Employee motivational materials, circa 1926-1968, produced by the Sheldon-Claire Company.
Scope and Contents:
Employee motivational materials, circa 1926-1968, produced by the Sheldon-Claire Company. Materials include posters, pamphlets, manuals and other materials, in addition to the papers documenting the development and promotion of these products. Many are reproductions of work by famous photographers, such as Russell Lee. Some reflect World War II themes or constitute wartime propaganda.
Arrangement:
The collections is arranged into 14 series.
Series 1: Poster Campaigns, 1943-1964
Series 2: Bulletins, 1949-1963
Series 3: Supervisors Manuals, undated
Series 4: Small versions of Posters by Topics, undated
Series 5: Mail-O-Grams, undated
Series 6: Meet Bill Jones Service, 1926-1927
Series 7: Endorsements and Acknowledgments, undated
Series 8: The Greenly Plan, undated
Series 9: Scrapbook, undated
Series 10: Papers on Client Relations
Series 11: Background and Historical Materials, undated
Series 12: Copyright Papers, 1936-1968
Series 13: Posters, 1927-1962
Series 14: Miscellaneous, undated
Biographical / Historical:
In 1981, Mr. Lew Shallet sold his employee motivation program to Pratt, Whitney. However, that firm found that there was no market for it and it was discontinued. Mr. And Mrs. Lew Shalett moved to Florida in 1981. Mr. Shalett passed away on January 29, 1994.
Materials at Other Organizations:
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
In 1943, Mr. Shalett donated a set of his "This is America" posters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt; they were placed into the collection at Roosevelt's Hyde Park Library, where they joined previous poster series that Shalett had donated. In 1980, Mr. Shalett donated to the Chicago Historical Society his "valuable personal and private organized collection of graphic arts and related material consisting of original lithographed posters produced in the 20's [sic], 30's [sic], and during World War II."
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center by Mrs. Wanda Shalett in December 2001.
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:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Armed Forces Search this
Names:
United States. Office of War Information Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot (3 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Leaflets
Correspondence
Newspapers
Booklets
Maps
Matchcovers
Newsletters
Clippings
Menus
Place:
Calcutta (India) -- 1940-1950
India -- 1940-1950
Thailand -- 1940-1950
Burma -- 1940-1950
China -- 1940-1950
India -- Description and Travel -- 1901-1946
Date:
1944-1945
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains both the personal papers of Fred Rosenau and examples of air-dropped psychological warfare literature created by the O.W.I. Amongst his personal papers, which constitute the first series, there are information guidebooks and language aids for India and Burma, a large number of Indian newspaper articles, and photographs taken by Rosenau in Calcutta. However, letters to his family in New York City compose the bulk of the personal series. Along with detailing the experience of a young American living in India and his reactions to a distinctly different culture, the letters document the organization of his O.W.I. office and the duties of its workers. In one particular letter, dated January 7, 1945, (which was hand-delivered to his family and thus avoided censorship) Rosenau was able to write freely about his work, colleagues, and responsibilities in Calcutta. In addition, there are letters from the O.W.I. headquarters in New Delhi to Rosenau, including one in which the proposed post-war job was offered.
The second series contains general information about the O.W.I. and its aims. It mainly consists of documents and photographs relating to Rosenau's office. The series includes many examples of propaganda leaflets directed towards the Burmese and Thai peoples (with attached translations) which were produced by the Calcutta team. The representative works include news bulletins on the war's progress, warnings about future Allied bombings, and a variety of anti-Japanese and morale-boosting literature. It also includes examples of leaflets dropped over Japan, which were directed at soldiers rather than civilians in an attempt to undermine their faith in the military leaders.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series.
Series 1: Personal Experience of Fred S. Rosenau
Series 2: Psychological Warfare
Biographical / Historical:
Fred Simon Rosenau was a student at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, when he joined the Overseas Branch of the Office of War Information (O.W.I.) in May 1944. After completing training at an unidentified military base camp, Rosenau traveled to Calcutta, India, where he served as Assistant Representative under the directorship of Mr. Teg Grondahl. The Calcutta office was part of the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater and as such its psychological warfare activities were directed towards Burma and Thailand. Initially Rosenau was responsible for leaflet production, including supervising their printing and delivery to air crews, as well as serving as an assistant to Grondahl. By the spring of 1945, however, Rosenau's role had been expanded and he was given new charges in the intelligence field, becoming more directly involved in the development and editing of "strategic" literature.
While in Calcutta, Rosenau lived in a series of different boarding houses. When he was not working (by the summer of 1945, his work load had been substantially reduced), he devoted his spare time to writing letters home, sightseeing around the city and neighboring areas of Bengal, and attending local cultural events. However, the heat and lack of proper sanitary conditions continued to frustrate Rosenau as he attempted to adjust to an Asian lifestyle.
Once the Japanese had surrendered in September 1945 and World War II had officially ended, Rosenau was offered a position by the Director of Psychological Warfare in India--William Carter--to join a new O.W.I news operation in Bangkok, Thailand. Its intent, as explained to Rosenau, was to fulfill the "need for American news" in Asia. Rosenau declined the offer since he was dissatisfied with the proposed salary and wanted to complete his college education. He left for the United States on the S.S. Muir in late September. Later, he attended the University of Chicago and received his bachelor of arts degree in 1947. His subsequent career is unknown. Rosenau died in 1985.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC060) contains some three hundred posters from World War I and II.
Princeton University Poster Collection (AC0433) has over 10,600 World War I and II posters.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Armed Forces History Division of the NMAH in January 1986, by Lucy W. Rosenau, daughter of Fred Rosenau. It was transferred to the Archives Center in January 1993.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but 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:
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.
The Thomas Carr Howe papers measure 4.4 linear feet and date from 1932 to 1984. Howe was director of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco for nearly 40 years, and he served as one of the Monuments Men in the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives (MFAA) Section of the U.S. Army during World War II. The collection documents Howe's MFAA work in Germany and Austria locating and recovering cultural artifacts and artwork stolen by the Nazis. There is significant correspondence with friends and colleagues, as well as fellow Monuments Men such as Samson Lane Faison, Edith Standen, and George Stout. The papers also includes reports, inventories of stolen artwork, maps, annotated photographs, a scrapbook, and photographs. The papers also document Howe's later work at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Scope and Content Note:
The Thomas Carr Howe papers measure 4.4 linear feet and date from 1932 to 1984. Howe was director of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco for nearly 40 years, and he served as one of the Monuments Men in the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives (MFAA) Section of the U.S. Army during World War II. The collection documents Howe's MFAA work in Germany and Austria locating and recovering cultural artifacts and artwork stolen by the Nazis. There is significant correspondence with friends and colleagues, as well as fellow Monuments Men such as Samson Lane Faison, Edith Standen, and George Stout. The papers also includes reports, inventories of stolen artwork, maps, annotated photographs, a scrapbook, and photographs. The papers also document Howe's later work at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Biographical materials include articles and memorial tributes for Howe's father and grandfather, a short autobiography and resume, and the certificate for the copyright to his book.
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, the most voluminous of which are letters from Monuments Men S. Lane Faison, Patrick J. Kelleher, Andrew C. Ritchie, Edith Standen, George Stout, Marcelle Minet, Rose Valland, James Rorimer, and others. Additional correspondents include friends and colleagues such as Bernard Berenson, Hume Cronyn, Paul Mills, Christopher Forbes, Margaret Mallory, William A. McGonagle, and Otto Wittman, among many others
Writings include a brief summary of Howe's book Salt Mines and Castles and a sound cassette of his lecture about the book. Project, membership and travel files are primarily associated with his professional work at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and include documentation of member art trips, a feasibility study for merging the California Palace of the Legion of Honor with the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, and a membership list of the Bohemian Club.
The Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) Records and Looted Inventories series contain many records relating to Howe's military service as a Monuments Man. There are several inventory records which contain lists of the contents of Hermann Göring's collection of looted artwork, artwork destroyed in the Flak towers fire in Berlin, and artwork held at several of the central collecting points, though mostly at Weisbaden. There is also a small fold out map of the Altausse salt mines; a U.S. government issued manual of maps marking important cultural monuments and artwork in Germany; a book of U.S. government regulations pertaining to the MFAA section; a government information bulletin; and several official status reports and published U.S. government reports about art looting investigations and safeguarding cultural property.
Professional files consist of papers relating to Howe's job as the director of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor and art trips he organized. Documents include a survey of Los Angeles museum curator salaries, a questionnaire about Howe's work as a museum director, and a membership list of Bohemian Club artists. The bulk of the travel papers are itineraries.
The photographs are divided into two subseries: MFAA Section images and personal photographs. The Monuments Men subseries includes photographs documenting bomb damage to cultural monuments in various countries, though mainly Germany; U.S. soldiers transporting recovered artwork such as Michelangelo's Madonna and Child from the Altaussee salt mines in Austria, and other looted art repositories such as Neuschwanstein Castle and Berchtesgaden in Germany; Weisbaden and Munich collecting points; and art recovery of The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. There are many photographs of the Monuments Men including Thomas Carr Howe, George Stout, Stephen Kovalyak, Lamont Moore, Patrick J. Kelleher, Edith Standen, and Rose Valland. Personal photographs consists of portraits of Howe and photographs of events, mostly formal dinners and parties.
