Business and personal papers, photographs, and audio recordings of Claude "Fiddler" Williams, an award-winning jazz fiddler. Although Williams played music for almost a century the materials in this collection date largely from 1970 to 2005.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the later life and career of jazz violinist Claude "Fiddler" Williams. Materials include correspondence, photographs, unpublished writings, awards, business records, financial records, programs and a few music manuscripts. There is one scrapbook and several audio recordings. There are also an autographed poster from 1997 honoring five inductees to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, including Claude Williams, Merle Haggard, Patti Page, Woody Guthrie and Eddie Burris. While there are some materials from Williams's youth, the vast majority of the collection dates from 1970. Williams's second wife, Blanche Y. Fouse-Williams, was vigilant about saving his papers. She also managed his career for the last few years of his life. This accounts for the increased volume of materials documenting his later years. Materials generally are arranged in chronological order within series and subseries.
Series 1, Business Records, 1973-2005, undated, is divided into seven subseries and includes business records, information relating to tours and performances, awards and certificates, business and personal correspondence, financial papers, articles and newspaper clippings, and biographical information.
Subseries 1, Events, 1977-2004, undated, includes contracts, copies of newspaper clippings, performance programs, brochures, ticket stubs, travel itineraries, travel receipts, correspondence, materials regarding his work as a fiddle teacher, advertisements for performances, a certificate of recognition, and napkins saved from a Washington Education Television Association (WETA) performance at the White House in 1998. Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 2, Itineraries, 1990-2001, includes lists and correspondence detailing locations, musicians, travel and lodging plans, and financial compensation for William's performances. Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 3, Awards and Certificates, 1978-2002, contains awards and certificates of appreciation from the Steamboat Delta Queen, Annual Black Musicians Conference, Kansas City Chapter of the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors, and the Manhattan School of Music, as well as an invitation to a reception honoring Kansas City Jazz musicians from the Consul General of Japan. Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 4, Correspondence, 1975-2004, consists of information relating to travel arrangements, tours, remuneration, music recordings, press kits, contracts, public television performances, involvement with the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as Williams's Smithsonian Folkways recording. Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 5, Financial Papers, 1990-2005, includes information about travel and payment, hotel bills and receipts, invoices for performances, music recordings sales, royalty statements and copies of checks. Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 6, Press, 1973--005, undated, includes magazines, newspaper clippings and articles, about Williams's performances and music, appearances and jazz festivals, as well as the Kansas City Jazz scene. Magazine titles include Kansas City Magazine , Missouri Alumnus , The Masters Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program , Jazz Ambassador Magazine , Kansas City Ambassador to Jazz , The Mississippi Rag , Fiddler Magazine , Jazz News , Jazz Times , Living Blues , Blues Access , and Kansas City . Materials are arranged by type and then in chronological order.
Subseries 7, Music, 1989-1995, undated, contains thirteen audio tape recordings, one CD, sheet music and set lists of music performed by Williams. There is an audio recording of Black and Blue: A Musical Revue , a Folk Master performance at Carnegie Hall. Williams's work with James Chirillo, an appearance on Birdflight , as well as recordings of live and studio performances are also included among these materials. There is a copy of Williams's CD Swingtime in New York and an interview from1992. Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Series 2, Personal Papers, 1978--005, undated, is divided into two subseries and contains letters, cards, postcards, invitations, copies of email, and requests for information and interviews. Most of the correspondence was addressed to Williams but there are materials that were sent to Blanche Williams. The correspondence is generally from fans, friends and family.
Subseries 1, Correspondence, 1978-2005, undated, consists of birthday cards from school age children, postcards, copies of newspaper clippings, White House and other government correspondence, congratulations or birthday wishes, as well as personal correspondence from friends inquiring about Williams's health and well-being. Also included is a draft for a chapter in a book on Claude Williams's contributions to jazz. Requests relating to research about Williams are also included. Materials are arranged in chronological order. Materials are arranged first by type followed by general correspondence in chronological order.
Subseries 2, Miscellaneous, undated, contains ephemera, autographs, affiliates list, well-wishes to Blanche Williams, a funeral program, mailing lists, lists of affiliated organizations, and a Count Bassie autograph.
Series 3, Photographs, 1977-2004, undated, includes personal and professional photographic prints and negatives of Williams. Subjects include performances and festivals, headshots and publicity, images of other musicians, family, friends, and posters with photographs created for his funeral. The majority of these photographs are of performances. Materials are arranged by subject.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1, Business Records, 1973-2005, undated
Subseries 1.1, Events, 1977-2004, undated
Subseries 1.2, Itineraries, 1990-2001
Subseries 1.3, Awards and Certificates, 1978-2002
Subseries 1.4, Correspondence, 1975-2004
Subseries 1.5, Financial Papers, 1990-2005
Subseries 1.6, Press, 1973-2005, undated
Subseries 1.7, Music; 1989-1995, undated
Series 2, Personal Papers, 1978-2005, undated
Subseries 2.1, Correspondence, 1978-2005, undated
Subseries 2.2, Miscellaneous, undated
Series 3, Photographs, 1977-2004, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Claude "Fiddler" Williams, 1908-2004, was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the son of a blacksmith. His musical gifts developed at a very early age, and he quickly became adept at the guitar, banjo, mandolin and cello, learning mostly by ear, without formal training. After hearing the jazz violinist Joe Venuti, the violin became his instrument of choice, and it remained so for the rest of his life. He migrated to Kansas City in 1927 and toured with several territory bands. Additionally Williams toured with the Twelve Clouds of Joy and the Cole Brothers, and in 1936, joined Count Basie's band as the first guitarist. After he was fired from Count Basie's band because John Hammond thought Williams's guitar solos were taking too much attention away from Basie, he went back to the violin (or "fiddle" as he preferred to call it) and focused exclusively on it for the rest of his life. Later he started his own band and toured with several jazz groups working for a short time with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). His band appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Nice Jazz Festival, and the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folk Life. Williams received numerous honors and awards, including induction into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, a proclamation from the city of Kansas City, and a 1998 National Heritage Fellowship which included a $10,000 award. President Bill Clinton invited him to perform at one of the parties celebrating his first inauguration. Williams continued to tour and perform until well into his nineties. He also gave instruction at Mark O'Connor's annual fiddle camp to young violinists. Mr. Williams died in April 2004.
