The collection documents Cyrus W. Field's efforts to lay the transatlantic cable from Ireland to Newfoundland in 1866. The materials include photographs, correspondence, resolutions, maps, charts, and printed publications about Field and the transatlantic Cable.
Scope and Contents:
The collection contains materials documenting Cyrus W. Field's efforts to lay the Trans-Atlantic cable from Ireland to Newfoundland. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, publications, and maps and charts about the Trans-Atlantic cable.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1: Personal/Biographical Materials, 1854-1896
Series 2: Photographs, 1840, 1865, 1871, 1893
Series 3: Correspondence, 1835-1893
Series 4: Publications, 1854-1893
Series 5: Miscellaneous, 1856-1897
Biographical / Historical:
Cyrus Field (1819-1892) was born into a large family in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. At age fifteen an older brother helped him find a job in a New York City dry goods store. In 1840, he became junior partner in a paper company. When the firm failed a year later, he took it as a personal duty to repay all creditors. He then formed his own paper company, which succeeded due to his integrity, salesmanship, and entrepreneurial skills. By 1852, he had amassed a modest fortune and retired. Early in 1854, a contact made by another brother led Field to take over a bankrupt project to build a telegraph line across Newfoundland. Field had a bigger idea: extend the line to Britain.
Field gained fame for organizing the effort to successfully lay an underwater telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to North America. Success in 1866 came after a decade's worth of effort and several earlier failures. To complete the cable Field marshalled financial, political and technical support on both sides of the Atlantic. He helped create companies to undertake the project and found investors willing to gamble on the new technologies involved. He negotiated with the British and American governments for material support in the form of ships and equipment, and for commitments to use the cable when it was finished. He obtained the assistance of leading scientists and engineers. In all this, the entrepreneurial skills and integrity he had demonstrated as a successful businessman, combined with his boundless enthusiasm, stood him in good stead. The resulting cable was the first means of fast transatlantic communication and one of the foundations of today's telecommunications network.
Field married Mary Bryan Stone on December 2, 1840, and they had seven children.
Materials at the Archives Center:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC0060), Series: Telegraphs
Anglo-American Telegraph Company Records, 1866-1973 (AC0073)
Western Union Telegraph Company Records (AC0205), Series 6: Cyrus W. Field Papers, 1840-1892
Materials consist of drawings and illustrations, specifically the Great Eastern, illustrated magazines, publications, and newspaper clippings.
Materials at Other Organizations
New York Public Library
Cyrus W. Field papers, 1831-1905 (bulk 1880-1890)
11 linear feet (20 boxes)
Collection contains correspondence, legal and financial documents, estate papers, inventories, notes, maps, photographs, and printed materials that document Field's business activities and estate. General correpondence, 1846-1892 (mostly incoming letters), concerns business matters. Business papers, 1858-1891, consist of correspondence and legal and financial documents relating to Field's involvement with various telegraph, railroad, and newspaper companies. Land papers, 1831-1895, pertain to properties in New York State (with information about the Croton Aqueduct), New York City and Massachusetts. Field's estate papers, 1851-1905, include wills, insurance policies, stock, correspondence, legal papers, and claims against Field's estate. Financial papers, 1843-1892, contain account books, accounts, receipts, and cancelled checks. Also, inventories of Field's estate, notes on the Field family, papers regarding Major John André monument and James Garfield memorial, maps, photographs, printed matter, and miscellaneous papers.
Separated Materials:
Artifacts related to Cyrus W. Field are in the Division of Work Industry. They include medals, paintings and cable samples. See accessions: EM*007199; EM*007200; EM*007205; EM*007207; EM*007208; EM*007210.01-.04; EM*007211.1; EM*007211.2; EM*007212; and EM*007213.
Provenance:
The collection was loaned by Isabella Field Judson, daughter of Cyrus W. Field, to the United States National Museum in 1897. The loan converted to a gift in 1931.
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.
The collection documents the work of Dolores Valdes-Zacky and her advertising firm Valdes-Zacky Associates, who specialize in the Hispanic consumer market.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes guidebooks on marketing to Hispanics; business records; letters and emails; photographs; an award; case studies; ad campaign proposals; story boards; press releases; print advertisements for the agency and for its clients, as well as for products; a DVD of commercials; newsletters; magazine and newspaper articles. Some items in the collection relate to Valdes Zacky's work with the J. Walter Thompson firm.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series.
Series 1: Background Materials, 1955-1999
Series 2: Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1989-1999
Biographical / Historical:
Dolores Valdes-Zacky started her career in advertising with the J. Walter Thompson agency. She left to start her own firm, Valdes-Zacky Associates in 1987, specializing in tapping the Hispanic consumer market. Some of the agency's clients have been Mitsubishi Motors, Adolph Coors Company, Arrowhead Puritas Waters, Vons Grocery, and the Partnership for a Drug Free America.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Dolores Valdes Zacky, 2016.
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.
Think Surgical, Inc. (Fremont, California) Search this
Extent:
5.5 Cubic feet (17 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1983-2010
bulk 1991-1994
Summary:
The collection documents the development of ROBODOC™, the first robot to perform surgery on a human in the United States through correspondence, memoranda, press clippings, press releases, engineering drawings, regulatory policies and procedures, photographs, and audiovisual materials.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the development of ROBODOC™, a robotic surgical system that would redefine precision joint replacement procedures. The collection contains correspondence, memoranda, press clippings, press releases, engineering drawings, regulatory policies and procedures, photographs, and audiovisual materials documenting the development of the ROBODOC™. The collection is strong in documentation about regulatory policies and procedures the company undertook for approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.
Series 1: Project History and Background Materials, 1985-2003
Series 2: Engineering Materials, 1989-2000, bulk 1991-1993
Series 3: User Guides, 1991-2001
Series 4: Food and Drug Administration, 1987-2001
Series 5: Press Clippings, 1983-2010
Series 6: Audiovisual Materials, 1988-2009
Historical:
ROBODOC™ was the first robot to perform surgery in the United States. It was developed in 1986 by IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, and researchers at the University of California, Davis. They formed a collaborative initiative to develop a surgical device for Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA). The team included William Bargar, M.D., Howard "Hap" Paul, D.V.M (1949- 1993), and engineers, Brent Mittelstadt and Peter Kazanides. See US Patent 5,769,092 for Computer-aided system for revision total hip replacement surgery and US Patent 5,806,518 for Method and system of positioning surgical robot, 1998. The original company, Integrated Surgical Systems (ISS) was incorporated in 1990.
The goal of ISS was to create a robotic surgical system that would redefine precision joint replacement procedures. Drilling into bone by hand is not always precise, and often requires glue to fill in empty spaces. Additionally there is a danger the bone will splinter. In this regard, ROBODOC is similar to computer-controlled machine tools. ROBODOC "mills" the bone or joint for accurate fitting similar to machine tools.
In May of 1990 the device was successfully tested on dogs. Since 1998 when it received 510 (K) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Total Hip Arthroplasty over 28,000 procedures have been performed worldwide.
ROBODOC™ was eventually sold in 2007 to Novatrix Biomedical, Inc. which formed Curexo Medical, Inc. to handle the acquisition of Integrated Surgical Systems, Inc. (ISS). ISS became THINK Surgical, Inc. in 2014.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Odex I Walking Robot Collection (AC0203)
Massie/McLurkin Innovative Lives Presentation and Interviews (AC0603)
Computer oral History Collection (AC0196)
Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records (AC0929)
Provenance:
Collection donated by Think Surgical, Inc. through Dr. Mun In-Ki, CEO and President, April 2016.
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.
