington, Va., automatically picked up there via a newly developed vacuum-tube transmitter, and subsequently received at Darien, Canal Zone. By 1920 AT&T had purchased the rights to the De Forest triode and feedback circuit, and had placed itself in a strong position in the evolution of radio technology.

GE centered its efforts on the alternator, assigning Ernst F. W. Alexanderson to its design, and on further development of vacuum tube equipment for continuous wave telegraph transmission. By 1915 Alexanderson, Irving Langmuir, William D. Coolidge, and others had developed a complete system of continuous wave transmission and reception for GE.

As can be seen, both AT&T and GE were diverting major time and expenditures on vacuum tube research. This inevitably led to patent interferences and consequently, to cross-licensing arrangements.

Westinghouse was not in the strategic position of GE and AT&T. Nevertheless, during the war it did manufacture large quantities of radio apparatus, motors, generators, and rectifiers for the European and American governments. Postwar moves led Westinghouse into full partnership with the other two companies.

By the end of the war, all three companies had committed significant resources to wireless. They were hampered internationally, however, by the Marconi Company's dominant status, and in the United States they were blocked by opposing interests with control of key patents.

The US government also was concerned with this lack of solidarity in the wireless industry and over the British domination of the field worldwide. This impasse set a fascinating and complicated stage for the formation of the RCA.

Owen D. Young, legal counselor for GE, was instrumental in breaking the impasse. Through an innovative and far-reaching organizational consolidation, Young was able to persuade British Marconi that persistence in monopoly was a fruitless exercise, because of the strong US government feelings. Marconi, realizing the harm of a potential American boycott, finally agreed to terms. GE purchased the controlling interest in American Marconi, and RCA was formed. Young was made chairman of the board of RCA, while Edwin J. Nally and David Sarnoff of the old American Marconi were appointed president and commercial manager respectively.

On July 1, 1920, RCA signed a cross-licensing agreement with AT&T. The telephone company purchased one half million shares of RCA common and preferred stock for several considerations -- the most important being that all current and future radio patents of the two companies were available to each other royalty-free for ten years. Many provisions of these agreements were ambiguous and led to later squabbles between the RCA partners.

In May 1920 Westinghouse, which had an efficient radio manufacturing organization, formed an alliance with the International Radio and Telegraph Company (NESCO's successor). Westinghouse's part ownership gave them control of Fessenden's patents, particularly continuous-wave transmission and heterodyne transmission. Westinghouse also wisely purchased in October of 1920 Armstrong's patents on the regenerative and superheterodyne circuits -- which also included some of Columbia University professor Michael Pupin's patents. This placed Westinghouse in a strong bargaining position vis-à-vis RCA and in their new consolidated corporation. Westinghouse joined the growing group of radio companies on June 30, 1921. With these mergers, RCA agreed to purchase forty percent of its radio apparatus from Westinghouse and sixty percent from GE.

Through these and other legal arrangements, RCA obtained the rights to over 2,000 patents. These amounted to practically all the patents of importance in the radio science of that day. As a result, other firms in the radio industry, for example, the United Fruit Company and the Wireless Specialty Apparatus Company, entered into cross-licensing arrangements with RCA.

RCA also made arrangements internationally with the three dominant companies in radio communication in their respective countries. British Marconi, Compagnie Generale de Telegraphie sans fil, and Telefunken. Each corporation was given exclusive rights to use the other companies' patents within their own territories.

The rise of amateur radio in the 1920s and, to a greater extent, the demand for new products by the general public contributed to the rise of the broadcasting industry. This put a strain on the earlier agreements between the major radio corporations and between 1921 and 1928 there was a struggle over patents for control of the evolving medium.

An initial attempt by AT&T to control the broadcasting industry -- using its earlier cross-licensing agreements to manufacture radio telephone transmitting equipment -- began with AT&T's disposal of RCA stock holdings in 1922-1923. It ended in 1926 with a new cross-licensing agreement which gave AT&T exclusive patent rights in the field of public service telephony and gave GE, RCA, and Westinghouse exclusive patent rights in the areas covered by wireless telegraphy, entertainment broadcasting, and the manufacture of radio sets and receiving tubes for public sale.