Separated Materials:
Artifacts donated to the Museum's Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) include a suit and violin. See accession numbers: 2005.3105 and 2007.3020.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Claude Williams's widow, Blanche Y. Fouse-Williams, in 2005.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.
Technical Access: Do not use original materials when available on reference audio tapes.
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:
Music -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Collection documents the career of Jeni LeGon as a dancer, dance instructor, and actress.
Scope and Contents:
Collection documents LeGon's career as a dancer, dance instructor, and actress. Materials include biographical information, correspondence, photographs, early travel itineraries, schedules, personal calendars, printed advertisements, invitations to dance events, programs, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and awards. The collection is arranged into four series: Series 1, Biographical Information and Publicity, 1930s; Series 2, Theatre and Motion Picture Film, 1935-1945, undated; Series 3, Dance Instruction and Performances, 1953-2002, undated; and Series 4: Tributes and Awards, 1979-2002.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series:.
Series 1, Biographical Information and Publicity
Series 2, Theatre and Motion Picture Film, 1935-1945
Series 3, Dance Instruction and Performances, 1953-2002, undatred
Series 4, Tributes and Awards, 1979-2002
Biographical / Historical:
Jeni LeGon was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1916. Her long, successful career as an African American dancer and actress began in musical theatre and vaudeville. In the 1930s she traveled across the southern United States performing first with the Whitman Sisters company and then with her half-sister, Willa Mae Lane, as the LeGon and Lane song-and-dance team. By 1935, LeGon was working under contract with Fox Studios, RKO Pictures, and MGM performing with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Waters and Al Jolson, and Fred Astaire. Throughout the years she performed on Broadway and in other theaters and clubs including the Apollo, Cafe de Paris, Howard, Paramount, and Lincoln. Beginning in the 1950s she offered dance instruction in Los Angeles, California at the Jeni LeGon Dance Studio and Drama and Dance Playhouse; and in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she taught tap and pointe. She died on December 7, 2012 at the age of ninety-six.
Related Materials:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program Collection (AC0808)
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection (AC0491)
Program in African American Culture Collection (AC0408)
Frank Schiffman Apollo Theatre Collection (AC0540)
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center by Jeni LeGon in 2002.
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.
Papers documenting the career of Chaplain Solomon A. Card, Jr, a United States Army chaplain,who served tours of duty in Korea and in Vietnam. He remained in the Army for twenty years and died just three months after retiring at Fort Hood, Texas.
Scope and Contents:
The collection primarily documents the military career of Chaplain Solomon A. Card, Jr. It includes postcards, correspondence, photographs, slides, newspaper clippings and articles. There is a substantial amount of photographic materials relating to his tours in Korea and Vietnam. These images document the social activities of the military, chapels, orphanages and the landscapes of the two countries. There is a small amount of material relating to his personal life, primarily his education. Other personal papers include wedding documents, photographs, and a death certificate. The materials are arranged into three series.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1, Personal Papers, 1938-1976
Series 2, Correspondence, 1956-1971
Series 3, Photographic Materials, 1939-1975, undated
Subseries 3.1, Photographs, 1939-1975, undated
Subseries 3.2, Slides, 1957, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Solomon Ackley Card, Jr. was a United States Army chaplain. He was born on November 28, 1921 to Solomon Ackley Card, Sr. and Jennie Louise Mudge in New York. He attended public schools in graduating from Leonardsville High School in 1939. Card attended Cazenovia Seminary and Junior College in 1941. In August 1942, he married Lavina Coral Gates and from this union four children were born; James, David, Diana, and Nancy. Card earned a Bachelors of Divinity degree from Syracuse University in 1943 and his Masters of Divinity degree from Drew University. He was ordained in 1946. Upon graduation he was appointed pastor of the Black River Methodist Church in New York in May, 1946, and in 1950 was assigned to the Clayton Church of Christ. He also served parishioners at Felts Mills, Omar and St. Lawrence in New York. Card joined the United States Army Reserves as a chaplain with the rank of first lieutenant in 1950. He was promoted to captain in July 1952. For five years he was chaplain of the 314th military police battalion with headquarters in Ogdensburg, New York. During the Korean War he was called in for several brief tours of active duty at Camp Drum and Murphy Army General Hospital in Waltham, Massachusetts. He also served tours of duty in Europe, Korea, and Vietnam. In 1966, he was awarded the Soldier's Medal for disarming a distraught soldier who had fired seventeen rounds from an M-16 rifle near the heavily populated Da Nang base camp in Vietnam. While serving in Da Nang, Vietnam, as chaplain for headquarters of the Army Support Command, he was promoted to the, rank of colonel. Card remained in the Army for twenty years. He died December 4, 1975, just three months after retiring at Fort Hood, Texas, at the age of fifty-four.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives Center by Nancy L. Card in 2011.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.
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 documents Norman Squires's career as a salesperson for the Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company of America, Stanley Home Products, and Encyclopedia Britannica. Norman Squires conceptualized and implemented the party plan method of direct selling.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents Squires's professional life as a salesperson with four companies: Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company of America (WearEver Company), Stanley Home Products, Encyclopedia Britannica and Tupper Corporation. Most of the materials relate to the creation of the hostess party plan and his achievements in sales. There is very little information about his personal life other than a few family photographs. The collection is useful for understanding selling techniques dating from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1, Background Materials, circa 1908-2006
Series 2, Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company of America, circa 1934, 1936, undated
Series 3, Stanley Home Products, 1938-1946, undated
Series 4, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1956-1958
Series 5, Tupper Corporation, 1950
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Stanley Home Products Collection (NMAH.AC.0788)
Earl S. Tupper Papers (NMAH.AC.0470)
Brownie Wise Papers (NMAH.AC.0509)
Ann and Thomas Damigella Collection (NMAH.AC.0583)
Helen Hoch Tupperware Films (NMAH.AC.0865)
Jon and Sylvia Boyd Tupperware Films (NMAH.AC.0870)
Provenance:
Daniel T. Squires donated his father's papers in 2006 and requested that the materials be titled the "Norman W. Squires Collection."
