Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Arnold D. Kates Film Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0259
Creators:
Kates, Arnold D.
Dates:
1929-1931, undated
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Film reel
Repository:
Arnold D. Kates was an officer in the Association of Young Advertising Men of New York in the 1930s. As an officer, he visited Washington, D.C., to attend the annual meeting of the Advertising Federation of America and took home movies of the capital, including a formal reception at the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Additional film footage includes scenes on a ship, cityscapes and industrial landscapes of New York City.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Four small reels, combined into a single compilation reel by Archives Center staff, of 16mm black and white, silent, camera original reversal motion picture film. One film depicts scenes of Washington, D.C., including a receiving line at the White House for the annual meeting of the Advertising Federation of America. A second film shows people on a boat, people in a car, and a woman with a calf. The third depicts a Manhattan, New York cityscape, docks and ships, industrial buildings, rail yards and railcars, and shipping trucks. Trucks from the Railway Express Agency and the Bush Terminal Co. appear, as well as buildings possibly owned and/or operated by the Bush Terminal Co. Lastly, the fourth film contains images of automobiles and individuals outside of a building possibly identified as the Cypress Hills Hotel Abbey.
Arnold D. Kates dated the film contents to 1931 based on writing on the boxes the films were contained in when he donated the films. An examination of the Eastman Kodak film stock codes gives dates of 1929 and 1930 for the actual film stock. The four films have been combined into a single compilation reel based on the film stock chronology. The first three films have stock dating 1929 and the final film's stock on the compilation reel dates 1930. No other chronological linkages could be determined.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Arnold D. Kates was an officer in the Association of Young Advertising Men of New York in the 1930s. As an officer, he visited Washington, D.C., to attend the annual meeting of the Advertising Federation of America and took home movies of the capital, including a formal reception at the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Additional film footage includes scenes on a ship, cityscapes and industrial landscapes of New York City.

Administration

Author
C. Jeremy Barney
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by Arnold D. Kates, 1983.
Processing Information
Processed by C. Jeremy Barney, July, 2007; supervised by Wendy Shay, archivist.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Arnold D. Kates Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
White House (Washington, D.C.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) -- 1880-1890 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washington (D.C.) -- 1930-1940 Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Urban Life Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Associations, institutions, etc. Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Automobiles -- 1920-1930 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1930-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New York (N.Y.) -- 1930-1940 Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ships -- New York (N.Y.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Boats -- New York (N.Y.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cityscapes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Harbors -- New York (N.Y.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Monuments -- Washington (D.C.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Advertising Federation of America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bush Terminal Building Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Association of Young Advertising Men Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railway Express Agency. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu