SECRETARY'S REPORT 111 



aeronautical pioneers during their early experiments. Assembly of 

 material for a publication describing them has progressed during the 

 year, and promising leads are being investigated for the procurement 

 of several types of kites that should be obtained in order to complete 

 the series. 



REFERENCE MATERIAL AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Documentation of the collections is an important procedure, in order 

 to authenticate the exhibits and acquire authoritative data from which 

 labels, catalogs, and other texts can be prepared. This material is 

 also essential for answering the thousands of questions received each 

 year and for serving those who come to the Museum engaged in re- 

 search. Realizing that the Museum has need for such material and 

 has facilities for keeping it in ready-reference form, a number of per- 

 sons and organizations have transferred reference items to this Mu- 

 seum. Appreciation is expressed to the following : 



Aero Digest, Washington, D. C. : An assortment of photographs and tests, 



acquired in connection with publication of this magazine. 

 Aircraft Industries Association, Washington, D. C. (through Joseph Geuting) : 



The Aircraft Yearbook for 1955. 

 Andrews, Harold, Ithaca, N. Y. : A group of scale drawings by Gene Schmidt 



illustrating U. S. fighter airplanes of the 1920's. 

 Bade, Charles A., Cleveland, Ohio. : Three name plates from aircraft : American 



Eagle, Kenyon and Williams, and Lincoln Page. 

 Bowers, Peter, Seattle, Wash. : The loan of a large collection of photographs of 



World War I aircraft, from which copies were made for the Museum files. 

 Carruthers, John, Claremont, Calif. : A microfilm of a collection of documents, 



announcements, posters, and news accounts of balloon ascents during the 



nineteenth century. 

 Dally, Comdr. F. E., USN, Washington, D. C. : A photostatic copy of Maggs 



Brothers' catalog, London, 1923, illustrating and describing a collection of 



aeronautical prints and texts. 

 Draper, Col. Wm. G., USAF, Washington, D. C. : A photograph of the Aero 



Commander, presidential airplane, autographed by President Dwight D. Eisen- 

 hower, Colonel Draper, pilot, and Ma.i. John W. Mitchell, copilot. 

 Esso Aviation News Digest, New York, N. Y. : 103 bound volumes of aviation 



magazines, including Aero Digest, Air Transport, Aviation Week, Aeroplane, 



Flight, Aviation, and others. 

 Grosz, P. M., Princeton, N. J. : Copies of Ernst Udet, Mein Fliegerleben, The 



Skycraft Book, and The Second Boys' Book of Model Airplanes. 

 Hamilton, Edward G., Dearborn, Mich. : His flight log, listing flights in the 



Ford-Stout Liberty-engine "Air Pullman," during 1922-25 when the airmail 



and transport route established by Henry Ford was pioneering operations 



between Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland. 

 Hardesty, Bergen, Frankfort, Ind. : A scale drawing of the Nieuport-28, World 



War I French pursuit airplane. 

 Hegener, Henri, Bennebroek, NH, The Netherlands : The loan of 90 photographs 



of World War II aircraft, from which copies were made for the Museum files. 

 Hildes-Heim, Erik, Fairfield, Conn. : 12 books on aeronautics and two copies of 



American Helicopter. 



