Search Results

Creator:

Vernon, Lillian, 1927-2015  Search this

Extent:

8 Cubic feet (37 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Audio cassettes

Cd-roms

Dvcs

Sales catalogs

Videotapes

Date:

1974-2008

Summary:

Collection documents Lillian Vernon, entrepreneur who started a catalog business on her kitchen table. Materials include video and audio cassettes, awards, certificates, clippings, and sales catalogs.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of 12 cubic feet of material relating to Lillian Vernon, entrepreneur, who started her catalog business at her kitchen table. Materials include video and audio cassettes, awards, certificates, clippings, and sales catalogs, 1987-2008.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged in three series.

Series 1: Lillian Vernon Bound Catalogs, 1987-2007

Series 2: Biographical Material, 1989-2004 Series 3: Audio Visual Materials, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Lillian Vernon, born Lilli Menasche (1927-2015), immigrated with her family to the United States from Germany after escaping the Nazi regime of the 1930s. Vernon inherited her family's entrepreneurial spirit and in 1951 when pregnant with her first child, she searched for a way to stay home and yet augment the family budget. Using her combined wedding gifts, Vernon invested $2,000 in the business and placed her first advertisement in Seventeen for monogrammed accessories for teenagers. She received an overwhelming response and her business was launched. In the early years, the size of the business was limited to Vernon and her kitchen table, where she sorted and filled orders.

Vernon grew her enterprise into one of the nation's most successful mail-order catalogs and a major corporation. The Lillian Vernon Catalog, which the company launched in 1956, became an iconic shopping resource for American women. Produced monthly, the catalog was typically 120 pages and usually featured 750 items. In response to a catalog and shopping mall boom in the United States in the 1980s, the company produced a number of specialty catalogs in order to broaden its market, including ones targeted for children and homemakers.

In 1987, Vernon's company became the first business founded by a woman to be publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Responding to the increasingly important online market in the early 1990s, the Lillian Vernon Corporation opened a storefront on AOL in 1995 and followed with an online catalog and website. However, by the end of the 1990s, the company began to struggle to meet online needs, especially after the collapse of the dot-com bubble. Vernon sold the company to Zelnick Media in 2003, but retained the symbolic title of non-executive chairman.

Related Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Work and Industry holds related objects: engravo-graph machine, engraving blocks, kitchen table, wood sign, purse, and belt. See accession 2019.0306.

Provenance:

Collection donated by Fred P. Hochberg and David Hochberg, 2019.

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:

American woman entrepreneur  Search this

Business -- History  Search this

Direct marketing  Search this

Mail-order business  Search this

Genre/Form:

Audio cassettes

CD-ROMs

DVCs

Sales catalogs

Videotapes

Citation:

Lillian Vernon Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1495

See more items in:

Lillian Vernon Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b38cef11-ceea-4f69-b3d7-dad9c94b334b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1495

Creator:

MacDowell, Helen Sandford, 1889-  Search this

Pease, L.F.  Search this

Prince, Georgiana K., 1861-1915  Search this

Sandford Greeting Card Company  Search this

Gilman, Georgiana Sandford, 1887-1982  Search this

Sandford, Frank S., 1853-1924  Search this

Sandford, Mary Elizabeth, 1852-1936  Search this

Sandford, Ruth, 1879-1972  Search this

Names:

American Red Cross  Search this

Women's Christian Temperance Union  Search this

Donor:

Gilman, R. Thompson  Search this

Extent:

8 Cubic feet (37 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Cartes-de-visite

Clippings

Travel diaries

Photograph albums

Programs

Advertising

Photographs

Letters (correspondence)

Dvds

Business cards

Trade catalogs

Genealogies

Diaries

Design drawings

Business records

Account books

Calling cards

Cabinet photographs

Daguerreotypes

Memoirs

Place:

Panama Canal (Panama)

Date:

1831-2004

Summary:

Collection documents the business activities of the Sandford Card Company and include the papers of Mary Elizabeth Sandford, founder of the company, and her immediate family.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the business activities of the Sandford Card Company primarily in the early part of the century. It includes product designs and samples; advertising and marketing materials, as well as, correspondence and financial papers. In addition, there are the papers of Mary Elizabeth Sandford, founder of the company, and her immediate family. These materials consist primarily of diaries, photographs, correspondence, family histories and genealogies. The collection is arranged into four series. Series one documents the business activities of the Sandford Card Company. Series two contains the personal papers of Mary Elizabeth Sandford, her husband Frank Sherman Sandford and their children. Series three is the personal papers of Mary Elizabeth Sandford's parents and siblings. Series four is the personal papers of extended family members mostly by marriage.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1: Sandford Card Company Records, 1880-1967; undated

Subseries 1.1: Correspondence, 1909-1936; undated

Subseries 1.2: Financial Records, 1880-1926; undated

Subseries 1.3: Product Designs and Samples, 1911-1941; undated

Subseries 1.4: Advertising and Marketing Materials, 1924-1967; undated

Series 2: Sandford Family Papers, 1831-2003; undated

Subseries 2.1: Frank Sherman Sandford, 1870-1925; undated

Subseries 2.2: Mary Elizabeth Kennedy Sandford, 1868-2003; undated

Subseries 2.3: Ruth Louise Sandford, 1900-1972; undated

Subseries 2.4: John Joseph Sanford, 1900-1987; undated

Subseries 2.5: Georgiana Kennedy Sandford Gilman, 1870-1973; undated

Subseries 2.6: Helen Louise Sandford McDowell, 1899-2000; undated

Subseries 2.7: Family Papers, 1831-1992; undated

Subseries 2.8: Frances Rohe, 1913, 1920; undated

Series 3: Kennedy Family Papers, 1861-2003; undated

Subseries 3.1: James Frank Kennedy, 1861-1920s; undated

Subseries 3.2: Mary Jane Durkee Kennedy, 1867-1882

Subseries 3.3: Lillian Frances Kennedy Pease, 1875-2003

Subseries 3.4: Emma Jane Kennedy, 1877-1883; undated

Subseries 3.5: Georgiana Kennedy Prince, 1878-1915; undated

Subseries 3.6: Family Papers, 1934-1992; undated

Series 4: Other Family Papers, 1840s-2004; undated

Subseries 4.1: Durkee Family, 1864-2004; undated

Subseries 4.2: Gilman Family, 1840s-1902

Subseries 4.3: Gilman Family, 1916-2004; undated

Subseries 4.4: McDowell Family, 1920; undated

Subseries 4.5: Pease Family, 1953-1984; undated

Biographical / Historical:

Mary Elizabeth Kennedy Sandford founded the Sandford Card Company in Dansville, New York in 1907. The Sandford Card Company was intended to provide consumers a means to send messages to family and friends. Such products contained more thought out verses and images than the typical postcards that were available during this time period. Initially, Mary Elizabeth created four verses with images and had five thousand of each printed by the F. A. Owen Publishing Company. The four samples were sent to two hundred bookstores and drugstores. Sales were later made with distributors and agents in various cities throughout the country. In addition, the company also sold cards to fraternal organizations using their symbols or mottos in the design. Eventually, fraternal organizations became a big part of the company's customer base expanding to more than fifty groups. The company grew as a mail order business. All card shipments were made directly from Dansville, New York to forty-eight states and countries including Canada, Alaska, Cuba, Japan, Guam, Philippines, Hawaii, Panama, and Netherlands, West Indies, England and Scotland. Although the Sandford Card Company started as a greeting card business it eventually offered place cards, calling cards, calendars, program folders, napkins, banquet supplies, gifts and souvenirs to its product line. All printing work was contracted out to lithographic businesses in New York, Boston and Cincinnati. With the death of Mary Elizabeth Sandford and her husband Frank Sherman Sandford the company continued to be operated under the guidance of their daughter Ruth Louise Sandford. In 1948, Ruth Sandford hired John G. Holden as business manager. In 1965, the company moved from Dansville to Baldwinsville, New York under the management of the third generation of the founding family. It continued to operate as a family business until it was sold to John G. Holden. The company was later purchased by Rodney Pease the grandson of Mary Elizabeth Sandford's sister Lillian Frances Pease. Pease eventually changed the name and direction of the company.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Lillian Pease Card Company Records (AC1251)

Provenance:

Donated to the Archives Center in 2011 by R. Thompson Gilman, Executor for the estate of Elizabeth G. Essley.

Restrictions:

Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.

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:

Women-owned business enterprises  Search this

Women -- Political activity  Search this

Women -- Organizations  Search this

Postcards -- 20th century  Search this

Greeting cards -- 20th century  Search this

Greeting card industry  Search this

Family-owned business enterprises  Search this

Women's suffrage -- United States  Search this

Temperance  Search this

Health resorts  Search this

Genre/Form:

Cartes-de-visite

Clippings -- 20th century

Travel diaries -- 20th century

Photograph albums -- 20th century

Programs -- 20th century

Advertising -- 20th century

Photographs -- 20th century

Letters (correspondence) -- 19th century

DVDs

Business cards

Trade catalogs -- 20th century

Genealogies

Photographs -- 19th century

Diaries -- 20th century

Design drawings -- 20th century

Business records -- 20th century

Account books -- 20th century

Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.

Calling cards

Cabinet photographs

Diaries -- 19th century

Daguerreotypes

Memoirs

Citation:

Sandford Greeting Card Company and Family Papers, circa 1839-2000; undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1252

See more items in:

Sandford Greeting Card Company and Family Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep81b1ccf0d-eb81-4700-87bc-1b731a16572a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1252

Creator:

Hills Bros. Coffee, Inc.  Search this

Extent:

65 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

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 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

AC0059 NW Ayer Advertising Agency Records

AC0060 Warshaw Collection of Buisness Americana

AC0500 Landor Design Collection

AC0411 Charles W. Trigg Papers

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

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

Creator:

Wiseman, Frederick J., 1875-1961  Search this

Names:

Early Birds of Aviation (Organization).  Search this

Wiseman-Peters (Fred Wiseman and J. W. Peters) (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this

Extent:

0.59 Cubic feet (1 flatbox)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Tickets

Correspondence

Clippings

Date:

1909-1968

bulk [ca. 1910s, 1950s]

Summary:

Fred Wiseman, along with J. W. Peters and D.C. Prentiss, built a biplane named the Wiseman-Peters. During July 1910, both Peters and Wiseman flew the Wiseman-Peters and the following year Wiseman entered the 1911 Aviation Meet at Selfridge Field, Michigan. On February 17, 1911, Wiseman made the first airplane-carried mail flight officially sanctioned by any local U.S. post office and made available to the public when he carried mail, a bundle of newspapers and a sack of groceries from Petaluma, CA, to Santa Rosa, CA. After the 1911 season, Wiseman gave up flying.

This collection consists of a large scrapbook. Inside the scrapbook are newspaper clippings, correspondence, 1st Day Covers, race tickets, and photographs chronicling both Wiseman's automobile and aviation careers.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of a large scrapbook. Inside the scrapbook are newspaper clippings, correspondence, 1st Day Covers, race tickets, and photographs chronicling both Wiseman's automobile and aviation careers.

Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.

Arrangement:

Materials are in the order the donor attached them to the scrapbook. Correspondence is often located within the envelope that is attached to the scrapbook. Some materials are loose and have been left in the arrangement in which they were found, unless a portion of a newspaper article could be matched to its other parts.

Biographical / Historical:

Fred Wiseman (1875-1961) was born in Santa Rosa, California, and after attending local schools he engaged in both the bicycle and automotive businesses. Wiseman won considerable fame racing Stoddard-Dayton cars on the West Coast as well as in the Chicago area. He became interested in aviation after attending the Wright brothers' homecoming celebration in 1909 and the first Los Angeles aviation meet at Dominguez Field in 1910.

After these two events, Wiseman was convinced he wanted to learn to fly and so he returned to his home in Santa Rosa and persuaded Ben Noonan to put up $10,000 to build a plane. Wiseman, along with J. W. Peters and D.C. Prentiss, built a biplane named the Wiseman-Peters. During July 1910, both Peters and Wiseman flew the Wiseman-Peters and the following year Wiseman entered the 1911 Aviation Meet at Selfridge Field, Michigan.

