Processed by
Barbara Quigley
10 February 2006
Revised 29 March 2006
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 half-document case; 1 half-OVB box; 2 items in Flat File |
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COLLECTION |
1931–ca. 1998 (from original images from 1926–1937) |
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PROVENANCE: |
Multiple |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
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ACCESSION |
1983.1224, 1987.0674X, 2003.0216, 2003.0221, 2003.0231, 2003.0233, 2003.0234, 2003.0337, 2003.0338 |
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NOTES: |
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Amelia Earhart was born on 24 July 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. Her father was a railroad attorney, and the family moved around while Amelia was a child. She worked as a nurse’s aide at Spadina Military Hospital in Toronto, Canada, during World War I, and then enrolled as a premedical student at Columbia University in New York. However, her parents then insisted that she move to California where they were living.
In California she started taking flying lessons in 1921. With the help of her sister Muriel and her mother, Amy Otis Earhart, she bought her first airplane, a second-hand Kinner Airster, in 1922. After her parents’ divorce, Amelia moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where in 1928 she was selected by her future husband, the publisher George Palmer Putnam, to be the first female passenger on a transatlantic flight.
Amelia and George married in 1931, but she continued her aviation career under her maiden name. George organized Amelia’s flights and public appearances.
Amelia Earhart flew a Lockheed Vega 5B aircraft when she became the first woman to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic on 20-21 May 1932. She made the 3260 kilometer (2026 mile) flight from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to Culmore, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in 14 hours and 54 minutes. On 24-25 August 1932 she flew the same airplane from Los Angeles, California, to Newark, New Jersey, covering the 3940 kilometers (2448 miles) in 19 hours and 5 minutes. This was the first solo nonstop transcontinental flight by a woman. The Lockheed Vega became part of the collection of the National Air and Space Museum.
In 1932 Amelia also began designing clothing “for the woman who lives actively.” A flying suit she created was advertised with a two-page photo spread in Vogue magazine.
Amelia accomplished many “firsts” including: first woman to have flown the Atlantic alone; first person to have flown the Atlantic twice; first person to fly from Hawaii to the American mainland; first person to fly solo anywhere in the Pacific; and first person to solo both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. She also set records, such as the fastest time for an Atlantic flight (14 hours, 40 minutes) and the women’s record for a flight in a straight line (2,206 miles).
In 1935 Amelia joined the faculty of Purdue University as a female career consultant. It was through Purdue that she purchased the Lockheed Electra airplane that she would use in her attempt to fly around the world.
In June 1937 she embarked upon the first around-the-world flight at the equator. On 2 July, after completing nearly two-thirds of the flight, Amelia vanished along with her navigator, Frederick Noonan.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Purdue University, George Palmer Putnam Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers. “Atlantic Solo Flight – 1932” (http://www.lib.purdue.edu/spcol/aearhart/atlanticsolo.html). Accessed 10 February 2006.
Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum. “Biography” (http://www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org/bio1.htm). Accessed 10 February 2006.
This collection consists of black-and-white photographs and posters of Amelia Earhart. One photograph shows her with Charles Lindbergh; a few show her standing by an airplane. The images range in date from 1926 to 1937; some are later reproductions. Attached to one poster is a swatch of original fabric used in her Lockheed Vega 5B airplane. A framed photograph also includes a 1963 U.S. airmail 8¢ commemorative stamp of Earhart. The collection is arranged into two series: Series 1, Photographs; Series 2, Posters.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Copy photograph of Amelia Earhart wearing flying cap and goggles, 1928. |
Photographs, Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Copy photograph of Amelia Earhart standing in front of airplane, 1928. |
Photographs, Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Two copy photographs of Amelia Earhart holding a bouquet at the dedication of Welch Airport near Anderson, Ind., on 30 May 1929. |
Photographs, Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Charles Lindbergh seated with Amelia Earhart at a dinner honoring meteorologist James H. Kimball at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City (photo by Acme Newspictures, Inc., April 1931). |
Photographs, Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Amelia Earhart in Londonderry, Ireland, with the children of her hostess, Mrs. Gallagher, following her solo transatlantic flight (photo by International News Photos, Inc., May 1932). |
Photographs, Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Framed photograph and postage stamp—photograph shows Amelia Earhart standing in front of starboard engine of her Lockheed Electra on 8 June 1937, and is positioned in the frame above a 1963 U.S. airmail 8¢ commemorative stamp of Earhart. |
Flat File 1-c |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Black-and-white poster (22” x 18”) of Amelia Earhart wearing flying cap, goggles, and jacket with fur collar, with the name “Amelia” printed below the portrait. Reproduction of photograph from private collection of the Great Amelia Earhart in 1926. |
Flat File 1-c |
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Poster (20” x 15”) with an aquatint reproduction of a photograph of Amelia Earhart standing on wheel pant of her Lockheed Vega 5B airplane in the 1930s. Below the photograph are a square (2” x 2”) of original red fabric from the Vega 5B and text describing her solo transatlantic flight on 20–21 May 1932. |
OVB Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Black-and-white poster (17” x 11”) of three-quarter portrait (n.d.) of Amelia Earhart wearing white or light-colored jacket and flying cap with goggles. In upper right-hand corner are the Apple Computers logo and the words “Think different.” From a set of posters that were sent to educators as part of Apple’s “Think Different” advertising campaign begun in 1998. |
OVB Box 1, Folder 1 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P 0476).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.