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Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Incorporated Records

Creator:
Hills Bros. Coffee, Inc.  Search this
Extent:
65 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Advertising cards
16mm motion picture film
Annual reports
Artwork
Beverage labels
Blueprints
Business ephemera
Bulletins
Business letters
Business records
Catalogs
Color photographs
Color negatives
Commercial art
Correspondence
Direct mail
Ephemera
Exhibit plans
Financial records
Genealogies
Home movies
Ledger drawings
Office files
Office memoranda
Packaging
Photographic prints
Photographs
Price lists
Proof sheets
Promotional literature
Receipts
Sales records
Scrapbooks
Sound recordings
Television programs
Window displays
Date:
1856-1989, undated
Summary:
Printed advertisements, scrapbooks, correspondence, marketing research, radio commercial scripts, photographs, proof sheets, reports, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, television commercial storyboards, blueprints, legal documents, and audiovisual materials primarily documenting the history, business practices, and advertising campaigns of the Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Incorporated. Collection also documents the professional and private lives of the Hills family; insight into the cultivation, production, and selling of coffee; and construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of printed advertisements, scrapbooks, correspondence, marketing research, radio commercial scripts, photographs, proof sheets, reports, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, television commercial storyboards, blueprints, legal documents, and audiovisual materials. These materials primarily document the history, business practices, and advertising campaigns of Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Incorporated. Correspondence, genealogies, and home movies reveal a more domestic and social Hills family while company records document business activities outside of the home. Company records also provide insight into the cultivation, production, and selling of coffee, and the company's technological responses to the changes in the coffee trade, and consumer consumption demands. Of interest is the company's participation in social and cultural events including the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915, and the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939. In addition, the collection includes the company's documentation of the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936. The collection is arranged into thirteen series.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into thirteen series.

Series 1, Hills Family Papers, 1856-1942, undated

Subseries 1.1, Austin Herbert Hills, Sr. Papers, 1856-1875, undated

Subseries 1.2, Austin Herbert Hills, Jr. Papers, 1875-1923

Subseries 1.3, Herbert Gray Hills Correspondence, 1923-1942

Series 2, Background Materials, 1896-1988, undated

Series 3, Coffee Reference Files, 1921-1980, undated

Subseries 3.1, Hills Bros. Coffee Company Literature, 1921-1976, undated

Subseries 3.2, Coffee Industry Literature, 1924-1980, undated

Series 4, Advertising Materials, circa 1890s-1987, undated

Subseries 4.1, Scrapbooks, 1906-1978, undated

Subseries 4.2, Historical Albums, 1911-1967

Subseries 4.3, Ephemera, 1890s-1987

Subseries 4.4, Portfolios, 1919-1985, undated

Subseries 4.5, Proof sheets, 1922-1968

Subseries 4.6, Advertising Forms, 1922-1971, undated

Subseries 4.7, Newspaper and Magazine Advertising, 1926-1971, undated

Subseries 4.8, Sampling Campaigns, 1928-1941

Subseries 4.9, General Files, 1923-1978, undated

Subseries 4.10, NW Ayer Advertising Agency, 1943, 1958

Subseries 4.11, Foote, Cone & Belding Advertising Agency, 1963-1968, undated

Series 5, Photographs, 1882-1973, undated

Subseries 5.1, Employees, 1882-1961, undated

Subseries 5.2, Division Offices, 1924-1931, undated

Subseries 5.3, Facilities and Vehicles, 1927-1973, undated

Subseries 5.4, Advertising, 1925-1959, undated

Subseries 5.5, Sales, circa 1921-1939, undated

Subseries 5.6, Packaging, 1884-1969, undated

Subseries 5.7, Grocery Store Displays, circa, 1901-1935

Subseries 5.8, Store Tests, 1938

Subseries 5.9, Window and Wall Displays, 1928, 1930, 1934

Subseries 5.10, Publicity, 1933-1936, undated

Subseries 5.11, Miscellaneous, 1898-1949, undated

Subseries 5.12, Coffee and Tea Industry, 1900s-1947,. undated

Series 6, Sales and Marketing Records, 1906-1989, undated

Subseries 6.1, Bulletins for Salesmen, 1912-1969

Subseries 6.2, Division Bulletins and General Letters, 1925-1927

Subseries 6.3, Correspondence, 1919-1989

Subseries 6.4, Conventions and Meetings, 1915-1971

Subseries 6.5, Salesmen Materials, 1906-1973, undated

Subseries 6.6, Reports and Studies, 1941-1978

Subseries 6.7, Marketing Research, 1956-1978, undated

Subseries 6.8, Pricing Information, 1949-1965

Series 7, Employee Records, 1934-1966

Series 8, Accounting and Financial Records, 1903-1960, undated

Series 9, Office Files, 1915-1970, undated

Subseries 9.1, General, 1915-1969, undated

Subseries 9.2, T. Carroll Wilson Correspondence, 1941-1970

Series 10, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Materials, 1933-1986, undated

Subseries 10.1, Background Information, 1933-1986, undated

Subseries 10.2, Photographic Materials, 1933-1936, undated

Series 11, Golden Gate International Exposition Materials, 1915-1940, undated

Subseries 11.1, Coffee Theater, circa 1939

Subseries 11.2, Exposition Attendance, 1915-1940

Subseries 11.3, Correspondence, 1937-1940, undated

Subseries 11.4, Construction, 1937-1940, undated

Subseries 11.5, Blueprints, 1937-1939

Subseries 11.6, Behind the Cup, 1937-1940, undated

Subseries 11.7, Newspaper Cooperation, 1939

Subseries 11.8, Solicitations and Replies, 1938-1940

Subseries 11.9, Miscellaneous, 1938-1940

Series 12, World War II Materials, 1939-1949, undated

Subseries 12.1, Production and Quotas, 1942-1946

Subseries 12.2, Rationing, 1939-1946

Subseries 12.3, Containers and Closures, 1942-1949, undated

Subseries 12.4, Appeals, 1948

Subseries 12.5, Advertising Campaigns, 1942, undated

Subseries 12.6, Machinists' Strike Scrapbooks, 1945-1946

Series 13, Audio Visual Materials, 1930-1984, undated

Subseries 13.1, Moving Images, 1930-1966

Subseries 13.1.1, Television Commercials, 1951-1984

Subseries 13.1.2, Television Programs, 1951-1967

Subseries 13.1.3, Promotional Materials, 1939-1977

Subseries 13.1.4, Hills Bros. Activities, 1930-1962

Subseries 13.1.5, Miscellaneous Film and Video, 1938-1966

Subseries 13.2, Sound Recordings, 1934-1967, undated

Subseries 13.2.1, Radio Commercials, 1941-1967, undated

Subseries 13.2.2, Radio Programs and Other Broadcasts, 1934-1956, undated

Subseries 13.2.3, Cardboard Discs, 1941-1960; undated.
Biographical / Historical:
Reuben Hills, on one occasion, stated regarding his company's growth; ...success in business is fifty per cent judgment and fifty per cent propitious circumstances." The rise of Hills Bros. Coffee Incorporated from a retail dairy stall in San Francisco's old Bay City Public Market reflects the reality of Reuben's statement. Aided by brother Austin's three years of experience in the retail dairy business the early success of the brothers was in Reuben's own words both circumstance and hard work. When Reuben and Austin began to produce roasted coffee there were at least twenty-five other companies already engaged in some form of coffee production and distribution in San Francisco including, of course, the well-known Folger Company started by William Bovee (which began in San Francisco thirty years earlier). Most of these coffee businesses were started by family groups which contributed to the growth of San Francisco.

