AHJ_ah06013 Inventory of the Eugene L. Vidal papers, 1897-1972 (bulk 1930-1969) Vidal (Eugene L.) Papers Processed by Kathryn Brooks The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid has been made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.

American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/

2012

University of Wyoming

Finding aid encoded by Kathryn Brooks May 2012 Finding aid is in English Collection Summary Vidal, Eugene L. (Eugene Luther), 1895-1969 Eugene L. Vidal papers 1897-1972 (bulk 1930-1969) 06013 23.85 cubic ft. (44 boxes) + 1 shared box University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English Contains the papers of Eugene Luther Vidal, an aviation pioneer who was the former director of air commerce, director of Northeast Airlines, member of the Army Scientific Advisory Panel, and an Olympic athlete. Biography of Eugene L. Vidal

Eugene Luther Vidal (1895-1969), an engineer, graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1916 and from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1918. He served in the Aviation Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps before entering the commercial aviation business in 1926. At this time he became assistant general manager of Transcontinental Air Transport (later TWA). Vidal was an executive of New York, Philadelphia & Washington Airway Corporation and was executive vice-president of Ludington Airlines, Inc., where one of his associates was Amelia Earhart. Vidal was director of air commerce with the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1933-1937 and a member of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. In 1937, he established the Vidal Research Corporation which developed the Vidal process for molding veneers of plywood and plastic into a variety of products. He served as aviation advisor to the Army chief of staff from 1955-1965. He also served as a member of the Army Scientific Advisory Panel and the Transportation Corps Advisory Committee. Vidal participated as an athlete and coach in the pentathlon of the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games. He was the father of novelist Gore Vidal.

Scope and Content

Collection contains business and personal correspondence; reports and financial records of Vidal's various business ventures; reports, background information, and other materials related to military advisory group meetings; memoranda; family and career-related photographs; drawings; newspaper clippings; pamphlets; reports; scrapbooks; notebooks; books; and personal memorabilia. Artifacts include memorabilia of Vidal's athletic and aviation careers. There are foreign stamps, stamp albums, and first flight covers. Collection also contains books by Gore Vidal written under his own name and his pseudonym, Edgar Box.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by Eugene L. Vidal at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

This material was received from Eugene Vidal's second wife, Katharine Vidal Smith, in 1975.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Kathryn Brooks in May 2012.

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at https://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~212~212.

