The collection comprises of 21 albums depicting the steel making and finishing operations of the United States Steel Corporation. All of the images were made by Russell Aikins around 1940. The albums contain photographic prints (8" x 9-1/2"). The majority of prints are mounted on spiral-bound pages. The photographs were created for public relations purposes and provide visual documentation of American steel making technology, production practice, and worker manager relationships. Subject matter varies widely, depicting the process of manufacturing steel or steel-related products. The photographs have a strong human and dramatic emphasis. The strongest theme is industrial mobilization for the war effort. Many photographs document female wartime work in industry, and African American workers are also represented. The theme of worker safety is well documented with images depicting safety glasses and protective garments. Printed captions below each photograph usually identify workers by name and occupation.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series, chronologically by album number.
Biographical:
Russell Chorley Aikins was born in Philadelphia on December 7, 1896. He began his photographic career at the Philadelphia Inquirer as a news photographer in 1917. Two years later, Aikins joined the New York Times Sunday Rotogravure Section and the World Wide Syndicate as a staff photographer. In the early 1920s, Aikins organized and ran the New York Times Washington picture bureau. Aikins served briefly, in 1929, as an editor for the newly developing Associated Press (AP) photo service. Following the growing trend in the photo news industry Aikins left the AP and became a freelance photographer. He opened his studio in New York City and did work for Fortune, Time, Life, and Colliers.
Aikins career shifted in 1937 when he decided to "devote all my time to the portrayal of business and industry." Aikins noted the need for big business to be represented and saw his images as tools for business self-promotion: "It had been a growing conviction with me that industry in addition to its product advertising should promote its fitness to serve the public and its ability to make quality goods." He started to recruit companies to combat the stereotypical cold, unfeeling edge of big business. Aikins called this new style of photography "camera-reporting," which he thought could transport stockholders, customers, and the public into the mills, giving the viewer greater confidence in the corporation and its products. A few companies Aikins represented included Chrysler Corporation, General Electric Company, Johnson & Johnson, and the United States Steel Corporation. After World War Two the demand for the technique Aikins helped to pioneer began to diminish as public and labor attitudes changed. After 1948, there is no record of Aikins' activities.
Source
Division of Work and Industry staff.
Historical:
The United States Steel Corporation was created in 1901 by the purchase and consolidation of several companies by financier J.P. Morgan. At the time of formation, it was the largest company in the world. U.S. Steel represented Morgan's attempt to bring stability to the volatile steel market. Morgan purchased Andrew Carnegie's highly aggressive Carnegie Steel and brought it together with Federal Steel, National Tube, American Steel and Wire, American Sheet Steel, American Hoop Steel, American Tin Plate, American Bridge, and the Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines. Other companies were added later.
Capitalized at $1.4 billion, U.S. Steel was in 1901 the largest company in the world. It controlled over 50% of American Steel production but was in many ways hamstrung by its size. While the operation of Carnegie Steel was characterized by technological efficiency, US Steel avoided innovation. Some in the company referred to the Corporation's policy as "no inventions, no innovation." The company was thought by many to be driven by a banker's vision of protecting investment, not an industrialist's vision of increasing production. Always sensitive about public antitrust action, Elbert Gary, the leader of the company, sought to cast U.S. Steel as a "good trust." In 1936, the CIO formed the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC), and began a massive union drive. Although strongly antiunion, U.S. Steel, under Myron Taylor was the first major steel company to recognize the steelworkers union in 1937.
An industry once characterized by low wages and harsh conditions emerged by the late 1940s as one of the highest-paying blue collar employers, forced to negotiate with one of the nation's most powerful unions. Following recognition of the union U.S. Steel followed a corporate strategy of paying for wage settlements by increasing steel prices. This often put the giant company at odds with governmental economic policy.
Source
Division of Work and Industry staff.
Related Materials:
Materials at Other Organizations
Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School
1934 Art and Industry Exhibition photograph collection
The 1934 Art and Industry Exhibition photograph collection contains photographs that were on display in New York City and Chicago in an exhibition sponsored by the National Alliance of Art and Industry.
United States Steel Corporation photographs, circa 1940-1960
A large collection of black and white gelatin silver prints depicting the United States Steel Corporation's steel plants, works, personnel, machinery, mining operations, buildings, warehouses and production of the numerous products manufactured by the company, circa 1940-1960.
Industrial Life Photograph Collection, 1920-1941
Photographs collected by the Business Historical Society to document major industries in the United States and industrial processes.
Lowell National Historical Park
Youngstown Center for Industry and Labor
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition is unknown.
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.
This collection consists of 35 reprints of historical images gathered for Anne Noggle's books, For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II (published 1990) and A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II (published 1994).
