Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005 Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., [12" x 20"].)
Container:
Box 2, Folder 42
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Banquet camera photographs
Panoramas
Retouching
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1950 -- Photographs
Date:
1930 September 1
Scope and Contents:
Scan Number: AC06183.004.0001282.tif
Group of men, women and children in Egyptian style costume on a float of Cleopatra's Barge. A woman dressed as Cleopatra stands at one end of the float. AC0618.004.0001264 is a negative of the same scene. It has the caption, "Awarded First Prize, Sept 1 '30. Dist. of Col. Fire Engine Co. #4". Ink on negative: "H". No edge imprint. Pencil retouching on faces.
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.
Topic:
African American firefighters -- 1930-1940 Search this
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Banquet camera photographs -- 1930-1940
Panoramas
Retouching -- Pencil
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., [12" x 20"].)
Container:
Box 2, Folder 24
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:
1930 September 1
Scope and Contents:
Scan Number: AC0618.004.0001264.tif
Group of men, women and children in Egyptian style costume on a float of Cleopatra's Barge. A woman dressed as Cleopatra and a man in costume sit under a decorated canopy at one end of the float. Ink on negative: "H" Ink on a seperate section of film strip taped to the negative: caption and "Scurlock Photo". No edge imprint.
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.
Topic:
African American firefighters -- 1930-1940 Search this
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.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Wurlitzer Company Records, 1860-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
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.
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.
The records document Messmore and Damon's work in the design and construction of parade floats, museum dioramas, exhibitions, displays and scenery. The materials include business records, photographs, patents, scrapbooks, promotional materials, sound recordings and moving image.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of papers relating to Messmore and Damon's work in the design and construction of parade floats, museum dioramas, exhibitions, displays and scenery. The materials include business records, patents, photographs, scrapbooks containing clippings and photographs, promotional materials, sound recordings, and moving image.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into eleven series.
Series 1: Background/Biographical Materials, 1925-1996
Series 2: Business Files, 1918-1997
Subseries 2.1: Messmore and Damon, Inc., 1918-1988
Subseries 2.2: Messmore, Inc., 1971-1989
Series 3: Patents, 1892-1952
Series 4: Projects/Exhibitions, 1924-1997
Series 5: Parades, 1960-1997
Series 6: Product Literature, circa 1930s-1992
Series 7: Heart Patient Simulator Materials, 1977-1998
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1925-1947
Series 9: Photographs, 1900-1997
Subseries 9.1: Family, 1900-1997
Subseries 9.2: Subjects, 1930-1995
Subseries 9.3: Chronological, 1957-1985
Subseries 9.4: Ephemera, undated
Subseries 9.5: Postcards, undated
Subseries 9.6: Negatives, undated
Series 10: Oversize Materials, 1930-1989
Series 11: Audiovisual Materials, 1933-1937, 1997
Subseries 11.1: Audio Discs, 1933-1937
Subseries 11.2: Moving Image, 1997
Biographical / Historical:
Messmore and Damon, Inc. was founded in 1914 by George Harold Messmore (1884-1961) and Joseph A. Damon (1882-1962). Messmore and Damon met in 1916 while working on floats for the Elks Convention in New York City. The two formed a partnership and in 1914 opened Messmore and Damon, Inc., a small shop where they initially constructed animal displays, but quickly expanded to theatrical scenery, parade floats, props for television, amusement park operations, seasonal displays, special effects in stores, advertising and promotional work, window displays, dioramas, and other exhibit work. Most of their parade and department store work featured mechanical devices which animated the animal and human figures involved, pioneering in what became known as "animatronics." The firm did the first Macy's Day Parade in 1924 and attained world-wide fame with their exhibit, The World a Million Years Ago at the 1933-1934, Chicago Century of Progress Exposition. A separate company, Messmore, Inc., was created to manufacture and sell a cardiology patient simulator, "Harvey," later known as "George," for use in medical schools.
Joseph A. Damon, born in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, attended art school in St. Louis. A scenic artist by training he worked at Lee Lash Studios and built floats for the Hudson/Fulton Celebration in 1909. Damon married Olga Schaufelberger and had one daughter named Olga C. Damon (1922-2000).
