Arthur Ehrat Papers
Fleckner, John A., 1941-
1865-2005
bulk 1970-1990
Arthur Ehrat invented and patented a breakaway basketball rim, fashioning his prototypes from bolts, metal braces and one key part: a piece of the heavy-duty coil spring on a John Deere cultivator. His invention helped to revolutionize the way basketball is played because players could slam dunk the ball with fewer injuries and without bending the rims or breaking backboards. This collection includes correspondence, legal documents --such as patent papers, litigation files and licensing agreements --photographs and sketches that relate to the basketball invention, as well as materials regarding his two field spreader patents and other invention ideas.
Grant Proposals
This accession consists of records documenting outside funding for Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) research, projects, and activities. Materials include proposals, quotations, and bids from contractors, equipment makers, and other vendors to provide services, equipment, and instruments for SAO.
United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records
The collection documents the activities of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation of Beverly, Massachusetts, manufacturers of shoe machinery equipment. The collection consists of engineering records, legal records, research and development records, employee/personnel records, correspondence, company catalogs, product literature, advertising materials, photographs, and moving images.
Captured German Documents (World War II): Fort Eustis Library (FE) Microfilm
This collection consists of microfilm copies of documents relating to research and development work conducted by the Ordnance Office of the German Army at the research station at Peenemünde, as well as document listings and indexes of those documents prepared by United States Army's Ordnance Research and Development Translation Center at Fort Eustis, VA.
Charles G. Abbot Papers, and Records of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
These papers consist mainly of records of the Astrophysical Observatory (also abbreviated APO) under the Directorship of Samuel P. Langley, Charles G. Abbot, and Loyal Blaine Aldrich.
Building Files
This accession consists of information files, original reports and correspondence, papers and articles, and other background material on Smithsonian buildings. These records were compiled by the Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation (OAHP), research associates, and volunteers. Items in brackets describe cross-references to other materials in the collection. Buildings …
Robinson and Via Family Papers
bulk 1872-1985
Papers documenting the farming and family life of the Robinson family of Prince George's County and after 1975, Charles County, Maryland. Papers documenting the farming and family of the Via family of Greene County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Prince George's and Calvert Counties, Maryland, by 1949.
J. Scott Odell folk music collection
The J. Scott Odell folk music collection (1945-2016, inclusive) contains AV recordings, photographs, correspondence, writings, and other materials relating to Odell's career at the Smithsonian as a musical instrument conservator and researcher of American music traditions. The collection largely consists of materials relating to Odell's research trips (often combined with personal visits) throughout the Eastern United States. Research strengths of the collection include the history of the Appalachian dulcimer and banjo, the Smithsonian Folkways project "Black Banjo Songsters," musician and poet Burt Porter, and the Bread and Puppet Theater.
Exhibition Records
This accession consists of records that document the planning, development, and installation of Information Age: People, Information, and Technology, a major exhibition at the National Museum of American History (NMAH), which traces the evolution of information-processing and communications technologies from the 1830s to the present. The exhibition opened on May 9, 1990. The …
Computer World Smithsonian Awards
Computerworld Magazine.
Collection documents an awards program established in 1989 as a partnership between Computerworld Magazine and the Smithsonian Institution. The Computer World Smithsonian Awards (CWSA) brought together the Chairmen of Chief Executive Officers of the world's foremost information technology companies with the world's leading universities, libraries and research institutions to document a revolution in progress—the global information technology revolution. The program identified men, women, organizations and institutions leading the technology revolution and asked them to contribute case studies. Collection consists of case studies which include questionnaires, essays, oral histories, conference proceedings, publications, video tapes, photographs, slides, software, and product samples about each project.