The collection documents the activities of the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the leadership of both Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington and his son Mercer Ellington. Materials include music manuscripts, business records, lyrics, scripts, and other writings, magazine articles, newspaper clippings and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The Edward and Gaye Ellington collection contains the records of the businesses and material left by their father, Mercer Kennedy Ellington. Ruth Ellington, Duke's sister, and Mercer managed similar aspects of Duke's estate and music. Ruth Ellington managed Tempo Records while Mercer managed Fantasy Records. This collection indicates that there was a distinct line of demarcation between Fantasy Records and Tempo Records. If there were issues of copyright or contractual agreements, the collection contains paperwork covering the matter. There are, however, some overlaps in material particularly in the music manuscripts, photographs and personal papers relating to the Ellington family. The collection is divided into eight series and includes music manuscripts, programs, awards, business records, photographs, slides, correspondence, contracts, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, press releases, catalogues lyrics, scripts and handwritten notes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.
Series 1: Music, Scripts and Compositional Materials, 1928-1974, undated
Subseries 1.2: Published Song Books, 1944, undated
Subseries 1.3: Oversize Scores, undated
Subseries 1.4: Untitled Music Manuscripts, undated
Subseries 1.5: Notes, Scripts, and Compositional Materials, 1963-1967, undated
Series 2: Personal Papers, 1899-1980, undated
Series 3: Photographs, 1933-1974, undated
Series 4: Business Records, 1959-1977, undated
Series 5: Correspondence, 1959-1975, undated
Series 6: Performance Materials, 1957-1978, undated
Series 7: Publicity, 1934-1981, undated
Series 8: Awards and Recognition, 1962-1979
Biographical / Historical:
Edward and Gaye Ellington are the children of the late Mercer Kennedy Ellington. The son of jazz great Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington, Mercer continued the musical family legacy as a trumpet player, pianist and composer. A musician from a young age, Mercer led his own bands, as well as his father's Duke Ellington Orchestra. Edward, who played the guitar, often traveled with his grandfather and father on tour. After Duke's passing, Mercer inherited leadership responsibilities of the orchestra. Edward then became a member of the band and continued to work with his father on the road. Mercer managed and controlled Mercer Records and Fantasy Records, and eventually managed Ellington Productions, Incorporated and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In 2003, Edward and Gaye founded the Duke Ellington Legacy Band. Shortly after the success of the new band, Edward and Gaye created the Duke Ellington Legacy Big Band, an eighteen piece ensemble dedicated to the Ellington sound. The Legacy also produces educational curricula and develops programming and lecture series for the public.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Duke Ellington Collection (AC0301)
Ruth Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials (AC0415)
Provenance:
Collection donated by Edward K. and Gaye Ellington on October 12, 1999
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but copyright held by the donors. 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.
Citation:
Edward and Gaye Ellington Collection of Duke Ellington Materials, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Sponsor:
Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
0.06 Linear feet (1 box, scrapbooks, certificates, photographs, )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Certificates
Letters (correspondence)
Place:
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1924-2014
Summary:
This collection, which dates from 1924-1992, documents the career of high school chemistry teacher, Elaine Margretta Kilbourne (1923-2014). Materials include three scrapbooks compiled by Ms. Kilbourne and two folders, which contain aspects of her personal life, photographs, awards, correspondence, and a 2014 tribute booklet created by her former student, Ysabel L. Lightner to commemorate her passing.
Content Description:
This collection of Elaine Margarette Kilbourne Scrapbooks (1923-2014) and documents measure 6 linear feet and dates from 1924 to 2014 with the bulk of material dating from 1924 to 1992. Included are three scrapbooks and two folders that contain aspects of her personal life, photographs,awards,and correspondence.
The first scrapbook dates from 1924 to 2014 with the bulk of materials dating from 1924 to 1992 and includes snapshots and studio portraits of Ms. Kilbourne and her family. There are images of graduation, prom, and vacation, and snapshots of family gatherings. Also present are records relating to her education, including her high school diploma from Eastside High School, Bachelor of Arts degree from Montclair Teachers College in New Jersey, and her Columbia University's Masters of Arts degree. Also present are photographs with her husband Charles Kilbourne, Ms. Kilbourne in the classroom, and snapshots with former students after her retirement. The scrapbook features correspondence from various public schools and students. Certificates and awards are present as well.
The second scrapbook dates from 1955 to 1966 and contain mostly correspondence, newspaper clippings, awards, and samples of her U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Administration chemistry projects. Photographs in the book document Ms. Kilbourne's tenure at Anacostia High School.
The third scrapbook dates from 1966 to 1967 and documents Ms. Kilbourne's professional achievements including being one of six national recipients of the American Chemical Society's James Bryant Conan Award for High School Chemistry teaching. Letters of congratulations from the Smithsonian Institution, General Electric, and Du Pont Company are included in the book, in addition to clippings, photographs, and other memorabilia.
Biographical Note:
Elaine Margretta Kilbourne, was born January 14, 1923, and grew up in Patterson, New Jersey, one of two children of Max and Emily Stecher. She graduated from Eastside High School in 1940, received her B.A. in Physical Sciences from Montclair State Teachers College in 1944 and completed a M.A. degree in Student Personnel Administration at Columbia University in 1947.
Her marriage to Charles Kilbourne ended in divorce.
Ms. Kilbourne taught chemistry at Anacostia High School in Washington, DC from 1948 to 1968. Throughout her long and distinguished career, she earned a local and national reputation for excellence in her teaching methods. In 1955, she received a special award from the Chemical Society of Washington for her excellence in teaching. In 1958 and 1963, Ms. Kilbourne received Principal Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching by the District of Columbia. The American Chemical Society recognized her contribution to the STEM field with numerous awards, including receiving the Second District James Bryant Conan Award in High School Chemistry Teaching.
While serving as Science Education Specialist for the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Ms. Kilbourne created a series of national curricula for high school chemistry seniors. She also worked as a Teaching Associate in the chemistry department at the University of Maryland, and for the National Science Foundation's summer program for chemistry teachers.
Her passion for teaching students led to an appointment at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland where she taught for 16 years until her retirement. Throughout her long career, Ms. Kilbourne found inspiration in the "intrinsic challenge [of teaching chemistry] and the enthusiasm of the students—above all, witnessing their later successes in life."
Elaine Margretta Kilbourne passed away peacefully at the age of 91 at Paul Spring Retirement Community in Alexandria, VA., on June 14, 2014.
Provenance:
Donated by Guy A. Toscano in 2017.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at ACMarchives@si.edu
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
International Business Machines Corporation Search this
Extent:
3.5 Cubic feet (11 boxes, 1 map-folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Articles
Transcripts
Technical drawings
Notebooks
Correspondence
Examinations (documents)
Notes
Patents
Date:
1943-2012
Summary:
The collection documents the career of N. Joseph Woodland, who, along with Bernard Silver, invented and developed the bar code.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the career of N. Joseph Woodland, who, along with Bernard Silver, invented and developed the bar code. The collection includes papers relating to Woodland's early life and education, such as exams and transcripts; papers relating to his work with IBM, including correspondence, notes and notebooks, and technical drawings; patents; photographs; awards and honors; articles.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1943-2012
Series 2: International Business machines Corporation (IBM), 1951-2006
Series 3: Node Code, 1986-2003
Series 4: Consulting, 1987-2000
Series 5: Audiovisual Materials, 1990-2011
Biographical / Historical:
Norman Joseph Woodland (1921-2012) was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Woodland also served during World War II in the Army as a technical assistant for the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University (1947) and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University (1956). He joined the Drexel University faculty as a lecturer in mechanical engineering in 1947.
In 1948, Woodland became aware of the need for supermarket inventory control through automated checkout. He conceived of the idea of using printed parallel stripes of varying widths to encode prices of items in 1949. Woodland, together with Bernard Silver (1921-1963), an electrical engineer, and fellow Drexel University faculty lecturer, defined a system to exploit the bar code invention to automatically capture item prices as well as inventory data. Woodland and Silver were issued US patent 2,612,994 for a classifying apparatus and method on October 7, 1952. Woodland and Silver sold their patent for $15,000 to Philco in 1961.