San Francisco in the nineteenth century was ripe for the importing and roasting of coffee. The foundation for commercial production of coffee dated back to the 1820s when English planters brought coffee to Costa Rica. By the early 1840s German and Belgian planters followed with coffee plantations in Guatemala and El Salvador, two of the several Central American countries where Hills Bros. would obtain its mild coffee beans. During the Gold Rush (1849) San Francisco rapidly expanded and grew. Coffee was imported and sold, after roasting, to restaurants and hotels. Yankee gold miners and others without equipment to roast and brew their own coffee, populated "coffee houses." In 1873 two brothers, Austin Herbert and Reuben Wilmarth Hills arrived in San Francisco from their home in Rockland, Maine with their father Austin who had come to California some years earlier. Five years later in 1878 A. H. and R. W. Hills established a retail stall to sell dairy products in the Bay City Market under the name of their new partnership "Hills Bros." Their small business expanded in less than four years with the acquisition of a retail coffee store titled Arabian Coffee & Spice Mills on Fourth Street in San Francisco. In two more years (1884) still larger quarters were occupied at Sacramento and Sansome Streets. Soon after this they disposed of their retail dairy business but continued as wholesale distributors of some dairy products including butter. Their coffee was labeled "Arabian Roast"' supported by the now famous trademark design of a man in turban and beard with a flowing yellow gown. This was created by a San Francisco artist named Briggs and since then (1897) has remained as the official trademark of Hills Bros. Coffee - a lasting symbol of coffee quality. Hills Bros. dairy division was eliminated in 1908 after company destruction by the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. By 1924 all miscellaneous products including tea, had been dropped by the company which from then on referred to itself as "coffee only."

Emphasis on the quality of the finished product has long been a major selling point in the history of Hills Bros. advertising and marketing. The company's desire to keep abreast of technological advances in coffee production is a legacy of Austin and Reuben Hills, and is reflected in the company records, in its advertising and its self-perception. It was probably 1898 when Austin Hills and Thomas Hodge, partners who managed the wholesale dairy product operations were looking for a suitable can for exporting butter that could not be manufactured in San Francisco at that time, decided to consult Norton Brothers, a progressive can manufacture company in Chicago. Whether Austin traveled to Chicago or arranged with his brother Reuben to stop off there in route to New York (where he frequently spent time at the New York Green Coffee Exchange) to present the problem to Norton Brothers, which brother made the actual contact with Norton Brothers is not important today, but the results of that visit were real. Norton Brothers had just received patents on a process for packing foods in vacuum and thought it might solve the butter problem. In short order arrangements were made for shipping cans and machinery from Chicago to San Francisco including agreement for exclusive use on the West Coast for a reasonable period. Thus, Hills Bros. butter became the first known food product to ever be packed in vacuum. Once this started Reuben Hills had the idea that what worked well with butter might also be used for coffee. Experimental vacuum-packing of coffee in butter cans supported the theory that taking the air out of coffee would keep the product fresh for indefinite periods. No time was lost in getting new cans and more machinery and in July 1900 Hills Bros. Coffee as "the original vacuum-pack" was placed on the market. With the advent of this technology Hills Bros. changed the product name from "Arabian Roast" to "Hills Bros. Highest Grade Java and Mocha Coffee" and continued with the new trademark that had been started in 1897. Vacuum-packing extended the shelf life and travel ability of the product, thus new markets, national and international, were opened.

A change in the coffee industry of America was on the way. Hills Bros. remained the pioneer of vacuum-packing for thirteen years until a similar process was adopted by M.J.B., another leading coffee company in San Francisco. Other packers on the West Coast soon followed, but it was not until after World War I that East Coast coffee producers turned to vacuum-packaging.

Production and advertising of coffee continued to change with new technology. In the late 1880s San Francisco coffee importers began to "cup test" coffee beans for quality but the majority still depended on sight and smell. Reuben Hills and a few other coffee personalities in San Francisco are credited with the cup test method of appraising coffee quality. In its new home office and plant opened in San Francisco in 1926, Hills Bros. adopted "controlled roasting" in which coffee was roasted a few pounds at a time, but continuously. Developed in 1923 under the direction of Leslie Hills and Lee Maede, company engineer, "controlled roasting" employed the use of instruments to control the temperature and speed of operations, resulting in perfect roasting control that could not be depended on from batch to batch by even the most experienced coffee roasting expert. In 1914 the partnership known as Hills Bros. was incorporated under the same name. In 1928 a sales organization was formed under the name of Hills Bros. Coffee, Incorporated, but within four to five years the parent company absorbed Hills Bros. Coffee, Incorporated and adopted its name. A second plant was built in Edgewater, New Jersey, completed in 1941 to meet the needs of the increasing growth of areas between Chicago and the East Coast.

During World War II Hills Bros. faced conservation rules restricting use of tin for coffee cans. A timely method of high-speed packing in glass jars by Owens Illinois Glass Company made it possible for Hills Bros. as well as other companies in the industry to continue vacuum-packing during this period. Price control and coffee rationing were other war time necessities to which the industry adjusted.

Hills Bros. Coffee, Incorporated passed out of family ownership in 1976 when the company was purchased by a Brazilian corporation named Copersucar. In 1983 a group of local investors in San Francisco brought ownership back to where it had started and sold the business in 1984 to Nestlé Holdings, Incorporated, (effective January 1, 1985) which handled the acquisition of several companies in the United States for Nestlé S. A. Vevey, Switzerland.

Historical note written by T., Carroll Wilson, company historian and archivist, 1993.
Related Materials:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History

NW Ayer Advertising Agency Records, NMAH.AC0059

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, NMAH.AC0060

Underwood & Underwood Glass Stereograph Collection, NMAH.AC0143

General Merchandise Account Book, NMAH.AC0189

Duke Ellington, NMAH.AC0301

Product Cookbooks Collection, NMAH.AC0396

Charles W. Trigg Papers, NMAH.AC0411

Princeton University Posters Collection, NMAH.AC0433

Landor Design Collection, NMAH.AC0500

Industry on Parade Film Collection, NMAH.AC0507

Sandra and Gary Baden Collection of Celebrity Endorsements in Advertising, NMAH.AC0611

Fletcher and Horace Henderson Collection, NMAH.AC0797

Division of Cultural History Lantern Slides and Stereographs, NMAH.AC0945

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Records, NMAH.AC1086

Alice Weber Photograph Albums, NMAH.AC1144

Henry "Buddy" Graf and George Cahill Vaudeville and Burlesque Collections, NMAH.AC1484

