R. E. G. (Ron) Davies (1921 -2011) was an English airline historian, who worked in airline marketing research before joining the National Air and Space Museum in 1981. He served as a curator until his retirement in 2011. This reference collection was compiled by Davies during his career and consists of historical data and materials—including photographs, timetables, and memorabilia—from the airlines of the world.
Scope and Contents:
This reference collection was compiled by Ron Davies throughout his career both as a market researcher and an academic and curator. Materials consist of 63 loose-leaf binders (called dossiers), each containing historical data on the airlines of a country or region, hand-drawn maps, chronologies, articles and marketing materials; over 5000 aviation prints; over 3500 airline timetables; and miscellaneous airline memorabilia. The collection also contains oral history materials, both transcripts and audio cassettes, and four catalogued videotapes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in six series:
Series 1: Dossiers
Series 2: Photographs
Series 3: Timetables
Series 4: Oral History
Series 5: Personal Materials
Series 6: Motion Picture Materials
Additional title information has been added by the processing archivist in brackets.
Biographical / Historical:
R. E. G. (Ron) Davies (1921-2011) was born in England and educated in Shaftesbury, Dorset. After spending six and a half years in the British Army, Davies joined the newly formed Ministry of Civil Aviation. Davies then spent six years in economic research with British European Airways, before joining British Aeroplane Company in 1957, where he set up a market research department. Davies worked in various manufacturing companies, specializing in market research and traffic analysis.
In 1968, Davies went to work in the United States for Douglas Aircraft, where he remained for 13 years as head of market research. In 1981, Davies was appointed as the Charles Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC. After his appointment as Lindbergh Chair ended, Davies became a curator in the Aeronautics Division of the Museum. He retired in 2011.
Davies wrote 26 books about airlines, airline personalities and aspects of air transport, including the reference standards: A History of the World Airlines, Airlines of the United States since 1914, Airlines of Latin America since 1919, Airlines of Asia, and Airlines of the Jet Age: A History. He also founded Paladwr Press in 1987, publishing a series of books on various airlines and their aircraft.
Davies was a Fellow of three Royal Societies: Aeronautics, Arts, and Geographical and was an Associate of the Academe National de L'Air et de l'Espace. He was a Fellow National of the Explorers Club and a member of the New York's Wings Club and Washington's Cosmos Club. He received Brazil's Santos Dumont Medal and the Aeronautics Order of Merit.
Provenance:
R. E. G. (Ron) Davies, Gift, 1981, NASM.XXXX.0604.
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
Tribes covered in the photographs are: Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Chippewa, Iowa, Iroquois, Mahican, Menomini, Ojibwa, Oto, Plains Cree, Potawatomi, Seminole, Seri, Shinnecock, Sioux, Winnebago, Zuni Pueblo. The majority of photographs (552) have Skinner listed as the photographer and presumably are photographs he took on his expeditions. However, 104 photos are of the Seminole in Florida. According to Dennis P. Carey's biography of Skinner (Unpublished? 1980) Julian Q. Dimock, a well-known photographer, accompanied him on his expedition to the Seminole in Florida; how many of the photos were taken by Dimock is unknown, but he is listed as the photographer for 23 of them. Skinner's other photographs are of the Seneca Iroquois in New York; the Zuni Pueblo and Hawikku site; several tribes in Wisconsin; the Chippewa in Minnesota; and miscellaneous shots taken in Canada, Costa Rica, Florida and New York. Two photographs of the Mahican were taken by Huron H. Smith (1923) and two of the Winnebago were taken by C.J. Van Schaick (c. 1870). The remaining photographs have no photographer listed but were in Skinner's collection of photographs and are of varying tribes with dates ranging from 1909 to 1923.
Arrangement note:
Collection arranged by item number.
