Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
88 documents - page 1 of 5

Landor Design Collection

Creator:
Landor Associates  Search this
Landor, Walter  Search this
Names:
Mair, Francis M., 1916-1991 (commercial artist)  Search this
Extent:
68 Cubic feet (198 boxes, 4 map folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiovisual materials
Business letters
Business records
Personal papers
Videotapes
Interviews
Oral history
Date:
circa 1862-2002, undated
Summary:
Collection consists of the business records and original art documenting the work of Walter Landor and his design firm Landor Associates located in San Francisco, California.
Scope and Contents:
Collection documents the career of designer Walter Landor and the significant body of commercial imagery and packaging produced by Landor Associates design firm. Contains corporate and business records of Landor Associates, Landor's personal papers, oral history interviews, films, videotapes, and other audiovisual resources.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Landor Associates Business Records, 1862-1993, undated

Subseries 1.1: Historical Background and Project Administration Files, 1941-1993, undated

Subseries 1.2: Office Files, 1960-1993, undated

Subseries 1.3: Newsletters, 1978-1986

Subseries 1.4: Scrapbooks, 1940s-1990s, undated

Subseries 1.5: Memoranda, 1956-1979

Subseries 1.6: Magazine Articles, Newspaper Clippings, and Trade Journal Articles, 1926-1992, undated

Subseries 1.7: Press Releases and Miscellaneous Files, 1982-1987, undated

Subseries 1.8: Walter Landor Reading Files, 1948-1978 (bulk 1970-1978)

Subseries 1.9: New Brochure, 1978-1983, 1978-1985

Subseries 1.10: International Files, 1938-1993, undated

Subseries 1.11: Promotional Files, 1964-1991, undated

Subseries 1.12: Conventions, Seminars, and Conferences, 1955-1989, undated

Subseries 1.13: Awards, 1937-1989, undated

Subseries 1.14: Tours, Presentations, and Parties, 1951-1986, undated

Subseries 1.15: Communication Films, 1965-1969, undated

Subseries 1.16: Client Files, 1936-1992, undated

Subseries 1.16.1: Companies A-Z, 1936-1992, undated

Subseries 1.16.2: Montedison Group S.p.A., 1971-1980, undated

Subseries 1.17: Ferryboat Klamath and the Museum of Packaging Antiquities, 1924-1992, undated

Subseries 1.18: Labels, 1862-1986, undated

Subseries 1.19: Packaging, 1949, undated

Subseries 1.20: Original Artwork, 1976-1992, undated

Series 2: Walter Landor Papers, 1939-1996, undated

Subseries 2.1: Papers, 1939-1993, undated

Subseries 2.2: Trip Files, 1954-1988, undated

Subseries 2.3: Speeches, 1948-1992, undated

Subseries 2.4: Corporate Historical Reference, 1950-1996, undated

Series 3: Photographic Materials, 1930-1993, undated

Subseries 3.1: Photographic Prints, 1930-1993, undated

Subseries 3.2: Slides, 1940-1990, undated

Subseries 3.3: Publications, 1965-1992, undated

Series 4: Landor Archives Project, 1949-2002, undated

Subseries 4.1: Lillian Sader Files, 1950-1993, undated

Subseries 4.2: Ed Scubic Files, 1968-1990, undated

Subseries 4.3: Other Associates Files, 1949-1993, undated

Subseries 4.4: Oral Histories, 1969-1994

Subseries 4.5: Archives Project Reference Files, 1939-2002, undated

Series 5: Motion Picture Films, 1944-1977, undated

Subseries 5.1: Landor Associates, 1958-1972, undated

Subseries 5.2: Educational and Training Acquired by Landor Associates, 1944-1975, undated

Subseries 5.3: Promotional Films Acquired by Landor Associates, 1958-1977, undated

Subseries 5.4: Television Commercials, Advertising and Public Service Announcements, 1964-1975, undated

Subseries 5.5: Miscellaneous Films Acquired by Landor Associates, 1967-1970, undated

Series 6: Video Cassette Tapes, 1980-1993, undated

Series 7: Audio Cassette Tapes, 1971-1991, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Walter Landor (1913-1995), son of Jewish Bauhaus architect Fritz Landauer, came to the United States in 1938 with the design team for the British Pavilion at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City. He emigrated to the United States in 1941, launching a small design firm in San Francisco. Landor started out doing package design for a largely local and regional clientele (including many West Coast wineries and breweries), although he soon developed a client list that included some of the world's largest and most prestigious corporations. Corporate identity projects were an important specialization. In addition to his own considerable design abilities, Landor had a gift for inspiring and organizing the creativity of a group of associates, and for developing lasting and productive relationships with his clients. The firm developed particular strength in its portfolio of airlines, financial institutions and consumer goods, and prided itself on a network of international clients. From the beginning, Landor linked design to research in consumer behavior, developing increasingly sophisticated methods for evaluating the effectiveness of his designs. This collection documents Walter Landor's remarkable career, the significant body of corporate identity, packaging and other commercial imagery produced by Landor Associates, and the interplay between industrial design and American consumer culture.
German Historical Institute

Walter Landor in the Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present.

The collaborative research project Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present sheds new light on the entrepreneurial and economic capacity of immigrants by investigating the German-American example in the United States. It traces the lives, careers and business ventures of eminent German-American business people of roughly the last two hundred and ninety years, integrating the history of German-American immigration into the larger narrative of U.S. economic and business history.
Related Materials:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Francis M. Mair Papers NMAH.AC.0548

NW Ayer Advertising Agency Records NMAH.AC.0059

Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Incorporated Records NMAH.AC.0395

Emmett McBain Afro American Advertising Poster Collection NMAH.AC.0192

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana NMAH.AC.0060

Marilyn E. Jacklar Memorial Collection of Tobacco Advertisements NMAH.AC.1224

Marlboro Oral History and Documentation Project NMAH.AC.0198

Black and Decker Collection NMAH.AC.1441

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Documentation Project NMAH.AC.0816

Frito-Lay, Incorporated Records NMAH.AC.1263

Smothers Brothers Collection, NMAH.AC.1437

Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History

The division holds artifacts related to the Walter Landor and his advertising work. See accession 1993.0393.
Provenance:
Personal papers donated to Archives Center in 1993 by Josephine Landor, widow of Walter Landor; business records donated to Archives Center in 1993 by Landor Associates.
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.
Topic:
Industrial design  Search this
advertising  Search this
Industrial designers  Search this
Marketing  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiovisual materials
Business letters
Business records -- 20th century
Personal papers -- 20th century
Videotapes
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Oral history
Citation:
Landor Design Collection, circa 1862-2002, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0500
See more items in:
Landor Design Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85b2af5a7-7d92-4d6e-b7fe-f715312975d4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0500
Online Media:

W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews

Interviewee:
Sun Ra  Search this
Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-  Search this
Taylor, Billy  Search this
Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987  Search this
Wells, Ronnie  Search this
Whiting, Margaret  Search this
Towers, Jack  Search this
Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978  Search this
Pullen, Don, 1941-  Search this
Roney, Wallace  Search this
Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-  Search this
Pizzarelli, John, 1960-  Search this
Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004  Search this
Shepp, Archie, 1937-  Search this
Sanders, Pharaoh  Search this
Grant, Felix, 1918-1993  Search this
Scott, Jimmy  Search this
McPhail, Jimmy  Search this
McPartland, Marian  Search this
McFerrin, Bobby  Search this
Krall, Diana  Search this
O'Connell, Helen  Search this
Mulligan, Gerry  Search this
Metheny, Pat  Search this
McShann, Jay  Search this
Horn, Shirley, 1934-  Search this
Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000  Search this
Hill, Andrew, 1937-  Search this
Hendricks, Jon, 1921-  Search this
Keane, Helen  Search this
Kaminsky, Max, 1908-  Search this
Jordan, Sheila, 1928-  Search this
Humes, Helen, 1913-1981  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Harris, Eddie, 1934-  Search this
Heath, Jimmy, 1926-  Search this
Frishberg, Dave  Search this
Ennis, Ethel  Search this
Farmer, Art, 1928-  Search this
Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-  Search this
Hampton, Slide  Search this
D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-  Search this
Daniels, Billy  Search this
Davison, Bill  Search this
Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-  Search this
Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020  Search this
Conyers, John, 1929-  Search this
Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003  Search this
Byard, Jaki  Search this
Brown, Ruth  Search this
Carter, Betty, 1930-  Search this
Byron, Don  Search this
Betts, Keter, 1928-  Search this
Bellson, Louis  Search this
Bowie, Lester, 1941-  Search this
Blakey, Art, 1919-1990  Search this
Allen, Steve, 1921-2000  Search this
Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000  Search this
Bailey, Benny, 1925-  Search this
Collector:
Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-  Search this
Names:
Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971  Search this
Davis, Miles  Search this
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this
Gillespie, Dizzy, 1917-  Search this
Extent:
10 Cubic feet (39 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Black-and-white photographic prints
Publicity photographs
Date:
1940s-2005
Summary:
Publicity photographs of musicians and entertainers, mostly jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie, but including many rock and even a few classical performers. The collection also contains tape recorded radio interviews conducted between 1970 and 2003. In addition there are posters relating to musical performances.
Scope and Contents:
This collection was formed by W. Royal Stokes in the course of his professional work as a music and arts critic. It is composed primarily of publicity portraits of musical performers, both single acts and groups. The emphasis is on jazz musicians and singers, although many rock stars and groups, and other popular musical performers are included. Even a few classical musicians are represented. The pictures are primarily mass-produced black and white publicity photographs distributed to newspapers, writers, etc., by agents for entertainment personalities. Some prints were made from the original negatives, while others clearly were made from copy negatives after typography was stripped together with a print and re-photographed. However, there are some rarer original photographs included in the collection, such as personal color snapshots, higher quality prints by art photographers, etc. Nearly all the prints are unmounted, and are 8 x 10 inches or smaller in size. The bulk of the photographs date from circa 1970 to 2000, however, a number of the earlier photographs are included as well as slightly later examples.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into nine series.

Series 1, Photographs of Musicians and Ensembles, circa 1970-2000; undated

Subseries 1.1, Musicians and Ensembles

Subseries 1.2, Recording Company Photographs

Subseries 1.3, Unidentified Musicians

Series 2, Photographs of Performances, 1987-2002; undated

Subseries 2.1, Music Festivals, 1987-2002; undated

Subseries 2.2, Concerts, Music Clubs and Other Venues, 1920s-1940s and circa 1980s-1990s; undated

Series 3, Formal and Informal Groups, circa 1980s-2000; undated

Series 4, Photographs of Musicians in Films, Radio, Television and Theater, 1940s-2000; undated Series 5, Photographs of Subjects and Products related to Musicians and Music, 1970-2000; undated

Series 6, Photographs of Non-Musicians, circa 1980s-2000; undated

Series 7, Interviews with Musicians, 1970-2003

Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1970-2003

Subseries 8.1, Audio Recordings - Audiocassettes

Subseries 8.2, Audio Recordings-Audiotapes

Series 9, Posters, 1976-1990; undated
Biographical / Historical:
Born in Washington, D.C., W. Royal Stokes served in the Army and then embarked on an academic career, teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, Tufts University, Brock University and the University of Colorado. He left the academic profession in 1969 and become a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, journalist, and critic and authority on jazz music. A follower of jazz since his teens in the 1940s, Stokes has written about music for such publications as Down Beat, Jazz Times, and the Washington Post, and hosted the public radio shows "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say . . ." and "Since Minton's". Today he is the editor of the quarterly Jazz Notes, and is the author of The Jazz Scene: An Informal History From New Orleans to 1990 and Swing Era New York: The Jazz Photographs of Charles Peterson.. He is also the author of Living the Jazz Life: Conversations with Forty Musicians about Their Careers in Jazz (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Dr. Stokes lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of Ameican History:
Duke Ellington Collection, 1928-1988 (AC0301)

Herman Leonard Photoprints, 1948-1993

Frank Driggs Collection of Duke Ellington Photographic Reference Prints [copyprints], 1923-1972

Jazz Oral History Collection, 1988-1990

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, 1910s-1970s (mostly 1930s-1960s)

Jeffrey Kliman Photographs

Stephanie Myers Jazz Photographs, 1984-1987, 2005

Chico O'Farrill Papers

Paquito D'Rivera Papers, 1989-2000.

Louis Armstrong Music Manuscripts, undated

Tito Puente Papers, 1962-1965.

Audrey Wells "Women in Jazz Radio Series, 1981-1982

Mongo Santamaria Papers, 1965-2001

Ramsey Lewis Collection, 1950-2007

Earl Newman Collection of Monterey Jazz Festival Posters, 1963-2009

James Arkatov Collection of Jazz Photographs, 1995-2003

Francis Wolff Jazz Photoprints, 1953-1966

Floyd Levin Jazz Reference Collection, circa 1920s-2006

Jazz Oral History Program Collection, 1992-2009

Leslie Schinella Collection of Gene Krupa Materials
Provenance:
Donated by W. Royal Stokes to the Archives Center in 2001.
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.
Topic:
Jazz musicians -- 1950-2000 -- United States  Search this
Musicians  Search this
Publicity  Search this
Portraits -- Musicians  Search this
Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Entertainers  Search this
Rock music  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiotapes
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Publicity photographs
Citation:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0766
See more items in:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b79b5a94-c967-451e-bafb-e62dc2d8ff45
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0766
Online Media:

William "Cat" Anderson Collection

Creator:
Anderson, William "Cat", 1916-1981 (musician)  Search this
Names:
Cat Anderson Quintet  Search this
Duke Ellington Orchestra  Search this
Lionel Hampton Orchestra  Search this
Mingus Quintet  Search this
Bechet, Sidney (musician)  Search this
Calloway, Cab, 1907-1994  Search this
Carter, Benny, 1907-2003  Search this
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this
Fitzgerald, Ella, 1917-1996  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978  Search this
Humphrey, Muriel  Search this
Johnson, Lucy Bird  Search this
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973  Search this
Tatum, Art, 1909-1956  Search this
Webster, Ben  Search this
Extent:
5 Cubic feet (12 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Transcripts
Oral histories (document genres)
Oral history
Phonograph records
Photographs
Recordings
Interviews
Clippings
Audiotapes
Awards
Audiocassettes
Articles
Date:
1940-1981
bulk 1963-1977
Scope and Contents note:
Primarily audiotapes, sheet music, and photographic images. Also: correspondence, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, itineraries, awards, and ephemera.,Of particular interest are recordings or photographic images, including the personalities listed below, and President and Mrs. Tubman of Liberia; also, two interviews and three recordings of Cat Anderson as guest with various university and college jazz bands.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into four series.

Series 1: Music

Series 2: Original tapes and recordings

Series 3: Photographs

Series 4: Miscellaneous
Biographical/Historical note:
Cat Anderson (Sept 12, 1916 - April 29, 1981) was one of the premier trumpet players of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Known for his effortless high notes, he was a strong section leader and a great soloist whose style exhibited humor and precision. He grew up in Jenkins= Orphanage in Charleston, SC, received basic music training there, and participated in many of their famous student ensembles. He formed and played with the Cotton Pickers, a group of orphanage teens while still a young man. Before joining Ellington in 1944, he played in several big bands, including Claude Hopkins and Lionel Hampton. Anderson left the Ellington organization from 1947 through 1949 again to lead his own group. From 1959 to1961 and after 1971 Anderson free lanced, working with the Ellington orchestra intermittently. He died in 1981 after receiving honors from the US Air Force, the Prix du Disque de Jazz, and the City of Los Angeles.
Related Archival Materials:
Related artifacts include: awards, plaques, mutes, trumpet mouth pieces, and the Jon Williams/Cat Anderson simulator in the Division of Cultural and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life). See accession: 1998.3074.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History in January 1998, by Dorothy Anderson, Cat Anderson's widow. It was acquired through negotiations with her, her brother, Mr. John Coffey and her nephew, Andrew Brazington. The materials were picked up from Mr. John Coffey of upper N.W. Washington, DC on January 21, 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Master tapes not available to researchers.
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.

Copyright status of items varies. Signed copies of releases on file.
Occupation:
Composers -- 20th century  Search this
Topic:
Music -- 20th century  Search this
Music -- Acoustics and physics  Search this
Musicians -- 20th century  Search this
Piano and synthesizer music  Search this
Inventions -- 1980-2000  Search this
Synthesizer music  Search this
Electric engineering -- 1980-2000  Search this
Band musicians  Search this
African American musicians  Search this
Jazz musicians -- United States  Search this
Inventors -- 20th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuscripts -- Music -- 20th century
Transcripts
Oral histories (document genres)
Oral history
Phonograph records
Photographs -- 20th century
Recordings
Interviews
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Clippings -- 20th century
Audiotapes -- 1940-1980
Awards
Audiocassettes
Audiotapes
Articles -- 1940-1980
Citation:
William "Cat" Anderson Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0630
See more items in:
William "Cat" Anderson Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep891a9a0e4-7c4f-4956-b81e-6d65c57e1f29
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0630
Online Media:

Bil Browning and Jerame Davis Papers

Creator:
Browning, Bil  Search this
Davis, Jerame  Search this
Davis, Jerame Joe, 1975-  Search this
Browning, William Dale, 1972-  Search this
Extent:
3.15 Cubic feet (13 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Posters
Scrapbooks
Petitions
Photographs
Correspondence
Identity cards
Bumper stickers
Periodicals
Oral history
Videocassettes
Programs
School records
Date:
1972-2015, undated
Summary:
Bil Browning and his husband, Jerame Davis were activists for LGBT issues, locally in Indiana as well as nationally in Washington, D.C.
Scope and Contents:
The Bil Browning and Jerame Davis Papers consist of approximately 3.15 cubic feet documenting their activism on behalf of LGBT rights in Indiana, and includes correspondence, photographs, school papers, a scrapbook from Browning's youth, posters, petitions, handouts, bumper stickers, periodicals, conference and event programs, ID cards, VHS recordings, and printed materials. There are extensive notes from an oral history interview with Browning and Davis conducted by Archives Center intern, Sara Dorfman, in Series 1.

Series 1, Personal Papers, 1972-2015, undated, consists of correspondence between Browning and his friends and family, school-related materials such as yearbooks and report cards, an oral history interview, and a scrapbook from Browning's youth. The scrapbook contains materials pertaining to Browning's work with ACT-UP, along with letters and other personal materials.

Series 2, Activism Records, 1992-2012, undated, contains papers from the Fast Max Sunoco employment discrimination case, papers from the Indiana Stonewall Democrats, conference and event programs, papers from Indiana Equality, papers from the Human Rights Campaign, papers from Pride at Work, a presentation on LGBT youth homelessness from the LGBT Editor/Blogger Convening, an invitation to the inauguration of President Obama, an invitation to LGBT Pride Month from the White House, and papers from the Bilerico LGBT Media Foundation.

Series 3, Legal Records, 1991-2011, undated, contains financial records as well as papers from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and documents regarding termination of child support paid by Browning's father.