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 35 large-format black and white photographic reprints of historical images gathered for Anne Noggle's books, For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II and A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II. From For God, Country and the Thrill of it there are 21 images (including nine not used in the book) relating to training of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) at Sweetwater, Texas. From A Dance with Death there are 12 images (including two not used in the book) relating to Soviet air personnel assigned to the 588th Night Bomber Regiment (later renamed the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, also nicknamed by the Germans as die Nachthexen or "Night Witches"), the 125th Guards Bomber Regiment, and the 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense). Women pilots pictured include Marina Raskova, Lydia (Lilya) Litvyak, Anna Timofeyeva-Yegorova, and other Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Arrangement:
Photographs are arranged into two series; Series 1 consists of photographs relating to WASP training at Avanger Field, Sweetwater, Texas; Series 2 consists of Soviet World War II photographs. Folders containing photographs used in Noggle's books are arranged in page number order.
Biographical / Historical:
With the entry of the United States into World War II, many American women pilots longed to volunteer their skills to serve their country but were barred from flying for the US military due to their gender. Some American women pilots, including well-known racing pilot Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran, had already offered their services to the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), ferrying aircraft from the manufacturers to and between air bases and freeing up male Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots for other duties. Cochran's experience with the ATA led her to lobby long and hard for a similar organization in the US. Initially, two organizations were formed to allow American women pilots to participate in the war effort. On September 10, 1942, the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), consisting of commercially licensed women pilots under the leadership of Nancy Harkness Love, was created as part of the US Army Air Corps' Air Transport Command. On November 16, 1942, a women pilot training program designed to supply pilots for the WAFS was begun under Cochran's leadership as the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). Initially based at Howard Hughes Municipal Airport in Houston, Texas, the WFTD was soon moved to Avenger Field at Sweetwater, Texas. On August 5, 1943, the WAFS and the WFTD were merged to form the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), with Cochran as director of the WASP and its training division and Love as director of the ferrying division. Between November 17, 1942, and December 7, 1944, the 1,074 women who earned WASP wings flew 60 million miles for the US Army Air Corps. From light aircraft, the WASPs advanced quickly to fly every type of Air Corps aircraft in use at the time. Except for aerial gunnery and formation flying, these women received the same training as the male pilots. WASPs ferried planes, towed anti-aircraft artillery training targets, flew tracking, simulated bombing missions, performed radio control, flight tested aircraft, gave instrument instruction and performed many other duties. Their work allowed more men to participate in aviation combat roles.
The Russian Civil War which followed the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 provided new opportunities for women in previously male-dominated areas; Marxist ideology considered men and women to be equal citizens in both rights and responsibilities. Aviation became increasingly popular in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) throughout the 1920s and 1930s, with many women receiving training alongside men in aviation and aircraft mechanics through local aero clubs. In September 1938, three Soviet women made a record-setting long distance flight across the Soviet Union in the Tupolev (ANT-37bis) DB-2B "Rodina" ("Motherland"). The previous year, Marina Raskova, navigator for the flight, had become the first female staff instructor at the Zhukhovski Air Academy; Raskova later trained as a pilot and became a popular role model for young women who went on to serve as military pilots and navigators during World War II. After the Nazis invaded the USSR in June 1941, Raskova was able to convince Soviet leaders that women were a valuable asset and could play a useful military role. Young women recruited to join the 122nd Composite Air Group were sent to the Engels Military Aviation School where they were divided into four groups to train as pilots, navigators, mechanics, or armorers, based on their previous experience. They received the same training as the male recruits. In early 1942, three regiments which had been formed out of the 122nd Composite Air Group were activated: the 586th Fighter Regiment (Air Defense), the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment (later renamed as the 125th Guards Bomber Regiment), and the 588th Night Bomber Regiment (later renamed the 46th "Taman" Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, also nicknamed by the Germans as die Nachthexen or "Night Witches"). By the end of the war the three regiments had flown a combined total of over 30,000 combat sorties, and many of the airwomen had been awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for their wartime service.
Anne Noggle (1922--2005) was a fine art photographer recognized for her feminist artwork on women, aging, and self-portraiture. Noggle served as a Woman Airforce Service (WASP) pilot from 1943--1944, was a stunt pilot and crop duster after the war, and was a captain in the Air Force from 1953--1959. Noggle remained an active pilot throughout her lifetime. At 38 years old, Noggle pursued a college education and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in art and art history, and a Master of Arts degree in photography from the University of New Mexico. She was the curator of photography at the New Mexico Museum of Art from 1970--1976 and taught photography as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico 1970--1984, which is recognized for their prestigious photography program. Noggle received numerous awards for her photographic work, including a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. Her work is in the permanent collections of the New Mexico Museum of Art, Albuquerque Museum, California Museum of Photography, Denver Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of the Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Harn Museum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin. Noggle also was the author of several books, including For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Service Pilots in World War II, and A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II, which featured her portrait photography of the women fliers.
