August C. Baltz Photograph Album, 1904–1909
An itinerant commercial sign painter from Decorah, Iowa, Baltz created a photograph album that served as a promotional portfolio for his sign-painting business that spanned 15 states. The album contains 61 black-and-white albumen photographs measuring from 3x3 inches to 6x6 inches, often with captions in ink on the photograph or below it. Along with documenting his work, Baltz had clients pose with their signs, and he often posed in the photographs as well.
August Gesell account and sketch book, 1865, 1875-1909
Born in Prussia, Germany in 1856, Gesell immigrated to Baltimore, MD with his family in 1860. Gesell workd as an illustrator and decorative sign painter. Scrapbook contains pencil and watercolor sketches of decorative ornaments, designs, initials and monograms, busts, animals, birds, and flowers, all likely incorporated into his decorative work for signs, furniture, walls, and ceilings. Also records his accounts and specific jobs performed for named local customers.
John Brennan Outdoor Advertising Survey Reports, ca. 1947–1980
This collection documents the professional endeavors of outdoor advertising design researcher John E. (Jack) Brennan for the time period 1947 to 1980. His work primarily consisted of conducting market surveys on the effectiveness of billboard advertisement design and layout, and reporting his findings to subscribers to advance design efficiency for the industry. [ROAD]
John E. Browning, 1930–1999 and undated
Browning worked as an artist and designer in outdoor advertising in New Jersey. The collection consists of several dozen original layouts (miniature paintings, in color) for billboards, mainly for hotels, restaurants, and local attractions in New Jersey; black and white photographs and negatives, showing the same layouts as finished billboards; photos of other billboards, including one featuring the Dionne Quintuplets. The collection also contains a brief autobiographical statement outlining Browning's career.
Wallace W. Elton Papers, 1909-1990
Wallace Elton was an executive for the J. Walter Thompson Company. His papers include documents pertaining to outdoor advertising campaigns for JWT. Most prominently featured are scrapbooks and information regarding Ford Motor Company's outdoor campaigns through JWT.
Jack Foote Photographs, circa 1947-1974
Jack Foote was a billboard artist employed by Foster & Kleiser and Eller. The collection includes two binders with black and white photographs of outdoor billboard designs from the west coast including Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These binders were primarily a sales tool to demonstrate how other businesses used outdoor advertising.
Robert A. Hamer Papers, 19857–1995 and undated, bulk 1926–1995
The Robert A. Hamer Papers span the years 1857-1995, the bulk of which document the period 1926-1995. The collection primarily documents Hamer's career in outdoor advertising with the Foster & Kleiser Company in Southern California, and touches on events in his personal life. The bulk of this collection consists of photographs of Foster & Kleiser billboards in Southern California, covering two time periods, 1926-1941 and 1951-1962. Other photographs document business activities from 1937-1977.
Dick Harold Papers, 1964 and undated
The collection contains slides, photographs and printed material related to billboards posted in and around Indianapolis, Indiana by Harold Outdoor Advertising and General Outdoor Advertising from the 1930s-1960s.
John F. Hogan Papers, 1928-1992 and undated, bulk 1949-1972
The Hogan Papers span the years 1928-1992, with the bulk of the material dating from 1949 to 1972. The collection consists of photographs, contracts, printed materials, scrapbooks, and images of transit station posters and car cards that document Hogan's career placing advertising within the bus, subway and rail systems in the northeastern United States, particularly in New York and Connecticut. Several agencies and client companies are represented in the collection, including the John H. Breck, Inc. hair-care company.
Garrett Orr Papers, ca. 1890s–1994
Orr started out as a graphic artist and went on to become the Art Director of Outdoor Advertising Incorporated (OAI) and the President of the Art Directors Club of New York. This collection documents his artistic output and includes original drawings, water colors, and paintings produced by Orr for the outdoor advertising campaigns of Gillette, Ipana, Lucky Strike, Mazola, Seagram, Verney, Viceroy, and White Rose.
W.W. Parleir Papers, 1909-1937
W.W. Parlier was an outdoor advertising executive in Alabama during the 1910s through the 1930s. He worked at Theiss, Douglas & Ribble (Birmingham) and at Capital City Advertising (Montgomery), and was Chairman of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Alabama 1934-1937. The collection contains photographs and clippings.
Paver worked as a research engineer for Dr. Miller McClintock in helping him create the Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB). Paver also used TAB methods to create the estimation and inspection methods of the National Outdoor Advertising Bureau. [ROAD] and [ROAD 2.0]
Kip Pope Papers, 1931-1969 and undated
Executive and owner of C & U Poster Advertising Co. of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois from 1983-2001. C & U was locally known for the aesthetics in its billboards, which blended well into their surroundings. The collection includes correspondence, certificates, pamphlets, and reports related to the OAAA Traffic Safety Poster Campaign. Also included are agreements between plant owners and Outdoor Advertising Inc. In 2001, C & U was sold to the Adams Outdoor Advertising Company of Georgia.
Burr L. Robbins Papers, 1936–1975 and undated
Burr Lamberton Robbins was an executive and president of General Outdoor Advertising Company from 1951 to the 1960s. The Burr L. Robbins Papers span the years 1936-1975, and chiefly consist of three scrapbooks containing photographs, clippings, periodicals, memorabilia, and promotional materials.
Howard Scott Papers, 1921–1984
Scott was a billboard and graphic artist from the 1930s to the mid-1960s. The collection consists of personal papers and advertising art that document the career of Scott. Biographical materials as well as original art, sketches, lithographs, and reprints of advertisements for Amoco, Budweiser, Chesterfield, Essso, Ford, Nash, U.S. Navy, Pabst Beer, Schlitz Beer, USO, and the 1940 World’s Fair are included. [ROAD]
Charlie Steinman Papers, 1937-1988 and undated
Charlie Steinmann was an executive in the outdoor advertising industry, primarily in the Pennsylvania region. He was inducted into the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Hall of Fame in 1995. This collection includes printed materials, photographs, videocassettes, correspondence, financial reports and maps. Companies represented in the collection include Bishop-Holder Advertising, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, Penn Adams Advertising and Penn-York Advertising, all of which operated in the central Pennsylvania region.