Division of Cultural History, National Museum of American History

Artifacts include coffee packaging, Golden Gate International Exposition sampling cups and saucers, a bowling shirt, and coffee cans.
Provenance:
These records were donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History by Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Incorporated.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but the negatives and audiovisual materials 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:
Coffee  Search this
advertising -- 20th century  Search this
advertising -- 1930-1940 -- California  Search this
advertising -- 1980-1990  Search this
Advertising agencies -- 20th century  Search this
advertising -- 1940-1950  Search this
advertising -- 1970-1980  Search this
advertising -- 1980-1990  Search this
advertising -- Audio-visual materials  Search this
advertising -- Beverages -- 1930-1990  Search this
advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this
Advertising campaigns -- 20th century  Search this
Advertising executives  Search this
Advertising, Direct-mail  Search this
Agricultural crops -- Fields  Search this
Genre/Form:
Advertising cards -- 19th century.
16mm motion picture film
Annual reports
Artwork
Beverage labels
Blueprints -- 20th century
Business ephemera
Bulletins
Business letters
Business records -- 20th century
Business records -- 19th century
Catalogs -- 20th century
Color photographs
Color negatives
Commercial art
Correspondence
Correspondence -- 19th-20th century
Direct mail
Ephemera -- 19th century
Ephemera -- 20th century
Exhibit plans
Financial records -- 19th century
Financial records -- 20th century
Genealogies
Home movies
Ledger drawings
Office files
Office memoranda
Packaging -- 20th century
Photographic prints
Photographs -- 19th century
Photographs -- 20th century
Price lists
Proof sheets
Promotional literature
Receipts -- 20th century
Sales records
Scrapbooks -- 20th century
Sound recordings
Sound recordings -- Audiotapes -- Open reel
Television programs
Window displays
Citation:
Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Incorporated Records, 1856-1989, undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0395
See more items in:
Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Incorporated Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8de2ab00c-0e83-43df-9a02-26cffe43e069
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0395
Online Media:

Norcross Greeting Card Collection

Collector:
Norcross, Arthur Dickinson, d. 1968  Search this
Rust, Fred Winslow, 1877?-1949  Search this
Rust Craft Greeting Card Company (Dedham (Mass.))  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Extractive Industries  Search this
Designer:
Tuck, Raphael, fl. 1880s  Search this
Prang, Louis, fl. 1880-1900  Search this
Chase, Ernest Dudley, fl. 1920s  Search this
Manufacturer:
Norcross Greeting Card Company (New York (N.Y.))  Search this
Rust Craft Publishers (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Extent:
1,200 Cubic feet (3,010 boxes, 362 volumes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Lithographs
Business records
Chromolithographs
Color slides
Greeting cards
Valentines
Trade cards
Postcards
Motion pictures (visual works)
Advertisements
Scrapbooks
Slides (photographs)
Place:
New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century
Boston (Mass.) -- 1910-1950
Date:
1800-1981
bulk 1880-1881
Summary:
Collections consists of the records of both the Norcross Greeting Card Company founded in New York City in the 1920s and The Rust Craft Greeting Card Company, founded in Kansas City, Missouri, 1906. Both the Norcross and Rust Craft companies collected antique greeting cards. Also includes a small number of modern cards by other manufacturers, circa 1930-1980. Collection represents development of the greeting card industry, social trends in the United States and technology of the printing industry from 1924 through 1978.
Scope and Contents:
The Norcross Greeting Card Collection consists of cards and a few records of both the Norcross Greeting Card Company and the Rust Craft Greeting Card Company, circa 1911 1981; antique greeting cards, circa 1800 1930 (bulk 1880 1900) collected by both these companies and their executives; and a small number of modern cards by other manufacturers, circa 1939 1960. According to Norcross Company officials in 1978, this collection represents "not only a history of the development of the greeting card industry but also a history of social trends in the United States" and gives "an indication of the quality and technology of the [printing] industry from 1924 through 1978."
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.

Series 1: Norcross Company Records, 1920-1981

Series 2: Antique Greeting Card Collection, circa 1800-1930 (bulk 1880-1990)

Series 3: Rust Craft Company Records, circa 1920-1980

Series 4: Greeting Cards by Other Manufacturers, 1939-1960

Series 5: Norcross Company Permanent Files, 1911-1981

Series 6: Rust Craft Company Permanent Files, 1927-1981
Biographical / Historical:
Arthur D. Norcross founded the Norcross Greeting Card Company in New York City in the nineteen twenties. From the start Norcross cards had a "look" which contributed to their selling success although, through the years, the company commanded only a small share of the greeting card market. In 1974 the company relocated to West Chester and Exton, Pennsylvania, where in 1981 Norcross and the Rust Craft Greeting Card Company merged to form divisions of a parent company.

At some point, Norcross executives realized the value of collecting and preserving antique greeting cards. The company built a large collection of antique cards, a number of which traveled in shows around the country bringing attention not only to the cards themselves but also to the Norcross Company.

Arthur Norcross died in 1968, and the company had four owners from then until 1982. One of the owners, the Ziff Corporation, a New York publisher, picked up the Norcross Company to augment the floundering Rust Craft Greeting Card Company that it had purchased primarily for its television holdings. Finally the Norcross and Rust Craft combination was acquired by Windsor Communications, Inc., a privately held company. In August 1981 Windsor entered into Chapter 11 proceedings under the Federal bankruptcy law and ceased producing greeting cards. Factors leading to bankruptcy included the expensive consolidation of Norcross and Rust Craft, a doubtful marketing strategy, and unsuccessful efforts to continue producing two distinct lines of greeting cards.

The Rust Craft Greeting Card Company, some of whose records are contained in this collection, was begun as a little bookshop by Fred Rust, (1877? 1949) in Kansas City in 1906. Later that year he created a plain Christmas folder which he called a "letter," perhaps a forerunner of the greeting card. These "letters" proved successful sellers prompting Rust to increase his publications over the years and expand his line to include post cards, greeting cards with envelopes, calendars, and blotters, in addition to lines of cards for New Year's and birthdays. Donald Rust, his brother, soon joined him to take over manufacturing, and in 1908, Fred Rust, seeking to increase distribution, carried his line to Boston while Donald carried his to California. The original bookshop was retained until 1910 when all retailing was discontinued. After building a considerable volume of business, the firm was consolidated in Boston in 1914 and became known as Rust Craft Publishers.

Sales mounted as the company issued cards for various seasons. Many of the sentiments were written by Fred Rust himself. Around 1927 Ernest Dudley Chase joined the firm as an associate in charge of creation and advertising. In the 1950s the company relocated to Dedham, Massachusetts and finally in 1981 merged with the Norcross Company in West Chester and Exton, Pennsylvania.

A popular innovation of the Rust Craft Company was a card bearing the sentiment printed on the card itself with four or five extra sentiments tucked in as part of the message and design. This card was so popular that it was patented with the name Tukkin. The Rust Craft Company also collected some antique greeting cards.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

AC0109 Division of Domestic Life Greeting Card Collection, circa 1854-1975

AC0126 Burris and Byrd Family Card Sample Case, circa 1920

AC0263 Susie Paige Afro-American Greeting Card Collection, 1900-1984

AC0376 Olive Leavister 19th Century Handmade Valentine Collection, 1830-1880

AC0404 Archives Center Business Americana Collection, circa 1900-present

AC0530 Beatrice Litzinger Postcard Collection, 1900-1990

AC0468Archives Center Scrapbook Collection, circa 1880-circa 1960

AC0579 Greeting Card Collection, 1920s-1970s

AC0886 Ernest Dudley Chase Papers, 1930s-1940s

AC1198 Beatrice Morgan Steyskal Collection of Greeting Cards, 1958-1970

AC0060 Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

AC1251 L.F. Pease Greeting Card Company Collection, circa 1908-1913

AC 1252 Sandford Greeting Card Company and Family Papers, circa 1840-1990

AC 0062 Hoffmania (or Hoffman Collection

AC0295 Rocky Herosian Collection, 1910-1943

AC0674 Jean Clairmook Radio Scrapbook, 1930-1932

AC0136 Celia K. Erskine Scrapbook of Valentines, Advertising Cards, and Postcards, circa 1882-1884

The Valentine & Expressions of Love [videocassette], 2000 within the Archives Center Miscellaneous Film and Videotape Collection, (AC0358)
Provenance:
Norcross Greeting Card Company, West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1982-1985.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270. Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire.
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.
Genre/Form:
Lithographs
Business records -- 20th century
Chromolithographs -- 1880-1900
Color slides
Greeting cards -- ca. 1800-1980
Valentines
Trade cards
Postcards
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1960-1980
Advertisements
Scrapbooks
Slides (photographs) -- 1950-2000
Citation:
Norcross Greeting Card Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0058
See more items in:
Norcross Greeting Card Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8fee76ca9-fd6e-4fb4-b182-ce197659fe7d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0058
Online Media:

Charles Sheldon Papers

Vendor:
Kuenzig Books  Search this
Creator:
Sheldon, Charles Gates, 1899-1960  Search this
Breck Company.  Search this
Extent:
3.5 Cubic feet (3 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pastels (visual works)
Drawings
Business records
Advertisements
Photographs,
Appointment books
Newsletters
Yearbooks
Magazines (periodicals)
Theater programs
Date:
1902-1959
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the work of Charles G. Sheldon, the illustrator who created beautiful images of women for the "Breck Girls" advertising campaign from 1936-1957. Includes photographs of sitters, Breck advertising materials, Breck Company internal publications and newsletters, magazines with cover illustrations by Sheldon, a high school yearbook, internal papers from the Breck Company relating to the Breck Girls campaign, theater programs for which Sheldon designed the covers, prints of the advertisements, and an original pastel drawing by Sheldon.
Arrangement:
Collection is unarranged.
Biographical / Historical:
Portrait artist, best known for his illustrations of women in the "Breck Girls" advertising campaign. He also created cover illustrations for magazines such as Radio Digest and Photoplay.
Provenance:
Purchased by the Archives Center in 2017 from Kuenzig Books of Topsfield, Mass. Mr. Kuenzig recently purchased the collection from a Massachusetts dealer who had purchased it directly from the Sheldon family around 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Commercial art  Search this
Beauty culture  Search this
Feminine beauty (Aesthetics)  Search this
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Pastels (visual works)
Drawings
Business records -- 20th century
Advertisements -- 20th century
Photographs, -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 1930-1960
Appointment books -- 1930-1940
Newsletters -- 20th century
Yearbooks -- 20th century
Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century
Theater programs -- 20th century
Citation:
Charles Sheldon Papers, 1902-1959, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1423
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep80106c472-449d-4346-b785-9a90ce8c1daf
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1423

Gladys Reid Holton Ephemera Collection

Creator:
Holton, Gladys Reid, 1898- (museum curator)  Search this
Des Grange, Jane  Search this
Extent:
19 Cubic feet (50 boxes, 7 map-folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Calendars
Ephemera
Fashion plates
Newspapers
Photographs
Postcards
Advertising cards
Account books
Date:
1800-1978
Summary:
A wide range of dated ephemeral material collected by Gladys Reid Holton covering the period circa 1800 to circa 1978.
Scope and Contents note:
The bulk of the collection contains a wide range of ephemera, such as calendars, postcards, advertising cards, magazines, newspapers and fashion plates; also photographs and business and household account books. Also some of Mrs. Holton's personal papers, including correspondence relating to activities with organizations such as the Home Bureaus and War Council, scripts from her radio programs, business cards, and personal licenses. The remainder of the collection is arranged by subjects related to the museum exhibitions Mrs. Holton worked on, including research notes, articles relating to subjects, exhibition layouts, labels, photographs, and posters.
Arrangement:
Divided into 2 series: (1) Chronologically organized materials; (2) Fashions and advertising: magazines and catalogs.
Biographical/Historical note:
Gladys Reid Holton was born June 29, 1898 in Auburn, New York. She began a teaching career in the 1920s. During the 1930s-1940s she was heavily involved in traditional household arts and crafts. Holton was curator of History of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1950s-1960s. She retired from the Strong Museum in 1976. She amassed this private collection over a period of some 30 years. Her reason for collecting such material was to give added dimension to exhibits of museum objects and to produce creative explanations for exhibits.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Jane Des Grange on October 13, 1992.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use on site.,Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Rights:
Copyright status of material in this collection varies. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.
Topic:
Exhibitions  Search this
Fashion  Search this
Periodicals  Search this
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Calendars
Ephemera
Fashion plates
Newspapers
Photographs -- Archives Center
Postcards
Advertising cards
Account books
Citation:
Gladys Reid Holton Ephemera Collection, 1800-ca. 1978 (Gift of Jane Des Grange), Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0466
See more items in:
Gladys Reid Holton Ephemera Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep821fb9f34-4950-4c8d-bf3e-0603092f1ff7
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0466
Online Media:

Photograph of Beverly White

Photograph by:
Unidentified  Search this
Distributed by:
Rockwell-O'Keefe, Inc., American  Search this
Subject of:
Beverly White, American  Search this
Claude Hopkins, American, 1903 - 1984  Search this
Claude Hopkins Orchestra, American, 1930 - 1940  Search this
Medium:
silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions:
H x W (Image): 9 Ă— 7 1/2 in. (22.8 Ă— 19 cm)
H x W (Sheet): 10 1/16 Ă— 8 1/16 in. (25.5 Ă— 20.4 cm)
Type:
gelatin silver prints
portraits
Date:
ca. 1938
Topic:
African American  Search this
Jazz (Music)  Search this
Photography  Search this
Singers (Musicians)  Search this
Credit Line:
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number:
2013.46.25.125
Restrictions & Rights:
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
See more items in:
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title:
The Laura Cathrell Show-Down Magazine Collection
Classification:
Media Arts-Photography
Data Source:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd54bab2709-80b5-4b08-ac13-dcc3179b834e
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmaahc_2013.46.25.125
Online Media:

Photograph of Beverly White

Photograph by:
Unidentified  Search this
Distributed by:
Rockwell-O'Keefe, Inc., American  Search this
Subject of:
Beverly White, American  Search this
WOR, American  Search this
Claude Hopkins, American, 1903 - 1984  Search this
Claude Hopkins Orchestra, American, 1930 - 1940  Search this
Medium:
silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
Dimensions:
H x W (Image): 9 Ă— 7 7/16 in. (22.9 Ă— 18.9 cm)
H x W (Sheet): 10 1/16 Ă— 7 15/16 in. (25.5 Ă— 20.2 cm)
Type:
gelatin silver prints
portraits
Place depicted:
New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Date:
ca. 1938
Topic:
African American  Search this
Jazz (Music)  Search this
Mass media  Search this
Nightlife  Search this
Photography  Search this
Singers (Musicians)  Search this
Theatre  Search this
Credit Line:
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number:
2013.46.25.34
Restrictions & Rights:
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
See more items in:
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title:
The Laura Cathrell Show-Down Magazine Collection
Classification:
Media Arts-Photography
Data Source:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5f2e937ec-1f4c-422b-9960-5e575ae50ff0
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmaahc_2013.46.25.34
Online Media:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Radios

