Black and white photographs, photographic negatives, contact sheets, color slides, and ephemera documenting selected New England country fairs, photographed and collected by Phil Primack.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains original notes, interviews, collected ephemera, black and white photographs, photograpic negatives, contact sheets, and color slides, conducted, gathered, and taken by Phil Primack in support of the writing of his book New England Country Fair!. The material centers on country fairs in the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Notes, Interviews, Publications, and Ephemera, 1978-1983, undated
Series 2: Black and White Photographs, Photographic Negatives, Contact Sheets, and Color Slides, 1978-1980, undated
Series 3: Audio, undated
Biographical / Historical:
The information for this biography was supplied by the donor, Phil Primack, in February 2020.
Philip N. Primack was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on May 1, 1948 the son of Dr. Joseph E. Primack, DDS and Celia Piltch Primack. While attending high school in Haverhill, he took a sumer job operating midway games at the amusement park in nearby Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts. The park's owner also owned a traveling carnival, Dean & Flynn Fiesta Shows, and Primack worked on its midway at fairs and carnivals across New England while attending Tufts University, from which he graduated with a BA in 1970.
At Tufts, Primack edited the campus newspaper, launching him on a decades-long reporting and writing career. After graduation, he went to work from 1970 to 1973 for The Mountain Eagle, a weekly newspaper in the eastern Kentucky coalfields. He maintained working and other ties to the Eagle for much of the rest of the 1970s, sometimes taking time off to pursue freelance work and other projects. During the 1970s, Primack oaccasionally returned to the midway to support the meager wages of freelance writing.
In 1983, Primack went to work for North Shore: Sunday, a weekly in Massachusetts and, from 1988 to 1996, for The Boston Herald. In addition to his positions as a staff reporter, Primack has written extensively for a wide range of regional and national publications, including The Boston Globe, Commonwealth Magazine, The New York Times, Washington Monthly, The Nation, and Boston Magazine. His photography has been included in some of these publications and other outlets, including articles he has written for in-flight airline magazines.
Primack researched, wrote and took photographs for his book, New England Country Fair (Globe Pequot Press, 1981) with the bulk of the images taken between 1975 and 1980. While the book arose from Primack's midway experiences, it covers the full gamut of the country fair experience from that era, including 4-H goat judging, blue-ribbon produce, sideshows, horse racing, beauty pageants, and additional subjects. Studs Terkel wrote about the book, ". . . captures the fine feeling of small-town Yankee American gently showing off."
Primack has worked as a speech writer and policy aide to elected officials and agencies at the state and federal levels and as a consultant, editor, writer, and researcher for various organizations and non-profits, including the Ford Foundation, The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and the Barr Foundation. He has also taught journalism courses at Tufts University, Boston University, Northeastern University, and other institutions. In addition to his BA in political science from Tufts, he earned a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School in 1987.
Primack continues pursuing writing projects and resides in Medford, Massachusetts.
Related Materials:
Materials at Other Organizations
Berea College, Special Collections and Archives
Phil Primack Photographs and Papers, 1964-2000
This collection is comprised of photographs, correspondence, writings, interviews and subject files of Phil Primack.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Philip Primack February 14, 2020.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company Search this
Extent:
7 Cubic feet (16 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertisements
Place:
Hawaii
Date:
1975-2000
Summary:
The Famous Amos Collection consists primarily of business records, photographs, and newspaper clippings documenting the career and life of Wally Famous Amos and the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie company he created.
Scope and Contents:
The Famous Amos Collection consists primarily of business records, photographs, and newspaper clippings documenting the career of Wally Famous Amos and the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie. The bulk of the collection consists of newspaper clippings.
Series 1, Biographical Materials, 1970-1994 and undated, documents the professional life of Wally Amos. This series includes background information about the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie, awards, newspaper clippings describing Amos receiving his high school diploma, and drafts and published versions of Amos's writings the The Famous Amos Story and The Power in You.
Series 2, Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1975-1994 and undated consists of materials relating to the marketing and advertising of Famous Amos cookies. This series contains his marketing plan, promotional materials, press releases, posters, advertising mock-ups, and packaging samples.
Series 3, Photographs, 1975-1980 and undated, includes a variety of photographic prints, most of which are 5" x 7" or smaller. The series contains professional and publicity photographs of Wally Amos and Famous Amos products as well as personal photographs of Amos' family and friends. Film negatives and color slides of people are also included in this series.
Series 4, Press Materials, 1975-1996 and undated, is comprised of three subseries: Subseries 1, Clippings, 1975-1995 and undated; Subseries 2, Articles, 1976-1996; and Subseries 3, Scrapbooks and Wall Art, 1977-1981 and undated. The publicity materials in this series are primarily about Wally Amos, Famous Amos cookies, and his literacy efforts. The scrapbooks were assembled by Amos and contain additional clippings. Included in this subseries is a mounted 32" x 15" hand embroidered and appliquéd corduroy fabric panel that reads "Have a very brown day!"
Series 5, Correspondence, 1975-1985, includes postcards, business and personal letters, and drawings from young fans of Famous Amos cookies. This series also contains three guest registers in which visitors to the Famous Amos stores wrote comments.
Series 6, Literacy Activities, 1978-1984, includes promotional materials, articles, clippings, and a scrapbook related to Amos' literacy campaign.
Series 7, Community Service, 1978-1981, includes a scrapbook and correspondence from members of the Chocolate Chip Cookie Club and the Aliis Pintos Little League team of California.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series.