Woodland joined IBM in 1951 as a mechanical designer and later worked as a senior planner in artificial intelligence in general and expert systems. While at IBM, Woodland identified and applied existing and emerging technologies to enhance planned IBM products and systems. He worked in store systems marketing, long-range market planning, product planning, and artificial intelligence development. In 1983, he received an IBM technical sabbatical to work on expert systems and robotics at Carnegie Mellon University and to study these systems in use in Japan. A significant portion of Woodland's career focused on the bar code in general and supermarket automated check-out processes. His work laid the foundation for the creation of the universal product code (UPC symbol), for which ), for which he was an integral part of the IBM team's winning design, in his role as the person responsible for IBM's UPC symbol proposal to the grocery industry's symbol selection committee.
In 1992, Woodland won the National Medal of Technology for his invention and contribution to the commercialization of bar code technology, which improved productivity in every industrial sector and gave rise to the bar code industry. Woodland holds six patents.
Woodland married Jacqueline Woodland (née Blumberg) in 1951 and they had two daughters, Betsy Karpenkopf and Susan Woodland.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2017 by Susan Woodland, the daughter of N. Joseph Woodland.
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.
InBae Yoon was a Korean American inventor. He specialized in OB-GYN surgery, and his inventions aided in the safety of laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery. The papers include personal documents, corporate agreements and licenses, technical drawings, patent applications, correspondence, project proposals, and methods and procedures.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Dr. Yoon's life and career as a surgeon and his invention and development of numerous tools, instruments and procedures. The collection specifically focuses on three inventions: the "Yoon Ring", a device for tubal ligation for women patented in 1975; a penetrating instrument with safety shield, and method for introducing a portal sleeve into a cavity in the body, patented in 1985; and surgical clips and applicator, patented in 1992. All three were manufactured and widely used. The contents include invention notebooks, sketches, photographs and slides, correspondence, patents, patent applications, legal papers, business papers, articles and clippings, reference files, and some audiovisual materials.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series.
Series 1: Personal Documents and Correspondence, 1980-1999
Series 2: Professional Activities, 1974-2009
Series 3: Corporate Agreements and Correspondence, 1970-2005
Subseries 3.3: Cabot Medical Instruments Corporation, 1984-1986
Subseries 3.4: KLI, 1973-1980
Subseries 3.5: Reznick,1982-1986
Subseries 3.6: Other Disclosures and Partnerships,1973-1999
Series 4: Drawings and Technical Specifications, 1970-2005
Series 5: Legal Documents, 1970-2003
Subseries 5.1: Patents, 1970-2003
Subseries 5.2: Ethicon Inc./InBae Yoon vs. United States Surigcal Corporation/Choi, 1975-1998
Subseries 5.3: Correspondence, 1975-2001
Series 6: Projects and Proposal Documents, 1975-2001
Biographical / Historical:
Dr. InBae Yoon (1936-2014) was a prolific Korean American inventor of surgical devices and instrumentation. He was born in Korea during the Japanese Occupation (1910-1945) and attended the Yonsei University School of Medicine, earning his medical degree in 1961. From 1961 to 1964, Yoon served as medical officer in the South Korean Navy, and in 1964 he participated in a program developed to match Korean medical doctors with United States hospitals and medical schools. As a result, Yoon immigrated to Baltimore, Maryland to conduct his rotating internship and general surgical residency at Church Home and Hospital. During his residency, Yoon switched his training from general surgery to obstetrics and gynecology and became fascinated by laparoscopy, a method of surgery performed using a scope placed through the umbilicus, sometimes with other small incisions in the abdomen. During this period he was exposed to tubal ligation, one of the few surgeries done laparoscopically at the time. Observing some of the injuries and complications from these early laparoscopic procedures he became interested in safer laparoscopic methods. After completing his residency in 1969 and finishing a yearlong fellowship, he joined a private practice. In 1973 he then joined the John Hopkins University School of Medicine as an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology where he explored new laparoscopic techniques and procedures.
Yoon became convinced that laparoscopic or "keyhole" surgery was the future. His first invention, the Yoon Ring, was developed between 1972 and 1974, with the patent being issued in 1975 (US Patent 3,870,048). The Yoon Ring system, manufactured with KLI Incorporated, provided a safer method for laparoscopic tubal ligation by applying a silastic ring around the fallopian tube to prevent pregnancy. This simple mechanical method of tubal ligation avoided many of the complications associated with other tubal ligation techniques that utilized electrocautery. Yoon began to see further potential for the use of laparoscopy and from 1975 to 1985, he focused on inventing safety systems for laparoscopic procedures, including safety trocars, safety needles, and safety catheters, which all aided in different aspects of laparoscopic surgery. Yoon spent much of the late 1980s to the early 2000s, working on new innovations such as retractable penetrating instruments, suture tie instruments, cavity stents and expanders, as well as making modifications to previous safety system designs. During this period, Yoon investigated and sought out the assistance of a few large instrument manufacturing companies, such as Richard Wolf GmbH, Olympus, and Cabot Medical in an effort to bring his trocar designs to the market without success. In 1985, Yoon then incorporated his own company, Yoonitech, Inc. to pursue his inventions. In 1988, Yoon established a relationship with Johnson and Johnson, specifically the subsidiary of the company, Ethicon, which later became Ethicon Endo Surgery (EES) and licensed his shielded trocar patent (US Patent 4,535,773) to bring his product to market. From 1995-2005, Yoon continued to collaborate with EES for the production of instruments and techniques for laparoscopy and endoscopy. Dr. Yoon passed away on December 30, 2014. After 5 decades of focusing on this innovative approach to surgery, he amassed over 200 U.S. patents for his work.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Medicine and Science holds artifacts related to this collection. See accession 2017.0024.
Falope-Ring® Band (2017.0024.01)
Demonstration Forceps (2017.0024.02)
Wold Falope Ring Applicator (2017.0024.03)
Wolf-Yoon Double Puncture Ring Applicator (2017.0024.04)
Falope-Ring® Applicator (2017.0024.05)
Mark II Applicator (2017.0024.06)
Yoon and Stoup Faolpian Ring Applicator (2017.0024.07)
Falope-Ring® Applicator (2017.0024.08)
An instrument with forcep like handles(2017.0024.09)
An endoscope which can be used in conjunction with theFalope-Ring® Applicator (2017.0024.10)
Endoscopic Simulation Training Device (2017.0024.19)
Provenance:
Collection donated by Kyung Joo Yoon, widow of InBae Yoon, 2017.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs.
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.
The collection documents the life and musical career of Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros.
Scope and Contents:
Collection documents the life and musical career of Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros. The materials consist primarily of black-and-white and color photographs of Armenteros, his family and friends. There is some correspondence which include both incoming and outgoing letters, postcards and greeting cards. Throughout his career Armenteros is recognized by the Latin American community and this is best reflected by awards and citations. Music manuscripts, performance agreements and promotional materials for concerts can also be found among these materials. The collection is arranged into two series. Series one is Armenteros's personal papers. Series two contains materials relating to Armenteros's performances.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1, Personal Papers, circa 1920-2016, undated
Series 2, Performance Materials,1949-2000, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros was a trumpeter, composer, arranger, and producer known for his Afro-Cuban musical style. He was born on April 4, 1928, in Ranchuelo, in the Villa Clara province of central Cuba. In 1949, Armenteros moved to Havana to begin his musical career, which spanned almost seven decades. He acquired his nickname in the mid-1950s because of to his resemblance to the Cuban boxer Kid Chocolate. Armenteros worked with many New York-based Latin artists and bands including Mongo Santamaria, Graciela, Johnny Pacheco, Charlie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Osvaldo "Chi Hua Hua" Martínez, Lou Pérez, Roberto Torres, Ismael Rivera, Bobby Capó, Israel "Cachao" López, and Wynton Marsalis. He died on January 6, 2016 in a nursing home in Mohegan Lake, New York at the age of eighty-seven.
General:
The Division of Music holds six passes, one parade ribbon, three awards, two framed records, and one trumpet made by Holton and engraved "A. A. Chocolate", Accession Number: 2017.0214
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History Collections:
Graciela Papers, 1915-2010, undated
Mongo Santamaria, 1950s-1996, undated
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program Collection, 1992-2014
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Museum by Armenteros's son in 2017.
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.
Citation:
Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Collection documents activist and educator Elaine Ostroff who advocated for improved access for people with disabilities in public places, co-founded the Adaptive Environments Center and who taught universal design in several institutions.
Scope and Contents:
The papers include correspondence, reports, photographs and slides, course-related materials, evaluations, printed publications, lectures and presentations, grant applications, conference materials, audiovisual materials and newspaper clippings documenting the career of Elaine Ostroff, an activist and educator of universal design.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series. The arrangement follows Ms. Ostroff's original file order which for the most part has been retained.
Series 1: Personal/Biographical Materials, 1967-2008
Elaine Phillips Ostroff was born on February 27, 1933 and grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. She graduated from Durfee High School (1951), received a B.S. from Brandeis University (1955), was awarded a Radcilffe Fellowship (1970) and an Ed.M from Harvard University (1972). In 1978, Ostroff co-founded with Cora Beth Abel the Adaptive Environments Center (now the Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) to confront the barriers which prevent persons with disabilities and older people from fully participating in community life. In 1989, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, she developed the National Universal Design Education Project (UDEP) at Adaptive Environments. A national project, UDEP sought to incorporate universal design in professional curricula. Ostroff coined the term "user/expert" in 1995 to identify individuals whose personal experiences give them unique critical capacity to evaluate environments.
As an educator, Ostroff has been involved with the accessible environments effort on a national and international level since 1971. She was the former director of training for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health where she developed graduate programs and courses to sustain community based living for people with disabilities. In 1977, she was the United States representative to the United Nations meeting on the Rights of Children.
She convened the national seminar on Design for All People that provided the framework for the UDEP in 1982. In 1986, she developed the "Best of Accessible Boston," an awards program honoring the architects and owners of buildings that exemplified good as well as accessible design. Ostroff is internationally renowned for her role on the team that created the Principles of Universal Design. The Principles are taught to designers including architects, landscape architects, interior and product designers and their students and used in design, constructions and product development. In 2001, she was the senior editor of the "Universal Design Handbook" used as a textbook in educational settings. In 2004, she was the first American, and first woman, to receive the Misha Black Medal from the Royal College of Art. In 2006, the American Institute of Architects awarded her the Honorary AIA designation. Ostroff's experience emphasized creating educational programs for non-designers, facilitating their design advocacy as well as collaboration with design professionals. She has written and produced technical assistance materials on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that were used in the National Network for ADA Technical Assistance.
She married Earl Carlton Ostroff (1931-2006) in 1953. The couple had three children, Rebecca, Joshua, and Sam.
Historical Note:
The Universal Design Movement is an international effort advocating design for disabled persons to enjoy access, independence, and convenience. It also is known as design-for-all, accessible design, inclusive design, and human-centered design. It is applied to buildings, consumer products, packaging, appliances, tools, and devices. It can aid persons with mobility, visual, hearing, cognitive, developmental, neurological, and other disabilities.
The Universal Design movement has its roots in the disability rights movement, in the post-World War II era. Previously and especially before the First World War people with disabilities were members of a small minority and persons with severe handicaps tended to have short lifespans. The world wars caused a huge influx of disabled veterans into the population. Advances in medicine and drugs and better sanitation enabled increased lifespans resulting in a higher population of older and disabled people. Awareness of the problems and limitations experienced by people with disabilities has increased.
The "Barrier-Free" movement in the 1950s was born of the demands by veterans and their advocates to participate equally in educational and employment opportunities enjoyed by the non-disabled population. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s influenced the rising Disability Rights Movement. Legislative changes in the 1960s and 1970s prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities and mandated access to some, though not all, public spaces, public transit, and places of public accommodation.
The progression from the Barrier-Free movement to the Universal Design movement was aided by several pieces of national legislation and activism on the part of numerous organizations. The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 required buildings designed, built, altered, or leased with federal funds to be made accessible. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first civil rights law for disabled people. It prohibited discrimination against people with handicapping conditions, but again, only applied to institutions or groups receiving federal funding. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 required educational institutions to provide a free education to handicapped children. The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 expanded the requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to include disabled people. This applied to both public and private properties. The biggest change came in 1990 with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This broad and sweeping legislation raised public consciousness about disability rights as a civil rights issue. It prohibited discrimination in employment, access to public accommodations, services, programs, public transit, and telecommunications. The law mandated the removal of physical barriers and the development of non-discriminatory policies.
The Universal Design Movement sought to integrate people with disabilities into the mainstream, and to promote inclusion by reducing the physical and social barriers that exist between people with disabilities. As planners, builders and architects struggled to meet the demands of the ADA, they realized that segregated accommodations were costly, unattractive, and unfair. They also realized that improvements in the built environment not only that benefitted people with disabilities, they benefitted all users. According to the Center for Universal Design, "Recognition that many such features could be commonly provided and thus less expensive, unlabeled, attractive, and highly marketable, laid the foundation for the universal design movement."
Against this background, Ostroff's own special interest was improving the environment for people with developmental disabilities. She initially worked with teachers in the Department of Mental Retardation (State of Massachusetts) to help them transform their classrooms into more engaging and supportive environments for young children with disabilities. She was inspired by Gunnar Dybwad (1909-2001), a prominent international international advocate who fought for community living and the de-institutionalization of people with developmental disabilities and Raymond Lifchez (1932-), professor of architecture and city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley. She also worked closely with, and learned from, Ron Mace (1941-1998), FAIA, the architect who powered the accessibility movement through his personal experience of disability along with his architectural training and experience.
Related Materials:
The Universal Design News is a quarterly publication that Ostroff edited from 2000-2012 and wrote column on international design education. A full run of the newsletter is available the wesbite for Universal Designers and Consultants, Inc.
Materials at the Archives Center:
Target Stores Collection of Fashion Advertising Using Disabled Models (AC0436)
Accessible Snowboard Collection (AC0747)
Division of Medicine and Science Disability Reference Collection (AC1319)
Safko International, Inc. Records (AC0911)
Harriet Green Kopp Papers (AC1130)
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center by Elaine Ostroff in 2015.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Reference copies for audio and moving images materials do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information has been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
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.
Reference copies for audio and moving images materials do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information has been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
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:
Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers, 1965-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Floyd Levin was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. The collection consists of research materials including biographical files. In addition, there are numerous photographs that were taken and collected by Levin.
Scope and Contents:
Research materials on jazz, jazz artists, jazz festivals and jazz organizations compiled by Levin over several decades. The richest portion is the series of biographical files on jazz artists, with emphasis on lesser known but influential artists, and includes such things as obituaries, memorial programs, press releases, concert programs, and newsletters. Photographs are also widely found in this series, many of them inscribed to, or taken with Levin and his wife Lucille, as well as posters, recordings, letters and other correspondence, awards and plaques, Levin's writings, business cards, newspaper articles, advertisements, and miscellaneous ephemeral items. Artists who are strongly represented include one-time Ellington Orchestra clarinetist "Barney" (Albany Leon) Bigard, who was a close personal friend of the Levins and whose personal papers are in the collection; Louis Armstrong; "Jelly Roll" (Ferdinand Lemott) Morton; "Wild" Bill Davison; "Duke" (Edward Kennedy) Ellington; Joe Darensbourg; Edward Bertram "Montudie" Garland; "Kid" (Edward) Ory; "Eubie" (James Herbert) Blake; and "Rosy" (James) McHargue.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into ten series.
