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Archives at The Museum of Flight


The James H. Dilonardo Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2006-01-21

Contents of the Collection

The James H. Dilonardo Collection documents aviation and aviators, predominantly of the Pacific Northwest in the middle of the 20th century with photographs, slides, clippings, printed ephemera, notes, audio recordings and film.

The collection is largely made up of visual materials, with 1,130 photographic prints and 40 slides. The prints are primarily black-and-white and the slides are all color. The photos document aviation in general and include numerous types of aircraft, both domestic and foreign as well as many aircraft from the World War I and World War II eras. Boeing aircraft and people associated Boeing Field and aviation in Seattle, Washington, including female aviators, are well represented.

The textual materials include both collected and personal documents. An invoice ledger for Boeing Field include several pages of historical notes by Dilonardo and a "Repair Station Manual" from about 1958 includes many personal notations by Dilonardo. Other textual items include ephemera related to World War II, United Airlines, and assorted subjects.

The audio-visual series also includes a mix of personal items and collected materials. The sound recordings predominantly consist of informal interviews conducted with members of the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers of the Pacific Northwest. Film footage appears to be a mix of collected and private films but have not been viewed by archives staff.

Dates

  • Creation: 1930-1981

Creator

Language of Materials

All materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. The sound recordings and films have not been reformatted and may not be accessed at this time. For more information contact us.

Conditions Governing Use

The Museum of Flight (TMOF) Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from TMOF archives before any publication use. TMOF does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

Biographical Note: James H. Dilonardo

James H. Dilonardo was a local aviation enthusiast strongly tied to Boeing Field and The Museum of Flight.

Dilondardo was born October 29, 1922. He attended Cleveland High School in Seattle, Washington, finishing the 9th grade. He worked as an airplane engine service mechanic at Northwest Air Service at Boeing Field. He served in the the U.S. Air Force from November 1942 to June 1945 working as a painter for airplanes, automotive quipment and construction projects. He served as President of the Washington Wings of the OX-5 Club of America, was a member of the Civil Air Patrol, and was a founding member of The Museum of Flight.

A passionate amateur historian, Dilonardo was always researching, saving and collecting materials related to Boeing Field. His intentions were for an eventual detailed volume on the history of the area and the airfield, but he passed away before he could begin.

He married Anna Marie D'arielli in 1947 and they had two children. He died August 8, 2000 and is buried in Shoreline, Washington.

Extent

3.1 Cubic Feet (1 5-inch letter-width document box, 1 2-inch letter-width document box, 2 binder-boxes, 1 oversize folder (16x20"), 1 records carton, 1 card box)

Additional Description

Abstract

James H. Dilonardo was a local aviation enthusiast strongly tied to Boeing Field and The Museum of Flight. His collection consits of photographs, textual materials, sound recordings, and film largely related to aviation in Seattle, Washington and the Pacific Northwest.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Separated Materials

Two publications, Outstanding Airmen of WWII and Army Air Forces Survival AAF Manual 64-0-1 On Land Jungle-Desert-Arctic, were transferred to the library collection.

Radio headphones, a metal strap buckle, and two Jeppesen slide rules and flight calculators were transferred to the objects collection.

Processing Information

Most of the photographs in this collection were in large photo albums, mounted on black paper pages. The album pages and bindings were in very poor condition and all photos were removed from the deteriorating pages for their protection. All inscriptions on album pages were transferred to the backside of the corresponding image and all images were kept in their original order, grouped according to pages and labels in the albums.

Related Names

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the James H. Dilonardo Collection
Status
Completed Level 4
Author
A. Heidrick, K. Ahrens, and L. Czechowski
Date
2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English
Sponsor
The project to process, re-house, and inventory the Dilonardo Collection and create this finding aid was generously funded by a Heritage Collections Care grant from 4Culture.
Edition statement
2nd edition

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository

http://www.museumofflight.org
Contact:
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-7874


The Museum of Flight | 9404 E. Marginal Way South | Seattle WA 98108-4097 | 206-764-5874
Contact us with a research request
curator@museumofflight.org