National Air and Space Museum Archives

Ernest Jones Aeronautical Collection

Summary

Ernest Jones Aeronautical Collection
Ernest Jones Aeronautical Collection
Collection ID:
NASM.XXXX.0096
Creators:
Jones, Ernest La Rue, 1883-1955
Dates:
1906-1960
Languages:
English
and
French
.
Physical Description:
17.38 Cubic feet
41 letter document boxes; 1 slim legal document box; 2 flatboxes; 2 microfilm cases
Repository:
The Ernest Jones Aeronautical Collection (NASM.XXXX.0096) contains approximately 17 cubic feet of material comprised of the works of this early aviation historian and materials relating to his career and personal life. The collection includes original correspondence, photographs, published material, and various other media.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Ernest Jones Aeronautical Collection (NASM.XXXX.0096) contains approximately 17 cubic feet of material comprised of the works of this early aviation historian and materials relating to his career and personal life. The collection includes original correspondence, photographs, published material, and various other media.
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) received the bulk of these materials between 1955 and 1960. It should be noted however, that some materials have arrived in the collection with an uncertain provenance, having been found with the collection but possessing an aspect that throws doubt on their origin (such as clippings dated after the death of Jones). Other parts of the collection are believed to have originated with Jones but have arrived in NASM's collections from other sources. A small portion of the photographic materials have been moved into this collection from NASM's videodisc files, where they had been placed after being reproduced.
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 note

Arrangement note
Some preliminary processing work had been done on this collection by 1997, but much of the material remained without obvious order. Original order, where identified, has been maintained.
  • Series in the collection are as follows:
  • Series I: Career of
    Ernest Jones
    and Personal Information
  • Series II: Organizations
  • Series III: Notebooks and Files for Chronology
  • Subseries 1: Notebooks
  • Subseries 2: Miscellaneous, Notes and Queries for Chronology
  • Subseries 3: Individual and Subject Files
  • Subseries 4: Bibliographies
  • Series IV: Photographs
  • Subseries 1: Set I
  • Subseries 2: Set II
  • Subseries 3: Miscellaneous Photography Files
  • Series V: Scrapbooks
  • Series VI: Oversized Materials

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Ernest La Rue Jones (1883-1955) contributed in a myriad of ways during his lifetime to recording and preserving the history of flight. His commitment to organizational and national service is evident in the innovation marking his involvement in each sphere. Jones's most ambitious work, a chronology of American aviation, is contained in this collection and represents the culmination of more than a half-century of research, editing, and authorship in the nascent field of aviation history.
Early glider flights at Morris Park, New York, established Ernest Jones's lifelong association with flight. He would soon become Secretary of the Aero Club of America (1906) and the editor of the first American aviation journal,
Aeronautics
(1907-1915). He was made President of the
Aeronautics Manufacturers' Association
in 1912 and was General Publicity Manager for the Wright-Martin Company in 1917.
The advent of World War I brought a commission in the Army Air Service that would result in his becoming Chief Information Officer for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). With the end of the War, Jones returned to civilian life, becoming editor of
The National Aeronautical Review
(1924-1926). In 1926, he began work for the
Commerce Department
and would be instrumental in organizing its aeronautical branch which would become the
Civil Aeronautics Administration
and later the
Federal Aviation Administration
.
At the 1928 National Air Races, Jones co-founded the
Early Birds
, an organization of pilots having the distinction of having soloed before 1916. He would act as Secretary for the group for the remainder of his life, also editing the organization's publication,
Chirp
.
The Second World War necessitated Jones's return to national service and he was assigned to the Historical Division of the Army Air Corps in 1943. Jones retired in 1949 and after his death in 1955 was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.
Throughout his lifetime, Ernest Jones pursued the completion of a comprehensive history of American aviation. This chronology (see Series III description), which remained unfinished at his death, is comprised of tales of flight in legend and literature followed by a vast number of detailed factual accounts of the history of lighter- and heavier-than-air flight. It is accompanied here by a rare and splendid collection of early aviation photography. Together, these form a fitting memorial to a man whose life was dedicated to the preservation of our nation's heritage of flight.

Administration

Author
Kate Igoe
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Ernest Jones, gift, 1957, NASM.XXXX.0096.
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Kate Igoe, 1997.
Encoded by Amanda Buel, 2014.
Separated Materials note
Other materials: An airspeed computer from this collection was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum Space History Division.
Other materials: A sample of Wright Flyer fabric from this collection was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum Aeronautics Division.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
No restrictions on access.
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.
Preferred Citation
Ernest Jones Aeronautical Collection, NASM.XXXX.0096, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Notebooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics (Serial) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Aeronautical Review (Serial) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics -- Periodicals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Publications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Early Birds of Aviation (Organization). Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jones, Ernest La Rue, 1883-1955 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Air and Space Museum Archives
14390 Air & Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, VA 20151
NASMRefDesk@si.edu