Photographs made by Hamilton Wright Jr. in Egypt, South Africa, India, Lebanon, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong, Holland, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, Haiti, the Virgin Islands, Canada, Alaska, Colorado, and New Hampshire. They include images of modern and ancient structures and monuments, artifacts, industries, cities, markets, caves, festivals, beaches, scenery, and sporting events. Most appear to have been made for the Hamilton Wright Organization, an international agency that made films and photographs to support public relations campaigns of foreign governments. Also included are some lantern slides depicting historical sites in Egypt, directed by Hamilton Wright, Sr., and one-sheets for motion picture films produced by the Hamilton Wright Organization. Additional material includes slide narration for a lecture and short news stories relating to the images in the collection.
Biographical/Historical note:
In 1908, Hamilton Wright Sr. founded the Hamilton Wright Organization, a public relations firm that specialized in making travelog and newsreel film and distributing it to motion picture houses around the world, often on behalf of domestic and foreign governments. Wright's son, Hamilton Wright Jr., managed the company after his father and expanded it's work. In 1963, a Senate committee criticized the Hamilton Wright Organization for hosting press junkets and distributing its photographs, newsreels, and stories in American news media without reporting its sources. The Hamilton Wright Organization was closed by Hamilton Wright Jr.'s son in the late 1960s.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 76-35
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Films by the Hamilton Wright Organization can be found in the Human Studies Film Archive in HSFA 94.19.
The Film and Television Archive at the University of California at Los Angeles holds the motion picture film and related material of the Hamilton Wright Organization.
The journal of an expedition across Venezuela and Colombia, 1906-1907; an exploration of the route of Bolivar's celebrated march of 1819 and of the battle-fields of Boyacá and Carabobo, by Hiram Bingham ... with map and 133 illustrations from photographs taken by the author
Researches concerning the institutions & monuments of the ancient inhabitants of America : with descriptions & views of some of the most striking scenes in the Cordilleras! / written in French by Alexander de Humboldt, & translated into English by Helen Maria Williams
Title:
Researches concerning the institutions and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of America
The Indian militia and description of the Indies / Bernardo de Vargas Machuca ; edited by Kris Lane ; translated by Timothy F. Johnson from the original Spanish edition, 1599
This collection consists of eleven black and white snapshots of Transportes Aereos Centro-Americanos (TACA) de Venezuela.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of eleven black and white snapshots possibly taken by Ted Bazett, circa 1947. The images show the following: Venezuelan airports, including Maiquetia; aircraft, including TACA's Douglas DC-3s and a British West Indian Airways Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar; and unidentified pilots and personnel.
Arrangement:
No arrangment as there are just 11 photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Transportes Aereos Centro-Americanos (TACA) de Venezuela was founded on August 18, 1944. The establishment of the company was part of the plan to set up subsidiary TACA companies in all South American countries. In January of 1945 TACA de Venzuela, in cooperation with its sister company TACA de Colombia, opened nonstop service from Caracas to Bogota followed by expansion including direct service betwen Marachaibo to Bogota. By 1950, however, the TACA empire collapsed; the Venezuelan branch was liquidated and Linea Aeropostal Venezolana took over the routes.
Provenance:
Unknown, Gift, 2019, NASM.2019.0011
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.