Printed materials are clippings, postcards, fundraising pamphlets, essays, and memorial tributes for colleagues.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1934-1955, 1974 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1932-1984 (Box 1-3; 2.1 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1946 (Box 3; 2 folders)
Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1945-1975 (Box 3, 5; 0.3 linear feet folders)
Series 5: Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Records and Looted Inventories, circa 1942-1950 (Box 3, 5, OV 6; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1938-1970 (Box 3-5; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Scrapbook, 1936-1948 (Box 4; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 8: Printed Materials, 1934-1980 (Box 4; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Thomas Carr Howe, Jr. (1904-1994) served as the director of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco for nearly four decades and, during World War II, as an officer in the U.S. Army's Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives unit assisting with locating, recovering, and restituting cultural objects and artwork stolen by the Nazis.
Howe was born in Kokomo, Indiana in 1904. He studied at Harvard University where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees. Howe was the assistant director of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco from 1931-1939 and director from 1939-1968. Howe was also the art commissioner for the San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940) for which he organized an exhibition showcasing Mexican muralists.
During World War II, Howe joined the U.S. army and served from 1945 to 1946 in Germany and Austria. He began as a naval lieutenant but was soon assigned to serve in the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) section. Howe reported to Lieutenant Commander George Stout at Wiesbaden, and was later promoted to Lieutenant Commander and Deputy Chief of the MFAA at Frankfurt. During his service as one of the "Monuments Men" Howe located hidden and recovered large repositories of cultural objects and works of art stolen by the Nazis. He also helped with the restitution effort. At the Altaussee salt mines in Austria, Howe helped salvage a large cache of stolen artwork that included Michelangelo's Madonna and Child and the Ghent Altarpiece or The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, Vermeer's The Artists Studio, and the Rothschild family jewels. Howe later described his wartime work in his book Salt Mines and Castles: The Discovery and Restitution of Looted European Art (1946).
Howe resumed his position as the director of the California Palace of the Legion on Honor after the war, a position he held until his retirement in 1968. Through his career as a prominent art director, Howe was close with many American and international museum professionals, collectors and socialites. Friends and colleagues include Agnes Mongan and Paul Sachs (both former directors of Harvard's Fogg Museum), Whitney Warren, and Gerda and Hans-Erich Von Schmidt auf Altenstadt.
For his wartime service as a Monuments Men, Howe was honored with the Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor and the Officier of the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau in 1946. At the request of the federal government, Howe also later served as the Cultural Affairs Advisor to the High Commissioner of Germany from 1950-1951, during which time he returned to Germany with S. Lane Faison, another MFAA official, to assist with closing the central collecting points where the recovered artworks has been held for restitution. From 1960-1968, Howe was a member of the Fine Arts Committee for The White House and he continued to serve on numerous panels and commissions as an art advisor.
Howe married Francesca Deering. Together they had one daughter Francesca.
Related Material:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American are the papers of several additional members of the U. S. Army MFAA section. There is an oral history interview with Thomas Carr Howe and Robert Neuhaus conducted by Paul Karlstrom and Peter Fairbanks on September 26, 1987 and another with Howe conducted by Paul Karlstrom on June 2-3, 1976.
Provenance:
Thomas Carr Howe donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in multiple installments from 1979 to 1982.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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:
Arts administrators -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Cultural property -- Protection -- Europe -- History -- 20th century Search this
Art thefts -- Germany -- History -- 20th century Search this
Museum directors -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Guy Longshore served in the U. S. Army Air Corps as a command gunner on a Boeing B-29 Superfortress in the Pacific theater during World War II. This collection consists of photographic material made from images taken by Guy Longshore during World War II, as well as a news clipping about the collection and a small pamphlet written by Longshore that includes a story about his service in World War II.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of photographic material made from images taken by Guy Longshore during World War II. Four of the images are printed as color slides and nine are black and white prints of various sizes, one of which is laminated. There are also copy prints of almost every image and one image is seen only as a copy print. There is some caption information for most of the images. The images in the collection include an aerial view of bombing damage to Tokyo taken shortly after Japan's surrender; views of Boeing B-29 Superfortresses and North American P-51 Mustangs on the ground and in flight; a view of the Base Operations building at Isley Field (the sign on the building has the base's name misspelled); and a view of Mount Fuji taken from a Boeing B-29 Superfortress in which the wing of the aircraft is partially visible. Four of the images of Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in flight are in color. In addition to the photographic material, this collection contains a news clipping about the collection and a small pamphlet written by Longshore that includes a story about his service in World War II.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Guy Longshore served in the U. S. Army Air Corps as a command gunner on a Boeing B-29 Superfortress in the Pacific theater during World War II. During his time in service, Longshore took photographs on the ground and from the air using his personal Argus camera. Shortly after the surrender of Japan, Longshore took an aerial view showing the bombing damage to Tokyo, Japan from the bombardier's seat of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress using U. S. Army camera equipment.
