Search Results

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb653f5a4fa-71fe-4259-ab23-a33248a801d5

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref32850

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2015-06-11T14:09:11.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_FTl-UPTgbZ0

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2023-04-07T15:23:04.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_382mfV9FHFw

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2023-03-31T05:46:26.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_tzL_2N22c20

Collector:

Whitehead, Henry Preston, 1917-2002  Search this

Extent:

156.91 Linear feet (178 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pamphlets

Sound recordings

Clippings

Memorabilia

Newspapers

Photographs

Books

Brochures

Date:

1843-2010

bulk 1940-1986

Summary:

The papers of historian Henry P. Whitehead measure 156.91 linear feet and date from 1843 to 2010 (bulk 1945-1986). The collection documents Whitehead's careers, as well as his family and personal life. The collection also includes the personal papers of Tomlinson D. Todd, Elizabeth B. Delaney and the Howard Theatre Foundation. The combined collection is comprised of black theatrical memorabilia; materials relating to civil rights activities in the District of Columbia; and the African American experience in general. Included are playbills, sheet music, admission tickets, newspapers, magazines, books, photographs, clippings, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, sound recordings, research files, and other material.

Scope and Contents note:

The papers of historian Henry P. Whitehead measure 156.91 linear feet and date from 1843 to 2010 (bulk 1945-1986). The collection includes the personal papers of Henry P. Whitehead, Tomlinson D. Todd, Elizabeth B. Delaney and the Howard Theatre Foundation. The collection is divided into four series.

Series I focuses on Whitehead and includes papers dating from 1843 to his death in 2011. This series includes biographical material including a large amount of appointment books, identification and membership cards, resumes, certificates, and personal and family material. There is a limited amount of correspondence, which focuses on his personal relationships with family, friends, and general correspondence relating primarily to his work as a local historian.

Also found within Whitehead's papers are countless records from his time employed by the Washington DC government. Materials include memoranda, notes, research material, handbooks, guides, manuals, affirmative action info and records, affirmative action plans, promotion recommendations, recruitment plans and summaries, personnel files (complaints), civil actions and reports related too Whitehead's 37 years of government employment. It reflects the activities of numerous departments, primarily in regards to employment and affirmative action.

There are also a number of files that document Whitehead's involvement in numerous community organizations. Among the organizations in which Whitehead was involved include U Street Festival, Lincoln Corporation, and the U Street Theater Foundation. The papers of the U Street Foundation document the production and establishment of the annual U Street Festival. The Lincoln Theater Foundation and the U Street Theater Foundation papers document the efforts to reopen the Lincoln Theater. Also included are Whitehead's research on the Lincoln as well as old Lincoln Theatre programs. Additionally found within this series are documents and clippings on the economic development within Washington DC particularly in the Shaw/U Street location.

The majority of this series consists of printed material. Printed material in this series includes books, clippings, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, press releases, sheet music, programs as well as promotional material for several Washington DC theaters and organizations. There is a large quantity of theater programs dating from 1900-1986. The majority of the clippings and magazines are theater related topics, coupled with a miscellaneous selection of clippings on topics that presumably captured Whitehead's attention.

Research, notes and writings include a large amount of scrapbooks compiled by Whitehead of mostly photocopied clippings documenting Washington DC history, African American theater history, and general African American history. Five scrapbooks were compiled by an unknown source and were previously housed in the New York Public Library collection. Two scrapbooks are about general theater history one about Frances Starr and one about Margaret Anglin. There is also one scrapbook pertaiing to Mae Hall. Also included are a large amount of research notes and notebooks along with general miscellaneous notes.

There are several photographs of African Americans in the performing arts as well as images of Washington DC and several unidentified men, women, and children.

Audio recordings include 23 cassette from the Alexandria Church of God.

The remainder of the collection consists of the papers of Tomlinson D. Todd, Elizabeth B. Delaney, and those about the Howard Theatre.

The Howard Theatre papers are arranged in Series II and include documents relating to the Washington DC historic Howard Theatre and date from 1910 to 1986. The papers in this series predominantly document the Howard Theatre Foundation's efforts to reestablish and run the Howard Theatre in which Whitehead was the vice president. Records include business correspondence, founding documents, photographs, memoranda, press releases, member lists, financial records, clippings, and scrapbooks of clippings pertaining to the organization and theatre.

The correspondence in the collection include a handful of letters from the Washington DC government along with individuals and organizations. Also included is a large amount of interoffice memoradums.

Administrative records include lawsuits, resolutions, meeting minutes, grant proposals, press releases, memoranda, member lists, studies and reports.

Financial records include check stubs, receipts, invoices, bank statements, expenses, and contribution lists. Printed material includes original and photocopied clippings relating to the history and coverage of the foundation activities. Mostly promotional material as flyers, brochures, and press releases along with programs. In particular two 1920 Howard Theatre programs.

The scrapbooks of original and photocopied clippings compiled by Whitehead chronicle the history of the theatre and coverage of the foundation activities.

There are three VHS cassette featuring Whitehead discussing the Howard Theatre. Also found in series 2 are numerous stock investment record books belonging to A.E. Lichtman one of the early managers of the Howard Theatre. In addition early correspondence between Lichtman and the Rex Amusement Company concerning operational management issues of the Howard Theatre.

The Tomlinson D. Todd papers are arranged in Series III and date from 1902-1986 they include organization files, collected printed materials, subject files, and personal papers.

The collection includes materials relating to organizations in which there was a relationship to Todd's work and in which he had an interest primarily during the 1940s and 1950s, organizations include the National Negro Congress (ca, 1946-1947); the Congress for Industrial Organizations (1943-1947); National Council of Negro Women (1947-1949); Committee for Racial Democracy in the Nation's Capital (1947-1948).

The subject files include documents from three of Todd's organizations; Institute on Race Relation, Club Internationale, and his radio program "Americans All". As well as printed material from Todd's alma mater Lincoln University.

The largest subject file is "Americans All" which includes radio scripts as well as audio recording of a few programs and public service announcements. Also found are several black and white photographs of Todd at the radio studio. Printed materials include newspapers, leaflets, convention proceedings, and flyers, There are a large amount of programs ranging from church worship to convention as well as performance. Also present is a small amount of personal papers, including resumes, certificates, admission tickets, family documents, and travel ephemera from his all expense paid trip to Nigeria.