George H. Messmore, known as "GH," started his career working backstage in theaters and built displays for the Panama-Pacific Exposition (1915). Messmore married Meta Decker (1890-1985) and they had one son, Francis (1916-1997), known as "Fran." Fran joined Messmore and Damon in 1946, working on department store displays and ran the company until his death in 1997. The company was dissolved on September 2, 1998.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
William L. Bird Holidays on Display Collection (AC1319)
Michael Cipriano Papers (AC1274)
Landy Hales Papers (AC0906)
John Nicholson Papers (AC1279)
Edward J. Orth Memorial Archives of the World's Fair (AC0560)
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Pamela Messmore Tobiason, granddaughter of George H. Messmore, in 2003.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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.
Footage briefly showing Cairo, Egypt and Bombay, India and extended documention of Singapore. Footage of Cairo and Bombay includes arrivals of British diplomats. Footage of Singapore includes celebrations for the King of England with parades, floats, and bands. Also documented is fire walking done by Hindu devotees.
General:
Local Numbers: HSFA 1976.4.1-3
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Milton E. Merriman travel films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
2 Film reels (37 minutes, color silent; 1334 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1960
Scope and Contents:
Travel film footage of Hawaii. (There are no Airstream trailers in this film footage.) Ship arrives at Honolulu Harbor, Oahu, (tourists on ship wearing leis waving, band and singer welcoming visitors to pier nine, and Aloha Clock Tower); various Hawaiian dances performed for tourists; Pan Am prop plane taking off at airport; various views of Honolulu from above and at street level, ocean beach scenes; Kamehameha Day parade (military marching, military band, women dressed in black; floats Mamalahoa Kanawai, the Law of the Splintered Paddle, speed boat, and island floats with Hawaiian dancers, each led by royal pa'u riders). On the Big Island travelers view devastation of a natural disaster (homes crushed, furniture scattered outside homes and stores, cars and boats upended and crushed, and damaged Catholic Church St. Peter Kahaluu). Footage then concentrates on volcanic activity with a visit to 1950 Kaapuna Flow (black beach, holding piece of soft pumice like lava, and volcano with steam from the crater) and Byron Ledge, the rim between Kilauea and Kilauea Iki Volcanoes. Wells included three purchased films of volcanic eruptions: "Pele Comes Back to Puna, Phase 1," "Kilauea Iki's Rebirth and Fountains, Phase 2," and "Pele On a Rampage at Puna, Phase 3." Each film includes much nighttime footage of erupting fountains, gigantic steam blasts, lava rivers, lava flow reaching the ocean, and some daytime footage capturing the smoke and burning lava flows of the 1960 Puna area volcanic eruptions. Also shown is the nearby town of Kapoho which was evacuated. Film ends with travel to Kauai Island visiting such sites as Hanapepe Valley; Waimea Canyon; and Spouting Horn, a blow hole, with filming of lovely landscapes along the way (falls, plowed fields, river, and beach) and brief view of a sugar cane processing plant. Film footage contains aerial views of Hawaii.
Legacy Keywords: Lava ; Parade floats ; Dance Hula Hawaiian ; Mountains Hawaii ; Formations (Geology) Hawaii ; Honolulu (Hawaii) ; United States ; Kilauea Volcano (Hawaii.) ; Oceania
General:
Local Number: HSFA 1998.21.2
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Floyd Henry Wells films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. 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.
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.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view materials in cold storage and audio visual materials. Using cold room materials requires a three hour waiting period, reference copies do not exist for audio visual materials. Arrangements must be made with the Archives Center staff two weeks prior to a scheduled research visit. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
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:
United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
The Lisa Chickering and Jeanne Porterfield collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the National Anthropological Film Collection may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Lisa Chickering and Jeanne Porterfield Collection, National Anthropological Film Collection, Smithsonian Institution
This series is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, Messmore and Damon, Inc. and Subseries 2, Messmore, Inc.
Subseries 2.1: Messmore and Damon, 1918-1988 consists of corporate identity materials, certificate of incorporation, employee information, correspondence, financial statements and reports, and sales information. The corporate identity materials contain business cards, letterhead, blank forms, press kit folders, and envelopes branded with the Messmore and Damon, Inc. company name.
There is a list detailing all of the facilities and major equipment located at the 530 West 28th Street warehouse space. The employee information contains documentation about the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, a Division of Industrial Safety Service (New York State) requirement form (1951) requesting Messmore and Damon comply with a cover/guard for a lathe sand radial saw. Brief biographical sketches for some company employees are included.
