This collection consists of archival materials compiled by National Museum of American History Curator Katherine Ott, on numerous subjects relating to disability and the rights of the disabled.
Scope and Contents:
The Disability Reference Collection represents a range of research materials acquired by curators Audrey Davis (1967-1996) and Katherine Ott (2002- ) and Janice Majewski (1978-2001), the first director of the Smithsonian's Accessibility Program in support of their collecting and exhibition work in the Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History.
Material includes scholarly and popular articles, advertisements, product literature, clippings, schematics, photographs, audio, video, and ephemera. Some materials were sent to Davis and Ott by members of the general public who heard about their work; others were purchased by Ott at flea markets and on e-Bay.
Combined with associated Archives Center collections and objects housed in the curatorial divisions at NMAH, this collection constitutes one of the largest and most significant sources on American disability history. It is especially strong in accessibility policy documents from the early days of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its implementation, and product trade literature of the 1980s and 1990s. The collection also has a rich selection of newsletters and magazines published for various disability sectors, such as the Toomey J Gazette on polio and Mainstream.
Each series represents a subject or type of material. Researchers should look across all series when examining a topic or type of material. For example, trade literature items for the disabled person are found not only in the dedicated series, but also in series specific to a particular disability (i.e. Blindness: Aids and Appliances). Another example is material on polio. Researchers should look in the dedicated series, but also in Series 9: Edna Hindson's Scrapbooks and Series 8: Ron Mace.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seventeen series.
Series 1: Blindness, 1945-2001
Series 2: Hearing, 1855-2009
Series 3: Polio, 1925-2008
Series 4: Universal Design, 1962-2006
Series 5: Subject Files, 1863-2008
Series 6: Americans with Disabilities Act: 1968-2015, undated
Series 7: Brody, Lee/TTY, 1941-2001
Series 8: Mace, Ron, 1950-1990
Series 9: Hindson, Edna R., 1946-1954, 1991, 2003
Series 10: Lindahl, Lisa, 1988-2002, undated
Series 11: Wheelchairs, 1853-2007
Series 12: Arizonans for Safe and Equal Access to Transportation, 1987-1992
Series 13: Printed Material, 1959-2013
Series 14: Trade Literature, 1971-2013
Series 15: Newspaper Clippings, 1973-2000
Series 16: Ephemera, 1866-2011, undated
Series 17: Audio Visual Materials, 1979-2005
Historical Note:
The Disability Reference Collection represents a range of research materials [primarily] acquired by curators Audrey Davis (1967-1996) and Katherine Ott (2002-) in support of their collecting and exhibition work in the Divison of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History (NMAH). The collection also contains material acquired by Janice Majewski (1978-2001), the first director of the Smithsonian's Accessibility Program. Additional materials have been added since the collection was transferred to the Archives Center.
Audrey Davis (1934-2006) was a NMAH curator from 1967 to 1996. Her interest and expertise in rehabilitation medicine, including prosthetics and orthotics, led to important three-dimensional collections in the Division of Medicine and Science. Davis did a series of showcases on such topics as hearing aids, artificial noses, and a large exhibition in 1973 entitled Triumph over Disability: the Development of Rehabilitation Medicine in the U.S.A., for the 50th anniversary of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. The exhibition was dedicated to Mary Elizabeth Switzer, an influential figure in the field. Katherine Ott joined the Division in 2001 as a permanent curator and broadened research to include pan-disability issues. Ott led exhibitions on the history of maxillofacial surgery (About Faces, 1998), The Disability Rights Movement (2000-2002), polio (Whatever Happened to Polio?, 2005-2006), HIV and Aids Thirty Years Ago (2011-2012); general disability history (EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America, 2013), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA25, 2015). Ott received a grant in 2000 from NMAH's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation to study the history of Universal Design; this included the collection of supporting materials.
Janice Majewski was the first director of the Smithsonian's Accessibility Program. Her tenure lasted from 1978 to 2001. She gathered background on museums and accessibility, followed current events, consulted on museum projects around the United States, and received a constant flow of product literature from vendors hoping for a Smithsonian contract. Most of the assistive technology brochures, policy papers, and gray literature on accessibility came from her office.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Kevin M. Tuohy Papers (NMAH.AC.0317)
Milton S. Wirtz, D.D.S., Artificial Eye Collection (NMAH.AC.0501)
Van Phillips Video Oral History and Papers (NMAH.AC.0859)
Safko International, Inc. Records (NMAH.AC.0911)
Hariett Green Kopp Papers (NMAH.AC.1130)
Division of Science, Medicine and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection (NMAH.AC.1134)
Collection of TTY (text telephone) equipment, business records, posters, and awards relating to telecommunications pioneer Lee Brody. TTY phones allow the deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired to use the telephone to communicate.
Gallaudet University Library Deaf Collections and Archives
The Harry G. Lang Collection on Early TTY History, 1947-1999
Collection of correspondence, news clippings, technical data, and other materials documenting the invention and first 15 years of the phone teletypewriter for the deaf.
North Carolina State University Libraries
Ronald L. Mace Papers, 1974-1998
Collection of correspondence, project reports, architectural drawings, videos, and publications.