Series 4, Publications, 1981-2014, undated, includes newspaper clippings relating to Browning's youth, LGBT events, and ACT-UP. It also contains pamphlets, hand-outs from conferences, and multiple LGBT periodicals from around the United States, such as the Washington Blade, that claims to be the oldest LGBT newspaper in the country.

Series 5, Photographs, 1972-2006, undated, contains photos from Browning's youth, friends and family of Browning and Davis, Browning's significant others, protests, and drag shows.

Series 6, Audiovisual, 1992-2008, undated, covers Browning's involvement with the organization ACT-UP, interviews with Browning, an open forum led by Jerame Davis in response to a protest against Cummins, a rally staged by the Indiana Action Network, and various clips from news programs covering some of these events.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1972-2015, undated

Series 2: Activism Records, 1992-2012, undated

Series 3: Legal Records, 1991-2011, undated

Series 4: Publications, 1981-2014, undated

Series 5: Photographs, 1972-2006, undated

Series 6: Audiovisual, 1992-2008, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Bil Browning (William Dale Browning) was born in Zanesville, Ohio in 1972. Jerame Davis (Jerame Joe Davis) was born in Columbus, Indiana in 1975. After coming out as gay in high school, Browning joined the Clinton presidential election campaign and the organization ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) in 1992. Davis worked for multiple LGBT organizations, including Indiana Equality, Indiana Fairness Network, Columbus Gay/Straight Alliance, Indiana Stonewall Democrats, and Pride at Work.

In the late 1990s, Browning and Davis were involved in an employment discrimination case against Fast Max Sunoco in Indiana. This case served as a catalyst for them to continue championing LGBT rights. The same case resulted in their organizing the internet's first gay rights grassroots online action against the local company that had fired them. Since then, Browning has won multiple awards for his work as an activist. He is also a board member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, and an advisory board member of the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance. Davis has served as the executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats.

Together, Browning and Davis were the co-owners of the Bilerico Project, a group blog that chronicled Indiana politics and LGBT issues for nearly 11 years. On June 30th, 2015, Browning made his last post on the blog, saying that he was taking time off to work on his book. Browning and Davis separated in 2023.
Provenance:
The papers were donated by Bil Browning and Jerame Davis, in 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.
Topic:
Sexual orientation  Search this
Political activists  Search this
Lesbian and gay experience  Search this
Homosexuality  Search this
Gay activists  Search this
Discrimination in employment  Search this
LGBT  Search this
Genre/Form:
Posters -- 21st century
Scrapbooks -- 20th century
Petitions
Photographs -- 1980-2000
Correspondence -- 21st century
Identity cards
Bumper stickers
Periodicals -- 21st century
Oral history -- 2010-2020
Videocassettes
Programs -- 21st century
School records -- 1980-2000
Citation:
Bil Browning and Jerame Davis Papers, 1972-2015, undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1334
See more items in:
Bil Browning and Jerame Davis Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8ea671fa9-7b26-443f-bfa3-b4f69099f583
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1334
Online Media:

N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records

Creator:
Ayer (N W) Incorporated.  Search this
Names:
American Telephone and Telegraph Company -- Advertisements  Search this
Cunningham & Walsh.  Search this
Hixson & Jorgenson  Search this
United Air Lines, Inc. -- Advertisements  Search this
Ayer, Francis Wayland  Search this
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this
Extent:
270 Cubic feet (1463 boxes, 33 map-folders, 7 films)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Interviews
Oral history
Print advertising
Proof sheets
Proofs (printed matter)
Scrapbooks
Trade literature
Tear sheets
Advertisements
Date:
1817-1851
1869-2006
Summary:
Collection consists of records documenting one of the oldest advertising agencies created in Philadelphia. The company then moves to New York and expanses to international markets. During its history NW Ayer & Sons acquires a number of other advertising agencies and is eventually purchased. The largest portion of the collection is print advertisements but also includes radio and television. NW Ayer is known for some of the slogans created for major American companies.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists primarily of proof sheets of advertisements created by NW Ayer & Son, Incorporated for their clients. These materials are in series one through thirteen and consist primarily of print advertisements. There are also billboards, radio and television commercials. The advertisements range from consumer to corporate and industrial products. The majority of the advertisements were created for Ayer's New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and international offices. Printed advertisements created by Cunningham & Walsh, Hixson & Jorgensen and Newell-Emmett are also included among these materials. Researchers who are interested in records created by Ayer in the course of operating an advertising agency will find these materials in Series fourteen-nineteen.

Series fourteen consists of advertisements created by NW Ayer & Son to promote their services to potential clients.

Series fifteen are scrapbooks of some of the earliest advertisements created by the company. Series sixteen are publications. Some of the publications were created by Ayer while others were about Ayer or the advertising industry in general. Provides good background materials and puts the company in perspective. Series eighteen are the legal records. Materials relating to employees including photographs, oral histories etc. are found in series nineteen.

Series twenty is one of the smallest amounts of materials and includes information relating to the history of NW Ayer & Son.

The container lists for series one-thirteen are part of a database and are searchable. The list has been printed for the convenience of the researcher and is included in this finding aid. Series fourteen-twenty container lists are also a part of the finding aid but are not in a searchable format.

Series 1, Scrapbooks of Client Advertisements, circa 1870-1920, is arranged into three boxes by chronological date. There are two bound scrapbooks and one box of folders containing loose scrapbook pages. NW Ayer & Son compiled an assortment of their earliest ads and placed them into scrapbooks. Besides the earliest advertisements, the scrapbooks contain requests to run advertisements, reading notices and listings of papers Ayer advertised in. The early advertisements themselves range from medical remedies to jewelry to machines to clothing to education and more. Most of the advertisements in the bound scrapbooks are dated.

Series 2, Proofsheets, circa 1870-1930, NW Ayer was fond of creating scrapbooks containing proofsheets. The series contains proofsheets created between 1892 and 1930, organized into 526 boxes. For convenience of storage, access and arrangement, the scrapbooks were disassembled and the pages placed in original order in flat archival storage boxes. The proofsheets are arranged by book number rather than client name. Usually the boxes contain a listing of the clients and sometimes the dates of the advertisements to be found within the box.

Series 3, Proofsheets, circa 1920-1975, is organized into 532 oversize boxes, and contain proofsheets and tearsheets created between 1920 and 1972. Within this series, materials are arranged alphabetically by company name (occasionally subdivided by brand or product), and thereunder chronologically by date of production. Many major, national advertisers are represented, including American Telephone & Telegraph, Armour Company, Canada Dry, Cannon Mills, Carrier Corporation, Domino Sugar, Caterpillar tractor company, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, Goodyear, Hills Bros. Coffee, Ladies Home Journal, National Dairy, Plymouth (Chrysler Corporation), Steinway, TV Guide, United Airlines and the United States Army. Also contained in this series are three scrapbooks of client advertisements including Canada Dry, Ford Motor, and Victor Talking Machine.

Series 4, 2001 Addendum, circa 1976-2001, is organized into ninety three oversized boxes,one folder and contains proofsheets for select Ayer clients, created between 1975 and 2001. Within this series, materials are arranged alphabetically by client name and there under chronologically by date of production. Major national advertisers represented include American Telephone & Telegraph, Avon, the United States Army, DeBeers Consolidated Diamond Mines, Dupont, TV Guide, Sealtest, Kraft Foods, Gillette, General Motors, Cannon Mills.

Series 5, Billboards, circa 1952-1956, consists of mounted and un-mounted original art/mock-ups. Twenty-two pieces of original art created as mock-ups for Texaco billboards.

Series 6, Film and Video Commercials, 1967-1970,

Series 7, Radio and Television Materials, 1933-1993, undated, is arranged into eight boxes and includes radio scripts, television scripts, and story boards for commercials.

Subseries 7.1, Scripts and storyboards for Radio and Television Commercials, dates Scripts for radio and television commercials includes title, date, length of commercial, advertising agency, client information

NW Ayer's radio and television materials mainly focus on the American Telegraph and Telephone account. Some of Ayer's materials relate to Bell Telephone Hours.

Storyboards are used in television and film to assist the director in working with crew to tell the story. To show the viewer through the use of figures, visual effects and camera angles. When directors first start thinking about their storyboard they create a story in their mind. They think of all the camera angles, visual effects and how the figures will interact in their mind. They try to create an extraordinary story in their head to attract the viewer (YOU) In order for the storyboard to be entirely effective it can't be a passive document. When done properly, a storyboard serves as a central design, meeting the needs of many team members including graphics artists, video personnel and programmers.

Another function of a storyboard is to help the team communicate during the training development process. This communication is very important in working with a large team as in the movie King, produced in 1996. Figures help the director explain to the crew how they are going to record the film and how to present it to the audience. Sometimes the director wants special effects to be added to the film, but his budget might not be that big so the director will have to change the story to fit their budget.

The Visual Effects are an important part in the storyboards it adds a special touch of creativity to your film. Camera angles are an important expects in your film because the camera angles determine where the viewing audience will look. If you want your audience to look at a certain object you must turn their attention to it by focusing on that object and maybe you might try blocking something out. Then you will have your audience's attention and you may do whatever else you have to, it could be scaring them are just surprising them or whatever you do.

Also included is talent information and log sheets relating to the storage of the commercials.

Bell Telephone Hour Program, 1942-[19??], The Bell Telephone Hour, also known as The Telephone Hour, was a five minute musical program which began April 29, 1940 on National Broadcasting Company Radio and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone showcased the best in classical and Broadway music, reaching eight to nine million listeners each week. It continued on television from 1959 to 1968.

Earlier shows featured James Melton and Francia White as soloists. Producer Wallace Magill restructured the format on April 27, 1942 into the "Great Artists Series" of concert and opera performers, beginning with Jascha Heifetz. Records indicate that the list of talents on the program included Marian Anderson, Helen Traubel, Oscar Levant, Lily Pons, Nelson Eddy, Bing Crosby, Margaret Daum, Benny Goodman, José Iturbi, Gladys Swarthout and .The series returned to radio in 1968-1969 as Bell Telephone Hour Encores, also known as Encores from the Bell Telephone Hour, featuring highlights and interviews from the original series.

National Broadcasting television specials sponsored by the Bell System, 1957-1987includes information relating to Science series, Bell system Theshold Series, Bell telephone hour and commercial and public sponsored programs

Series 8, Chicago Office Print Advertisements, 1954-1989, is arranged alphabetically by the name of the client in ninety boxes and six oversize folders. Clients include Illinois Bell Telephone (1955-1989), Microswitch (1969-1989), Teletype (1975-1984), John Deere (1974-1989) and Caterpillar (1966-1972) are particularly well represented. Other clients of interest include Dr. Scholl's shoes (circa 1968-1972), the Girl Scouts (1976-1980), Sunbeam Personal Products Company (1973-1981), Bell and Howell (1974-1983) and Alberto Culver shampoos (1967-1971), Honeywell, Incorporated, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Associations, Kraft, Incorporated, Sears, Roebuck and Company, and YMCA.

Series 9, Los Angeles Office Materials, 1950s-1987, include printed advertisements created by this office and information relating to the employees.

Subseries 9.1, Print Advertisements, 1977-1987, printed advertisements arranged in one box alphabetically by client. There is a sparse sampling of clients from this particular Ayer branch office. The majority of the advertisements contained within this series are from Pizza Hut (1986-1987). Also included are Computer Automation (1977-1978), State of the Art, Incorporated (1982) and Toshiba (1986).

Subseries 9.2, Personnel Files, 1950s-1970s, includes cards of employees who worked in the Los Angeles office. Information on the cards includes name, address, telephone number, birthday, date hired, departure date and why (retired, terminated, resigned, etc) and position. Not all cards have all information. There is also a photograph of the employees on the cards.

Series 10, Foreign Print Advertisements, 1977-1991, undated, NW Ayer maintained partnerships with international companies such as Sloanas Ayer in Argentina, Connaghan & May Paton Ayer in Australia, Moussault Ayer in Belgium, NW Ayer, LTD. in Canada, GMC Ayer in France, Co-Partner Ayer in Germany, Wong Lam Wang in Hong Kong, MacHarman Ayer in New Zealand, Grupo de Diseno Ayer in Spain, Nedeby Ayer in Sweden, and Ayer Barker in United Kingdom. This group of material is a small sampling of advertisements created from these International offices. It is arranged alphabetically by client. There are quite a few automobile advertisements (i.e. Audi, Fiat, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen). In addition there are numerous advertisements for various personal items from MacLean's toothpaste to Quick athletic shoes to Labello lip balm, etc. Most of the advertisements have the creator's name printed on the advertisements.

Series 11, Cunningham & Walsh, Incorporated Materials, 1915-1987, undated contains 98 boxes 11 folders materials from the New York advertising agency acquired by NW Ayer in the 1960s. The company began with Newel-Emmett, an agency of nine men which broke up in 1949. Two of the men Fred Walsh and Jack Cunningham formed this agency in bearing their names in 1950. The agency created "let your fingers for the walking campaign for American Telephone & Telegraph, Mother Nature for Chiffon, and Mrs. Olson for Folgers's coffee and let the good times roll for Kawasaki motorcycle. In 1986, NW Ayer Incorporated purchased Cunningham & Walsh Incorporated.

Subseries 11.1, Print Advertisements, 1915-1987, are contained in ninety eight boxes of primarily print advertisements arranged alphabetically by client name. Clients that are particularly well represented are Graybar (electrical implements, circa1926-1937), Johns-Manulle (circa1915-1971), Smith and Corono typewriters (circa 1934-1960), Sunshine Biscuit Company (circa 1925-1961), Texaco Company (circa 1936-1961), Western Electric (circa 1920- 1971) and Yellow Pages (circa 1936-1971). Cunningham and Walsh also represented several travel and tourism industry clients, including Cook Travel Services (circa 1951-1962), Italian Line (circa 1953-1961), Narragansett and Croft (circa 1956-1960) and Northwest Airlines (circa 1946-1955). There are photographs of Texaco advertisements dating from 1913-1962. There is also a scrapbook of advertisements from the Western Electric Company dating from 1920-1922.

Subseries 11.2, Radio and Television Advertisements, 1963-1967, consist of materials created for Western Electric. Materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 11.3, Company Related Materials, 1962-1986, undated include client lists, information relating to NW Ayer purchase and annual report 1962.

Series 12, Hixson & Jorgensen Materials, 1953-1971, a Los Angeles advertising company, merged with Ayer in 1969. This series is housed in one box. Within the box are four scrapbooks and folders with a hodgepodge of materials relating to advertising. Of most interest are the scrapbooks. Two scrapbooks deal with Hixson and Jorgensen's self promotion ad campaign "the right appeal gets action" (1953-1957). The other two scrapbooks contain news clippings about the company and its activities (1959-1971).

Series 13, Newell-Emmet, 1942-1957, founded in 1919 and governed in the 1940s by a partnership of nine men. The partnership broke up in 1949 when the men went their separate ways. The materials consist of print advertisements for one of client, Permutit Company, a water conditioning company. The materials are arranged in one box in chronological order.

Series 14, House Print Advertisements, 1870-1991, 16 boxes consists of advertisements or self-promotion advertisements to campaign for new clients. The series is arranged chronologically by date into fifteen boxes. Within the series are two scrapbooks containing self promotion ads from 1888-1919 and 1892-1895. Numerous house ads relate to Ayer's "Human Contact" campaign. In addition to the self promotion ads, Ayer ran advertisements expounding about particular concepts or themes for example, one month the concept would "understand" while another month would be "teamwork" and yet another would be on "imagination". Some of the self promotion ads target specific groups like Philadelphia businessmen. Other advertisements incorporate the fine arts.

Series 15, Scrapbooks, 1872-1959, relates to company events, records and news clippings about Ayer's history. The six boxes are arranged by chronological date. Two of the boxes focus solely on the death of founder F.W. Ayer (1923). Another box houses a scrapbook that showcases Ayer's annual Typography Exhibition (1931-1959). One box contains a scrapbook that specifically deals with correspondences relating to Ayer's advertising. Yet another box's contents are folders of loose pages from scrapbooks that have newspaper clippings, order forms, correspondences and other company records. In one box, a bound scrapbook houses a variety of materials relating to Ayer and advertising (i.e. newspaper clippings, competitor's advertisements, NW Ayer's advertisements, correspondences for advertisements, clippings regarding the "theory of advertising."

Series 16, Publications, 1849-2006, are housed in thirty four boxes and are arranged into three main categories.

Subseries 16.1, House Publications, 1876-1994, covers diverse topics; some proscriptive works about the Ayer method in advertising, some commemorating people, anniversaries or events in the life of the agency. Materials consist of scattered issues of the employee newsletter The Next Step 1920-1921. The materials are arranged in chronological order by date of publication. Ayer in the News, The Show Windows of an Advertising Agency, 1915, book form of advertisements published on the cover of Printer's Ink, highlighting Ayer's relations with advertisers. The Story of the States, 1916, Reprint in book form of a series of articles published in Printer's Ink for the purpose of adding some pertinent fact, progressive thought and prophetic vision to the Nationalism of Advertising highlights major businesses, manufacturer, natural resources and other qualities or attractions of each state. The Book of the Golden Celebration, 1919, includes welcome address and closing remarks by founder F. Wayland Ayer, The Next Step, 1920 employee newsletter with photographs, employee profiles, in-house jokes, etc., Advertising Advertising: A Series of Fifty-two Advertisements scheduled one time a week. Twenty-seven, thirty and forty inches, a day of the week optional with publisher, 1924

Subseries 16.2, Publications about NW Ayer, 1949-2006, includes a book first published in 1939. Includes articles, documenting events and is arranged chronologically by date of publication.

Subseries 16.3, General Publications about Advertising, 1922-1974, are arranged chronologically by date of publication and relate primarily to the history of advertising.

Subseries 16.4, Publications about Other Subjects, 1948-1964, include four books about the tobacco industry primarily the history of the American Tobacco Company and Lorillard Company from the Cunningham and Walsh library.

Series 17, Business Records, circa 1885-1990s

Subseries 17.1, Contracts, 1885-1908, undated, are arranged alphabetically and span from 1885-1908. The majority of the contracts are with newspaper and magazine publishers from around the country.

Subseries 17.2, General client information, 1911-1999, undated, including active and cancelled lists with dates, client gains, historical client list, (should move this to series 20) Ayer Plan User Guide Strategic Planning for Human Contact, undated

Subseries 17.3, Individual Client Account Information, 1950s-1990s, undated, contain information used by Ayer to create advertisements for some of its clients. American Telephone &Telegraph Corporate Case History, American Telephone &Telegraph Corporate advertisement memo, commissioned artists for DeBeers advertisements, DeBeers information relating to the creative process and photography credits, a case history for DeBeers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., The Diamond Engagement Ring, Managing Communication at all levels, DuPont publications, JC Penny Marketing Communication Plan Recommendation, Leaf, Incorporated, Saturn presentation, and USAREC oral presentation.

Subseries 17.4, Potential Clients, 1993, includes grouping has a questionnaire sent to Ayer by a potential client. Questionnaire response for Prudential Securities, 1993 Prudential Securities advertising account review, 1993.

