Search Results

Collection Creator:

Morehouse, Harold E., 1894-1973  Search this

Container:

Box 10, Folder 19

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Permissions Requests

Collection Citation:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection, Acc. XXXX-0450, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

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Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection / Series 1.1: Biographies of Flying Pioneers 1.1

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0450-ref271

Collection Creator:

Morehouse, Harold E., 1894-1973  Search this

Container:

Box 11, Folder 12

Type:

Archival materials

Text

Collection Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Collection Rights:

Permissions Requests

Collection Citation:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection, Acc. XXXX-0450, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection

Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies collection / Series 1.1: Biographies of Flying Pioneers 1.1

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-0450-ref288

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original images 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.

Collection Citation:

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

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref32850

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 images 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.

Topic:

Gardens -- Pennsylvania -- Sewickley  Search this

Collection Citation:

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

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

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref16572

Recording artist:

Kaufman, Irving  Search this

Kaufman, Jack  Search this

Manufacturer:

Cameo  Search this

Physical Description:

shellac (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 10 in; 25.4 cm

Object Name:

sound recording

Place made:

United States: New York, New York

Date made:

1922

Subject:

Comedy  Search this

Credit Line:

Gift of Stanley E. Whiting

ID Number:

1986.0771.19

Accession number:

1986.0771

Maker number:

222

Catalog number:

1986.0771.19

See more items in:

Cultural and Community Life: Entertainment

Music & Musical Instruments

Popular Entertainment

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-0c12-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_682230

Collection Creator:

Alexander, John White, 1856-1915  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 44

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1891-1892

Scope and Contents note:

(Correspondents include Ministry of Art Education in France and Elizabeth Alexander)

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Collection Citation:

John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

See more items in:

John White Alexander papers

John White Alexander papers / Series 2: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-alexjohn-ref45

Collection Creator:

Alexander, John White, 1856-1915  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 45

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1893-1895

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Collection Citation:

John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

See more items in:

John White Alexander papers

John White Alexander papers / Series 2: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-alexjohn-ref47

Collection Creator:

Alexander, John White, 1856-1915  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 47

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1898-1900

Scope and Contents note:

(Correspondents include Frantz Jourdain, Fr. Linley Sanbourne, and Cowan family members)

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Collection Citation:

John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

See more items in:

John White Alexander papers

John White Alexander papers / Series 2: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-alexjohn-ref50

Collection Creator:

Alexander, John White, 1856-1915  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Folder 48

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1901-1903

Scope and Contents note:

(Correspondents include Samuel Huey, Andrew Carnegie, John La Farge, the Pan American Exposition of 1901, Princeton University, Mabel Carleton Gage, Homer Gage, Hester Knowles, and Harper Brothers to Elizabeth Alexander)

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Collection Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Collection Citation:

John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

See more items in:

John White Alexander papers

John White Alexander papers / Series 2: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-alexjohn-ref52

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:

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

Book artist:

Teoli, Daniel D. Jr.  Search this

Author:

Smithsonian Libraries Artists' Books DSI  Search this

Physical description:

1 volume (unpaged) all illustrations (some color) 22 x 23 cm

Type:

Pictorial works

Pictorial Work

Artists' books (books).)

Artists' books

Digital prints

Photographs

Specimens

Place:

United States

Pennsylvania

Date:

2014

21st century

Topic:

Cutting (Self-mutilation)  Search this

Artists' books  Search this

Self-Injurious Behavior  Search this

Skin--injuries  Search this

Color  Search this

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_1031099

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. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 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

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-fsa-a-01-ref3332

Author:

Hall, Charles Francis, 1821-1871  Search this

Collection Creator:

Field, Cyrus  Search this

Hall, Charles Francis, 1821-1871  Search this

Franklin, John, 1786-1847  Search this

Royal Geographic Society.  Search this

Everett, Edward, 1794-1865  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (Ink on paper, 17.0" x 11".)