In 1926 after the agreements were finalized, RCA, GE, and Westinghouse joined forces and established the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Fifty percent of the stock went to RCA, thirty percent to GE, and twenty percent to Westinghouse. The new company was divided into three divisions: the Red, Blue, and Pacific Networks. Independent, competing networks soon emerged. William S. Paley and his family formed the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1927. The Mutual Broadcasting System was formed in 1934.

By 1928 RCA had strong patent positions in all major areas of the radio industry, including the research, development and manufacture of vacuum tubes and speakers. Most small companies entering the industry in the 1920s produced their products based on prior research by others and on expired patents. An RCA license, therefore, was essential for the manufacture of any modern radio set or vacuum tube.

In the late 1920s new developments in the reproduction of sound, produced significant changes in the phonograph industry. Among those new developments were the introduction of the electronic record, and the marketing of the Radiola 104 Loudspeaker in 1926. In 1929 RCA purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company. This changed not only the quality but the sales of the phonograph and the phonograph record. A new entertainment industry was born and an ever-expanding market for consumer products was created with cultural implications that continue today.

Telefunken

German industrialists were eager to break the Marconi Company's monopoly. Although Marconi had patents on his inventions in Germany, the Germans developed a rival system through the Telefunken Corporation, incorporated in 1903, based on the inventions of Professor Ferdinand Braun, Dr. Rudolf Slaby, and Count George von Arco.

Before 1903 the Braun-Siemens and Halske system had been developed by Gesellschaft fur Drahtlose Telegraphie (GFDT). The Slaby-Arco system had been developed by Allgemeine Electrizitats-Gesellschaft. After litigation over patents, the German court handed down a decision in favor of the GFDT. The Kaiser, with national interests in mind, ordered that the rivalry cease. The two systems were amalgamated under GFDT, and became known as the Telefunken.

Chronology of Some Significant Events In The History of The Radio Industry

1895 -- Marconi experiments with Hertz's oscillator and Branley's coherer.

1897 -- In March Marconi demonstrates his wireless system on Salisbury Plain, near London, and files a complete patent specification. In May trials of Marconi's system are made over water between Lavernock and Flatholm, a distance of three miles. On May 13, communication is established between Lavernock Point and Brean Down, a distance of eight miles. German scientist Professor Slaby is present. The first Marconi station is erected at the Needles, Isle of Wight. A distance of fourteen and one-half miles is bridged by wireless. In December the Marconi station at the Needles communicates with a ship eighteen miles at sea.

1898 -- In England Oliver Lodge files a complete specification covering inventions in wireless telegraphy.

1899 -- The New York Herald uses Marconi's wireless telegraphy to report the progress of the International Yacht races between the Columbia and the Shamrock off New York harbor in September. US. Navy vessels make trials of Marconi's wireless telegraph system. The cruiser New York and the battleship Massachusetts are equipped with apparatus. Fessenden develops improvements in methods of wireless telegraph signaling.

1900 -- The Marconi International Marine Communication Company is organized on April 25th in London. Reginald Aubrey Fessenden begins work at the United States Weather Bureau. Over the next two years he invents the liquid barretter, an improved radio receiver.

1901 -- In February on board the SS Philadelphia, Marconi receives wireless signals over a distance of 1,551 miles. In March Marconi wireless telegraph service begins between islands of the Hawaiian group. On December 12, Marconi receives transatlantic signal at St. John's, Newfoundland from Poldhu, Cornwall, England. The Canadian government orders two Marconi telegraph sets for use at coastal points along the Strait of Belle Isle.

1901 -- Fessenden procures US patent no. 706737 for a system of radio signaling employing long waves (low frequency). De Forest develops a system of wireless telegraphy in Chicago. 1903-06 10,000 to 50,000 cycle machines, 1 kW, are developed by Steinmetz and by Alexanderson of GE for Fessenden. 1905 Marconi procures patent number 14788 in England, covering the invention of the horizontal directional antenna.

