August G. Blume World War I Eastern Front Research Collection
Contents of the Collection
August G. Blume World War I Eastern Front Research Collection consists of textual and visual materials gathered by Blume during his career as author and historian on the topic of early military aviation during the Eastern Front of World War I. The materials which range from 1909 to 2000, are organized in three series: Series I. Correspondence, Series II. Writings, and Series III. Visual Materials.
The first two series, Correspondence and Writings, consist entirely of textual materials. There is correspondence between Blume and other historians, as well as manuscripts related to his two books. This component of the collection has not been processed at this time.
The Visual Materials series primarily contains photocopies and black-and-white reprints of photographic images that Blume collected throughout his research and used in his books. The images were purchased or borrowed from other authors whose interest related to the Eastern Theater during World War I. The folders maintain Blume's original titles and are arranged alphabetically by the name of the individual who supplied the images. Included with the files are indexes that list contextual information for each image and printed emails between Blume and other authors. In addition to the photographs in the series there are cigarette cards of German soldiers, as well as clippings, postcards and a collection of cacheted covers all related to Eastern military aviation during the first World War.
Dates
- Creation: 1894-2008
Language of Materials
Some inscriptions and markings on photographs are in Russian and Hungarian. All other materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research but has not been fully processed. Access to the collection may be limited or may require additional processing 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: August G. Blume
August “Augie” G. Blume was an author and historian focused on the Eastern Theater of World War I.
Blume was born in Bronx, New York on September 27, 1927, to Louis Gerard Blume and Ruth Gertrude Leona Woolsey. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and then New York Technical Institute in New York, New York. After graduating he joined the United States Navy where he worked in aviation ordnances during World War II and the Korean War.
Blume became interested in early military aviation due to his service in the United States Navy and by the mid-1960s began researching the Russian air fleet of World War I. His in-depth research on the subject and publications, The Russian Military Air Fleet in World War I - A Chronology 1910-1917 (vol. 1) and Victories-Losses-St. George Awards-Romanian and French Awards (vol. 2) , led him to become a recognized authority on military aviation of the Eastern Theater.
In addition to his two-volume work, Blume published articles in the Cross and Cockade U.S., Avions, and Over the Front. He also served as a board member on the League of World War I Aviation Historians, and a member of the Charlottesville Aviation Luncheon Club. August Blume died on February 6, 2009, in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Extent
2.4 Cubic Feet (6 5-inch letter size document boxes; additional unprocessed materials)
Overview
August G. Blume (1927-1993) was an author and historian focused on the Eastern Theater of World War I. This collection consists of his writing, correspondence but most notably a large number of photographic images of the Eastern Front during World War I that Blume attained during his research. The materials span the early 1900s to 2000.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series: I. Correspondence; II. Writings; and III. Visual Materials. The first two series have not been processed at this time. The photographic prints and photocopies that make up the Visual Materials series had been arranged by Blume and housed in binders. He included hand-written captions and codes for each individual image. The code assigned to the picture corresponds with printed indexes compiled by Blume and gives contextual information for each image. For preservation purposes, the Processing Archivist disassembled the binders but retained the original order developed by Blume. The photographic prints have been sleeved and codes have been transcribed on the back of image. Original folder titles have also been retained.
Existence and Location of Copies
Materials from this collection have been digitized and are available for use. For more information contact us.
Separated Materials
As part of the processing steps specific non-archival materials were separated and moved to the appropriate location. Serials, books, and other publications were moved to the Harl V. Brackin Library. For more information contact us.
Processing Information
The Visual Materials series has been fully processed. The remaining two series, Correspondence and Writings, reside with the research files in the library and will be integrated into the archival component on a later date.
Subject
- Blume, August G. (Person)
- Kulikov, Victor, 1954- (Person)
Genre / Form
- cigarette cards
- compact discs
- correspondence
- military maps
- photocopies
- photographic prints
- postcards
Geographic
Topical
- Aerial observation (Military science)
- Air pilots, Military
- Aircraft accidents
- Airplanes, Military
- Airships
- Antiaircraft guns
- Cachets (Philately)
- Fighter pilots
- Fighter planes
- Fokker E Family Monoplane Fighters
- Hot air balloons
- Intrenchments
- Military aviation
- Military decorations
- Military nursing
- Military uniforms
- Nieuport 11 (XI) Bébé Sesquiplane
- Nieuport 17
- Nieuport IV Family
- Soldiers
- World War, 1914-1918
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Eastern Front
- Title
- Guide to the August G. Blume World War I Eastern Front Research Collection
- Status
- Completed Level 2
- Author
- C. Dinges
- Date
- 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- 1st edition
Repository Details
Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-7874
curator@museumofflight.org