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Extent:
2.44 Cubic feet (consisting of 4.5 boxes, 1 folder, 5 oversize folders, 2 flat boxes (partial), 1 map case folder.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business ephemera
Business letters
Publications
Receipts
Business cards
Trade literature
Logs (records)
Sales catalogs
Print advertising
Ephemera
Catalogs
Advertising mail
Commercial catalogs
Invoices
Trade cards
Technical reports
Trade catalogs
Advertising
Manuals
Reports
Manufacturers' catalogs
Commercial correspondence
Catalogues
Printed materials
Illustrations
Bulletins
Technical manuals
Printed material
Transcripts
Letterheads
Printed ephemera
Advertisements
Advertising cards
Radio scripts
Correspondence
Advertising fliers
Business records
Date:
1893-1992
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
The radio category contains material primarily related to radio company products, radio broadcasts and programs, technical documentation on the use of radios, and material documenting the effect of radio on modern life. The bulk of the material covers sales catalogues and advertisements, though no complete records for single companies are present.

The radio broadcast transcripts and programs include fictional or anecdotal stories, transcripts of contests, interviews, or speeches, and notifications about future broadcasts.

Literature concerning the effect of radio on modern life includes brief radio historiographies, discussions about the need for advanced education for the radio field, and documentation of the use of radio in leisure time or in rural life. Additional publications address the uses and effects of radio during times of war. While no extensive documentation exists on any one topic, the publications may provide general histories of the radio with snapshots of specific facets of radio history.
Arrangement:
Radio is arranged in three subseries.

Business Records and Marketing Material

Genre

Subject
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Missing Title

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Radio is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
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:
Radio -- History  Search this
Radio -- Receivers and reception  Search this
Radio  Search this
Radio -- Transmitters and transmission  Search this
Radio -- Apparatus and supplies  Search this
Radio broadcasting  Search this
Radio broadcasts  Search this
Radio in politics  Search this
Radio advertising  Search this
Radio -- Receivers and reception -- Design and construction  Search this
Radio audiences  Search this
advertising -- Business ephemera  Search this
Consumer goods -- Catalogs  Search this
Periodicals  Search this
Broadcast advertising  Search this
Radio comedies  Search this
Broadcasting  Search this
Broadcasting -- United States  Search this
War  Search this
Retail trade  Search this
Radio programs  Search this
Transmission of culture  Search this
Radio -- 1930-1940  Search this
Radio -- Antennas  Search this
Genre/Form:
Business ephemera
Business letters
Publications -- Business
Receipts
Business cards
Trade literature
Logs (records)
Sales catalogs
Print advertising
Ephemera
Catalogs
Advertising mail
Commercial catalogs
Invoices
Trade cards
Technical reports
Trade catalogs
Advertising
Manuals
Reports
Manufacturers' catalogs
Commercial correspondence
Catalogues
Printed materials
Illustrations
Bulletins
Technical manuals -- 20th century
Printed material
Transcripts
Letterheads
Printed ephemera
Publications
Advertisements
Advertising cards
Radio scripts
Correspondence
Advertising fliers
Business records
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Radios, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Radios
See more items in:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Radios
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep805ffaf5e-f3b1-4f2a-9714-a4f2c6774754
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-radios

[Back wall of Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.] [acetate film photonegative, banquet camera format.]

Photographer:
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Names:
Griffith Stadium (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 3, Folder 21
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Panoramas
Banquet camera photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1950 -- Photographs
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Scan Number: 618ns0243789bp.tif
Back wall and field. Wall contains advertisements from: Coca Cola, Lifebuoy Healthy Soap, Capital Garage, Sentate Beer, Kilburn Cream, Woodwar and Lothrop, Orienta Coffee, Occidental Restaurant, Green River Whiskey, Stein Bloch Clothes, Hotel Harrington, Fairfax Paints, Quaker State Motor Oil, Washington Times, Fussells Ice Cream and Star Radio Co. No manufacturer's mark on film edge.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Series 8: Business Records, Subseries 8.1: Studio Session Registers are restricted. Digital copies available for research. See repository for details.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Panoramas
Banquet camera photographs -- 1930-1940
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.12: Banquet Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.12: Banquet Negatives / 4.12: Banquet Negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep850031a5c-2617-4c9b-8952-790b54476979
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-12-ref175

[H.U. Football Queen 1939] [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Eastman Kodak Company (film manufacturer)  Search this
Names:
Howard University  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., [3 3/8x4 1/2].)
Container:
Box 33
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1940 -- Photographs
Date:
1939
Scope and Contents:
Subject/Sitter: football queen
[Four men of Omega Psi Phi (only three visible) carrying the "queen" in a Sedan Chair. A radio broadcaster is interviewing the "queen." ]. No ink on negative: "Ink (text) on enclosure "Kodak Safety Film" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Radio journalism -- United States -- 1930-1950.  Search this
Howard University Homecoming activities  Search this
African American Greek letter societies  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.6: Black and white negatives in cold storage arranged by client
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.6: Black and white negatives in cold storage arranged by client / 4.6.1: Black and White Negatives Part 1
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8fb17f81b-96ad-4c5e-ba6a-fb79ec1cc9f5
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-06-ref11006

Alma Thomas papers

Creator:
Thomas, Alma  Search this
Names:
Art in Embassies Program (U.S.)  Search this
Martha Jackson Gallery  Search this
Bader, Franz, 1903-1994  Search this
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme, 1896-1986  Search this
Johnson, Nathalie J. Cole  Search this
Sarg, Tony, 1882-1942  Search this
Tarbary, Celine  Search this
Taylor, Joshua Charles, 1917-  Search this
Thomas, J. Maurice (John Maurice), 1900 or 1901-  Search this
Extent:
5.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Audiocassettes
Video recordings
Photographs
Date:
circa 1894-2001
Summary:
The papers of Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas, date from circa 1894-2001 and measure 5.5 linear feet. The papers document Thomas's work as a teacher, and her development and success as a painter of the Washington Color School, through biographical material, letters, notes and writings, personal business records, exhibition files, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, an audio recording, and two video recordings.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas, date from circa 1894-2001 and measure 5.5 linear feet. The papers document Thomas's work as a teacher, and her development and success as a painter of the Washington Color School, through biographical material, letters, notes and writings, personal business records, exhibition files, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, an audio recording, and two video recordings.

Biographical material includes identity cards, chronologies, an audio recording including a biographical account, and scattered documentation of Thomas's education and teaching careers with D.C. Public Schools, Howard University, and Thomas Garrett Settlement in Wilmington, Delaware. Also found are records relating to Thomas's participation in a summer marionette class taught by Tony Sarg in 1934, and a tour of European art centers which Thomas took in 1958.

Letters relate primarily to the exhibition of Thomas's work and related events and are from galleries, museums, other art institutions, colleagues, and friends including Franz Bader, Adelyn Breeskin, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Howard University Gallery of Art, Martha Jackson Gallery, Nathalie J. Cole Johnson, Vincent Melzac, Celine Tabary, and Joshua Taylor.