Access Terms Vidal family Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937. United States. Bureau of Air Commerce United States. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Northeast Airlines, Inc. Aeronautics, Commercial United States Aeronautics, Military--United States. Aeronautics and state--United States. Airlines--United States. Plastics industry and trade Veneers and veneering. Stamp collecting Stamp collectors Stamp albums. Scrapbooks. Technical drawings. Photographs. Artifacts. Memorabilia. Business, Industry, Labor, and Commerce Transportation Businesses and Corporations Politics, Government, and Law Military Container List Series I. Career 11 Addresses, speeches, & statements 1934-1970 40 Advisory Panel 1965 11 Air Mobility & Ground Mobility Advisory Groups 1962, 1966 29 Airplanes 1934, undated 27 Army Aircraft Research & Development reports undated 24 Army Scientific Advisory Panel biographical sketches circa 1958-1968 25 Army Scientific Advisory Panel spring meeting 1968 May 40 Biographical information: Richard A. Hartley circa 1965 11 Business papers 1934-1968, undated 40 Combat Developments Command circa 1964 19 Department of the Army "U.S. Army Aviation Material," 1962-1966 19 Department of the Army 1961-1968 40 Department of the Army 1955-1967 40 Flight Safety Foundation circa 1961 3 Liberty article galley-proof 1936 40 "The Liftliner: Vertical-Rising Air Bus of Tomorrow" by Hall L. Hibbard 1963 May 36 Lycoming - Status of Research, Development, & Production Programs prepared for Advisory Panel on Technology 1965 April 21 Meetings 1963-1968 24 Memorandum - Background of Events leading to & results from Contract of October 5, 1936, providing for merger of operations of National Airways, Inc. into Boston-Maine Airways, Inc. 1940 May 1 40 Miscellaneous 1921-1965, undated 24 Mobility Advisory Group materials 1962-1963 40 Mobility Advisory Group 1964-1966 29 Molded plastic canoe 1965, 1967 29 Molded plastics undated 39 The New Building Block - A Report on the Factory-Produced Dwelling Module 1968 22 News releases 1930-1970 34 Philips Chemical Co. - Marlex 1960-1961 29 Piasecki Aircraft Corp. Airplanes undated 35 Piasecki Aircraft Corporation reports 1962-1963 39 Price lists 1965-1968 36 Printed materials - aircraft 1960-1966 26 Printed materials - Army circa 1958-1968 27 Printed materials - Army circa 1963-1965, undated 26 Printed materials - aviation 1932-1968, undated 27 Printed materials - aviation 1937-1967 29 Printed materials - aviation 1935-1967 33 Printed materials - aviation 1962-1965 36 Printed materials - Connecticut Research Commission 1968 33 Printed materials - helicopters 1960-1961, undated 34 Printed materials - Lockheed circa 1960s 26 Printed materials - machinery/engines 1957-1965 26 Printed materials - nautical 1964-1966, undated 27 Printed materials - nautical 1941-1965, undated 36 Project Dirty Hand Final Report 1966 October 36 RC4-90 Proposal for Development of a Rotating Combustion Aircraft Engine - U.S. Army Aviation & Surface Materiel Command 1963 June 14 40 Reports circa 1963-1964 24 Sikorsky S-61L Helicopter 1962 May 29 Soviet aircraft undated 22 Speeches 1931-1969 32 Summaries 1937-1968 32 Symposia 1963-1967 25 Symposium: "Aviation and the Transportation System - Progress, Profits and the Public Interest," 1966 December 25 Symposium: "The Issues and Challenges of Air Transportation II: The Impact of New Technology," 1963 May 25 U.S. Army Combat Developments Command 1965 December 10 21 U.S. Army Mobility Advisory Group 1964-1965 25 U.S. Army Mobility Command 1963-1965 35 U.S. Army reports circa 1960s 35 U.S. Army Transportation Research Command Summary data 1964 29 Vidal molded enclosure for jeep bodies 1945, undated 39 Vidal Research Corporation bi-monthly & bi-weekly reports 1941-1942 39 Vidal Research Corporation business papers 1942-1943 39 Vidal Research Corporation financial papers 1942-1943 39 Vidal Research Corporation weekly reports 1942-1943 Series II. Printed materials 11 Advertisements circa 1964-1967 18 American Policy for Peace in the Middle East 1969-1971 by Robert J. Pranger 1971 December 34 Annual Report to the President & the Congress, 1972 - Educating the Disadvantaged Child: Where We Stand 1972 11 Articles 1942-1968 22 Aviation articles (some in Spanish) circa 1934 20 Documents 1963-1971 11 Electric Power & the Environment, A Report Sponsored by the Energy Policy Staff, Office