National Air and Space Museum Archives

Lester D. Seymour Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.XXXX.0455
Creators:
Seymour, Lester D., 1892-
Dates:
1928-1934
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.13 Cubic feet
(1 slim legal document box) (2 legal document boxes)
Repository:
Major Lester D. Seymour (1892-1976) was involved in both the military and commercial sides of aviation. After service in World War I, Seymour served as Chief Engineer of National Air Transport, and later become NAT's Vice President and General Manager. From 1933-1934 Seymour was appointed President of American Airlines. The collection includes airline newsletters, annual reports, photographs, and manuals.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the following: copies of the National Air Transport Inc. (NAT) newsletter, "NAT Flypaper", 1928 - 1933; "Survey of Projected Airmail Routes" 1926; annual reports for both NAT and American Airways (later American Airlines); NAT photographs; NAT Regulations; "A Study of Transportation by Airway as related to Competition with Rail Carriers in Continental United States", 1932; NAT Bulletin Board; and the American Airlines Procedures Manual for 1934. In June of 1999, six films were found in the Film Archives that were part of this donation. The films, evidently taken by Seymour during his airline travels, have the following titles: West (Part 1 and 2); Phoenix to Los Angles; Flying Across America with United Airlines in 28 Hours; Memphis to Phoenix; and American Airways: Chicago - New York.
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

Arrangement
The Lester D. Seymour Collection is arranged by content type.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Major Lester D. Seymour (1892-1976) was involved in both the military and commercial sides of aviation. Seymour rose to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, Aero Engineer-Officer, 85th Aero Squadron during World War I. After the war, he became involved in the Civilian Aero Engineer US Air Service and in the Air Corps Reserve. In 1926, Seymour became involved with the commercial airlines industry. He started as the Chief Engineer at National Air Transport, and later become NAT's Vice President and General Manager. He was also briefly the Vice President of United Air Lines after their 1933 takeover of NAT. From 1933-1934 Seymour was appointed President of American Airlines.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Lester D. Seymour, Gift, unknown, XXXX-0455.
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Patti Williams, 1992, updated 2014. Revised and digital assets attached by Allan Janus, 2020.

Digital Content

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Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
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
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Preferred Citation
Lester D. Seymour Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0455, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

More Information

General

General
NASMrev


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Aeronautics, Commercial -- Passenger traffic Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Air travel Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics, Commercial Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Airlines Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Manuals Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reports Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Newsletters Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motion pictures (visual works) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seymour, Lester D., 1892- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Air Transport Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Airlines Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United Air Lines, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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