Biographical/Historical note:
Alanson Buck Skinner was born in Buffalo, New York, on September 7, 1886. His parents moved to Staten Island, New York, when Alanson was still very young. There Alanson met W.T. Davis who taught him to find arrowheads and other traces of ancient Indian life. When he was older he consulted with Prof. F.W. Putnam and George H. Pepper at the American Museum of Natural History about his interest. In the summer of 1902 Skinner went on his first fieldwork expedition near Shinnecock Hills, Long Island, for the American Museum of Natural History with Arthur C. Parker and Mark R. Harrington. Two years later Skinner and Harrington went on another archeological expedition in western New York State for the Peabody Museum and while there he attended his first Native ceremony on the Cattaraugus reservation. After high school Skinner joined the staff of the AMNH as an assistant in anthropology. In 1908 he led an expedition to Hudson Bay to study the Cree Indians. In 1910 he went to Wisconsin where he met John V. Satterlee, part Menomini, and Judge Sabatis Perote, a full-blooded Menomini, who adopted him into the tribe under the Thunder clan name of Sekosa or "Little Weasel." He later went on expeditions to collect from the Seminoles in the Florida Everglades, and other tribes in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and other states. During these years he was also studying anthropology at Columbia under Boas, Farrand, Saville, and Bandelier, and at Harvard under Dixon, Tozzer, and Farrabee. In 1916 Skinner joined the Museum of the American Indian and remained there until 1920, when he took a position as curator of anthropology at the Public Museum of Milwaukee. He returned to the MAI in 1924 where he remained until his untimely death on August 17, 1925 in a car accident in North Dakota. He was a member of the American Anthropological Association, the Wisconsin Archeological Society, the Explorer's Club, a York Rite Mason and a Shriner. A more detailed biography by Dennis P. Carey (1980) can be found in the vertical file. A complete bibliography of Skinner's writings can be found in Indian Notes, Vol. II, No. 4 (October 1925).
Restrictions:
Access restricted. Researchers should contact the staff of the NMAI Archives for an appointment to access the collection.
National Association of Rocketry (U.S.) Search this
Stine, G. Harry (George Harry), 1928-1997 Search this
Extent:
20.8 Cubic feet (15 records center boxes, 1 flat box, 4 map folders, 13 film containers)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Brochures
Newsletters
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs
Date:
Circa 1950s-1970s
Summary:
G. Harry Stine (1928--1997) was a renowned rocket expert and a pioneer in the development of the aerospace hobby of model rocketry. This collection consists of G. Harry Stine's collection of archival material relating mainly to his involvement in rocket associations, including the National Association for Rocketry (NAR), and his association with model rocket manufacturers.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of G. Harry Stine's collection of archival material relating mainly to his involvement in rocket associations, including the National Association for Rocketry (NAR), and his association with model rocket manufacturers. The following mediums are included: photographs from model rocket meets, correspondence, magazine and newspaper articles, newsletters, galley proofs, committee minutes, model rocket drawings, model rocket manufacturers' brochures, and film.
Arrangement:
Collection is unprocessed.
Biographical / Historical:
G. Harry Stine (1928--1997) was a renowned rocket expert and a pioneer in the development of the aerospace hobby of model rocketry. Stine graduated from the University of Colorado, and first worked as an civilian scientist at White Sands Proving Ground as chief of the Controls and Instruments Section of the Propulsion Branch. In 1955, Stine went to work for the US Naval Ordnance Missile Test Facility at White Sands as head of the Range Operations Division and Navy Flight Safety Engineer. Stine later worked as an engineer for Stanley Aviation Corporation and the Huyck Corporation. Stine was the founder of Model Missiles, Inc., which was the first company to produce and market model rockets. He has also served as a freelance consultant for different organizations, including the National Air and Space Museum. Stine was a prolific author of both articles and books on science, astronautics and model rocketry, and he also wrote science fiction under the pseudonym, Lee Correy. In 1957, Stine founded the National Association for Rocketry (NAR), and he was an active member. He was also a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the British Interplanetary Society, and the Explorer's Club.
Provenance:
G. Harry Stine, Gift, circa 1973, NASM.XXXX.0573
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
Histoire de la grande isle Madagascar Composée par le Sieur de Flacourt, directeur general de la Compagnie Françoise de l'Orient, & commandant pour sa Majesté dans ladite isle & és isles adjacentes. Auec vne relation de ce qui s'est passé és années 1655. 1656. & 1657. non encor veuë par la premiere impression
Title:
Relation de ce qui s'est passé en l'isle Madagascar depuis l'année 1642 iusques en 1660
Relation de la grande isle Madagascar, contenant ce qui s'est passé entre les François & les originaires de cette isle, depuis l'an 1642. iusques en l'an 1655. 1656. 1657
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Manuscripts (document genre), 5.5 x 8.5 in. - 8.5 x 11 in.)