There are a few photographs of Todd at functions and with notable individuals as well as some family, friends and travel.

Elizabeth's B. Delaney papers are arranged in Series IV and date from 1874-1973.

The papers primarily document her involvement in four organizations, the Grand Oder of Odd Fellow of Kentucky, the Order Eastern Star Kentucky, the State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs of Kentucky and the National Association of Colored Women. There is a small amount of printed material belonging to her son primarily the Alpha Phi Alpha material and Gospel Choral Sheet Music, and books.

The Scrapbook was complied by Whitehead consisting of photocopied clipping documenting the life of Elizabeth B. Delaney.

Arrangement note:

This collection is arranged into four series:

Series 1: Henry P. Whitehead papers Series 2: Howard Theatre Series 3: Tomlinson D. Todd Series 4. Elizabeth B. Delaney

Biographical/Historical note:

Henry Preston Whitehead Jr., was a native of Columbus Ohio. A graduate of Ohio State University, where he also attended law school and was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Mr. Whitehead discovered Washington's "Black Broadway" in 1940, when he was a soldier in town on a weekend furlough. As he served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II. Prior to moving to Washington DC Henry P. Whitehead worked for five years as a liquor inspector. Mr. Whitehead moved to Washington D.C. in 1949 and worked for the Post Office before working for the District of Columbia government where he stayed 21 years. He led several equal employment initiatives during the 1960s and 1970s, and was last employed as associate director of the District's Office of Human Rights. In 1980 after putting in 37 years of government service Mr. Whitehead retired. Mr. Whitehead was an historian who led efforts to restore Washington's U Street cultural corridor and achieved recognition as an authority on and collector of black theatrical memorabilia. Mr. Whitehead worked to promote and preserve the city's rich African American cultural heritage.

Mr. Whitehead, served as the chairman and president for 10 years of the Howard Theater Foundation Inc., which he helped establish. There he led the effort to include Howard Theatre in the National Register of Historic Places.

Similarly he was an active member of the U Street Festival Foundation. He was an adviser to the Kennedy Center, Anacostia Museum, and other Smithsonian Institution units and contributed materials to their exhibitions. He was also a consultant to historical documentaries broadcast on public television and radio, including PBS's "Duke Ellington's Washington." His writings included "Remembering U Street," a book used for annual festivals in the historic area.

Mr. Whitehead was also the founder and board member of the Lincoln Theatre Foundation.

Henry P. Whitehead Jr. died on January 8th 2002 at the age of 84.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the Anacostia Community Museum on September 1, 2005 by Michael A. Watkins.

Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.

Rights:

The Henry P. Whitehead collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.

Topic:

Howard Theatre (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

African Americans  Search this

National Negro Congress (U.S.)  Search this

National Council of Negro Women  Search this

Radio broadcasting  Search this

African American neighborhoods  Search this

African American musicians  Search this

Genre/Form:

Pamphlets

Sound recordings

Clippings

Memorabilia -- 20th century

Newspapers

Photographs

Books

Brochures

Citation:

Henry P. Whitehead collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Michael A. Watkins.

Identifier:

ACMA.06-042

See more items in:

Henry P. Whitehead collection

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa751389911-f3d5-474b-82b4-126047b9cc46

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-acma-06-042

Creator:

National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (U.S.)  Search this

Collection Collector:

Whitehead, Henry Preston, 1917-2002  Search this

Extent:

1 Document (10 3/4 x 8 inches)

Type:

Archival materials

Documents

Programs

Place:

Washington (D.C.)

Date:

February 26, 1961

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

The Henry P. Whitehead collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.

Topic:

African American women -- Societies and clubs  Search this

Genre/Form:

Programs

Collection Citation:

Henry P. Whitehead collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Michael A. Watkins.

See more items in:

Henry P. Whitehead collection

Henry P. Whitehead collection / Series 3: Tomlinson D. Todd / 3.7: Subject Files / National Association of Colored Women's Club's, Inc.

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa77f56e978-41ce-449e-af49-38144baed3af

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-acma-06-042-ref1889

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2015-06-11T14:09:08.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_QniuWs6oKG0

Creator:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2015-06-11T14:09:10.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

American History  Search this

See more by:

LemelsonCenter

Data Source:

Lemelson Center, National Museum of American History

YouTube Channel:

LemelsonCenter

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_yjVb8AH2s4A

Author:

Conlon, William 1941-  Search this

Baro, Gene  Search this

Carnegie Institute Museum of Art  Search this

Subject:

Conlon, William 1941-  Search this

Physical description:

16 p. ill. 23 x 31 cm

Type:

Books

Exhibitions

Date:

1981

C1981

Call number:

N40.1.C71 C2

N40.1.C71C2

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_145685

Performer:

Basie, Count, 1904-1984  Search this

Webster, Ben  Search this

Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971  Search this

Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this

Fitzgerald, Ella, 1917-1996  Search this

Goodman, Benny (Benjamin David), 1909-1986  Search this

Jamal, Ahmad, 1930-  Search this

Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949  Search this

Davis, Miles  Search this

Collector:

Smith, Ernie  Search this

Names:

Apollo Theatre (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Extent:

30 Cubic feet (352 film reels , 16 mm)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion pictures (visual works)

Place:

Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- 20th century

Date:

1894-1979

Summary:

More than 300 reels of 16mm black and white and color film, silent and sound, fiction and documentary motion picture film documenting jazz and related musical performances, social and popular dance styles and performances, jazz musicians, performance locales, and documentation of African-American popular culture. A list of featured performers in the collection is shown below. The films are frequently compilations produced by Smith for lectures.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists of 352 reels of 16mm motion picture film. Most of the film is 16mm black and white and sound (composite optical track print), although a few titles are silent or in color. The collection is comprised of compilation reels created by Ernie Smith to accompany his lectures, topical compilation reels created by Ernie Smith, compilation reels created by the Archives Center, and single title reels. The Archives Center produced master and reference video copies using a wet-gate telecine film-to-tape transfer system. Titles were often combined to allow for increased ease of handling, storage, and duplication.

