Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Early Aeronautical Newsclippings (Alexander Graham Bell) Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0086, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Early Aeronautical Newsclippings (Alexander Graham Bell) Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0086, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection includes historic photographs, slides and films on subjects relating to all aspects of the petroleum industry, including exploration, drilling, refineries, tankers, pipelines, automobiles, trucks, aviation, refueling, buildings, coal, gasification, plants, mining, surface mining, fields, land reclamation, coastal zone management, corporate public service, educational programs, crude oil, deepwater ports, and watercraft It also documents numerous products other than gasoline produced by the petroleum industry, such as propane, lubricants, heating oil, and plastics.
Scope and Contents:
The collection contains, color and black-and-white photographs, contact sheets, slides, color transparencies, negatives, transcripts, audio tape cassettes, and films documenting the American Petroleum Institute (API) and all its activities. The material in the collection was assembled by API public relations staff from oil industry sources over several years and was used in public relations and educational materials.
The photographs and slides are both original and copy prints are organized according to the organizational structure that API used. The photographs and slides document all aspects of the production of oil, from exploration to drilling, from cracking to refineries, from pipelines to tankers, and from storage tanks to service stations. They also document the numerous products other than gasoline produced by the petroleum industry including: kerosene, liquid propane gas, lubricants, heating oil, and plastics. Additionally, they document the industry's efforts at self-promotion, its stand on environmental issues and energy conservation, its efforts to promote safety in its plants, and its perceived competition from other energy sources, such as gasohol, geothermal energy, solar energy, and nuclear energy. Overall, these images portray the petroleum industry as it saw itself.
The collection also includes general images of petroleum workers, landscape and wildlife scenes, urban settings, vernacular architecture (service stations), railroads, road development, and the industry's crucial role during World War II.
Series 1, Historical Photographs, 1860s-1950s
This series is divided into forty subseries and contains primarily black-and-white photographs, but there are some negatives. Many of the photographs contain captions. The content includes: advertising, lighting and heating, kerosene lamps, lubricants, medicine, aircraft, artwork, equipment, political cartoons, automobiles, terminals, disasters, charts, drilling, portable rigs, rotary rigs, exploration land rush, lighting and stoves, memorials, mining, natural gas, oil company offices, oil fields, pipelines, products, railroads, tank cars, refineries, safety, service stations, teamsters, war, watercraft, and wells.
Series 2, Modern Photographs, 1960s-1980s
The series contains black-and-white and color photographs, negatives and transparencies. The photographs are arranged into topical areas such as diagrams and maps, environment, electricity, exploration, natural gas, pipelines, storage, and wells. The following subjects are represented: artwork, automobiles, trucks, aviation, refueling, buildings, coal, gasification, plants, and mining, surface mining, fields, land reclamation, coastal zone management, corporate public service, educational programs, crude oil, and deepwater ports.
Series 3, Miscellaneous Photographs, 1900s-1970s
The photographs consist of black-and-white copy prints, color transparencies, negatives, and slides for a variety of subjects: pipelines, platforms, service stations, and wells. The names of major oil and petroleum companies, such as Shell, Standard Oil, Sun Oil, and Savory Oil, are represented.
Series 4, Slides, 1970s-1980s
The slides are divided into two subseries: slides presentations and slides by subject/topic. The slides presentations were assembled and presented by API staff. In some instances there are slides, transcripts, and audio tape cassettes for the presentations. The presentations have been arranged alphabetically by title. The subject slides are arranged alphabetically by topic/subject and are identified. Only some of the subject-related slides are dated. The miscellaneous slides contain such images as the Space Shuttle Columbia, sunsets, and industrial scenes.
Series 5, Photograph Albums, 1903-1968 (not inclusive)
This series includes two photograph albums: one that focuses on aviation, bulk plants, chemistry, and disasters and the other on an advertising series from 1953. The first album consists of black-and-white copy prints that are subdivided according to subject. Some of the photographs have captions. The album containing the advertising series is comprised of black-and-white copy prints with the corresponding print ad that was used. The print ads vary in size and amount of text. The advertising series addresses a variety of topics.