Provenance:
Guy Longshore, Gift, 2010, NASM.2010.0025.
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
Promotional booklets and pamphlets, 1940-1963, regarding nylon; catalogues on the industrial use of nylon; 25th anniversary book on nylon; photographs, and a variety of other documents. Includes memo to DuPont employees concerning the company's wartime involvement in the development of the atomic bomb.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of promotional booklets and pamphlets, 1940-1963, regarding nylon; catalogues on the industrial use of nylon; a 25th anniversary book on nylon; World War II Christmas card of the Nylon Division of Dupont; pamphlets describing the wartime uses of nylon; technical reprints, a cartoon and a plant magazine about the Martinsville, Virginia nylon plant, 1941-1946; an employee handbook, Dupont Nylon Division, circa 1940; newsclippings and historical material for the Chattanooga plant, 1948; news clippings, initial production orders for nylon and typescript on uses and manufacture of nylon at Seaford plant, 1939-1947; publications concerning Delrin Acetal Resins; and photographs of machines for making nylon plastics of the Washington Works, 1947, with a letter from 1977 explaining this material.
Arrangement:
Collection materials are divided into three series.
Series 1: Nylon Production, 1939-1948
Subseries 1.1:Seaford, Delaware Plant, 1939-1940
Subseries 1.2: Martinsville, Virginia, 1941-1946
Subseries 1.3: Chattanooga, Tennessee Plant, 1948
Subseries 1.4: Nylon in War, circa 1942-1945
Subseries 1.5: Photographs, 1940-1977
Series 2: Publications, 1940-1963
Subseries 2.1: Dupont Public Relations Department, 1940-1963
Subseries 2.2:Technical Reprints, News clippings and Magazine Articles About Nylon, 1940-1945
Series 3: "Delrin" Acetal Resin, 1957-1962
Biographical / Historical:
The E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Company was founded on July 19, 1802, by Eleuthere Irenee DuPont on Brandywine Creek for the purpose of manufacturing gunpowder. In 1804 the first DuPont powder went on public sale. In 1902 a new corporation was formed by three great grandsons of the founder, to more effectively compete with the changing technical field and the expanding scale and complexity of business.
During the twentieth century the corporation moved into the research and manufacture of thousands of products and processes, and consequently developed and expanded within many markets. Synthetic fibers is one of a family of products of the Dupont Corporation. In 1930, Dr. Wallace H. Carothers, working with Dr. J.W. Hill in DuPont's Fundamental Research Laboratory at Wilmington, produced the first synthetic fiber forming "superpolymer." This was the forerunner of nylon.
In 1938, the development of nylon was announced. It's first use was in brush bristles. Hosiery filaments were developed in 1939, and offered commercially in 1940. In 1941, nylon was applied to the molding industry. From l942 to 1944, nylon production was allocated completely to war uses. The best known outgrowth of the company's resarch progress, nylon is one of the most important developments in Dupont's long history. It was the result of the chemical industry's first large scale fundamental research program. And it proved to be the first of a whole family of synthetics for consumer consumption. The product was bought into commercial production at a new plant in Seaford, Delaware.
No other major chemical development had the spontaneous reception accorded to nylon. It not only changed the hosiery market but was soon developed into a multiplicity of textile applications including: tooth brushes, hair brushes, household brushes, tennis racquet strings, catheters, surgical sutures, fishing leader material, musical strings, wire insulation, self lubricating bearings for machinery, umbrellas, undergarments, shower curtains, parachutes, and rope.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Electric insulators and insulation -- Nylon Search this
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation Search this
Extent:
0.8 Cubic feet (1 flat box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Programs
Pamphlets
Travelers' checks
Photographs
School yearbooks
Diplomas
Contracts
Commemoratives
Memorial service booklets
Diaries
Correspondence
Date:
1940-1942
Summary:
Photographs, a Kansas Wesleyan University yearbook (with personal messages and inscriptions), diplomas, correspondence regarding Torrence's disappearance, newspaper clippings, his memorial service booklet or program, and a diary which he kept during a week-long adventure as a "hobo" in Kansas.
