Inventory of the Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation Records , 1929-1993 and undated
[top]Descriptive Summary
Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke
University
Creator
Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation
Title
Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation Records,
1929-1993 and undated
Language of Material
Material in
English
Extent
5.5 Linear Feet
4300 Items
Abstract
4300 Items
The Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation was an outdoor advertising company that operated in
northern Ohio from 1965 to 2000.
The Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation Records span
the years 1929 to 1993 and include
clippings, corporation reports, negatives, photograph albums, photographs, poster boards,
promotional materials, regional maps, slides, and trade literature that document the
operational history
of Ohio Outdoor and related companies. The bulk of this collection
consists of photographs and slides of
billboards in northern Ohio from 1937 to 1993. Also included are photographs of Ohio street
locations and outdoor advertising activities.
Other outdoor advertising
companies represented in the collection reflect mergers, acquisitions,
and business connections between Ohio
Outdoor and other firms, and include
Dingeman Advertising, Inc.;
Outdoor Communications, Inc. (OCI);
Outdoor Graphics, Inc.;
Indiana Outdoor Advertising Corporation;
Kentucky Outdoor Advertising Corporation;
E.A. Eckert Advertising Company;
and T.R. Sammons Outdoor Advertising Company.
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and
Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service
Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact
Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to
use this collection.
Copyright Notice
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more
information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation Records, Rare Book,
Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation Records were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and
Special Collections Library as a gift in 1997; 2006.
Processing Information
Processed by Rita Johnston, December 2007
Encoded by Rita Johnston, December 2007
Accessions 2002-0195; 2007-0104 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS,
EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
[top]
Historical Note
Chronology List| 1965 | Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation was founded as a subsidiary of American Bakeries Company. The company was owned by Norman Knight and managed by Howard N. Johansen. |
| 1971 | Outdoor Graphics, Inc. founded as a subsidiary of American Bakeries Company |
| 1978 | Ohio Outdoor purchased by Howard Johansen |
| 1988 | Ownership of Ohio Outdoor transferred to Claire F. Johansen and Nancy L. Freeman, daughters of Howard Johansen |
| 1989 | Outdoor Communications, Inc. (OCI) acquired Dingeman Advertising, Inc. (a subsidiary of Ohio Outdoor) |
| 1998 | Lamar Advertising Company acquired OCI |
| 2000 | Lamar Advertising Company purchased Ohio Outdoor |
During the 1970s, Indiana Outdoor Advertising Corporation and Kentucky Outdoor Advertising Corporation were founded.
[top]Collection Overview
The Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation
Records span the years 1929-1993 and include
clippings,
corporation reports,
negatives,
photographs,
poster boards,
promotional materials,
regional maps,
slides,
and trade literature
that document the operational history
of Ohio Outdoor and related companies. The bulk of this collection
consists of photographs and slides of
billboards in northern Ohio
from 1937-1993.
Also included are photographs of Ohio street
locations and outdoor advertising activities.
Other outdoor advertising
companies represented in the collection reflect mergers, acquisitions,
and business connections between Ohio
Outdoor and other firms, and include
Dingeman Advertising, Inc.;
Outdoor Communications, Inc. (OCI);
Outdoor Graphics, Inc.;
Indiana Outdoor Advertising Corporation;
Kentucky Outdoor Advertising Corporation;
E.A. Eckert Advertising Company;
and T.R. Sammons Outdoor Advertising Company.
The collection is organized into two series: Business Files and Photographs, Negatives and Slides. The Business Files Series includes
clippings, corporation reports, poster boards,
promotional materials, and regional maps.
Large regional maps and poster boards
in this series were used for presentations.
The Photographs, Negatives and Slides Series
makes up the bulk of the collection, and chiefly consists of photographs and
slides of billboards in northern Ohio from the 1930s-1990s.
Photographs by the E.A. Eckhert Company also
document Ohio street locations and outdoor advertising activties.
Included are photographs of
actress and Westinghouse spokeswoman Betty Furness and a 1938
photograph of a handmade sign in support of Adolph Hitler hanging over a billboard.
Slides, which range from 1967-1978, were used in business presentations
for outdoor advertising staff or to improve public relations
through community outreach.
