Scope and Contents

Collection consists of photographs, slides, and 16mm films created by the National Cotton Council of America (NCC) to document cotton production and use and to support the educational and advocacy work of the organization. It is arranged into four series.

Series one contains black and white photographic prints dating primarily from the 1950s-1970s. The photographs document every aspect of cotton farming, from before the seed is planted to the production of finished cloth. Most of these prints illustrate agricultural practices, including land preparation, planting, bedding, plowing, harrowing, drainage, cultivation, stripping, and harvesting. Another group documents pests and infestations – boll weevils, fleas, mites, pink bollworm, hoppers - and the methods of countering them with insecticide and herbicide applications. Other photographs illustrate more general topics, including the history of cotton, research programs, trading, foreign cotton farming, printing, spinning, and weaving. There are also photographs of agricultural equipment manufactured by International Harvester. In addition, a small group of photographs consist of images from movies produced by the National Cotton Council of America (NCC). The photographs were maintained in the order that was created by the National Cotton Council of America (NCC).

Series two include slides and color photographs which date from the 1980s-early 2000s. These materials document many of the same topics as the black and white photographic prints during a later time. Many of the slides were created and assembled for use in presentations. In addition, there are slides of individuals and activities from the National Cotton Council of America (NCC) board meetings and conferences.

Series three consists of publications and reference materials.

Series four contains two hundred and fourteen films that were created by the National Cotton Council of America (NCC) and date from the 1960s-1980s. Films primarily document cotton farming and its versatility and use in consumer goods. A consistent theme and message are to promote cotton to the fashion industry and for home use.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1, Black and White Photographic Prints, 1945-1970s, undated

Subseries 1.1, Cultivation and Production of Cotton, 1950s-1970s

Subseries 1.2, Film Stills, 1956-1971, undated

Subseries 1.3, Subjects and Events, 1945-1965

Series 2, Slides, 1979-1999, undated

Series 3, Publications, 1954-1981

Series 4, Films, 1953-1996, undated

Biographical / Historical

The National Cotton Council of America (NCC) is the official trade association of the cotton industry. The NCC was founded in 1939 to promote the interests of cotton farmers, ginners, brokers, and manufacturers from the Southern, cotton-growing states. Its mission evolved over the years as new uses for cotton and its byproducts were found; as synthetic fibers were developed; as fashion tastes changed; as government regulation increased; and as foreign competition in farming and manufacturing grew. The National Cotton Council's website states that its current mission is "to ensure the ability of all United States cotton industry segments to compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed and United States-manufactured product markets at home and abroad." Throughout its existence, the NCC has been the contact point for industry issues affecting its members, legislators in Congress, allied agribusinesses, and consumers.

The National Cotton Council of America (NCC) initially gave this collection to the Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange early in 2008, during the move of the Memphis-based NCC's corporate offices into a much smaller facility. Calvin Turley, president of the Board of the Cotton Museum, accepted the materials with the understanding that he could do with them as he wished. Ultimately, he decided that the collection was outside the scope of the Cotton Museum's mission. Turley offered the collection to the National Museum of American History in the belief that this was "the best possible place in the whole world for it."

Related Materials

Maid of Cotton Records (NMAH.AC.1176)

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (NMAH.AC.0060)

Peter Paul Haring Papers (NMAH.AC.1014)

Sally Fox Innovative Lives Presentation (NMAH.AC.0646)

William Mason Papers (NMAH.AC.0045)

Anne E. Peterson Stereograph Collection (NMAH.AC.0402)

Southern Agriculture Oral History Project Records (NMAH.AC.0773)

Uriah A. Boyden Papers (NMAH.AC.0982)