of Science & Technology (with notes) 1970 August 26 International Monetary Problems 1972 23 Magazines 1942-1950 28 Magazines: Assembly, Association of Graduates, U.S.M.A. 1958-1968 28 Magazines: aviation general 1936-1969 19 Magazines: general 1936-1969 28 Magazines: Interavia 1963-1964 29 Magazines: TIME 1963, 1969 21 Newspaper clippings - Eugene Vidal 1922-1969 22 Newspaper clippings - Gore Vidal 1952-1968 42 Newspaper clippings - Katharine Roberts (2) 1939, undated 22 Newspaper clippings - miscellaneous 1928-1968 10 Newspapers & clippings circa 1910-1967 28 Papers circa 1933-1970 9 Periodicals - Eugene Vidal 1933-1969 9 Periodicals - Gore Vidal 1960-1969 9 Periodicals - misc. 1936-1965 6 Periodicals - misc. 1945-1967 10 Periodicals featuring Eugene Vidal 1940-1963 10 Periodicals featuring Gore Vidal 1947-1967 10 Poster for ASE Detroit Section Technical Meeting featuring Vidal as speaker undated 30 Poster from The Gridiron Club Fiftieth Anniversary Dinner 1935 April 13 23 President Wilson propaganda poster 1917 20 Printed materials - federal 1964, 1969 22 Printed materials - Marlex (Phillips 66) circa 1957-1961 27 Printed materials - miscellaneous 1959-1972 29 Printed materials - miscellaneous 1947, 1966 39 Printed materials - miscellaneous 1964-1972 19 Printed materials - periodicals 1958-1968, undated 29 Printed materials - University of South Dakota 1950-1968 32 Programs 1936-1968 32 Reprints 1943-1972 23 Reviews of Gore Vidal's works 1950-1968 18 Schloss Heidegg by Dr. G. Boesch-Ineichen 1958, undated 6 Scrapbook - newspaper clippings 1933-1935 20 State - Local Finances: Significant Features & Suggested Legislation 1972 33 Third Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality (2) 1972 August 18 The Thompson Trophy Race circa 1937 4 TIME featuring Vidal 1931 September 28 Series III. Books 18 A Chronicle of the Aviation Industry in America + supplement 1948-1949 1 A Search for the King by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1949-1950 8 A Thirsty Evil by Gore Vidal 1958 1 According to Hoy by Carl B. Hoy (inscribed by the author) 1960 12 After the Lost Generation by John W. Aldridge 1951 15 Air Transport Policy and National Security by Frederick C. Thayer, Jr. 1965 14 Aircraft U.S.A. by Harriet E. Huntington 1951 12 The Aircraft Year Book for 1935 1935 12 The Aircraft Year Book for 1936 1936 12 Army vs. Notre Dame - The Big Game 1913-1947 by Jim Beach and Daniel Moore 1948 15 The Autogiro 1930 8 The Best Man by Gore Vidal 1960 8 Best Television Plays edited by Gore Vidal 1956 13 Billy Mitchell by Emile Gavreau and Lester Cohen 1942 13 The Black Knights of West Point by James S. Edson 1954 15 Born at Reveille by Colonel Red Reeder (signed by the author) 1966 1 Bringing Up the Brass by Sergeant Marty Maher with Nardi Reeder Campion (inscribed by the author) 1951 7 Byen oj Søklen (Danish edition of The City and the Pillar) by Gore Vidal circa 1949 1 The City and the Pillar by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1947-1948 16 The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Volume I 1952 1 Dark Green, Bright Red by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1950 7 Dark Green, Bright Red by Gore Vidal 1950 14 Das Zeppelinbuch by Friedrich Heiss 1936 7 Death Before Bedtime by Edgar Box 1954 8 Death Before Bedtime by Edgar Box 1953 7 Death in the Fifth Position by Edgar Box 1952 7 Death in the Fifth Position by Edgar Box 1957 7 Death Likes It Hot by Edgar Box 1955 9 En Nat i New York by Gore Vidal 1948 15 Fifty Years of Flight by Welman A. Shrader 1953 15 Flight: The Story of Aviation by Agnes Rogers (signed by the author) 1935 13 The Fun of It by Amelia Earhart 1932 13 Gridiron Grenadiers, the Story of West Point Football by Tim Cohane 1948 8 High Journey by Carleton Putnam 1945 14 History of the Wings Club by Clayton Knight 1967 16 Holy Bible 1952 1 In a Yellow Wood by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1947 7 The Judgment of Paris by Gore Vidal 1952 7 Julian by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1964 13 Knute Rockne by Arthur Daley (signed by the author) 1960 8 La Città Perversa by Gore Vidal 1949 13 Last Flight by Amelia Earhart 1937 9 Livet ar mitt eget by Gore Vidal 1947 8 Messiah by Gore Vidal (2) 1954, 1965 17 Modern Plastics Encyclopedia 1967, Volume 44. No. 1A 1966 September 18 Modern Plastics Encyclopedia 1968, Volume 45. No. 14A 1968 October 17 Modern