Scope and Contents:
This small collection is comprised of several types of material including Vernon's high school and college diplomas, college yearbook with handwritten notes from classmates, photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings about the discovery of his remains, and his memorial service booklet. Of special interest is a 1940 pocket diary containing Vernon's account of a week long adventure as a "hobo" in rural Kansas when he and a friend hopped freight trains, slept in boxcars and a hay stack, washed up in a "jungle," and met other men traveling the rails. In 2000 an attempt was made by the author of this finding aid to obtain additional information about Vernon from the FBI under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts (FOIA). The material obtained focused on the finding of his body and the process of identifying his remains; little information about his days as a conscientious objector was provided. The FOIA material is in this collection's control file.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Vernon Keith Torrence was born in McCune, Kansas, on November 18, 1921. After graduating from high school in Solomon, Kansas, Vernon entered Kansas Wesleyan University from which he graduated with honors in history in 1942. During his senior year he was the editor of the University's 1942 yearbook, the "Coyote." His pacifist beliefs were in place at least by his senior year as evidenced by the comments fellow students wrote in Vernon's copy of the yearbook. Vernon's father was a Methodist minister who also held anti war sentiments.
In September 1942 Vernon was drafted and joined the Civilian Public Service as a conscientious objector. His alternative service took him to Buck Creek, North Carolina, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Markleeville, California, under the auspices of the National Park and Forestry Service. In December 1943 he began work with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, serving in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. In March 1945 he walked out of Conscientious Objector's Camp # 98 in Arizona; two months later he was picked up, arraigned, and released on bond by the U.S. District Court. That fall Vernon received a notice of dismissal of his court case, and he took this to mean that his alternative service was now complete and began working for a construction company in Los Angeles. The government felt otherwise and declared him absent without leave.
In the summer of 1946 Vernon put his savings into American Express Travelers Checks and began hitchhiking to Kansas to visit his family. He never arrived. On August 27, 1956 a ranger found his body in rugged terrain in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, California, where Vernon had apparently fallen while hiking alone. The FBI, which had continued to search for Vernon until 1951, identified the body from the travelers checks. Vernon was buried in Minneapolis, Kansas, on October 13, 1956.
Provenance:
The material in this collection was maintained by Vernon's parents, Ira and Madge Torrence, and his younger sister, Lois Torrence, a fellow student at Kansas Wesleyan University who was devoted to her older brother. Upon their deaths the material was obtained by the remaining sister, Margaret Torrence Donnald, whose husband, Morrill Donnald, donated the material to the Archives Center, NMAH, in January 2000.
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:
Conscientious objectors -- World War, 1939-1945 Search this
The Russian Aeronautical Collection is a mix of technical, historical, and cultural reference materials, including originals or copies of articles, documents and other historical materials relating to Russian and Soviet aviation from the Tsarist period through the Soviet era. The collection focuses on key events, personalities and aircraft designs, and certain subject areas are covered in depth, including the life and career of Igor Sikorsky, the transpolar flights of the 1930s, Soviet aviation in the Spanish Civil War, and the operational history of the Soviet Air Force in World War II.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains newspaper clippings, articles, pamphlets/booklets, magazines/journals, reports, monographs, manuscripts, bibliographies and a few photographs.
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:
This collection was arranged by the creator first by what chronological era the subject matter dealt with, then alphabetically within each era by file unit title. Von Hardesty also created a grouping of materials that deals with aircraft design and designers and another grouping that contains reference material. Groupings and materials are in the order that the processing archivist received them which also correspondes to the guide that Von Hardesty created.
The processing archivist added the last 2 series which covers materials that were not listed in the original guide to the collection.
There are 8 series:
Series I: 1885-1917
Series II: 1918-1940
Series III: 1941-1945
Series IV: 1946-Onwards
Series V: Design
Series VI: Reference
Series VII: Loose Materials
Series VIII: Administrative Material
Biographical / Historical:
The Russian Aeronautical Collection (RAC) was assembled over the course of two decades by Von Hardesty, curator in the Aeronautics Division of the National Air and Space Museum. The RAC developed as a research project linked to the publication of Hardesty's book Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power, 1941 -1945 (first published in 1982.)
Provenance:
Aeronautics Division / Von Hardesty, Transfer, 2006
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.