Container:
Item M069f
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1912 - 1939
Scope and Contents note:
Autobiographical sketch submitted for "The Explorers Club" (345 Amsterdam Avenue, New York City) application. Application instruction included.
General note:
Carbon copy, corrected and signed by Heller. M069f is accession number in the Russell E. Train inventory list of the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
W. Langdon Kihn papers, 1904-1990, bulk 1904-1957. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
W. Langdon Kihn papers, 1904-1990, bulk 1904-1957. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Found in this subseries are letters to and from Kihn that document his career as an artist, illustrator, teacher, and writer. Scattered through out are personal correspondence, including letters addressed to his wife Helen from their mutual friends. There is also a cache of third party correspondence addressed to Marius Barbeau, a Canadian ethnologist who was a colleague and friend of Kihn's.
The earliest correspondence includes letters from his parents, particularly his father Alfred Kihn, who also trained as an artist and founded a steel engraving firm with his brother that specialized in bank note engraving. Kihn senior not only wrote proffering career advice, but also corresponded with his son's business and personal associates while Langdon Kihn was on extended trips. There are also letters from W. Langdon Kihn to his parents describing his trips, including his impressions of San Francisco, Glacier Park, experiences painting Indian portraits, as well as his 1929-1932 sojourn painting in Paris and Spain. These early letters also record exhibitions, primarily a traveling exhibition of his portraits of members of the Blackfeet Indian tribe, which was organized by the Brooklyn Museum of Art and traveled to over 40 institutions in the United States.
Letters to and from authors, publishers, advertisers, and collectors comprise a large amount of correspondence from late 1920s to the mid 1930s, which document his efforts at securing commissions for commercial work. During this time he also began to submit articles about his work and travels. Correspondents include the author Constance Lindsay Skinner; publishers Macmillan and Company; Little, Brown, and Company; Harcourt Brace and Company; and magazines including, Fortune and Story Parade.
The bulk of the chronological correspondence records his association with the National Geographic magazine, spanning from 1935-1955. The National Geographic Society commissioned Kihn to paint historical and contemporary scenes of the lives of over 35 tribal nations from the continental United States, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories. Engraved illustrations of his paintings were published in the magazine's ongoing series on American Indians between 1937 and 1949. Most of the related correspondence was between Kihn, Franklin L. Fisher, Chief of National Geographic's Illustrated Division and Matthew W. Striling, Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution, who also played an important role in this project.
See Appendix for a list of selected indivuduals, institutions, and organizations found in Series 2.2.
Arrangement note:
Letters have been arranged in folders in chronological order. However, there are examples of early correspondence in which the original letter and the later response letter have been glued together. No attempt has been made to separate them and in some cases they may disrupt the chronological arrangement.
Appendix: Selected Indivuduals, Institutions, and Organizations found in Series 2.2:
Ament, Robert S.
American Museum of Natural History, New York, N.Y.
American Federation of Arts, Washington, D.C.
Artzybasheff, Boris
Barbeau, Marius
Bill, Edward Lyman
Blassingame, Lurton
Bowles, Chester
Brooklyn Museum
Bye, George T.
Canadian Pacific Railway Company, Montreal
Cross, Wilbur L.
Dixon, Maynard
Eaton, Earle Hooker
Eggers, G. W.
Ennis, Howard
Explorers Club, New York, N.Y.
Fisher, Franklin
Gallup, Anna Billings
Great Northern Railroad Company, St. Paul, Minn.
Grosvenor, Gilbert
Halseth, Odd S.
Kihn, Alfred
Kihn, Helen
Kihn, W. Langdon
Kirk, Ruth
Laubin, Reginald and Gladys
Lecompte du Noüy, Marie (May)
Lecompte du Noüy, Pierre
Leechman, Douglas
Lummis Charles, F.
Macmillan Company
Museum of the American Indian
Niven, Frederick
Oakley, Thornton
Paisano, Ulysses
Reid, Russell
Schultz, Hart (Lone Wolf)
Skinner, Constance Lindsay
Standard, Paul
Steele, Captain Russell V.
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur
Stirling, Matthew W.
Watson, Elmo Scott
Wellcome, Sir Henry
White, D. Fedotoff
Wiggins, Guy
Ziegler, John
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
W. Langdon Kihn papers, 1904-1990, bulk 1904-1957. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