Plastics Encyclopedia 1968, Volume 45. No. 1A 1967 September 18 Montagnard Tribal Groups of the Republic of Viet-Nam 1965 March 8 Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal 1968 34 National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Twenty-Third Annual Report, 1937 1938 15 Neither Liberty Nor Safety by General Nathan F. Twining (signed by the author) 1966 8 New Directions XII (inscribed by the Gore Vidal) 1950 8 New World Writing 1953 16 Officers, Members, Charter and By-Laws of the Racquet Club of the City of Philadelphia Club House 1944 40 Officers, Members, Charter and By-Laws of the Racquet Club of the City of Philadelphia Club House 1948 9 Ouragan (Williwaw) by Gore Vidal 1949 15 "Pat" Patterson by Frank J. Taylor 1967 12 Presidents Who Have Known Me by George E. Allen (signed by the author) 1950 14 Principles of Aerodynamics by Max M. Munk (signed by the author) 1933 16 Proceedings - The First National Clinic of Domestic Aviation Planning 1943 November 8 Reflections Upon a Sinking Ship by Gore Vidal 1969 7 Rocking the Boat by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1962 14 The Search for Amelia Earhart by Fred Goerner 1966 1 The Season of Comfort by Gore Vidal 1948-1949 14 Selected Speeches of Floyd B. Oldham, 1930 to 1960 (signed by the author) 1960-1961 7 Sex, Death and Money by Gore Vidal 1968 23 Ships Aloft by Clayton Knight and Harold Platt 1936 14 Sky High by Eric Hodgins and F. Alexander Magoun 1935 15 Slide Rule by Nevil Shute 1954 13 The Stars at Noon by Jacqueline Cochran (inscribed by the author) 1954 16 Technical Aerodynamics by Karl D. Wood 1935 18 Thayer of West Point by Norman Robert Ford (signed by the author) 1953 7 Three by Gore Vidal 1962 7 Three Plays by Gore Vidal 1962 8 Un garçon près de la rivière by Gore Vidal 1949 1 Visit to a Small Planet and Other Television Plays by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1956-1957 7 Washington, D.C. by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1967-1968 16 Who's Who in World Aviation 1955, 1958 11 Why? - Why Has America No Rigid Airships? By P.W. Litchfield and Hugh Allen 1945 1 Williwaw by Gore Vidal (inscribed by the author) 1946 38 The Wings Club 1964-1969 13 Wings for Peace by Brig. Gen. Bonner Fellers (inscribed by the author) 1953 12 You Have to Pay the Price by Earl H. Blaik with Tim Cohane (inscribed by the author) 1960 14 Youth Must Fly by E.F. McDonald, Jr. (inscribed by the author) 1942 Series IV. Images 4 Amelia Earhart 1934, 1936 4 Amy Mollison undated 42 Artist's rendering of Northeast Airlines plane undated 4 Charles A. Lindbergh undated 20 Drawings undated 4 Early airplanes undated 4 Edmund Brown 1962 4 Eugene L. Vidal 1897-1968, undated 4 Felix "Pick" Vidal undated 4 Felix L. Vidal undated 3 Framed portrait undated 4 Frank Rewalt undated 4 Franklin D. Roosevelt undated 5 Gore Vidal For Congress poster undated 4 Gore Vidal 1939-1952, undated 4 Harllee Branch 1934 July 25 4 Hugo Echener undated 4 Katherine Smith (Vidal) undated 5 Loose oversized photographs 1934-1968, undated 4 Lorene Vidal Jones undated 4 Margaret Rewalt Vidal undated 4 Margaret Vidal Sutton undated 4 McClelland Barclay undated 29 Nina Gore undated 4 Orville Wright 1934 October 18 42 Pencil sketch of Eugene Vidal by McClelland Barclay 1942 31 Photo album - Conquistadores del cielo 1961 June 29 Photograph - Clarence Belinn undated 42 Photograph - helicopter undated 42 Photograph - Northeast Airlines plane undated 23 Photograph - Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting, IAS Honors Night Dinner, Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences 1956 January 23 42 Photograph - U.S. Military Academy from Dick's Folly overlooking the Hudson River 1949 42 Photograph of Eugene Vidal and other gentlemen in front of American Airways plane (signed by C.R. Smith) 1933 October 22 42 Photograph of Eugene Vidal, FDR, and Henry Agard Wallace undated 10 Photographic prints from Montevideo undated 3 Photographs - ancestors undated 31 Photographs - Eugene L. Vidal undated 31 Photographs - Eugene Vidal & others 1934-1967, undated 31 Photographs - miscellaneous 1914-1920, undated 29 Photographs - miscellaneous 1934, undated 3 Photographs - mobility unit undated 3 Photographs - slides, place mats, photographs undated 3 Photographs - Vidal inventions undated 31 Photographs - Visit of Mr. Eugene L. Vidal, Sr. Civ. Aviation