The collection is strongest in the areas of jazz dance styles including Lindy Hop and tap, overviews of jazz musical performers and styles; specific jazz musicians and performers including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Woody Herman, Artie Shaw, Bob Crosby, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Jack Teagarden as well as a wide range of female vocalists; and documentation of the New York jazz and club scene. The collection includes feature films and excerpts from feature films, Soundies and other film shorts, television kinescopes, and documentary films.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into one series and is not arranged in accordance with standard archival procedures. The breadth of the collection and the existence of so many multiple topic and/or performer compilation reels made it impossible to impose traditional archival series order. Therefore, each reel is described at the item level in the container list.

Biographical:

Ernest (Ernie) Smith began collecting jazz and jazz dance films during the mid-1950s. An Art Director for a New York advertising agency, Smith had a long-standing interest in jazz and jazz dance that began during his youth in Pittsburgh, Pa. Early on, Smith discovered that jazz music was best appreciated while dancing. He became an accomplished Lindy Hopper, frequenting both white and African American ballrooms.

His job at the advertising agency supported Smith's two passions - painting and jazz dance and music. Smith was also a film enthusiast so, in 1954, after taking a jazz class at the New School taught by Marshall Stearns, a leading jazz scholar, he began collecting examples of jazz and jazz dance on film. In the process of creating his film collection, Smith became one of the leading authorities on jazz and jazz dance films. He collaborated with Stearns on the 1964 book Jazz Dance, compiling the book's jazz dance film listing. He also wrote the extensive entry on jazz film for the 1988 edition of New Grove Dictionary of Jazz .

Smith built his film collection by identifying films of potential interest and acquiring them through trade and purchase. He created lecture reels on specific topics -- the history of jazz, social dance, tap dance, Duke Ellington, Lindy Hop -- and presented lecture/screenings nationally and internationally. He also provided footage for numerous documentaries and maintained active relationships with filmmakers, other film collectors, jazz scholars, the swing dance community, and musicians.

Ernie Smith donated his film collection to the Archives Center in 1993. He continues to lecture and participate in swing dance activities, but he devotes the majority of his time to painting and related artistic pursuits.

Provenance:

The Archives Center acquired the collection from Ernie Smith in 1993.

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.

Topic:

Tap dancing -- 1930-1970  Search this

Motion pictures and music -- 1930-1970  Search this

Dancing in motion pictures, television, etc. -- 1930-1970  Search this

Television and music -- 1930-1970  Search this

Jazz -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Jazz musicians -- 1930-1970  Search this

Jazz dance -- 1930-1970  Search this

African Americans in the performing arts -- 1930-1970  Search this

Genre/Form:

Motion pictures (visual works) -- 20th century

Citation:

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Sponsor:

America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0491

See more items in:

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep85baeb0e0-8e94-4ce0-8c80-7f25800ee24a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0491

Author:

Johnson, Deborah J  Search this

Mount, William Sidney 1807-1868  Search this

Johns, Elizabeth 1937-  Search this

Museums at Stony Brook  Search this

American Federation of Arts  Search this

New-York Historical Society  Search this

Frick Art Museum (Pittsburgh, Pa.)  Search this

Amon Carter Museum of Western Art  Search this

Subject:

Mount, William Sidney 1807-1868  Search this

Physical description:

161 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm

Type:

Exhibitions

In art

Place:

United States

Date:

1998

Topic:

Genre (Art)  Search this

Call number:

N40.1.M923 J64 1998

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_549804

Collaborator:

McElwee, Ross  Search this

Blitz, Daniel  Search this

Bishop, John Melville  Search this

Baker, Peter  Search this

Ritchie, Claire  Search this

Young, Robert  Search this

Terry, John  Search this

Galvin, Frank  Search this

Bestall, Clifford  Search this

Gardner, Robert  Search this

Asch, Timothy, 1932-1994  Search this

Marshall, Lorna  Search this

Creator:

Marshall, John, 1932-2005  Search this

Extent:

2 Boxes (map drawers)

3 Video recordings (published videos or video series)

99 Linear feet (714,405 feet (332 hours) 16mm film, 435 hours video tape, 309 hours audio tape, 21 published film and video titles, 29 unpublished film and video titles, 14 linear feet paper records)

Culture:

San (African people)  Search this

Bushman  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Video recordings

Documentary films

Place:

Namibia

Date:

1950-2000

Summary:

The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection contains full film and video projects (outtake material), film production elements and edited films and videos, audio tapes, still photographs, negatives, transparencies, slides, published and unpublished writing by John Marshall and others, study guides for edited films, Nyae Nyae Development Foundation and Advocacy files, maps, and production files that include letters, shot logs, translations, transcriptions, editing logs, treatments, and proposals spanning from 1950-2000. This material comprises Marshall's long-term documentary record of the Ju/'hoansi of the Nyae Nyae region of the Kalahari Desert in northeastern Namibia. A great deal of the film and video footage focuses on one particular extended family, that of Toma Tsamko, whose ancestral home is at /Gautcha, an area with a large salt pan and a permanent waterhole. The life stories of some family members are captured in the footage; appearing as children in the 1950's, middle-aged parents in the 1980's, and pensioners in the final years of visual documentation. The Marshall Collection also documents other Ju/'hoansi living in Nyae Nyae and elsewhere, their relationships with neighboring ethnic groups, and national politics that affected Ju/'hoansi. Marshall also documented the local political body (the Nyae Nyae Farmers' Cooperative, or NNFC), the foundation he started (the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia, or NNDFN), and the ways in which both groups worked with and were affected by international development organizations and foreign aid during the 1990's.

Scope and Contents:

The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection contains full film and video projects (outtake material), film production elements and edited films and videos, audio tapes, still photographs, negatives, transparencies, slides, published and unpublished writing by John Marshall and others, study guides for edited films, Nyae Nyae Development Foundation and Advocacy files, maps, and production files that include letters, shot logs, translations, transcriptions, editing logs, treatments, and proposals spanning from 1950-2000.