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Music, Sports and Entertainment Search this
Extent:
0.33 Cubic feet (1 box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Letters (correspondence)
Photographs
Clippings
Contracts
Date:
1880s-1961
Summary:
Collection documents the life of Gilbert L. Friedlein, semi-professional baseball player and grain elevator operator, and his son Gilbert Friedlein, Jr. It includes photographs, a baseball contract, and correspondence.
Scope and Contents:
This collection is comprised of photographs, personal papers, and newspaper clippings about Gilbert L. Friedlein and his family. Topics include his membership on the Drake semi-professional baseball team, his employment with Farmers Elevator Company in Lewistown, Montana, and his son's membership in the University of California band. Highlights include several photographs of the grain elevator after its destruction by fire, a 1908 baseball contract, and a letter written from Freidlein, Jr. to his parents.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged by type of materials.
Biographical / Historical:
Gilbert L. Friedlein was born February 2, 1884, in Osterdock, Iowa, the son of Frederick and Harriet Friedlein. He received his education in Guttenberg, Iowa, and married Tressa Kathryn Akers from Charleston, West Virginia, on June 17, 1914. He was a pitcher for the semi-professional baseball team from Drake, North Dakota, before retiring from the sport in 1913 and working fulltime for Farmers Elevator Company. He resided in the area of Lewistown, Montana, for fifty-three years and served as a member of the City Council and the Elks Lodge before his death on May 1, 1961.
Friedlein's son, Gilbert Friedlein, Jr., was born on July 12, 1921. He attended the University of California-Berkeley, where he was a member of the university band. Friedlein, Jr. wed LeVita (Pat) Bernstein of San Jose, California. He was employed with the San Francisco Port of Embarkation and worked in the personnel department of the wage administration section in Oakland. Friedlein, Jr. died November 18, 1958.
Provenance:
Found in the collection of the Division of Music, Sports and Entertainment, now Division of Cultural and Community Life.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Documents relating to early development of radio aids to aerial navigation, mostly on behalf of the U.S. military services.
Scope and Contents:
Documents relating to early development of radio aids to aerial navigation, mostly on behalf of the U.S. military services.
Biographical / Historical:
This material describes developments related to the National Bureau of Standards work in radio technoloqy in its early days. It relates to specific projects (some classified) involving aerial navigation equipment and other electrical instrumentation. It was identified by Mr. Wilbert F. Snyder who was engaged in writing a history of radio work conducted by the National Bureau of Standards entitled "Achievement in Radio" and who•had access to the N3S files on this work. Most of the material he reviewed was sent to the National Archives and the present collection represents the residual.
Provenance:
Collection donated by National Bureau of Standards, through R. Kamper, and Boulder Laboratories, July 30, 1986.
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.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Sports, Entertainment and Leisure Search this
Extent:
4.5 Cubic feet (12 boxes, 1 map folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Letters (correspondence)
Programs
Paper dolls
Interviews
Clippings
Awards
Photographs
Magazines (periodicals)
Advertisements
Date:
1910 - 2003
Summary:
Yolande Betbeze was crowned Miss America in September, 1950. During and after her reign she was influential in both the Civil Rights and Feminist movements. Her papers document her reign as Miss America, her life after Miss America, and the Miss America pageant itself.
Scope and Contents:
Scope and Content: This collection documents the life of Yolande Betbeze who reigned as Miss America 1951. Though the collection focuses heavily on the year of her reign from September 1950 to September 1951, it also includes information about her life before winning the Miss America pageant, the Miss Alabama and Miss America pageants of 1950, and her life post-Miss America. Visual imagery in the collection documents life and fashion in the 1950s through 2000. Newspaper articles offer evidence of the culture of the 1950s. This collection contains newspaper clippings, magazine articles, photographs, awards, and memorabilia of Miss America pageants throughout the twentieth century in the form of booklets, brochures, and paper dolls.
Series 1, Miss America Reign, 1950-1951, 1994, undated, includes newspaper articles, magazine articles, and awards from the House of Representatives, programs and brochures relating to Ms. Betbeze's activities as Miss America. All publicity articles—whether promotional or editorial-are included in this series. Betbeze traveled extensively during her reign, and her trips are documented here. Also included in this series are her visits to military installations, promotion of Miss America pageant sponsors, promotion of her own opera career, and most importantly her verbal attacks against the objectification of women in pageants while she wore the Miss America crown.
Subseries 1, Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles, 1950-1951, undated,
includes newspaper clippings about Betbeze during her reign as Miss America, documenting nearly every event she attended and delving into her love life and home life. The clippings are arranged by month and year from September 1950 through September 1951. The newspaper articles from Betbeze's reign that are without a date are arranged by topic behind the dated clippings. This subseries also includes several articles published in magazines about Betbeze during her reign. The articles are arranged in chronological order by year behind the newspaper clippings.
Subseries 2, Awards, 1950, includes awards given to Betbeze by the House of Representatives after she was named Miss America in Atlantic City, as well as an award by the town of Chickasaw naming Betbeze an honorary citizen.
Subseries 3, Programs and Brochures, 1950-1951, includes mini-photo books of Betbeze from her reign as Miss America, as well as pageant programs from pageants she attended as Miss America. It also includes programs and brochures of events she attended and participated in as Miss America, such as her Coronation Ball and a Symphony in Fashion runway show. The materials are arranged with the photograph books first, followed by pageant programs, then programs from various events.
Subseries 4, Promotional Advertisements, 1950-1951, includes promotional advertisements for Nash Automobile, the Official Car Company of Miss America, and Everglaze Fabric. These advertisements are arranged in chronological order.
Subseries 5, Materials Related to Miss America Reign, 1950-1951, 1994, includes material relevant to Betbeze's reign as Miss America, such as her schedule book from September 1950 to September 1951 and a 1994 interview regarding her life, her reign, and her beliefs. The materials are arranged in chronological order by year.
Series 2, Post-Miss America Reign, 1951-2001, undated, documents Betbeze's life after her reign as Miss America through newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and Betbeze's copy of pageant judging guidelines for Miss America 1957. It also documents the changing view of women from the 1950s through the turn of the twenty-first century. Betbeze pursued a career in opera after Miss America, but this career ended with her marriage to Matthew Fox. Materials also relate to her marriage to Matthew Fox, her relationship with Cherif Guellal, her life in Georgetown in Washington D.C in the 1960s, and her participation in later Miss America pageants.