Related Materials:
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Art Collection includes 117 print photographs created by photographer Anne Noggle.
Provenance:
Anne Noggle Foundation, Gift, 2021, NASM.2021.0014
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.
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Soviet Women Pilots Photographs [Noggle], Acc. NASM.2021.0014, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gaston L. DeVigne, III in memory of his parents Gaston L. DeVigne, II and Yvonne B. DeVigne
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Thomas Adrian Fransioli, 1981 April 21. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Architects -- Massachusetts -- Interviews Search this
Biographical information, correspondence, photographs, writings, research and subject files, works of art, motion picture film, interview transcripts, financial material, printed material and miscellany relating to Mitchell Siporin.
Personal photographs of Siporin, stage sets and art work by him.
Circa 1000 letters relating to his painting, his teaching, his service as a war artist during World War II and the Federal Art Project, including letters from Sheldon Cheney, Edith Halpert, Edward Rowan, Holger Cahill, Edward Millman, Max Abramowitz, Lee Nordness, and others; biographical material; notes and lectures; art history research files; sketches; price lists for his art works; expense accounts and tax records; blueprints and architectural plans; photographs, including WWII photographs and photographs of his art work; reproductions of his art work; exhibition catalogs; and clippings.
Letters from Siporin to his brother and sister-in-law, Seymour and Mary Sipporin, as well as letters to Siporin from Jack Levine and Carl Holty. Writings, including scripts for lectures, journal articles, an unfinished novel by Siporin, a journal describing his experience in North Africa during WWII as a war photographer and painter, notes taken during sabbaticals, and a eulogy written by Siporin for Henry Varnum Poor. Photographs of Siporin with friends and family, including Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Peter Pollack, Edward Millman, and Philip Guston and a portrait of Siporin by Arnold Newman, as well as Siporin's artwork. Subject files, including the Woodstock Art Conference, American Artists' Congress, the American Federation of Arts, WWII, the Army at War exhibit, Siporin's involvement in the WPA, as well material on Siporin's Haymarket drawings used for a 1934 issue of Left Front magazine. Works of art including two studies for St. Louis, Missouri, Post Office murals, and a sketch of Siporin by S.P. Kaufman.
A VHS video and DVD copy, transferred from 16mm motion picture film, showing Siporin at work on his St. Louis frescoes (b&w, 3 min., no sound). Interview transcripts of an interview with Siporin conducted by Geofrrey Swift as well as an interview with Siporin conducted by Melvyn Bragg for the BBC. Financial records, including sales contracts. Printed material, including exhibition catalogs and programs, and newspaper clippings as well as an exhibition poster from Babcock Galleries. Also included is a small amount of material relating to Jennie Siporin, Mitchell Siporin's mother.
Biographical / Historical:
Mitchell Siporin (1910-1976) was a painter and photographer from Newton, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
The collection has been donated in several installments beginning in 1978 when Siporin's widow Miriam lent materials for microfilming (reels 1328 and 1332). She also donated materials at that time and again in 1992, at which time it was also microfilmed (reels 2011-12 and 2061). In 2003, Judith Siporin, Siporin's daughter, donated the materials previously lent on reel 1332 and 16mm motion picture film. In 2005 Mary Siporin, Mitchell Siporin's sister-in law donated papers, and in 2008 Judith donated another installment.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pia Marie Winters Jordan in memory of her mother, First Lieutenant Louise Virginia Lomax Winters, Army Nurse Corps; and her uncle, Sgt. Henry James Lomax, U.S. Army
Object number:
2022.42.1
Restrictions & Rights:
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pia Marie Winters Jordan in memory of her mother, First Lieutenant Louise Virginia Lomax Winters, Army Nurse Corps; and her uncle, Sgt. Henry James Lomax, U.S. Army
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pia Marie Winters Jordan in memory of her mother, First Lieutenant Louise Virginia Lomax Winters, Army Nurse Corps; and her uncle, Sgt. Henry James Lomax, U.S. Army
Object number:
2022.42.5
Restrictions & Rights:
Unknown - Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pia Marie Winters Jordan in memory of her mother, First Lieutenant Louise Virginia Lomax Winters, Army Nurse Corps; and her uncle, Sgt. Henry James Lomax, U.S. Army
This collection consists of 32 black and white photographs relating to artist and photographer Robert Isadore Serotkin (1911-1986) and includes examples of the aircraft nose art which he painted while serving with the US Army Air Forces during World War II.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 32 black and white photographs relating to Robert Serotkin and examples of the aircraft nose art which he painted during World War II. Seven images were copied by the museum from original negatives loaned by the Serotkin family; the remaining 25 images are original print photographs. The collection includes informal portrait photographs of Serotkin including one with his wife, Rose Shirley (Hymowitz) Serotkin; snapshots of Serotkin and fellow servicemen; and detail views of aircraft nose art. Aircraft pictured include the Boeing B-29 Superfortresses "Lady in Waiting" (s/n 44-84068), "R. S. M. Dragon" (s/n 44-83966), and "Slave Girl" (s/n 44-27307); Boeing F-9 "Margie's Mad Greek II" (s/n 42-30253) and Boeing F-9B Flying Fortress "Golden Hind" (s/n 42-6187); Boeing F-13A (R-13A, RB-29A) reconnaissance aircraft "Margie's Mad Greek III" (s/n 44-61843) and "Over Exposed" (s/n 44-61813); Consolidated B-24 Liberators "Lucky Strike" (believed to be s/n 44-41976), "Luvablass", and "Over Loaded"; and Douglas C-47 Skytrain "Cheri." Also included are three views of the wreck of the Martin (Glenn L.) PBM-5 Mariner "Cloud Hopper" on a beach in Okinawa in late 1945.