Series 1, Personal Papers, 1920-2010, undated
Series 2, Correspondence, 1948-2006, undated
Series 3, Research Materials, 1914-2006, undated
Series 4, Writings, 1949-2006, undated
Series 5, Artists Files, 1880-2010, undated
Subseries 5.1, General Materials, 1880-2010, undated
Subseries 5.2, Obituaries, 1941-2004
Subseries 5.3, Interviews, 1969-2001
Series 6, Subject Files, 1916-2004, undated
Series 7, General Materials, 1908-2006, undated
Series 8, Jazz Organizations and Publications, 1943-2010, undated
Series 9, Photographs, 1939-2001, undated
Series 10, Audiovisual Materials, 1964-1997, undated
Floyd Levin (1922 - 2007) was a Los Angeles textile manufacturer who turned his passion for jazz into a second, contemporaneous, career as an influential jazz journalist and historian. His numerous reviews, profiles, and articles were published in magazines such as Down Beat, Jazz Journal International, Metronome, and American Rag. He also authored Classic Jazz: A Personal View of the Music and the Musicians (University of California Press, 2000), which –like his articles – chronicled his first-hand encounters with countless jazz musicians. In 1949, he co-founded the Southern California Hot Jazz Society, the second-oldest jazz appreciation club in the country. Levin led the drive to create the Louis Armstrong Park and statue in New Orleans in the 1970s. During his career, he conducted scores of oral history interviews with jazz musicians, which he donated to NMAH and to Tulane University's jazz archive. He received several awards for his work, including the Leonard Feather Communicator Award, given annually by the Los Angeles Jazz Society. Levin died in 2007.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2011 by Floyd Levin's widow, Lucille Levin.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Only reference copies of audiovisual materials may be used.
Rights:
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Luther Davis (1916-2008) was an awarding winning writer, playwright and screenwriter. He won a Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award in 1954 for the musical Kismet. He was the playwright for Lady in a Cage, and Grand Hotel and many other productions.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains scripts, screenplays, and teleplays written by Luther Davis for the stage, screen, and television with related documents. Also included are writings for publications, business papers, and personal papers and photographs.
Series 1, Articles and Fiction, 1936-1946, 2003. This series consists of articles and stories written for magazines, published and unpublished. This series is divided into two subseries:
Subseries 1, Articles and Non-Fiction, 1936-1946 and 2003. Articles published in magazines or other publications and unpublished manuscripts.
Subseries 2, Fiction, 1936-1940s and undated. Stories published in magazines and unpublished manuscripts.
Series 2, Works for Film, 1946-2003. This series consists of treatments, scripts and screenplays for films, produced and unproduced. This series is divided into two subseries:
Subseries 1, Screenplays, Produced, 1946-1972. Drafts and scripts for films produced and materials relating to their production such as advertising and reviews. Photographs for several films are also included and copies of novels used as sources.
Subseries 2, Screenplays, Unproduced, 1940s-2003. Drafts and scripts developed but unproduced and research materials for these projects.
Series 3, Works for the Theater, 1944-2007. This series consists of scripts for stage plays and musicals, produced and unproduced. This series is divided into two subseries:
Subseries 1, Theatrical Productions, 1944-2004. Scripts and other materials related to those productions. These include documents relating to adapting, financing, and promotion of the productions, as well as source materials, photographs, and reviews. Some materials relate to productions in foreign countries.
Subseries 2, Theatrical Works, Unproduced, 1937-2007. Scripts and partial scripts, ideas, outlines and research materials for these projects.
Series 4, Works for Television, 1956-1997. This series consists of scripts for television programs, produced and unproduced. This series is divided into two subseries:
Subseries 1, Television Productions, 1960-1971. Scripts and other materials related to these productions.
Subseries 2, Works for Television, Unproduced, 1956-1997. Scripts and partial scripts, ideas, outlines and research materials.
Series 5, Business and Personal Records, 1916-2007. This series consists of two subseries:
Subseries 1, Business Records, 1941-2006. Correspondence, news clippings, awards, general casting research and story research materials.
Subseries 2, Personal Records, 1916-2007. Documents, scrapbook pages, military records, news clippings, photographs, correspondence, miscellaneous personal items.
Series 6, Works by Others, 1939-1979. This series consists of stories and scripts written by others.
Series 7, Audio-Visual Materials, 1976-1991, undated. This series consists of two subseries:
Subseries 1, Audio Materials, 1976-1991, undated. Audio cassettes for Timbuktu! and Grand Hotel stage productions. Radio interviews with Davis and others.
Subseries 2, Video Materials, 1979-1990, undated. Video cassettes for Timbuktu!, 1990 Tony Awards, and film Daughter of the Mind.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series.
Series 1, Articles and Fiction, 1936-2003, undated
Subseries 1.1, Articles and Non-Fiction, 1936-2003
Subseries 7.2, Video Materials, 1979-1990, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Luther Berryhill Davis was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 29, 1916. He attended Culver Military Academy, graduating in 1934. At Yale University he was a member of the Yale Literary Society and contributed stories and essays to the Yale Literary Magazine. While at Yale, he began writing plays and musicals and his work in these fields would define his long and successful career. Following his graduation he wrote articles on entertainment figures for Colliers and other publications until his enlistment as captain in the Army Air Corps. While serving, he wrote a breezy column for the service publication C.B.I. Roundup and covered aviation subjects for Air Force magazine for the duration of the war. He was promoted to the rank of major before his demobilization in 1945.
Returning to civilian life, Davis embarked upon a career as a writer for the stage, screen, and television that would continue for more than six decades. In the autumn of 1945, Davis's play Kiss Them for Me, adapted from a Frederic Wakeman novel, opened on Broadway and was adapted for film in 1955. In 1947 he wrote the screenplay for The Hucksters (also by Wakeman), starring Clark Gable. He worked as a screenwriter well into the 1980s.
Davis collaborated with Charles Lederer, Robert Wright, and George Forrest on the book and libretto for Kismet, an adaptation of Edward Knoblock's 1911 play. Kismet featured music based on the works of Alexander Borodin and won the Tony award for Best Musical in 1954. It was made into a film directed by Vincente Minnelli in 1955. In 1978, Davis produced a further adaptation titled Timbuktu! that was notable for its use of African themes and locales. Its cast included Eartha Kitt and Melba Moore, and it was choreographed by Geoffrey Holder. Timbuktu! was nominated for six Tonys, including one for Davis's script.
In 1956, Davis and partners Wright and Forrest purchased the rights to Vicki Baum's novel Menschhen in Hotel. The novel had been the source for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's (MGM) 1931 film, Grand Hotel. In 1958, Davis adapted the story for At the Grand, a production of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. Thirty-one years, and numerous revisions, later it opened on Broadway in 1989 as Grand Hotel, the Musical. Directed by Tommy Tune, it ran until 1992. In 1990, the show was nominated for twelve Tony awards and won six.
As a producer, Davis and partners brought the World War I drama Not About Heroes to Broadway with stars Edward Hermann and Dylan Baker in 1981. He also co-produced Eden Court off-Broadway with Ellen Barkin and Melanie Griffith in 1985.
Davis continued his work in film as writer and producer, most notably with his controversial film Lady in a Cage, a 1964 study of modern violence starring Olivia de Havilland. Other film scripts, such as A Lion is in the Streets (1953) and Across 110th Street (1972), also explored gritty, contemporary themes. These were a marked contrast to the wry comedy of some of his earlier screenplays.
As a writer for television, Davis's work earned him recognition from the Writer's Guild of America and Mystery Writers of America. Most of his television work was produced in the 1960s, including episodes for the series "Run for Your Life" and "Kraft Suspense Theater." He authored several movies for television, including Arsenic and Old Lace in 1968. His other works for television included comedies, dramas, mysteries and thrillers.