1906 -- At Brant Rock, Massachusetts, Fessenden employs a generator of one-half kW capacity, operating at 75,000 cycles, for radio purposes. He succeeds in telephoning a distance of eleven miles by means of wireless telephone apparatus.

1907 -- De Forest procures a U. S. patent for an audion amplifier of pulsating or alternating current.

1908 -- Marconi stations in Canada and England are opened for radio telegraph service across the Atlantic. Fessenden constructs a 70,000-cycle alternator with an output of 2.5 kW. at 225 volts, for radio signaling purposes. He reports successful radio telephone tests between Brant Rock and Washington, DC, a distance of 600 miles.

1909 -- US House of Representatives passes the Burke Bill for the compulsory use of radio telegraphy on certain classes of vessels. The United Wireless Telegraph Company and the Radio Telephone Company of New York (De Forest and Stone systems) begin the erection of radio stations in the Central and Western states. Marconi shares with Ferdinand Braun of Germany the Nobel prize in recognition of contributions in wireless telegraphy.

1910 -- An act of the US government requires radio equipment and operators on certain types of passenger ships. The Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Marconi station is opened in September. This station communicates with Clifden, Ireland. The transatlantic tariff is seventeen cents a word.

1911 -- A radio section is organized by the US Department of Commerce to enforce the provisions of national radio legislation. Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company acquires the Lodge-Muirhead patents.

1912 -- Rotary gap is used with Fessenden 100 kW 500 cycle spark set at NAA, the Navy's first high-power station at Arlington, Virginia. Marconi Wireless of America acquires property of the United Wireless Telegraph Company. British Marconi secures the important radio patents of Bellini and Tosi, Italian inventors. Wreck of the SS Titanic on April 15th. The act of 1910 is extended on July 23 to cover cargo vessels. requires an auxiliary source of power on ships and two or more skilled radio apparatus operators on certain types of passenger ships. On August 13, an act provides for licensing radio operators and transmitting stations.

1912-1913 -- High vacuum amplifying tubes (an improvement on De Forest's), using the findings of pure science, are produced almost simultaneously in two great industrial laboratories, by Dr. H. D. Arnold of AT&T and Irving Langmuir of GE.

1915 -- De Forest Ultra-audion three-step (cascade) audio amplifier is announced and introduced into practice.

1916 -- GE and the Western Electric Company develop the first experimental vacuum tube radiotelephone systems for the Navy.

1917-1918 -- First production of vacuum tubes in quantity, both coated filament and tungsten filament types, by Western Electric Company and GE.

1918 -- Lloyd Espenschied procures US patent number 1,256,889 for the invention of a duplex radio telegraph system. (See Lloyd Espenschied Papers, Archives Center, NMAH, Collection #13.) The House of Representatives passes a resolution on July 5, authorizing the President to take over management of telegraph and telephone systems due to war conditions.

1919 -- Bills are introduced in Congress for permanent government control of radio stations. The widespread resentment of amateurs has more to do with the defeat of these bills than the objections of commercial companies. Roy Alexander Weagant, New York, reports having developed means of reducing disturbances to radio reception caused by atmospherics or static. This is the first successful static-reducing system. GE purchases the holdings of the British Marconi Company in the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, the name of the latter company being changed to Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in October. Edward J. Nally is elected president of the new company.

1920 -- E. F. W. Alexanderson is appointed Chief Engineer of RCA. RCA begins the installation of 200-kW Alexanderson alternators at Bolinas, California, and Marion, Massachusetts. The Tropical Radio Telegraph Company, a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company, New York, operates ten long-distance radio stations at points in Central and South Americirca RCA purchases 6,000 acres at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York, and begins erection of a Radio Central station, comprising a number of operating units for communication with European stations and stations in South Americirca On May 15, RCA inaugurates radio telegraph services between installations at Chatham and Marion, Massachusetts, and stations at Stavanger and Jaerobe, Norway. Westinghouse Company's radio station KDKA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, broadcasts returns of the national elections, November 2. Development, design, and manufacture by GE of the early receiving and transmitting tubes made available to the public by RCA (UV-200,201,202). Radio telegraph stations and properties taken over by the government under war time powers are returned to their owners at midnight, February 29. The government calls for bids for the sale of large quantities of surplus radio and telegraph and telephone apparatus purchased for war needs and not used.