Subseries 1, Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles, 1952-2001, undated, includes newspaper clippings and magazine articles about Betbeze after her reign as Miss America. They document her relationships, lifestyle, causes, and career. The clippings are arranged chronologically by year. The magazine articles are arranged chronologically by decade behind the newspaper clippings.
Subseries 2, Miss America Activities, 1957, comprises of Betbeze's copy of judging guidelines from the 1957 Miss America Pageant. It includes a schedule of events and the judging criteria for each woman, illustrating the changing perception of women in the United States of America from the 1950s through the twenty-first century.
Series 3, Photographs, 1950-2000, undated, documents Betbeze's life from the 1940s to the turn of the twenty-first century. It includes several photographs from her childhood and teen years. The majority of the series focuses on her reign as Miss America, including photos of her travels, glamour photos, publicity photos, and candid shots. It also includes photographs of Betbeze after her reign. There are negatives for several of the photographs. Photographs are arranged by topic.
Subseries 1, Pre-Miss America Reign, 1949-1950, contains Betbeze's life as a teenager and the Miss Alabama pageant. The photographs are arranged by topic.
Subseries 2, Miss America Reign, 1950-1951, undated, provides visual evidence enhancing the printed materials in the other series. It includes photographs of Betbeze's travels throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It also includes glamour photographs, candid shots, and publicity events that she attended as Miss America. There are a few photographs of her in a swimsuit. The photographs are arranged by topic.
Subseries 3, Post-Miss America Reign, 1951-2001, includes photographs of Betbeze in later life, especially at Miss America pageants in the 1990s. The photographs are arranged by topic.
Series 4, Materials Related to Miss America Pageants, 1910-2003, undated, documents the institution of the Miss America Pageant and its development throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. It includes memorabilia from Atlantic City, the pageants, and Miss America advertisements. It includes official pageant yearbooks and correspondence to Betbeze regarding the seventy-fifth anniversary of Miss America, including a booklet about the pageant. It also includes Miss America Through the Looking Glass (1985), a book documenting the Miss America Pageant from its inception to the 1980s.
Subseries 1, Official Pageant Yearbooks, 1946-2003, comprises of Official Pageant Yearbooks. They illustrate the changing fashions and culture surrounding the pageant. They are arranged in chronological order by year.
Subseries 2, Miss America Memorabilia, 1910-2001, undated, consists of memorabilia of the Miss America Pageant and Atlantic City. The materials include a package for a hairnet from the 1920s, advertisements using the Miss America label for Lucky Strike cigarettes, sheet music for the Miss America and Miss Alabama official songs, Miss America Through the Looking Glass, various stickers advertising the pageant and Atlantic City, Miss America paper dolls, cards and postcards. The memorabilia is arranged in chronological order by year.
Subseries 3, Seventy-fifth Anniversary of Miss America, 1995, includes correspondence between pageant directors and Betbeze regarding the seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Miss America Pageant, as well as a brochure about the pageant. The materials are arranged by type; first is the correspondence regarding the seventy-fifth anniversary, then the brochure advertising Miss America.
Series 5, Yolande Betbeze Personal Papers, 1949-1999, undated, documents life behind-the-scenes through telegrams and letters from friends and fans, invitations and Betbeze's schedule book as Miss America. It includes magazine articles and newspaper clippings from her pre-Miss America years, and the layout of an interview she gave in 1994.
Subseries 1, Personal Correspondence, 1950-1995, undated, consists of personal letters between Betbeze and her friends, including Lenora Slaughter, the head of the Miss America Pageant when Betbeze was Miss America. It also includes fan-mail and autograph requests. The correspondence is arranged chronologically by year.
Subseries 2, Telegrams, 1950-1951, consists of telegrams that Betbeze received as Miss America. They consist of well wishes for her reign, birthday, and Christmas. The telegrams are arranged chronologically by year.
Subseries 3, Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles, 1949-1950, consists of newspaper clippings and magazine articles saved by Betbeze. They include reviews of her performance as Musetta in La Boheme in Mobile in 1949 and articles about Matthew Fox. The clippings are arranged chronologically by month and year. The magazine articles are arranged by year behind the newspaper clippings.
Arrangement:
Tyhe collection is divided into five series.
Series 1: Miss America Reign, 1950-1951, 1994, undated
Subseries 1.1, Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles, 1950-1951, undated
Subseries 1.5, Materials Related to Miss America Reign, 1950-1994
Series 2: Post Miss America, 1952-2001, undated
Subseries 1, Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles, 1952-2001, undated
Subseries 2, Miss America Activities, 1957
Series 3: Photographs, 1950-2000, undated
Subseries 3.1, Pre-Miss America Reign, 1949-1950
Subseries 3.2, Miss America Reign, 1950-1951, undated
Subseries 3.3, Post Miss America Reign, 1951-2001
Series 4: Materials Related to Miss America Pageants, 1910-2003, undated
Subseries 4.1, Official Pageant Yearbooks, 1946-2003
Subseries 4.2, Miss America Memorabilia, 1910-2001, undated
Subseries 4.3, Seventy-fifth Anniversary of Miss America, 1995
Series 5: Yolande Betbeze Personal Papers, 1949-1999, undated
Subseries 5.1, Personal Correspondence, 1950-1995, undated
Subseries 5.2, Telegrams, 1950-1951
Subseries 5.3, Newspaper Clippings and Magazine Articles, 1949-1950
Biographical / Historical:
Yolande Betbeze, Miss America 1951, was born in 1929 in Mobile, Alabama. Her mother was of Basque ancestry, so Yolande ended up with a foreign sounding name and dark European looks, quite different from the general populace of Mobile. Early on she aspired to become a famous opera singer, and took voice lessons throughout her teenage years. In 1949 she starred as Musetta in Puccini's La Boheme, through the Mobile Opera Guild.
In 1950, Yolande entered the Miss Mobile Beauty Pageant, hoping to win and continue to state and national levels to receive a scholarship to study voice in New York City, or even abroad. When she entered the pageant she gave her age as 21, but at her next birthday in late 1950 (presumably her 22nd) she confessed that she had lied about her age. Really, she was 20 when she entered the Miss America pageant, and this was her 21st birthday.
She was crowned Miss Mobile, then Miss Alabama. In September 1950, she made her way to Atlantic City to compete for the title of Miss America. Newspapers in Alabama raved about her. Even journalists in the north predicted that Yolande would be crowned the next Miss America. In an interview, pageant director Lenora Slaughter says that from the moment she saw her she felt that Yolande would be crowned the next Miss America. During preliminaries, Yolande won first place in the swimsuit competition, while Miss Connecticut won first place in the talent competition. Nonetheless, Yolande wowed them with her singing. When she won the title of Miss America, her schedule quickly filled with singing engagements.
On September 9th, 1950, Yolande Betbeze was crowned Miss America. She became an overnight success due to her grace, poise, beauty, and talent. However, she had received an education at a convent school, and felt a bit squeamish about 'cheesecake poses' in a bathing suit. Every Miss America had done a swimsuit tour, even though it wasn't in their contracts that they must, and Yolande was expected to follow in their footsteps. But she wanted to be an opera star, not a pin-up girl, she declared. After winning Miss America, she refused to pose in a swimsuit unless she was going swimming.
The Catalina Swimwear Company, a sponsor of the Miss America pageant, did not like Yolande's stance on swimsuits. They contended that the Miss America pageant had become less focused on the beauty of the contestant and more on their talents and personality. They wanted to bring beauty back. They pulled their sponsorship and created a new pageant line which now includes Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA. This pageant focuses only on the physical beauty of a competitor. Even today there is no talent portion, and even the interview portion has been diluted.
Another issue of the Miss America pageant involved the marriage of a Miss America. Though Yolande had no plans to marry, or even a boyfriend, the papers certainly wanted to know the details surrounding her love-life and ability to marry with the title Miss America. Yolande explained that she received an extra $4000 for staying single throughout the year, but if she wanted to marry she could ask permission from the 18 pageant directors. "Wouldn't it be easier to wait a year?" she asked.
Her year as Miss America was an eventful one. She traveled throughout the United States, the Bahamas, Mexico, France, and Italy. She met with Congressmen, foreign leaders, opera stars, and famous fashion designers. According to Lenora Slaughter, Yolande had the fullest schedule of any Miss America to that date. Everyone agreed that she had put class into the Miss America pageant.
After her reign, she was succeeded as Miss America by Colleen Kay Hutchins, originally Miss Utah. The two became friends and Yolande was in Colleen's wedding some years later. Yolande took up philanthropic causes—fighting for racial equality in the pageants, for instance. She also marched in civil rights demonstrations, participated in sit-ins, and marched in a feminist demonstration in Atlantic City. In 1954 she married a motion picture and television producer, Matthew Fox. They had one daughter before his death in 1964. After she was widowed, Yolande moved to Georgetown in the District of Columbia, where she lives to this day.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The Miss America 1943 [Jean Bartel] Photographs, 1943-1944 (AC0902)
Separated Materials:
The Division of Work and Industry, Natiuonal Museum of American Historu holds artifacts related to this collection: the Miss America crown, scepter, and sash of 1950-1951, worn by the donor, and the Miss Alabama sash and Miss America ribbon of 1950-1951.
Provenance:
Donated by Yolande Betbeze in 2005.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark.
The Kendall Productions records date from 1952-2006 with the bulk of material dating from 1997-2004 and measure 4.42 cubic feet. The records consist of material documenting the Kendall Productions documentary Dance Party: The Teenarama Story which first aired on Howard University's PBS affiliate WHUT in 2006. The records are comprised of research and production notes, government records, newspaper articles, questionnaires, photographs, letters, and scripts, accompanied by a significant amount of original media in the following formats: VHS and Beta videocassettes, audiocassettes, and audio compact discs.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Kendall Productions measure 4.6 cubic feet and date from 1952 to 2006, with the bulk of material dating from 1997-2004. The records contain the administrative files, research, project files, photographs, and audiovisual material produced during the creation of the documentary Dance Party: The Teenarama Story.
Administrative records include committee records, project assessments, budget files, promotional material, correspondence, and material related to individuals working on the documentary. Material within the series directly relate to the production processes of Dance Party: The Teenarama Story. Restricted files within the series have been indicated at the folder level. The administrative records were previously scattered throughout the collection.
Research files include biographical information, the history of television broadcasting in Washington D.C., community history, background on Teenarama, and race relations from 1940 through the 1960s. The research file subjects were originally labeled by the creators, and their subject designations have been maintained where relevant. Material includes newsclippings, informational booklets, notes, pamphlets, unpublished essays or write-ups, and prints of website pages.
Project files include interview transcripts and copies of questions for interviewees, documentary scripts, event fliers, equipment request forms, and realia. Event material relates to the production of Dance Party: The Teenarama Story, and not events related to the release or showings of the finished documentary.
Photographs document people who were a part of the Teenarama show, cast reunion events, and the documentary filming or recording processes. Folder titles were given by the creators and have been maintained. They are organized alphabetically by folder title.
Audiovisual material contains 63 items, a majority of which are VHS tapes. Material includes clips and edits of Dance Party: The Teenarama Story. Objects are listed alphabetically by their labels. Playback equipment is available.
Arrangement:
Kendall Productions Records is arranged in five series:
Series 1: Administrative Records
Series 2: Research Files
Series 3: Project Files
Series 4: Photographs
Series 5: Audiovisual Material
Historical Note:
The documentary film Dance Party: The Teenarama Story first broadcast in 2006 on the Howard University public television station WHUT in Washington D.C. The film traced the history and development of the television show Teenarama that aired from March 7, 1963 to November 20, 1970.
Teenarama originated as the Teenarama Dance Party radio program broadcast on WOOK Radio in Washington D.C. and became a television program after WOOK Radio received a license to operate a television station. The program premiered as a teen dance show for Black teenagers in the Washington D.C. and surrounding metropolitan area, featuring popular songs. The show's programming was first created by Cal Hackett and Al Jefferson. Bob King hosted the show from 1963-1965. Following King's departure, the show rotated hosts such as Leon Isaac Kennedy, Moon Man, and Daniel "Hollywood Breeze" Clayton. Guest performers on the show included James Brown, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Major Lance, Mary Wells, Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls, Billy Stewart, Martha and The Vandellas, the Supremes, and the Four Seasons, among others. The program broadcasted live six days a week, the first of its kind in the country catering specifically to a Black audience.