In his lengthy career, Luther Davis earned success because of both his talent and his extraordinary determination and energy. His papers include not only his works produced for film, stage, and television but an equal, if not greater number, of works never seen by audiences.
His tireless efforts with these projects, as well as the many that reached fruition, indicate a willingness to persevere that is essential to success; in 2007, when he was ninety-one years old, he wrote a treatment for a stage musical based on Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Luther Davis died in 2008.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2009 by Davis's widow, Joan Bassie Davis.
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.
The papers contain correspondence, reports, drawings, blueprints, cost estimates, contracts, specifications, regulations, legal documents, photographs, profiles, diagrams, clippings, and publications concerning projects which Forgie worked on, especially the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, the Midtown Hudson Tunnels in New York City. Also included are publications and patents on subaqueous tunneling, subway stations, and bridges, and material on the Forgie submarine.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Professional Papers, 1892-1945
Series 2: Projects, 1914-1957
Series 3: Publications, 1856-1952
Series 4: Drawings, 1888-1951
Biographical / Historical:
James Forgie (1868-1958) was born in Longside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Forgie graduated from Gordon's Technical College, Aberdeen, Scotland (1881-1885) and apprenticed in the office of civil engineer George Gordon Jenkins from 1885-1889. Forgie came to the United States in 1902 to work as a chief assistant engineer to the Pennsylvania Railroad on tunnels in New York City. He joined the private engineering practice with partners Charles M. Jacobs and J.Vipond Davies of Jacobs and Davies, Inc. from 1909-1923. Forgie was awarded the Tedlford Gold Medal from the Institute of Civil Engineering (British) in 1915 in recognition of his paper "The Laxaxalpam Aqueduct Tunnels in Mexico." He authored numerous articles about tunneling and consulted as a an expert witness and arbitrator in many legal cases involving tunneling. Forgie was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Institute of Civil Engineers of Canada, and New York Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Forgie married Martha Maitland Thom (1868-1936) in 1895. They had four children: Martha (b. 1900), Wilhelmina (b. 1902), James (b. 1904), and Christina (b. 1906). Forgie later married Anne McDougall (b. 1872) in 1937.
Related Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
The Foundation Company Records (AC0974)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series: Tunnels (AC0060)
Herbert S. Grassman Papers (AC0955)
Penn Station, New York Photographs (AC1048)
Lawrence Talma Smith Papers (AC0988)
Silas H. Woodward Papers (AC1038)
Alfred Maevis Collection (AC0954)
William R. Hutton Papers (AC0987)
Montgomery C. Meigs Papers (AC0984)
Henry Grattan Tyrrell and Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell Papers (AC0948)
Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas Records Collection (AC0969)
Chicago Surface Lines Drawings (AC0212)
Grand Central Terminal Collection (AC1071)
Modjeski and Masters Company Records (AC0976)
Thomas Norrell Railroad Photographs Collection (AC1174)
Separated Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry holds a model of a Ram for driving tunnel shields (1933). It was used in driving the Union Tunnel for the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1933-1934 by James Forgie. See accession #MC.329243.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Mrs. James Forgie.
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.
The records document the work of consulting engineers and bridge builders, Ralph Modjeski (1861-1940) and Frank Masters (1883-1974) of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the civil engineering career of Ralph Modjeski (1861-1940) and Frank masters (1883-1974). The materials include bound volumes and loose photographs of bridge work-in-progress; printed reports; articles, pamphlets; drawings, blue prints and tracings of bridges; letterpress books of correspondence; contracts; reports; studies of bridge materials; and glass plate negatives and lantern slides depicting bridges.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1915-1986
Series 2: Letter Press Books, 1898-1906
Series 3: Photographs, 1878-1979
Series 4: Contracts, 1895-1960
Series 5: Printed Materials, 1862-1969
Series 6: Newspaper Clippings, 1924-1941
Series 7: Lantern Slides, undated
Series 8: Glass Plate Negatives, 1906-1926
Series 9: Film Negatives, 1924, undated
Series 10: Drawings, 1901-1952
Biographical / Historical:
Rudolphe Modrzejewski was born to Helena Jadwiga Opid (d.1909) and Gustav Sinnmayer Modrzejewski (d. 1901) on January 27, 1861, in Cracow, Poland. His mother was an internationally known stage actress who went by the name Helena Modrzejewska. In 1868, Helena married Count Karol Bożenta Chłapowski. In July 1876, Helena and Rudolphe emigrated to America, where, for purposes of American citizenship, the Polish form of their surname was later changed to Modjeski (feminine form Modjeska). Modjeski became a naturalized citizen in 1883 in San Francisco, California.
In 1882, Modjeski returned to Europe to study at the Ecole Des Ponts et Chaussees and graduated in 1885 with a degree in civil engineering. Modjeski worked with prominent civil engineer and "Father of American Bridge Building," George S. Morison, on the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge over the Missouri River at Omaha as an assistant engineer. He remained with Morison from 1885 to 1892. Some of his assignments included working in the shops which produced steel sections; the design office where he advanced to chief draftsman; and as an inspector of quality control in shops that fabricated steel elements. Modjeski worked with Morison on his Willamette, Nebraska City, Sioux City, Winona, Cairo, and Memphis bridges across the Mississippi River. The Memphis bridge was the longest span cantilever in the country at the time.
In 1893, Modjeski opened a civil engineering practice in Chicago with S. Nicholson. After some financial difficulties, Nicholson and Modjeski dissolved their partnership. Modjeskis first individual large commission was the bridge at Rock Island, Illinois (1895) across the Mississippi River where he designed and supervised the construction of the bridge for the federal government and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company.
In 1902, Modjeski went into partnership with fellow civil engineer, Alfred Noble (1844-1914) forming the firm of Noble and Modjeski. He went into partnership with Walter Angier, under the name Modjeski and Angier, civil and inspecting engineers, between 1912 and 1924 with several offices around the United States. Angiers had worked with him beginning in 1902 on the bridge across the Mississippi at Thebes, Illinois. Modjeski partnered, in 1924, with Frank Masters (1883-1974), who had worked with him and Angiers between 1904 and 1914 on the Memphis and Louisville Bridges, forming Modjeski and Masters. Clement E. Chase and Montgomery B. Case later joined the firm as partners. In 1937, Masters assumed full control and ownership of the firm which specialized in the design and construction supervision of large bridges and other structures, rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing bridges, the design of highways and expressways, subways and wharves, the design of large and complex foundations, inspection of construction materials, and the creation of surveys, investigations and reports.
Modjeski builtand/or consulted on over forty bridges in his lifetime. He built truss, steel arch, and suspension bridges. He introduced steel tower pylons in place of masonry towers and he used better grades of steel, such as new steel alloys with improved strength and durability. He also introduced advancements in the design of cable configurations and deck-stiffening beams. Some of his major projects included: the Columbia River and Willamette bridges, McKinley Bridge at St. Louis; the Celilo Railroad Bridge at Celilio, Ohio; the Thebes Bridge over the Mississippi; the Quebec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River; the Delaware River Bridge; the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge.
On December 28, 1885, Modjeski married Felicie Benda (d. 1936) in New York and the couple had three children: Felix Bozenta Modjeski (1887); Marylka Stuart Modjeski (1894) and Charles Emmanuel John Modjeski (1896-1944). Ralph and Felicie divorced in 1931. He later married Virginia Giblyn on July 7, 1931. Modjeski died in Los Angles on June 26, 1940.
Raymond E. Wilson Covered Bridge Collection, 1958-1974 (AC0999)
Materials at Other Organizations
Southern Illinois University, Morris Library Special Collections
Walter E. Angier photograph collection, 1901-1915
Walter E. Angier Vertical File Manuscript, 1924
Michigan Historical Collections, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
Alfred Noble Papers, 1862-1922
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Modejeski and Masters Consulting Engineers, through Joseph J. Scherrer, October 2, 1990.
