Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company study collection, EEPA 2008-013, May 31, 1943

Summary

Collection ID:
EEPA.2008-013
Creators:
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
Dates:
1943 May 31
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
5 Photographic prints
black and white
8 x 10 inches.
Repository:
Container:
5
This study collection contains five 8 x 10 inch black and white publicity photographs, dated May 31, 1943, of Liberian officials, U.S. State Department representatives, and Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. personnel, taken as they toured the company's war production plants in Ohio. Each photograph has complete typewritten documentation tipped to the back. Includes images of President Edwin Barclay and President-elect William V.S. Tubman of Liberia, Brig. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis and Harvey S. Firestone, Jr.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Arranged by Firestone negative file number.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
On May 31, 1942, President Edwin Barclay of Liberia, President-elect William V.S. Tubman, Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis (then the highest ranking African American officer in the American Armed Forces) and State Department representatives toured the war production plants of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. President Barclay and his delegation came to Akron from Washington, D.C., where they had been guests of President Roosevelt.
In 1926, the Firestone Rubber Company obtained a concession from the Liberian government which gave it the right to lease up to 1 million acres--roughly 4% of the entire country--for 99 years. With this leased land, Firestone created the world's largest rubber plantation at Harbel, Liberia. Exportation of rubber from the new Firestone plantations began in 1934 and rubber quickly became the backbone of the Liberian economy. When Malaysia fell to the Japanese during World War II, the Firestone plantation in Liberia became a main supplier of rubber for Allied forces.

Administration

Author
cgehrer
Custodial History note
Donated by Janet Stanley, Warren M. Robbins Library, National Museum of African Art, 2008.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Conditions Governing Use note
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Preferred Citation note
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Study Collection, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.

More Information

General note

General note
Title provided by EEPA staff.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Presidents -- Liberia Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States -- Officials and employees Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Factories Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Defense industries Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Akron (Ohio) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Davis, Benjamin O., Sr., 1880-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Firestone, Harvey S., 1898-1973 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tubman, William V.S., 1895-1971 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Barclay, Edwin James, 1882-1955 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
National Museum of African Art
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 708
Washington, DC 20013-7012
elisofonarchives@si.edu