The documentary about Teenarama was created by Beverly Lindsay-Johnson, Herb Grimes, and the National Hand Dance Association, and was funded in part by grants through the Humanities Council of Washington D.C.,The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, The Dudley Foundation and private donations. The film uses Teenarama to tell the story of teen dance television shows, youth and pop culture, race, and television history. The documentary is narrated by Martha Reeves of Martha and The Vandellas.
Provenance:
Donated by Beverly Lindsey-Johnson in 2006.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Dance in motion pictures, television, etc. Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographic prints
Scripts (documents)
Notes
Audiocassettes
Compact discs
Research
Photographs
Questionnaires
Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.
Interviews
Federal government records
Clippings
Videocassettes
Citation:
Kendall Productions records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Beverly Lindsey-Johnson.
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Papers documenting inventor Earl S. Tupper, his inventions, Tupperware and the Tupper Company.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the life of inventor Earl S. Tupper through correspondence, notes, photographs, drawings and sound recordings.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into five series.
Series 1: Personal Papers, 1910-1989
Series 2: Early Business Papers and Scientific Notes, 1930-1965
Series 3: Tupper Corporation/Tupperware Business, 1908-1983
Series 4: Neil Osterweill Oral Histories and Research Notes, 1926-1989
Subseries 4.1: Research Files, 1926-1989
Subseries 4.2: Original Masters, 1987-1989
Subseries 4.3:Research Copies, 1987-1989
Subseries 4.4:Research Copies, 1987-1989
Subseries 4.5: Preservation Copies, undated
Series 5: Center for Advertising History, Oral History Interviews, 1992
Subseries 5.1: Original Masters, 1992
Subseries 5.2: Research Copies, 1992
Subseries 5.3: Research Copies, 1992
Subseries 5.4: Preservation Copies, 1992
Subseries 5.5: Abstracts and Transcripts, 1992, 2003
Biographical / Historical:
Earl Silas Tupper was born in 1907, to a New Hampshire farming family of modest means. During his youth and boyhood in New England, his mother Lulu Clark Tupper, took in laundry and ran a boarding house, while his father, Earnest Leslie operated a small family farm. Earnest Tupper loved to tinker, developing labor-saving devices for the farm and family greenhouses; one of his devices, a frame to facilitate the cleaning of chickens, was granted a patent. It is from his father that Earl Tupper is said to have developed a love for invention. Even as a boy, Tupper showed an enterprising and entrepreneurial spirit. At the age of 10, Earl discovered he could move more of the family's produce by selling door-to-door, bringing the product directly to the customer.
After high school graduation in 1925, Tupper continued to work in the family greenhouses in Shirley Massachusetts for two years. Tupper was an ambitious young man, though, and he was determined to earn his first million by the time he was thirty. During the twenties, he set out on a number of different paths, including work as a mail clerk and on a railroad labor crew. In 1928, he took a course in tree surgery, with the idea of setting up his own tree surgery and landscaping business. He continued to help out with the family business, and got married in 1931. Through the early thirties, the landscaping and nursery business continued to grow and thrive, despite the Depression, enabling Tupper to pursue some of his ideas and inventions. His scientific notebooks for this period reflect the diversity of his interests. Even after Tupper Tree Doctors was forced into bankruptcy in 1936, Tupper remained optimistic about his ability to develop and manufacture some of his inventions.
In 1936, Tupper met Bernard Doyle, the inventor of Viscoloid, the plastics manufacturing division of DuPont, located in nearby Leominster, Mass. He went to work for DuPont in 1937, but stayed there only one year. Later, Tupper would say it was at Dupont "that my education really began." Tupper took the experience he had gained in plastics design and manufacturing at DuPont, and struck out on his own. In 1938, he formed the Earl S. Tupper Company, advertising the design and engineering of industrial plastics products in Leominster, Massachusetts. Much of the fledgling company's early work was performed under subcontract to DuPont. Business was good during the war, because despite the difficulty of acquiring the raw materials necessary for plastics production for the domestic market, Tupper Plastics was able to garner several defense contracts, molding parts for gas masks and Navy signal lamps.
After the war, Tupper turned his attention to developing plastics for the growing consumer market. Many of his earliest designs, which included plastic sandwich picks, cigarette cases, and an unbreakable tumbler for the bathroom, were offered as premiums with other products. For example, Tek toothbrushes offered the tumbler with purchase of a toothbrush, and cigarette companies and other businesses offered cigarette cases imprinted with their logo.
Plastics was still in its infancy in the forties, and the commercial market for plastics product was limited by plastic's reputation for being brittle, greasy, smelly and generally unreliable. Tupper's contributions were twofold. First, he developed a method for purifying black polyethylene slag, a waste product produced in oil refinement, into a substance that was flexible, tough, non-porous, non-greasy and translucent. Second, he developed the Tupper seal, an airtight, watertight lid modeled on the lid for paint containers. Together, these innovations laid the foundations for the future success of Tupperware. Nevertheless, marketing the new product presented a challenge. Tupper experimented with department store sales, but as Businessweek reported in 1954, "in retail stores it fell flat on its face." It seemed clear that the new lid required explanation or demonstration.
In the late 1940s, Thomas Damigella (in Massachusetts) and Brownie Wise (in Florida) were selling household products through Stanley Home Products. Purchasing through local plastics distributors, both began offering Tupperware as part of their product line, and were moving enough Tupperware to attract Earl Tupper's attention. In 1948, Tupper met with Damigella, Wise, and several other local distributors at a Sheraton in Worcester Massachusetts to discuss a new distribution plan. Modeled on the home party plan pioneered by Stanley Home Products and expanded and refined by Brownie Wise, the home party plan became and remains the exclusive outlet for Tupperware. Wise was named Vice President of the company (named Tupperware Home Parties) in 1951, a position she held until 1958, when Tupper sold the company to Rexall for $16 million.
Tupperware's success stems from the combined genius of Earl Tupper, the self-styled Yankee inventor and entrepreneur and Brownie Wise, the consummate saleswoman and motivator. If Tupper personified reverence for the product, Wise personified respect for the sales force. "If we build the people," she was fond of saying, "they'll build the business." Almost half a century later, their legacy remains an important part of Tupperware's continuing success.
