National 

Postal 

Museum 

Library

Connect

smithsonian.INSTITUTION.LIBRARIES. Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.

Those daring 

young men who 

first delivered 

the mail...

Early airmail pilot Max Miller

Eddie Gardner

Number 1 Spring 2008
2 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.director’s corner.

 is published quarterly to inform users 

and benefactors about services, programs and issues 

affecting the Libraries. To be added to the mailing list, or 

to request this publication in a digital format, please contact:

Smithsonian Institution Libraries Development Office

NHB, 24mz - MRC 154, P.O. Box 37012

Washington DC, 20013-7012

Telephone: 202.633.2875

E-mail: libmail@si.edu

Web: http://www.sil.si.edu/

2 Director’s Corner 3 Collections 5 Trade 

Literature 8, 10, 11 Giving

Designer/Editor

Elizabeth Periale

CONNECT

content

When S. Dillon 

Ripley took offi ce as 

the ______ Smithsonian Secretary 

in 1964, he found 

a library organization that badly needed an 

overhaul. A library was part of the original 

legislation founding the Smithsonian in 1846. 

It grew rapidly to 40,000??? volumes by the 

1860s. But following a terrible fi re in 1865 

that burned the roof and center core of the 

Smithsonian Building and another in 1866, 

the Smithsonian’s library was moved to new 

fi reproof stacks in the Library of Congress in 

the U.S. Capitol. In ____, the second Secretary, Spencer Fullerton Baird, re-created the 

library as the U.S. National Museum Library, 

a working library designed to support scientifi c research. From then it grew, amoebic 

like subdivisions splitting off as the Institution’s research programs enlarged. By 1964, 

a prospective user could fi nd libraries containing over 430,000 volumes in nearly 80 

locations in the Smithsonian, spread among 

seven cities.

Secretary Ripley signed a _____ that created the Smithsonian Institution Libraries on 

August ___, 1968, and hired Russell Shank 

into the new continued on page 4

The Ruby 

Anniversary

Images

Cover National Postal 

Museum Library photograph collection. Page 

2Rhys Thomas, The 

Ruby Slippers of Oz, 

c1989. Postage stamps: 

Page 2Grinnell Hawaiian missionary stamps, 

purchased by John A. 

Klemann from George H. 

Grinnell, images courtesy 

of Herbert A. Trenchard, 

PhD. Page 2, 4, 6 & 

7Smithsonian National 

Postal Museum. Back 

CoverNational Postal 

Museum Library stamp 

design fi les.
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Collections. 3

In 1918, just ten 

years after the 

Wright Brothers’ 

historic flight, Army 

Air Service pilots 

began flying the 

U.S. mail between 

Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New 

York. By August of that year, the Post Office Department instead began using civilian 

pilots who flew specially-built mail planes.

These airmail pioneers flew planes with no 

instruments. It was a dangerous occupation, 

filled by a diverse mix of men, many of them 

flight instructors or former military pilots.

Our cover highlights Max Miller, the first 

airmail pilot hired by the postal service. He is 

one of many early airmail pilots featured in 

the National Postal Museum Library’s photographic collection. His and other pilots’ fascinating stories can be found in the National 

Postal Museum’s online show, Fad to Fundamental: Airmail in America, http://www.

postalmuseum.si.edu/airmail/

Miller and Eddie Gardner, the other pilot 

pictured on our cover, flew between New 

York and Chicago on September 5, 1918. 

It was an historic test flight between the 

two cities, aimed at expanding the nascent 

airmail service. If they could deliver the 

mail from New York to Chicago in under 

ten hours, planes could replace trains for 

speedy mail delivery.

The two pilots were extremely competetive and used telegrams to track each other’s 

progress as they were also simultaneously 

tracked by the Air Mail Service. Miller was 

the first to arrive in Chicago, landing the 

next day at 6:55 p.m. with Gardner landing 

the following morning, at 8:17a.m.

The return trip to New York was uneventful 

for Miller, but he had radiator problems and 

failed to return within continued on page 6

N a t i o n a l 

P o s t a l 

M u s e u m 

Library

Above: Max Miller, 

National Postal Museum Library. 

Below: Courtesy of 

Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
4 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.trade literature.

Web

Postal History

Local Mail Posts in 

the United States - A 

Bibliography of Items 

in the National Postal 

Museum Library of the 

Smithsonian Institution 

Librarieshttp://www.

sil.si.edu/silpublications/postal-history/

local-mail-posts/

Grinnell Hawaiian 

Missionary 

Stampshttp://www.

sil.si.edu/silpublications/grinnell/

The Postal Service 

in Colonial America: 

A Bibliography of 

Material in the 

Smithsonian Institution 

Libraries National 

Postal Museum 

Branchhttp://www.sil.

si.edu/SILPublications/

postal-history/bibliography/

Mail Call! A Postal 

History Booklist for 

Young Readershttp://

www.sil.si.edu/

SILPublications/PostalHistory/Mail-Call//

Parcel Post: Delivery 

of Dreamshttp://

www.sil.si.edu/ondisplay/parcelpost/

The Ruby Anniversary - continued from 

page 3 high-level position of Director. 

Shank wrote “the richness of the libraries’ 

collection far exceeds my expectations... . 

The depth of the collections in systematic 

biology in terms of both age and comprehensiveness makes one feel like a bibliothecal 

Midas when wandering through the stacks.” 

Now around 100 staff members make accessible and preserve over 1.5 million volumes 

and a panoply of electronic databases and 

journals housed in twenty libraries. 2008 

marks the 40th anniversary of Ripley’s organization. The Ruby Anniversary is a fi tting 

time to pause and measure how far we have 

come, but only for an instant as we prepare 

ourselves for a bright future of service to the 

Smithsonian staff and general public.

Our kick-off is April 8, when we have invited our Smithsonian friends to join us 

for ice cream and cake in the Smithsonian Castle. In June, we will host a symposium and showing of the fi lm “The Curious 

Mr. Catesby,” which highlights the life and 

times of Mark Catesby, one of the fi rst British Naturalists to collect the fl ora and fauna 

of the New World. His marvelous illustrated 

publication on the natural history of Virginia, 

South Carolina and the Bahamas are part of 

our collection. Starting in May, we will host 

a series of speakers inspiring us with their 

thoughts about the future, as we explore the 

challenges and opportunities offered by the 

digital environment. The year will end with 

a grand Ruby Gala in the Donald F. Reynolds Center, which houses the Smithsonian 

American Art Museum and National Portrait 

Gallery.

Ruby is our stone, bright red is our color—

watch for details and join us as we celebrate 

both past and future.

Nancy E. Gwinn
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Collections. 5

Are you...chicken? 

Do you have the 

ferocity of a “Tar 

Heel”, the “great endurance” of a “Black 

Warrior”, the fierceness of a “White Hornet” or the “lightning 

speed” of a “Carolina Blue”? These 

are just some of the 

traits of the stock 

that North Carolina 

gamecock breeder 

J.A. Monroe advertised in his 1890-91 

catalog of “North 

Carolina Games”.

Along with the 

breeds listed above, 

Monroe advertised 

two others, the “Eureka” and the “Eslin” 

which have ties to 

the Smithsonian and 

the washington D.C. 

area. At the time the 

circular was printed, 

the Eureka, “[a] cock of this variety, [was] 

mounted in the National Museum at Washington.”

The “Eslin” breed was named after a large 

farm in the heart of Washington, D.C. from 

the late 1700’s to the mid-1800s. James Eslin 

bought land in what is now the Mt. Pleasant 

neighborhood, near 16th Street and Columbia Road, and was noted for his gamecocks. 

Cockfights were regular sporting events at 

the farm. (Records of the Columbia Historical 

Society, vol. 33-34 (1932).

Cockfighting, a controversial activity criticized as a “blood sport” for its perceived cruelty to animals, is also seen as traditional 

in some parts of the continued on page 9

TradeLiteratureof-theMonth T h e 

National Museum 

of American 

History trade literature inventory team features 

something found 

in the collection 

that merits special 

attention because 

it is unusual, 

appealing, humorous, strange, or 

all of the above.

“I take great pleasure in presenting my Circular 

of 1890-’91, to 

greet the lovers 

of the royal Pit 

game. Thanking 

my friends and 

customers for 

past favors and 

soliciting a share 

of their patronage in the future, 

I feel I am better 

prepared than 

ever to please 

their fancy. I also 

hope, through 

this circular, to 

make the acquaintance of every 

true lover of this 

noble fowl; and to 

any in search of a 

reliable game fowl 

I ask a trial of my 

birds, believing 

they will be more 

than pleased.”

J. A. Monroe, 

North Carolina 

Games, 1890.
6 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Collections.

Above: Robert 

Odenweller 

and Librarian 

Paul McCutcheon examine 

records of the 

Third Assistant 

Postmaster 

General.

Below: the 

rolling files. 

Photographs 

by James 

O’Donnell.

“Coffee break, parcel post style,” National Postal Museum Library photograph collection.

Early Airmail Pilots - continued from page 3 

the required ten-hour time frame. Gardner’s 

return flight encountered adverse weather 

conditions, delays, fuel shortages and, luckliy, a not-fatal crash, landing in Hicksville, 

N.Y., just a little short of the final destination 

of Belmont Park, N.Y. More importantly, he 

was able to complete the trip in under ten 

hours. Airmail service to Chicago was born.

Delivering the first airmail was a risky job. 

There were many forced landings as pilots 

struggled with the weather and early aircraft. Miller unfortunately perished in a fatal 

explosion and crash with his mechanic, Gustav Reierson, on September 1, 1920, outside 

of Morristown, N.J. Witnesses reported that 

the men threw out the bags of mail prior to 

the crash. The jettisoned mail was collected 

and sent on to the post office in New York for 

distribution. Neither rain nor sleet...

Gardner survived numerous crashes for 

years during his airmail service, but ironically died flying stunts in 1921 at a county fair 

in Kansas. A fuller account of “The 1918 race 

to Chicago” by James H. Bruns can be found 
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Collections. 7

The National 

Postal 

Museum 

Library is 

open to the 

public by 

appointment 

Monday - 

Friday, 

10 a.m. to 

4:30 p.m.

National 

Postal 

Museum 

Library

2 Massachusetts 

Avenue, N.E.

Washington, 

DC 20560

Telephone: 

202.633.5544

Fax: 

202.633.9371

Email: 

libmail@sil.

si.edu

at http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/

resources/6a2d_racetochicago.html

By 1926, commercial contract airlines took 

over mail delivery, paving the way for daily 

mail delivery by air, as well as the commercial airline industry. None of these services 

that we take for granted today would have 

been possible if not for these brave men who 

pioneered airmail and aviation.

These are just a few of the stories that 

can be discovered in the collections of the 

National Postal Museum Library. With more 

than 40,000 books, journals, catalogs and 

archival documents, the National Postal 

Museum Library is among the world’s largest 

postal history and philatelic research facilities.The National Philatelic Collection was the 

basis of the Library when it was established 

in 1993. One of the largest and most important research facilities for the study of philately and the history of postal services in the 

United States, the Library collections are also 

international in scope. In particular, Canada, 

Great Britain, Germany and France are well 

represented.

With more than 5,000 books, 6,000 serial titles, manuscript files, photographs and 

many auction and priced catalogues, the collection also includes major archival holdings, 

including files from the United States Post 

Office, the Highway Post Office, the Aerial 

Mail Service, the Railway Mail Service, and 

the Panama Canal Zone Post Office.

Of special interest are more than 10,000 

photographs from the Post Office Department and from other public and private collections concerning all aspects of mail handling and transportation

Whether you are a stamp collector or a history buff, or even an aviation enthisiast, the 

National Postal Museum Library has many 

intriguing items and stories to discover.
8 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Giving.

The Caldwell Archive at the CooperHewitt National Design Museum Library 

is the only remaining visual documentation of the great 

works produced by 

Edward F. Caldwell 

& Co. (N.Y.). Massive in size, this collection 

contains over 50,000 original photographs 

and drawings, and 23 microfi lm rolls of their 

account books. The Libraries has received a 

grant to digitize a signifi cant portion of the 

images and highlight Caldwell & Co.’s New 

York commissions, which will increase access 

to the collection, improve searchability, and 

preserve the originals from destruction.

Caldwell & Co. was America’s premiere and 

most prolifi c producer of lighting and other 

metal objects during the turn of the 20th 

century up through the 1940s. Caldwell & 

Co. illuminated many of New York City’s 

most signifi cant public and private buildings 

when much of the city was being electrifi ed 

for the fi rst time. All Caldwell & Co. objects 

were custom made, and examples can still 

be seen throughout the fi ve boroughs, as 

well as across the United States. Some of 

their notable New York commissions included 

Grand Central Terminal, Radio City Music 

Hall, St. Thomas Church, The University 

Club, the Waldorf-Astoria and the Bronx Zoo. 

They worked with the major architects of the 

day, including McKim, Mead & White, Russell Pope, Richard Morris Hunt, Carierre & 

Hastings, Babb, Cook & Williard, and Cram, 

Goodhue, & Ferguson. Their clients included 

the Fricks, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, Astors, 

Roosevelts, and Rockefellers. On a national 

level they received commissions from the 

White House, the State Department, the 

Boston Public Library, the Cleveland Museum, and the Detroit Athletic Club. Jennifer 

Cohlman

L i b r a r i e s 

r e c e i v e s 

grant to digitize important archive

Above: Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh PA, 

1905.

Center: Portrait of 

Edward F. Caldwell. 

Courtesy of the 

Caldwell Family.

Below: The East 

Room, White House, 

1903. 
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.trade literature. 9

North Carolina Games - continued from page 

5 United States and other countries. It is 

referred to in the Monroe circular as the 

“royal Pit Game”.

Monroe’s guarantee of his stock includes the 

following comments on care: Any game fowl, 

by starvation, sickness, ill-treatment and battering around in general ownheel [sic] fights 

with all weights and kinds, can be ruined. I do 

not wish to sell my Games at any price to a 

person who will batter them around.

He would ship both mature and young fowls 

singly or in groups, and shipped eggs by express.

The various breeds are described in detail, 

dwelling on the beauty and fighting characteristics of Monroe’s “noble fowl.” Cassie 

Mancer

Web

Trade Literature

Instruments for 

Science, 1800-

1914: Scientific 

Trade Catalogs 

in Smithsonian 

Collectionshttp://

www.sil.si.edu/

DigitalCollections/

Trade-Literature/

Scientific-instruments/

Seed and Nursery 

Catalogshttp://

www.sil.si.edu/

digitalcollections/

SeedNurseryCatalogs/

Sewing Machines: 

Historical Trade 

Literature in 

Smithsonian 

Collectionshttp://

www.sil.si.edu/

DigitalCollections/

Trade-Literature/

Sewing-Machines/

Vaughan’s Seed 

Store, 1899.
10 Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Giving.

It’s a Wednesday 

afternoon and if 

you’ve signed up for 

the Highlights Tour 

at the Smithsonian’s 

National Museum 

of Natural History 

you’re in for a treat, 

because that’s the 

day Celia Barteau 

leads the tours.

Following a 30-year 

career with the U.S. Navy, Celia began volunteering at the museum over twenty years 

ago and is now a walking encyclopedia of 

entertaining and informative facts about the 

museum’s many exhibits and the people who 

put them together. Modest and dedicated, Celia sees the tours as a type of ‘report to the 

stockholders.’ “I want the public to know that 

we’re taking good care of these materials.”

She grew up in the Chicago suburbs and became interested in museums after spending 

time in the Field Museum, and later at the 

Chicago Planetarium. However, she is quick to 

point out that the Smithsonian isn’t like museums that are mostly exhibit-based. “We’re 

not just another pretty face,” she says. “Collections, primarily in the sciences, are the big 

deal here.”

During her tours, Celia tries to share the 

story of James Smithson’s bequest with her 

visitors and says that Europeans, who must 

often pay entrance fees to visit museums, are 

always surprised that just about everything 

within the Smithsonian is free.

Celia enjoys the gems and minerals most 

of all, adding that the Hope Diamond is always a popular stop on the tour. She is looking forward to showing off the diamond next 

year when the museum celebrates the fi ftieth anniversary of the donation from Harry 

Winston. Catherine Fraser

L o n g t i m e 

Smithsonian 

V o l u n t e e r 

& L i b r a r i e s 

D o n o r 

Takes Work 

Seriously

Above: FrançoisNicolas Martinet. Ornithologie [Histoire 

des Oiseaux Peints 

dans Tous Leurs 

Aspects Apparents et 

Sensibles] [Ornithology], 1773-1792.

Below: Mark Catesby. The natural 

history of Carolina, 

Florida and the Bahama islands: containing the figures of 

birds, beasts, fishes, 

serpents, insects, 

and plants, 1731-43 

[1729-48].
Connecting.Ideas.Information.You.Giving. 11

New Libraries 

board member, Ron 

Monark, says he 

joined the board 

because “it gave me 

a unique opportunity to combine my 

love of the Smithsonian with my love 

of libraries.” A longtime book lover, he still 

cannot resist the temptation to “rummage 

through old book stores” when he is traveling.

A Washington, D.C. native who now resides 

in San Diego, California, Monark is not new 

to non-profi t board work. Since 1989, he has 

received at least four different board appointments from his alma mater, The College 

of William and Mary, adding that he generally responds favorably to whatever job comes 

up and needs to be done.

“While the Libraries’ board doesn’t have the 

responsibility of the Smithsonian’s Board of 

Regents, (I believe) we do have a responsibility to contribute any and all ideas on how 

the Libraries can further the goals and objectives of the Institution and how we can expand the Libraries’ constituencies as well as 

raise awareness and funds. There is always 

an excitement that comes with expanding the number of constituencies and users 

within each constituency.”

When asked why he fi nds volunteer work 

so rewarding, Monark replies, “I have been 

very blessed in my life, starting with the fact 

that I was the only person of my generation 

on either side of the family to go to college. I 

enjoy giving back and always love the moment when I can contribute an idea or inspire someone else to contribute to a worthy 

effort.” Catherine Fraser

A Love for the 

Smithsonian 

and Libraries 

Leads to 

Board Work...

Ron Monark strolls 

the Asia Trail at the 

National Zoo with 

New Media Office 

Head Martin Kalfatovic at Libraries’ 

“Escape to the Wild 

Side” event last 

September. Photograph by Donald E. 

Hurlbert.

The Smithsonian Institution 

Libraries’ Board 

is composed of 

fifteen members 

from across the 

United States 

appointed by 

the Smithsonian’s Board of 

Regents. The 

mission of the 

board is to help 

the Library provide information 

in all forms to 

scientists, curators, scholars, 

students and the 

public at large 

and to generate 

visibility and new 

constituencies 

for its twenty 

branch facilities.
Stay tuned for details!

40 years of serviceThe Libraries celebrates 

Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Happy Anniversary

 to 

lic in 2008. researchers and the pubA year of anniversary.with the Libraries’ 40th planned in conjunction special activities is being 

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40 years of serviceThe Libraries celebrates 

 to 

in 2008. A researchers and the public 

year of special 

Stay tuned for details!

40th anniversary.in conjunction with our activities is being planned