Subseries 17.5, Financial Records, 1929-1938, includes balance sheet, 1929 May 1 Balance sheet and adjustments Consolidated statement of assets and liabilities, Expenses 191936-37 Business review and expenses, 1937 and 1938 Business review and expenses comparative statement, 1937 and 1938.

Series 18, Legal Records, circa 1911-1982, Ayer's legal records are arranged by twelve subject groupings within four boxes. The twelve groupings are advertising service agreements (circa 1918-1982), bylaws, copyright claims, correspondences, international correspondences, dissolution of trusts, stock information, agreements between partners, incorporation materials, reduction of capital, property information and miscellaneous materials. The bulk of the materials are the advertising service agreements. These agreements are between Ayer and their clients and state the services Ayer will offer and at what cost. The bylaws are Ayer's company bylaws from 1969 and 1972. The copyright claims are certificates stating Ayer's ownership over certain published materials (i.e. "Policy", Media Equalizer Model, and Don Newman's Washington Square Experiment). The correspondences relate to either the voting trust and receipts for agreement or the New York Corporation. The international correspondences are from either Ayer's Canadian office or London office. The dissolutions of trusts contains materials about the dividend trust of Wilfred F. Fry, the investment trust of Winfred W. Fry, the voting trust, and the New York corporation. The stock information has stock certificates and capital stock information. The agreements between partners (1911-1916) specify the terms between F.W. Ayer and his partners. The incorporation materials (circa 1929-1977) deal with Ayer advertising agency becoming incorporated in the state of Delaware. The reduction of capital grouping is a notification that shares of stock have been retired. The property information grouping contains property deeds and insurance policy (circa 1921-1939), a property appraisal (1934), and a bill of sale (1948). The miscellaneous grouping contains a house memo regarding a set of board meeting minutes and a registry of foreign companies in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1929-1954).

Subseries 18.1, Advertising Service Agreements, 1918-1982

Subseries 18.2, Bylaw Materials, 1969-1972

Subseries 18.3, Copyright Claims, 1962-1969

Subseries 18.4, Correspondence, 1928-1933

Subseries 18.5, International Office Correspondence, 1947-1948

Subseries 18.6, Dissolution of Trusts, 1934-1937

Subseries 18.7, Stock Information, 1934-1974

Subseries 18.8, Agreements between Partners, 1911-1916

Subseries 18.9, Incorporation Materials, 1929-1977

Subseries 18.10, Certificates of Reduction of Capital, 1937; 1975

Subseries 18.11, Property Information, 1921-1948

Subseries 18.12, Miscellaneous Materials, 1929-1977

Series 19, Personnel Records, circa 1889-2001, are arranged into eight groupings within eight boxes. The groupings are employee card files, photographs, Ayer alumni, biographies, speeches, recollections, oral histories, and miscellaneous. Typed manuscript of book A Copy Writer Speaks by George Cecil, NW Ayer, Incorporated copy head 1920s-1950s

Subseries 19.1, Employee card files, circa 1892-1915; 1929-1963, consists of index cards with the name, age, job title, date and wage increases, date of hire/fire, as well as remarks about the employee's service and/or reasons for seeking or leaving the job. Materials are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the employee within three boxes.

Subseries 19.2, Photographs, circa 1924-1984, undated, are housed in two boxes. The photographs grouped together by subjects i.e. personnel, company events, Ayer buildings, and miscellaneous. This grouping primarily consists of personnel photographs. Includes a glass plate negative dated 1924 of NW Ayer.

Subseries 19.3, Ayer Alumni, circa 1989-98, include employees who have left Ayer. There is a listing of Ayer "graduates" and their current job. Emeritus, Ayer's alumni newsletter 1989-1996, makes up the majority of materials in this grouping. The newsletter keeps the alumni up to date with the happenings of Ayer and what has become of former Ayer employees. Emeritus is a quarterly newsletter devoted to the activities, thoughts and feelings of Ayer alumni a body of people who consists of retirees and former employees.

Subseries 19.4, Biographical Information, circa 1889-1994, undated, prominent members of Ayer's operations had biographical sketches completed of them. This was true for the bio sketches of Robert Ervin, Louis T. Hagopian, and George A. Rink. There is a substantial file on Dorothy Dignam ("Mis Dig"), a leading woman in the advertising world from the 1930s to the 1950s. Also of interest is a video ("The Siano Man") compiled by Ayer employees to commemorate Jerry Siano's retirement from Ayer in 1994. The series is arranged alphabetically by last name.

Subseries 19.5, Speeches, circa 1919-1931; 1975, contains speeches made by Wilfred W. Fry and Neal W. O'Connor. Wilfred W. Fry had various speaking engagements connected with Ayer. Contained in this group is a sampling of his speeches from 1919 to 1931. Neal O'Connor's speech "Advertising: Who Says It's a Young People's Business" was given at the Central Region Convention for the American Association of Advertising Agencies in Chicago on November 6, 1975. The speeches are arranged alphabetically by the speaker's last name.

Subseries 19.6, Recollections, 1954-1984, undated, are arranged alphabetically by last name. These are recollections from Ayer employees about the company and its advertisements. Some recollections are specifically about certain types of advertisements, like farm equipment while others reflect on F. W. Ayer and the company.

Subseries 19.7, Oral History Interview Transcripts, 1983-1985; 1989-1991, include interviews with key NW Ayer personnel, conducted by Ayer alumnae Howard Davis, Brad Lynch and Don Sholl (Vice President creative) for the Oral History Program. The materials are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the interviewee.

Subseries 19.8, Oral History Interview Audio Tapes, 1985-1990, include interviews on audiotape the materials are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the interviewee.

Subseries 19.9, Internal Communications, 1993-1999, includes information sent to employees relating to retirements, management changes, awards won by the company, promotions, potential new accounts, free items, grand opening of Ayer Café, donation events, sponsorship programs, holiday schedules, discounts for employees from clients, Ayer joins MacManus Group.

Subseries 19.10, General Materials, 1940; 1970, includes agency directory entry including a list of the employees, 1970s, annual banquet program for the Curfew Club May 22, 1940 a group formed by the Philadelphia employee in 1938. It sponsored numerous sports, social and educational activities. Groups were formed in public speaking, music appreciation and a series of talks on Monday evenings title the modern woman. The front page was a series of talks for general interest. A list of officers, 1991, Twenty five year club membership, 1973 December 1, List of NW Ayer graduates, 1970, List of Officers, 1991 May 31, Obituary for Leo Lionni, 1999 October 17, List of photographers of advertisements, 2001

Series 20, Background and History Information, 1817-1999, undated includes a chronology, 1817-1990, quick reference timeline, 1848-1923, loose pages from a scrapbook containing examples of correspondence, envelopes, advertisements dating from 1875-1878; slogans coined by NW Ayer & Sons, Incorporated, 1899-1990, history of management, 1909-1923, articles and photographs about the building and art galleries, 1926-1976, publications about the Philadelphia building, 1929, pamphlet relating to memories of NW Ayer & Sons, Incorporated, 1930s-1950s, television history, 1940-1948, Article about the history of the company, 1950 January, pocket guide, 1982, AdWeek reports about standings for advertising agencies, information relating to Human Contact which is NW Ayer's Information relating to Human Contact, undated which is their philosophy on advertising.

Series 21, Materials Created by other Advertising Agencies, 1945-1978, undated, consists of print advertisements collected by Ayer from other major advertising companies. The companies include Doyle Dane Bernback, Incorporated, Leo Burnett Company, Grey Advertising Agency, D'Arcy Ad Agency, Scali, McCabe, Sloves, Incorporated and Erwin Wasey Company. The materials are arranged in alphabetical order by client and include products from Ralston Purina and Van Camp (Chicken of the Sea), Kellogg, American Export Lines and No Nonsense Fashions.

Series 22, 2010 Addendum of Print Advertisements, circa 1879s-1999, undated, includes material given to the Archives Center in 2010. It is organized into seventy one oversized boxes and contains proofsheets of print advertisements for select Ayer clients. These are arranged alphabetically by client name and include substantial quantities of materials from American Telephone &Telegraph (1945-1996), Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (1967-1987), Carrier (1971-1981), Citibank (1973-1991), DeBeers (1940s-1960s and1990s), Electric Companies Advertising Program [ECAP] (1942-1970s), General Motors (1989-1998), J.C. Penney (1983-1986), Newsweek (1966-1975), and Proctor and Gamble (1980s-1890s). There are also numerous other clients represented by smaller quantities of materials.

Subseries 22.1, Print Advertisements, 1930-1990, undated

Subseries 22.2, Print Advertisements on Glass Plate Negatives, 1879-1881, undated, include Cannon towels, Cheny Brothers silks, Cornish & Company organs and pianos, Enterprise Manufacturing Company, 1879 sad iron, an ad from Harper's Weekly 1881 for ladies clothing, Ostermoor & Company mattresses, Pear's soap, Porter's cough balsam, Steinway pianos.

Series 23, Microfilm of Print Advertisements, circa 1908-1985, consists of three boxes of printed advertisements for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Some of the same advertisements might also be found in series two, three and four.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into twenty-three series.

Series 1: Scrapbooks of Client Print Advertisements, circa 1870-1920

Series 2: Proofsheets, circa 1870-1930

Series 3: Proofsheets, circa 1920-1975

Series 4: 2001 Addendum, circa 1976-2001

Series 5: Billboards, circa 1952-1956

Series 6: Audiovisual Materials

Series 7: Radio and Television Materials, 1933-1993, undated

Series 8: Chicago Office Print Advertisements, 1954-1989

Series 9: Los Angeles Office Materials, 1950s-1987

Subseries 9.1: Printed Advertisements, 1977-1987

Subseries 9.2: Personnel Files, 1950s-1970s

Series 10: Foreign Print Advertisements, 1977-1991, undated

Series 11: Cunningham & Walsh Incorporated Materials, 1915-1987, undated

Subseries 11.1: Printed Advertisements, 1915-1987

Subseries 11.2: Radio and Television Advertisements, 1963-1967

Subseries 11.3: Company Related Materials, 1962-1986, undated

Series 12: Hixson & Jorgensen Materials, 1953-1971, undated

Series 13: Newell-Emmet, 1942-1957

Series 14: House Print Advertisements, 1870-1991

Series 15: Scrapbooks, 1872-1959

Series 16: Publications, 1849-2006

Subseries 16.1: House Publications, 1876-1994

Subseries 16.2: Publications about NW Ayer, 1949-1995

Subseries 16.3: General Publications about Advertising, 1922-2006

Subseries 16.4: Publications about other Subjects, 1948-1964

Series 17, Business Records, circa 1885-1990s

Subseries 17.1: Contracts, 1885-1908, undated

Subseries 17.2: General Client Information, 1911-1999, undated

Subseries 17.3: Individual Client Account Information, 1950s-1990s, undated

Subseries 17.4: Potential Clients, 1993

Subseries 17.5: Financial Records, 1929-1938

Series 18: Legal Records, circa 1911-1984

Subseries 18.1: Advertising Service Agreements, 1918-1982

Subseries 18.2: Bylaw Materials, 1969-1972

Subseries 18.3, Copyright Claims, 1962-1969

Subseries 18.4: Correspondence, 1928-1933

Subseries 18.5: International Office Correspondence, 1947-1948

Subseries 18.6: Dissolution of Trusts, 1934-1937

Subseries 18.7: Stock Information, 1934-1974

Subseries 18.8: Agreements between Partners, 1911-1916

Subseries 18.9: Incorporation Materials, 1929-1977

Subseries 18.10: Certificates of Reduction of Capital, 1937; 1975

Subseries 18.11: Property Information

Subseries 18.12: Miscellaneous Materials, 1929-1977

Series 19: Employee Materials, circa 1889-2001

Subseries 19.1: Employee Card files, circa 1892-1915; 1929-1963

Subseries 19.2: Photographs, circa 1924-1984, undated

Subseries 19.3: Alumni Publications, circa 1989-1998

Subseries 19.4: Biographical Information, circa 1889-1994

Subseries 19.5: Speeches, circa 1919-1931; 1975

Subseries 19.6: Recollections, 1954-1984, undated

Subseries 19.7: Oral History Interview Transcripts, 1983-1985; 1989-1991

Subseries 19.8: Oral History Audiotapes, 1985-1990

Subseries 19.9: Internal Communications, 1993-1999

Subseries 19.1: General Materials, 1940-2001

Series 20: History and Background Information about the Company, 1817-1999, undated

Series 21: Materials Created by other Advertising Agencies, 1945-1978, undated

Series 22: 2010 Addendum of Print Advertisements, circa 1879s-1990s, undated

Subseries 22.1: Print Advertisements, 1930-1990, undated

Subseries 22.2: Print Advertisements on Glass Plate Negatives, 1879-1881, undated

Series 23: Microfilm of Print Advertisements, circa 1908-1985
Biographical / Historical:
Founded in Philadelphia in 1869, NW Ayer & Son is one of the oldest and largest advertising agencies in America. For most of its history, it was the undisputed leader and innovator in the field of advertising. In 1876, NW Ayer & Son pioneered the "open contract", a revolutionary change in the method of billing for advertising which became the industry standard for the next hundred years. NW Ayer pioneered the use of fine art in advertising and established the industry's first art department. It was the first agency to use a full-time copywriter and the first to institute a copy department. The agency relocated to New York City in 1974. During its long history, the agency's clients included many "blue-chip" clients, including American Telephone & Telegraph, DeBeers Consolidated Diamond Mines, Ford Motor Company, Nabisco, R. J. Reynolds and United Airlines. However, in later years, the Ayer's inherent conservatism left the agency vulnerable to the creative revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the advertising industry restructuring of the 1980s and the economic recession of the early 1990s. The agency was bought out by a Korean investor in 1993. In 1996, NW Ayer merged with another struggling top twenty United States advertising agency, Darcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles, under the umbrella of the McManus Group. Ayer continues to operate as a separate, full-service agency.

Through a series of buyouts and mergers, Ayer traces its lineage to the first advertising agency founded in the United States, a Philadelphia agency begun by Volney Palmer in 1841. Palmer began his career in advertising as a newspaper agent, acting as middleman between newspaper publishers and advertisers across the country. By 1849, Palmer had founded his own newspaper, V. B. Palmer's Register and Spirit of the Press, and had developed a complete system of advertising which included securing advertising space and placing ads in scores of commercial, political, religious, scientific and agricultural journals across the country. Palmer went one step further than the "space jobbers" of the day when he began offering "advertisements carefully drawn for those who have not the time to prepare an original copy." Always an enthusiastic promoter of advertising as an incentive to trade and American economic growth, Palmer promised advertisers that "every dollar paid for advertising in country newspapers will pay back twenty-fold" and encouraged skeptical consumers that "he who wishes to buy cheap should buy of those who advertise." When Palmer died in 1863, the agency was bought by his bookkeeper, John Joy, who joined with another Philadelphia advertising agency to form Joy, Coe & Sharpe. That agency was bought out again in 1868 and renamed Coe, Wetherill & Company. In 1877, Coe, Wetherill and Company was bought out by the newly formed NW Ayer & Son.

Francis Wayland Ayer was an ambitious young schoolteacher with an entrepreneurial streak. Having worked for a year soliciting advertisements on a commission basis for the publisher of the National Baptist weekly, Francis Ayer saw the potential to turn a profit as an advertising agent. In 1869, Ayer persuaded his father, Nathan Wheeler Ayer, to join him in business, and with an initial investment of only $250.00, NW Ayer & Son was born. Notwithstanding a smallpox epidemic in Philadelphia in 1871 and the general economic depression of the early 1870s, the agency flourished. The senior Ayer died in 1873, leaving his interest in the agency to his wife, but Francis W. Ayer bought her out, consolidating his interest in the company's management. In 1877, with Coe, Wetherill & Company (the successor to Palmer's 1841 agency) on the verge of bankruptcy and heavily indebted to Ayer for advertising it had placed in Ayer publications, Ayer assumed ownership of that agency. Thus did NW Ayer lay claim to being the oldest advertising agency in the country.

Both Nathan Wheeler and Francis Wayland Ayer began their careers as schoolteachers, and one of their legacies was a commitment to the cause of education: correspondence schools and institutions of higher learning were historically well-represented among Ayer clients. Just after World War I, the agency was heralded as "co-founder of more schools than any citizen of this country" for its conspicuous efforts to advertise private schools. Well into the 1960s, an "Education Department" at Ayer prepared advertisements for over three hundred private schools, camps and colleges, representing almost half the regional and national advertising done for such institutions. In fact, to its clients Ayer presented advertising itself as being akin to a system of education. In 1886, Ayer began promoting the virtues of the Ayer way advertising with the slogan, "Keeping Everlastingly at It Brings Success."

The agency's goals were simple: "to make advertising pay the advertiser, to spend the advertiser's money as though it were our own, to develop, magnify and dignify advertising as a business." Initially, Ayer's fortunes were tied to newspapers, and the agency began to make a name for itself as compiler and publisher of a widely used American Newspaper Annual. During the first years, Ayer's singular goal was "to get business, place it [in newspapers] and get money for it"; after several years as an independent space broker, however, Francis Ayer resolved "not to be an order taker any longer." This decision led NW Ayer and Son to a change in its mode of conducting business which would revolutionize the advertising industry: in 1876, Ayer pioneered the "open contract" with Diggee & Conard, Philadelphia raised growers and agricultural suppliers. Prior to the open contract, NW Ayer & Sons and most agencies operated as "space-jobbers," independent wholesalers of advertising space, in which the opportunities for graft and corrupt practices were virtually unlimited. In contrast, the open contract, wherein the advertiser paid a fixed commission based on the volume of advertising placed, aligned the advertising agent firmly on the side of the advertiser and gave advertisers access to the actual rates charged by newspapers and religious journals. The open contract with a fixed commission has been hailed by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker as one of the "three great landmarks in advertising history." (The other two were Lasker's own development of "reason-why" advertising copy and J. Walter Thompson's pioneering of sex appeal in an advertisement for Woodbury's soap.) Although the transition to the open contract did not happen overnight, by 1884, nearly three-quarters of Ayer's advertising billings were on an open contract basis. Since Ayer was, by the 1890s, the largest agency in America, the switch to direct payment by advertisers had a significant impact on the advertising industry, as other agencies were forced to respond to Ayer's higher standard. Just as important, the open contract helped to establish N W Ayer's long-standing reputation for "clean ethics and fair dealing" -- a reputation the agency has guarded jealously for over a century. The open contract also helped to establish Ayer as a full service advertising agency and to regularize the production of advertising in-house. From that point forward, Ayer routinely offered advice and service beyond the mere placement of advertisements. Ayer set another milestone for the industry in 1888, when Jarvis Wood was hired as the industry's first full-time copywriter. Wood was joined by a second full time copywriter four years later, and the Copy Department was formally established in 1900. The industry's first Art Department grew out of the Copy Department when Ayer hired its first commercial artist to assist with copy preparation in 1898; twelve years later Ayer became the first agency to offer the services of a full time art director, whose sole responsibility was the design and illustration of ads.

