Archives Center Advertising Hand Fan Collection
name: label: Creator
content: Rudy, Jerome
label: Former owner
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History
topic: label: Topic
content: advertising -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Funeral homes
label: Topic
content: Patent medicines
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The initial fans were donated by Jerome Rudy to the Division of Cultural History, now known as the Division of Culture and the Arts.
creator: label: Creator
content: Rudy, Jerome
setName: label: See more items in
content: Archives Center Advertising Hand Fan Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: Consists of late nineteenth century/early twentieth century advertising hand fans. Most of the fans feature a vignette on one side and an advertisement on the reverse. The fans advertise various establishments and products, including funeral parlors, patent medicines, and food products.
bioghist: label: Historical
content: By the twentieth century, hand fans had largely evolved from the expensive, ornamental and uniquely crafted forms which characterized them in preceding centuries.  Increasingly, they became souvenirs commemorating events or journeys and vehicles for mass advertising.  Experts date the large-scale emergence of such fans to Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exposition, when a commemorative fan was sold to exhibition visitors, and another fan appeared advertising a local merchant's store.  As fans assumed advertising and commemorative functions, certain industries found them particularly appropriate and useful and adopted them widely.  Beverage and food manufacturers, retailers and funeral homes and mortuaries were among the businesses that prominently embraced the advertising fan.  While many people now seek to acquire such fans for personal collections, they also provide scholars a window on past products and services, and the social group to which their manufacturers marketed them.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Cubic foot (5 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 20th century.
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life), 2002.

This collection is a repository for advertising hand fans of insufficient quantity to warrant a separate collection. The fans in this collection are newly acquired and received from many sources, including curatorial units, the public, and SI staff. The initial fan collection was donated, along with numerous grocery store-related objects, to the Division of Cultural History (now Division of Cultural and Community Life), which transferred the fans to the Archives Center, which already has fans in other collections.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0809
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Fans (costume accessories)
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into five series. 

Series 1: Funeral Homes, 1944-2000; undated

Series 2: Food Products and Services, undated

Series 3: Beverages, undated 

Series 4: Home Products and Services, undated 

Series 5: Cultural Products, Events, Services and Organizations, 1921-2002; undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Kimberley Braun, intern, 2004; supervised by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Fans (costume accessories)
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection contains forty-seven fans, originating from a wide variety of states and dating from late nineteenth century/early twentieth century to the early twenty-first century. Many of these fans display artwork or other contemporary images related to the advertising message of the fan's producer, while the reverse side typically offers more detailed textual information about the product, service, event, or organization featured. In several instances, the collection houses multiple fans issuing from the same creator over a span of time. While the fans in the collection primarily focus on advertising, a few feature a more commemorative intent. 

The fans were acquired and received from many sources, including curatorial units, the public and Smithsonian staff. The initial fans were donated, along with numerous grocery store-related objects, to the Museum's Division of Cultural History. 

The collection is arranged into five series. Series one consists of fans created by funeral homes. The fans in series two are from companies providing food products and services. Series three consist of fans from beverage companies. Fans in series four were created by businesses engaged in home products and services. Series five represents cultural products, services, events, and organizations. Materials are arranged in alphabetical order.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

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