Exhibition Collectors Historical Organization Search this
Names:
New York World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.) Search this
Extent:
130 Cubic feet (417 boxes, 25 map-folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Souvenirs
Photographs
Pamphlets
Guidebooks
Exhibition posters--1930-1940
Diaries
Ephemera
Film transparencies
Motion picture film
Posters
Place:
Flushing Meadows Park (New York, N.Y.)
New York (N.Y.)
Date:
1835-2000, undated
Summary:
Collection documents the 1939 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York. Also includes material relating to other fairs, the Exhibition Collectors Historical Organization (ECHO), New York City tourism and The Walt Disney Company.
Scope and Contents:
Collection primarily documents the conception, planning, construction, management, and operations of the 1939 New York World's Fair located in Flushing Meadows, New York. Materials provide historical context and cultural significance as recorded in publications, artwork, photographs, ephemera, postcards, maps, plans, exhibitor's literature, souvenirs, and motion picture film. Most of the materials were primarily created for people who attended the fair. Some of the materials include scrapbooks created by fair visitors to document their experiences. There is a significant amount of material relating to other fairs, New York tourism, the Exhibition Collectors Historical Organization (ECHO) and the World's Fair Collector's Society. Other forms of entertainment such as festivals, the Olympic games, and Disney World are also found among these materials. There is little information relating to Edward Orth's personal and professional life as a city planner. The collection is arranged into eleven series.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eleven series.
Series 1, Edward J. Orth Personal Papers, 1915-1989, undated
Subseries 1.1, Correspondence, 1939-1989
Subseries 1.2, Other Materials, 1915-1989, undated
Series 2, Exhibition Collectors Historical Organization (ECHO) and World's Fair Collector's Society, Incorporated Records, 1942-1990, undated
Subseries 2.1, General Information, 1960-1988, undated
Subseries 2.2, Correspondence, 1942-1990, undated
Subseries 2.3, Classified and Wanted Advertisements, 1956-1988, undated
Edward Joseph Orth grew up with a strong interest in history, particularly the history of the 1939 New York World's Fair. Orth's visit to the fair as a twelve-year-old boy led to a life-long passion of collecting. At the time of his death, he had amassed enough materials to fill two homes in California. Orth also collected materials from several other fairs. In addition, he saved some of the records of the Exhibition Collectors Historical Organization (ECHO) and the World's Fair Collector's Society.
Orth was born April 19, 1927, to Andrew Joseph Orth and Florence Minnie Gordon Orth in Glendale, New York. In the 1930s, the Orth family lived in several locations in New York including Ridgewood, Brooklyn, Glendale, and Queens. The home that made the most impact in young Orth's life came in 1935 when the family moved to St. Albans, Queens seven miles from Flushing Meadow Park, the future site of the 1939 fair. Sadly in 1939 there were several deaths in the family including three grandparents. The severe loss of life limited family social activities but a drive by the future site of the fair provided Orth a glimpse of the Trylon and Perisphere. He would later remark that the sight appeared to be magic. In the summer of 1939, he went to the fair with his classmates from Public School 136. The next summer Orth and his father purchased a 10-admission ticket from an elementary school in Hollis, Queens, New York. He saved every souvenir and any information he could find about the fair. He filled scrapbooks with images from newspapers and postcards from the Curt Teich and Manhattan Postcard companies. When his family moved from an apartment to a house, he acquired a fair bench which was kept in the backyard.
In 1941, Orth attended Newton High School in Elmhurst, and Queens, New York. The high school offered a college preparatory program with heavy emphasis on mathematics, science, mechanical drawing, and workshop courses. Orth's education and training combined with the knowledge he gained from motion picture films viewed at the fair, including Thomas Edison's "The City of Light," Ford Motor Company's "Road of Tomorrow," "Democracy," and General Motors' "Futurama" provided the foundation and inspiration for a career in architecture and landscaping. He ultimately became a city planner for the state of California. By 1943, Orth was exploring used magazine and bookstores in New York City to acquire more fair materials before enlisting in the United States Army in 1945. Upon his discharge he resumed buying and trading fair postcards. From 1948-1953, Orth attended the University of California and the University of Connecticut where he studied architecture and landscape design. During these years he posted advertisements in various publications in his continued pursue for fair materials.
