Theodore N. Vail Collection of Aeronautical Prints, Broadsides, and Clippings
Scope and Contents
The Theodore N. Vail Collection of Aeronautical Prints, Broadsides, and Clippings at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) consists of pictorial engraving prints, cuttings and excerpts from newspapers and magazines, and a large number of hand-bills and posters about balloon ascents primarily in England, France, and Germany. The bulk of the collection covers approximately the years 1720 to 1880 and was assembled by English collectors.
The collection's images and topics range from the fanciful to depictions of historic events, for instance, the first successful balloon flight by the Montgolfier brothers in 1783.
Dates
- circa 1720 to 1925
- Majority of material found within 1720 - 1880
Creator
- Vail, Theodore Newton, 1845-1920 (Collector, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open.
Digital Access Note
Some parts of this collection are available online. Links to specific online digital items are found within their entry in this finding aid.
Conditions Governing Use
Access to collections in the Department of Distinctive Collections is not authorization to publish. Please see the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy for permission information. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection or MIT.
Historical Note
The Theodore N. Vail Collection of Aeronautical Prints, Broadsides, and Clippings consists of pictorial engraving prints, cuttings and excerpts from newspapers and magazines, and a large number of hand-bills and posters about balloon ascents primarily in England, France, and Germany. The collection's contents range from the fanciful to depictions of historic events, including the first successful balloon flight by the Montgolfier brothers in 1783.The bulk of the collection covers approximately the years 1720 to 1880 and was assembled by English collectors.
The original collector appears to be John Cuthbert; later the collection was acquired by J. Fillinham, and then by George Dering. All three men lived in England. In 1912, Theodore N. Vail, a member of the MIT Corporation, acquired and donated to MIT, a collection of "electricity" books belonging to George Dering. The Dering materials were shipped from England to Boston and managed by the MIT Libraries. The aeronautical materials were part of the overall purchase, but were housed separately at MIT in the aeronautical library, not with the Vail electrical books in the engineering library. Later the aeronautical materials were transferred within the MIT Libraries into the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Extent
43.4 Gigabytes (2,721 digital files related to the digitization project of the T.N. Vail collection of Aeronautical Prints, Broadsides, and Clippings)
16 Cubic Feet (23 flat boxes, 2 folders)
Language of Materials
Multiple languages
Physical Location
Materials are stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use.
Digital Materials Location
Some collection materials are digital-only and are currently unavailable for online access. Advance notice is required for use.
Processing Information note
Some collection descriptions are based on legacy data and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. Description may change pending verification. Please contact the MIT Department of Distinctive Collections if you notice any errors or discrepancies.
- Aeronautics -- Flights Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Balloon ascensions Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Ballooning Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Balloonists Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- hot-air balloons Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Creator
- Vail, Theodore Newton, 1845-1920 (Collector, Person)
- Dering, George Edward (Collector, Person)
- Fillinham, John (Collector, Person)
- Cuthbert, John (Collector, Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Theodore N. Vail Collection of Aeronautical Prints, Broadsides, and Clippings
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Conservation and digitization was made possible by a gift from Thomas F. Peterson.
Revision Statements
- 2021 August 20: Edited by Lana Mason for compliance with DACS single-level optimum requirements.
- 2022 March 9: Edited by Thera Webb to include full names of women in collection.
- Box: 1 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 2 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 3 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 4 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 5 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 6 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 7 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 8 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 9 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 10 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 11 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 12 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 13 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 14 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 15 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 16 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 17 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 18 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 19 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 20 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 21 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 22 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 23 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 24 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 25 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 26 (Mixed Materials)
- DigitalStorage: MC0680_Vail_VBI (Mixed Materials)
Repository Details
Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US
distinctive-collections@mit.edu