Ayer's leadership in the use of fine art in advertising has roots in this period, but achieved its highest expression under the guidance of legendary art director Charles Coiner. Coiner joined Ayer in 1924, after graduating from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Despite early resistance from some clients, Coiner was adamant that "the use of outstanding palette and original art forms bring a greater return in readership, in impact and prestige for the advertiser." To this end, Coiner marshaled the talents of notable painters, illustrators and photographers, including N.C. Wyeth and Rockwell Kent (Steinway), Georgia O'Keefe (Dole), Leo Lionni (DuPont), Edward Steichen (Steinway, Cannon Mills), Charles Sheeler (Ford), and Irving Penn (DeBeers). Coiner believed that there was a practical side to the use of fine art in advertising, and his success (and Ayer's) lay in the marriage of research and copywriting with fine art, an arrangement Coiner termed "art for business sake." Coiner's efforts won both awards and attention for a series completed in the 1950s for the Container Corporation of America. Titled "Great Ideas of Western Man" the campaign featured abstract and modern paintings and sculpture by leading U.S. and foreign artists, linked with Western philosophical writings in an early example of advertising designed primarily to bolster corporate image. In 1994, Charles Coiner was posthumously named to the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Fame, the first full time art director ever chosen for that honor.

Coiner and fellow art director Paul Darrow also created legendary advertising with the "A Diamond Is Forever" campaign for DeBeers; ads featured the work of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and other modernist painters. The "A Diamond is Forever" tagline was written in 1949 by Frances Gerety, a woman copywriter at Ayer from 1943 to 1970. In 1999, Ad Age magazine cited "A Diamond is Forever" as the most memorable advertising slogan of the twentieth century.

Coiner also earned respect for his volunteer government service during World War II; he designed the armbands for civil defense volunteers and logos for the National Recovery Administration and Community Chest. As a founding member of the Advertising Council in 1945, Ayer has had a long-standing commitment to public service advertising. In the mid-1980s, Ayer became a leading force in the Reagan-era "War on Drugs". Lou Hagopian, Ayer's sixth CEO, brokered the establishment of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, a media coalition which generated as much as a million dollars a day in donated advertising space and time to prevent the use and abuse of illegal drugs. Famous names appear among NW Ayer's clientele from the very earliest days of the agency. Retailer John Wanamaker, Jay Cooke and Company, and Montgomery Ward's mail-order business were among the first Ayer clients. The agency has represented at least twenty automobile manufacturers, including Cadillac, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Plymouth, and Rolls-Royce. Other major, long-term clients through the years have included American Telephone & Telegraph, Canada Dry, Cannon Mills, Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Kellogg's, R. J. Reynolds, Steinway and Sons, United Airlines, and the United States Army. By the time of Ayer's hundredth anniversary in 1969, some of these companies had been Ayer clients for decades if not generations, and the longevity of those relationships was for many years a source of Ayer's strength.

But the advertising industry began to change in the late 1960s and 1970s, due in part to a "creative revolution." Small advertising agencies won attention with provocative copywriting and art direction that more closely resembled art than advertising. Advances in market research allowed clients to more narrowly tailor their advertising messages to distinct groups of consumers, and this led to a rise in targeted marketing which could more readily be doled out to specialized small agencies than to larger, established firms like NW Ayer & Son. The civil rights and anti-war movements also contributed to increasing public skepticism with the values of corporate America, and by extension, with some national advertising campaigns. Older, more conservative firms like Ayer were hard pressed to meet these new challenges.

About 1970, in an effort to meet these challenges and to establish a foothold on the West Coast, Ayer bought out two smaller agencies--Hixson & Jorgenson (Los Angeles) and Frederick E. Baker (Seattle). The agency relocated from Philadelphia to New York City in 1974 in an attempt both to consolidate operations (Ayer had operated a New York office since the 1920s) and to be closer to the historic center of the advertising industry. Riding the wave of mergers that characterized the advertising industry in the late 1980s and 1990s, Ayer continued to grow through the acquisition of Cunningham & Walsh in 1986 and Rink Wells in 19xx.

During this transitional period, Ayer received widespread acclaim for its work for the United States Army, which included the widely recognized slogan "Be All You Can Be". Ayer first acquired the Army recruitment account in 1967 and with help from its direct marketing arm, the agency was widely credited with helping the Army reach its recruitment goals despite an unpopular war and plummeting enlistments after the elimination of the draft in 1973. Ayer held the account for two decades, from the Vietnam War through the Cold War, but lost the account in 1986 amid government charges that an Ayer employee assigned to the account accepted kickbacks from a New York film production house. Despite Ayer's position as the country's 18th largest agency (with billings of $880 million in 1985), the loss of the agency's second largest account hit hard.

NW Ayer made up for the loss of the $100 million dollar a year Army account and made headlines for being on the winning end of the largest account switch in advertising history to date, when fast food giant Burger King moved its $200 million dollar advertising account from arch-rival J. Walter Thompson in 1987. Burger King must have had drive-thru service in mind, however, and Ayer made headlines again when it lost the account just eighteen months later in another record-breaking account switch. Another devastating blow to the agency was the loss of its lead position on the American Telegraph and Telephone account. Ayer pioneered telecommunications advertising in 1908, when the agency was selected to craft advertising for the Bell System's universal telephone service. Despite valiant efforts to keep an account the agency had held for most of the twentieth century, and for which they had written such memorable corporate slogans as American Telephone &Telegraph "The Voice with a Smile" and "Reach Out and Touch Someone", the agency lost the account in 1996.

After a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the late 1980s, the economic recession of the early 1990s hit Madison Avenue hard, and Ayer was particularly vulnerable. Despite the agency's long history and roster of "blue-chip" clients, Ayer was not known for cutting-edge creative work. Moreover, though the agency had offices overseas, Ayer had never built a strong multinational presence, and many of the smaller international offices were sold during the financial turmoil of the 1980s. This left a real void in the new climate of global marketplace consolidation. By about 1990, earnings were declining (although Ayer was still among the top twenty United States agencies in billings), and the agency was suffering from client defections, high management turnover, expensive real estate commitments and deferred executive compensation deals, all fallout of the high-flying 1980s. This was the atmosphere in 1993, when W.Y. Choi, a Korean investor who had already assembled a media and marketing empire in his homeland, began looking for an American partner to form an international advertising network. Jerry Siano, the former creative director who had recently been named Ayer's seventh CEO, was in no position to refuse Choi's offer of $35 million to buy the now floundering agency. The infusion of cash was no magic bullet, however. Choi took a wait-and-see approach, allowing his partner Richard Humphreys to make key decisions about Ayer's future, including the purging of senior executives and the installation of two new CEOs in as many years.

The agency's downward trend continued with the loss of another longtime client, the DeBeers diamond cartel in 1995. Adweek reported that Ayer's billings fell from $892 million in 1990 to less than $850 million in 1995. Several top executives defected abruptly, and the agency failed to attract major new accounts. Ayer was facing the loss not merely of revenue and personnel, but the loss of much of the respect it once commanded. Ayer remained among the twenty largest U.S. agencies, but an aura of uncertainty hung over the agency like a cloud. A new CEO was appointed, and Mary Lou Quinlan became the agency's first woman CEO in 1995. A year later, Ayer and another struggling top twenty agency, D'arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles, combined as part of the McManus Group of companies. In 1998, the McManus Group had worldwide billings of more than $6.5 billion.

Under the McManus Group, Ayer was able to expand its international operations and begin to rebuild a stronger global presence. Several important new clients were won in 1997 and 1998, including Avon, General Motors, Kitchenaid, several Procter & Gamble brands and, most notably, Continental Airlines worldwide accounts. Born in the nineteenth century, Ayer may be one of a very few advertising agencies to successfully weather the economic and cultural transitions of both the twentieth and twentieth first centuries. Ayer was eventually acquired by the Publicis Groupe based in Paris, France which closed down the N.W. Ayer offices in 2002.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC0060)

Hills Bros. Coffee Incorporated Records (AC0395)
Provenance:
The collection was donated by N W Ayer ABH International, April 15, 1975 and by Ayer & Partners, October 30, 1996.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Researchers must use microfilm copy. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audiovisual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Technical Access: Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire; listening to audio discs requires special arrangement. Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Rights:
Publication and production quality duplication is restricted due to complex copyright, publicity rights, and right to privacy issues. Potential users must receive written permission from appropriate rights holders prior to obtaining high quality copies. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Advertising agencies  Search this
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Business records -- 1840-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Oral history -- 1980-1990
Print advertising
Proof sheets
Proofs (printed matter)
Scrapbooks -- 1840-1990
Trade literature
Tear sheets
Advertisements
Citation:
NW Ayer & Sons, incorporated Advertising Agency Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0059
See more items in:
N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8920ed035-d211-4a58-9047-b31fa79464bd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0059
Online Media:

Dorothy C. Miller papers

Creator:
Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-2003  Search this
Names:
Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this
Chase Manhattan Bank -- Art collections  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
Mark Rothko Foundation  Search this
Municipal Art Exhibition (1st : 1934 : New York, N.Y.)  Search this
PepsiCo, Inc.  Search this
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- Art collections  Search this
Rockefeller University  Search this
Smith College -- Students  Search this
Smith College. Museum of Art  Search this
World Trade Center (New York, N.Y.) -- Art collections  Search this
Asher, Elise, 1914-  Search this
Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this
Bontecou, Lee, 1931-  Search this
Byars, James Lee  Search this
Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960  Search this
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this
Canady, John  Search this
Charlton, Maryette  Search this
Christo, 1935-  Search this
Chryssa, 1933-  Search this
Coggeshall, Calvert, 1907-1990  Search this
Copley, Alfred L.  Search this
Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964  Search this
DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956  Search this
Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978  Search this
Gorky, Arshile, 1904-1948  Search this
Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898-1979  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Hicks, Edward, 1780-1849  Search this
Horwitt, Will  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this
Karpel, Bernard, 1911-1986  Search this
Levy, Julien  Search this
Mather, Eleanore Price, 1910-  Search this
Matisse, Pierre, 1900-1989  Search this
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this
Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice), 1902-1971  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979 -- Art collections  Search this
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this
Sage, Kay  Search this
Scharf, William, 1927-  Search this
Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this
Sterne, Hedda, 1910-2011  Search this
Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980  Search this
Extent:
34.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Sketches
Christmas cards
Drawings
Date:
1853-2013
bulk 1920-1996
Summary:
The papers of contemporary and folk art curator, historian, and consultant Dorothy C. Miller measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1853-2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1996. The papers primarily concern Miller's private art consulting work outside of her curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Found are scattered biographical materials, extensive correspondence and subject files, and project files for her art consulting work for the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the World Trade Center, and other miscellaneous corporate and private clients. Miller's work as a trustee and committee member of various public and private boards and commissions is also represented here. Additionally, the papers contain Miller's research files on Edward Hicks and folk art, and a small number of files of her husband Holger Cahill about his work as Director of the Federal Art Project. There is a scattered documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. Also found is Dorothy Miller's collection of artists' Christmas cards and photographs of Miller and others. An addition to the papers includes biographical material; family papers; correspondence; professional files; art collection and client files; printed material; and photographic material. While a small number professional files are included, the majority of the addition relates to her personal life, including correspondence with her husband Holger Cahill, and files pertaining to her personal art collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of contemporary and folk art curator, historian, and consultant Dorothy C. Miller measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1853-2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1996. The papers primarily concern Miller's art consulting work outside of her curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York city. Found are scattered biographical materials, extensive correspondence and subject files, and project files for her art consulting work for the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and other miscellaneous corporate and private clients. Her work as a trustee and committee member of various public and private boards and commissions is also represented here. Additionally, the papers contain Miller's research files on Edward Hicks and folk art, and a small number of files related to Miller's husband Holger Cahill and his work as Director of the Federal Art Project. There is important documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. Artwork includes scattered sketches and drawings enclosed with correspondence and original Christmas cards sent to Miller by various artists. Photographs of Miller date from 1926 - circa 1950.

Scattered biographical material mostly concerns Miller's education at Smith College and awards and honorary degrees that she received. Extensive correspondence and subject files document her professional and personal relationships with family, friends, colleagues, museums, art dealers and artists, as well as her research interests. Individual files may contain a mix of correspondence with, as well as about, the person or subject, compiled research documents, printed materials, and scattered photographs. Files are found for Lewin Alcopley, Alfred Barr, Betty Parsons Gallery, Cahill family members, Lee Bontecou, James Byars, Holger Cahill, Alexander Calder, Christo, Chryssa, Calvert Coggeshall, John Canaday, Maryette Charlton, Stuart Davis, Jay DeFeo, Lorser Feitelson, Arshile Gorky, Peggy Guggenheim, Grace Hartigan, Will Horwitt, Jasper Johns, Julien Levy, Pierre Matisse, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Isamu Nauchi, Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Kay Sage, Charles Sheeler, Hedda Sterne, travel, Clyfford Still, William Scharf, among many others.

Detailed records of Miller's art consulting and advisory work for the Rockefeller family include correspondence with Nelson A. Rockefeller and David Rockefeller about building their personal collections of contemporary and folk art, meeting notes and minutes, research notes and writings, and printed materials. The largest group of records concerns the writing and publication of The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art. Miller's curatorial work for David Rockefeller and the Rockefeller University's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Hall art collection is documented in Series 4 through curatorial files, correspondence, printed materials, photographs and slides, artists files, and design records.

Series 5 contains files relating to Miller's work as the first art consutant to the Chase Manhattan Bank and the building of the corporation's extensive collection of contemporary art. There is a draft of Miller's text for the bank's published catalog, Art At Work: Chase Manhattan Bank Collection. A smaller set of records is found in Series 6 documenting Miller's work on the Art Committee of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including files about selecting artwork for the World Trade Center during the early 1970s. Files concerning Miller's advisory work with additional public and private clients, boards, and commissions are arranged in Series 7 and 8 and concern the Amstar Corporation, Fidelity International Bank, First National Bank of Tampa, First National City Bank, Inmont Corporation, Pepsico, United Mutual Savings Bank, the Empire State Plaza Art Commission, the Hancock Shaker Village, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Mark Rothko Foundation, the Museum of American Folk Art, and the Smith College Museum of Art.

Miller's papers include a small group of files relating to the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP)created by her husband Holger Cahill when he was director of the FAP, Holger Cahill. A small series is devoted to Miller's work with Eleanore Price Mather researching and writing Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdom and Other Paintings. A series of general research files contain miscellaneous research notes and photographs related to Miller's interests in early American art and folk art. Series 12 contains important documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center.

Works of art are primarily in the form of Christmas cards sent to Miller by various artists including Elise Asher, Lyonel Feininger, Bernard Karpel, and Irene Rice Pereira. A small group of photographs includes photographs of Miller from 1926-circa 1950 and a few photographs of others.

The addition includes biographical material; family papers; correspondence; professional files; art collection and client files; printed material; and photographic material. While a small number of professional files are found here, the majority of material relates to Miller's personal life, including correspondence with her husband Holger Cahill, and files pertaining to her personal art collection. Scattered correspondence, inventories, research, and notes created by curator and donor of the papers, Wendy Jeffers, are found throughout the collection. These materials date from the 1980s-2000s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 15 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1986 (Box 1; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence and Subject Files, circa 1912-1992 (Boxes 1-8, OV 27; 7.2 linear ft.)

Series 3: Rockefeller Family Art Collections, circa 1949-1985 (Boxes 8-12, 25; 3.9 linear ft.)

Series 4: Rockefeller University Collection, 1923-1984 (Boxes 12-13, OV 27; 1.0 linear ft.)

Series 5: Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, 1959-circa 1985 (Boxes 13-14, 26; 1.4 linear ft.)

Series 6: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Art Committee, circa 1965-1987 (Boxes 14-15, OV 27; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 7: Other Corporate and Private Clients, 1968-1984 (Boxes 15-16; 1.3 linear ft.)

Series 8: Other Boards, Committees and Commissions, 1925, 1949-1985 (Boxes 16-20; 3.6 linear ft.)

Series 9: Works Project Administration Federal Art Project Files, 1935-1979 (Box 20, OV 27; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 10: Edward Hicks Catalog, 1934-1984 (Boxes 20-22; 1.5 linear ft.)

Series 11: Research Files, 1930s-1980 (Boxes 22-23; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 12: Exhibition Files, 1932-1986 (Box 23; 0.6 linear ft.)

Series 13: Works of Art, circa 1924-circa 1982 (Boxes 23-25; 1.5 linear ft.)

Series 14: Photographs, 1926-circa 1970s (Boxes 24-25; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 15: Addition to the Dorothy C. Miller Papers, 1853-2003, bulk 1920-1996 (Boxes 28-38, OVs 39-41; 9.9 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Dorothy Canning Miller (1904-2003) worked in New York City as a highly influential curator of contemporary and folk art at the Museum of Modern Art and as the first curator of the museum. Later, she was the primary art consultant for Nelson A. Rockefeller, the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Port Authority of and New Jersey. Dorothy Miller was also married to Holger Cahill, director of the WPA Federal Art Project.

Dorothy C. Miller was born in Hopedale, Massachusetts in 1904 and received her Bachelor of Arts from Smith College in 1925. She was first introduced to modern art through classes at the Newark Museum taught by John Cotton Dana and Holger Cahill. Miller joined the curatorial staff of the Newark Museum in 1926. The museum was one of the first to organize exhibitions of American folk art, American Primitives (1930-1931) and American Folk Sculpture (1931-1932). Miller worked with Cahill and others on the exhibition and developed a life-long interest in folk art.

After four years at the Newark Museum, Miller moved to New York city, hoping to get involved with the newly opened Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and, likely, to be with Holger Cahill, with whom she lived with on 8th Street prior to their marriage in 1938. Between 1930 and 1932 she took odd jobs and worked with Mrs. Henry Lang cataloging, researching and installing Lang's collection of Native American art Lang donated to the Montclair Art Museum. At the same time, Holger Cahill was serving as Acting Director of the Museum of Modern Art during an absence of Director Alfred H. Barr. In 1932, Cahill asked Miller to assist him with curating the American Painting and Sculpture, 1862-1932 exhibition at MoMA, and together they also curated the First Municipal Art Exhibition, 1934 at the Rockefeller Center.

In 1934, Barr hired Miller as his assistant and one year later appointed her as MoMA's first curator. Miller spent the next 35 years organizing many of this country's most important exhibitions of contemporary art and building personal relationships with new artists and photographers, as well as the collections of MoMA. Miller retired from MOMA in 1969 and focused more on her art consulting work begun in the late 1950s.

Dorothy Miller's most notable client was Nelson A. Rockefeller. She assisted and advised Rockefeller as he acquired a vast personal collection of modern art - some of which was later donated to MoMA. Just prior to her retirement, Miller organized a large exhibition of Rockefeller's collection. The exhibition catalog written by Miller was the basis for the book she worked on with Rockefeller up until and following his death in 1979, ultimately published as The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art. In the preface, Rockefeller credited Miller with being one of the four people to whom he was indebted "for the understanding and endless joy I have found in the collecting of modern art in all forms."

Miller also served as the primary art consultant for projects to furnish federal spaces, including Henry Kissinger's State Department office suite, and the official Vice-Presidential residence at the Admiral's House in Washington D.C.