In March 1953, Mr. Orth moved to Los Angeles, California. There he formed lasting friendships with other collectors. By 1967, Orth and several of his closest friends including Peter Warner, Oscar Hengstler, David Oats, Larry Zim, and Ernest Weidhaas conceived the idea of a fair collector's organization. By the summer of 1968, the group had formally created the Exhibition Collectors Historical Organization (ECHO).
As time passed Orth became increasing concerned about the welfare of his collection. He wanted it to go to a museum rather than be sold in parts. In his will he stipulated that the collection would be given to the Smithsonian Institution upon his death. Jon Zackman, former Smithsonian employee, interviewed Orth's brother George and fair collector Peter Warner. Orth and Warner corresponded and traded objects over many years. Mr. Orth primarily covered the west coast area while Peter Warner was his east coast counterpart. Edward Orth died on September 6,1989 in Los Angeles, California at the age of sixty-two.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
New York World's Fair Collection, NMAH.AC.0134
Landor Design Collection, NMAH.AC.0500
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subject Category, World Expos, NMAH.AC.0060
Larry Zim World's Fair Collection, NMAH.AC.0519
Alice R. Hillis World's Fair Film, NMAH.AC.0531
Borden Company 1939 New York World's Fair Collection, NMAH.AC.1063
Memories of the New York World's Fair, NMAH.AC.0592
Archives Center World Expositions Collection, NMAH.AC.0825
Daniel H. Meyerson World's Fair Collection, NMAH.AC.0745
Division of Community Life World's Fairs Collection, NMAH.AC.1132
Princeton University Posters Collection, NMAH.AC.0433
Smithsonian Speech Synthesis History Project, NMAH.AC.0417
Messmore and Damon Company Records, NMAH.AC.0846
Thomas Norrell Railroad Collection, NMAH.AC.1174
William L. Bird Holidays on Display Collection, NMAH.AC.1288
Wurlitzer Company Records, NMAH.AC.0469
Victor A. Blenkle Postcard Collection, NMAH.AC.0200
Materials at Other Organizations
New York Public Library The New York World's Fair 1939 and 1940 Incorporated Records, 1935-1945, MssCol 2233.
New York City 1939 World's Fair architectural drawings, circa 1935. Museum of the City of New York. Museum of the City of New York.
New York City 1939 World's Fair Collection, 1939-1940. Museum of the City of New York. New York World's Fair 1939/40 Collection. Queens Museum.
1939 New York World's Fair Postcards, Identifier: 1972-320, Audiovisual Collections Repository, Hagley Museum & Library
Separated Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History
Artifacts from the collection include several thousand souvenirs and examples of memorabilia commemorating the fair to include buttons and badges, ceramics, glassware, clothing, costume jewelry, coins and medals, commemorative spoons and flatware, toys and games, and philatelic material which are all part of the Division of Home and Community Life's holdings (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. 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. Viewing film portion of collection requires special appointment, please inquire. Do not use when original materials are available on reference video or audio tapes.
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:
Exhibitions -- 1930-1940 -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
This collection contains fieldnotes, drawings and illustrations from Efron's research on gesture language among Sicilian and Lithuanian Jewish immigrants on the lower east side of New York City. The several hundred original captioned illustrations in the collection were created by Stuyvesant Van Veen. The collection also includes a 115-page Bibliography of Gesture and Posture, which Efron apparently never published, and one item on Native American gesture language from 1890.
Biographical / Historical:
A student of Franz Boas, David Efron conducted his gesture study to examine differences in the gestural repertoire of different neighboring immigrant communities, as well as the effect of assimilation on the range of gestures used by their first generation descendants. Efron's demonstration of the cultural basis of gestural style challenged Nazi "scientific" claims that gestural style was racially inherited. The results of his research were published as Gesture and Environment (King's Crown Press, 1941), republished as Gesture, Race and Culture (Mouton, 1972).