Arrangement:
The photographs are grouped by subject.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Isadore Serotkin was born May 23, 1911, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the Pennsylvania School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia from 1937-1938, and by 1941 was self-employed as a commercial photographer. Serotkin entered service with the US Army on February 12, 1942, and after basic training in Biloxi, Mississippi, was sent to the Army Air Forces (AAF) Technical School at Lowry Field, Colorado, from July-September 1942 for training as an aerial photographer. At the conclusion of his training, Serotkin was promoted to Staff Sergeant and assigned to the newly-redesignated 1st Photographic Mapping Squadron. Aerial mapping duties took Serotkin to posts in Africa at Accra (British Gold Coast), Morocco, and Egypt before being sent back to the United States for additional training in Boeing F-13A aircraft (the reconnaissance version of the B-29 Superfortress) at Smoky Hill Army Air Field in Salinas, Kansas. In September 1945, the squadron, now redesignated as 1st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (Very Heavy), was posted to Okinawa. Throughout his military career, Serotkin put his skills as a commercial artist to good use by painting nose art (aircraft personal art) on various aircraft when the weather was too bad to fly mapping missions. Serotkin was discharged from the USAAF on January 20, 1946; he died in Boca Raton, Florida, on December 26, 1986.
Provenance:
Rita Serotkin, gift, 2000, NASM.2000.0046
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
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
National Air and Space Museum -- Exhibitions Search this
Extent:
13.38 Cubic feet (11 legal document boxes, 1 shoe box (5 x 8 inches), 6 records center boxes )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Photographs
Date:
1917-2000
bulk 1981-1986
Summary:
This collection consists of background material collected in support of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) exhibit "Black Wings: The American Black in Aviation" (opened in 1982) and its companion book (published 1983) by curators Von Hardesty and Dominick Pisano, a related symposium, educational materials, and a travelling version of the exhibit. The collection contains photographs and textual materials used in the exhibit and book, internal correspondence and memoranda, and a large amount of material gathered for research purposes but not used in any "Black Wings" production.
Scope and Contents:
The core of the collection covers activities of American Black aviators between 1917 and 1981, from Eugene Bullard's service as a pilot in World War I through the first Black astronauts assigned to the Space Shuttle program in the early 1980s. Curators Von Hardesty and Dominick Pisano and other Museum staff collected and generally grouped materials to fit the four chronological sections of the "Black Wings" exhibit and related book, with a strong emphasis on the stories of individual people.
Headwinds (1917-1939) covers pioneer fliers such as Bullard and Bessie Coleman; Black aviation activities in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas; early aviators and organizers including William J. Powell, Willa Brown, and Cornelius Coffey; and long distance flights by James Herman Banning and Thomas C. Allen, and C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson and Dr. Albert E. Forsythe.
Flight Lines (1939-1945) includes the 1939 flight of Dale L. White and Chauncey E. Spencer to Washington, D.C.; the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPT); the start of training of Black military pilots at Tuskegee Army Air Field during World War II; and training of the all-Black 477th Bombardment Group. This section and the next include U.S. Army Air Force documents and photography, and materials obtained from individual Tuskegee Airmen.
Wings for War (1943-1945) covers the experiences of the men of the 99th Fighter Squadron and later the 322nd Fighter Group, all-Black fighter units which participated in the Allied campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy during World War II, and their commander, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Era of Change (1945-1981), including many materials from the U.S. armed forces and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), covers the desegregation of the armed forces; military pilots' participation in the Korean and Vietnam wars (featuring William Earl Brown, Jr.; Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr.; Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.); general aviation (John W. Green, Jr.; Neal Loving); commercial aviation (Perry H. Young, Jr.; James O. Plinton, Jr.); and the U.S. space program, including not just the first Black astronauts (Guion S. Bluford, Jr.; Ronald E. McNair; Frederick D. Gregory; Charles F. Bolden) but many other NASA professional men and women from Project Mercury through the beginning of the Space Shuttle era.