Earl S. Tupper died on October 5, 1983.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Leo Baekeland Papers (AC0005)
DuPont Nylon Collection (AC0007)
J. Harry DuBois Collection on the History of Plastics (AC0008)
Celluloid Corporation Records (AC0009)
Albany Billiard Ball Company Records (AC#0011)
Brownie Wise Papers (AC0509)
Ann and Thomas Damigella Collection (AC0583)
Materials at the National Museum of American History
Tupperware related artifacts are located in the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life), the Division of Medicine and Science and the Division of Work and Industry. See accessions: 1983.0711; 1984.1098; 1985.3014; 1985.3015; 1987.0180; 1990.3055; 1992.0209; 1992.0605; 1993.0257; 1994.0118; 1994.0124; 1995.0109; 1998.0070; 1998.0220; 2012.0133; and 2014.3077.
Provenance:
The materials were donated to the Archives Center in 1992 by Glenn O. Tupper, Earl Tupper's son.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but master (preservation) tapes 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.
Johnson, Eugene B. , October 18, 1915 - November 22, 2007 Search this
Names:
National Sales Engineering Corporation Search this
Extent:
1.75 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business records
Invoices
Laboratory notes
Letters (correspondence)
Trade catalogs
Date:
1927-1980
Summary:
The papers relate to Johnson's work as an engineer with the National Sales Engineering Corporation Records, and its machine tool products.
Content Description:
The papers relate to Johnson's work as an engineer and salesman with the National Sales Engineering Corporation Records, and its machine tool products. They include Johnson's school records including exam blue books and notebooks; his credentials; client files and information, including quotes, invoices and correspondence; and trade literature for company products.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Eugene B. Johnson (October 18, 1915 - November 22, 2007) was a salesman in the tool and die manufacturing field. Spending much of his career as a salesman for the National Sales Engineering Corporation, Johnson rose to become the company's vice president by the time of his retirement.
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.
Photographs, publications and correspondence related to D. Ward King's invention the King Road Drag, or the Split-Oak drag, which improved rural travel in the early 20th century by introducing a simple design and low-effort system for grading poor-quality roads. The King Road Drag was promoted heavily across the United States and Canada via the "Good Roads Campaign" originally sponsored by the railroad companies in the early decades of the twentieth century.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains photographs, correspondence and articles documenting the road drag that D. Ward King invented to grade, drain water from, and improve the condition of rural roads in the early 20th century. Included are photographs of King, his family, the road drag, and the conditions of roads before and after treatment; a scrapbook containing letters and photographs; a blueprint of the road drag; as well as articles and reprints from various publications praising King's invention.
This collection would be of interest to researchers of the Good Roads movement, rural life and development in the early 20th century, and agricultural invention.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into three (3) series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1907; 1909
Series 2: Publications, 1903; 1907-1917; 1999
Series 3: Photographs, circa 1905-1915; 1908-1910; 1919-1920
Biographical / Historical:
Born and educated in Springfield Ohio, David Ward King (1857-1920), who was known as D. Ward King, moved to rural Maitland, Missouri after his marriage in 1881 and began life as a farmer. In 1896, he demonstrated the use of his simple invention, dubbed the "King Road Drag" or the split-oak drag, which consisted of two split logs attached by crossbeams and hitched with a loop of chain to horses, to be dragged along a stretch of rutted muddy road until it was smooth. His rudimentary road grader had the effect not only of flattening and compacting muddy soil, but creating a crest in the center of the road, sloping down at each side, so that the next rain would run off the packed surface into the ditch. This basic scheme had a revolutionary effect on rural life--farmers were often mired in mud on the roads to their fields or into town, their most powerful draft horses unable to contend with wagon wheels sunken into deep ruts after heavy rains. Use of King's drag soon made their roads not only passable, but faster and safer to travel, which saved time and money for all in the community.
In 1903, King was employed by the Chicago and North Western Transportation Co. to promote his product across the country as part of their "Good Roads Campaign," giving lectures and demonstrations. King patented the King Road Drag (US Patent 884,497 and US Patent 1,102,671) in 1908 and later improved it in 1914. The United States Patent Office called his invention a "Road Grader," but King referred to it as a "split log drag," the "King Road Drag,"
Although King patented his invention, the simple design made it difficult to enforce patent rights, so farmers were encouraged to build and make use of their own versions of the road drag. Even after the railroads withdrew their support (the road drag's success had the effect of sending more potential passengers on the roads with their bicycles and cars, rather than riding the train), King made a decent living for years on the lecture circuit, presenting in 46 of the 48 then- existing states and Canada. His midwestern education made him an eloquent, dynamic speaker, and his talks were often sold out. The invention of the road drag and its almost evangelical use across the country has been credited for increased automobile use in the early part of the century, as well as the advent of parcel post delivery and mail-order catalogue supply to rural areas.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Helene W. King and Amy Burbank King in 2014.
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 copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Michele M. Serros was a Chicana writer who grew up in Oxnard, California. She is best known for Chicana Falsa: And Other Stories of Death, Identity, and Oxnard, Chicana, and How to be a Chicana Role Model. The papers cover her childhood, high school work, undergraduate courses, published works, and speaking and workshop engagements. The collection also includes photographs, drawings, and her high school yearbook.
Scope and Contents:
The Michelle M. Serros Papers include materials from her childhood, undergraduate education, and musical interests. The majority of the collection documents her work as a poet, speaker, and author. Some of the materials in Series 5 (Nope! Magazine) feature racially insensitive content.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1: Published Works, 1991-2012, undated
Series 2: Writing Projects, 1987-2005, undated
Series 3: Writing Programs, 1987-2009, undated
Series 4: Undergraduate Materials, 1985-1995, undated
Series 5: Ephemera, 1938-2015, undated
Provenance:
Collection donated to the Archives Center in 2019 by Antonio Magaña.
Restrictions:
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.
Letter on White House stationery, signed by President Richard Nixon to Duke Ellington, thanking him for "continuing to win friends for the United states" through his "recent tour of the Soviet Union."
Local Numbers:
AC0301-0000045.tif (AC Scan No.)
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the original and master audiovisual materials 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.
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.