This material comprises Marshall's long-term documentary record of the Ju/'hoansi of the Nyae Nyae region of the Kalahari Desert in northeastern Namibia. A great deal of the film and video footage focuses on one particular extended family, that of Toma Tsamko, whose ancestral home is at /Gautcha, an area with a large salt pan and a permanent waterhole. The life stories of some family members are captured in the footage; appearing as children in the 1950's, middle-aged parents in the 1980's, and pensioners in the final years of visual documentation. Beginning in 1978, Marshall often conducted lengthy and in depth interviews with many family members, in which they reflect on past, present, and future, and often comment on specific film footage from earlier years which was shown to them during the interviews. The collection is not limited to the /Gautcha family, however; it also documents other Ju/'hoansi living in Nyae Nyae and elsewhere, their relationships with neighboring ethnic groups, and national politics that affected Ju/'hoansi. Marshall also documented the local political body (the Nyae Nyae Farmers' Cooperative, or NNFC), the foundation he started (the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia, or NNDFN), and the ways in which both groups worked with and were affected by international development organizations and foreign aid during the 1990's. The collection also documents changes to the landscape and wildlife of the Nyae Nyae region.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in 13 series: (1) Unedited Film and Video Projects, 1950-1978, 1981-2003; (2) Published Films and Videos, 1952-2002; (3) Unpublished Films and Videos, 1959-1962, circa 1965; (4) Audio, 1950s, 1978-1990; (5) Field Notes, Shot Logs, Translations, 1951-2000; (6) Production Files, 1952-2004; (7) Correspondence, 1968-2003 [bulk 1993-2000]; (8) Nyae Nyae Development Foundation & Advocacy Files, 1975-2003 [bulk 1984-2003]; (9) Published and Unpublished Writing, 1957-1958, 1980-1999, 2007; (10) Study Guides, 1974, 1982; (11) Writings by Others & Press, 1952-1953, 1965-2005; (12) Photographs, 1930s, 1946-2003; (13) Maps, 1872, 1879, 1914, 1933-1989.

Biographical / Historical:

John Marshall, filmmaker and activist, was born on November 12, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and on his family's farm in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Marshall first picked up a camera in 1950, at the age of 18, during the first of several expeditions to the Kalahari organized by his father, Laurence Marshall, the founding president of the Raytheon Corporation. The whole Marshall family - including John's mother, Lorna, and sister, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas - became engaged in a multi-disciplinary study of the Ju/'hoansi. Marshall's father assigned him the task of making a documentary film record of Ju/'hoan life and culture. Between 1950 and 1958, he shot over 300,000 feet of 16mm film (157 hours).

Marshall formed a close bond with many of his Ju/'hoan subjects, particularly with Toma "Stumpy" Tsamko, leader of the /Gautcha band. Amongst Ju/'hoansi, Marshall was known as Toma Xhosi, Toma "Longface". Probably because of this close relationship, he was forced to leave South West Africa in 1958 after his visa expired, and was not allowed back for twenty years.

During the 1960's and 1970's, Marshall became well-established as a cinema vérité filmmaker. After leaving the Film Study Center at Harvard, which he had co-directed with Robert Gardner, he worked briefly with Robert Drew and D.A. Pennebaker, and later collaborated with Fredrick Wiseman on Titicut Follies (1967). He forged friendships with leading documentary and ethnographic filmmakers, including Timothy Asch, Ricky Leacock, and Jean Rouch.

Throughout these years, Marshall continued to work with his extensive footage of Ju/'hoansi. He completed 15 short films, as well as the award-winning Bitter Melons. In 1968, Marshall partnered with Tim Asch to found Documentary Educational Resources (DER), to distribute and support the creation of ethnographic and educational film.

In 1978 Marshall was allowed to return to Nyae Nyae to shoot N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman. Finding his Ju/'hoan friends beset by illness, poverty, and growing social ills, John turned his attentions to development and advocacy work. Virtually abandoning his filmmaking career, Marshall started a foundation to assist Ju/'hoansi and spent most of the 1980's helping them establish water access, subsistence farming, and a local government. He began using film as an advocacy tool, and released several urgent, issuefocused videos to raise awareness of the Ju/'hoan struggle for self-determination.

Marshall continued his documentary record of Ju/'hoansi, directing his final shoot in 2000. A Kalahari Family (2002), his epic six-hour series, tells the story of the Ju/'hoansi from 1950-2000 and charts Marshall 's evolution from filmmaker to activist. He made his final visit to Nyae Nyae in 2004, and continued his advocacy work right up to his final days. John Marshall died due to complications from lung cancer on April 22, 2005.

John Marshall Chronology

1932 -- Born in Boston, Massachusetts

1950-1958 -- Marshall Family expeditions to study the Ju/'hoansi of Nyae Nyae

1957 -- Awarded B.A. in Anthropology from Harvard University The Hunters released

1958-1960 -- Associate Director (with Robert Gardner) of the Film Study Center, Peabody Museum, Harvard University

1960 -- Awarded G.S.A.S. in Anthropology from Yale University

1960-1963 -- Director, Bushmen Film Unit, Harvard University

1962 -- Sha//ge Curing Ceremony (early version of A Curing Ceremony), A Group of Women and Joking Relationship screened at Flaherty Seminar

1964-1965 -- Cameraman for NBC covering civil war in Cyprus

1966 -- Awarded M.A. in Anthropology from Harvard University

1967 -- Cameraman and Co-Director of Fredrick Wiseman's Titicut Follies

1968 -- Founded Documentary Educational Resources (DER) with Timothy Asch (first known as CDA, Center for Documentary Anthropology)

1968-1969 -- Cameraman and Director of film shoots for the Pittsburgh Police series, produced through the Center for Violence Studies at Brandeis University

1970-1974 -- Edited and released numerous short films, from both Ju/'hoan (!Kung) and Pittsburgh Police series

1972 -- Collaborated with Nicholas England (musicologist) on a film project documenting a family of drummers in Ghana (this film was never completed)

1972-1973 -- Travel to Botswana to film National Geographic's Bushmen of the Kalahari, produced by Wolper Productions

1974 -- If It Fits, documentary on failing shoe industry in Haverhill, MA, released

1976 -- Director and cameraman of film shoots for Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife

1978 -- Film shoot in Nyae Nyae for N!ai, The Story of a !Kung Woman

1980 -- N!ai, The Story of a !Kung Woman released and broadcast on PBS as partof the Odyssey series

1980-1982 -- Conducted genealogical survey in Nyae Nyae with Claire Ritchie

1982 -- Founded the Ju/wa Cattle Fund (later known as the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia)

