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Archives at The Museum of Flight


John Vance Eastwood and Alice (Eastwood) Davis Aerospace Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2026-04-23

Content Description

The John Vance Eastwood and Alice (Eastwood) Davis Aerospace Collection is a small collection consisting primarily of visual materials collected by Eastwood and Davis over the course of their careers. Eastwood served as general supervisor of the photography department at North American Aviation (NAA) in Kansas City, Kansas during World War II. Davis, Eastwood's daughter, was an editor and publications manager for McDonnell Douglas Aerospace from the 1960s to 1990s, first in Santa Monica and then Huntington Beach, California. The collection has been divided into two series based on original owner of materials.

Eastwood's collection of materials from NAA consists entirely of photographic materials. Of particular note is a booklet titled "North American Aviation Inc. of Kansas Photographic Department" with 40 pages (some double-sided) regarding the activities of the company's photo division in 1943. A few reports, charts, and descriptive summaries are included but the booklet is primarily imagery depicting the people and operations of the photo department. The volume also contains a few examples of the department's work for the company, such as images of factory scenes and "Rosie the Riveter" female workers. Also present in the collection are 40 images (all double-sided, vintage black-and-white prints) of B-25s as well as six digital reprints of assorted aircraft.

Davis's series in the collection is primarily visual materials related to McDonnell Douglas aircraft and spacecraft. Of most interest are four small gouache-on-board concept art paintings of spacecraft. The paintings represent ideas for space stations and shuttle craft from roughly the 1970s-1908s. One is possibly a space station concept following the Skylab missions and another may be related to Space Station Freedom. The artist of these paintings is unidentified. In addition, there are a few photographic reproductions of space-related concept art as well as a poster titled "Space Station Gateway to the Future" from 1987. The collection also includes some photographic prints of assorted Douglas Company aircraft, dating back to the 1930s, and a few prints and a sticker of the McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1930s-1990s

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. 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.

Full Extent

.25 Cubic Feet (1 2-inch letter size document box, 1 oversize folder (23x31"))

Language

English

Separated Materials

Numerous booklets, newsletters and other publications from both John Vance Eastwood and Alice Eastwood Davis have been separated from the archival component of the collection and transferred to the Museum's Library and Trade Literature Collection. For more details, contact us. Subjects cover space stations, Skylab, and McDonnell Douglas Delta launch vehicles.

Title
Guide to the John Vance Eastwood and Alice (Eastwood) Davis Aerospace Collection
Status
Completed Level 1
Author
Nicole Davis
Date
2026 August
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Edition statement
1st edition

Repository Details

Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository

Contact:
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-5874


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