1921 -- RCA develops Vacuum tubes UV-200(detector) and UV-201(amplifier) -- both triodes with brass shells known as the UV base, and incorporating a filament that required 1 ampere at 5 volts for operation -- for storage battery operation; and at the same time also released to the public the WD-11 for dry cell operation, which employed an oxide-coated tungsten filament. RCA station at Rocky Point, Long Island, opens on November 5. WJZ station established by the Westinghouse Company in Newark, NJ. RCA broadcast station at Roselle Park, NJ (WDY) opens on December 15. It continues operation until February 15, 1922, when its operation is transferred to WJZ, Newark, previously owned by Westinghouse. RCA installs 200-kW alternator at Tuckerton, NJ.

1922 -- First use of tube transmitters by RCA for service from the United States to England and Germany. RCA begins substitution of tube transmitters on ships to replace spark sets. RCA begins replacement of crystal receivers by tube receivers on ships.

1923 -- Broadcast stations WJZ and WJY opened in New York in May by RCA. WRC opens in Washington on August 1. The UV-201A, receiving tubes developed by GE and consuming only 1/4 of an ampere are introduced by RCA. Tungsten filaments coated and impregnated with thorium were employed.

1924 -- Edwin H. Armstrong, demonstrates the superheterodyne receiver on March 6th. In November RCA experiments with radio photographs across the Atlantic. RCA markets the superheterodyne receivers for broadcast reception.

1925-26 -- Dynamic loudspeakers introduced. Magnetic pick-up phonograph recording and reproduction developed. RCA opens radio circuit to Dutch East Indies. Direction-finders introduced on ships.

1927 -- Fully self-contained AC radio receivers introduced.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the Smithsonian in 1959.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection remains unprocessed and 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.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.

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:

Radio engineers -- 1880-1950  Search this

Electric engineers -- 1880-1950  Search this

Radio -- History  Search this

Electricity -- 1880-1950  Search this

Communication -- 1880-1950  Search this

Genre/Form:

Technical manuals -- Electrical equipment

Clippings

Patents

Correspondence -- 1930-1950

Blueprints

Letters patent

Photographs -- 1850-1900

Sale catalogs -- Electrical equipment -- 1880-1950

Technical drawings

Photographs -- 1900-1950

Citation:

George H. Clark Radioana Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0055

See more items in:

George H. Clark Radioana Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep833dbe2b0-891b-4411-a413-3b4b1e3306ad

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0055

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Lantern slides

Place:

Virginia -- Williamsburg

Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia)

United States of America -- Virginia -- Williamsburg

Date:

[between 1914 and 1949?]

General:

Mount reads: "ıF. S. Lincoln; 114 East 32nd St., New York."

Historic plate number: "278; 327P34 [2nd no. written on label as well as exposed into image]."

Historic plate caption: "View across canal, Palace Grounds; Williamsburg, VA."

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Spring  Search this

Canals  Search this

Shrubs  Search this

Weeping trees  Search this

Houses  Search this

Women  Search this

Gardens -- Virginia -- Williamsburg  Search this

Genre/Form:

Lantern slides

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item VA021007

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia / VA021: Williamsburg -- Governor's Palace

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb685ec4da8-35d5-4da9-8663-6986546a0157

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref19893

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Lantern slides

Place:

Virginia -- Williamsburg

Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia)

United States of America -- Virginia -- Williamsburg

Date:

[between 1914 and 1949?]

General:

Historic plate number: "28 A; 42."

Historic plate caption: "Manuscript caption on paper label: Canal in Palace Garden. Printed caption on slide, visible from verso: View of lake and gardens, Royal Governors Palace. [additional text below image, appears to be from a printed book page.]."