1985 -- Pull Ourselves Up or Die Out, Marshall's first "field report" edited on video, released

1989 -- Returns to Boston after Namibian independence

1991 -- To Hold Our Ground, another "field report" is aired on Namibian television shortly before a national Land Rights Conference

1993 -- The Cinema of John Marshall published

1995 -- Awarded Honorary M.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design

2000 -- Final video shoot in Nyae Nyae

2002 -- A Kalahari Family premieres at the Margaret Mead Film Festival in New York City; released for general distribution in 2003

2004 -- Makes final visit to Nyae Nyae; presents proposal for water point protections

2005 -- Dies in Boston, Massachusetts

Orthography Note:

Ju/'hoansi are the speakers of the Ju/'hoan language. Various cultural descriptors used over the years include !Kung which is a language group containing three dialect groups, one of which is the Ju/'hoansi; San, which is now regarded by the Ju/'hoansi to have negative connotations; and Bushman, which ironically (given the derogatory history of this term) is now preferred by the Ju/'hoansi as a term of dignity. (Orthography information provided by Dr. Polly Wiessner, University of Utah anthropologist and longtime field worker among and researcher of the Ju/'hoansi.)

The orthography of the Ju/'hoan language has changed many times, though an official orthography was agreed upon and accepted by the Namibian government in 1991. The finding aid, cataloging records, and shot logs for the Marshall collection at Human Studies Film Archives continue to use the orthography used by the Marshall family beginning in 1950. These spellings are usually anglicized versions of the official orthography. For example, the name ≠Oma was usually rendered by the Marshalls as Toma; the place name /Aotcha as /Gautcha or Gautscha.

The majority of the footage was shot in a region of Namibia (formerly South West Africa) known as Nyae Nyae. In the 1960's, a portion of the Nyae Nyae area was officially established as a homeland for Ju/'hoansi by the South West African administration. This area, once called Eastern Bushmanland, is now known as Eastern Otjozondjupa, however it is still referred to as Nyae Nyae by Ju/'hoansi and others. The Nyae Nyae Conservancy, which encompasses a large portion of Eastern Otjozondjupa, was established in 1996.

Filmography:

JU/'HOAN BUSHMAN FILM SERIES

1952 -- First Film [also known as !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari] (by Lorna Marshall)

1957 -- The Hunters

1959 -- A Curing Ceremony

1961 -- A Group Of Women

1962 -- A Joking Relationship

1966 -- !Kung Bushmen Hunting Equipment (directed by Lorna Marshall)

1969 -- N/um Tchai: The Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung Bushmen

1969 -- An Argument About A Marriage

1970 -- The Lion Game

1970 -- The Melon Tossing Game

1971 -- Bitter Melons

1972 -- Debe's Tantrum

1972 -- Men Bathing

1972 -- Playing With Scorpions

1972 -- A Rite of Passage

1972 -- The Wasp Nest

1974 -- Baobab Play

1974 -- Children Throw Toy Assegais

1974 -- The Meat Fight

1974 -- Tug-Of-War

1980 -- N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman

1985 -- Pull Ourselves Up Or Die Out

1990 -- To Hold Our Ground: A Field Report

1991 -- Peabody Museum !Kung San Exhibit Video

2002 -- A Kalahari Family

In addition to Marshall's many published films on the Ju/'hoansi, he was also involved in a variety of other film projects. He shot and co-directed Titicut Follies, a film by Fredrick Wiseman. Working in association with the Lemburg Center for Violence Studies at Brandeis University, he shot and directed a series of short films about a police squad in Pittsburgh, PA, known as the Pittsburgh Police series. He also shot and directed If It Fits, a film about the failing shoe industry in Haverhill, MA. Marshall was also the subject of two television programs: Bushmen of the Kalahari, a National Geographic special which aired in the United States, and a Japanese program called Forty Years in the Kalahari, part of the television series, Our Wonderful World. All of these, as well as Marshall's Ju/'hoan films, are included in this filmography.

PITTSBURGH POLICE SERIES

1970 -- Inside/Outside Station 9

1971 -- Three Domestics

1971 -- Vagrant Woman

1972 -- 901/904

1972 -- Investigation of a Hit and Run

1973 -- After the Game

1973 -- The 4th, 5th, & Exclusionary Rule

1973 -- A Forty Dollar Misunderstanding

1973 -- Henry Is Drunk

1973 -- The Informant

1973 -- A Legal Discussion of a Hit and Run

1973 -- Manifold Controversy

1973 -- Nothing Hurt But My Pride

1973 -- Two Brothers

1973 -- $21 or 21 Days

1973 -- Wrong Kid

1973 -- You Wasn't Loitering

OTHER FILMS

1967 -- Titicut Follies (Co-Director, Cinematographer; film by Fredrick Wiseman)

1972 -- Ghana Drumming (uncompleted; collaboration with Nicholas England)

1974 -- Bushmen of the Kalahari (by Wolper Productions for National Geographic)

1975 -- Vermont Kids (series of short films; released in 2007)

1976 -- Festival of American Folklife (uncompleted; shot for Smithsonian Institution)

1978 -- If It Fits

1988 -- Our Wonderful World: Forty Years in the Kalahari (by Nippon A-V Productions)

Related Materials:

The Human Studies Film Archives holds several related collections, including:

• The Nicholas England Collection, which consists of audio recordings from 1951-1961. This collection contains both originals and duplicates of audio tapes recorded during the Marshall Expeditions. (2005.9) • The Journal of Robert Gesteland, kept during the Marshall !Kung Expedition VI, 1957-58. (2007.17) • Master copies of the full film record of Bushmen of the Kalahari (1974), a television program featuring John Marshall's 1973 visit to the /Gwi San of Botswana, produced by Wolper Productions for National Geographic. (2008.12) • Reference copies of the full video record of Our Wonderful World: Forty Years in the Desert, Nippon A-V's 1988 Japanese television program about John Marshall and the Ju/Wa Bushman Development Foundation. (2009.2.1) • Master copies of the videotape "library" kept by John Marshall for reference and stock footage purposes. Compiled from various sources, the videos include news programs, documentaries, and raw footage of Ju/'hoansi and other San peoples from the 1920's --1990's, as well as interviews with John Marshall and his mother, Lorna Marshall. (2009.2) • Additional audio recordings, including interviews with Ju/'hoansi made by John Marshall and others. (2009.3) • Full film record of [Ghana Drumming, 1972], an uncompleted project undertaken by John Marshall and Nicholas England, which documents a family of musicians. (2008.11)

The Papers of Timothy Asch, held at the National Anthropological Archives, contain information on Asch's work with John Marshall at Harvard University from 1959-1963, their collaboration in founding DER, and details on the use of Marshall's Ju/'hoan footage in the development of MACOS (Man, A Course of Study).