Most of the material was photocopied from other sources such as books, newspapers, periodicals, and other archival collections, but many copy photographs and anecdotes were obtained from the aviators themselves (or their families), particularly those active in the 1930s and 1940s. The collection also contains internal Museum documents, notes, and memoranda regarding the development and implementation of the various "Black Wings" productions, including portions of exhibit scripts, book manuscripts, ephemera, and Museum photography taken at the exhibit opening and the symposium. Photographic formats include prints, copy prints, 4 x 5 inch black and white copy negatives and color transparencies, and 35mm copy slides. Quality of the photography is often fair to poor, as the copies are several generations removed from the original images.
The last six boxes of the collection (currently unprocessed) consists of material collected circa 2000 by curator Cathleen S. Lewis and Ian Cook (NASM Department of Space History) for a proposed update to the "Black Wings" exhibit. After it became clear that the exhibit was not going to be updated, Lewis transferred the material to the NASM Aeronautics Department, as Hardesty and Pisano were contemplating an update to the Black Wings book. This, too, failed to materialize, and the material was transferred to the NASM Archives in May 2018 to be added to the existing Black Wings Exhibit and Book Collection. This series was received by the Museum's Archives Division after the existing collection material had been scanned; it has not been scanned.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series. The first four roughly chronological series (Exhibit, Book, Educational Outreach, and Symposium) relate to the different "Black Wings" productions, and materials within each series often reflect the four-section groupings detailed in the Scope and Content note. The next series, Research Materials, has four sub-series: Biographical Files (alphabetical by last name), Subject Files and Study Materials (alphabetical by subject), Photographic Negatives, and Photographic Prints and Illustrations. The last series houses later additions to the collection which are currently unprocessed.
Materials within folders are predominantly photocopies (xerographs) and often include numerous duplicates, many unlabeled, and in no specific order. Materials relating to an exhibit often include a NASM Exhibits Department reference number (example: SE:13-L73-P58 to P59) indicating the exhibit number (13), label number (L73), and position within the exhibit (P58 to P59). Some materials are not visible online due to copyright restrictions.
Biographical / Historical:
On September 23, 1982, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) exhibit "Black Wings: The American Black in Aviation" opened as part of the existing "Pioneers of Aviation" exhibit located in Gallery 208 of the museum's National Mall Building in Washington, D.C. The exhibit was dedicated to the American Black Aviator, who anonymously played a historic role in shaping the growth of modern aviation. "Black Wings" encompasses the men and women who had to overcome enormous social pressures in order to gain the right to pursue the dream of flight in both civilian, military, and commercial circles. The exhibit generated much public and media interest, and inspired the Museum to sponsor a symposium on February 25, 1983, entitled "The American Black in Aviation, A Decade of Change: 1939-1949," (working title: "Tuskegee Airmen at War") featuring presentations by historians and U. S. Army Air Forces veterans including Noel F. Parrish (Commander, Tuskegee Army Air Field, 1942-1946), George F. Roberts (Commander, 99th Fighter Squadron, September 1943 to April 1944), and pilots Lewis A. Jackson, Elwood T. Driver, and Louis R. Purnell. In conjunction with the exhibit, the Museum, working with Sid Aaronson Films, Inc., produced a set of sound filmstrip packages designed for elementary and secondary school use. In 1983, the Smithsonian Institution Press published a companion book, Black Wings: The American Black in Aviation, authored by the exhibit's curators, Von Hardesty and Dominick Pisano; a second edition was issued the following year as part of the Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight series. A Smithsonian Institution Travelling Exhibition Service (SITES) version of the exhibit began circulating to other museums and venues in June 1983, and a expanded version of the SITES exhibit (featuring additional artifacts, photography, and audio-visual materials) was displayed April 1 to August 5, 1984, at the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (later know as the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum) in Washington, D.C. The original NASM "Black Wings" exhibit—with occasional updates—remained on display in the "Pioneers of Flight" gallery (later renamed the "Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery") until 2019 when the gallery was closed due to renovations to the Museum's National Mall Building.