Advisor, to Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, to the Infantry Center, the Infantry School, Fort Benning, GA 1957 March 23 Photographs - Woman and child (Katherine Roberts & Gore Vidal?) with Jeep undated 44 Photographs (autographed) 1934-1936, undated 2 Portrait of Eugene Vidal signed Bruning (framed) undated 3 Sketch of Gore Vidal of his father undated 4 Valerie Vidal undated 4 Vance Vidal 1952, undated 4 Will Rogers undated Series V. Artifacts 43 Amon Carter's cowboy hat undated 42 Army medals (11) 1920-1923 43 Association of the U.S. Army plastic zippered bag undated 30 AUSA GM & Electronics Symposium paperweight 1959 February 43 Bell Helicopter Corporation paperweight engraved with Vidal's name undated 43 Bell Helicopter Corporation plastic zippered bag undated 30 Black decorative plate undated 30 Black tie with helicopter print undated 30 Button "Nov. '18," undated 30 Cartier jewelry bag undated 43 Envelope of name tags & ID cards circa 1936-1968 43 Fairchild F-27 plastic case undated 30 Floyd Odlum's wedding present (cigarette holder) undated 43 Graduation regalia undated 30 Hats (2) undated 43 Horn with plaque: "Honorary membership Longhorn Society of Fort Worth Texas presented by Amon G. Carter to Eugene Vidal," 1933 October 18 30 Jewelry case designed by McClelland Barclay and given as a wedding gift undated 43 Leather aviator cap undated 42 Medal for Department of the Army Meritorious Civilian Service undated 30 Medallion - Union Syndicale des Industries Aeronautiques 1958 42 Medals - West Point alumni & from King of Belgium, with proclamation 1918, 1937 30 NBC News sack undated 43 Nov. 18 banner undated 42 Olympic medals (5) 1919-1924 4 Olympic shield worn by competitors in the Olympic Games (framed) undated 30 Pat-Parachute the Para-trooper doll undated 30 Plaque - "To Eugene L. Vidal 'A Friend of Army Aviation'" from U.S. Army Aviation Command Systems 1969 April 9 30 Shaving kit from National Air Races, Cleveland, engraved "E.L.V.," undated 42 Sport medals/charms (11) 1913-1918 43 Tool kit undated 30 Transcontinental Air Transport (T-A-T) pen holder undated 30 Trident letter opener undated 30 U.S. Army belt worn by Gore Vidal undated 30 U.S. Military Academy metal coaster undated 42 Undergraduate medals (10) 1912-1916 43 Vidal Research Corporation wooden name displays undated 30 Wooden goblet undated 30 Wooden paperweight undated 42 Zippo commemorating 21 Years of Vertical Flight Progress at Piasecki undated 45 1924 Paris Olympic Diploma 1924 Series VI. Personal 6 Appointment certificate of Vidal to the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, signed by FDR 1933 November 29 3 Awards & certificates 1936-1970 11 Awards 1933-1963 3 Biographical information - passports 1954, 1958 3 Biographical information undated 11 Biographical information circa 1959-1969 3 Cards circa 1936-1956 5 Certificates (8) 1924-1967 42 Certificates 1933-1967 19 Correspondence 1931-1972, undated 41 Correspondence 1931-1969, undated 23 Electrocardiographic report with x-rays 1942 August 26 5 Envelope - Misc. ephemera 1933-1937 3 Envelope carried by air Honolulu-Ashland January 11-12, 1935 Amelia Earhart 1935 January 20 Financial papers 1921-1952 3 First Flight envelopes 1945-1968 Shared box General Douglas MacArthur's address upon receiving the Sylvanus Thayer Medal (recording) 1963 40 Interview (incomplete) undated 24 Interview by Dusen with Vidal on airline experience 1966 September 1 3 Invitations 1934-1961 44 Letters - Charles Lindbergh, Eleanor Roosevelt, William Mitchell, Eddie Rickenbacker, Douglas MacArthur 1934-1969 44 Letters from Amelia Earhart & George Palmer Putnam 1935-1936 3 Los Angeles Airways Heligram (signed) 1954 March 20 20 Memos 1930-1968 39 Misc. 1916-1968 3 Miscellaneous undated 38 The New World Wide Postage Stamp Album 20th century 11 Pilot's Log Book 1938-1939 42 Polish certificate (in Polish) 1938 29 Postcards 1909-1911, undated 3 Programs 1936, 1963 29 Schloss Heidegg undated 5 Scrapbook (black with silver "A" on cover) - life events (marriage, athletics, undergraduate career, Olympics) circa 1912-1930 5 Scrapbook (green cover) - portraits undated 5 Scrapbook (plain black cover) - news clippings of Vidal's career in aviation 1934-1937 5 Scrapbook (silver and red cover) - commemorating Vidal's visit with the National Advisory Committee to Buenos Aires undated 38 Stamp albums circa 1905-1952 37 Stamp collection circa 20th century