Efron collaborated on his gesture research with Stuyvesant Van Veen (1910-1988), a New York City artist who studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students league and worked with the muralist Thomas Hart Benton. Van Veen is also known in anthropological circles for the illustrations he produced for Franz Boas' research on Kwakiutl dances.
Efron's was perhaps the first ethnographic research to combine meticulous participant observation and artistic collaboration with the analysis of everyday social behavior recorded on motion picture film.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2004-07
Other Archival Materials:
Stuyvesant Van Veen's papers are maintained by the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, which also has a 1981 interview with Van Veen in which the artist discusses his work with Boas.
Walker, Hudson D. (Hudson Dean), 1907-1976 Search this
Extent:
3.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Date:
1909-1989
Scope and Contents:
Biographical material, correspondence, business records, writings and notes, printed material, scrapbooks, and photographs document Nordfeldt's career as a painter and instructor, and his widow's involvement after his death in exhibitions, biographies, and sales of his work.
REELS D166-D167: Biographical material includes a biographical sketch by Stanton L. Catlin, several letters from Nordfeldt's first wife Margaret to his second wife, Emily, and his nephew, Leonard Olson, in response to requests for biographical information, and biographical documents; correspondence of Emily and B.J.O., 1909-1959, with museum directors, gallery owners, patrons, artists, friends, universities, and others, mainly regarding the sale and exhibitions of his paintings and his teaching positions; artists' statements; exhibition catalogs; photographs of Nordfeldt; an excerpt from The Man on the Hilltop, by Arthur Davison Ficke; 5 sketchbooks; 3 scrapbooks; and an extensive catalog of Nordfeldt's paintings compiled by Emily, containing photographs and descriptive information.
Among the correspondents are Dewey Albinson, Watson Bidwell, Gina Knee Brook, Victor Candell, Howard N. Cook, Edward L. Davison, Howard Devree, William Dickerson, Constance Forsyth, Harriet Hanley of Harriet Hanley Gallery, Raymond Jonson, William Lester, A. Hyatt Mayor, Georgette Passedoit of the Passedoit Gallery, his student Roberta Shelton, Homer Saint-Gaudens, and Hudson D. Walker. Some of the letters are illustrated.
UNMICROFILMED: Resumes; correspondence, undated, 1923-1979, includes excerpts of letters from Nordfeldt to Constance Forsyth, 1942-1943 and Emily Abbott Nordfeldt, 1944; Emily Abbott Nordfeldt's correspondence with art collectors, art dealers, galleries and museums regarding exhibitions, gifts and sales of Nordfeldt's work; with Nordfeldt's biographers F. Van Deren Coke and J. Douglas Hale; and with the University of Minnesota, University Gallery, 1970-1972 regarding a Nordfeldt exhibition and the Nordfeldt Fund established by Emily; receipts and other business records; 1944-1979; writings and notes by Emily, ca.1930-1950, and others including the preface by Sheldon Cheney for Nordfeldt, the Painter by Coke, 1972;
a transcript of an interview with Raymond Jonson by Coke; printed material, including clippings, 1912-1984, exhibition catalogs, posters and announcements, undated, 1915-1991, notably a catalog of Nordfeldt's etchings shown at the Arthur H. Hahlo & Co. with an introduction by Robert W. Bruere, 1915; reproductions of graphic work for The Outlook and Harper's Monthly Magazine, 1910; miscellaneous printed material; a scrapbook of clippings and printed material, 1971-1980; photographs of Nordfeldt, undated 1910-1955, of the Santa Fe Players' production of "Grumpy," 1921; 3 photo albums of works of art, ca. 1930-1940; 10 seconds of motion picture film; and 2 sketches by Nordfeldt.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, etcher, block printer, engraver, lithographer, watercolorist, teacher; Santa Fe, N.M. and Lambertville, N.J. Born in Tullstorp, Scania, Sweden, and came to the United States in 1891. Taught at the Minneapolis School of Art and the University of Texas. Moved to Lambertville, N.J. in 1937 from Santa Fe, N.M.