Notes and writings include four notebooks and autobiographical writings by Thomas, a "Birthday Book," and an annotated engagement calendar. J. Maurice Thomas's writings about Alma Thomas, her research for a bibliography on James Weldon Johnson, and writings by others, including Jacob Kainen, about Alma Thomas, are also found here.

Exhibition files contain a wide variety of documentation for many group and solo exhibitions of Thomas's work from the early 1950s through a 1998-2000 traveling retrospective exhibition, including solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1972. The records include letters from Franz Bader Gallery, David Driskell at Fisk University, and Vincent Melzac. Photographs include Thomas with individuals including William Buckner, Jeff Donaldson, David Driskell, James W. Herring, and Vincent Melzac. Also found is a photograph of the 1951 Little Paris Studio Group picturing Lois Mailou Jones, Celine Tabary, Alma Thomas, and others. Two video recordings are of events related to the 1998-2000 retrospective at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art. Records documenting a 1981-1982 exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, A Life in Art: Alma Thomas, includes the script of a video written by Adolphus Ealey.

Personal business records include price lists, gift and loan receipts, and files concerning the Art in Embassies Program, the Martha Jackson Gallery, a benefit auction for the Corcoran School of Art, and the designation of the Thomas family home in Washington, D.C. as a historic property.

Eleven scrapbooks document Thomas's teaching career through the activities of the art classes she taught at Shaw Junior High School.

Printed materials include announcements and catalogs for exhibitions and other events; clippings which document Thomas's career and subjects of interest to her; Christmas cards featuring block prints designed by Thomas; and other programs and publications featuring Thomas.

Photographs are of Alma Thomas, family, and friends and colleagues including Sam Gilliam, James V. Herring, and Nathalie V. Cole Johnson; art classes taught by Thomas; Thomas's homes in Columbus, Georgia and Washington, D.C.; and exhibitions not documented in Series 4: Exhibition Files, including photographs of Alma Thomas at an opening at Barnett Aden Gallery with Alonzo Aden and others.
Arrangement note:
The papers have been arranged into 8 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1911-2001 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Letters, circa 1930-2001 (Boxes 1-2; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 3: Notes and Writings, circa 1920s-circa 1998 (Box 2; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1951-2000 (Boxes 2-3, OV 7; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1950s-1994 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1908-2000 (Boxes 3-5, OV 7; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1930-1946 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1894-2001 (Boxes 5-6; 0.6 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was known for her abstract paintings filled with dense patterns of color, and was considered a major artist of the Washington Color School.

Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1894, and was the eldest of the four daughters of John Harris Thomas and Amelia Cantey Thomas. The family moved to Washington, D.C. in 1906 and Thomas was first introduced to art classes at Armstrong Technical High School. Following her graduation in 1911 she took a course in kindergarten teaching at the Miner Normal School, and subsequently worked as a substitute teacher in the Washington, D.C. public school system until 1914, when she took a teaching position on the Eastern shore of Maryland. From 1916 to 1923 she taught kindergarten at Thomas Garrett Settlement House in Wilmington, Delaware.

Thomas originally enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C. as a home economics major in 1921, but after studying under Lois Mailou Jones amd James V. Herring in Herring's newly established art department, she earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art in 1924, and became the first person to graduate from the program. Thomas then began her teaching career at Shaw Junior High School in Washington, D.C. that lasted from 1924, until her retirement in 1960. During this time she established community arts programs that would encourage her students to develop an appreciation of fine arts. Activities included marionette programs, distribution of student-designed holiday menu cards for dinners given for soldiers at the Tuskegee Veterans' Hospital, art clubs, lectures, and student exhibitions. In 1943 she became the founding vice president of Barnett Aden Gallery, which was established by James V. Herring and Alonzo Aden and was the first integrated gallery in Washington, D.C.

In 1934 Thomas earned an M.A. degree in Art Education from Columbia University. At American University in Washington, D.C., she studied creative painting under Joe Summerford, Robert Gates, and Jacob Kainen from 1950 to 1960, and began to break away from representational painting and experiment more seriously with Abstract Expressionism. In 1958 she participated in a tour of the art centers of Western Europe under the auspices of the Tyler School of Fine Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Following her retirement from teaching in 1960, Thomas devoted herself full-time to painting, and continued to develop her signature style. She was inspired by nature and the desire to express beauty through composition and color, and refused to be constrained by societal expectations related to her race, gender, and age, achieving her greatest success in the last decade of her life. Her work was exhibited at the Dupont Theatre Art Gallery, Franz Bader Gallery, and the Howard University Gallery of Art, before she was honored in 1972 with exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Thomas's work has been exhibited at the White House and can be found in the permanent collections of major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Separated Materials note:
In 1979, J. Maurice Thomas loaned papers for microfilming. Most, but not all, of the loaned material was later donated and is described in this finding aid. Loaned materials not donated at a later date are available on reels 1541-1543 and are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
J. Maurice Thomas, the artist's sister, loaned portions of the collection for microfilming in 1979. Most, but not all of this material was then later donated in several accretions by J. Maurice Thomas, between 1979 and 2004. Charles Thomas Lewis, Thomas' nephew, gave additional papers in 2010.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Educators -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Topic:
Painting, American  Search this
African American artists  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Washington Color School (Group of artists)  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Women painters  Search this
African American educators  Search this
African American painters  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Audiocassettes
Video recordings
Photographs
Citation:
Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.thomalma
See more items in:
Alma Thomas papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98cd54656-ee02-4a0d-81ad-6db24f1be010
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-thomalma
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Online Media:

[Baptism ceremony, probably at Griffith Stadium, ca. 1930-1950 : cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Agfa (Firm)  Search this
Names:
Griffith Stadium (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 3.5" x 4.5".)
Container:
Box 98
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
ca. 1930-1950
Scope and Contents:
Group of baptismal candidates singing whilst a band seated to the left play musical instruments. In front of them stands a man in a white suit on a platform with two microphones, labelled 'AAT' and 'WJSV'. No ink on negative. "5 AGFA SUPERPAN PRESS" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Radio broadcasting  Search this
Baptism -- 1930-1950  Search this
African American musicians  Search this
Singing  Search this
Microphones  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Photographs -- 1940-1950 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8d009afc8-1e85-4980-afdf-aff35c78f28e
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3153
Online Media:

[Baptism ceremony, ca. 1930-1950 : cellulose acetate photonegative.]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Agfa (Firm)  Search this
Names:
Columbia Broadcasting System, inc.  Search this
Griffith Stadium (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 3.5" x 4.5".)
Container:
Box 98
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
ca. 1930-1950
Scope and Contents:
Procession of baptismal candidates up to and down a set of steps into a pool of water. Five men dressed in black assist in the water. One candidate is submerged. Two men stand to the side outside the pool, one is holding a microphone marked "CBS'. Probably at Griffith Stadium. No ink on negative. "11 AGFA SUPERPAN PRESS" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Radio broadcasting  Search this
Reporters and reporting  Search this
Baptism -- 1930-1950  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Photographs -- 1940-1950 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep899ccc11c-8443-426e-b95b-15e78b4088db
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3161
Online Media:

[Baptism ceremony, probably at Griffith Stadium, ca. 1930-1950 : cellulose acetate photonegative.]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Agfa (Firm)  Search this
Names:
Columbia Broadcasting System, inc.  Search this
Griffith Stadium (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 3.5" x 4.5".)
Container:
Box 98
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
ca. 1930-1950
Scope and Contents:
Procession of baptismal candidates up and down a set of steps into a pool of water. Five men dressed in black assist in the water. One of the men has one arm raised and is holding a candidate's hand with the other. Spectators stand to the side of the pool; one is holding a microphone marked 'CBS'. No ink on negative. "8 AGFA SUPERPAN PRESS" edge imprint. No Scurlock number.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Radio broadcasting  Search this
Microphones  Search this
Baptism -- 1930-1950  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Photographs -- 1940-1950 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep854a7336f-392b-4520-9059-297063458db8
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3165
Online Media:

Mr. John Rhine's Home, 1938 [interior of library : cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Defender (film manufacturer)  Search this
Names:
Rhine, John  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 8" x 10".)
Container:
Box 101
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1940 -- Photographs
Date:
1938
Scope and Contents:
Interior of room in John Rhine's home, with a couch, armchair and coffee table with an open book on it. The walls are lined with filled bookcases. There are two windows with blinds. In the center of one wall is a piece of equipment, possible a radio. No ink on negative, no Scurlock number. Ink on envelope: caption. "DEFENDER SAFETY BASE" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Architecture, Domestic  Search this
Homes -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Buildings -- Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1940.  Search this
Interiors -- Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1940.  Search this
Libraries  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8dd8d6ef0-19be-4d21-968f-145b18bac8da
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3239

Voice of Childhood radio station, Plymouth Sunday School, 2nd anniversary : acetate film photonegative

Photographer:
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 28
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
ca. 1940
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
African American radio stations -- 1930-1940  Search this
Portraits, Group -- 1930-1940 -- Washington (D.C.).  Search this
African American Sunday schools -- 1930-1940  Search this
African Americans -- Religion -- 1930-1940.  Search this
Community life -- Washington, D.C. -- 1930-1940  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86ec78baf-65c1-428a-a3c7-3b8f465f0fda
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref568

Cover Girl Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project

Creator:
Bunting, George L., Jr.  Search this
Brinkley, Christie  Search this
Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.  Search this
Colonel, Sheri  Search this
Giordano, Lynn  Search this
Ford, Eileen  Search this
Hall, L. C. "Bates"  Search this
Grathwohl, Geraldine  Search this
Huebner, Dick  Search this
Harrison, Fran  Search this
Lindsay, Robert  Search this
Hunt, William D.  Search this
McIver, Karen  Search this
MacDougall, Malcolm  Search this
Noble, Stan  Search this
Nash, Helen  Search this
Noxell Corporation.  Search this
Bergin, John  Search this
O'Neill, Jennifer  Search this
Oelbaum, Carol  Search this
Pelligrino, Nick  Search this
Poris, George  Search this
Roberts, F. Stone  Search this
Tiegs, Cheryl  Search this
Troup, Peter  Search this
Weithas, Art  Search this
Witt, Norbert  Search this
Names:
Noxzema Chemical Company  Search this
Extent:
15.5 Cubic feet (30 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Business records
Audiotapes
Bumper stickers
Annual reports
Oral history
Photographs
Press releases
Scrapbooks
Television scripts
Videotapes
Tear sheets
Place:
Hunt Valley (Maryland)
Baltimore (Md.)
Maryland
Date:
1959-1990
Summary:
The Cover Girl Make-Up Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project, 1923-1991, is the result of a year-long study in 1990, which examined the advertising created for Noxell Corporation's Cover Girl make-up products from 1959 to 1990. The objective of the project was to document, in print and electronic media, the history of Cover Girl make-up advertising since its inception in 1959.
Scope and Contents:
Twenty-two oral history interviews (conducted by Dr. Scott Ellsworth for the Archives Center) and a variety of print and television advertisements, photographs, scrapbooks, personal papers, business records and related materials were gathered by the Center for Advertising History staff. The objective was to create a collection that provides documentation, in print and electronic media, of the history and development of advertising for Cover Girl make-up since its inception in 1959.

Collection also includes earlier material related to other Noxell products, including Noxzema, with no direct connection to the Cover Girl campaign.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Research Files

Series 2: Interviewee Files

Series 3: Oral History Interviews

Series 4: Television Advertising Materials

Series 5: Print Advertising Materials

Series 6: Company Publications and Promotional Literature

Series 7: Photographs

Series 8: Scrapbooks
Biographical / Historical:
George Avery Bunting founded the Noxzema Chemical Company in Baltimore, Maryland in 1917. In the 1890s, he left behind a teaching job on Maryland's Eastern shore to move to Baltimore, where he hoped to pursue a career as a pharmacist. He landed a job as errand boy and soda jerk at a local drugstore, where he worked while attending classes at the University Of Maryland College of Pharmacy. Valedictorian of the Class of 1899, Bunting was promoted to manager of the drugstore, which he purchased. Bunting began to experiment with the formulation of medicated pastes and compounds, which he marketed to his customers. In 1909, he began refining a medicated vanishing cream, which he introduced in 1914. "Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy," an aromatic skin cream containing clove oil, eucalyptus oil, lime water, menthol and camphor, was mixed by hand at his pharmacy. Marketed locally as a greaseless, medicated cream for the treatment of a variety of skin conditions, including sunburn, eczema, and acne, the product was renamed "Noxzema" for its reputed ability to "knock eczema." By 1917, the Noxzema Chemical Company was formed. During the 1920s, distribution of the product was expanded to include New York, Chicago, and the Midwest and, by 1926, the first Noxzema manufactory was built in northwest Baltimore to accommodate the demand for nearly a million jars a year.

Having achieved a national market by 1938, Noxzema Chemical Company executives pursued product diversification as a means to maintain the corporate growth of the early years. In the 1930s and 1940s, line extensions included shaving cream, suntan lotion and cold cream, all with the distinctive "medicated" Noxzema aroma.

In the late 1950s, Bill Hunt, director of product development at Noxzema, suggested a line extension into medicated make-up. Creatives at Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell & Bayles, Incorporated (SSC&B), Noxzema's advertising agency since 1946, suggested that the advertising for the new product focus on beauty and glamour with some reference to the medicated claims made for other Noxzema products. In contrast to other cosmetics, which were sold at specialized department store counters, Noxzema's medicated make-up would be marketed alongside other Noxzema products in grocery stores and other mass distribution outlets. After experimenting with names that suggested both glamour and the medicated claims (including Thera-Blem and Blema-Glow), Bill Grathwohl, Noxell's advertising director, selected Carolyn Oelbaum's "Cover Girl," which conveyed the product's usefulness as a blemish cover-up, while invoking the glamorous image of fashion models. These three elements of the advertising, wholesome glamour, mass marketing, and medicated make-up, remain central to Cover Girl advertising nearly a half-century later.