Series 1, Biographical Materials, 1970-1994 and undated
Series 2, Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1975-1994 and undated
Series 3, Photographs, 1975-1980 and undated
Series 4, Press Materials, 1975-1996 and undated
Subseries 1, Clippings, 1975-1995 and undated
Subseries 2, Articles, 1975-1996
Subseries 3, Scrapbooks and Wall Art, 1977-1981 and undated
Series 5, Correspondence, 1975-1985
Series 6, Literacy Activities, 1978-1984
Series 7, Community Service, 1978-1981
Series 8: Audiovisual Materials
Biographical / Historical:
Wallace "Wally" Amos, Jr. (born July 1, 1936) is the founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie brand. Amos grew up in Tallahassee, Florida before moving to New York City at age twelve. He initially attended the Food Trades Vocational High School, but dropped out to serve in the United States Air Force from 1953-1957. After serving in the military and being honorably discharged, he moved back to New York and began working at the William Morris Agency, where he became the company's first African American talent agent.
In March of 1975, upon the suggestion of a friend, he opened up his first cookie shop in Los Angeles, California. The Famous Amos company was financed with the help of philanthropist celebrities, including Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy. The cookies became nationally renowned and were sold throughout the United States. As Famous Amos cookies grew in popularity, so did Amos' significance as a celebrity figure. He appeared at book signings alongside entertainers and authors such as Bill Cosby, and he appeared as himself in a 1981 cameo on the television series Taxi.
In 1979, Amos began focusing his attention on advocating for child and adult literacy. He worked with the Literacy Volunteers of America and libraries, and he hosted a television series, Learn to Read, that encouraged literacy and taught children to read. Amos wrote a number of self-help and autobiographical books, includingThe Power in You, 1988 andThe Famous Amos Story, 1983. During this time he also worked as a motivational speaker.
Facing financial difficulties, Amos sold both the Famous Amos Company and the trademarked "Famous Amos" name in 1985. In 1994, Amos started a new muffin business, initially called Uncle Noname Gourmet Muffins, which has since been renamed Uncle Wally's Muffin Company. Wally Amos currently lives in Hawaii.
Related Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History
The Division of Work and Industry holds artifacts (Panama hat, an Indian gauze shirt, a tin cookie container, and two paper cookie bags) related to this collection. See accession #:1980.0886.
Materials in Other Organizations
Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. Wally Papers Amos Papers, 1978-1996 (Accession #1979/01). The collection consists of correspondence, draft copies of manuscripts, memorabilia, awards and books.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Wally and Christine Amos in November, 1980.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no gurantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
This collection consists of three carousels of slides relating to Kevin Murphy's service in Vietnam, as well as technical manuals and documentation for the following aircraft: deHavilland (Canada) (DHC-4) AC-1A (CV-2A, C-7A); Shorts C-23A Sherpa; and Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey). There is also one 8mm film, titled "U-TAPAO RTNB-1972 (ARC Light)," [Boeing B-52 Stratofortress out of Thailand].
Biographical / Historical:
Kevin Murphy (b. 1945) was a strategic bomber pilot with the 34th Bomb Squadron (SAC) during the Vietnam Conflict
Provenance:
Kevin Murphy, gift, 2009
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
Center for the Study of Business and Government Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Posters
Slides (photographs)
Color slides
Place:
New York
Date:
1970s-early 1980s.
Summary:
Advertising materials relating to corporation self-promotion collected by Dr. S. Prakash Sethi.
Scope and Contents:
8 posters, 98 color slides, and 271 black and white slides on advocacy advertising for the 1970s and early 1980s.
Biographical / Historical:
Dr. Sethi has done extensive research on self-promotional advertisements by corporations. The slides are of advertisements by large companies like Mobil Oil and Bethlehem Steel.
Provenance:
Collection donated by S. Prakash Sethi, 1985.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
This collection consists of 2,931 slides taken by Lawrence V. Smith of the following aircraft and spacecraft: Bell AH-1W (AH-1T+) SuperCobra; Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey); Sikorsky (S-70B) SH-60B Seahawk; Sikorsky (S-80) CH-53E Super; North American F-100 Super Sabre; Lockheed P-3 Orion; Grumman F-14 Tomcat; General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon; Lockheed C-130 Hercules; Skylab, Skylab 2; and (Space Shuttle) Endeavour (OV-15). The collection also contains slides of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia; the National Air and Space Museum; and general military shots of parachutists, military vehicles, marine landings and military air stations.
Biographical / Historical:
Lawrence V. Smith (1931-2010) was an Emmy Award-winning photographer. He received a bachlelor's degree in Education, majoring in Physical Science from Illinois State University and then began work on a Doctorate in biochemistry at Iowa State College. After a semester at Iowa State, Smith dropped out and accepted a position as a chemist at the US Rubber Company in Joliet, Illinois. Having lost his student exemption, Smith was drafted in the Army where he was an electronics instructor for the Nike guided missile system. During the mid-1950s he started to become involved in motion picture when he filmed an air show crash and sold the footage to the Today Show. Highlights of Smith's career include: his work as a CBS cameraman in Cuba, where he traveled with Castro during the Cuban Revolution, earning him his first Emmy; his work as a cameraman/correspondent for ABC-TV during the early states of the Vietnam War in 1965, garnering him his second Emmy; and his work as director of photography for Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom where he won two more Emmy award certificates. Smith worked under contract for the US Information Agency (USIA) specializing in helicopter photography of Apollo missions 11 through 16 and later covered aspects of the Skylab Program. Smith later had several independent film companies in Jacksonville Florida, where he expanded into video and began his own image library, specializing in transportation photography.
Provenance:
Linda Lockwood Smith, Gift, 2016
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