There is some correspondence with other businesses for machines and machining services, as well as an agreement between Messmore and Damon and the Diaroma and Display Workers.
The rolodex maintained by the company provides insight into the "who" Messmore and Damon worked with. Typed or handwritten on an index card, and in some instances, a printed business card, the rolodex information is arranged alphabetically and provides a name, address, telephone number and other data, such as account numbers. Presumably maintained by Dorothy Messmore and other clerical staff, there are card index entries for theatres, attorneys, government officials and offices, repair services, funeral homes, electricians, plumbers, and lumber companies, and union organizations. Many of the index cards are annotated reflecting updated and/or edited information. The notation "deceased" is used.
The correspondence, 1918-1988, is arranged chronologically and consists of letters to Messmore and Damon, many of which are testimonials expressing gratitude and praise for the company's work on parade floats. These include, but are not limited to, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, Central Asiatic Expeditions, the Miss America Pageant, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, Canada's Victory Loan, and President Gerald Ford.
The inquiries, 1991-1995, include correspondence with individuals and organizations who contracted or sought to contract with Messmore and Damon for their services.
The financial statements, 1989-1997, consist of bound statements prepared by Konigsberg Wolf and Co., certified public accountants. These statements detail Messmore and Damon's balance sheet and do not constitute an audit or review.
The "Valuation Opinion of John W. Hanes, Jr.," is a typescript document from 1986 discussing the financial health of Messmore and Damon, presumably in preparation for selling the company. In addition, there are several copies of Report and Analysis of Messmore and Damon. These documents provide an overview of the company's work, problems it faces, competitors, and client lists.
The sales information includes order books and revenue information. The sales orders include correspondence, licensing agreements, receipts, purchase orders, faxes, and other documents that are arranged chronologically.
The outgoing shipments documentation consists of typescript shipping labels arranged in a notebook chronologically. The labels are annotated with a brief description of what shipped, the date, cost, and size.
The quotes for work include correspondence and typescript and handwritten estimates for work to prospective clients.
Subseries 2.2: Messmore, Inc includes stock certificates, the first board meeting minutes (November 1977), a distributorship agreement with Unitrade Ltd., to manufacture and sell the cardiology patient simulator, certificate of dissolution (1989), and by-laws. A 1956 copy of the articles of incorporation for Messmore and Damon, Inc. is also included.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Messmore and Damon Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
This series consists of correspondence, faxes, liability insurance, solicitation letters, drawings, lists detailing contacts, quotes, contracts sent and payments, agreements, invoices, purchase orders, parade routes, parade schedules, accident reports, notes, and cancelled checks. In the 1950s, Messmore and Damon began specializing in Labor Day parade floats, most of which were for trade unions. Labor Day parades are well represented here as well as the Puerto Rican Gay Pride Parade.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Messmore and Damon Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The photographs consist of black-and-white and color prints, slides, negatives, and transparencies documenting the Messmore family, parades, float and display construction, and other World's Fairs.
The series is arranged topically into five subseries: Subseries 9.1: Family; Subseries 9.2: Subjects; Subseries 9.3: Chronological; Subseries 9.3: Chronological; Subseries 9.4; Miscellaneous, and Subseries 9.5: Postcards; Subseries 9.6: Negatives.
The majority of the photographs are family-related images and depict the Messmore family traveling, in their home, and celebrating holidays and birthday parties, especially children's birthdays. Some of the earlier family photographs, circa 1900-1930, contain portraits of various family members. In some instances, individual photographs were removed from albums.
Many of the subjects relate to specific projects undertaken by Messmore and Damon, Inc. such as their History of Federal Hall Exhibit. This subseries is arranged alphabetically. The Century of Progress photographs include a nudist wedding.
Many of the parade/float photographs depict completed floats on parade routes, especially Labor Day Parades, and in some instances depict the employees/display makers constructing floats and other elements in the shop. The Labor Day Parade photographs contain patriotic themes such as "Build a Stronger America" and placards on floats such as the "Clinton/Gore" campaign. Many of the parade floats were designed for various labor unions. Streetscapes of various U.S. cities are also included and presumably were taken for planning parade routes.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Messmore and Damon Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Messmore and Damon Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Messmore and Damon Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Messmore and Damon Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Messmore and Damon Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Social Security numbers are present and numbers have been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.
Reference copies for the audio discs do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement with Archives Center staff.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
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:
Messmore and Damon Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