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.
The materials relate to the creation and operation of El Chico Corporation.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of material related to the El Chico Corporation and to the two families involved in its creation and management. The business materials consist primarily of financial reports and studies, annual reports, articles and clippings and investment information. Advertising, menus, labels and packaging are also included among these materials. In addition, there are photographs and articles relating to the Cuellar and Caballero families.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1, El Chico Corporation Business Records, 1950-1990; undated
Series 2, Cuellar Family Papers, 1920s-2006
Series 3, Caballero Family Papers, 1908-1989
Biographical / Historical:
Adelina Cuellar was born in Mexico in 1871. She and her husband Macario migrated to Texas in 1892 and were married in Laredo, eventually becoming sharecroppers in Kaufman, Texas. In 1926, Mrs. Cuellar began making tamales to sell at the Kaufman fair, assisted by her twelve children. This venture became so successful that two of her sons opened a café in Kaufman with Mama Cuellar as the cook. The café failed during the Depression, as did several others opened by the Cuellar family in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
In 1940, Adelina's sons Macario and Gilbert opened a restaurant, El Charro, in Dallas featuring their mother's recipes. They hired their friend Jose Valdez Caballero to manage the restaurant; he had grown up in his family's restaurant in Temple, Texas. El Charro became profitable, and the family began to expand its operations into Houston and Fort Worth. The restaurant chain became El Chico, and most of the family moved to Dallas to work in the business.
The Cuellar brothers diversified their business into frozen and canned foods, franchising, and numerous other enterprises that became the El Chico Corporation. Jose Caballero continued to work for the company as an executive until his retirement. He is credited with the development of popular recipes and with the invention of the hard shell taco. Adelina Cuellar lived to the age of 98 and saw her tamale stand grow into a Tex-Mex empire. Today, there are one hundred El Chico restaurants in the United States and world-wide.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Frito Company Records, circa 1892-2009 (AC1263)
Coon Chicken Inn Collection, circa 1913-1960s (AC1153)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, 1724-1965 (AC0060)
Virginia Mericle Menu Collection, 1960-1990 (AC1212)
Byron Fogel Placemat Collection, circa 1930-1981 (AC0419)
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Fifi Caballero Benson, John A. Cuellar, and Carmen Summers in 2011 and 2012.
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.
Citation:
El Chico Resturants Collection, 1908-1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
The collection consists of materials that document the activities of the Doolin family and the Frito Company. Personal and business correspondence, photographs, financial papers, scrapbooks, product packaging, advertisements, company newsletters and clippings are included among these materials.
Scope and Contents:
Collection of materials relating to Frito-Lay, Incorporated's manufacturing, marketing, and selling of the snack food Fritos. The papers are particularly important in documenting the history of the company, employee relations, and community activities. The personal papers and business records of the Doolin family can also be found among the materials. Materials include photographs, correspondence, property documents, annual reports, patents, financial records, recipe books, product packaging, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, interview transcripts, menus, company newsletters, advertising, and scrapbooks. The collection is arranged into six series: Series 1, Doolin family papers, Series 2, Frito Company records, Series 3, Rio Vista Farm records, Series 4, Scrapbooks, Series 5, Other materials, and Series 6, Research files.
Arrangement:
This collection is divided into six series.
Series 1: Doolin Family Papers, 1898-2009, undated
Subseries 1.1, Charles Bernard Doolin, 1898-1933
Subseries 1.2, Daisy Dean Doolin, 1927-1951
Subseries 1.3, Charles Elmer Doolin, 1920-1959
Subseries 1.4, Mary Kathryn "Kitty" Coleman Doolin, 1952-2009
Subseries 1.5, Kate Irwin, 1915-2009
Subseries 1.6, Photographs and Artwork, undated
Series 2, Frito Company Records, 1934-2008, undated
The collection was donated by Kaleta Doolin in 2011 and 2012.
Restrictions:
The 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.
Citation:
Frito Company Records, 1892-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
The collection documents Manny Villafaña, inventor, entrepreneur and founder of several medical device companies since 1971. The majority of the collection pertains to St. Jude Medical, which introduced the mechanical heart valve technology that became the industry standard.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 10 cubic feet of material documenting Manny Villafaña, an inventor and entrepreneur. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence and clippings related to his professional life. There are a few personal items in the collection, such as a St. Jude prayer card, included with the records of St. Jude Medical and a photograph of Villafaña (1988) at the construction site of the Basilica of St. Mary.
Biographical / Historical:
Manny Villafaña (b. 1940- ) began his career in medical technology as a salesman for Medtronic, Inc., exploring the potential market in Argentina. Upon his return to the U.S. Villafaña went on to found Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. and later St. Jude Medical. During the decade following the founding of CPI, Manny Villafaña business savvy and medical technology know-how would propel him to celebrity in the Minnesota business community and national entrepreneurial scene. Some of the technology introduced by Villafaña's companies, such as the St. Jude's pyrolytic bileaflet artificial heart valve, have become industry standards. Villafaña would eventually found seven medical technology companies, with Kips Bay being the most recent.
Related Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Wilson Greatbatch Innovative Lives Presentation, 1996 (ACNMAH 0601)
James A. E. Halkett and Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D., Papers, 1948-1951 (ACNMAH 0220)
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, 1991-2004 (ACNMAH 0859)
George Edward Burch Papers, 1984-1986 (ACNMAH 0316)
James A. E. Halkett and Sigmund A. Wesolowski, M.D., Papers, 1948-1951 (ACNMAH 0220)
Materials Held by Other Organizations
Conversazione, November 20, 1997, January 21, 1998 and May 20, 1998. Oral history is on file at the Minnesota Historical Society.
Separated Materials:
Related heart valves are in the Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History. See Accession 2015.003.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Manny Villafaña on January 29, 2015.
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.
Over four thousand menus from American and international restaurants documenting the marketing and sale of food outside of the home to consumers around the world.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists primarily of American menus but also includes international ones, primarily European (Britain, Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, etc.). These menus are from a variety of restaurant types – those associated with hotels, those owned by individuals, and those that were part of small or large chains. Collected from the mid-1960s through the mid-1990s, the menus document the rise of restaurant chains, as well as franchises during this period. Since many of the menus were never opened they can be easily dated either by the postmark on the envelope, correspondence included with them, or the dates printed on the actual items. There are more menus from moderate or low priced restaurants than from high-end ones, providing insight into the average American's dining experience.
Evidently Mrs. Mericle's request was not unusual because the restaurants often responded warmly to her. Collecting menus as souvenirs seems to have been encouraged as a form of "word-of-mouth" advertising. A few menus actually are marked, "Please don't take this menu – ask for a souvenir instead;" some had a preprinted address block so they could be mailed. Most managers included a letter, thanking her for her interest, or hoping to see her soon, or apologizing for the delay in responding. Managers of restaurants located in hotels often included information about the hotel or tourist brochures about their area, to spark her interest. In addition the envelopes often contained more than one menu. Depending on the type of restaurant, menus for breakfast, lunch, or dinner; inserts with the day's specials; daily menus for restaurants that changed their bill of fare daily; children's menus; and wine lists were included.
With the increasing number of families "eating out" during this three decade period and the development of the term "family restaurant," the menus document changing food selections and choices, and terms which appealed to this growing clientele. Childrearing practices, and child-appropriate foods and behaviors can also be examined through these materials. The change and variation in menu format and design of the average American restaurant as evidenced in these menus provide insight into marketing and sales devices.
The materials are organized into two series. Series one, subseries one consists of American menus and is arranged in alphabetical order, first by state and then by the name of the restaurant. Series one, subseries two contains materials other than menus including brochures, pamphlets, and a recipe book. Series two includes foreign menus and isare arranged in alphabetical order by country.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into twoone series.