Large-format materials have been removed from their original
series locations and relocated to Oversize Materials.
Relocated items have been replaced in the Detailed Description of the Collection
by dummy folders enclosed in brackets.
[top]
Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the
Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation (Firm)
- Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation--History.
- Lamar Advertising Company--History.
- Outdoor Advertising Association of America.
- Advertising, Outdoor.
- Advertising, Outdoor--United States--History.
- Advertising, Outdoor--Ohio.
- Advertising, Outdoor--United States.
- Advertising, Outdoor--United States--History--20th century.
- Advertising agencies--United States--History.
- Advertising agencies--Ohio.
- Billboards--United States.
- Billboards--Ohio.
- Clippings.
- Corporation reports.
- Negatives.
- Photographs.
- Promotional materials.
- Slides (photographs).
- Regional maps.
- John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Related Material
Materials related to this collection may be found in other Hartman
Center collections, including the Outdoor Advertising
Association of America (OAAA) Archives, OAAA Poster
Design Collection, and the OAAA Slide Library.
 | List of Series in Collection | |||||||
 |  | Business Files Series, 1951-1991 and undated | ||||||
| | Photographs, Negatives and Slides Series, 1929-1994 and undated | ||||||
 | | Oversize Materials | ||||||
Detailed Description of Collection
Business Files Series, 1951-1991 and undated
(1 box)
Consists of administrative records, clippings, corporation reports, lecture notes, trade literature,
and promotional materials that document
the organizational history of Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation
and related companies. Includes a matted
press release and photographic reproduction
announcing the sale of outdoor advertising plants from Foster
& Kleiser to Ohio Outdoor.
Arranged alphabetically.
Restrictions on access: Contains unsleeved photographs; gloves are required when handling.
Box 1
American Display Systems, Inc. promotional booklet,
1986
Clippings,
1983-1991 and undated
Community profiles,
1974-1977
Corporation records,
1975-1985 and undated
(8 folders)
Draft corporation records,
1974-1979 and undated
Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation
Business plans,
1975-1976
(2 folders)
Exhibits,
1975
Rate schedules,
1977, 1985
Outdoor Graphics, Inc.
Business Plans,
1975
Exhibits,
1975
[Foster & Kleiser matted press release,
1965, removed to Folder 1]
Lecture notes, undated
Ohio Outdoor files
[Draft regional maps,
circa 1970s, removed to Oversize Materials
Box 7]
[Maps and miscellaneous,
circa 1970s, removed to Folder 1]
Operating territory maps,
1977 and undated
[Presentation boards,
circa 1970s, removed to Oversize Materials
Box 6]
Promotional materials,
circa 1990s
[Regional presentation maps,
circa 1970s, removed to Oversize Materials
Box 7]
[Presentation boards,
circa 1970s, removed to Oversize Materials
Box 6]
Standard Outdoor Advertising, Inc. promotional booklet,
circa 1950s
Trade literature,
1951-1990 and undated
(2 folders)
[Miscellaneous maps and sign,
circa 1970s, removed to Oversize Materials
Box 6]
Photographs, Negatives and Slides Series, 1929-1994 and undated
(5 Boxes)
Consists of photographs, negatives, and slides that document billboards and the outdoor
advertising industry in northern Ohio. Series is arranged into three categories:
Loose photographs
and negatives; Photograph albums; and Slides.
The Loose photographs
and negatives and Photograph albums categories share similar content.
The bulk of photographs are of northern Ohio billboards from the 1970s-1990s that promoted both
local and national products and services. The majority of outdoor advertising companies represented
in this series
were linked with Ohio Outdoor Advertising Company through business ties, with the exception of
Hart Advertising, Inc., which was a rival to Ohio Outdoor.
The earlier
E.A. Eckhert photographs (1937-1970s) also include images of Ohio street locations and outdoor advertising
activities.
Included are photographs of
actress and Westinghouse spokeswoman Betty Furness posing
with members of the Advertising Club of North Central Ohio, and
a 1938 photograph of a handmade sign in support of Adolph Hitler hanging over a billboard.