There are also several closely related collections held at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. These collections relate to the 1950's Marshall Expeditions and include: Expeditionary Notebooks and Journals of Lorna and Laurence Marshall; Journal of Elizabeth Marshall Thomas; the Marshall Family Photograph Collection; and the Records of the South West Africa Expeditions, 1950- 1959. The Harvard Film Archive, Harvard University, holds film prints of several of Marshall's published films on the Ju/'hoansi, including The Hunters.

Provenance:

The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection was received over several years of accessioning from different parties.

Restrictions:

The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection is open for research. Please contact the Archives for availabilty of access copies of audio visual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played. Materials relating to Series 6 Production Files are restricted and not available for research until 2048, 2063, 2072. Kinship diagrams in Series 13 are restricted due to privacy concerns. Various copyrights and restrictions on commercial use apply to the reproduction or publication of film, video, audio, photographs, and maps.

Rights:

Contact the repository for terms of use. Information on reproduction and fees available from repository.

Topic:

Anthropology  Search this

Genre/Form:

Documentary films

Citation:

The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Finding aid has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.

Identifier:

HSFA.1983.11

See more items in:

John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman film and video collection

Archival Repository:

Human Studies Film Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pc9837628c2-5993-4cb8-8a98-9d1139f46452

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-hsfa-1983-11

Container:

Box 3 of 17

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 02-206, National Museum of American History, National Numismatic Collection, Curatorial Records

See more items in:

Curatorial Records

Curatorial Records / Box 3

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa02-206-refidd1e2689

Painter:

Bellows, George 1882-1925  Search this

Subject:

Cavell, Edith  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Culture:

British  Search this

German  Search this

Type:

Paintings

Owner/Location:

Museum of Fine Arts 220 State Street Springfield Massachusetts 01103 Accession Number: 49.02

Date:

1918

Topic:

Portrait female--Full length  Search this

Ethnic  Search this

State of Being--Other--Imprisonment  Search this

History--United States--World War I  Search this

Architecture interior--Civic--Prison  Search this

Figure group--Male  Search this

Occupation--Military--Soldier  Search this

Control number:

IAP 82090023

Data Source:

Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_ari_195631

Painter:

Blythe, David Gilmour 1815-1865  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Type:

Paintings

Owner/Location:

Carnegie Institute Museum of Art 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15213 Accession Number: 54.4

Date:

Ca. 1859-1863

Topic:

Literature--Scott--Ivanhoe  Search this

Literature--Character--Rebecca  Search this

Literature--Character--Ivanhoe  Search this

Architecture interior--Civic--Prison  Search this

State of Being--Other--Imprisonment  Search this

Control number:

IAP 46470133

Data Source:

Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_ari_58821

Painter:

Unknown  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Culture:

African American  Search this

Type:

Paintings

Owner/Location:

Carnegie Institute Museum of Art 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15213 Accession Number: 58.4

Date:

Ca. 1850-1860

Topic:

State of Being--Other--Enslaved  Search this

Ethnic  Search this

Figure group  Search this

Architecture exterior  Search this

Control number:

IAP 46470099

Data Source:

Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_ari_58789

Painter:

Blythe, David Gilmour 1815-1865  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Culture:

African American  Search this

Type:

Paintings

Owner/Location:

Carnegie Institute Museum of Art 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15213 Accession Number: 58.56.3

Date:

1861

Topic:

History--United States--Civil War  Search this

Allegory--Civic--Liberty  Search this

Figure group--Male  Search this

Occupation--Law--Lawyer  Search this

Ethnic  Search this

State of Being--Other--Enslaved  Search this

Control number:

IAP 46470130

Data Source:

Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_ari_58818

Landscape architect:

Shurcliff, Arthur A. (Arthur Asahel), 1870-1957  Search this

Fleming, Bryant  Search this

Townsend, Frederick DePeyster  Search this

Former owner:

Byers, Martha Fleming  Search this

Lyon, John Denniston  Search this

Lyon, Maude Byers  Search this

Alexander, Maitland Reverend Dr  Search this

Alexander, Madelaine Francis Laughlin  Search this

Jackson, William R.  Search this

Jackson, Lucilla Scribner  Search this

Wyatt, Wilson  Search this

Gregg, Walter E. Jr  Search this

Landscape designer:

Burnet, E.  Search this

Architect:

Hiss, Philip  Search this

Weeks, Hobart H.  Search this

Franklin, John Nelson  Search this

Douden, Herbert C.  Search this

Franklin, Douden & Associates  Search this

Landscape consultant:

LeGall, Jöel C.  Search this

Gardener:

Kutchko Nursery, Inc.  Search this

Provenance:

Village Garden Club of Sewickley  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Place:

Poplar Hill (Sewickley, Pennsylvania)

United States of America -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County -- Sewickley

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets, photocopies of articles, photocopies of historic photographs, and histories of the property and architecture.

General:

Poplar Hill is a six-acre property with simplified plantings that accommodate a busy professional lifestyle in a deer-prone area, and renovations that have brought back design features from earlier gardens. The property is entered through a long curving drive under mature trees that leads to the colonial revival house with Georgian features built in the 1950s. The upper garden to the west of the house, measuring about 40 by 56 feet and oriented east to west is planted in turf grass bordered by shaped evergreen shrubs with gravel paths. Green lattice panels supported by tall brick piers enclose the upper garden. A broad flagstone swath with two steps leads to the lower garden, a 70 by 136 feet rectangle with rounded ends that is oriented north to south. A five-foot tall brick wall surrounds the lower garden with a summer house built into the wall that has white Tuscan columns reiterating those on the house. Inside the wall there is an informally planted double border of perennials, ornamental grasses and shrubs bisected by a gravel path; the rest of the lower garden is turf grass. Asian stone statues have been placed in the niches at each end of the lower garden and other statues and an antique English wellhead dot the property.