Copyright restrictions. Consult the Archives Center at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Paul Ellington, executor, is represented by:
Richard J.J. Scarola, Scarola Ellis LLP, 888 Seventh Avenue, 45th Floor, New York, New York 10106. Telephone (212) 757-0007 x 235; Fax (212) 757-0469; email: rjjs@selaw.com; www.selaw.com; www.ourlawfirm.com.
The collection documents the lives and careers of the Smothers Brothers, with emphasis on their 1960s television variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Scope and Contents:
Collection documents the private lives and professional careers of Tom and Dick Smothers, with emphasis on their television variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The largest portion of the collection contains photographic materials. Publicity materials including press releases, programs, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles; correspondence containing fan mail (some from famous persons such as Lucille Ball, Jack Paar, and others), letters from viewers both complimentary and critical of shows, and letters from members of Congress; business records including contracts, tour itineraries, talent agency materials, scripts, and scrapbooks; and legal documents relating to the lawsuit against Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) are also found in the collection. Collection is arranged into three series: Series 1, Photographs, 1961-2007, undated; Series 2, Business Records, 1959-2002, undated; and Series 3, Personal Papers, 1966-2008, undated.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into three series:
Series 1: Photographic Materials, 1961-2007, undated
Subseries 1.1: Television Shows, 1966-1989, undated
Subseries 1.2: Specials, Tours, and Public Appearances, 1964-1988, undated
Subseries 1.3: Motion Picture Films and Theatre, 1969-1982
Subseries 1.4: General, 1961-2007, undated
Subseries 1.5: Promotional, 1961-2003, undated
Series 2: Business Records, 1959-2002, undated
Subseries 2.1: Press, 1960-2002, undated
Subseries 2.2: Employee Files, 1959-1999, undated
Subseries 2.3: Smothers Brothers v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Incorporated (CBS), 1966-1972, undated
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 16: Country, Western and Folk Music NMAH.AC.0300
Bob Rule Papers, NMAH.AC.0855
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection documents Spanish language television stations in America, and the Telemundo network.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Spanish language television stations in America, and the Telemundo network. The WNJU portion includes photographs of reporters and other station personnel; portrait shots of on-air personalities, both negatives and prints; photographs of the reporters at the anchor desk, including both negatives and pritns; a reel of motion picture film of a children's show.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into four series.
Series 1: Gilda Mirós
Subseries 1.1: Personal Papers
Subseries 1.2: Audiovisual Materials
Series 2: Hector Aguilar
Subseries 2.1: Personal Papers
Subseries 2.2: Audiovisual Materials
Series 3: Telemundo Group, Incorporated.
Subseries 3.1: WKAQ Television Station
Subseries 3.3.1: Maria Kapetanakis Files
Subseries 3.3.2: Ariel Lipiz Files
Subseries 3.3.3: Alicia Soriano Files
Subseries 3.3.4: Susan Solano Vila Files
Subseries 3.3.5: Maria Cristina Barros Files
Subseries 3.3.6: Marilys Llanos Files
Subseries 3.3.7: Manuel M. Martinez Files
Subseries 3.3.8: Audiovisual Materials
Subseries 3.2: WNJU Television Station
Subseries 3.3: WSCV Television Station
Series 4: Univision
Subseries 4.1: Edgardo Gazón Files
Subseries 4.2: Mayda Delgado Files
Subseries 4.3: Ismael Moctezuma Files
Subseries 4.4: Eduardo Kachscovsky Files
Biographical / Historical:
WNJU was the second television station to broadcast in Spanish in the United States. It eventually was owned by Telemundo. WKAQ was the first television station to broadcast in Spanish in the United States. Telemundo stations provide diverse programming, including variety shows, telenovelas, sports, reality television, news programming, and films. Their target audience is the Hispanic and Latin American population in America.
Provenance:
Initial donation by by Jose Cancela, President of WNJU, 2016. The 2016 accrual was donated by station WKAQ. The television stations WKAQ, WNJU, and WSCV also donated materials in 2017.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The collection documents the recipients of the Julia Child Award which is given to an individual (or team) who has made a profound and significant difference in the way America cooks, eats and drinks.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in one series by name of award recipient.
Historical:
Created by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts in 2015, the Julia Child Award is given to an individual (or team!) who has made a profound and significant difference in the way America cooks, eats and drinks.
The Foundation presents the annual award in association with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History at a gala event held each fall in Washington, D.C.
Each year, the recipient receives a uniquely designed award engraved with his/her name and year of honor. In addition, the Foundation makes a $50,000 grant to the food-related non-profit of the recipient's choosing.
Source
The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts (https://juliachildaward.com/award/ last accessed on April 7, 2021)
Social Security numbers are present and have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Some materials reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
This collection consists of eight scrapbooks and five posters documenting the burlesque career of Irene Jewell (stage name Ricki Covette), who at 6'8" was billed as "The World's Tallest Exotic Dancer." The albums contain clippings; letters; certificates; photographs, including photographs of her act; ephemera, such as postcards, travel brochures, postcards, and decals, from her travels; advertisements; and theater programs.
Scope and Contents:
Scrapbooks and posters documenting the burlesque career of Irene Jewell (stage name Ricki Covette), who at 6'8" was billed as "The World's Tallest Exotic Dancer."
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Scrapbooks
Series 2: Posters
Biographical / Historical:
Born in 1925 in rural Alberta, Canada, Irene Jewell aspired to become a singer and dancer. Moving to the United States in the 1950s, Jewell began a thirty-year career in show business, including theater, small parts in television and film, but especially burlesque, under her stage name "Ricki Covette." Billed as "The World's Tallest Exotic Dancer" at 6'8" and the "Glamazon," Covette's career spanned the peak of burlesque's popularity; her career highlights included headlining at clubs, including an 82-week stint at the ShoBar in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a solo act world tour in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the Americans. Besides her burlesque career, Covette also had parts in theater, including playing the role of Gymnasia in the 1963-1964 tour of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and appearing in the 1966 film The Swinger. After she left show business, she started a successful second career as a real estate broker in the Los Angeles area and travelled with her husband, cinematographer Stuart Jewell, shooting footage of nature and culture. In 2010 she appeared in Leslie Zemeckis's documentary, Behind the Burly! Covette died in February 2016.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center in 2014 by Irene Jewell (stage name Ricki Covette).
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Social Security numbers are present and have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
