SERIES 10: PHOTOGRAPHS Boxes 52 - 110; 89 framed items
Browse the Photographs collection
The Photographs Series consists of thirty-nine cubic feet of photographs, negatives, and 35mm slides dating from 1896 to 2004, though the bulk of the materials date from the 1930s through the 1990s. In addition, the series contains twenty-one boxes of oversized photographic prints ranging in size from nine by eleven inches to twenty by twenty-four inches. Also included in the series are eighty-nine framed and matted photographs, most having some type of inscription or signature on the mat. Arranged into the seven sub-series of family, military, NASA, corporate, senate, post-senate, and Annie Glenn, the series presents a wealth of visual documentation about a wide variety of events, activities, people, and places associated with John Glenn's various careers. Also well represented within the series are photographs of his wife, Anna "Annie" Castor Glenn, along with images of members of both the Glenn and Castor families.
The family sub-series consists of one and one-half cubic feet of photographs, three boxes of oversized photographs, and two photograph albums. Included in the sub-series are photographs of John Glenn's father and mother, John H. and Clara (Sproat) Glenn, Sr. The photographs range from a baby picture of John H. Glenn, Sr. taken in 1896 to images of Clara Glenn being honored as "Mother of the Year" in 1962. Many of the photographs in the sub-series are family snapshots taken during the 1920s and 1930s and show images of John Glenn, Jr. as a baby, child, and teenager growing up in New Concord, Ohio. The Glenn family snapshots also feature images of the Glenn home and other locations within the village of New Concord. Other snapshot type images in the sub-series originate from the Dr. Homer and Margaret Castor family and include childhood photographs of Annie Castor Glenn. The sub-series also includes some photographs of David and Carolyn Ann "Lyn" Glenn, the children of John and Annie Glenn. Most of these images consist of family portraits dating from the 1950s to the 1990s. Of special note is a series of candid photographs of Annie, David, and Lyn Glenn taken during the 1959 to 1965 time period by photographers for Life magazine. Also of note within the sub-series are photographs of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, including two photograph albums from the 1960s of social events at the Kennedy home on Penobscot Bay, Maine.
The military sub-series consists of one cubic foot and two oversized boxes of photographs, dating from 1942 to 1998, arranged chronologically into the categories of World War II, Post-War, Korean War, test pilot, and miscellaneous. Many of the photographs are portraits of John Glenn in uniform taken at various times during his twenty-three year career as an aviator in the United States Marine Corps. A number of these portraits show Glenn posed on or alongside the aircraft he flew, such as the F4U Corsair in World War II, the F9F Panther and F-86F Sabre in the Korean War, and the F8U Crusader he flew as a test pilot in the mid-1950s. Other photographs in the sub-series are of scenes and activities taken at the various stateside and overseas airfields to which Glenn was assigned. These airfields include locations on Midway Island and the Marshall Islands during World War II. The World War II and Korean War photographs also contain some aerial photographs of target areas for the fighter-bomber missions Glenn flew during these two conflicts. Most of the photographs in the test pilot category pertain to Project Bullet, the record setting transcontinental flight Glenn flew in July 1957. The miscellaneous photographs date from 1965 to 1998 and pertain to military related events Glenn attended or was associated with after his retirement from active duty. Examples include the building of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and various anniversary celebrations for the U.S. Marine Corps.
The NASA sub-series contains photographs dating from 1959 to 1999 and consists of eight and one-half cubic feet of photographs, eight boxes of oversized photographs, and four photograph albums. With the exception of a handful of images, photographs within the sub-series are black and white prints of photographs taken by official NASA photographers. Arranged in rough chronological order, the sub-series covers the three general categories of early NASA programs, post-NASA career, and the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-95.
Photographs within the early NASA programs category date from 1959 to 1964. Included are some images of the unmanned space missions conducted by NASA from 1959 to 1961, and some photographs of the various astronauts and missions within the Gemini and Apollo space programs. The majority of the photographs, however, pertain to the training and missions of the original Mercury 7 astronauts in the Project Mercury space program. Included are an extensive number of photographs of Glenn's training for his Mercury-Atlas Mission 6 aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft and of the various mission launches postponed during January and February 1962. The sub-series offers excellent documentation of Glenn's historic February 20, 1962 orbital flight. Contained within the sub-series are numerous photographs of the mission's preflight preparations, of the mission launch, of Glenn inside his capsule during the flight, and of the post-flight recovery activities. Also well documented are the parades and ceremonies held in honor of Glenn in the two weeks following his successful space flight.
The post-NASA career category contains photographs dating from 1965 to 1998, the period of time between Glenn's resignation from the space program and his return to space as a crewmember on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Included in this category are photographs from Glenn's goodwill trips for NASA to Japan in 1963 and to Europe in 1965 and 1966. The remaining photographs pertain to a variety of space related organizations in which Glenn was a member, or to reunions and anniversaries of the Project Mercury space program.