Modern additions to the garden's design include a brick patio, formal side garden and greenhouse southeast of the house. Two argyle parterres of deer resistant boxwood and barberry were planted at the main entrance to the house. A fenced cutting and vegetable garden was placed near where one existed in the past. A horseshoe-shaped yew hedge believed to be from the original landscape design was refurbished with mature shrubs where there were gaps. At one time a reflecting pool bordered in ivy and daphne was a feature in the garden; it was grassed over long ago but the current owners had stones placed outlining the old pool's shape. There are no poplar trees remaining at Poplar Hill and no plans to replant any.

The first house on the 41 acre property known as Poplar Hill was a colonial revival mansion with 35 rooms overlooking the Allegheny Country Club. The first landscape designer of the gardens was Arthur Shurtleff (Shurcliff) but no records or drawings of his design have been located. In the 1930s Poplar Hill had formal gardens with parterre beds of brightly colored bulbs and annuals, an enclosed rose garden, and a border containing one hundred named varieties of iris. The property was subdivided into parcels and most features of the earlier gardens were destroyed.

Persons associated with the garden include Martha Fleming Byers (former owner, 1904-1913); John Denniston Lyon and Maude Byers Lyon (former owners, 1913-1930); Reverend Dr. Maitland Alexander (former owner, 1931-1940); Madelaine Francis Laughlin Alexander (former owner, 1931-1952); William R. Jackson and Lucilla Scribner Jackson (former owners, 1952-1984); Walter E. Gregg, Jr. (former owner, 1984-1991); Mr. Wilson Wyatt (former owner, 1991-1993); Philip Hiss and H. Hobart Weeks (architects of original house, no longer standing, 1904); Arthur Asahel Shurtleff (later Shurcliff), ASLA (likely landscape architect of original garden, 1914); E. Burnet (landscape designer, dates unknown); Frederick DePeyster Townsend and Bryant Fleming (landscape architects, dates unknown); John Nelson Franklin and Herbert C. Douden & Associates (architects of current house, 1953); Jöel C. LeGall, ASLA (landscape consultant, 1994-present); Kutchko Nursery, Inc. (gardeners, 2005-present).

Related Materials:

Poplar Hill related holdings consist of 1 folder (20 digital images)

Additional photographs are also located at the Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Gardens -- Pennsylvania -- Sewickley  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File PA446

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Pennsylvania

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6ee2fd04c-755e-4f00-97b4-a1aaaf7f27a9

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref16572

Creator:

Cummings, Robert A., 1866-1962  Search this

Names:

American Society of Civil Engineers.  Search this

Extent:

20 Cubic feet (36 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Negatives

Research (document genres)

Photographs

Drawings

Glass negatives

Business records

Blueprints

Place:

Pittsburgh (Pa.)

Date:

1884-1952 and undated

Scope and Contents:

The Cummings Structural Concrete Company Records consists primarily of correspondence and business records documenting Robert A. Cummings' firm, consulting work, and participation in professional associations, especially the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1892-1893, circa 1900-1939; technical data and publications on soils testing, 1900-1939; and drawings, blueprints, and photographs and glass negatives of construction projects.

Series 1, Biographical, 1904-1936 and undated documents the professional life of Robert A. Cummings. There are three subseries within this series: Subseries 1, Cummings System of Reinforced Concrete, 1904-1930 and undated; Subseries 2, Professional Organizations, 1908-1936 and undated; and Subseries 3, Writings, 1908-1939 and undated. This series includes documents related to the Cummings System of Reinforced Concrete, including patents, photographs, and advertisements. The series also includes documents relating to professional organizations such as the Allegheny County Authority, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the World Engineering Congress. Cummings was also a member of the Soils Committee for the American Society of Civil Engineers, and those documents are included in this series. Cummings wrote published and unpublished articles regarding concrete, soil, and construction methods. His writings are also included in this series.

Series 2, Operational Records, 1884-1952 and undated consists of six subseries: Subseries 1, Administrative, 1901-1948 and undated; Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1884-1952 and undated; Subseries 3, Contracts (for projects), 1902-1930 and undated; Subseries 4, Legal Materials, 1907-1916; Subseries 5, Financial, 1894-1921 and undated; and Subseries 6, Personnel, 1918-1921. This series contains the bulk of the information about Cummings' concrete business. Within this series are administrative materials that document the running of the business, including daily reports, bond and insurance papers, specifications, supply notes, field requisitions, and design notebooks. Also included is correspondence to and from Cummings. Recipients of the correspondence include company employees and corporations that did business with the company. A portion of the correspondence is divided topically into subjects such as soil sampling apparatus and barge claims.

The bulk of this series consists of contracts for projects on which Cummings worked. The majority of the projects consist of bridges, water tanks, commercial buildings, and retaining walls. Materials include correspondence, receipts from vendors, hand-written notes, accident reports, blueprints, sketches, and laboratory test reports on materials. The contracts are arranged by contract number as assigned by Cummings. The unnumbered contracts are listed alphabetically. The legal materials consist of documentation that relate to legal matters Cummings dealt with, including the lawsuits Robert Cummings vs. William J. Stewart, Alexander Melville vs. Robert Cummings, andLock Joint Pipe Company vs. Frederick Melber and Electric Welding Company. This series also contains financial and personnel records, including account books, bills, receipts, proposals, estimates, and business journals, as well as applications for employment, correspondence, and weekly progress reports.

Series 3, Subject Files, 1891-1949 and undated consists of correspondence, pamphlets, printed materials, and drawings. The topics within the subject files include soil testing and standards, roads, railroads, minerals, electricity, and concrete barges.

Series 4, Publications, 1887-1955, includes published material related concrete. The series is divided into two subseries: publications by title and publications by subject. Included are booklets, articles of incorporations, charters and by-laws, journals, and government publications. Some of the materials are in German or French.

Series 5, Photographs, 1902-1916 and undated includes 3" x 5", 8" x 10" and other various sizes of photographic prints. The series contains black and white and sepia toned prints. Some of the prints have been mounted onto cardboard or cloth, and some prints have tape on the corners. Some of the prints are annotated on the back. Most of the images are of construction sites in various stages of progress, the interiors of buildings being constructed, manufacturing equipment, and laborers working. Some of these images document early twentieth century methods of manufacturing, such as the use of rope pulleys.

