The Douglas Aircraft Company Records contain business records relating to the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1921-1945. The documents all relate to the business dealings of the Douglas Aircraft Company; the collection contains no documents relating to aircraft design. The collection consists of corporate documents, ledgers, and business correspondence relating to the three iterations of the Douglas Aircraft Company: The Davis-Douglas Company, the Douglas Company, and the Douglas Aircraft Company. Each iteration has its own series for the corresponding documents.

Series I, Davis-Douglas Company, contains only a few docments related to the company’s 1921 resolution to transfer all assets to the Douglas Company.

Series II, The Douglas Company records, contains administrative records including the company’s bylaws, board meeting minutes, time books, and employee rosters; legal contracts, notably ones with the U.S. Navy; and financial records. The time books contain employee information, such as pay rates and production tasks. In the financial records subseries, the folders of general financial statements include ledger sheets, notes, memorandums, and correspondence, some in relation to transactions with suppliers. The balance ledger primarily covers time under the Douglas Company but does include some information dating to the period after the company was reorganized as the Douglas Aircraft Company.

Series III, the Douglas Aircraft Company records, includes paperwork produced when The Douglas Company became the Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc. in 1929. This series is comprised of administrative records including documents pertaining to the company’s reorganization and correspondence; and financial records including balance sheets, related correspondence, and business ledgers relating to property, depreciation, and general business.