Reference Request
Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives
Accession 13-217
National Museum of American History. Division of Work and Industry
Exhibition Records, 1925-2010
Descriptive Entry
This accession consists of the records of Bernard S. Finn, Curator Emeritus of electricity collections, documenting exhibition planning, development, and production at the National Museum of American History. Earlier records date from when Finn was in the Division of Information Technology and Society; the Division of Electricity and Modern Physics; the National Museum of History and Technology, Division of Electricity and Nuclear Energy; the Museum of History and Technology, Division of Electricity; as well as predate the creation of the museum. Also represented in these records are curators David K. Allison, Arthur P. Molella, and Paul Forman; museum specialists Elliot N. Sivowitch and Ray A. Hutt; Robert D. Friedel, Historian; and Nance L. Briscoe, Collections Manager. Documented are the following exhibitions: Laser 10: The First Ten Years of Laser Technology; The Laser at 25; Fifty Years of Lasers; Information Age: People, Information and Technology; Edison: Lighting a Revolution; Lighting a Revolution; Edison After the Electric Light: The Challenge of Success; Person to Person; 1876 Centennial Exhibition; Edison and the Electrical Age: 100 Years; Underwater Web: Cabling the Seas; FDR: The Intimate Presidency; History as Seen from the National Museum of American History; Science in American Life; Beyond Vision; A Material World; Stalking the Elusive Computer Bug; and Nation of Nations
Materials include correspondence, memoranda, and notes; exhibition proposals; planning and design information; scripts; budget summaries, contractual agreements; meeting agendas and minutes; reports; press releases; educational program information; floor plans; photographs; brochures; visitor surveys; loan information; clippings; drawings; information about the Hall of Electricity; and supporting documentation.
Restrictions
Use RestrictionRestricted for 15 years. until Jan-01-2026; Transferring office; 6/14/2013 memorandum, Johnstone to Wallace; Contact reference staff for details.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.
Name
- 1876: A Centennial Exhibition (1976: Washington, D.C.)
- A Material World (Exhibition) (1988: Washington, D.C.)
- Allison, David K., 1950-
- Beyond Vision (Traveling exhibition) (1987)
- Briscoe, Nance L.
- Edison After the Electric Light: The Challenge of Success (Traveling exhibition) (1986)
- Edison and the Electrical Age: 100 Years (Traveling exhibition) (1979-1980)
- Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931
- Edison: Lighting a Revolution (Exhibition) (1980: Washington, D.C.)
- FDR: The Intimate Presidency (Exhibition) (1982: Washington, D.C.)
- Fifty Years of Lasers (Traveling exhibition) (2010)
- Finn, Bernard S., 1932-
- Forman, Paul
- Friedel, Robert D. (Robert Douglas), 1950-
- History as Seen from the National Museum of American History (Exhibition) (1983-1990: Washington, D.C.)
- Hutt, Ray A.
- Information Age: People, Information and Technology (Exhibition) (1990: Washington, D.C.)
- Laser 10: The First Ten Years of Laser Technology (Traveling exhibition) (1970)
- Lighting a Revolution (Exhibition) (1992: Washington, D.C.)
- Molella, Arthur P., 1944-
- Museum of History and Technology (U.S.)
- Museum of History and Technology (U.S.). Division of Electricity
- Nation of Nations (1976 : Smithsonian Institution)
- National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Electricity and Modern Physics
- National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Information Technology and Society
- National Museum of History and Technology (U.S.)
- National Museum of History and Technology (U.S.). Division of Electricity and Nuclear Energy
- National Museum of History and Technology (U.S.). Electricity Hall
- Person to Person (Exhibition) (1976: Washington, D.C.)
- Science in American Life (Exhibition) (1994: Washington, D.C.)
- Sivowitch, Elliot N.
- Stalking the Elusive Computer Bug (Exhibition) (1997-1998: Washington, D.C.)
- The Laser at 25 (Traveling exhibition) (1985)
- Underwater Web: Cabling the Seas (Exhibition) (2001: Washington, D.C.)
Subject
- Electricity -- History
- Museum curators
- Museum exhibits
- Museums -- Educational aspects
- Traveling exhibitions
Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 13-217, National Museum of American History. Division of Work and Industry, Exhibition Records