On February 17, 1911, Wiseman made the first airplane-carried mail flight officially sanctioned by any local U.S. post office and made available to the public when he carried mail, a bundle of newspapers and a sack of groceries from Petaluma, CA, to Santa Rosa, CA. (The first air mail flight sanctioned by the U.S. Post Office in Washington, D.C., took place on September 23, 1911, when Earle Ovington carried mail from Garden City, Long Island, to Mineola; and the first continuously scheduled U.S. air mail service began on May 15, 1918, with routes between Washington, Philadelphia, and New York.)

During 1911, Wiseman had an active season of exhibition work, including flying for one week at the California State Fair. However, after this season Wiseman gave up flying because he thought there was no future in it. He sold his plane and returned to the automobile business. He later worked for Standard Oil Company of California. Wiseman was a member of the Early Birds of Aviation, an organization of pilots who flew solo in an aircraft prior to December 17, 1916.

Weldon Cooke, another pioneer aviator from California, bought and modified the Wiseman-Peters aircraft, renaming it the Wiseman-Cooke. Cooke flew the Wiseman-Cooke for exhibition and air mail flights. The Wiseman-Cooke aircraft is currently part of the Smithsonian Institution's collections.

Provenance:

No donor information, Gift?, unknown, XXXX-0618, unknown

Restrictions:

No restrictions on access

Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Topic:

Automobile racing  Search this

Air mail service  Search this

Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this

Aeronautics -- Exhibitions  Search this

Airplane racing  Search this

Aeronautics -- Competitions  Search this

Aeronautics -- 1903-1916  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Air pilots  Search this

Wiseman-Peters #2 Biplane (1910)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Tickets

Correspondence

Clippings

Citation:

Fred Wiseman Scrapbook, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0618, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0618

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2b1a6ef9c-06ed-414f-adc3-98f31de066e0

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0618

Author:

Antubam, Kofi  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Type:

Books

Place:

Ghana

Date:

1963

Topic:

Art, Ghanaian  Search this

Symbols  Search this

Art, Akan  Search this

Akua'mma  Search this

Akan symbolism  Search this

Call number:

DT510.4 .A6X 1963

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_697730

Author:

Ayiku, Robert Kingsley  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

Ghana

Date:

1998

Topic:

Art, Ghanaian--Themes, motives  Search this

Symbolism in art  Search this

Symbolism  Search this

Patterns (Design elements)  Search this

Geometric patterns  Search this

Symbolic color  Search this

Adinkra symbols  Search this

Akan stools  Search this

Akua'mma  Search this

Body arts  Search this

Oral tradition  Search this

Call number:

NX589.6.G5 A95 1998a

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_754180

User:

Prince  Search this

Maker:

Haugen, Barry  Search this

Rusan, David  Search this

Knut-Koupee Enterprises, Inc.  Search this

Physical Description:

paint (overall material)

plastic (overall material)

brass (overall material)

metal (overall material)

wood (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 38 1/2 in x 11 1/2 in x 2 3/4 in; 97.79 cm x 29.21 cm x 6.985 cm

Object Name:

guitar

Place Made:

United States: Minnesota, Minneapolis

Date made:

1983

Subject:

African American  Search this

Related Publication:

Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History

Credit Line:

Gift of Paisley Park Enterprises

ID Number:

1993.0435.01

Catalog number:

1993.0435.01

Accession number:

1993.0435

See more items in:

Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments

Music & Musical Instruments

Popular Entertainment

Guitars

Highlights from the Culture and the Arts Collection

Exhibition:

Entertainment Nation

Exhibition Location:

National Museum of American History

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b2-4673-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_607482

Physical Description:

wood (overall material)

thread (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 1/2 in x 1 in; 1.27 cm x 2.54 cm

Object Name:

wooden carving

wood carving

Date made:

mid 1940s

Subject:

World War II  Search this

Jewelry  Search this

Japanese Americans  Search this

Related event:

Japanese American Internment  Search this

World War II  Search this

Credit Line:

Gift of Toshi Ito

ID Number:

2015.0346.03

Accession number:

2015.0346

Catalog number:

2015.0346.03

See more items in:

Political and Military History: Armed Forces History, Japanese American

Cultures & Communities

Executive Order 9066

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b2-62ac-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1804792

Referenced:

Amos, Wally  Search this

Physical Description:

cotton (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 30 in x 24 in; 76.2 cm x 60.96 cm

Object Name:

shirt

Date made:

ca 1980

Subject:

Blacks  Search this

Food Culture  Search this

African American  Search this

ID Number:

1980.0886.02

Catalog number:

1980.0886.02

Accession number:

1980.0886

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Occupations

Advertising

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-6cb4-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1117387

User:

Amos, Wally  Search this

Physical Description:

straw (overall material)

fabric (overall material)

Object Name:

hat

Object Type:

Hats

Date made:

ca 1980

Subject:

Blacks  Search this

Food Culture  Search this

African American  Search this

ID Number:

1980.0886.01

Accession number:

1980.0886

Catalog number:

1980.0886.01

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Occupations

Advertising

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-93b8-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1276322

Created by:

Delta Air Lines, American, founded 1925  Search this

Worn by:

Eugene Harmond, American, born 1947  Search this

Medium:

paint on metal

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 1 9/16 × 15/16 × 3/8 in. (4 × 2.4 × 1 cm)

Type:

pins (jewelry)

Place depicted:

Atlanta, Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Date:

1996

Topic:

African American  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Labor  Search this

Olympics  Search this

Sports  Search this

Transportation  Search this

Travel  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Casey Grant in honor of Patricia Banks Edmiston, Patricia Grace Murphy and Eugene Harmond

Object number:

2018.50.14.6

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

Classification:

Awards and Medals

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5549967a2-0a00-433c-b562-cfdc426c150a

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2018.50.14.6

Donor Name:

Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission  Search this

Length - Object:

98 cm

97 cm

Width - Object:

40 cm

39.4 cm

Object Type:

Fan

Place:

Thailand, Asia

Accession Date:

1876

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

005318

USNM Number:

E27267-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/38dd1e3d8-3df7-42f5-aea4-e8b6d9481bdd

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8379211

Donor Name:

First Japanese Mission To The USA  Search this

Height - Object:

86 cm

Depth - Object:

38 cm

Width - Object:

91 cm

Culture:

Not Given  Search this

Object Type:

Cabinet

Place:

Japan, Asia

Accession Date:

1860

Collection Date:

1860

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

60A00001

USNM Number:

E14188-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3fea109c1-cd5a-470b-8aaa-72a085024fe0

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8339279

Collection Creator:

Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation  Search this

Collection Director:

Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957  Search this

Container:

Box 419, Folder 9

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1974 - 1979

Collection Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Collection Rights:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.

Collection Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records / Series 12: Publications / 12.2: Publications by MAI

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv44af6f9d9-9f69-43c2-a50a-8d73eab85e40

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-001-ref1718

Collection Creator:

Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation  Search this

Collection Director:

Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957  Search this

Container:

Box 438, Folder 10

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Collection Rights:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.

Collection Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records / Series 12: Publications / 12.4: Administration

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4beabf9ab-f854-42d9-9a78-c7effeb9f775

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-001-ref4578

Collection Creator:

Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation  Search this

Collection Director:

Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957  Search this

Container:

Box 231, Folder 13

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1926 - 1928

Collection Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Collection Rights:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.

Collection Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records / Series 6: Collectors

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv498f228e6-217f-4343-afdc-5cd2945335c9

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-001-ref6545

Collection Creator:

Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation  Search this

Collection Director:

Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957  Search this

Container:

Box 232, Folder 13

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1917 - 1924

Collection Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Collection Rights:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.

Collection Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records / Series 6: Collectors

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv441c8edd4-a9c0-4752-8fb9-a74bf0ab32d1

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-001-ref6817

Creator:

Smithsonian Gardens  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-02-05T15:03:04.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Gardens  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianGardens

Data Source:

Smithsonian Gardens

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianGardens

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_n5lP2MtwlqE

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

Lectures

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2023-01-19T07:29:57.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_23SXzH97wJQ

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2022-09-28T13:59:45.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_4vRfZnbreiI