Series 6, Scripts for Films, 1955-1978
The scripts consist of final transcripts and drafts for various films commissioned by API. In some instances there are accompanying photographs.
Series 7, Publications, 1959-1990
This series includes publications from various petroleum companies such as the Shell News and Petroleum Facts and Figures and accompanying slides from the API library that were featured in articles.
Series 8, Films, 1960s
The films consist of 34 reels of motion picture film. The films are production elements (negatives, track negatives, and A and B rolls). It is not possible to make film elements available for research use. This portion of the collection has not been processed.
Arrangement:
Arranged into eight series.
Series 1, Historical Photographs, 1850s-1950s
Series 2, Modern Photographs, 1960s-1980s
Series 3, Miscellaneous Photographs, 1900s-1970s
Series 4, Slides, 1970s-1980s
Series 5, Photograph Albums, 1903-1968 (not inclusive)
Series 6, Scripts for Films, 1955-1978
Series 7, Publications, 1959-1990
Series 8, Films, 1960s
Biographical / Historical:
The origins of the American Petroleum Institute (API) date to World War I, when Congress and the domestic oil and natural gas industry worked together to help the war effort. At the time, the industry included the companies created in 1911 after the court-imposed dissolution of Standard Oil and the independents. These were companies that had been independent of Standard Oil and which had no experience working together. The companies agreed to work with the government to ensure that vital petroleum supplies were rapidly and efficiently deployed to the armed forces. The National Petroleum War Service Committee, which oversaw this effort, was initially formed under the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and subsequently as a quasi-governmental body.
After the war, momentum began to build to form a national association that could represent the whole oil and natural gas industry in the postwar years. The industry's efforts to supply fuel during World War I not only highlighted the importance of the industry to the country, but also the industry's obligation to the public.
The American Petroleum Institute was established on March 20, 1919, to afford a means of cooperation with the government in all matters of national concern; to foster foreign and domestic trade in American petroleum products; to promote in general the interests of the petroleum industry in all its branches; and to promote the mutual improvement of its members and the study of the arts and sciences connected with the oil and natural gas industry.
API offices were established in New York City, and the organization focused its efforts in several specific areas. In late 1969, API moved its offices to Washington, D.C. 0F
*History note courtesy The Story of the American Petroleum Institute , by Leonard M. Fanning, published in 1959, and The American Petroleum Institute: An Informal History, 1919-1987 by Stephen P. Potter, published by API in 1990.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History by the American Petroleum Institute through Red Cavaney and G. William Frick on December 16, 1999.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Viewing film portion of collection requires special appointment. See repository for details.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.
Greensward of Market Square, The (Lake Forest, Illinois)
United States of America -- Illinois -- Lake County -- Lake Forest
Date:
2006 Jan.
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.
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.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Lilian Swann Saarinen papers, circa 1909-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation; and John R. & Barbara Robinson and Deborah Schmidt Robinson & Dr. R. Perry Robinson, The Widgeon Point Charitable Foundation.
Schuylkill Construction and Supply Company. Search this
Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931 Search this
Former owner:
Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of Search this
Extent:
6.3 Cubic feet (6 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Papers
Place:
Shenandoah (Pa.)
Bloomsburg (Pa.)
Date:
1909-1938
Summary:
The collection documents E.R. Beers's business records, his personal collection of Edison trivia, and correspondence between Beers and General Electric (1909-1922).
Scope and Contents note:
This collection consisting of records of the Schuylkill Electric Construction & Supply Co. and the E.R. Beers Electric Co. and includes correspondece, advertisements, sales receipts, limited cash statements, and bids for electrical modifications. The bulk of the data is from the period from 1909 through the 1920's and mid 1930's. The collection contains advertisements that reflect the introduction of the electrical appliance to the home. Important transitions in the electrical industry are represented. For example, in July 1910 there is an acceptance by Lehigh Valley Railroad of rewiring of the Shenandoah Station according to "the rules and regulations of the Underwriter's Association" and agreement to furnish certificate of approval. Further, in February 1922 there the statement "Service for direct current motors is gradually being eliminated and will eventually be discontinued ... ."