Provenance:
Material on reels D166-D167 lent for microfilming 1963 by Emily Abbott Nordfeldt, Bror's widow. In 1991 her estate donated additional material as well as portions of the previously microfilmed material. Material previously lent but NOT subsequently donated includes portions of the biographical material; several letters; artists' statements; a few personal photographs; the 5 sketchbooks; items from the scrapbooks; and the catalog of paintings. (The collection file contains a list of specific reel and frame numbers.)
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
H. Edwin Jackson created this scrapbook of radio stars while living in Chicago, Illinois during the Great Depression.
Scope and Contents:
One homemade scrapbook created and compiled by H. Edwin Jackson. The book contains photographs, some autographed, news clippings, and commercially printed reproductions of photographs of numerous radio and entertainment personalities from 1933 forward. The arrangement of the book and its artwork was the creation of Jackson. Many pages have photographs and/or news items of additional personalities associated with the featured personality.
Subjects include: The Mills Brothers, Ruth Etting, Fred Allen with Portland Hoffa and Jack Smart, Lanny Ross, Phil Baker, Ireene [?] Wicker, The Pickens Sisters, Raymond, Knight, Clara (Louise Starkey), Lu (Isobel Carothers) n' Em (Helen King), Phil Harris and Leah Ray, Vera Van, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Gladys Swarthout, Jeanie Lang, Myrt and Marge, Helen Jepson, Jack Benny and Mary Livingston, Deanna Durbin, Helen Morgan, Jimmy Durante, Alexander Woolcott, The Boswell Sisters, Edwin C. Hill, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Paul Whiteman, Jessica Dragonette, Dave Rubinoff, Little Jackie Heller, Joe Penner, Mildred Bailey, Olga Albani, Vivienne Segal, Ed Wynn, Beatrice Lillie, Burgess Meredith, Dorothy Page, Bing Crosby, Rosa Ponselle, Stoopnagle and Budd, Grace Moore, Frank Crumit and Julia Sanderson, Frances Langford, Conrad Thibault, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, Bobby Breen, Jack Pearl, The Big Show, Olsen (Ole Olsen) and Johnson (Chick Johnson), Ramona, Rudy Vallee, The Easy Aces, Annette Hanshaw, Ben Bernie, Alice Faye, Charles Winninger, Ray Perkins, Eddie Cantor, Irene Rich, The Weiner Minstrels, Frank Parker, Jane Froman, Walter O'Keefe, James Melton, Al Jolson, Donald Novis, Morton Downey, The First Nighter (Charles P. Hughes), Lawrence Tibbett, Fred Astaire, Abe Lyman, Ethel Shutta, Fanny Brice, Joe Cook, Ken Murray, Jack Oakie, Tony Wans, Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, Bob Burns, Don Ameche, Nelson Eddy, Ted Bergman, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
H. Edwin Jackson (1907-1989) was born in Union City, Indiana, the youngest of three children. Jackson's interest in entertainment personalities began early. His father was engaged in real estate and through a land swap acquired The Star Theater in Union City, one of the town's three theaters. The Star was a mid-size theater with a screen and stage. The Jacksons ran The Star as a family business. Jackson was the assistant projectionist to his older sister Mary Elizabeth and he and his father were the janitors. The Star showed silent movies starring such personalities as William S. Hart, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Charlie Chaplin, and Wallace Reid. During the influenza epidemic of the teens the theater closed. The family eventually sold The Star, and Jackson went to work as an assistant projectionist at The Grand, Union City's largest and most modern movie house.