In 1959 Miller was invited to join the art collection committee of the Chase Manhattan Bank and served on the committee until the mid-1980s, contributing her expertise to the development of one of this country's oldest and largest corporate collections of modern and contemporary art.

Miller was also an advisor to other members of the Rockefeller family, including David Rockefeller, and assisted with developing the art collections of Rockefeller Institute/University. From 1960 through the late 1980s Miller was a member of the art committee for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANJY) and was responsible for selecting much of the artwork for the World Trade Center in the 1970s. She served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Hancock Shaker Village, the Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Empire State Plaza in Albany, Smith College Museum of Art, and the Museum of American Folk Art. She also became a member of the Mark Rothko Foundation Board of Directors after the litigation following Rothko's death between Rothko's executors and his daughter.

In the mid-1970s Miller assisted the Whitney Museum of American with planning an exhibition and supporting catalog of the work of folk artist Edward Hicks. Although the exhibition and catalog were only partially realized in 1980, Miller and Eleanore Price Mather compiled and published a book on Hicks, Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdoms and Other Paintings, published in 1983.

In 1982-1983 Miller received the Art Dealers Association Special Award, an honorary degree from Williams College, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture governor's award. In 1984 she was named honorary trustee of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1985 the Smith College Museum of Art honored her important contributions to museum connoisseurship with the exhibition Dorothy C. Miller: With An Eye to American Art.

Dorothy Miller died in 2003 at the age of 99 at her home in Greenwich, New York.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds two oral history interviews with Dorothy C. Miller. The first was conducted by Paul Cummings between May 26, 1970 and September 28, 1971, and details Miller's life from childhood up to, and including, her years at the Museum of Modern Art. The second was conducted by Avis Berman on May 14, 1981 and covers Miller's relationships with Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still. Also found among the holdings of the Archives are the papers of Holger Cahill, Dorothy Miller's husband and colleague.

The Museum of Modern Art Achives holds Dorothy Miller's papers related to her curatorial work at the museum.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Dorothy C. Miller via Wendy Jeffers between 1986 and 1997, and Reid White, Executor of Miller's estate, in 2004. Two subsequent additions were donated by Wendy Jeffers in 2014 and 2015.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Corporations -- Private collections  Search this
Art -- Private collections  Search this
Folk art  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketches
Christmas cards
Drawings
Citation:
Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.milldoro
See more items in:
Dorothy C. Miller papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f1ed6cb6-f194-4b76-a8dd-fce3352c09b8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-milldoro
Online Media:

Formal and Informal Groups, circa; 1980s-2000; undated

Collection Interviewee:
Sun Ra  Search this
Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-  Search this
Taylor, Billy  Search this
Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987  Search this
Wells, Ronnie  Search this
Whiting, Margaret  Search this
Towers, Jack  Search this
Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978  Search this
Pullen, Don, 1941-  Search this
Roney, Wallace  Search this
Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-  Search this
Pizzarelli, John, 1960-  Search this
Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004  Search this
Shepp, Archie, 1937-  Search this
Sanders, Pharaoh  Search this
Grant, Felix, 1918-1993  Search this
Scott, Jimmy  Search this
McPhail, Jimmy  Search this
McPartland, Marian  Search this
McFerrin, Bobby  Search this
Krall, Diana  Search this
O'Connell, Helen  Search this
Mulligan, Gerry  Search this
Metheny, Pat  Search this
McShann, Jay  Search this
Horn, Shirley, 1934-  Search this
Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000  Search this
Hill, Andrew, 1937-  Search this
Hendricks, Jon, 1921-  Search this
Keane, Helen  Search this
Kaminsky, Max, 1908-  Search this
Jordan, Sheila, 1928-  Search this
Humes, Helen, 1913-1981  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Harris, Eddie, 1934-  Search this
Heath, Jimmy, 1926-  Search this
Frishberg, Dave  Search this
Ennis, Ethel  Search this
Farmer, Art, 1928-  Search this
Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-  Search this
Hampton, Slide  Search this
D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-  Search this
Daniels, Billy  Search this
Davison, Bill  Search this
Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-  Search this
Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020  Search this
Conyers, John, 1929-  Search this
Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003  Search this
Byard, Jaki  Search this
Brown, Ruth  Search this
Carter, Betty, 1930-  Search this
Byron, Don  Search this
Betts, Keter, 1928-  Search this
Bellson, Louis  Search this
Bowie, Lester, 1941-  Search this
Blakey, Art, 1919-1990  Search this
Allen, Steve, 1921-2000  Search this
Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000  Search this
Bailey, Benny, 1925-  Search this
Collection Collector:
Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
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:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0766, Series 3
See more items in:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a111b208-d7e1-4ea1-9019-06f04118c9a7
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0766-ref144

Musicians: Social and Informal Groups

Collection Interviewee:
Sun Ra  Search this
Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-  Search this
Taylor, Billy  Search this
Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987  Search this
Wells, Ronnie  Search this
Whiting, Margaret  Search this
Towers, Jack  Search this
Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978  Search this
Pullen, Don, 1941-  Search this
Roney, Wallace  Search this
Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-  Search this
Pizzarelli, John, 1960-  Search this
Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004  Search this
Shepp, Archie, 1937-  Search this
Sanders, Pharaoh  Search this
Grant, Felix, 1918-1993  Search this
Scott, Jimmy  Search this
McPhail, Jimmy  Search this
McPartland, Marian  Search this
McFerrin, Bobby  Search this
Krall, Diana  Search this
O'Connell, Helen  Search this
Mulligan, Gerry  Search this
Metheny, Pat  Search this
McShann, Jay  Search this
Horn, Shirley, 1934-  Search this
Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000  Search this
Hill, Andrew, 1937-  Search this
Hendricks, Jon, 1921-  Search this
Keane, Helen  Search this
Kaminsky, Max, 1908-  Search this
Jordan, Sheila, 1928-  Search this
Humes, Helen, 1913-1981  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Harris, Eddie, 1934-  Search this
Heath, Jimmy, 1926-  Search this
Frishberg, Dave  Search this
Ennis, Ethel  Search this
Farmer, Art, 1928-  Search this
Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-  Search this
Hampton, Slide  Search this
D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-  Search this
Daniels, Billy  Search this
Davison, Bill  Search this
Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-  Search this
Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020  Search this
Conyers, John, 1929-  Search this
Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003  Search this
Byard, Jaki  Search this
Brown, Ruth  Search this
Carter, Betty, 1930-  Search this
Byron, Don  Search this
Betts, Keter, 1928-  Search this
Bellson, Louis  Search this
Bowie, Lester, 1941-  Search this
Blakey, Art, 1919-1990  Search this
Allen, Steve, 1921-2000  Search this
Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000  Search this
Bailey, Benny, 1925-  Search this
Collection Collector:
Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-  Search this
Container:
Box 18, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
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:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
See more items in:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews / Series 3: Formal and Informal Groups, circa; 1980s-2000; undated
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84beef9b5-9ba3-4393-a0f2-9096e054f346
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0766-ref145

Musicians: Organizations and Events

Collection Interviewee:
Sun Ra  Search this
Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-  Search this
Taylor, Billy  Search this
Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987  Search this
Wells, Ronnie  Search this
Whiting, Margaret  Search this
Towers, Jack  Search this
Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978  Search this
Pullen, Don, 1941-  Search this
Roney, Wallace  Search this
Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-  Search this
Pizzarelli, John, 1960-  Search this
Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004  Search this
Shepp, Archie, 1937-  Search this
Sanders, Pharaoh  Search this
Grant, Felix, 1918-1993  Search this
Scott, Jimmy  Search this
McPhail, Jimmy  Search this
McPartland, Marian  Search this
McFerrin, Bobby  Search this
Krall, Diana  Search this
O'Connell, Helen  Search this
Mulligan, Gerry  Search this
Metheny, Pat  Search this
McShann, Jay  Search this
Horn, Shirley, 1934-  Search this
Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000  Search this
Hill, Andrew, 1937-  Search this
Hendricks, Jon, 1921-  Search this
Keane, Helen  Search this
Kaminsky, Max, 1908-  Search this
Jordan, Sheila, 1928-  Search this
Humes, Helen, 1913-1981  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Harris, Eddie, 1934-  Search this
Heath, Jimmy, 1926-  Search this
Frishberg, Dave  Search this
Ennis, Ethel  Search this
Farmer, Art, 1928-  Search this
Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-  Search this
Hampton, Slide  Search this
D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-  Search this
Daniels, Billy  Search this
Davison, Bill  Search this
Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-  Search this
Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020  Search this
Conyers, John, 1929-  Search this
Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003  Search this
Byard, Jaki  Search this
Brown, Ruth  Search this
Carter, Betty, 1930-  Search this
Byron, Don  Search this
Betts, Keter, 1928-  Search this
Bellson, Louis  Search this
Bowie, Lester, 1941-  Search this
Blakey, Art, 1919-1990  Search this
Allen, Steve, 1921-2000  Search this
Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000  Search this
Bailey, Benny, 1925-  Search this
Collection Collector:
Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-  Search this
Container:
Box 18, Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
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:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
See more items in:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews / Series 3: Formal and Informal Groups, circa; 1980s-2000; undated
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8559c9ab4-545c-4c64-bf62-3eff9a86ab78
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0766-ref146

Musicians: Awards and Honors

Collection Interviewee:
Sun Ra  Search this
Gaskin, Leonard, 1920-  Search this
Taylor, Billy  Search this
Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987  Search this
Wells, Ronnie  Search this
Whiting, Margaret  Search this
Towers, Jack  Search this
Venuti, Joe, 1903-1978  Search this
Pullen, Don, 1941-  Search this
Roney, Wallace  Search this
Pizzarelli, Bucky, 1926-  Search this
Pizzarelli, John, 1960-  Search this
Shaw, Artie, 1910-2004  Search this
Shepp, Archie, 1937-  Search this
Sanders, Pharaoh  Search this
Grant, Felix, 1918-1993  Search this
Scott, Jimmy  Search this
McPhail, Jimmy  Search this
McPartland, Marian  Search this
McFerrin, Bobby  Search this
Krall, Diana  Search this
O'Connell, Helen  Search this
Mulligan, Gerry  Search this
Metheny, Pat  Search this
McShann, Jay  Search this
Horn, Shirley, 1934-  Search this
Hinton, Milt, 1910-2000  Search this
Hill, Andrew, 1937-  Search this
Hendricks, Jon, 1921-  Search this
Keane, Helen  Search this
Kaminsky, Max, 1908-  Search this
Jordan, Sheila, 1928-  Search this
Humes, Helen, 1913-1981  Search this
Hampton, Lionel  Search this
Harris, Eddie, 1934-  Search this
Heath, Jimmy, 1926-  Search this
Frishberg, Dave  Search this
Ennis, Ethel  Search this
Farmer, Art, 1928-  Search this
Flanagan, Tommy, 1930-  Search this
Hampton, Slide  Search this
D'Rivera, Paquito, 1948-  Search this
Daniels, Billy  Search this
Davison, Bill  Search this
Donegan, Dorothy, 1922-  Search this
Crouch, Stanley, 1945-2020  Search this
Conyers, John, 1929-  Search this
Cruz, Celia, 1924-2003  Search this
Byard, Jaki  Search this
Brown, Ruth  Search this
Carter, Betty, 1930-  Search this
Byron, Don  Search this
Betts, Keter, 1928-  Search this
Bellson, Louis  Search this
Bowie, Lester, 1941-  Search this
Blakey, Art, 1919-1990  Search this
Allen, Steve, 1921-2000  Search this
Adderly, Nat, 1931-2000  Search this
Bailey, Benny, 1925-  Search this
Collection Collector:
Stokes, W. Royal, Dr., 1930-  Search this
Container:
Box 18, Folder 5
Type:
Archival materials
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:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Jazz Musicians' Photographs, ca. 1970-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
See more items in:
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews
W. Royal Stokes Collection of Music Photoprints and Interviews / Series 3: Formal and Informal Groups, circa; 1980s-2000; undated
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep892eaece4-da36-4c05-9158-a3bb55200c41
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0766-ref147

Interview Transcript, Kenjilo Nanao by Sima Behravain

Collection Creator:
Nanao, Kenjirō, 1929-2013  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 22
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1980-circa 2000
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. 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:
Kenjilo Nanao papers, circa 1885-1887, circa 1949-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Kenjilo Nanao papers
Kenjilo Nanao papers / Series 1: Biographical Material
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94a8a127c-f61a-4b81-ac94-4d09f7959b9c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-nanakenj-ref207

Harry Sternberg papers

Creator:
Sternberg, Harry, 1904-2001  Search this
Names:
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Faculty  Search this
Idyllwild School and Museum for the Arts -- Faculty  Search this
Blume, Peter, 1906-1992  Search this
Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this
Secunda, Arthur  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro  Search this
Walker, Hudson D. (Hudson Dean), 1907-1976  Search this
Warner, Malcolm, 1953-  Search this
Wickey, Harry  Search this
Zigrosser, Carl, 1891-  Search this
Extent:
3.4 Linear feet
0.553 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Video recordings
Notes
Manuscripts
Interviews
Scrapbooks
Drafts (documents)
Sound recordings
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Date:
1927-2000
Summary:
The papers of New York City and California painter, printmaker, and teacher Harry Sternberg date from 1927 to 2000 and measure 3.4 linear feet and 0.553 GB. The collection documents Sternberg's career as an artist and art instructor through scattered biographical material, correspondence with friends, artists, collectors, curators, art organizations, universities, and galleries, writings by Sternberg and others, exhibition catalogs and announcements, news clippings, and other printed and digital material. Also found are photographs of Sternberg and his artwork, two sketchbooks and three loose drawings by Sternberg, audio visual recordings, and one scrapbook.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of New York City and California painter, printmaker, and teacher Harry Sternberg date from 1927 to 2000 and measure 3.4 linear feet and 0.553 GB. The collection documents Sternberg's career as an artist and art instructor through scattered biographical material, correspondence with friends, artists, collectors, curators, art organizations, universities, and galleries, writings by Sternberg and others, exhibition catalogs and announcements, news clippings, and other printed and digital material. Also found are photographs of Sternberg and his artwork, two sketchbooks and three loose drawings by Sternberg, audio visual recordings, and one scrapbook.

Biographical material includes an interview of Sternberg conducted by art curator Malcolm Warner, two ledgers documenting business activities, scattered financial and legal documents, and files regarding a few of his projects, including the film "Many Worlds of Art". Sternberg's personal and professional correspondence is with friends, artists, including Harry Wickey, Rockwell Kent, Philip Evergood, and Peter Blume, collectors and curators such as Hudson Walker and Carl Zigrosser, and art organizations, universities, and galleries.

The small number of writings by Sternberg in this collection includes drafts of articles and lectures, a manuscript for a book on etching, and notes. Writings by others consists of draft writings about Sternberg, draft exhibition catalogs, and writings by the artists Arthur Secunda and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Over one-third of this collection is printed material, including exhibition catalogs and announcements, news clippings, books written by Sternberg, school publications, and material regarding art events.

Also found are photographs of Sternberg in his studio, with students, with his wife Mary, and at the Idyllwild School. Other photographs include group photographs of Art Students League faculty as well as photographs of exhibitions, murals, and artwork. The collection also contains original artwork including two sketchbooks and three loose drawings by Sternberg and one scrapbook of news clippings and exhibition materials. Audio and video materials include several interviews of Sternberg and a video copy of his film "Many Worlds of Art".
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 8 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1927-2000 (Box 1, OV 5; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1928-2000 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1940s-2000 (Box 1, 4; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1933-2000 (Box 1-3; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1930s-1998 (Box 3, 4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1928-1980s (Box 3, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Audio Visual Material, circa 1980s-2000 (Box 3; 0.5 linear feet, ER01; 0.553 GB)

Series 8: Scrapbook, 1929-1958 (Box 4; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Harry Sternberg (1904-2001) was a New York painter, muralist, printmaker, etcher, teacher, and political activist who relocated to California in 1957.

Harry Sternberg was born in 1904 in the Lower East Side of New York City and grew up in Brooklyn. As a child he attended his school art club where he met and became lifelong friends with artists Peter Blume and Philip Reisman. He took free Saturday art classes at the Brooklyn Museum of Art for two years and attended the Art Students League part time from 1922 to 1927 where he studied with George Bridgman. In 1926 he shared a studio with Philip Reisman where they received private instruction in etching from Harry Wickey. Sternberg began exhibiting his etchings and intermittently had drawings published in New Masses, a prominent American Marxist publication. In the late 1920s he became friends with Hudson Walker who also became a major collector of his work. In 1933 Sternberg was hired as instructor of etching, lithography, and composition at the Art Students League and continued teaching there for the next 33 years. Also around this time he became politically active in artist rights organizations, serving on the planning committee to create the American Artists' Congress and later serving as an active member of the Artists Equity Association. In 1935 he became the technical advisor of the Graphic Art Division of the Federal Art Project. From 1937 to 1939 he completed three federal mural commissions. His first mural Carrying the Mail was created for the Sellersville, Pennsylvania post office in 1937. His most famous mural Chicago: Epoch of a Great City was painted for the Lakeview post office in Chicago. It depicts the history of the city and its workers, particularly life for the workers in Chicago's stockyards and steel mills.

