The collection documents the development and evolution of the Breck Girl, a highly successful and long-lived advertising campaign whose hallmark was its vision of idealized American womanhood through correspondence, photographs, paintings, and print advertisements.

Estelle Ellis is a pioneer in publishing, advertising, and marketing. She was among the first to focus on the American female demographic, especially teens and working-class women. Condé Nast Publications, Incorporated, Carter Hawley Hale-owned department stores, Phillips-Van Heusen, Dow Chemical, and the Kimberly-Clark Corporation were among her clients. The Papers include business correspondence and proposals, marketing materials, advertisements, and oral history interviews with Ellis.

Nathaniel Mathis is a Washington, D.C., hairstylist, inventor, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. His papers document his business life and community involvement.

Massachusetts entrepreneur Michael Zane purchased a bicycle lock design and its trade name, 'Kryptonite lock," in 1972. Working with members of his family, Zane developed the Kryptonite Corporation. The records consist of audio-visual materials, correspondence, design drawings, photographs, testing records, patent information, sales reports, product information, advertisements, clippings, periodicals, legal documents, and research files.

Collection consists of records documenting one of the oldest advertising agencies created in Philadelphia. The company then moves to New York and expanses to international markets. During its history NW Ayer & Sons acquires a number of other advertising agencies and is eventually purchased. The largest portion of the collection is print advertisements but also includes radio and television. NW Ayer is known for some of the slogans created for major American companies.

The collection consists of archival materials assembled by National Museum of American History Curator William Lawrence Bird. The materials were used as background research for the publication of his book Holidays on Display (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007), and as exhibit objects for the exhibit by the same name that opened shortly after the museum's architectural renovation (November 2009-September 2010). The materials include advertising and trade literature, especially for department stores and with emphasis on the display of toys; catalogs; photographs and slides; postcards; parade programs; design drawings; correspondence; stock certificates, and miscellaneous items relating to department stores and their displays, parades and the amusement industry.

The Duncan Family Yo-Yo Collection consists of papers, photographs, advertising materials, scrapbooks, clippings and audio-visual materials. These materials trace the rise and fall of the companies owned by the Duncan family as well as the world of yo-yo's. The materials date from 1929 to 2002, with the bulk of the material focused on the Donald F....

Correspondence, patents, photographs, newspaper clippings, and subject files about various inventors and ideas. Collection documents women inventors, American culture, 1950s-1970s, and products designed for women and the home. Donovan's papers offer a near complete invention record, including both successes and failures, as well as patent and trademark correspondence.

The collection documents the history of tobacco advertising in America through print advertisements (magazine and newspaper), emphasizing the deceptive advertising practices employed by the tobacco industry to lure and keep smokers. Many of the advertisements contain images of celebrities, athletes, and other notable persons who endorsed tobacco products as well as ethinic imagery.

The Hector and Norma Orcí Advertising Agency Records document the history, educational, and creative output produced by Hector and Norma Orcí throughout their extensive career in advertising. The Orcís founded their own independent agency in 1986 in Los Angeles. The Orcí Advertising Agency successfully introduced various products to Latinos in the United States and developed a reputation as one of the top advertising agencies to understand the US Latino market. The collection showcases the agency's history and awards, advertising and marketing campaigns, and its role in educating advertising agencies on the importance of the US Latino market.