The Outdoor Advertising collections document many diverse topics, including the creative, technological, financial and legislative aspects of the outdoor industry; billboard architecture; public service campaigns; highway beautification efforts; retail selling; and market research. They include materials from outdoor companies, trade organizations, the personal collections of various executives and creative people who worked in the industry, and related books and periodicals. A number of these collections were processed through a generous grant awarded to Duke by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

See also: Outdoor Advertising Collections FAQ

Below is a list of those outdoor advertising collection descriptions now available on-line, including a brief description. An additional link is provided for those collections with on- line searchable collection guides (finding aids). A limited number of collections include online, searchable access to either descriptions only (ROAD: Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions) or descriptions with images (ROAD 2.0). Any collections with information found in these databases have a link at the end of their entry.

August C. Baltz Photograph Album, 1904–1909. [Catalog Record]

An itinerant commercial sign painter from Decorah, Iowa, Baltz created a photograph album that served as a promotional portfolio for his sign-painting business that spanned 15 states. The album contains 61 black-and-white albumen photographs measuring from 3x3 inches to 6x6 inches, often with captions in ink on the photograph or below it. Along with documenting his work, Baltz had clients pose with their signs, and he often posed in the photographs as well.

John Brennan Outdoor Advertising Survey Reports, ca. 1947–1980 [Finding Aid]

This collection documents the professional endeavors of outdoor advertising design researcher John E. (Jack) Brennan for the time period 1947 to 1980. His work primarily consisted of conducting market surveys on the effectiveness of billboard advertisement design and layout, and reporting his findings to subscribers to advance design efficiency for the industry. [ROAD]

Browning (John E.), 1930–1999 and undated [Finding Aid]

Browning worked as an artist and designer in outdoor advertising in New Jersey. The collection consists of several dozen original layouts (miniature paintings, in color) for billboards, mainly for hotels, restaurants, and local attractions in New Jersey; black and white photographs and negatives, showing the same layouts as finished billboards; photos of other billboards, including one featuring the Dionne Quintuplets. The collection also contains a brief autobiographical statement outlining Browning's career.

C&U Poster Advertising Co. Records, 1929-2001 [Catalog Record]

C&U Poster Advertising Co. was founded in 1912 and created outdoor advertisements and billboards in Illinois. The collection includes a range of materials related to the company and outdoor trade organizations (Outdoor Advertising Association of Illinois, Inc. (OAAII) and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America). Many of the legal files in the collection relate to the litigation case of C&U Poster Advertising Co. v. The Cities of Champaign and Urbana, Ill., regarding sign ordinances and outdoor advertising aesthetics.

Clear Channel Outdoor Photographs and Slides, circa 1940s-2002 [Catalog Record]

The collection contains photographs and slides primarly showing billboards and other outdoor advertising media and featuring locations in California or the western United States. The work of the Foster and Kleiser, Patrick Media Group, and Eller Media companies are represented.

Duplex Advertising Co. Billboard Images and Records, ca. 1964–1993 [Finding Aid]

The Duplex collection contains outdoor advertising images placed primarily in Texas. The collection consists of over 5,000 color photographs, slides, and negatives of billboards located in the central Texas area (Austin, Temple, and surrounding areas). Products and clients tend to be local rather than national. [ROAD]

Jack Foote Photographs, circa 1949-1974 [Catalog Record]

Jack Foote was a billboard artist employed by Foster & Kleiser and Eller. The collection includes two binders with black and white photographs of outdoor billboard designs from the west coast including Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These binders were primarily a sales tool to demonstrate how other businesses used outdoor advertising.

Gaess Outdoor Advertising Photographs, 1960s–1960s and undated [Finding Aid]

Family-owned outdoor advertising company founded in the 1930s in northern New Jersey, serving the New Jersey-Metropolitan New York market. Contents include black-and-white photographs and negatives of painted and blank billboard structures, locations, proposed locations and competitors' billboards. Clients include Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch), Cities Service (Citgo), Gulf Oil, Schaefer and Schlitz.

God Speaks Public Service Advertising Campaign Records, 1998-2000 and undated [Catalog Record]

The collection comprises material relating to the God Speaks public service advertising campaign that featured quotes from God on billboards, public transit shelters, and buses. The campaign began in Florida in 1988, then went national and won an Obie Award in 1999.

General Outdoor Advertising Co. Promotional Photograph Album, 1920s-1940s [Catalog Record]

In 1925, advertising firms The Fulton Group and the Cusack Co., of Chicago, Ill., merged to become the General Outdoor Advertising Company (GOA). The collection comprises a 38 pg. promotional photograph album containing 72 black-and-white photographs without captions. The album focuses on electronic and neon outdoor signs, including movie and theater marquees, small business and corporate signs, and local and national brand-name products, all represented in both urban and smaller town settings. Locations represented include Chicago, Los Angeles, and Times Square. Companies and brands represented include Du Pont, Sears, Johnson & Johnson, Coke, Oldsmobile, and Wrigley's.