Slides, which range from 1967-1978, were used in
instructional presentations
for outdoor advertising staff or to improve public relations
through community outreach. Some slide sets in this collection were
developed by the Outdoor Advertising Association of
America (OAAA) and designed to be distributed to outdoor advertising companies
across the United States for use in their
local community presentations
to city councils and the general public.
Loose photographs and negatives, 1929-1994 and undated
Consists of black and white and color photographs and negatives.
Arranged in alphabetical order within
category, with the exception of the Hart photographs, which
have been kept in original order.
Box 1
Dingeman and OCI billboard photographs,
1983-1994 and undated
Automobiles, services and accessories,
1987-1990 and undated
(3 folders)
Box 2
Beer and wine, undated
Commercial services, undated
Education,
1989 and undated
Food, supermarkets and restaurants,
1983-1994 and undated
(2 folders)
Health and fitness,
1989 and undated
(2 folders)
Insurance and financial institutions,
1988 and undated
(2 folders)
Box 3
Mass media,
1988 and undated
Non-profits and miscellaneous,
1985-1991 and undated
Political,
1989 and undated
(2 folders)
Residential and commercial products and services,
1988 and undated
(3 folders)
Retail businesses,
1994 and undated
(2 folders)
Box 4
Special events,
1990-1994 and undated
(2 folders)
Unrelated, undated
E.A. Eckhert Advertising Company photographs,
1929-1976 and undated
E.A. Eckhert billboards,
1942-1960 and undated
Other outdoor advertising company billboards,
1942-1976 and undated
Other photographs,
1947-1960 and undated
Street location photographs, undated
1959 and undated
T.R. Sammons billboards,
1929-1938 and undated
(2 folders)
Hart billboard photographs and negatives,
1978
(3 folders)
Ohio Outdoor billboard photographs,
1980 and undated
Photograph albums, circa 1940s-1993 and undated
Consists of black and white and color photographs and negatives that were originally
kept in photograph albums. Much of the content is similar to photographs in
Loose photographs and negatives. Arranged in original order.
Box 5
Computer Image Systems, Inc. photograph album,
1992-1993
Dingeman and OCI photograph albums,
1982-1988 and undated
(2 folders)
E.A. Eckhert photograph album,
circa 1940s-1960s
[Indiana Outdoor photograph album,
1971, removed to Oversize Materials Box 8]
[Kentucky Outdoor photograph album,
1973, removed to Oversize Materials Box 8]
OCI best design contest photograph album,
1992
[Ohio Outdoor photograph album,
1974, removed to Oversize Materials Box 8]
Slides, 1967-1978 and undated
Consists of color slides that were used for presentations. Arranged in original order.
Box 5
"Basic Bulletin,"
circa mid-1970s
"Billboards,"
1968
"Billboards Painesville,"
1968
"Freshen Up-Going Up,"
1975-1978 and undated
"Hart Boards,"
1978
"Long handled posting and scrape,
paint Elynia, cedar trim,"
1974-1978 and undated
"Naegele,"
1967-1973
OAAA materials
"City Councils, 11a-
Urban Ordinance Committee, "
circa 1970s
Urban Ordinance Kit, 1970s
City Council Presentation
General presentation
(2 folders)
"No Outdoor in Europe: Rebuttal,"
"OOAC good pics,"
1968
"OOAC: How the Plant Should Not Look,"
1974
"Urban Ordinance,"
circa mid-1970s
Oversize Materials
Business Files Series, 1951-1991 and undated
Miscellaneous maps and sign,
circa 1970s
Ohio Outdoor presentation boards,
circa 1970s
Presentation boards,
circa 1970s
Box 7
Ohio Outdoor draft regional maps,
circa 1970s
(3 folders)
Ashtabula through Fremont
Fremont-Tiffin through Norwalk
Norwalk-Bellevue through Tiffin
Ohio Outdoor regional presentation maps,
circa 1970s
(2 folders)
Cleveland West through Fremont-Tiffin
Lorain through Toledo suburban
Folder 1
Foster & Kleiser matted press release,
1965
Ohio Outdoor regional presentation maps,
circa 1970s
Photographs, Negatives, and Slides Series, 1929-1994 and undated
Indiana Outdoor photograph album,
1971
Kentucky Outdoor photograph album,
1973
Ohio Outdoor photograph album,
1974