Beginning with the national launch in 1961, American and international fashion models were featured in the ads. The target audience was identified as women between eighteen and fifty-four and, initially, the "glamour" ads were targeted at women's magazines, while the "medicated" claims were reserved for teen magazines. Television ads featured both elements. Cover Girl advertising always featured beautiful women -- especially Caucasian women, but the Cover Girl image has evolved over time to conform to changing notions of beauty. In the late 1950s and 1960s, the Cover Girl was refined and aloof, a fashion conscious sophisticate. By the 1970s, a new social emphasis on looking and dressing "naturally" and the introduction of the "Clean Make-up" campaign created a new advertising focus on the wholesome glamour of the "girl next door," a blue-eyed, blonde all-American image. In the 1980s, the Cover Girl look was updated to include African-American, Hispanic and working women.

In January 1970, SSC&B bought 49% of the Lintas Worldwide advertising network. After SSC&B was acquired by the Interpublic Group of Companies in 1979, the entire Lintas operation was consolidated under the name SSC&B/Lintas in 1981. With the Procter & Gamble buy-out of the Noxell Corporation in September 1989, the cosmetics account was moved to long-time P&G agency Grey Advertising, in order to circumvent a possible conflict of interest between P&G competitor Unilever, another Lintas account. In 1989 SSC&B/Lintas, Cover Girl's agency since its launch in 1961, lost the account it helped to create and define, but the brand continues to dominate mass-marketed cosmetics.

This project is the result of a year-long study of advertising created for the Noxell Corporation's Cover Girl make-up products, 1959-1990. The effort was supported in part by a grant from the Noxell Corporation. The target audience was identified as women 18-54, and initially, the "glamour" ads were targeted at women's magazines, while the "medicated" claims were reserved for teen magazines. Television ads featured both elements. Cover Girl advertising has always featured beautiful women (especially Caucasian women), but the Cover Girl image evolved over time to conform with changing notions of beauty. In the late 1950s-1960s, the Cover Girl was refined and aloof, a fashion conscious sophisticate. By the 1970s, a new social emphasis on looking and dressing "naturally" and the introduction of the "Clean Make-up" campaign created a new advertising focus on the wholesome glamour of the "girl next door," a blue-eyed, blonde all-American image. Through the 1980s, the Cover Girl look was updated to include African-American and Hispanic models and images of women at work.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC0060)

N W Ayer Advertising Agency Records (AC0059)
Separated Materials:
"The Division of Home and Community Life, Costume Collection (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds eighty-six cosmetic items and one computer that were also donated by the Noxell Corporation in 1990 in conjunction with the oral history project. These artifacts include lipstick, manicure sets, brushes, make-up, eye shadow, blush, powder puffs, eyelash curler, nail polish, and mascara. See accession number 1990.0193.

"
Provenance:
Most of the materials in the collection were donated to the Center for Advertising History by the Noxell Corporation, 1990. All storyboards and videoscripts, and a large collection of business records and proofsheets were donated by George Poris in June 1990. All mechanicals were donated by Art Weithas in June 1990. (These contributions are noted in the finding aid).
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Copyright and trademark restrictions.
Topic:
Women in advertising  Search this
advertising -- 1930-1940 -- California  Search this
Cosmetics -- advertising  Search this
Endorsements in advertising  Search this
Beauty culture  Search this
advertising -- 1950-2000  Search this
African American women -- Beauty culture  Search this
Modelling -- 1950-1990  Search this
Sex role in advertising  Search this
Radio advertising  Search this
Television advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews -- 1950-2000
Business records -- 20th century
Audiotapes
Bumper stickers
Annual reports
Oral history -- 1990-2000
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1950-2000
Press releases
Scrapbooks -- 20th century
Television scripts
Videotapes
Tear sheets
Citation:
Cover Girl Advertising Oral History & Documentation Project, 1959-1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0374
See more items in:
Cover Girl Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep89b09e4c7-64e7-4074-b65e-0d097966d1e3
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0374
Online Media:

Sandra and Gary Baden Collection of Celebrity Endorsements in Advertising

Creator:
Baden, Gary  Search this
Baden, Sandra  Search this
Extent:
2 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Tear sheets
Magazines (periodicals)
Date:
circa 1897-1979
Summary:
An extensive collection of magazine advertisements featuring celebrities from entertainment, sports, royalty, and the arts.
Scope and Contents:
A wide-ranging collection of over 1,000 celebrity advertising endorsements, ca. 1897-1979. The endorsements were culled by a collector/hobbyist from high-end magazines publications such as Fortune, McCalls, Playbill and Vogue. They feature a wide range of celebrities from the fields of performing arts, sports, business, politics and "society." The products endorsed vary greatly with heavy concentrations of cigarettes, beauty products and electronic equipment predominating. The bulk of the collection covers the 1920s-1970s with an especially high concentration of material from the 1930s-1940s. The majority are in color.

Advertisements are filed according to the profession or background of the endorser Thereunder, ads are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the endorser. Where more than one endorser is featured, the advertisement is filed under the last name of the endorser most prominently featured in the advertisement. If they are all of equal status within the advertisement, the advertisement is filed under the last name appearing earliest in the alphabet.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.

Series 1: Performing Arts

Series 2: Business/Politics

Series 3: Sports

Series 4: Society, fashio, Royalty

Series 5: Writers, Musicians, Artists, Singers
Biographical / Historical:
The use of celebrities for promoting a product is an advertising device that has been used with increasing frequency since the latter part of the 19th century. Personalities from all walks of life, society, sports, and entertainment have regularly lent their image for product endorsement. These products have ranged from alcohol to moth crystals to cigarettes and a variety of other products. The trend continues to grow and refine itself expanding from the realm of print media into television, radio, motion pictures, and the internet.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History by Gary and Sandra Baden, of Chevy Chase, D.C., in 1997.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Celebrities  Search this
Endorsements in advertising  Search this
advertising  Search this
Genre/Form:
Tear sheets
Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century
Citation:
The Sandra and Gary Baden Collection of Celebrity Endorsements in Advertising, 1897-1979, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0611
See more items in:
Sandra and Gary Baden Collection of Celebrity Endorsements in Advertising
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8ddbbdd2a-6ac1-4ec5-a013-b96ffc469af6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0611
Online Media:

Writings on radio/TV

Collection Creator:
Clark, George Howard, 1881-1956  Search this
Container:
Box 282, Folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1930-1940
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection remains unprocessed and is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.
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:
George H. Clark Radioana Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
George H. Clark Radioana Collection
George H. Clark Radioana Collection / Series 95: Articles on Radio Subjects
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep80c230108-11ca-48a0-9b44-2219269de0de
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0055-ref1750

Federal Trade Commission vs. RCA

Collection Creator:
Clark, George Howard, 1881-1956  Search this
Container:
Box 320, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1930-1940
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection remains unprocessed and is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.
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:
George H. Clark Radioana Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
George H. Clark Radioana Collection
George H. Clark Radioana Collection / Series 120: Litigation on Radio Subjects
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8f7420028-337f-4417-9a8d-e8da0effce6c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0055-ref1915

U.S. vs. RCA

Collection Creator:
Clark, George Howard, 1881-1956  Search this
Container:
Box 323, Folder 12
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1930-1940
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection remains unprocessed and is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs, negatives, and slides.
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:
George H. Clark Radioana Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
George H. Clark Radioana Collection
George H. Clark Radioana Collection / Series 120: Litigation on Radio Subjects
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep87e356c80-9959-4b5b-bb4b-ef67eb0a1cfe
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0055-ref1990

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