During the 1940s Sternberg remained very active in arts organizations, as one of the founders of the National Serigraph Society and a member of the Committee on Art and Education in Society. In 1942 he published the first of five books on printing. Sternberg had his first retrospective in 1953 at ACA Galleries, and in 1957 he taught summer painting courses at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts in California. He continued teaching in the summers there from 1960 to 1967 and 1981 to 1989. Suffering from lung disease, Sternberg moved with his wife, Mary, to Escondido, California in 1966 in hopes that the climate would improve his health. In 1972 he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. During the 1970s and 1980s Sternberg traveled extensively throughout the US and Mexico where he found new inspiration for his artwork. He continued teaching, exhibiting, and creating new work until his death in 2001.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the May Konheim papers concerning Harry Sternberg, 1934-1981, and an oral history interview of Harry Sternberg, conducted March 19, 1999, October 8, 1999, and January 7, 2000, by Sally Yard for the Archives of American Art
Provenance:
The Harry Sternberg papers were donated by Sternberg in several installments from 1967 to 2001.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- California  Search this
Topic:
Printmakers -- California  Search this
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Educators -- California  Search this
Painting, American  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Notes
Manuscripts
Interviews
Scrapbooks
Drafts (documents)
Sound recordings
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Citation:
Harry Sternberg papers, 1927-2008. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.sterharr
See more items in:
Harry Sternberg papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw904413d6d-fce2-4bc8-9eef-9641dce75f12
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-sterharr

Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture

Creator:
Mathis, Nathaniel, 1946- (barber, motivational speaker)  Search this
Interviewer:
Ruffins, Fath Davis  Search this
Extent:
5.5 Cubic feet (18 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Awards
Certificates
Correspondence
Interviews
Oral history
Black-and-white photographic prints
Videotapes
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- Small business -- 20th century
Date:
1946-2004
bulk 1970-2004
Summary:
Nathaniel Mathis is a Washington, D.C., hairstylist, inventor, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. His papers document his business life and community involvement.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the work of a hairstylist, inventor, entrepreneur, and public figure whose career reflects significant changes in the African American community in the later 20th century. It is rich in visual imagery created by and for this community. Business papers, correspondence, publicity, photographs, awards and certificates documenting Mathis's work as a highly regarded barber and hairstylist in Washington, D.C., and as member of the D.C. Board of Barbering and Cosmetology are included. Business papers offer insight into the workings of a small privately-owned business. Numerous publicity items and photographs offer evidence of African American style and fashion in New York and Washington, D.C., from the late 1960s through today. Additional material documents Mathis's activities as a community activist, motivational speaker and distance runner. The collection also includes photographs, oral history interviews, and audio-visual materials.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Biographical Information and Activities, 1946-2001, undated

Series 2: Beauty Business Documents and Advertising, 1969-2002, undated

Series 3: Publicity, 1963-2002

Series 4: Washington, D.C. Barbering and Cosmetology Boards, 1966-1997, undated

Series 5: Correspondence, 1967-2002, undated

Series 6: Awards and Certificates, 1969-2001, undated

Series 7: Photographs, 1966-1989, undated

Series 8: Video Materials, 1983-2002, undated

Series 9: Audio Tapes, 1998-2004, undated

Series 10: Memorabilia, 1992-1998, undated
Biographical / Historical:
"Nat Mathis (b. 1946) is a native Washingtonian. He is a man of many talents and measures his success in many ways: innovative hairstylist, entrepreneur, inventor, community activist, motivational speaker and distance runner. Mathis opened his first barber shop in 1969. He is the winner of many national and international hairstyling awards and competitions and was the first African American to win the International Hair Styling competition in Cairo, Egypt in 1981. Mathis was among the first African American hairstylists to embrace and popularize the Afro and, later, cornrows -- hairstyles which many view as expressions of black empowerment. Mathis himself seldom expresses a political ideology of hair, but by 1970, Nat was known among his many satisfied clients and peers as "the Bush Doctor" for his expertise in Afro style and maintenance. He has styled hair for many celebrities; made numerous television appearances; and has been a stylist for several productions at the Kennedy Center, and for two major motion pictures, including Nixon, for which he re-created period hairstyles. He is active in community affairs, gives motivational speeches throughout the Washington, D.C., area, and is particularly interested in mentoring young people. He currently operates a barber shop adjacent to his home in Capitol Heights, Maryland."

*Biographical information provided by Nat Mathis's Official Website, "A Man of Many Talents." http://www.natmathis.com (accessed 02 August, 2006).
Separated Materials:
Mr. Mathis donated three of his patented barbering vests (See Accession # 1998.0114) to the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).
Provenance:
Collection donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History by Nathaniel Mathis on April 9, 1998.
Restrictions:
The copllection is open for research.

Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.

Technical Access: Series 8, Video materials and Series 9, Audiotapes may not be used by researchers unless reference and viewing copies are made available.
Rights:
Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. The Archives Center does not own rights to the patent, trademark or any related interest in the artifacts.
Topic:
African American barbers  Search this
African American beauty operators  Search this
Barbers  Search this
Barbering  Search this
Barbershops -- Equipment and supplies -- 1970-2000 -- Washington (D.C)  Search this
Beauty culture  Search this
Hair  Search this
Hairdressing of African Americans -- 1970-2000 -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Inventors  Search this
Motivation -- Public speaking -- 1970-2000  Search this
Public speaking -- 1970-2000  Search this
Genre/Form:
Awards
Certificates
Correspondence -- 1970-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Interviews -- 2000-2010
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Videotapes
Citation:
Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0641
See more items in:
Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c5b4bd0f-53cd-4a97-b4ba-930fe65c5330
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0641
Online Media:

Emiliano Martinez Collection

Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Community Life  Search this
Interviewer:
Ahlborn, Richard E., 1933-2015  Search this
Martin, Juana  Search this
Author:
Martinez, Emiliano  Search this
Extent:
0.15 Cubic feet (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiocassettes
Audiotapes
Interviews
Oral history
Photographs
Transcripts
Place:
Fort Chaffee (Ark.)
Date:
1984
Summary:
Papers, oral history, and transcripts relating to Emiliano Martinez, a Cuban immigrant.
Scope and Contents:
Papers and photographs related to the immigration experience of Cuban refugee Martinez: a story from the Washington Post, March 12, 1984; a 45-minute cassette recording of an interview (in Spanish) by Richard E. Ahlborn with Martinez; a transcription in Spanish of the interview; six photographs of the hut taken by a zoo photographer; a covering memorandum from Ahlborn; a copy of Martinez's earnings from the sale of cans; and a diagram of his hut. Ahlborn, a curator in the Division of Community Life, was assisted by Juana Martin, a social worker.
Biographical / Historical:
The story of Emiliano Martinez, a Cuban refugee, was publicized as an example of the ingenuity and survival skills of recent immigrants to this nation. Martinez fled Cuba in one of the freedom flotillas of 1980. After a year in a refugee camp at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, he arrived in Washington, D.C. in April 1981. He shared apartments with other Cuban refugees until October 1982. Using his carpentry skills, he constructed a hut on undeveloped land at the National Zoo, where he lived from December 1982 until March 1984. He then moved into a boarding house in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood. He made his livelihood by selling aluminum cans to a Safeway grocery store for an average of sixty-five dollars a month.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Emilio Martinez.
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.
Topic:
Carpentry  Search this
Emigration and immigration  Search this
Hispanic Americans -- 1950-2000  Search this
Homelessness  Search this
Housing  Search this
Political refugees  Search this
Poverty  Search this
Genre/Form:
Audiocassettes
Audiotapes
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Oral history
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1980-2000
Transcripts
Citation:
Emiliano Martinez Collection, 1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0176
See more items in:
Emiliano Martinez Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86b08cf62-f39f-45dc-888b-2a21680f2041
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0176

Ashok Gadgil Innovative Lives Presentation and Interview

Creator:
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.  Search this
Gadgil, Ashok  Search this
Berger, Sondra  Search this
Names:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  Search this
Extent:
0.5 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Videotapes
Oral history
Interviews
Date:
1998 January 16
1998 April 28
1996 - 1996
Summary:
Original, master, and reference videos documenting an Innovative Lives presentation and interview with Ashok Gadgil, inventor of the UV Waterworks disinfectant unit.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains original, master, and reference videos, and audio cassettes documenting Ashok Gadgil, inventor of the UV Waterworks, a water purifier.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into four series.

Series 1: Original videos, 1998

Series 2: Master Videos, 1998

Series 3: Reference Videos, 1998

Series 4: Photographs and Slides, 1998
Biographical / Historical:
Ashok Gadgil, was born in India and is a physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Gadgil invented the UV Waterworks, a water purifier that provided reliable, inexpensive water disinfection for the world. The UV Waterworks uses ultraviolet light to kill waterborne pathogens (bacteria, viruses, and molds) and thus purify drinking water. The key to this invention is the effect ultraviolet light has on bacteria and viruses--it triggers the formation of peptide bonds between certain nucleic acids in the pathogens' DNA molecules, which robs them of the ability to reproduce and renders them harmless. Water, powered by gravity, flows down through pipes, passing into a tray where it is exposed to twelve seconds of ultraviolet light before it flows out a spigot. Gadgil used sheet metal, UV lamps, and stainless-steel piping to create this invention.
Separated Materials:
UV Water Works Disinfectant unit is located in the Division of Medicine and Science. See accession #: 1998.0158.01.
Provenance:
This video presentation and interview was created by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on April 28, 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original videos are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Water -- Bacteriology  Search this
Water -- Ultraviolet treatment  Search this
Water -- Purification  Search this
Ultraviolet radiation  Search this
Physicists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Videotapes -- 1990-2000
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Citation:
Ashok Gadgil Innovative Lives Presentation and Interview, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0647
See more items in:
Ashok Gadgil Innovative Lives Presentation and Interview
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep861062837-8187-46c4-8943-4c28529b603a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0647
Online Media:

Magellan Systems Corporation GPS Records

Creator:
Magellan GPS  Search this
Extent:
12 Cubic feet (14 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Notebooks
Instructional materials
Design drawings
Photographs
Notes
Memorandums
Manuals
Videocassettes
Reports
Press releases
Advertisements
Clippings
Audio cassettes
Articles
Date:
1978-2005
bulk 1986-1998
Summary:
The Magellan Systems Corporation Records document various aspects of the development of several different Magellan GPS devices through engineering, research, design, manufacturing, and marketing records. Magellan Systems Corporation introduced the first hand-held differential GPS product and the conpany's focus was on research, product engineering, and design activities for GPS receivers. The collection includes correspondence and internal company reports and memoranda; design drawings; research notes; engineering notebooks, technical notes, schematics; photographs, slides and negatives; video and audiocassettes; advertisements; product literature, magazine articles and newspaper clippings; press releases; and user guides and manuals.
Scope and Contents:
The Magellan Systems Corporation Records document various aspects of the development of Magellan GPS devices, including the engineering, research, design, manufacturing, and marketing of the devices. The collection includes correspondence and internal company reports and memoranda; design drawings; research notes; engineering notebooks, technical notes, schematics; photographs, slides and negatives; video and audiocassettes; advertisements; product literature, magazine articles and newspaper clippings; press releases; and user guides and manuals. In Series 1, Operational Materials, Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1988-1996, provides an excellent overview of the issues facing the company and what actions/decisions were made and in Series 3, Engineering and Product Development Materials, Subseries 8, Technical Product Development Seminars provide a good foundation for understanding what the product development staff accomplished.

The core team of players who developed, tested and brought to market the GPS devices included: Janice Jones Blankenhorn, Gary Barta, John Foukos, Randy Hoffman, Norm Hunt, Sab Ifune, Don Rea, Dennis Rich, Ed Tuck, Jon Vavrus, Larry Weill, Val Fife Wong, and James Yuan. The majority of the core team were software and hardware engineers as well as mechanical designers. Their energy, enthusiasm, vision, and unwillingness to fail produced the first handheld commercial GPS receiver in 1989 and Magellgan was the first company to make GPS devices affordable to consumers.

Series 1, Operational Materials, 1988-1993, is divided into four subseries: Subseries 1, Organizational Materials, 1988-1994; Subseries 2, Strategic and Operating Plans, 1989-1995; Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1988-1996; and Subseries 4, Company Newsletters, 1991-1992.

Subseries 1, Organizational Materials, 1988-1994, consists of an organizational chart detailing Magellan's corporate structure, a document discussing the communication and functional objectives of the company, and a company Christmas card. The Orbital Sciences Corporation profile was prepared by Alex. Brown and Sons Incorporated and provides an overview of the ORBCOMM system technology, a two-way data-only personal communications service.

Subseries 2, Strategic and Operating Plans, 1989-1995, consists of a variety of strategic and operational plans for the company. The plans are arranged chronologically.

Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1988-1996, consists of handwritten and typescript reports primarily from Randy Hoffman, president and CEO of Magellan and Gary Barta, Senior Engineer and Vice President of engineering. The reports document issues that include, personnel issues, product development, technological developments, military orders, investments, marketing and sales, financial issues, orders, resource activities, and future activities. The subseries is arranged chronologically and provides an excellent overview of the issues facing the company and what actions/decisions were made.

Subseries 4, Company Newsletters, 1991-1992, consists of two external company newsletters, The Global Navigator, 1991 and The Magellan Explorer, 1992. The Global Naviagtor was created for the marine market and was sent to all NAV PLUS owners as well as dealers.

Series 2, Correspondence, 1989-1994 and undated, is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, Customer Correspondence, 1989-1993 and Subseries 2, Business Correspondence, 1989-1994 and undated. The customer-related correspondence consists of letters from users of Magellan GPS units (primarily maritime-related) and their feedback about the product. Some color photographs are included. The business-related correspondence consists of records of conversations, invoices, suggestions for strategic planning, correspondence between Randy Hoffman and the Boundary Found, and the agreement and plan for the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and Magellan Corporation in 1994.

Series 3, Engineering and Product Development Materials, 1978-1998, consists of ten subseries: Subseries 1, Product Development, 1989-1994; Subseries 2, Engineering Notebooks, 1987-1996; Subseries 3, Technical Notes, 1978-1994; Subseries 4, Breadboard Design, 1986-1994; Subseries 5, First Generation (NAV 1000/NAV 1200), 1985-1994; Subseries 6, Second Generation, 1988-1996; Subseries 7, Third Generation, 1986-1994; Subseries 8, Swiss Army Chip (SAC) Development, 1987-1995; Subseries 9, Technical Products Development Seminars, 1997-1998; Subseries 10, Specifications, 1992-1994 and Subseries 11, TriQuint Semiconductor Materials, 1986-1992.

Subseries 1, Product Development, 1989-1994, consists of documentation related to product development at Magellan. There are sketches for the third generation of GPS products, descriptive materials for the Meridian Plus and third generation receiver, testing data from the Forest Service using GPS in the wilderness near Missoula, Montana, and position description for the director of product engineering at Magellan outlining the skills and responsibilities.

Subseries 2, Engineering Notebooks, 1987-1996, consists of bound, paginated and handwritten notebooks belonging to two Magellan engineers, Janice Jones Blankenhorn, senior software engineer and Don Rea, director of engineering. Each of Don Rea's notebooks contains a page of handwritten annotations made in 2010 describing the contents. Don Rea's 1987 notebook contains documentation on the original Magellan breadboard, custom digital chip (SAC 1), and the digital board design and test, all of which deal with the first generation of the NAV 1000. Rea's 1986 and 1988 notebook contains information about the first generation of software used, GaAS chips, radio frequency (RF) board, second generation (NAV 5000), design work for Swiss Army Chips (SACs), SAC2 digital chip, SAC2B, and the SAC3 chip. Don Rea's 1993-1995 notebook contains notes on the testing of the SAC5, SAC5M and SAC6 custom digital integrated circuit for the third generation.

Subseries 3 Technical Notes, 1978-1994, consists of handwritten and typescript notes of Gary Barta, Janice Jones Blankenhorn, John Foufos, Janice Intyre, Don Rea, Larry Weill, and James Yuan. Where possible, file level information about what the notes relate to and the Magellan staff member who wrote the notes is listed. Much of the documentation consists of equations, algorithms, sketches, block diagrams, and narrative describing processes and research. The subseries is loosely arranged chronologically.

Subseries 4, Breadboard Design, 1986-1994, consists of memoranda, technical notes, drawings, and sketches detailing the radio frequency breadboard design. Magellan's first-generation breadboard, circa 1987, was developed by the team of Janice Jones Blankenhorn, Val Fife Wong, Ed Tuck, Norm Hunt, Sab Ifune, Gary Barta, Larry Weill, Randy Hoffman, and Don Rea.

Subseries 5, First Generation (NAV 1000/NAV 1200), 1985-1994, consists of technical notes, design notes, memoranda, drawings, and blueprints documenting the development of the first generation (primarily the NAV 1000/NAV 1200), handheld GPS unit produced by Magellan. The first generation of GPS were single channel receivers and were quite simple. The NAV 1000 was 8.75" x 3.5" x 2.25" and weighed only 1.5 pounds. The NAV 1000 converted GPS satellite information into a satellite/navigation (sat/nav) positioning. It used Gallium arsenide (GaAs) a compound of the elements gallium and arsenic, and monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology to reduce its size and power consumption. GaAs is a semiconductor used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, infrared light-emitting diodes, laser diodes, solar cells, and optical windows. The device sold for approximately $3,000 dollars.

Subseries 6, Second Generation, 1988-1996, consists of technical notes, design notes, memorandums, drawings, and blueprints documenting the development of the second generation (primarily the NAV 5000) handheld GPS unit produced by Magellan. The NAV 5000 used five channels working simultaneously to locate and collect data from GPS satellites. The units GaAs circuitry rapidly processed the data received from the satellites to compute current location, altitude, velocity and navigation in under one minute. The NAV 5000 was designed primarily for marine use. Other second generation products included: OEM Brain, OEM 1/2 Brain, Nav 500 Pro, NAV 100M5, Skaynav, Fieldpro, NAV 5200 PM, NAV 5000A, NAV 5000D, DX, DLX, Pro mark V, and the Map 7000.

Subseries 7, Third Generation, 1986-1994, consists of technical notes for the development of the third generation (primarily Meridian and Trailblazer models) of Magellan GPS devices. Third generation models were intended for the lower end of the GPS market and were compact hand-held (size, weight, battery life) and a retail price that was reasonable. Other third generation devices included: the meridian, Trailblazer, AIV10 OEM, Skatblazer, NAV 6500 PM, Meridian/TB/SB XL, NAV 1200 Pm, NAV 1200 XL PM, NAV DLX 10, Promark X, and the Pro Mark X-CM.

Subseries 8, Swiss Army Chip (SAC) Development, 1987-1995, consists of technical notes, diagrams and drawings, and specifications for the development of a digital chip used in Magellan GPS products. Don Rea and Norm Hunt of Magellan are credited with naming the chip. The chip combined several elements--GPS DPS channels, correalators, real time clock, alarm timer, interval timer, keyboard interface, display interface, precise timing, power sequencing, memory decoding, code generators, and beeper driver, to name a few--which allowed the development team reduce the overall power, size, and cost of the chip. Magellan outsourced the manufacture of the SAC.

Subseries 9, Technical Products Development Seminars, 1997-1998, consists of documentation for nine seminars in a series of technology seminars initiated by the product develpment group at Magellan. The seminars were created to keep all staff up to date on past, present, and future technology developments at Magellan. The nine seminars cover the history of Magellan GPS technology and address specific areas of development such as antennas, circuits, signal processing, software, navigation needs, and radio frequency. Other information includes tables providing comparisons for the first, second, and third generations, timelines, SAC chip characteristics, and product shipping dates. The seminars provide a good foundation for understanding what the product development staff accomplished. Researchers should consult Series 8 which documents some of the technical seminars.

Subseries 10, Specifications, 1992-1994, consists of preliminary, functional, and system requirements describing technical characteristics for several Magellan products.

Subseries 11, TriQuint Semiconductor Materials, 1986-1992, consists of materials documenting TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc.'s work. TriQuint was a division of Tektroninix, Inc., a manufacturer of analog and mixed signal gallium arsenide (GaAs) integrated circuit products. TriQuint supplied custom radio frequency (RF) and Gallium arsenide (GaAs) chips for Magellan's hand-held GPS systems and tested its chips. Documentation includes trip summaries and observations to TriQuint by Don Rea, a Magellan engineer as well as technical drawings, memorandums, development schedules, invoices, purchase orders, and tests results, production quantity and costs, and specifications. In 1986, Don Rea met Gary Barta, then principal engineer at TriQuint through his frequent visits to the company. Barta led the engineeering development of the an integrated circuit which combined the GPS L-band low-noise pre-amplifier, UHF local oscillator, down converter and high speed digital divisers on a single gallium-arsenide chip. Nothing like this had been done before for a cost senstive commerical application. Barta later joined Magellan in November 1988 as Vice President of Engineering and made the chip he had designed actually work in the environment of a hand-held product.