Container:

Box 1, Folder 3

Type:

Archival materials

Diaries

Place:

Arctic regions -- Discovery and exploration

Date:

1860 February-1860 March

[1860.]

Scope and Contents:

Journal for the months preceeding Hall's first expedition, with newspaper clippings.

Local Numbers:

AC0702-0000021

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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.

Topic:

Explorers  Search this

Genre/Form:

Diaries -- 19th century

Collection Citation:

Charles Francis Hall Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Charles Francis Hall Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0702-ref13

Publisher:

Underwood & Underwood  Search this

Collection Creator:

Underwood & Underwood  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (4" x 5")

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Place:

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh (Pa.)

Local Numbers:

RSN 26708

General:

Currently stored in box 3.2.51 [114].

Collection Restrictions:

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.

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.

Topic:

Factories -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Steel industry and trade -- 1900-1910 -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Iron -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Railroads -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1900-1910 -- Interpositives -- Glass

Collection Citation:

Underwood &Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

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Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection

Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection / Series 3: Underwood & Underwood glass plates / 3.2: Underwood and Underwood Positives / RSN Numbers 26705-26809

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0143-ref24467

Publisher:

Underwood & Underwood  Search this

Collection Creator:

Underwood & Underwood  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (4" x 5")

Type:

Archival materials

Photographs

Place:

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh (Pa.)

Local Numbers:

RSN 26709

General:

Currently stored in box 3.2.51 [114].

Similar to RSN 20463.

Collection Restrictions:

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.

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.

Topic:

Factories -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Steel industry and trade -- 1900-1910 -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Iron -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Laborers -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 1900-1910 -- Interpositives -- Glass

Collection Citation:

Underwood &Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection

Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection / Series 3: Underwood & Underwood glass plates / 3.2: Underwood and Underwood Positives / RSN Numbers 26705-26809

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0143-ref24468

Collection Author:

Harriman, Stephen (farmer)  Search this

Myers, Annamae Barlup (farmer)  Search this

Container:

Box 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1937

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 Citation:

Annamae Barlup Myers & Stephen Harriman Diaries, 1883-1894, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Annamae Barlup Myers and Stephen Harriman Diaries

Annamae Barlup Myers and Stephen Harriman Diaries / Series 1: Annamae Barlup Myers Diaries

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0345-ref25

Collection Source:

Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI.  Search this

Collection Creator:

Hammer, William J. (William Joseph), 1858-1934 (electrical engineer)  Search this

Container:

Box 46, Folder 4

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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 Citation:

William J. Hammer Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

William J. Hammer Collection

William J. Hammer Collection / Series 3: Reference Materials / 3.4: Incandescent Lighting Material / Pamphlets: E to H

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0069-ref2561

Collection Source:

Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI.  Search this

Collection Creator:

Hammer, William J. (William Joseph), 1858-1934 (electrical engineer)  Search this

Container:

Box 46, Folder 5

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1913

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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 Citation:

William J. Hammer Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

William J. Hammer Collection

William J. Hammer Collection / Series 3: Reference Materials / 3.4: Incandescent Lighting Material / Pamphlets: H - L

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0069-ref2574

Creator:

Du Mont, Allen B. (Allen Balcom), 1901-1965  Search this

Source:

Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI.  Search this

Names:

Du Mont Laboratories, Inc.  Search this

Former owner:

Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI.  Search this

Extent:

46 Cubic feet (150 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Clippings

Newsletters

Scrapbooks

Notebooks

Motion pictures (visual works)

Photographs

Date:

1884-1965

Scope and Contents:

While the collection is focused rather specifically on the development of television in America, including technical details, legal proceedings, marketing and advertisement, and manufacturing, it is also a rich source for the history of American advertising, work cultures, sales, and entertainment. There is also information about radio, mostly in periodicals collected by Du Mont. Information about Allen Du Mont is largely limited to his professional development and activities, except for a few travel photographs and information about and logbooks from his boat.

Materials date from 1884 to 1965, but the bulk come from the years 1931 1960; mostly scattered periodicals comprise the earlier years.