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Spring  Search this

Willows  Search this

Canals  Search this

Trees  Search this

Gardens -- Virginia -- Williamsburg  Search this

Genre/Form:

Lantern slides

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item VA021008

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia / VA021: Williamsburg -- Governor's Palace

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb696a5ffce-90a5-487a-80de-af67b03bd326

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref19894

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Slides (photographs) (col.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Place:

Virginia -- Williamsburg

Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia)

United States of America -- Virginia -- Williamsburg

Date:

[1930?]

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Spring  Search this

Canals  Search this

Bridges  Search this

Fences  Search this

Weeping trees  Search this

Gardens -- Virginia -- Williamsburg  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item VA021033

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia / VA021: Williamsburg -- Governor's Palace

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb64534dd3f-cd4b-4c25-8cd4-dbfd28bd9813

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref19912

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Lantern slides

Date:

[between 1914 and 1949?]

General:

Historic plate number: "29; 40."

Historic plate caption: "Kitchen and garden from Canal."

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Spring  Search this

Driveways  Search this

Flower beds  Search this

People  Search this

Weather vanes  Search this

Houses  Search this

Genre/Form:

Lantern slides

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item VA021059

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia / VA021: Williamsburg -- Governor's Palace

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6e4ab42f1-3ba1-4d2a-a680-d41ddd89c2db

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref20022

Former owner:

Patterson, Malvern Courtney  Search this

Patterson, Malvern Courtney Mrs.  Search this

Willingham, William A.  Search this

Willingham, William A., Mrs.  Search this

Harrison, Robert  Search this

Harrison, Robert Mrs.  Search this

Rawles, James W.  Search this

Rawles, James W. Mrs.  Search this

Provenance:

James River Garden Club  Search this

Restorationist:

Garden Graces  Search this

Terraforma  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Robin Hill (Richmond, Virginia)

United States of America -- Virginia -- Henrico -- Richmond

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets and other historical information.

General:

The brick walled formal garden rooms within the 4.5 acre property Robin Hill pay homage to the gardens created on this site by earlier owners - but not until the current owners undertook significant recovery and restoration. In 1915 there was a one hundred acre farm known as Hillcrest with a Tudor style mansion overlooking the James River and historic Kanawha Canal. The pleasure gardens were laid out on crossing axes with brick paths and statuary placed in niches, in the style of the country place movement of the early 20th century. Much of the land was sold to developers as the city of Richmond grew, and the property was reduced to seven acres. During a subsequent owners' forty year tenure the façade of the house was transformed to look like a farmhouse, using brick and white stucco. Brick walls, paths and edging were added as well as truckloads of enormous trees and new garden beds and borders, and another 2.5 acres were sold. But despite prodigious planting the gardens were not tended and many mature trees and shrubs were choked out by English ivy and other vines. It was left to the current owners to dig out the overgrowth, rediscovering the hardscape structure and features of the garden rooms, and to restore crumbling brick walls and arches. New plantings replaced old yews, hollies, camellias, magnolias and other trees and shrubs as necessary, and perennial and annual flowers, particularly white flowers, were added.

The garden rooms at Robin Hill lie to the south of the house and terrace with distinct lawns enclosed by mixed evergreen and deciduous borders and a hedge of mature camellia sasanqua. Alongside the largest upper lawn but separated from the lawn by a brick wall there are ten rectangular beds planted with perennial and annual flowers that spill over the irregular bluestone or basket weave brick walkways. A concrete birdbath sits in the center of these garden beds on the axis that crosses the upper central lawn and leads to a pavilion, approached via a brick walkway between hedges of hydrangea and camellia. To one side of this cross axis there is an American holly grove while on the other side there is a woodland and small pond. At the far end of the lower central lawn on the main axis there is a wall fountain and pool with a gazebo set to one side. The axial design and plant materials used in the gardens of Hillcrest and Robin Hill suggest that landscape architects Warren Manning and Charles Gillette may have worked on this property but no conclusive records have been found.

The James River Garden Club was established in 1915 during meetings at Hillcrest, and owner Juanita Massie Patterson served as its first president. The club dedicated their 1923 book Historic Gardens of Virginia to Mrs. Patterson.

Digital images include copies of lithographs from a 1940s book owned by Mrs. William A. Willingham.