Robert A. Hamer Papers, 19857–1995 and undated, bulk 1926–1995 [Finding Aid]

The Robert A. Hamer Papers span the years 1857-1995, the bulk of which document the period 1926-1995. The collection primarily documents Hamer's career in outdoor advertising with the Foster & Kleiser Company in Southern California, and touches on events in his personal life. The bulk of this collection consists of photographs of Foster & Kleiser billboards in Southern California, covering two time periods, 1926-1941 and 1951-1962. Other photographs document business activities from 1937-1977.

Dick Harold Papers, 1964 and undated [Catalog Record]

The collection contains slides, photographs and printed material related to billboards posted in and around Indianapolis, Indiana by Harold Outdoor Advertising and General Outdoor Advertising from the 1930s-1960s.

John F. Hogan Papers, 1928-1992 and undated, bulk 1949-1972 [Finding Aid]

The Hogan Papers span the years 1928-1992, with the bulk of the material dating from 1949 to 1972. The collection consists of photographs, contracts, printed materials, scrapbooks, and images of transit station posters and car cards that document Hogan's career placing advertising within the bus, subway and rail systems in the northeastern United States, particularly in New York and Connecticut. Several agencies and client companies are represented in the collection, including the John H. Breck, Inc. hair-care company.

Naegele Outdoor Records, 1985-1990 [Finding Aig]

Naegele Outdoor Advertising Inc, was a billboard and outdoor advertising company. In 1985 Morris Communications Corp. purchased the company which was subsequently renamed Fairway Outdoor Advertising in 1991. The majority of the collection consists of slides with photographs of outdoor advertising and printed materials.

Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation Records, 1929–1993 and undated [Finding Aid]

The Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation operated in northern Ohio from 1965-2000. The collection 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 Ohio billboards from 1937-1993. Photograph subjects also include Ohio street locations and outdoor advertising events.

Garrett Orr Papers, ca. 1890s–1994 [Finding Aid]

Orr started out as a graphic artist and went on to become the Art Director of Outdoor Advertising Incorporated (OAI) and the President of the Art Directors Club of New York. This collection documents his artistic output and includes original drawings, water colors, and paintings produced by Orr for the outdoor advertising campaigns of Gillette, Ipana, Lucky Strike, Mazola, Seagram, Verney, Viceroy, and White Rose. [ROAD]

Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives, ca. 1885–1990s [Finding Aid]

OAAA is the major trade organization for the out-of-home advertising industry. This large collection includes a variety of administrative records (correspondence, minutes, conference reports, internal memoranda, position papers, legal briefs, etc.) reflecting a wide range of administrative activities and topics related to the industry (billboard construction & lighting, highway beautification, marketing strategies & trends, traffic patterns). The collection also includes numerous publications, proceedings, and reports, as well as a fair amount of visual materials (photographs of key officers, blueprints of billboard architecture, audio-visual materials). The Outdoor Advertising Historical Collection, formerly a separate collection, has been integrated within the larger OAAA Archives. The bulk of this collection is found in the History Series of the OAA Archives.[ROAD] and [ROAD 2.0]

OAAAA Poster Design Collection (formerly Sketch Library), ca. 1930–1940s [Finding Aid]

Sketches of billboard advertisements representing the creative work of several outdoor advertising companies such as Foster & Kleiser and General Outdoor Advertising Co. Most of these are generic sketches that could be adapted for particular products, stores, or brands. Also includes numerous examples from the Annual Exhibition for Outdoor Art. The several hundred sketches are in black and white on 3" by 5" note cards and are arranged by product type.

OAAA Slide Library, 1891–1994 [Finding Aid]

Collection of tens of thousands of color slides documenting billboard advertising. Images document the advertising output of various billboard companies (Foster & Kleiser, General Outdoor, Patrick Media, and Eller) and appear to cover a wide variety of clients/products on primarily the national level. [ROAD]and [ROAD 2.0]

Outdoor Advertising Association of Connecticut Records, 1970-1996 [Finding Aid]

The collection contains the Outdoor Advertising Association of Connecticut's organizational records. The bulk of the materials consist of correspondence, rosters, and other organizational files along with files related to the Scenic Roadways project with the State of Connecticut.