Related Materials:
"Black Wings: African American Pioneer Aviators" NASM Website Collection, NASM.2004.0026 [finding aid not available online]
Provenance:
National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Department of Aeronautics, Transfer, 1993, NASM.1993.0060; additional material transferred from NASM Department of Space History, 2018
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
The German World War II Ace Collection consists of 6 linear feet of correspondence and photographs of German aces and pilots of World War II collected by Kurt Schulze and Raymond Toliver.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 6 linear feet of mostly correspondence and photographs gathered by Schulze or Toliver, of German aces and pilots, including the following: Hans Otto Boehm, Erich Hartmann, Adolf Garland, Gunther Rall, Dietrich Hrabak, Edward Neumann, Hajo Herrmann, Georg Elder, Johannes Steinnoff, Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Jagerblatt Molder, Walter Schuck and Wolfgang Spate. There are also German combat reports, accounts by German test pilots on World War II captured aircraft, information on the Tirpitz raid, photographs of Knights' Cross and Oak Leaves recipients, and material relating to the JG5 and JG51 Squadrons. Besides the correspondence and photography, the collection consists of obituaries, programs, publications and over 70 videos.
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:
The German World War II Ace Collection [Schulze] is arranged by content type.
Biographical / Historical:
Kurt Schulze (b. 1921) began his German military service in 1939 as a cadet with the Air Service Corps. He started out as a wireless operator and air traffic controller before becoming a navigation officer. As a Navigator, he flew 23 night missions in Dornier Do 217s over England. In September of 1943, he received his wings as a pilot and in March 1944 he started fighter pilot training. From then until May 1945, Schulze flew 103 missions. Sixty-five of those missions were in Messerschmitt BF-109 on the Russo-Finnish border. When Finland signed a peace agreement with Russia, Schulze's unit was moved to Northern Norway. Schulze's last nine missions were in command of the first JG-51 squadron. After the war, he was turned over to the American Forces and then to the French. In 1951 he moved to California and in 1958 he became a US citizen. Schulze had a strong friendship with Colonel Raymond Toliver, author of books on German World War II pilots, and he translated German correspondence and documents for Toliver's research, as the author did not speak or write German.
Provenance:
Kurt Schulze, Gift, 2012
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:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Germany -- Refugees Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations Search this
Citation:
German World War II Ace Collection [Schulze], Accession 2012-0025, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
The Everett H. Bickley Collection, 1919-1980, documents the inventions of Everett Huckel Bickley, most known for his electric sorting machine used to automate the process of sorting beans by use of a photoelectric cell. The collection consists of patents, drawings, photographs, correspondence, and artifacts designed by Bickley. The collection spans a considerable portion of the twentieth century and is of value to those researchers interested in product development, the patent application process, product marketing and promotion, World War II innovation, and the daily operation of a small, privately-owned industry.
Scope and Contents:
The collection spans a considerable portion of the twentieth century and is of value to those researchers interested in product development, the patent application process, product marketing and promotion, World War II innovation, and the daily operation of a small, privately-owned industry.
The collection consists of general correspondence, patents and patent correspondence, drawings, manuals, trade literature, and photographs. In addition, there are several artifacts designed by Bickley in the collection. These include a photographic exposure meter (Fotimer), a prototype slide mount (Color Tight Slide Mount), dance charts, and even a clipboard (Deskette).
Series 1: Everett H. Bickley Personal Papers, 1920-1999
This series consists of personal information about Everett H. Bickley. It includes his will, a company biography written by Bickley and edited by his daughter, and the story of the motograph, also written by Bickley.
Series 2: Bickley Manufacturing Company, 1933-1980
In this series is information directly related to the day-to-day operations of the company, including a checks-received ledger, office instructions, shop instructions, and employment information.
Series 3: Sorter Information, 1928-1965
This series consists of information about the various sorters that Bickley developed. Included are drawings related to the development of the sorters, engineering part drawings, equipment histories for plants where leased sorters were located (arranged alphabetically by location, though H-M is missing), patents, and patent correspondence related to specific sorter improvements. The patent correspondence in this series is sorted by starting date of the correspondence for each individual patent. If the starting dates were the same, they were then arranged alphabetically within the starting date. This was done to make it easier to trace the development of the sorter. The actual patents are also arranged alphabetically.
Series 4: Other Inventions, 1919-1958
This series documents Bickley's non-sorter related inventions. Included are the development drawings, patents, patent correspondence, and marketing material. In addition, the artifacts that are part of the collection can be found in this series.
Series 5: World War Two Related Activities, 1939-1950
The material in this series pertains to Bickley's work in World War II. It includes correspondence, information on the various ideas he submitted to the National Inventor's Council, and his attempts to get patent protection extended for the years during the war when he could not exploit his inventions. Information on sorter-related activities during the war is in Series III.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series.
