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Bud Morriss photographs collection, 1902-1964

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Morriss, Percival George Brockhurst, 1884-1944
Title
Bud Morriss photographs collection
Dates
1902-1964 (inclusive)
1908-1934 (bulk)
Quantity
3.16 cubic feet, (898 photographs, 197 lantern slides, and approx. 200 nitrate negatives in 7 boxes and 4 oversize folders)
Collection Number
Org. Lot 90
Summary
Aviator Bud Morriss collected photographs of the early years of aviation in the United States, as well as aviation highlights from elsewhere, including France, Mexico, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. The collection emphasizes the accomplishments and personalities of pre-World War I civilian aviation, with members of the Early Birds of Aviation and the Ninety-Nines well represented.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Additional Reference Guides

An early inventory is available in the collection (Box 4, Folder 13).

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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Biographical Note

Percival George Brockhurst Morriss (1884-1944), a native of England, learned to fly at Brooklands racetrack in 1909. Soon after that he came to the United States. A former assistant engineer in the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, he championed the use of wireless to communicate with airplanes in flight. He worked as a pilot for the Bleriot company, and by 1911 he had become associated with the Benoist Airplane Company of St. Louis, Mo., as a pilot, instructor and salesman. He also experimented with taking motion pictures in flight.

He opened the Bud Morriss Airplane School in Chicago in 1917. During World War I, Morriss enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was selected to operate the Great Lakes Aviation School near Chicago, where he directed the training of 5,000 men. In 1928 he became one of the founding members of the Early Birds of Aviation, Inc., an organization of pre-World War I flyers, and was elected their first president. In later years he managed the Hotel Clark in Los Angeles, where he maintained clubrooms for the Early Birds.

The Early Birds of Aviation, established December 17, 1928, was a group, eventually numbering nearly 600, in which membership was restricted to those who had flown solo before World War I. In the United States, the cutoff date was established at December 17, 1916. In Europe, where the war necessitated the earlier training of war pilots, the cutoff date was August 4, 1914. Many of the early aviation pioneers had been killed before the group was organized, but their accomplishments were celebrated all the same.

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Content Description

The collection consists primarily of photographic prints, many of them inscribed. Also included are associated lantern slides, negatives and supporting clippings and letters. The material covers the early years of aviation in the United States, as well as aviation highlights elsewhere, including France, Mexico, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. The collection emphasizes the accomplishments and personalities of the pre-World War I era. Two groups of aviators are well represented: The Early Birds of Aviation and the Ninety-Nines. Images from these groups are intermingled alphabetically, along with images of flyers who were never members of either group. Images post-dating the early 1940s were added after Bud Morriss’s death, possibly by the donor, A.G.B. Morriss.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society 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 the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Bud Morriss photographs collection, Org. Lot 90, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is organized into the following series:

  • Series A: People, 1902-1961
  • Series B: Aircraft, 1905-1964
  • Series C: Schools, 1911-1917
  • Series D: Other Images, 1911-1938
  • Series E: Related Correspondence, Printed Materials, and Other Papers, 1907-1964
  • Series F: Lantern Slides, 1908-1929

The related lantern slides are listed in the folder descriptions for the series and also are described individually.

Location of Originals

Many of the prints were given to P.G.B. Morriss as part of the history of the Early Birds. The locations of the original images are unknown in most cases.

Acquisition Information

Photo accession no. 1964D001.

Processing Note

Many of the images were unlabeled, and the original order of the materials is not known, as the collection was partially processed decades ago. Therefore, an alphabetical arrangement was chosen.

Bibliography

Cooper, Ralph. The Early Birds of Aviation, Inc. (website). Available on the World Wide Web: www.earlyaviators.com.

Gray, Carroll. The Early Birds (website). Available on the World Wide Web: www.earlybirds.org.

Aerofiles (website). Available on the World Wide Web: www.aerofiles.com.

Related Materials

Several related collections can be found at the National Air & Space Museum, including the Early Birds of Aviation, Inc., Collection; the Ninety-Nines, Inc., History Books Collection; the Harold E. Morehouse Flying Pioneers Biographies Collection; the Ernest Jones Aeronautical Collection; the Glenn H. Curtiss Collection; and the A. Roy Knabenshue Collection, among others. The National Archives of Australia holds the records of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. The Hugh Willoughby Collection is at the Newport Historical Society in Rhode Island.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Aeronautics--Photographs
  • Air pilots--Photographs
  • Aircraft accidents--Photographs
  • Aircraft--Photographs
  • Airplanes--Photographs
  • Balloonists--Photographs
  • Flight schools--Photographs
  • Flight--History--20th century--Photographs
  • Gliders (Aeronautics)--Photographs
  • Women air pilots--Photographs

Personal Names

  • Morriss, P. G. B. (Percival George Brockhurst), 1884-1944--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • Early Birds of Aviation (Organization)--Photographs
  • Ninety-Nines (Organization)--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • Lantern slides
  • Nitrate negatives
  • Photographic prints

Finding aid prepared by Mikki Tint.
2004

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