Persons associated with the garden include: Mr. and Mrs. Malvern Courtney Patterson (former owners, 1905-circa 1930); Mr. and Mrs. William A. Willingham (former owners, circa 1930-1947); Mr. and Mrs. Robert Harrison (former owners, 1947-1989); Mr. and Mrs. James W. Rawles (former owners, 1989-1991); Garden Graces (garden restoration, 2011-2012); Terraforma (garden restoration, 2011-2012).

Related Materials:

Robin Hill related holdings consist of 1 folder (35 digital images)

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Gardens -- Virginia -- Richmond  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File VA450

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Virginia

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6d5bd6e3d-2c51-45b2-afd0-c75f9c63ad14

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref18900

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Emery C. Leonard  Search this

Microhabitat Description:

Pine woods  Search this

Place:

Great Falls C. and O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

3 Mar 1918

Taxonomy:

Plantae Pteridophyte Lycopodiales Lycopodiaceae

Published Name:

Lycopodium obscurum L.

Barcode:

00247986

USNM Number:

2164264

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3c267e057-0dc7-4fe1-a4f3-8e3d1877e4a7

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2175620

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Edward S. Steele  Search this

Place:

Little Falls C. & O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

13 May 1898

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Apiales Araliaceae Aralioideae

Published Name:

Aralia nudicaulis L.

Barcode:

00404306

USNM Number:

363256

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3b2ed8f31-4f58-4bfa-8b00-8c1bd9b21722

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2184151

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Frederick J. Hermann  Search this

Place:

Great Falls C. and O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

4 Jul 1938

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Fabales Fabaceae Papilionoideae

Published Name:

Stylosanthes biflora (L.) Britton et al.

Barcode:

00398039

USNM Number:

1732793

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/34b04ca65-d9c2-41eb-98e4-4bb15572bba9

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2190426

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Emery C. Leonard  Search this

Place:

Great Falls C. & O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

19 Oct 1919

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Apiales Araliaceae Hydrocotyloideae

Published Name:

Hydrocotyle ranunculoides L. f.

Barcode:

00404405

USNM Number:

2163690

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3ac25a118-0c58-4343-974c-b2098b74c23b

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2201351

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Emery C. Leonard  Search this

Place:

Difficult Run C. & O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

21 May 1922

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Asterales Campanulaceae Lobelioideae

Published Name:

Lobelia spicata Lam.

Barcode:

00409435

USNM Number:

2163875

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3a4c79b04-b98c-44ac-9d3b-0b5443393da0

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2211203

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Egbert Hamilton Walker  Search this

Place:

Difficult Run, near road to Great Falls C. & O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

5 Aug 1945

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Asterales Campanulaceae Lobelioideae

Published Name:

Lobelia spicata var. scaposa McVaugh

Barcode:

00409466

USNM Number:

1920738

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/33d379f8b-eff4-4a16-a87b-4dbffdc92f9e

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2227623

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Philip Dowell  Search this

Place:

Great Falls C. and O. Canal, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

2 Aug 1908

Taxonomy:

Plantae Dicotyledonae Lamiales Oleaceae

Published Name:

Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. subintegerrima Marshall

Fraxinus lanceolata

Barcode:

00407297

USNM Number:

605925

See more items in:

Botany

Flowering plants and ferns

DC Flora

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3a8ed4f59-64b0-47de-b36d-17467d755792

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_2231277

Biogeographical Region:

78 - Southeastern U.S.A.  Search this

Collector:

Dr. Robert R. Ireland  Search this

Place:

Dismal Swamp Region, Along Dismal Swamp Canal near Wallaceton., Norfolk, Virginia, United States, North America

Collection Date:

6 Jun 1960

Taxonomy:

Plantae Bryophyta Bryopsida Dicranales Dicranaceae

Published Name:

Dicranum flagellare Hedw.

Barcode:

04475918

See more items in:

Botany

Bryophytes and Lichens

Data Source:

NMNH - Botany Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/32cec617d-b6bc-45ab-90ad-2b2cf6a34e6d

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhbotany_16434165