Series 1, Everett Bickley Personal Papers, 1920-1999
Subseries 1, General Information,1920-1999
Subseries 2, Publication Material, 1933-1998
Series 2: The Bickley Manufacturing Company, 1933-1980
Subseries 1, General Information, 1949-1980
Subseries 2, Company Operations, 1933-1972
Series 3, Sorter Information, 1928-1965
Subseries 1, Sorter Specific Information, 1933-1965
Subseries 2, General Information, 1928-1965
Series 4, Other Inventions, 1919-1958
Subseries 1, General Information, 1919-1951
Subseries 2, Inventions, 1920-1958
Series 5, World War two Related Activities, 1939-1950
Subseries 1, General Information, 1939-1950
Subseries 2, Ideas Submitted, 1941-1943
Biographical / Historical:
Everett Huckel Bickley (1888-1972) was an active inventor and enterpreneur. His inventing career began while a student at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he invented a number of items, including a variable speed governor with which he won the Senior Design Competition in 1910, the year he graduated.
In 1911, Bickley developed and marketed his first commercial invention, the "motograph," which was an electric sign which spelled out moving messages with light bulbs. The first motograph was erected over the Columbian Theatre in Detroit, but others were eventually seen in cities throughout the world. Unfortunately, he sold his interests too soon and made little money from this idea.
Only a few years later, while he was watching lines of women sorting navy pea beans in his job as chief engineer for the H. J Heinz Company, Bickley came up with the idea to develop an electric sorting machine to automate the process. By the early 1930s he had developed, patented, and begun to market a machine that could, by use of a photoelectric cell, sort the good beans from the bad. The first company to lease a bean sorter from him was the H. J. Heinz Company. Bickley continued to improve the sorter for the next thirty years, eventually adapting it to sort rice, peanuts, and ball bearings.
The sorter was the only invention from which Bickley ever made any considerable money, but it never dulled his enthusiasm for developing new ideas. At times he had up to nine active patent applications in the works. Examples include a nutcracker, snow shovel, slide mount, faucet, and photographic exposure meter.
Bickley was also active during World War II as a $1.00 A Year Man and member of the National Inventors Council, which reviewed war related invention ideas. In addition, he contributed over fifty ideas of his own to the National Inventors Council. During the war, his company was able to produce little of its own products due to wartime material restrictions and having most of its workers drafted. Consequently, Bickley spent several fruitless years after the war trying to get his patent rights extended to cover time lost during the war.
Early on, Bickley realized the need to form a company to help develop and promote his many inventions, and formed the Bickley Manufacturing Company shortly after his graduation for just this purpose. When he married in 1913, his new wife, Mary, became an active partner in the company. Later, their daughter Audrey joined the company, producing the photoelectric cells for the sorter, going on sales trips, and working as one of her father's most reliable troubleshooters when the sorters broke down.
Bickley died in 1972 at the age of 84. Always a believer that hard work was necessary for success, he left behind a legacy of inventions, including one that helped to revolutionize the agricultural processing industry.
Related Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History
The machine that Bickley used to demonstrate his bean-sorting process is held by Division of Work and Industry.
Provenance:
Audrey Bickely Beyer, Everett Bickley's daughter, donated the collection to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, in March of 1999.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
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. Copyright status of items varies.
The papers of California painter, printmaker, and art instructor Dorr Bothwell date from 1900-2006, and measure 10.6 linear feet and 1.72 GB. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, notes and writings, five diaries, art work and 19 sketchbooks, three scrapbooks, printed material, and print and digital photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of California painter, printmaker, and art instructor Dorr Bothwell date from 1900-2006, and measure 10.6 linear feet and 1.72 GB. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, notes and writings, five diaries, art work and 19 sketchbooks, three scrapbooks, printed material, and print and digital photographs.
Biographical material consists of biographical sketches, resumés, identity cards, award certificates, typescripts of autobiographical interviews, address books, and a file concerning UFOs, spirituality, and philosophy.
Correspondence consists of letters exchanged between Bothwell and her colleagues and friends discussing their art-related activities, travel, and birthday greetings. There are scattered letters from Ansel and Virginia Adams, Etel Adnan, Benjamin Chinn, Claire Falkenstein, and Emmy Lou Packard.
Personal business records include teaching contracts, contracts and royalty statements for the publication of Bothwell's book Notan, insurance records, income tax records, records concerning a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, estate records, card files, lists of art work, price lists, exhibition entry cards, receipts for the sale of art work, travel receipts, medical receipts, and consignment/sales records.
Notes and writings include three diaries, two travel journals, guest books, miscellaneous lists, schedules of classes for various organizations and art schools including the Ansel Adams Yosemite Workshop, typescripts of lecture notes, and miscellaneous notes. There are also scattered writings by Bothwell and others.
Seventeen sketchbooks, including several completed during Bothwell's travels, and one dated 1942 illustrated with daily drawings of her activities while preparing for World War II, are found within the papers. There are also miscellaneous drawings, collages, a serigraph It's Time for a Change, an etching by Martha Jackson, and a drawing by Charles Howard.