The NASA sub-series also includes many photographs pertaining to John Glenn's return to space as a crewmember on the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-95. These photographs cover Glenn's visits to various NASA facilities, his training for the mission, and the mission launch, onboard activities, and landing. Additional photographs document the post-flight activities of the shuttle crew, including the parades held in Cocoa Beach, Florida and New York City, and trips to Japan and Spain made by the shuttle astronauts.
NASA sub-series photographs in the oversized boxes generally pertain to the same subject matters as outlined above. Separated into appropriate sized boxes for conservation purposes, these oversized photographs are listed on the item level in the collection box and folder inventory. Notable within the oversized boxes are the photographs of the Project Mercury space program taken by Life magazine photographers from 1959 to 1964. These Life magazine photographs also include some images of John Glenn's activities during his brief campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1964. Also of note within oversized materials are the photographs sent to Glenn by NASA astronauts and officials during his four terms in the U.S. Senate. Included are a number of matted and autographed photo montages from various space shuttle missions dating from the first space shuttle mission in 1981 to the "All Ohio" crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS-70 in July 1995.
The corporate sub-series is rather limited in scope, consisting of one-half cubic foot of photographs dating from the 1960s and 1970s. Most of the photographs pertain to the trips Glenn made in the 1960s to various foreign countries as the Royal Crown Cola Company's vice president for foreign sales. Other photographs are of groundbreakings and other activities for Holiday Inn motels in Florida. Of note is a series of photographs taken during Glenn's trip through Africa in 1967 for the television program "Great Explorations."
The senate sub-series dates from 1964 to 1998 and consists of seven cubic feet of photographs, three oversized boxes, and one photograph album. Arranged into the four categories of campaigns, chronological files, VIPs, and portraits, the photographs within the sub-series offer a substantial amount of visual materials documenting Glenn's political campaigns and his twenty-four years in the U.S. Senate.
Arranged chronologically by election year, the photographs within the campaign category cover all six of Glenn's campaigns for the U.S. Senate, from 1964 through 1992. The category also contains photographs from his bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in the 1984 election. Photographs for each election campaign generally consist of images of Glenn speaking or of Glenn with voters at various campaign events. Due to volume, event photographs within the 1984 presidential campaign files are arranged by state. Other campaign photographs feature Annie or Lyn Glenn, both of whom were active during election campaigns. Photographs of Annie and Lyn are especially prominent in the 1984 presidential election.
Dating from 1968 to 1998, the chronological files cover Glenn's four terms in the U.S. Senate as well as some of his political activities prior to his first election, such as Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1968. Included are general files of miscellaneous photographs sorted per year from 1974 to 1998. Following each yearly general file are files of photographs pertaining to specific events occurring within that year. Examples of these wide ranging events include committee hearings, political conferences, White House meetings, speeches, press conferences, and media interviews. Other files contain photographs from the various overseas trips Glenn participated in as a member of a congressional delegation.
Included in the senate sub-series are photographs dating from the 1960s through the 1990s of an assortment of political figures, celebrities, athletes, and other noted individuals. Arranged in alphabetical order by surname, the majority of these VIP photographs are of John Glenn posing with a particular individual or group of people. Most VIP photographs are autographed and may contain a brief inscription to Glenn.
The senate sub-series also contains various portraits of John Glenn dating from 1964 to 1998. Most of these portraits are formal posed photographs used for election campaigns and for U.S. Senate directories. The remaining portraits consist of a small number of noteworthy candid photographs of Glenn dating from the 1970s and 1980s.
Senate photographs located within the oversized boxes generally follow the subject areas outlined above. Many of the oversized photographs are group portraits of the U.S. Senate or of the Senate committees in which Glenn held membership. Other oversized items contain photograph montages from congressional delegation trips.
The small number of post-senate photographs date from 1999 to 20040. Most photographs are from events Glenn attended or spoke at during this time period.
The Annie Glenn sub-series consists of two photograph albums compiled by Mrs. Glenn during the 1960s and a limited number of photographs pertaining to her activities from the 1960s to the 1990s. The two albums contain photographs of various events and ceremonies attended by the Glenns, such as the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner in 1963. The albums also contain photographs from a business trip to Italy for the Royal Crown Cola Company and of a rafting trip in Idaho the Glenns participated in with Robert and Ethel Kennedy. Included in the sub-series are photographs from the overseas trips Mrs. Glenn made during the 1980s and 1990s, either alone or with Senator Glenn. Countries she visited include Taiwan, Thailand, India, Morocco, Jordan, and Greece. Other photographs are from Mrs. Glenn's speaking engagements dating from the 1980s and 1990s, mostly to organizations involved with speech and hearing disorders.