When Jackson graduated from high school, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. The Jackson family's first radio was "The Freshman" and the family eventually owned an Atwater Kent. Jackson became an avid radio fan listening to local Chicago stations WKYW, WENR, and WBBM as well as the national radio networks. Some of Jackson's favorite shows were The Shadow, Amos n' Andy and the Lux Radio Theater. Jackson was laid off from his job in 1933 and spent a great deal of his time listening to radio. His mother gave him money to purchase materials to make a scrapbook of radio and entertainment personalities. He began his book in January 1933, entitling it "Ed Jackson's Book of Radio Personalities." Jackson wrote to many of the personalities he featured in his scrapbook asking for autographed photographs which he put into the book along with clipped photographs and other items of interest from magazines and newspapers, radio show ticket stubs, and programs. Jackson included comics, singers, commentators (both news and social), and stars of popular radio programs. He revised/repaired the book in January, 1982 but Jackson did not detail his revisions.
Jackson was employed by the Lindberg Steel Treating Co. in Melrose Park, Illinois, for thirty years. He married Louise LaJeunesse in 1935 and had two children. Louise died in 1947, and Jackson married Eugenia McDougald in 1951. At the time of his death in December 1989 he was living in Walden, New York.
Sources
Oral History by H. Edwin Jackson, Archives Center Control File
Memorial Obituary for Edwin Jackson, The Newburgh News, December 14, 1989.
Bello, Paul. "Local scrapbook to be displayed at the Smithsonian". Times Community Papers, May 17, 2006.
E-mail message from Annette Smith to Cathy Keen, June 2, 2009.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
George H. Clark Collection Radioana Collection, 1880-1950 (NMAH.AC.0055)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Radio, Motion Pictures, 1896-1963 (NMAH.AC.0060)
National Bureau of Standards Radio Collection, 1917-1933 (NMAH.AC.0217)
Jean Clairmook Radio Scrapbook, 1930-1932 (NMAH.AC.0674)
Provenance:
Donated to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center by Annette L. Smith (H. Edwin Jackson's daughter) in June, 2004.
Donated to the Archives Center by Edwin Jackson's daughter, Ms. Annette Smith.
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.
Home movies documenting the Young family of suburban Northern Virginia. Records family members at home, at play, participating in family activities and celebrations.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Related Archival Materials:
16mm projector used to show these films is in the Photographic History collection (now Division of Work and Industry).
Provenance:
Collection donated by Wilbur P. Young, 1999, December 14.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the films 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.
16mm motion picture films, produced in the 1930s and 1940s by various film production companies, documenting performances by jazz and popular music performers, including Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Lena Horne, the Mills Brothers, and Rosemary Clooney, and others listed below.
Scope and Contents:
Five (5) reels of 16mm motion picture film created in the 1940s by various commercial film production companies, featuring performances by jazz and popular music performers. Individual titles have been assembled into compilation reels by the donor.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection (NMAH.AC.0491)
Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program Collection (NMAH.AC.0808)
Provenance:
The Ben and Ruth Liman Jazz Film Collection was donated to the Archives Center in 2001.
Restrictions:
No reference copies exist. If their condition allow the films may be viewed.
Rights:
Copyright and related intellectual property rights issues may restrict reproduction.
A wide-ranging collection of over 1,000 celebrity advertising endorsements, ca. 1897-1979. The endorsements were culled by a collector/hobbyist from high-end magazines publications such as Fortune, McCalls, Playbill and Vogue. They feature a wide range of celebrities from the fields of performing arts, sports, business, politics and "society." The products endorsed vary greatly with heavy concentrations of cigarettes, beauty products and electronic equipment predominating. The bulk of the collection covers the 1920s-1970s with an especially high concentration of material from the 1930s-1940s. The majority are in color.
Advertisements are filed according to the profession or background of the endorser Thereunder, ads are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the endorser. Where more than one endorser is featured, the advertisement is filed under the last name of the endorser most prominently featured in the advertisement. If they are all of equal status within the advertisement, the advertisement is filed under the last name appearing earliest in the alphabet.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1: Performing Arts
Series 2: Business/Politics
Series 3: Sports
Series 4: Society, fashio, Royalty
Series 5: Writers, Musicians, Artists, Singers
Biographical / Historical:
The use of celebrities for promoting a product is an advertising device that has been used with increasing frequency since the latter part of the 19th century. Personalities from all walks of life, society, sports, and entertainment have regularly lent their image for product endorsement. These products have ranged from alcohol to moth crystals to cigarettes and a variety of other products. The trend continues to grow and refine itself expanding from the realm of print media into television, radio, motion pictures, and the internet.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History by Gary and Sandra Baden, of Chevy Chase, D.C., in 1997.