Biographical/Historical note:
The Schuylkill Electric Construction & Supply Co., a small electrical operation in a very important period of time, 1909 to 1938, particularly for electrical appliances reflecting the conversion of gas lighting to incandescent lighting to decorative and arc lighting. At first there were two stores, one in Reading, Pennsylvania and one in Shenandoah, PA. The partnership was dissolved January 1911, resulting in the closing of the Reading, Pennsylvania store and the continued operation of the Shenandoah, Pennsylvania store. The Kauffman Electric Co., Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania was purchased in 1919 and named the E.R. Beers Electric Company.
Provenance:
Collection donated by E.R. Beers, December 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.
United States. Department of Agriculture Search this
Extent:
10.1 Cubic feet (31 boxes, 1 oversized folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Trade catalogs
Manuals
Scrapbooks
Newsletters
Lecture notes
Articles
Specifications
Publications
Photographs
Correspondence
Date:
1927-2002
Summary:
The Mamer collection includes a wide range of materials used to teach concepts and the usage of electricity to predominately rural audiences. Mamer kept many of her materials in labeled notebooks; other papers were filed loosely with no apparent order. The collection materials date pre-dominantly from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s. There are some materials from the late 1930s. There is only one item from 1927 and one from 1999.
Scope and Contents:
The Mamer collection materials date pre-dominantly from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s. There are some materials from the late 1930s. There is only one item from 1927 and one from 1999. Many materials are undated. The collection includes a wide range of materials used to teach concepts and the usage of electricity to predominately rural audiences. Mamer kept many of her materials in labeled notebooks; other papers were filed loosely with no apparent order.
The arrangement is generally by type or purpose of document. Original order and subject headings have been maintained where it is readily apparent. Mamer filed some materials in broad subject categories, for instance L.P. Gas, Lighting and Electric Ranges; are in Series 1, Subseries 1.2. One of Mamer's systems of keeping notes for presentations was to type talking points on paper, and then cut them into strips, and file them in envelopes under broad categories. These may have been used during oral presentations as mnemonic devices or as simple maxims pertaining to the topic being discussed. (In an October 2004 phone interview Mamer could not recall their specific use.) These can be found in Series 1, Subseries 1.1. Many of the documents in this collection were originally printed on highly acidic paper and extreme care is recommended in handling them.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series. The arrangement is generally by type or purpose of document. Many materials are undated.
Series 1: Demonstration & Training Materials, 1932-2002
Subseries 1.1: Demonstrator Notes and Resources, 1936-1994
Subseries 1.2: Electrical Appliance and Subject Files, 1932-1952
Subseries 1.3: Cooperative Study Courses, 1938-1953
Subseries 1.4: Adviser Packets and Co-op Shop Paks, circa 1948-1974
Series 2: Publications, 1927-1999
Series 3: Photographs, Filmstrips, Slides and Vu-Graphs, 1943-1952, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Louisan E. Mamer (1910-2005) was born on August 28, 1910 to Louis H. and Anna Mary Elizabeth Mies Mamer. She graduated from the University of Illinois, College of Agriculture with an AB in 1931. Mamer begin her government career with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), moving to the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1935. The REA was one of President Franklin Roosevelt's programs described collectively as the New Deal. The REA's goal was to bring affordable electricity to rural America. Electrification brought prosperity and an elevated standard of living to rural areas, but initially there was a great deal of ignorance about electricity in its applications and uses. Mamer was hired by the REA as a Home Electrification Specialist, or "demonstrator," to educate people in the uses of electricity.