Series 1, American Menus, 1961-1996, undated
Subseries 1.1, American Menus, 1961-1996, undated
Subseries 1.2, Other Materials, undated
Series 2, Foreign Menus, 1965-1988, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Virginia Lee Russ Mericle was born February 3, 1932 to Richard H. and Alice R. Russ in Washington, DC. She was a life long Washington-area resident and collector who amassed photographs of her favorite actors as a teenager. She married John P. Mericle and together they raised three children. At some point she developed agoraphobia and gradually stopped venturing outside her home. Despite this condition she wanted to remain connected to the world. From about the mid-1960s through the mid-1990s she contacted restaurants to request a copy of their menu. Mrs. Mericle never organized these materials, and most of the menus remained unopened as they had arrived in the mail. Virginia Lee Russ Mericle died on August 12, 2009 leaving a wealth of information relating to the dining- out experiences of people around the world.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2010 by Virginia Mericle's daughter, Vanessa Henderson.
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.
Ray Brown was an African-American musician, composer, bandleader, manager, music teacher and promoter. He became best known for his collaborative work with Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, the Oscar Peterson Trio and Norman Granz' s Jazz at the Philharmonic. Over the course of his career, Brown received awards and accolades from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jazz Hall of Fame, Down Beat and Playboy. Brown's papers document his professional music career from 1944 to 2002 and include music compositions and notes, publicity materials, photographs and some recordings of his performances.
Scope and Contents:
The collection primarily documents the near sixty-year music career of upright bass player, bandleader, composer, and instructor Raymond Matthews (Ray) Brown and the various bands that he played with. The materials consist of music manuscripts, musical arrangements, published sheet music, photographs, programs, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, posters, audio and video recordings, honors and awards, correspondence, and publications. There is very little information about Brown's education, family or other aspects of his personal life.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1, Musical Compositions and Notes, 1940s-2000s, undated
Series 2, Publicity Materials, 1950s-2002, undated
Series 3, Photographic Materials, 1940-2003, undated
Series 4, Personal Papers, 1954-2010
Series 5, Audiovisual Materials, 1978-1993, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Raymond Matthews Brown was an African-American musician (double bass and cello) born on October 13, 1926 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He became known for his collaborative work with Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald (to whom he was married for a few years) and others. He was a composer, bandleader, manager, music teacher and promoter. His professional music career lasted almost sixty years, dating from 1944 to 2002.
Brown's career began with a risky move to New York City in 1945, as a recent high school graduate, which resulted in his being hired on the spot to play with Dizzy Gillespie. Brown continued to play with Gillespie and others in various groups, recording songs such as "One Bass Hit" and "Night in Tunisia," before leaving in 1947.
Brown married notable jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald that same year. He and Fitzgerald adopted a son, Raymond Matthew Brown Jr., and performed together in Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic. Granz's tours, which Brown participated in from around 1949 to 1958, allowed him to travel and play all around the world. After being introduced to Oscar Peterson during a Philharmonic tour, Brown became a founding member of the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1952. His growing commitment to the group, along with other factors, led to Brown and Fitzgerald's divorce in 1953. However, the two would continued to collaborate and perform together, as friends and colleagues.
Brown worked with Peterson and other prominent jazz musicians to found the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, which lasted from 1960 to 1965. He left the Peterson trio in the late 1960s and moved to Los Angeles to work as a composer, manager, educator, and publisher. In California, he worked for several movie and television show orchestras, became bassist for all of Frank Sinatra's television specials, and accompanied some noted singers, including Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Tony Bennett. He composed the theme song to Steve Allen's show, "Gravy Waltz," for which they both won a Grammy Award in 1964. He also managed the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Quincy Jones. In the 1980s, he formed the Ray Brown Trio with pianist Gene Harris, which lasted nine years. He also directed events such as the Monterey Jazz and Concord Summer Festivals, and consulted for the Hollywood Bowl Association. Brown continued to play and record with his trio and various other groups, such as the Oscar Peterson Trio and the Modern Jazz Quartet, for the rest of his life. He also published an instructional book for the bass, Ray Brown's Bass Method, through his own company in 1999. Over the course of his career, Brown received awards and accolades from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jazz Hall of Fame, Down Beat, Playboy, and many more. Ray Brown died in 2002 at the age of seventy five.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center in 2015 by Ray Brown's widow, Cecilia Brown.
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.
Manuscripts, correspondence, business records, newspaper clippings and scrapbooks documenting the career of Henry Grattan Tyrrell, an early-twentieth-century civil engineer and bridge builder who was also a prolific self-published author of hundreds of journal articles and several books. Subjects include aesthetic bridge design, history of bridges, design of movable bridges, and the economical design of factories, shops, and mill buildings.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains typed manuscripts, correspondence, drawings, and business records written by and relating to Henry Grattan Tyrrell, civil engineer, bridge builder and prolific self-published author on the subjects of bridge engineering, aesthetics and history of bridge design, and the economical design of factories, shops and mill buildings.
The bulk of the collection consists of drafts and submission copies of his numerous published journal articles as well as early manuscripts of several of his books. Also included are two scrapbooks compiled by Tyrrell, containing many of his published articles, pamphlets, and letters to editors of engineering-related publications, as well as advertising material for both his engineering businesses and his books. There are many newspaper clippings related to projects Tyrrell worked on or expressed interest in, documentation of claims he brought against various companies for infringement or failure to pay, lists of his works, compilations of critical praise and personal endorsements, and general material relating to his experiences in publishing.
The collection presents a specific view of the trends and innovations in engineering at the beginning of the twentieth century, particularly focusing on bridges of all types and materials, as well as an early example of self-employment and self-promotion. It may be of interest to researchers in the areas of bridge and factory design in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, historical engineering publications, and the history of bridge building in the United States and Canada.
Arrangement:
This collection is divided into seven (7) series:
Series 1: Personal, 1886; 1920s-1930s; undated
Series 2: Correspondence, 1895-1901; 1907; 1911-1917; 1928-1929; 1931-1941
Henry Grattan Tyrrell (1867-1948) was born in Weston, Ontario, Canada and was educated at the University of Toronto School of Practical Science as a civil engineer specializing in bridge architecture and design. He worked for several architectural companies, including the Boston Bridge Company (Massachusetts), the Brackett Bridge Company (Ohio), as well as his own businesses the American Estimating Company, and Grattan Tyrrell & Co. His brief career as an engineer was superceded by his prolific career as a writer of both journal articles and books on the aesthetics of bridge design and practical designs for factories and mill houses.
The son of an avid outdoorsman and explorer, his early writings are about the Canadian wilderness. By the turn of the century, his writing focused on architectural engineering, specifically the design of bridges. Tyrrell was well-traveled and wrote at length about the beauty of a well-designed bridge, like those he had seen all over the world. He suggested that America's cities (Chicago, Seattle, Milwaukee and Cleveland), build attractive bridges, which, he argued, could also be economical. His books History of Bridge Engineering (1911) and Artistic Bridge Design (1912) spoke to these issues. He expanded his love of aesthetics to buildings as well, advocating for the economical and practical design of factory buildings and floors, as well as mill houses and shops (Mill Buildings, 1911; Engineering of Shops and Factories, 1912). His last (possibly unpublished) book, Movable Bridges (1921), explored the design of drawbridges, vertical lift bridges and suspension bridges. His wife, Mary Maude Knox Tyrrell, co-authored and illustrated many of the books.
Tyrrell was an avid self-promoter, writing reviews of his own books, including contents and endorsements of his achievements, and selling them in pamphlet form. He was a frequent contributor to many engineering journals, such as Canadian Engineer, Builders' Magazine, Engineering News, and The Engineering Magazine. His prolific writings on the subjects of bridge engineering and aesthetics are a lasting legacy of early-twentieth century ingenuity.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Grattan Tyrrell. Exact date of acquisition unknown.
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.
