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Archives at The Museum of Flight


American Airlines

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1930-

Historical Note

The airline was founded in 1930 as American Airways when several small airlines formed together. In 1934, the name American Airlines was established and the airline has been providing active service since that time. Over the years, it has absorbed other airlines, including US Airways and Trans World Airlines (TWA).

Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:

Bea Chun Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2024-01-01
Contents of the Collection The Bea Chun Flight Attendant Collection is comprised of textual materials collected by Chun during her tenure as a flight attendant for American Airlines and Braniff Airlines, spanning from 1980-2006. The bulk of the material is from American Airlines, 1996-2006, including a 25th anniversary pin and brochure, assorted policy booklets, such as "Uniforms and Appearance Standards," Polar Flight Operations," and "You are Alert and Alive;" printed ephemera, including crew rest seat...
Dates: circa 1980-2006
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Commercial Airlines Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2018-00-00-23
Abstract

The Commercial Airlines Collection is an artificial collection comprised of textual, visual, and audiovisual materials of commercial airlines from around the world, 1910s-2020s.

Dates: 1910s-2020s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Robert Dempster Airline Ephemera Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2012-03-28
Contents of the Collection

The Robert Dempster Airline ephemera is a small collection comprised of assorted airline schedules/timetables and safety cards ranging from the 1950s through the 1980s. The collection also contains a poster for a parade for Astronaut Dick Gordon through Seattle, Washington in 1966.

Dates: 1950s-1980s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

John Espy World War II Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2018-00-00-113
Contents of the Collection The collection pertains to pilot John Espy, including World War II and post-war materials. It includes pilot log books, 1941-1955; a "short snorter" dated October 23, 1942, and other foreign currency; membership certificates, and American Airline employment records for Espy. Also included is a CAA airman identify card for Margaret Louise Rowe, whose name appears in one of Espy's pilot logs though the exact connection between the two is unknown. Additional materials include slides from a July...
Dates: 1941-1969
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Jerry L. Hart Photograph Collection

 Collection — Folder 1
Identifier: 2017-00-00-1
Contents of the Collection The Jerry L. Hart Photograph Collection is a small collection consisting of ten black-and-white 8x10-inch photographs of Boeing aircraft from circa the 1940s. Five images depict the wreckage of a crashed Alaska Airlines "Starliner" aircraft at Bow Lake airport, now known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, in SeaTac, Washington, taken November 30, 1947. One image depicts an American Airlines aircraft with a Boeing mechanic working on it. Two images depict a variety of commercial...
Dates: circa 1940s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Orville M. MacLaren Logbooks

 Collection — Box One
Identifier: 2003-12-30
Content Description The Orville M. MacLeran Logbooks is a small collection consisting of six logbooks maintained by MacLeran and documenting his career as a flight instructor and commercial pilot from 1937-1963. Four of the logbooks are "pilot's flight logs" and document MacLeran's flights primarily to and from Seattle and Everett, Washington from 1937-1940. The books indicated that MacLeran held commercial and transport licenses with flight instructor ratings. A variety of aircraft are documented...
Dates: 1937-1963
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

James H. Smith Aviation Photograph Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2023-06-20
Overview

James Hamilton Smith (1913-2002) attended the Boeing School of Aeronautics and worked in the field of aviation as a government contractor for the Boeing Company, as well as the Defense Contract Administration Services. This small collection consists primarily of black-and-white photographs that were either taken or collected by Smith during his time at the Boeing School, as well as throughout his career in aviation, which spanned from the early 1930s to the late 1960s.

Dates: 1928-1965
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Norman G. Stromer Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2019-09-19
Overview Major Norman George Stromer (1922-2019) was an Army Air Corps pilot who participated in bombing campaigns in the South West Pacific during World War II, served as part of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), and worked as a fight inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This collection contains photographs, military records, certificates, and other textual materials documenting his military service, post-military career, and personal life, primarily dating from...
Dates: 1922-2017; Majority of material found within 1940-1960
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Bruce Whitman Aviation Art Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2021-04-16-A
Overview

The Bruce Whitman Aviation Art Collection is a collection of artwork including a drawing, posters, lithographs, photographs, and advertisements primarily related to American military aviation from about 1917 to the early 1950s.

Dates: circa 1917-1953
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Catherine Wingfield Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1988-06-01-A
Contents of the Collection The Catherine Wingfield Flight Attendant Collection is a small collection comprised of materials relating to Wingfield’s career as a flight attendant for American Airlines in the late 1930s. The collection includes one photographic portrait (a later reprint of a colorized photograph) of Wingfield in uniform; two logbooks from her routes as a flight attendant, dated 1936-1937 and 1939-1940; and four films. The privately shot films are from 1939 and the early 1940s and contain scenes of...
Dates: 1936-1940s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

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