Three scrapbooks contain clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, programs, and photographs of art work. Scrapbook 3 contains materials concerning spiritualism and mysticism. Additional printed material consists of clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, brochures for art classes, the sale of art work, travel, and camera equipment, reproductions of art work, picture postcards, programs, books, and miscellaneous commercial business cards.
Photographs are of Bothwell, her mother and brother, her studio/residences, miscellaneous friends and colleagues including her former husband, sculptor Donal Hord, miscellaneous events, and art classes conducted by Bothwell. There are also photographs of art work by Bothwell and others, as well as numerous photographs and slides of travel various forms in nature that Bothwell would incorporate into her art work.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-2001 (Box 1, 11, 13, 15; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1942-2002 (Box 1-3, 13; 2.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1925-2006 (Box 3-4; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 4: Notes and Writings, 1949-1998 (Box 4, 11, 14, 15; 0.8 linear feet.)
Series 5: Art Work, 1920-1994 (Box 4-5, 11, 13, 16, 17; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1926-1979 (Box 5, 11, 12; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1923-2000 (Box 5-7, 12, 13; 1.8 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1900-2001 (Box 7-9, 10; 2.4 linear feet, ER01-ER04; 1.72 GB)
Biographical Note:
Dorr Bothwell (1902-2000) worked primarily in California as a painter, printmaker, and art instructor.
Doris Bothwell was born on May 3, 1902 in San Francisco, and later changed her first name to Dorr in order to more easily enter the art business. Bothwell began her art studies in 1916 with her parents' friend Anna Valentien, a student of Rodin. Between 1921 and 1922, she studied at the California School of Fine Art, and continued her studies at the University of Oregon at Eugene. After attending the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in 1924, she established her own studio in San Francisco from 1924 to 1927. Also during this time Bothwell, with eight other artists opened the Modern Gallery on Montgomery Street, mounting her first solo exhibition there in 1927.
Between 1928 and 1929, Bothwell traveled to American Samoa, where she created paintings and drawings, and documented tapa (barkcloth) drawings for the Bishop Museum of Honolulu. She then spent a year of study in Europe, returning to San Diego, California in 1931 and marrying sculptor Donal Hord. Four years later, they divorced and she moved to Los Angeles where she worked for the pottery manufacturer Gladding McBean, joined the post-surrealist group around Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg and opened the Bothwell-Cooke Gallery.
Between 1936 and 1939, Bothwell worked in the mural division of the Federal Arts Project of Los Angeles, and learned the art of serigraph printing. She designed dioramas and mechanized exhibitions for the Los Angeles County Museum. In 1940 she also created murals in the Manning Coffee Restaurant in San Francisco.
After teaching color and design at the California School of Fine Art in San Francisco from 1944 to 1948, Bothwell was awarded the Abraham Rosenberg Traveling Scholarship that financed study in Paris from 1949 to the fall of 1951. In 1952 she taught textile design for mass production at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.
Returning to San Francisco, Bothwell taught again at the California School of Fine Art from 1953 to 1958, and at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1959 to 1960. From 1960 to 1961 she took a sabbatical in England and France, creating paintings for an exhibition. In 1962 she was asked to teach at the new Mendocino Art Center and she taught there until 1983. She was also asked by Ansel Adams to teach design and composition for photographers at his Yosemite Workshop summer sessions, which she did from 1964 to 1977.
From 1966 to 1967, Bothwell documented indigo dying techniques, strip weaving, and pottery in Western Nigeria and Tunisia. In 1968, she published her book, co-authored with Marlys Frey, NOTAN The Principle of Dark-Light Design. The book was reissued in 1991. Bothwell continued her travels from 1970 to 1971, when she studied 12th century enamels in England, France, and Holland, and conducted a symposium, "Notan Design," for the London Educational Authority. In 1974, she traveled to Bali, Java, and Sumatra, making a slide documentary on batik, woodcarving, and folk design.
In 1977 Bothwell moved to Joshua Tree, California, from Mendocino in Northern California, but moved back and forth between the two studio/residences until 1992 when she moved to her last residence on the desert at Apache Junction, Arizona. From 1979 to 1980, she taught composition at the Victor School of Photography in Colorado and a design course at the Women's Art Guild in Kauai, Hawaii. Following a tour of China with a watercolor artists' group in 1982, Bothwell conducted workshops at the Mendocino Art Center. In 1985, she traveled to Japan.
Dorr Bothwell died on September 24, 2000 in Fort Bragg, California.
Provenance:
The Dorr Bothwell papers were donated in 1978 by the artist, and in 2002, 2009, and 2012 by the Dorr Bothwell Trust.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy 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.