Series 6, Photograph Negatives, undated includes about 75 photograph film negatives. The images in these negatives are primarily of construction scenes, including workers, equipment and work sites.

Series 7, Glass Plate Negatives, 1889-1918 and undated includes 8" x 10", 5" x 8", and 3" x 4" glass plate negatives containing images of bridges, slabs of concrete, construction scenes, the interiors and exteriors of hotels, and the interiors and exteriors of railroad stations.

Series 8, Lantern Slides, undated includes images of the work of the Cummings Structural Concrete Company on 4.5" x 5" glass slides. The images are of industrial machinery, construction sites, and workers.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Biographical, 1904-1936 and undated

Subseries 1.1: Cummings System of Reinforced Concrete, 1904-1930 and undated

Subseries 1.2: Professional Organizations, 1908-1936 and undated

Subseries 1.3: Writings, 1908-1939 and undated

Series 2: Operational Records, 1884-1952 and undated

Subseries 2.1, Administrative, 1901-1948 and undated

Subseries 2.2: Correspondence, 1884-1952 and undated

Subseries 2.3: Project Contracts, 1902-1930 and undated

Subseries 2.4: Legal Materials, 1907-1916

Subseries 2.5: Financial, 1894-1921 and undated

Series 3: Subject Files, 1891-1970 and undated

Subseries 3.1: Alphabetical, 1891-1970

Subseries 3.2: Testing, 1904-1916

Series 4: Publications, 1887-1955

Subseries 4.1: By title, 1887-1953

Subseries 4.2: By subject, 1902-1940 and undated

Series 5: Photographs, 1902-1916 and undated

Series 6: Photograph Negatives, undated

Series 7: Glass Plate Negatives, 1889-1918 and undated

Series 8: Lantern Slides, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Robert Augustus Cummings (1866-1962) was a consulting civil engineer who worked primarily in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was born in Norfolk, England and attended the Gresham School at Holt in Norfolk. He trained as a civil engineer with William J. Brewster in his offices, located in Westminster, London, England. During his early career, he worked as a surveyor and field examiner at the Ordinance Survey of Great Britain and Ireland before he relocated to Canada to conduct engineering work on the Grand Trunk Railroad. During the late 1880s and early 1890s, Cummings was employed as a general draftsman for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in Philadelphia. He worked later as a designer of heavy dredging machinery for the Bucyrus (Ohio) Steam Shovel and Dredge Company and as an assistant engineer of the Norfolk and Western Railroad in Roanoke, Virginia. Cummings established a firm as a civil and consulting engineer in Philadelphia in 1893 before relocating to Pittsburgh in 1899. He founded the Cummings Structural Concrete Company and the Electric Welding Company in 1900, and in 1902 he founded the Lehigh Valley Testing Laboratory, all of which were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1936, he partnered with his son in the consulting firm of Robert A. Cummings, Jr. and Associates.

During his career, Cummings worked on the design and construction of a variety of projects, including bridges, warehouses, filtration systems, private residences, machine shops, dry docks and piers, factories, dams, and locks. He additionally conducted railroad and land surveys, researched various types of cement, and designed rock, hydraulic, and elevator dredges. Cummings is best known for inventing the "Cummings System of Reinforced Concrete," in which iron or steel bars are embedded within a mixture of Portland cement, water, sand, and gravel or broken stone. As Cummings stated in a 1904 presentation to the Member Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, reinforced concrete "makes an excellent paint for preserving iron or steel, adhering to the metal very firmly and protecting it thoroughly against corrosion. It can easily be made water tight, and its durability is beyond question. These properties of cement mortar can be utilized in re-enforced concrete. This material is well adapted for molding into a monolithic structure, which does not disintegrate when subjected to shocks such as are produced by railroad trains and vibrates much less for a given load than structural steel. Correctly designed re-enforced concrete structures are not liable to sudden failures, as is the case with ordinary concrete, but gives warning by the falling off of the surface concrete long before the point of failure is reached."

Cummings belonged to a number of professional organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Engineering Societies Library Board, the American Railway Engineering Association, the American Society for Testing Materials, and the Institution of Civil Engineers of London, England. He married Mary Eloise Hood on December 14, 1892, and had two children, Robert Augustus Jr. and Eloise Hood. Robert A. Cummings died on October 21, 1962, in Pittsburgh.

References

Cummings, Robert A. Presentation to the Member Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, Meeting of Structural Section. November 22, 1904.

Hool, George A. Concrete Engineers Handbook, Data for the Design and Construction of Plain and Reinforced Concrete Structures. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1918.

Provenance:

Unknown.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Rights:

Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no gurantees concerning copyright restrictions. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Reinforced concrete  Search this

Engineering  Search this

Concrete construction  Search this

Civil engineering  Search this

Genre/Form:

Negatives

Research (document genres)

Photographs -- 1900-1950

Drawings

Glass negatives

Business records

Blueprints

Citation:

Cummings Structural Concrete Company Reocrds, 1884-1952 and undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0218

See more items in:

Cummings Structural Concrete Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8cc352bb7-f4b5-4c5d-9f0d-2441f3d219fd

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0218

Creator:

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Names:

Freer Gallery of Art  Search this

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Collection Creator:

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (typed, with handwritten edits)

Type:

Archival materials

Inventories

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents:

Comprehensive index of Charles Lang Freer's library, mostly relating to art and Asian culture. Headings include authors, countries, and topical subjects. Sections include locations in Freer's original Detroit home; an index of all books transferred to the Smithsonian; a list of collections and collectors catalogues of American and Near and Far Eastern art; sales catalogues, and books in Chinese language.

Arrangement:

Organized in the original manner by the creator.

Local Numbers:

FSA A.01 05.22

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.

Topic:

Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art, American -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Book collecting  Search this

Function:

Libraries

Genre/Form:

Inventories

Collection Citation:

Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.

Identifier:

FSA.A.01, Item FSA A.01 05.22

See more items in:

Charles Lang Freer Papers

Charles Lang Freer Papers / Series 5: Art Inventories / 5.22: Printed Books [Library]

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc302cb29b7-d6a1-46ad-9b1d-afc360459013

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-fsa-a-01-ref3332