Mamer was based at the REA headquarters in Washington, DC but traveled extensively throughout the Midwest performing demonstrations of electrical appliances, planning and teaching "training schools" for rural electrical co-op advisors, demonstrators, and home economics teachers initially in the states of Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska. This traveling show came to be known as the "electric circus." Her first show was in the Maquoketa Valley Rural Electric Co-op near Anamoso, Iowa. Mamer described the process in a 1975 interview: "We would usually move into a town over the weekend. Having made the move and set up the tents [two large circus tents] and gotten ready for the show during the daytime, say, on a Monday, that night we would have the home electrification specialist (which was my job) demonstrate lighting equipment. I believe the next morning we had a laundry equipment demonstration at about 10 a.m., and in the afternoon, we demonstrated small appliances and some kitchen and laundry planning along the way. The last evening, the home electrification specialist conducted a big cooking duel between two local men. That was a highlight of the whole program." [1]
The electric circus was discontinued in 1941, a victim of WWII gas shortages. Mamer continued educating rural America with the Electro-Economy Tour designed to help the war effort. This was also discontinued due to WWII shortages. After the war, Mamer began traveling and demonstrating again while also developing training courses for the REA and REA co-ops nationwide. Through her demonstrations and training materials, Mamer was not only teaching rural America in the uses of electricity but in a lifestyle reflecting the goals of the New Deal - a better life for average Americans. Mamer's largest audiences seem to have been rural housewives but men were included as well, especially in the "cooking duel". Mamer identified with these women and from her notes and interviews she seems to have firmly believed in her mission to better people's lives through electricity.
In a 1948 article for Practical Home Economics magazine, Mamer briefly described her background and work:
My background is rural; locale, southern Illinois. As I grew, 'college' like 'mama's bank account' was always with us, and we worked to get the money for it --selling pecan meats, mowing, raking, doing everything but plowing for the same pay as the hired men. Finally I had almost $1,000, a fashionable suntan, unfashionable broad shoulders and a "harrowing" walk that served me well in getting about at the University of Illinois.
That first year I planned to become a writer, but by my sophomore year I decided that I should learn something to write about. So I spent my last three years and four summers more becoming a home economist and satisfied my craving for writing on The Daily Illini and the Illinois Agriculturist, college sheets of which I was woman's editor.
My background was, as astrologers would put it, propitious to home economics. My mother had already mothered one family of seven brothers, and she operated on a big scale. We butchered; we churned; we canned; we baked bread; we had two acres of garden, fruit, chickens and a milk route. All this-sans electricity, sans running water.
When I started teaching, an all-electric foods laboratory was a rarity, but I got one and was very proud of it. I also got a great deal of experience which came in handy when I left teaching to take a job in Washington writing for NYA.
REA was so new then that home economics hadn't entered the picture, so I went in as a writer. In 1937, after a training period in TVA, REA sent me to Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska as a regional home economist. Except for being lent briefly to WPB I've been in REA ever since.
My secret ambition is to build a modern house; furnish it modern and Chinese; equip it all-electric and with a husband guaranteed not to wander; operate the whole arrangement at enough profit to provide myself with all the secretarial and other help I would like to have to do my job the way I would like to do it and write besides. [2]
Mamer married Arthur C. Hagen (1911-2000), an REA electrical engineer, on March 20, 1954. She devoted her working life to the REA retiring in 1981. Mamer died in Washington, DC in December 2005.
Footnotes
1. "Bringing Light to Rural America," Rural Cooperatives magazine, March 1998.
2. "Methods of Teaching Home Use of Electricity," part 1 by Louisan E. Mamer, Practical Home Economics magazine, April and May 1948.
Sources
"Bringing Light to Rural America," Rural Cooperatives magazine, March 1998.
Campbell, Dan, "When the Lights Came On," Rural Cooperatives Magazine, August 2000.
Troppa, Gina M., "The REA Lady --A Shining Example," Illinois Currents, 2002
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Reddy Kilowatt Records (AC0913)
Provenance:
Donated by Louisan E. Mamer to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian in June 2004.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Listing of tower clock serial numbers 18/787 to 24/2361.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Grimston's New Gas-Burner. Reprint from the Journal of Gas Lighting, & C.
Collection Creator:
Hammer, William J. (William Joseph), 1858-1934 (electrical engineer) Search this
Container:
Box 46, Folder 5
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Sept. 5, 1882
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
William J. Hammer Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
![View [E. Howard Clock Orders Ledger Volume 4, book] digital asset: [E. Howard Clock Orders Ledger Volume 4, book]](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=120&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/electronicresource.gif "[E. Howard Clock Orders Ledger Volume 4, book]")