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.
Featuring advertising for motion picture "Fire Over England." No ink on negative, no edge imprint.
Biographical / Historical:
The Booker T, located on U Street, N.W., between 14th and 15th streets, was one of the Lichtman Theaters (along with the Lincoln and Howard). These three were the main uptown Black theaters (from Wilbur Williams, Washington, D.C., resident, July 2005).
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Series 8: Business Records, Subseries 8.1: Studio Session Registers are restricted. Digital copies available for research. See repository for details.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
New York World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.) Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Motion pictures (visual works)
Home movies
8mm films
Place:
Queens (New York, N.Y.)
Date:
1939-1940
Summary:
The film, titled "Memories of the New York World's Fair" by filmmaker Frank J. Pezzano documents the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Pezzano edited the film and included hand-drawn and typed intertitles identifying the various locations and activities he filmed.
Scope and Contents:
Collection consists of one compilation reel created by the Archives Center of 8mm color amateur motion picture film of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. When originally acquired, the collection comprised two reels of 8mm color camera reversal motion picture film. Archives Center staff created a single compilation reel for long-term storage and handling.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Series 1, Memories of the Fair, 1939-1940
Biographical / Historical:
The film, titled "Memories of the New York World's Fair" by filmmaker Frank J. Pezzano, documents the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Pezzano edited the film and included hand-drawn and typed intertitles identifying the various locations and activities he filmed.
The theme of this fair was "The World of Tomorrow," symbolized by the Trylon and Perisphere sculptures. It commemorated the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington as President in New York City. The Fair was held on 1216 acres in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York, and was divided into seven geographic and thematic zones: Amusement, Communications and Business Systems, Community Interests, Food, Government, Medicine and Public Health, Production and Distribution, Science and Education, and Transportation. In expanding on the theme, the Fair tried to show that what was being built then would be the "World of Tomorrow." Sixty-two nations built exhibit halls. World War Two began September 1, 1939, as the Nazis overran countries represented at the Fair, such as France, Denmark, and Belgium.
His family believes Mr. Pezanno attended the fair alone as indicated by the fact that no family members are depicted in the film. Pezzano's film presents a comprehensive tour of the exterior elements of the fair and includes footage of many of the iconic corporate, state, and national pavillions as well as the images of the fair at night. Pezzano also filmed special attractions such as "Frank Buck's Bring 'Em Back Alive," the parachute ride, and an ice show.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center:
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, 1790-1980s (AC 0300)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, circa 1724-1977 (AC 0060)
Larry Zim World's Fair Collection, 1841-1988 (AC 0519)
Edward J. Orth Memorial Archives of the World's Fair, 1939-1940 (AC 0560)
Provenance:
Donated by John A. Pezzano, 1996
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection materials available for reproduction. The Pezzano family retains interests in the film and must be contacted for permission for any third-party, commercial use. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply.
"Memories of the New York World's Fair" Filmed by Frank J. Pezzano, 1939-1940, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
New York World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.) Search this
Extent:
1 Motion picture film (350 feet, silent, color (Kodachrome), camera original reversal, 16mm )
Container:
Reel OF 531.1
Reel OF 531.1
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Moving Images
Motion picture films
Motion pictures (visual works)
Kodachrome
Place:
New York (N.Y.) -- 1930-1940
Date:
1939
Scope and Contents:
Home movie footage documenting the 1939 World's Fair, shot by Alice Rogers Hillis.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Mrs. Donald L. (Elizabeth) Rasmussen, June 14, 1995.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Research viewing of reference copy only.
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.
Arnold D. Kates was an officer in the Association of Young Advertising Men of New York in the 1930s. As an officer, he visited Washington, D.C., to attend the annual meeting of the Advertising Federation of America and took home movies of the capital, including a formal reception at the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Additional film footage includes scenes on a ship, cityscapes and industrial landscapes of New York City.
