SECRETARY'S REPORT 137 



graphs of aircraft, and many aircraft manufacturers have responded 

 to requests for photographs of their current and earlier types. Having 

 established a periodical library during the previous fiscal year, the 

 Museum has endeavored to maintain these aeronautical publications 

 current and to add missing issues. To assist the Museum in filling 

 requests for information on current aircraft the magazine Aero Digest 

 very generously gave 500 reprints of their March 1953 Directory num- 

 ber which featured a complete listing of types now in production. 

 Maj. Kimbrough Brown of the Air Force, during his recent duty in 

 Europe, collected much valuable information for the Museum and as- 

 sisted with its incorporation into the files upon his return to this coun- 

 try. Bell Aircraft supplied material for the improvement of the Mu- 

 seum exhibition of the supersonic X-1 and another local exhibit. The 

 Air Force Association assisted in supplying a catalog of the paintings 

 by Col. H. H. Sims exhibited during February. The Museum is par- 

 ticularly indebted to Charles Taylor, the mechanic associated with the 

 Wright Brothers, who worked on the construction of the engine for 

 their first airplane and helped to build and repair many of their 

 aircraft. From his recollections he has been most helpful in answer- 

 ing questions about the engine, construction details of Wright aircraft, 

 and events of those wonderful days. 



The following lots of reference material have been separately 

 acknowledged and entered : 



Mrs. Gretchen Schneider Black, Fort Worth, Tex. : The Eddie A. Schneider 

 Memorial Library consisting of 67 books, 35 pamphlets, and a painting. 



Division of Military and Naval History, U. S. National Museum : A collection 

 of 18 books from the Gen. John J. Pershing Library. 



Mrs. M. S. Gilpatric, Nevp York, N. Y. : Four scrapbooks, a poster, an insignia 

 of the First Aero Squadron, photographs, etc., collected by her son, Guy Gil- 

 patric, renowned pioneer flier and World War I aviator. These are largely 

 descriptive of the aircraft flown by him, and his piloting experiences. 



J. C. MacCartee, Sr., Osteen, Fla. : A collection of 64 photographs taken by 

 him at College Park, Md., during 1911 and 1912, showing early aircraft and 

 flights, principally those in Wright Brothers' airplanes, and by notable military 

 pilots of that era. 



Joseph Nieto, San Antonio, Tex. : Four 3- view scale-dimensioned drawings of 

 famous aircraft, drawn by himself. 



North American Aviation, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. : A collection of 36 photo- 

 graphs, enlarged and framed, of types produced by this company. 



James J. Sloan, Aero Historical Society, Van Nuys, Calif.: A group of 11 

 3-view scale-dimensioned drawings of aircraft, including several unique types 

 of World War I. 



Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.: A collection of 60 bound 

 volumes of aviation periodicals. 



RESEARCH 



The quantity of work involved in other phases of the Museum pro- 

 gram limits the amount of time that can be devoted to personal re- 