W.W. Parleir Papers, 1909-1937 [Finding Aid]

W.W. Parlier was an outdoor advertising executive in Alabama during the 1910s through the 1930s. He worked at Theiss, Douglas & Ribble (Birmingham) and at Capital City Advertising (Montgomery), and was Chairman of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Alabama 1934-1937. The collection contains photographs and clippings.

John Paver Papers, 1920–1979 [Finding Aid]

Paver worked as a research engineer for Dr. Miller McClintock in helping him create the Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB). Paver also used TAB methods to create the estimation and inspection methods of the National Outdoor Advertising Bureau. [ROAD] and [ROAD 2.0]

Kip Pope Papers, 1931-1969 and undated. [Catalog Record]

Executive and owner of C & U Poster Advertising Co. of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois from 1983-2001. C & U was locally known for the aesthetics in its billboards, which blended well into their surroundings. The collection includes correspondence, certificates, pamphlets, and reports related to the OAAA Traffic Safety Poster Campaign. Also included are agreements between plant owners and Outdoor Advertising Inc. In 2001, C & U was sold to the Adams Outdoor Advertising Company of Georgia.

Porter Advertising Billboard Sketches, 1950s–1970s [Finding Aid]

Out–of–home advertising company founded in 1945 and based in Richmond, Indiana. The files document the company's poster designs for a wide range of businesses in the region around Richmond, Indiana. The collection includes rough and developed sketches; design drawings for specific businesses and campaigns; generic designs; and billboard mockups for local businesses.

R.C. Maxwell Company Records, 1891–2001 and undated [Finding Aid]

Billboard advertising company founded in 1894 in Trenton, New Jersey. Collection consists chiefly of photographic prints and negatives of the company's billboards and other advertisements set primarily in New Jersey, with some in Philadelphia, Pa. and other localities. The thousands of photos show outdoor advertising in its rural or urban settings, complete with people, cars, shops, theaters, and boardwalks, thus providing vignettes of 20th century American society. Business records include articles of incorporation and various account information. Also included are sample mechanicals of the billboard art in process. [ROAD]and [ROAD 2.0]

Additional information and a limited number of pre-1929 images from the R. C. Maxwell Company Collection are available online in the Emergence of Advertising in America image database. 

Burr L. Robbins Papers, 1936–1975 and undated [Finding Aid]

Burr Lamberton Robbins was an executive and president of General Outdoor Advertising Company from 1951 to the 1960s. The Burr L. Robbins Papers span the years 1936-1975, and chiefly consist of three scrapbooks containing photographs, clippings, periodicals, memorabilia, and promotional materials.

Howard Scott Papers, 1921–1984 [Finding Aid]

Scott was a billboard and graphic artist from the 1930s to the mid-1960s. The collection consists of personal papers and advertising art that document the career of Scott. Biographical materials as well as original art, sketches, lithographs, and reprints of advertisements for Amoco, Budweiser, Chesterfield, Essso, Ford, Nash, U.S. Navy, Pabst Beer, Schlitz Beer, USO, and the 1940 World’s Fair are included. [ROAD]

Charlie Steinman Papers, 1937-1988 and undated [Finding Aid]

Charlie Steinmann was an executive in the outdoor advertising industry, primarily in the Pennsylvania region. He was inducted into the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Hall of Fame in 1995. This collection includes printed materials, photographs, videocassettes, correspondence, financial reports and maps. Companies represented in the collection include Bishop-Holder Advertising, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, Penn Adams Advertising and Penn-York Advertising, all of which operated in the central Pennsylvania region.

Strobridge Lithographing Company Advertisements Collection, ca. 1910–1954 [Finding Aid]

The collection consists of black and white photographs of signs and billboards for a wide variety of products and placed primarily in Ohio. A guide to the collection contains a photocopy of each print.

Wilkins Media Company Records, 1967-1998 and undated [Finding Aid]

Wilkins Media is an outdoor advertising company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1965 as Southern Ootdoor Markets, then Associates of the Bell Company, the name was changed to Wilking Outdoor Network when Bill Wilkins purchased the company in 1987. In 1999 the name changed again to its current title. The collection includes print and photographic materials related to the comnpany's activities as well as to the outdoor advertising industry in general.

War Effort Mobilization Campaigns Poster Collection, 1942–1945 [Finding Aid]

The War Effort Mobilization Campaigns Poster Collection spans the years 1942–1945 and contains reproductions of billboards designed by the War Advertising Council that promote various government campaigns during World War II.

Books and Periodicals

In addition to the unique archival collections listed above, the Hartman Center houses a large book and periodical collection related to various aspects of sales, advertising and marketing research across much of the 20th century. There are over 1,000 books and trade journals that address artistic, legal, architectural, engineering, and social aspects of posters and other out-of-home advertising.

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