The collection includes correspondence, photographs, blueprints, films, videotapes, pamphlets, books, periodicals, newspaper and magazine clippings, annual reports, organization charts, stock records, ticker tape, legal documents, patent documents, bills, accountants' reports, meeting minutes, scrapbooks, technical drawings, advertisements, catalogs, and technical manuals. Processing included revising the previous series order, refoldering and reboxing all items, and completely revising the finding aid. Duplicates were weeded out; two copies were retained of any multiple item. Materials in binders were unbound. An example of each binder with the DuMont logo was retained, and the materials once contained therein refer to the appropriate binder in the container list. Plain office binders were discarded.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into 16 series.

Series 1: Personal Files, 1920s-1965

Series 2: Executive Records, 1938-1964

Series 3: Stock Records, 1937-1962

Series 4: DuMont Laboratories, Inc., Patents and Legal Proceedings, 1884-1960

Series 5: DuMont Laboratories, Inc., Financial Records, 1931-1964

Series 6: DuMont Laboratories, Inc., Operations, 1938-1958

Series 7: Radio Technical Planning Board, 1944-1946

Series 8: Federal Communications Commission, 1940-1959 and undated

Series 9: DuMont Laboratories, Marketing and Sales, 1939-1961 and undated

Series 10: Telecommunications for Venezuela, 1952-1957 and undated

Series 11: Du Mont Network, 1944-1952 and undated

Series 12: Du Mont Publications, 1933-1963 and undated

Series 13: Photographs, 1928-1960 and undated

Series 14: Clippings/Scrapbooks, 1933-1962

Series 15: Non-Du Mont Publications, 1892, 1907-1963 and undated

Series 16: Audiovisual Materials, 1948-1955

Series 17: Addenda, 1933-1959

Biographical / Historical:

Allen Balcom Du Mont was born Jan. 29, 1901, in Brooklyn, NY to S. William Henry Beaman and Lillian Felton Balcom Du Mont. He contracted poliomyelitis when he was eleven and was confined to bed for nearly a year. During his illness, he began to amuse himself with a crystal radio set; by year's end, he had built a receiving and transmitting set. He was licensed as a ship's wireless operator when he was fifteen, and took a job a year later as a radio operator on a passenger vessel that ran between New York and Providence, RI. He worked as a radio operator for the next seven years.

Du Mont graduated in 1924 from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, with a degree in electrical engineering. He had already begun his first invention for the Sound Operated Circuit Controller, a device that turns a switch on or off when it hears a sharp sound; he used it to turn off his radio during commercials with a hand clap. Du Mont began working for the Westinghouse Lamp Company (later a division of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation), raising their output of radio tubes from 500 a day to 5,000 an hour in four years. For this, he received the Westinghouse Achievement Award in 1927. He left Westinghouse to become chief engineer at the De Forest Radio Company in 1928; his inventions increased output there to 30,000 radio tubes a day, and he was promoted to vice president in charge of production. In 1929, he received his first patent, for a radio tube mounting device.

He also worked with television at De Forest, using mechanical receivers with a spinning "Nipkow disk" that scanned electrical impulses and gave the effect of a motion picture. The De Forest experimental transmitter, W2XCD, in Passaic, NJ, broadcast television programs in 1930. Du Mont quickly concluded that there was no future in scanning discs; they produced a small, dark picture, and were difficult to build correctly. Others had developed television pictures that were produced by an electronic beam scanning rapidly across a florescent screen at the end of a tube. However, those cathode ray tubes were still imported from Germany, were very expensive, and burned out after only twenty five to thirty hours.

Du Mont left his job at De Forest in 1931 and started a cathode ray manufacturing business in a garage laboratory at his home. He developed a tube that lasted a thousand hours and could be manufactured inexpensively. There was almost no market for his tubes; gross sales income the first year was only $70. However, the tubes were an integral part of the cathode ray oscillograph, an instrument widely used in physics laboratories that measures and records changes in electrical current over time. The business, incorporated in 1935 as DuMont Laboratories, Inc., prospered in the oscillograph market. DuMont Labs moved in 1933 into a series of empty stores, then to a plant in Passaic, NJ, in 1937. Du Mont also acted as consultant to manufacturers with cathode ray tube problems and served as an expert witness in patent litigations.