Scope and Contents:
Four small reels, combined into a single compilation reel by Archives Center staff, of 16mm black and white, silent, camera original reversal motion picture film. One film depicts scenes of Washington, D.C., including a receiving line at the White House for the annual meeting of the Advertising Federation of America. A second film shows people on a boat, people in a car, and a woman with a calf. The third depicts a Manhattan, New York cityscape, docks and ships, industrial buildings, rail yards and railcars, and shipping trucks. Trucks from the Railway Express Agency and the Bush Terminal Co. appear, as well as buildings possibly owned and/or operated by the Bush Terminal Co. Lastly, the fourth film contains images of automobiles and individuals outside of a building possibly identified as the Cypress Hills Hotel Abbey.
Arnold D. Kates dated the film contents to 1931 based on writing on the boxes the films were contained in when he donated the films. An examination of the Eastman Kodak film stock codes gives dates of 1929 and 1930 for the actual film stock. The four films have been combined into a single compilation reel based on the film stock chronology. The first three films have stock dating 1929 and the final film's stock on the compilation reel dates 1930. No other chronological linkages could be determined.
Biographical / Historical:
Arnold D. Kates was an officer in the Association of Young Advertising Men of New York in the 1930s. As an officer, he visited Washington, D.C., to attend the annual meeting of the Advertising Federation of America and took home movies of the capital, including a formal reception at the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Additional film footage includes scenes on a ship, cityscapes and industrial landscapes of New York City.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Arnold D. Kates, 1983.
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:
United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) -- 1880-1890 Search this
Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.) Search this
The film, George Washington Carver, starring Carver himself, was filmed in 1939 and released in 1940. Ben Parker was the director and Robert L. Shurr wrote the screenplay.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a copy of the original script for the motion picture George Washington Carver and a scrapbook detailing the motion picture's press. The bulk of the material dates to the production and release of the film, 1939-1940. There is additional correspondence from Shurr concerning the film dated 1968. The scrapbook contains photographs from the film. There are reference copies for the script and scrapbook.
Biographical / Historical:
The film, George Washington Carver, was an independent production of Bryant Productions, directed by Ben Parker and written by Robert L. Shurr. An article on Dr. George Washington Carver in Life magazine reportedly inspired the original idea for Parker. After a personal visit by Parker, Carver consented not only to approve the film but to appear in it. Parker engaged Robert L. Shurr to write the screenplay, originally titled Devil Cotton or the Story of Dr. Carver. The screenplay combined both a documentary and fictional narrative style. The screenplay detailed Carver's early life including a fictitious romantic relationship. The cast included: Ralph Edwards, Raye Gilbert, John J. Marvin, and Milton Sprague.
Raising funds for the project and making the film were both difficult. Parker eventually raised $2,000 from Allen McDowell who is listed as one of the film's producers. The film, which reportedly cost $14,000, was shot in Alabama with a small crew and very basic equipment. The film crew and those helping with the filming experienced violence from the white community which reportedly stoned McDowell and two of the film's local white participants. The film was released independently and played in a few RKO owned theatres but apparently never recouped its cost. In 1940, $10,000 was taken in at the film's premiere at Tuskegee Institute. Most likely, this was the film's largest audience.
We have no further information about the production or producer, our initial research has been unable to locate any further details concerning this film. A print of the film in its entirety is not known to exist, but portions of it are seen in a thirty minute video from Schlesinger Video Productions entitled Black Americans of Achievement: George Washington Carver.
Carver, a world famous agrichemist, was born near Diamond Grove, Missouri, circa 1864 to a woman named Mary. In 1896, he went to Tuskegee Institute as the head of the Agricultural Department and stayed there until his death on January 5, 1943.
Carver found many uses for the peanut, sweet potato, pecan, soybean, and cotton stalk. His important contributions to the Southern economy were: to diversify, utilize the land more efficiently, and in an ecologically friendly way, build up the soil, cope with plant diseases, and utilize research results in farm activities.