Provenance:
The core of the collection was assembled by curators Audrey Davis (1967-1996) and Katherine Ott (2002-) in support of their collecting and exhibition work in the Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History. The collection also contains material acquired by Janice Majewski, the first director of the Smithsonian's Accessibility Program. Additional materials have been added since the collection was transferred to the Archives Center.
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.
Video oral history interview of Van Phillips, inventor of the Flex-Foot and other innovative prosthetic feet, conducted by Katherine Ott and Maggie Dennis, February 27, 2004, and design drawings and printed materials regarding prosthetic feet by Van Phillips, Hilary D. Pouchak, and Slobodon Djordjevic.
Scope and Contents:
Approximately two hours of a video oral history interview of Van Phillips, inventor of the Flex-Foot and other innovative prosthetic feet, conducted by Katherine Ott and Maggie Dennis, February 27, 2004. In Series 2 there are design drawings and printed materials regarding prosthetic feet by Van Phillips and Hilary D. Pouchak.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Video Oral History, 2004
Series 2: Design Drawings and Printed Materials, 1991-2002
Biographical / Historical:
In 1976, after a waterskiing accident, Van Phillips had his left leg amputated just above the ankle. At the time he was twenty-one years old and a student at Arizona State University studying mass communications and advertising. The accident and his frustration with the prosthetic technology at the time motivated Phillips to switch his studies to prosthetics. He graduated in 1981. Happy to design a prosthetic foot with strength, flexibility, and light weight materials, Phillips began the process of bringing his ideas into reality. During this time his idea of a C-shaped foot was born. Carbon fiber with its excellent strength and flexible properties was cut into a C-shaped foot, with a sole on the bottom and a prosthetic socket above. With this design, weight applied by landing on the heel was converted into energy thereby simulating the spring action of the normal foot and allowing users to run and jump. After trying out his new design, Phillips immediately decided to quit his job, develop his design, and start a new company. Flex-Foot Inc. was formed in 1984 and demand for Phillips innovative prosthetic foot has increased ever since. While the firm was sold in 2000 to Ossur, a company based in Iceland, in 2000, Phillips still owns the patent rights to his invention and continues to contribute his ideas and expertise to research and development projects.
Provenance:
The design drawings and product literature was donated by Ossur North America, on July 30, 2004. The videocassettes were donated by the Smithsonian Institution's Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History on July 30, 2004.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
2004 February 27
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1991 - 2002
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Container:
Box 1, Video 859.1
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
2004 February 27
Scope and Contents:
Total Running Time: 32:30
Maggie Dennis and Katherine Ott interview of Van Phillips, topics discussed: his life as a father; a desire to create a Landmine Foot; his early disdain for the Flex-Foot; the brainstorming process with partners about the design of prosthetic feet; his work at Flex-Foot Inc. and the frustrations he experienced with the science advisory board; his appreciation of creativity and how ideas come to him; the founding of Flex-Foot Inc.; his partners Dale Abildskov and Bob Fosberg; the decision to sell the company to Ossur; and how he ended up at the University of Utah's Center for Biomedical Design.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Container:
Box 1, Video 859.2
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
2004 February 27
Scope and Contents:
Total Running Time: 30:15
Continuing discussion of his work at the Center for Biomedical Design for Jan Secosa; working on his prosthetic foot designs on the weekend; problems with various materials and the toes of the feet always breaking; the overall development of his prosthetic foot design; setting up his apartment to fabricate prototypes; calling companies to get free samples of materials; differences between bolted and bonded feet; how his energy idea was born; his own use of prosthetic feet such as the Sach Foot and the Greisinger Foot; the Seattle Foot prosthetic foot that was similar in concept to Phillips; and the benefits of the split toe design.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Container:
Box 1, Video 859.3
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
2004 February 27
Scope and Contents:
Total Running Time: 28:20
In this portion of the interview, Phillips talks about his amputation surgery and a subsequent surgery (Ertl technique) 10 years later to correct the first amputation; being able to finally use his own foot designs because it no longer hurt his stump to do so; his experiences with the patent system and the toll litigation takes defending his patents; working with Aimee Mullins and Dennis Oehler; the rise of the sprint leg in popular culture; and his thoughts and opinions about people with disabilities and the culture that surrounds them.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Container:
Box 1, Video 859.4
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
2004 February 27
Scope and Contents:
Total Running Time: 27:30
Phillips discusses the differences between amputees and wheelchair bound individuals; his feelings about his disability; life before his waterskiing accident; the future of prosthetic technology; powered prosthetic feet; the C-leg; osseo-integration; and gives advice to new amputees.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Container:
Box 2, Video RV 859.1-4
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
2004 February 27
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
2004 February 27
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
4 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1990 October
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
12 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1994 February-June 1994
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
13 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1998 April- May 1998
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
4 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
2002 April
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
12 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 5
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1995 July
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
10 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 6
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1999 November-2000 July
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
10 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 7
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1991 July-1992 December
Scope and Contents:
Printed documents: letter and instructions regarding the Geri-Flex to prosthetist.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
27 Drawings (visual works) (Letter, instructions, and specifications regarding the Geri-Flex to prosthetist.)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 8
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1992 December-1993 March
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
24 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1991 October-2002 March
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Search this
Extent:
9 Drawings (visual works)
Container:
Box 3, Folder 10
Type:
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Date:
1997 March-1998 February
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions
Collection Citation:
Van Phillips Oral History and Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
