Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Ralph Earle Color Slides of Atomic Bomb Test

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0794
Creators:
Earle, Ralph
Dates:
1945.
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.2 Cubic feet
1 box
Repository:
Container:
1

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
11 lantern slides and 18 35mm slides, all glass-mounted and taped at edges, showing an atomic bomb test explosion. Of this collection, two slides contain images of the crew conducting the test and a third shows the camp and some of the equipment used. The remainder contain images of explosions and the resulting smoke.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Divided into 2 series: (a) Lantern slides, 3-1/4 x 4"; and (b) 35mm slides.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
In 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt approved plans to begin the development of an atomic bomb. Nuclear physicists worked with the U.S. Army in what was known as the Manhattan Project. The first test of an atomic bomb was conducted in July of 1945 in the Nevada Desert. This collection contains images of one of those early tests, captured by Ralph Earle. Within one month of the first test, President Harry S. Truman ordered the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagaski.

Administration

Author
David Haberstich
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Collection donated by Ralph Earle.
Ownership and Custodial History
Photographed by Ralph Earle. In his custody since 1945.
Processing Information
Collection is processed.

Digital Content

More …

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
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.
Preferred Citation
Ralph Earle Color Slides of Atomic Bomb Test, 1945, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of the photographer.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Slides (photographs) -- 1940-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nevada Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- Color -- Slides -- 1940-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Atomic bomb Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lantern slides Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
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