Series 4, Marketing and Promotional Materials, 1985-1997, is divided into six subseries: Subseries 1, Market Research, 1985-1993 and undated; Subseries 2, Product Literature, circa 1990s; Subseries 3, Advertisements, 1988-1995 and undated; Subseries 4, Press Releases, 1988-1996; Subseries 5, Presentation Materials, 1990-[1997?] and undated; and Subseries 6, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1988-1996 and undated. The series consists of product literature, advertisements, press releases, presentation materials, and newspaper and magazine clippings about Magellan products as well as competitors.

Subseries 1, Market Research, 1985-1993 and undated, consists of market research data in the form of reports prepared by Merrill Lynch, Simmons Market Research Bureau, J & H Instruments, and others, directed interviews and focus group data. There are directed interviews and discussion documentation from 1986 with Coast Guard Rescue, survival trainers, surveyors, hunters, harbor patrols, expeditionists, and mountaineer trainers providing detailed feedback into experiences with the product. The focus group information consists of transcribed interviews, survey text, selection criteria, participant lists, invoices, and technical drawings and mock-ups for the marine, outdoor and hunting markets.

Subseries 2, Product Literature, circa 1990s, consists of one file folder of product information sheets detailing specifics about Magellan products such as the NAV 1000, NAV 5000DX, NAV 1000 PRO/Geolink, NAV 5200, NAV 1000M, Meridian GPS, ProMARK V, GPS 2000, and the Global Satellite Communicator (GSC) 100.

Subseries 3, Advertisements, 1988-1995 and undated, consists of point of purchase ads, artwork and transfer designs for Magellan products. There are some oversize drawings (copies of blueprints) with the transfer design materials.

Subseries 4, Press Releases, 1988-1996, consists of press releases and one press kit containing biographies of staff members, black-and-white prints of Randy D. Hoffman, President and Chief Executive Officer, prints of the NAV 1000, and press releases introducing the NAV 1000. The marine outdoor press releases also contain 1993 dealer price lists for the Trailblazer, Meridian, NAV 5000DX, NAV 5200DX, and the mimimum advertised price policy for 1993.

Subseries 5, Presentation Materials, 1990-[1997?], consists primarily of staff presentation materials used to promote Magellan products. There is one bound presentation, Magellan Systems Corporation Management Presentation, undated, prepared by Merrill Lynch, that provides documentation about the company (an overview), market segments, competition, sales and marketing, product development, technology, manufacturing, and a financial overview.

Subseries 6, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1988-1996 and undated, consists primarily of magazine articles. The articles appeared in a variety of publications and included Defense Electronics, Southern Boating, Maritime Reporter, Cruising World, Boating the Journal of the Sport, International Defense Review, and Navigation News. The subseries is arranged chronologically.

Series 5, User Guides and Manuals, 1989-2005 and undated, consists of training, reference, and user guides for the consumer who purchased Magellan products. The guides are primarily spiral bound and some are annotated. Multiple copies of some years exist. The series is arranged chronologically.

Series 6, Financial Materials, 1991-1995 and undated, consists of stock information, a Securities and Exchange Commission registration statement, correspondence, registration rights agreements, preferred stock purchase agreements, agreement and plan of merger documents between Magellan Corporation and Orbital Sciences Corporation (November 1994), and two floppy discs (3 1/2" and 5") containing information about the company and its staff.

Series 7, Photographs and Slides, 1987-1995 and undated, consists of slides, negatives, transparencies, and color and black-and-white prints of Magellan products. Many of the images document early product concepts, and there are some promotional and publicity materials. There is one folder of photographs with images of employees from 1989.

Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1991-1998 and undated, consists of 1/2" VHS, BETA Cam SP, and 8 mm video cassettes documenting technical seminars presented by Magellan Systems Corporation staff and instances of Magellan products featured in news segments. Researchers consult the technical seminar documentation in Series 3, Engineering and Product Development Materials. The series is arranged chronologically.
Arrangement:
Collection arranged into eight series.

Series 1, Operational Materials, 1988-1993

Subseries 1, Organizational Materials, 1988-1994

Subseries 2, Strategic and Operating Plans, 1989-1995

Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1988-1996

Subseries 4, Company Newsletters, 1991-1992

Series 2, Correspondence, 1989-1994 and undated

Series 3, Engineering and Product Development Materials, 1978-1998

Subseries 1, Product Development, 1989-1994

Subseries 2, Engineering Notebooks, 1987-1996

Subseries 3, Technical Notes, 1978-1994

Subseries 4, Breadboard Design, 1986-1994

Subseries 5, First Generation (NAV 1000/NAV 1200), 1985-1994

Subseries 6, Second Generation (NAV 5000), 1988-1996

Subseries 7, Third Generation, 1986-1994

Subseries 8, Swiss Army Chip (SAC) Development, 1987-1995

Subseries 9, Technical Product Development Seminars, 1997-1998

Subseries 10, Specifications, 1992-1994

Subseries 11, TriQuint Semiconductor, 1986-1992

Series 4, Marketing and Promotional Materials, 1985-1997

Subseries 1, Market Research, 1985-1993 and undated

Subseries 2, Product Literature, circa 1990s

Subseries 3, Advertisements, 1988-1995 and undated

Subseries 4, Press Releases, 1988-1996

Subseries 5, Presentation Materials, 1990-[1997?]

Subseries 6, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1988-1996 and undated

Series 5, User Guides and Manuals, 1989-2005 and undated

Series 6, Financial Materials, 1991-1995 and undated

Series 7, Photographs and Slides, 1987-1995 and undated

Series 8, Audiovisual Materials, 1991-1998 and undated
Biographical / Historical:
Ed Tuck of the Boundary Fund, a venture capital firm specializing in technologies founded the Magellan Systems Corporation in 1986 and served as its director from 1986 to 1993. Tuck assembled the initial team of Norm Hunt, Larry Weill, Val Wong, and Sab Ifune to conduct a feasibility study in early 1986 to pursue commercial markets for products based on global positioning system (GPS) technology. Magellan introduced the first handheld commercial GPS receiver in 1989 and was the first company to make GPS devices affordable to consumers. Magellan introduced the first handheld commercial GPS receiver in 1989 and was the first company to make GPS devices affordable to consumers. The company successfully introduced GPS products into the marine, professional, military and automotive and general aviation markets.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) began as a United States Department of Defense Program in the 1960s with a navy system known as Transit (first satellite navigation system). Two other projects soon followed, Timation (satellite to broadcast accurate time reference) and Air Force Project 612B, which began in the 1970s. In 1973, the development of the Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System (NAVSTAR) began under the management of the Air Force. Designed by the military, the system provided twenty-four positioning satellites under all- weather conditions using passive (non-transmitting) receivers. This kept a user's presence from being detected as a result of the receiver. Although primarily for military use, the system also offered a less-precise coded signal for civilian use.

GPS uses a group of twenty-four earth-orbiting satellites which broadcast continuously. The data being broadcast can be processed by a portable receiver to determine a user's position, velocity and time. GPS has three parts: 1) space part with twenty-four satellites; 2) ground part with monitor and 3) user part with receivers that process the signals and calculate position.

In the spring of 1986, the Magellan team published a specification for a custom mixed signal RF (radio frequency) integrated circuit and by fall 1986, had a breadboard (used in prototyping of electronics) and began software development and testing. Magellan focused its research, product engineering, and design activities on the development of GPS receivers that were application-specific, software-intensive, reliable, lower power, easy to use, and affordable.

From 1986 to 1988, the Boundary Fund provided the venture capital for feasibility studies and the initital product design. By 1988, the company occupied its first stand-alone facility in Monrovia, California with thirty-five employees. In May 1989, the company's first product, the NAV 1000, shipped, and in that same year, the company entered the military market with the NAV 1000M. The company entered the professional market in January 1990 with the NAV 1000 PRO, the world's first hand-held GPS product. By 1991, Magellan moved to a new facility in Dimas, California and introduced advanced five-channel technology. It also incorporated in the United Kingdom (UK) as Magellan Systems to handle product distribution in the rest of the UK and Europe.

The SkyNAV 5000 was introduced in 1992 for the general aviation market, and in the same year, hand-held differential GPS technology for the marine market appeared. Magellan was purchased by Orbital Sciences Corporation in 1994. In 2001, Thales Group purchased the Magellan division of Orbital Sciences, and the company became known as Thales Navigation. In 2006, a private equity firm, Shah Capital Partners, and other investors purchased Thales Navigation, and the company was officially renamed Magellan Navigation. Magellan (also known as MiTAC Digital Corporation) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MiTAC International Corporation and promotes and sells products and services under the Magellan brand name. Magellan is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
Related Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry holds related artifacts (GPS receivers, computer electronics boards, computer chips, antennas, packaging, components, circuit boards, keyboards, a Swiss Army Chip (SAC), and receiver brackets). See Accession numbers 2010.0117; 2010.0118; 2010.0151; 2010.0152; 2010.0153; 2010.0154 and 2010.0155.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2010, by MiTAC Digital Corporation through Michael Williams, Director of Marketing and Gary Barta, Janice Itnyre, Jean Tuck McGregor, Donald Rea, Edward F. Tuck, Lawrence R. Weill, and James P. White.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Navigation  Search this
Navigation equipment and supplies  Search this
Global Positioning System  Search this
GPS receivers  Search this
Satellites  Search this
Genre/Form:
Correspondence -- 1950-2000
Notebooks
Correspondence -- 2000-2010
Instructional materials
Design drawings
Photographs -- 1980-2000
Notes
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- 2000-2010
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- 1950-2000
Memorandums -- 1950-2000
Manuals
Memorandums -- 2000-2010
Videocassettes
Reports
Press releases
Reports -- 2000-2010
Advertisements -- 1980-2000
Reports -- 1950-2000
Photographs -- 2000-2010
Clippings -- 2000-2010
Photographs -- Color transparencies -- 2000-2010
Photographs -- Color transparencies -- 1950-2000
Audio cassettes -- 1990-2000
Audio cassettes -- 1980-1990
Clippings -- 1950-2000
Audio cassettes -- 2000-2010
Articles
Advertisements -- 2000-2010
Citation:
Magellan Systems Corporation GPS Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1214
See more items in:
Magellan Systems Corporation GPS Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep827a765bf-f29b-450e-89c1-91d8e5777a4a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1214
Online Media:

Janese Swanson Innovative Lives Presentation and Oral History

Topic:
Innovative Lives Program (NMAH public program series)
Creator:
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.  Search this
Interviewee:
Swanson, Jackie  Search this
Swanson, Janese  Search this
Names:
Girltech  Search this
Extent:
1.5 Cubic feet (4 boxes,)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Oral history
Videotapes
Interviews
Photographs
Slides (photographs)
Date:
1998
Summary:
Janese Swanson developed video game software, a website, and an array of toys and gadgets aimed at making technology more accessible to girls. The collection contains approximately six hours of original and reference video footage of Swanson's Innovative Lives Presentation, in which she discussed her background and demonstrated her inventions with her daughter, Jackie. The material also includes a brief interview.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains six (6) hours of original (BetaCam SP) recordings, six (6) hours of master (BetaCam SP) recordings, and six (6) hours of reference (VHS) copies documenting the life and work of Dr. Janese Swanson, inventor of toys, books, a website, magazine, and software. This video documentation was created on March 25, 1998. The recordings include a presentation by Swanson for the Lemelson Center's Innovative Lives Program. Audience participants are students from Thoreau Middle School (Vienna, Virginia), Options Charter School (Washington, D.C.), Carrollton Elementary School (New Carrollton, Maryland), and Rosa Parks Middle School (Olney, Maryland). The collection also contains a brief interview with Dr. Swanson.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into three series.

Series 1, Original Videos, 1998

Series 2, Master Videos, 1998

Series 3, Reference Videos (viewing copies), 1998

Series 4, Photographs and Slides, 1998
Biographical / Historical:
Janese Swanson, a native of California, was the founder and CEO of Girl Tech (1995), a company created to bring girls into the world of technology. The second of six children, Swanson was raised by her mother after her father died in the Vietnam War. From a young age, Swanson had an interest in technology, often tinkering with household appliances. Building on her experience as a flight attendant and school teacher, Swanson served on the team at Broderbund Software that developed the video game Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? She produced Playroom and Treehouse, early learning software, and has developed award-winning curricula, electronic toys, and books that encourage girls to explore technology and inventions. Some of Swanson's toy inventions include the Snoop Stopper Keepsake Box, Me-Mail Message Center, Zap N' Lock Journal, YakBak, and Swap-It Locket. Her publications include Tech Girl's Internet Adventures, Tech Girl's Activity Book, and Girlzine: A Magazine for the Global Girl. Swanson received her Ed.D. in Organization and Leadership Technology in 1997 from the University of San Francisco.

The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation was founded in 1995 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History through a generous gift from the Lemelson Foundation. The Center's mission is to document, interpret, and disseminate information about invention and innovation; to encourage inventive creativity in young people; and to foster an appreciation for the central role invention and innovation play in the history of the United States. The Innovative Lives series brings together museum visitors and, especially, school aged children, and American inventors to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product. This collection was recorded by the Innovative Lives Program of the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Provenance:
The collection was transferred to the Archives Center by the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation in 1998.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original videos are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Copies of oral history releases on file.
Topic:
Computer software -- Development  Search this
Inventors -- 20th century  Search this
Inventions -- 20th century  Search this
Toys -- 20th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Videotapes -- 1990-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Photographs
Slides (photographs) -- 20th century
Citation:
Janese Swanson Innovative Lives Presentation and Interview, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0642
See more items in:
Janese Swanson Innovative Lives Presentation and Oral History
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep802ae8b9e-e1df-41f7-98a8-f4bebc8bff74
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0642
Online Media:

The Shamrock Bar: Photographs and Interviews by Carol Burch-Brown

Photographer:
Burch-Brown, Carol  Search this
Names:
Shamrock Bar (Bluefield, W.Va.)  Search this
Kilkelly, Ann  Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (2 boxes )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Transcripts
Compact discs
Digital images
Oral history
Interviews
Place:
Appalachian Region
West Virginia -- 1990-2000
Bluefield (W.Va.)
Date:
1997-2003
Summary:
The collection documents a working class "gay" bar, the Shamrock Bar, Bluefield, West Virginia, 1997-2000, through photographs and oral history interviews.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of Carol Burch-Brown's photographs (200 photoprints, mostly silver gelatin on fiber-base paper, but including more than a dozen digital prints), copies of tape-recorded interviews (on 26 compact discs), and transcripts of interviews (3 volumes plus a compact disc containing Word files) made at the Shamrock Bar, Bluefield, West Virginia, 1997-2002, documenting a working-class gay bar. The photographs include "drag" performances, pageants, and other activities at the bar. Many show performers applying makeup and donning costumes, including the use of prosthetic breasts. Pictures taken in the bar are often in a soft-focus, slightly blurred, high-contrast, impressionistic style. There are a number of sharp-focus portraits, however, and exterior views of the building, its neighborhood, and the town are sharply focused, detailed documentary images.

Names (usually pseudonyms or stage names) which turn up in the interviews include: Natasha Michaels, Nikki Eaves, Shea West, Cortney Collins, Taylor Made, India Dream, Clinton, Tiffany Aver, Terba Devero, Roxie Morehead, and Dorothy. The performer "Bunny" is actually the photographer's friend and colleague, Ann Kilkelly. Many of these persons are also shown in the photographs, as is Helen Compton.

Note: The audio compact disks are not original recordings, and may be played by researchers directly.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.

Series 1: Photoprints

Series 2: Text (including transcripts of interviews)

Series 3: Compact discs
Biography:
Carol Burch-Brown is Professor of Art and Humanities at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, and is a photographer, painter, and musician. Photographer and co-author with David Rigsbee, Trailers, University Press of Virginia, 1996.
Historical:
During its heyday, the Shamrock Bar in Bluefield, West Virginia was a gathering place for gays and lesbians. The photographer reported in March 2003, before donating this collection, that Miss Helen Compton, proprietor of the Shamrock, had died and the establishment had been closed.
Other Title:
It's Reigning Queens in Appalachia
Provenance:
Colection donated by Carol Burch-Brown, December 2003.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Reproduction restricted due to copyright. Requests will be referred to the photographer.
Topic:
Bisexuality  Search this
Working class  Search this
Homosexuality  Search this
Bars (Drinking establishments)  Search this
Gay artists -- Interviews  Search this
Lesbian and gay experience  Search this
Transvestism  Search this
Transvestites  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1990-2000
Transcripts
Compact discs
Photographs -- Digital prints -- 20th century
Digital images
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Citation:
The Shamrock Bar: Photographs and Interviews by Carol Burch-Brown, 1997-2003, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of the artist.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0857
See more items in:
The Shamrock Bar: Photographs and Interviews by Carol Burch-Brown
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84adec4f5-b063-4386-a233-ab46b9cbb361
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0857
Online Media:

Records of Wedge Innovations

Interviewer:
Shayt, David H.  Search this
Creator:
Wedge Innovations  Search this
Extent:
13 Cubic feet (28 boxes, 5 map folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Videotapes
Notebooks
Oral histories (document genres)
Audiotapes
Financial records
Financial statements
Interviews
Correspondence
Photographs
Drawings
Advertisements
Black-and-white photographic prints
Date:
1985-1996
Summary:
The records of Wedge Innovations document the invention and development of a new hand tool, the SmartLevel, an electronic builder's level; also included are company management and policies.
Scope and Contents:
The SmartLevel story gives excellent insight into the life cycle of a small Silicon valley start-up in the 1980s. SmartLevel's creator, Wedge Innovations, established a market for a new product, achieved national distribution, off-shore manufacturing, and product licensing, before going out of business due to pressure from profit-hungry venture capitalists.

The records of Wedge Innovations is a "tool biography" that documents the invention and development of a new hand tool, the SmartLevel, an electronic builder's level first conceived in 1985 by Andrew Butler. The SmartLevel Collection is divided into seven series: Corporate Records, Engineering Records, Financial Records, Marketing Records, Operations Records, Product Development Records, and Corporate Culture, reflecting both the organizational structure of Wedge Innovations and the company's working environment.

Series 1, Corporate Records, 1985-1993, address the overall management of Wedge Innovations and document its policies, especially through the company's annual business plans, 1986-1992, and the monthly reports prepared for the Board of Directors' meetings, 1989-1992. This series also details the workings of each department through weekly departmental reports. The staff meetings files, July-November 1989, February 1990-November 1992, are particularly useful for understanding the day-to-day operation of the company.

Series 2, Engineering Records, 1985-1993, document the design and development of the SmartLevel from its conception in 1985 as the WedgeLevel, through its production as the SmartLevel in 1989, and through its refinement into the Pro SmartLevel and the Series 200 SmartLevel in 1991. The design process is particularly well documented through Andrew Butler's and Kevin Reeder's design notebooks and through the detailed technical drawings done by Butler, Reeder, and Ronald Wisnia. Also well documented are the efforts made to solve the many problems associated with the development and quality control of the electronic sensor module that was the heart of the SmartLevel.

Series 3, Financial Records, 1985-1992, include Wedge's summary financial statements from 1985 to 1992.

Series 4, Marketing Records, 1986-1992, document customer and dealer relations through marketing department correspondence, operational records, and advertising campaigns. This series is particularly rich in promotional material (1988-1992), such as advertisements, advertising copy, photographs, product promotion plans, and videotapes that demonstrate the varied features and uses of the products.

Series 5, Operations Records, 1990-1993, document the manufacturing process and the Company's offshore operations.

Series 6, Product Development Records, 1986-1993, document the company's intended development of an entire "Smart Tools" line.

Series 7, Corporate Culture, 1985-1996, contains employee photographs and oral history interviews with key Wedge personnel conducted in 1995 and 1996 by David Shayt, Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History. The interviews discuss the background of the participants, the company's origins and history, product development, the Silicon Valley context, and the efforts of Wedge Innovations successor firm, SmartTool Technologies.
Arrangement:
The collection organized into seven series.

Series 1, Corporate Records, 1985-1993

Series 2, Engineering Records, 1985-1993

Series 3, Financial Records, 1985-1992

Series 4, Marketing Records, 1986-1992

Series 5, Operations Records, 1990-1993

Series 6, Product Development Records, 1986-1993

Series 7, Corporate Culture, 1985-1996
Biographical / Historical:
Andrew G. Butler (b. 1955), the founder of Wedge Innovations exhibited an interest in building construction and an entrepreneurial spirit early in life. From age 12 to 17 he built a boat that he then sailed alone from California to Tahiti, where he spent several years as an independent carpenter and building contractor. After returning to the United States, he earned a B.S. degree in electromechanical engineering from Stanford University (1983) and became a software specialist for Bechtel Construction. In 1985, he conceived of an idea for an electronic carpenter's level that could read a range of angles. Butler formed Wedge Innovations in 1986. He worked in the basement of his home in order to develop and market this level, selling his boat to finance the venture. He hired Marilyn Crowell as his secretary and Robert Nagle and Dan Kellogg as engineers. This company developed the sensor technology and software necessary to build the company's first product, the WedgeLevel. The heart of this tool was an electronic sensor circuit connected to a microprocessor capable of measuring the tool's orientation. This sensor module fit into an ergonomically-designed teak rail with anodized aluminum edges jointly developed by Butler, engineering design consultant Kevin Reeder, and engineer Ronald Wisnia.

In 1987, Wedge moved to Santa Clara to begin manufacturing the WedgeLevel. The transition from a research and development concern to a manufacturing company proved difficult, due to manufacturing and financial difficulties. It was difficult to obtain a reliable yet inexpensive source of teak for the rails, designs for a plastic composite and aluminum rail were developed, while offshore manufacturing of the sensor components was established. Overarching all concerns was the persistent difficulty of obtaining sufficient investment capital. While managing his growing company, Butler also began planning for a line of hand tools that combined microelectronics and user-oriented, ergonomic design. In 1988, the company changed the name of its product to SmartLevel in order to emphasize the company's proposed line of Smart Tools. That same year, the company adopted a new corporate logo, a stylized W with a red wedge, signaling its growing maturity. Promotion of the product also began through demonstrations of the prototype done by consultant building contractor, Rick Feffer.

In January 1989, the SmartLevel prototype was launched at the National Association of Home Builders Show in Atlanta, Georgia. The favorable publicity generated by this launch and by the company's media campaign generated many orders. To supply these orders, Wedge moved to larger quarters in Sunnyvale on April 1, 1989. In June 1989, Wedge gained further publicity by donating several SmartLevels to a Habitat for Humanity project in Milwaukee, where former president Jimmy Carter used one. Although Wedge expected to ship the first SmartLevels in July 1989, there were considerable delays in manufacturing. In particular, there were stability and performance problems with the sensor, which engineer Ken Gunderson was brought in to remedy. The sensor module was re-engineered to be more rugged and the level was redesigned with a plastic composite and aluminum rail. The new level, known as the Pro SmartLevel, was intended for the professional construction market. The first SmartLevels were shipped on September 5, 1989.

In 1990, patents were granted to Andrew Butler, Donald G. Green, and Robert E. Nagle for an inclinometer sensor circuit and to Butler and Ronald Wisnia for a carpenter's level design. That same year, Brian Bayley joined Wedge as Vice-president for Engineering, and Edwin "Win" Seipp joined as Project Manager - DIY SmartLevel. Seipp's responsibility was to develop a low-cost, "do-it-yourself" version of the SmartLevel, which was eventually called the Series 200 SmartLevel. This level had an all-aluminum rail and a non-removable sensor.

In September 1990, the company moved to San Jose and by 1991 had over 60 employees. Although sales continued to grow and name recognition of the product was quite strong, Wedge had difficulty meeting the expectations of its investors. Butler entered into financial negotiations with the Macklanburg-Duncan Corporation, a large-scale manufacturer of hand tools, to seek investment in his company. These negotiations led in November 1992 to the acquisition of Wedge by Macklanburg-Duncan, which dissolved all but Wedge's engineering section. Macklanburg-Duncan today manufactures a "SmartTool" level, while Butler co-owns D2M (Design To Market), a company that develops new product ideas for the market.

SmartLevel Chronology

1992 -- Butler negotiates with Macklanburg-Duncan for a merger to save Wedge. In the midst of the negotiations, Butler is fired by his Board of Directors. Butler regains control of Wedge three months later, fires the replacement president, and sells Wedge outright to Macklanburg-Duncan, which dissolves all but the engineering functions of Wedge.

1991 -- Wedge sponsors a "New Product Development Conference," where numerous designs for new hand tools are worked on. SmartLevel sales and name recognition grows but not quickly enough to meet overhead expenses of new facility or investors' demands.

1990 -- Yet more redesign work, both in-house and with Kevin Reeder, who also develops idea for "SmartTube" carrying case (not built). Patents granted to Andy Butler et al. for inclinometer sensor circuit and carpenter's level design. Wedge hires Brian Bayley as vice-president for engineering to develop a low-cost model of the SmartLevel. The all-aluminum Series 200 SmartLevel is born. Wedge moves to larger facilities in San Jose.

1989 -- SmartLevel launched at National Association of Home Builders show in January. Good press coverage, but cannot meet orders. More publicity from Habitat for Humanity project when former President Jimmy Carter uses a SmartLevel. But stability and performance problems plague sensor. More redesign work results in more rugged Pro SmartLevel. The first SmartLevels shipped on September 5, 1989.

1987-1988 -- Wedge moves to Santa Clara; intends to begin manufacturing and todevelop an entire line of "Smart Tools" but encounters financial and engineering difficulties; Wedge consults with independent design engineer, Kevin Reeder, on level design. Intensive redesign effort develops the SmartLevel, made of plastic and aluminum rail.

1986 -- Wedge Innovations founded in the basement of Butler's house; basic sensor design worked out; teak & aluminum WedgeLevel developed.

1985 -- Idea for electronic carpenter's level formulated by Andy Butler.
Related Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History contains artifacts related to the SmartLevel Collection. These include five SmartLevels (Accession #1991.0823; 1996.0284; 1996.0285; 1996.0288; and 1996.0289). They are an original teak WedgeLevel, a Pro SmartLevel, a Series 200 SmartLevel, a Bosch version of the SmartLevel, and a Macklanburg-Duncan SmartTool level. There are also four sensor modules (torpedo levels), two sensors, two carrying cases, one cap, one tee shirt, and one wooden puzzle with the inscription "The World Isn't Just Level and Plumb."
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Andrew Butler, SmartLevel inventor and company founder, Brian Bayley, Vice-President for engineering at Wedge Innovations from 1989-1992, and Kevin Reeder, an independent industrial designer, 1995-1997.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Product demonstrations -- 1980-2000  Search this
Technological innovations -- Hand tools -- 1980-2000  Search this
Electronics -- Tools and implements -- 1980-2000  Search this
Industrial design -- 1980-2000  Search this
Leveling -- 1980-2000  Search this
Teak -- Use of -- 1980-2000  Search this
Level indicators -- 1980-2000  Search this
Venture capital -- 1980-2000 -- United States  Search this
Silicon Valley -- 1980-2000  Search this
Tools -- 1980-2000 -- United States  Search this
Small business -- Management -- 1980-2000  Search this
Investors -- 1980-2000  Search this
Inventors -- 1980-2000  Search this
Engineers -- 1980-2000  Search this
Industrial designers -- 1980-2000  Search this
advertising -- Tools -- 1980-2000  Search this
Carpenters -- 1980-2000  Search this
Carpentry -- Tools -- 1980-2000  Search this
Merchandise displays  Search this
Genre/Form:
Videotapes
Notebooks -- 1980-2000
Oral histories (document genres) -- 1990-2000
Audiotapes
Financial records -- 1980-2000
Financial statements -- 1980-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Correspondence -- 1970-2000
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1980-2000
Drawings -- 1980-2000
Advertisements -- 1980-2000
Black-and-white photographic prints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Citation:
The Records of Wedge Innovations, 1985-1996, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0534
See more items in:
Records of Wedge Innovations
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep895b7b396-3a34-4459-9d3f-83d3003a1cf8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0534
Online Media:

John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection

Creator:
Feinblum, Sandi  Search this
Fauci, Anthony S.  Search this
Fera, Joe  Search this
Feldblum, Chai R.  Search this
Dirkin, Eileen  Search this
Deyton, Lawrence  Search this
Duberman, Martin  Search this
Dodds, Sally  Search this
Dechant, Chris  Search this
Dean, Lauran  Search this
Decker, Curt  Search this
Decker, Bruce  Search this
Cox, Spencer  Search this
Cooper, Sally  Search this
D'Emilio, John  Search this
Gay Men's Health Crisis, Inc.  Search this
Gebbie, Kristine M.  Search this
Gerald, Gil  Search this
Fryer, John E.  Search this
Gambrell, Alan  Search this
Gamrecki, Diane  Search this
Garfield, Charles  Search this
Franklin, Maurice  Search this
Freeman, Bill  Search this
Friedman, David  Search this
Frutchey, Chuck  Search this
Fleming, Patsy  Search this
Foley, Alice  Search this
Forstein, Marshall, 1949-  Search this
Francis, Donald P.  Search this
Bellinger, George  Search this
Bean, Carl  Search this
Bates, Christopher  Search this
Basile, Vic  Search this
Barnich, John Paul  Search this
Baker, Cornelius, 1961-  Search this
Bailey, William  Search this
Bahlman, Bill  Search this
Apuzzo, Ginny  Search this
Anthony, Cynthia  Search this
Andriote, John-Manuel  Search this
Akman, Jeff  Search this
Agosto, Moisés  Search this
Abrams, Donald I.  Search this
Conant, Marcus A.  Search this
Cooper, Ellen  Search this
Coates, Tom  Search this
Cochrane, John  Search this
Campbell, Linda  Search this
Christen, Pat  Search this
Bross, Dan  Search this
Cabaj, Bob  Search this
Braswell, Tony  Search this
Bray, Robert  Search this
Boneberg, Paul  Search this
Bowen, Steve  Search this
Bloom, Leonard  Search this
Blount, Tom  Search this
Benzer, Suzanne  Search this
Beswick, Terry  Search this
McFarlane, Rodger  Search this
Mayer, Kenneth H.  Search this
McGuire, Jean  Search this
McFeeley, Timothy  Search this
McNaught, Tom  Search this
McNaught, Brian  Search this
Meisenheimer, Bill  Search this
Mealy, Ron  Search this
Lynch, Catherine G.  Search this
LoPiccolo, Charles J.  Search this
Maguire, Ann  Search this
MacDonald, Gary B.  Search this
Mass, Lawrence, 1946-  Search this
Margarelli, Dominick  Search this
Maupin, Armistead  Search this
Mathiasen, Karl  Search this
National AIDS Network.  Search this
National Lesbian and Gay Health Association. (U.S.)  Search this
Newmeyer, John  Search this
Norman, Pat  Search this
O'Neill, Joe  Search this
Odets, Walt  Search this
Osborn, Torie  Search this
Ostrow, David G., 1947-  Search this
Miller, Randy  Search this
Millhofer, Larry  Search this
Montoya, Mauro  Search this
Morin, Stephen F.  Search this
Morrison, Cliff  Search this
Murphy, Patrice, Sister  Search this
Nardoza, Peter  Search this
Jean, Lori  Search this
James, John S., 1941-  Search this
Isay, Richard A.  Search this
Iasino, Dick  Search this
Jones, Cleve  Search this
Johnson, Fenton  Search this
Johns, Judith  Search this
Jellinek, Paul  Search this
Graham, Michael  Search this
Goodkin, Karl  Search this
Gomez, Miguel  Search this
Gittings, Barbara, 1932-2007  Search this
Huffman, Lindy  Search this
Holmes, Chuck  Search this
Hanley-Hackenbruck, Peggy  Search this
Gravesen, Les  Search this
Leach-Lemens, Carole  Search this
Lee, Peter  Search this
Krajeski, James  Search this
Kramer, Larry  Search this
Levi, Jeffrey, PhD  Search this
Lew, Steve  Search this
Lemens, Carol  Search this
Leonard, John  Search this
Kantrowitz, Arnie  Search this
Kawata, Paul  Search this
Kalleigh, Bea  Search this
Kameny, Franklin E., 1925-  Search this
Kisliuk, Margaret  Search this
Klein, Sandra Jacoby  Search this
Kessler, Larry  Search this
Killen, Jack  Search this
Scaitch, Fred  Search this
Salustro, Greg  Search this
Schietinger, Helen  Search this
Schatz, Ben  Search this
Seltzer, Michael  Search this
Schwartzberg, Steven  Search this
Sheridan, Tom  Search this
Sharp, Matthew  Search this
Rios, Anthony  Search this
Remafredi, Gary  Search this
Rofes, Eric E., 1954-2006  Search this
Robinson, Alexander  Search this
Rosser, Simon  Search this
Rose, Gary  Search this
Ryan, Pam  Search this
Ryan, Caitlin  Search this
Peyton, Jackson  Search this
Pieri, Frank  Search this
Pillard, Richard  Search this
Plumb, Marj  Search this
Davis, Paul  Search this
Pollatskek, Judy  Search this
Portelli, Chris  Search this
Prater, Larry  Search this
Rasi, Richard A., 1949-  Search this
Ostrow, Stosh  Search this
Ouelette, Susanne  Search this
Page, Peter  Search this
Pannell, Phil  Search this
Patterson, Bruce  Search this
Payne, Ralph  Search this
Peel, Jesse  Search this
Penn, Scott  Search this
Wolfred, Tim  Search this
Wohlfeiler, Daniel  Search this
Wilson, Phil  Search this
Wilson, Hank  Search this
Wood, Bob  Search this
Wakefield, Steve  Search this
Villareal, Henry  Search this
Vasquez, Carmen  Search this
Van Ness, Paula  Search this
Williams, Reggie, 1951-1999  Search this
Westmoreland, Tim  Search this
Washington, Robert  Search this
Ward, Bruce  Search this
Triantafillakis, Dmitri  Search this
Turney, Anthony  Search this
Sweeney, Tim  Search this
Thompson, Ron  Search this
Vaid, Urvashi  Search this
Van Gorder, Dana  Search this
Tuttle, Raymond  Search this
Uselmann, Michael  Search this
Silverman, Mervyn  Search this
Smith, Don  Search this
Shriver, Mike  Search this
Silver, Jane  Search this
Strub, Jean  Search this
Suarez, Gene  Search this
South, Ken  Search this
Stone, Terry  Search this
Names:
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.  Search this
Mobilization Against AIDS. (San Francisco (CA))  Search this
Extent:
10.2 Cubic feet (32 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Oral history
Interviews
Date:
1901-2016
bulk 1995-1999
Summary:
John-Manuel Andriote interviewed numerous individuals involved in the AIDS crisis for his book, Victory Deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America, this collection contains his interview tapes, transcripts, and materials related to the research, writing, and update of his book. It also contains interview transcripts for Andriote's later book, Stonewall Strong.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of interviews and research material collected by Andriote in researching his book, Victory Deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America, published in 1999. Included are recorded and transcribed interviews Andriote conducted with activists, researchers, authors, and others involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The creator's original order and topic designations were maintained; span dates reflect the dates of the materials contained within the folder. All cassettes are ninety minutes in length unless otherwise noted. An addenda of interviews notebooks for interviews conducted in 2010 for the revised and updated version of Victory Deferred were added in 2021. Series four contains interview transcripts and master cd for interviews conducted for Andriote's Stonewall Strong published in 2017.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1, Audio Materials

Subseries 1, Original Interview Audio Cassettes, 1995-1997

Subseries 2, Transcripts of Interviews, 1993-1996, undated

Series 2, Victory Deferred Correspondence, Manuscript Drafts, Publication Material, and Writings, 1982-2008

Series 3, Research Notes and Collected Reference Materials, 1901-1998

Subseries 1, National AIDS Network (NAN), 1987-1990

Subseries 2, Publications, 1989-1997

Series 4, Stonewall Strong, interview transcripts and CD, 2015-2016, undated
Biographical / Historical:
John-Manuel Andriote writes in the preface to his book, Victory Deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America, "I wrote Victory Deferred because, despite the abundance of books written about AIDS, no one until now has examined both the 'big picture' and its finer detail in considering the many ways AIDS affected the nation's hardest hit community, gay men." [1] To do this Andriote interviewed hundreds of persons involved in various aspects of the HIV/AIDS experience. The University of Chicago Press catalog for 1999 describes the book this way: "John-Manuel Andriote chronicles the impact of the disease from the coming-out revelry of the 1970s to the post-AIDS gay community of the 1990s, showing how it has changed both individual lives and national organizations." [2]

[1] Andriote, John-Manuel, Victory Deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America, page xi, Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 1999.

[2] "Spring Books 1999 The University of Chicago Press", pg. 2, Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1999
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Michio and Aveline Kushi Macro-Biotics Collection (AC0619)

The Shamrock Bar: Photographs and Interviews, 1997-2003 (AC0857

Division of Science, Medicine, and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection (AC1134)

Archives Center Weddings Documentation Collection, 1945-2008 (AC1131)

Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection, 1953-2010 (AC1146)

John-Manuel Andriote Hot Stuff: A Brief History of Disco Collection (AC1184)
Provenance:
This collection was donated by John-Manuel Andriote in 2008. Addenda donated in 2021.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.

Researchers must use reference copies of audiovisual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow. Viewing film portion of collection requires special aarrangement with Archives Center staff. Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but copyright held by donor. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Homosexuality  Search this
HIV/AIDS awareness  Search this
Political activists  Search this
AIDS (Disease)  Search this
AIDS (Disease) -- Prevention  Search this
Epidemics  Search this
Gay activists  Search this
LGBTQ+  Search this
Gays -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews  Search this
Lesbian and gay experience  Search this
Stonewall uprising-1969  Search this
Genre/Form:
Oral history -- 1980-2000
Interviews -- 1980-2000
Citation:
John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1128
See more items in:
John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep81f195200-4a48-4675-85e9-b029b3942891
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1128
Online Media:

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By