The Historic Maps of Africa collection includes 78 maps and dates from circa 1631 to 1973. Geographic content of individual maps varies from topographical information, boundaries of colonial territories, and ethnic groups, among other topics. While several depict the continent of Africa in its entirety, many focus on specific countries and geographic regions. There are a particularly large number of maps depicting the West African Coast.

Biographical materials; correspondence, including letters to Sawyer from colleagues, friends and his daughter, Helen Sawyer Farnsworth, and letters to his wife Kathleen; writings by and about Sawyer; sketchbooks and sketches; address books; scrapbooks; exhibition catalogs; clippings; and photographs of Sawyer, his work, and his family.

Letters, 1931-1948, to Simkhovitch from museums, galleries, publishers, art organizations, admirers, and others regarding his work, and condolence letters to Mrs. Simkhovitch, 1949; contracts, mailing lists, and other business records regarding his association with the Midtown Galleries, 1931-1948; a scrapbook of clippings and other printed materia...

Letters, including many from officials of the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts and the Public Building Administration about Oberteuffer's involvement in government art projects. Also included are photographs, clippings, and exhibition catalogs.

These records consist of the administrative, correspondence, and exhibition files of the Department of Decorative Arts. Curator David R. McFadden and his predecessors created most of the records, but some were compiled by assistants in the department, guest curators, and exhibition organizers. Some files were created before the department ...

Exhibition materials and catalogues, 1930-1976; correspondence, 1932-1976; publications, 1934-1958; clippings; "Serigraph Quarterly," Vol. 1, No.1, F'64, Vol. V, No. 2, Ju'50; poster; announcements.

The papers of American art collector Keith Warner measure 0.7 linear feet and date from 1935 to 1975. Correspondence, collecting files, and artwork detail Warner's role as a collector of art in the mid-twentieth century. Present in the collection are materials related to Alexander Calder, Roland Dorcely, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Piet Mondrian, Alfred Stieglitz, and Max Weber.

Photographic album formerly belonging to Major General Claude Maxwell Macdonald (1852-1915), Commissioner, Oil Rivers Protectorate, in West Africa, circa 1895. The album contains photographs of the consulate general in Old Calabar, Opobo and Bonny. Images, such as the arrival of Lady Macdonald in 1895 (returning from a home leave), interiors of British residences, and (named) group portraits of the British reflect colonial life and infrastructure. Native and British troops are depicted as well. Several images show the results of the British attacks on Brass and Nembe, in retaliation for King Nana's unwillingness to cooperate. Several images were taken of chiefs, among them a copy photograph of a 1882 image of King Nana of the Benin River, King Jaja of Opobo, King Koko of Brass, King Duke IX of Old Calabar, and King George Pebble of Bonny. Perhaps the most outstanding imagery is a series "On the way to Benin," which contains the photograph of an altar, a crucified woman, a forest path, and a contingent of British colonials. Several remarkable photographs depict Cross River masquerades with head crests, dances of Kru "Boys," and portray women of the Niger Delta. One photograph, showing the bronze sculpture of a Benin horseman placed on a rug in front of a wall (very likely taken in Nigeria), is of great interest for art historians. This particular figure left Benin before the city was ransacked and destroyed by the British Punitive Expedition in 1987, and, according to William B. Fagg, eminent historian of Nigerian art, came to the Merseyside County Museums, Liverpool, UK, as early as 1892 (note that Macdonald arrived in the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1891).

The papers of graphic artist and arts educator Calvin Burnett measure 6.1 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1979, with the bulk of the collection dating from the 1960s to the 1970s. The papers contain biographical material, correspondence, writings, material related to his education and professional activities, personal business records, printed material, a scrapbook, and a small amount of photographs and artwork.

These records provide documentation of the creation and preparation of exhibits for the most important period in the history of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) - the planning, fabrication, and installation of two dozen major galleries for the new museum building, which opened in 1976. Also included is material on exhibits in the ...