Among the many honors he received were: fellow, British Royal Society of Arts, 1916; Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 1923; and the Theodore Roosevelt Medal, 1939. He was widely admired and Henry Ford included a replica of his birthplace at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan.
In his personal life Carver was never married and current scholarship indicates that he may have been homosexual. The historian, Horace L. Griffin, in his 2006 book Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians & Gays in Black Churches, details the clandestine homosexual life of Carver and others. Pertaining to Carver's habit of giving peanut oil massages to his male friends, Linda O. McMurry in her 1982 biography of Carver, George Washington Carver, Scientist and Symbol, relates, "Most of his male friends received at least one massage from the professor," but evidence that it ever went beyond massage is not detailed. Beginning in 1935, Carver's constant companion was Austin W. Curtis, Jr. a graduate of Cornell who taught at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College before coming to Tuskegee and joining Carver as his assistant.
Rackham Holt, Carver's biographer, describes the relationship between the two men in his 1943 biography, George Washington Carver: an American Biography, "At last someone had been welcomed not merely into Dr. Carver's laboratory, but also into his heart. He believed that there was something providential in the coming of this young man, so intensely serious about his work and extremely competent at it, who was at the same time a genial companion; he was proud of him and loved and depended on him as his own son . . . . And the affection was returned in full measure. Mr. Curtis accompanied him everywhere, seeing to his comfort, shielding him from intrusion, and acting as his official mouthpiece." Carver had a standing invitation to visit Henry Ford at his plantation in Ways, Georgia, where guest rooms were kept prepared for both Carver and Curtis. Carver died in Tuskegee, Alabama on January 5, 1943 and was buried in the churchyard of the college chapel. The National Park Service owns and maintains 210 acres of the farm where Carver was born as the George Washington Carver National Monument.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Robert L. Shurr in October 1984.
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.
Robert L. Shurr Script and Scrapbook for the Motion Picture "George Washington Carver", 1939-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 24
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
U Street, N.W. (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
[ca. 1937.]
Scope and Contents:
Large posters above the marquee level advertise "Romeo and Juliet" (1936) with Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, and John Barrymore,and "Top of the Town" (1937).
Biographical / Historical:
The Republic Theatre opened on 30 May 1921 at 1333 U St., N.W., Washington, D.C.,a block west of the Lincoln Theatre. Film Daily Yearbooks listed it as a "Negro" theater. The building was designed by Phillip M. Julien. The exterior had a Spanish tile roof above the facade. The Republic was closed in 1976 and was later demolished to make way for the new Metro subway system. (Bryan Krefft and Ken Roe, "Cinema Treasures," noted 9 July 2010 at http://cinematreasures.org/theater/20564/)
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 24
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1940
Scope and Contents:
Exterior view, shows marquee advertising movie "Personal Property", with Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor. No ink ident. on negative. Defender edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Motion picture theaters -- 1930-1950 -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 10" x 20".)
Container:
Box 14, Folder 36
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Banquet camera photographs
Panoramas
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1950 -- Photographs
Date:
1935
Scope and Contents:
Scan Number: AC0618.004.0001336.tif
Large crowd of men, women and children posing outside the Lincoln Theatre. Large advertising hoarding for film "Barbary Coast" starring Edward G. Robinson and for "Transatlantic Tunnel" starring Richard Dix, which is advertised as coming soon. The Lincoln Barber shop is to the left of the theatre. No ink on negative. "DEFENDER SAFETY FILM" edge imprint.
Biographical / Historical:
Both films were released in 1935.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Series 8: Business Records, Subseries 8.1: Studio Session Registers are restricted. Digital copies available for research. See repository for details.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Banquet camera photographs -- 1930-1940
Panoramas
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
The collection was acquired with assistance from the Eugene Meyer Foundation. Elihu and Susan Rose and the Save America's Treasures program, provided funds to stabilize, organize, store, and create digital surrogates of some of the negatives. Processing and encoding funded by a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources.