Du Mont used the money he made from oscillographs to develop television. His innovations in making precise, quickly manufactured, inexpensive, long lasting cathode ray tubes made commercial television possible. In 1938, Du Mont sold a half interest in his company to the Paramount Pictures Corporation to raise capital for broadcasting stations. In 1939, the company became the first to market a television receiver for homes, and was part of a major display at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. Television development and sales were cut off by World War II, since DuMont Laboratories converted entirely to wartime production of oscillographs and to radar research. DuMont Laboratories returned to television production in 1946 and was the first company to market a postwar television set. By 1951 the company grossed $75 million a year and had four plants manufacturing television sending and receiving equipment in Passaic, Allwood, East Paterson, and Clifton, NJ. Du Mont had become the television industry's first millionaire. He was chosen in a Forbes magazine poll as one of the twelve foremost business leaders of America that same year, and was once characterized as "one of the very few inventors in the annals of American industry who have made more money from their inventions than anyone else has" (Rice, 36).

Du Mont began an experimental television station, W2XTV, in Passaic, NJ, in 1939. He added WABD (later WNEW TV) in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C., and WDTV (later KDKA) in Pittsburgh, PA. He concentrated on technology and business, leaving entertainment to others in the company. However, the DuMont Network "featured such names as Ernie Kovacs, Morey Amsterdam, Ted Mack, Ernest Borgnine, Jan Murray, and Dennis James. Its long running variety hour, Cavalcade of Stars, showcased not only Jackie Gleason but The Honeymooners, which made its debut as a Cavalcade sketch" (Krampner, 98). The 1950s superhero Captain Video became famous on the DuMont network, and Bishop Fulton Sheen's inspirational show, "Life is Worth Livinq," won surprisingly high ratings (Watson, 17). Ultimately, America's fourth network failed: in 1955, DuMont Broadcasting separated from Du Mont Laboratories, Inc., becoming the Metropolitan Broadcasting Company and, with the addition of other properties, Metromedia, Inc.

Du Mont testified frequently before the Federal Communications Commission to set technical standards for American television broadcast between 1945 and 1952. In 1946, Du Mont's company was one of several to oppose the Columbia Broadcasting System's petition to the FCC to establish color television standards; Du Mont preferred to wait for further research to develop all electronic color television, rather than the mechanical method CBS favored. He felt that method produced a picture far less than optimal, and would have required persons who did not own color sets to purchase adapters to receive broadcasts being produced in color. Standards were developed by the National Television Standards Committee in 1951 1953; the Federal Communications Commission accepted them in 1953, and regular transmission of color programs began on the major networks, including the DuMont Network, in 1954.

Sales of television receivers from DuMont Laboratories, Inc. peaked in 1954; by the late 1950s, the company was losing money. The Emerson Radio and Phonograph Company purchased the division that produced television sets, phonographs, and high fidelity and stereo equipment in 1958. In 1960 remaining Du Mont interests merged with the Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation. Du Mont was president of DuMont Laboratories, Inc., until 1956, when he became chairman of the Board of Directors. His title changed to Chairman and General Manager in 1959. In 1961 he became Senior Technical Advisor, Allen B. Du Mont Laboratories, Division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation.

Du Mont received many awards for his work, including honorary doctorates from Rennselaer (1944), Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (1949), Fairleigh Dickinson College (1955), and New York University (1955). He received the Marconi Memorial Medal for Achievement in 1945, and an American Television society award in 1943 for his contributions to the field. In 1949, he received the Horatio Alger Award, "a yearly prize bestowed by the American Schools and Colleges Association on the man whose rise to fortune most nearly parallels the virtuous careers of Ben the Luggage Boy and Tattered Tom" (Rice, 35). He held more than thirty patents for developments in cathode ray tubes and other television devices. His inventions included the "magic eye tube" once commonly seen on radios and the Duovision, a television that could receive two programs simultaneously. Du Mont was also noted for success in predicted log power boat racing; in his television equipped Hurricane III, he became the national champion of the power cruiser division of the American Power Boat Association in 1953 1955 and 1958. Du Mont died November 15, 1965; his obituary appeared on the front page of the New York Times. He was survived by Ethel Martha Steadman, whom he married in 1926, and their two children, Allen Balcom, Jr., and Yvonne.

Sources

Current Biography 1946, pp. 162 164. Krampner, Jon. "The Death of the DuMont [sic] Network: A Real TV Whodunit." Emmy Magazine (July August 1990): 96 103.

Obituary, New York Times, 16 November 1965, 1:3.

Rice, Robert. "The Prudent Pioneer." The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 1951.

Watson, Mary Ann. "And they Said 'Uncle Fultie Didn't Have a Prayer . . . "11 Television Quarterly 26, no. 3(1993): 16 21.

Who's Who in America, 1962.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Edward J. Orth Memorial Archives of the New York World's Fair, 1939-1940

Warshaw Collection, Worlds Expositions, New York World's Fair, 1939 (AC0060)

Larry Zim World's Fair Collection (AC0519)

George H. Clark "Radioana" Collection, ca. 1880-1950 (AC0055)

Division of Work and Industry

Related artifacts consist of cathode ray tubes, oscillographs, television receivers (including a Duoscope), and other instruments. See accession #:EM*315206, EM*315208, EM*315209, EM*327728, EM*327735, EM*327742, EM*327743, EM*327745, EM*327749, EM*327751, EM*327756, EM*327758, EM*327759, EM*327760, EM*327763, EM*327770, EM*328155, EM*328178, EM*328182, EM*328193, EM*328198, EM*328200, EM*328209, EM*328212, EM*328224, EM*328231, EM*328247, EM*328253, EM*328258, EM*328264, EM*328269, EM*328271, EM*328277, EM*328280, EM*328282, EM*328283, EM*328286, EM*328299, EM*328305, EM*328306, EM*328315, EM*328316, EM*328322, EM*328325, EM*328327, EM*328336, EM*328337, EM*328343, EM*328348, EM*328352, EM*328353, EM*328366, EM*328368, ZZ*RSN80323A74, ZZ*RSN80552U05, ZZ*RSN80748U09, ZZ*RSN80748U11, ZZ*RSN80844U09, and ZZ*RSN81576U01.

Library of Congress

Records of the Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, Inc. 1930 1960 (bulk 1945 1960). 56 lin. ft. Consists of nine series: Administrative Files, 1935 1960; General Correspondence, ca. 1930 1960; Interoffice Correspondence, ca. 1935 1960; Financial Records, 1932 1960; Sales and Advertising File, 1936 1960; Production and Engineering File, 1932 1960; Television File, ca. 1935 1960; Hearings File, 1935 1957; and General Miscellany, ca. 1937 1960. National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections number 68 2021; National Inventory of Documentary Sources number 2.1.243.

Wayne State University, Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs

John H. Zieger Papers, 1942 1980. 1 box (type not specified). Correspondence, clippings, leaflets, and memoranda, related to Zieger's union activities with Western Electric Employees Association and Allen B. Du Mont Laboratories. National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections number 91 2872.

Provenance:

Immediate source of acquisition unknown.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view materials in cold storage. Using cold room materials requires a three hour waiting period. Only reference copies of audiovisual materials may be used. Contact the Archives Center for more information: archivescenter@si.edu.

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:

Electricity  Search this

Television broadcasting  Search this

Televisions -- advertising  Search this

Television  Search this

Genre/Form:

Clippings -- 20th century

Newsletters

Scrapbooks -- 20th century

Notebooks

Motion pictures (visual works)

Photographs -- 20th century

Citation:

Allen Balcom Du Mont Collection, 1929-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0018

See more items in:

Allen Balcom Du Mont Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0018