Guide to the Alton Blakeslee Collection of Artifacts from Little America (Antarctica), circa 1940-1947 SPEC.PA.56.0238 Finding aid prepared by Casey Blackmore Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2024 September This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2024-12-11T17:37-0500 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Alton Blakeslee Collection of Artifacts from Little America (Antarctica) SPEC.PA.56.0238 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 1.69 Cubic feet circa 1940-1947 Alton Blakeslee was the science editor of the Associated Press. He wrote on a variety of topics, including medicine, physics, and Antarctic exploration. His first major assignment with the Associated Press was as a correspondent on Operation Highjump in Antarctica with Admiral Richard Byrd in 1946-1947. The Alton Blakeslee Collection of Artifacts from Little America (Antarctica) includes artifacts from the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1940-1941) and Operation Highjump (1946-1947). Materials are dated circa 1940 to 1947. (5) card boxes, (1) microfilm box, (1) 2.5" letter document box English Blakeslee, Alton L. Arrangement of Materials

Materials are arranged alphabetically based on each expedition's time span. All but the last two items in the container list are from the United States Antarctic Service Expedition; the last two items come from Operation Highjump.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. PA.2024.0011: Sandy Blakeslee, 2022 August.

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Alton Blakeslee Collection of Artifacts from Little America (Antarctica), SPEC.PA.56.0238, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by: Casey Blackmore, 2024 September; Finding aid written by: Casey Blackmore, 2024 September.

 Biographical Note

Alton Blakeslee (1913-1997) was the science editor of the Associated Press. He wrote on a variety of topics, including medicine, physics, and Antarctic exploration. His first major assignment with the Associated Press was as a correspondent on Operation Highjump with Admiral Richard Byrd in 1946 at Little America IV in Antarctica. While on that expedition, Blakeslee and Byrd visited the snow covered site of Little America III, the base of Byrd's prior expection, the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1940-1941). At Little America III, they dug down into the snow and recovered artifacts from the 1940-1941 expedition.

Blakeslee also worked as a writer for the American Cancer Society for six years after leaving the Associated Press. He also taught science writing at the University of Missouri, Syracuse University and Columbia University.

 Scope and Contents

The Alton Blakeslee Collection of Artifacts from Little America (Antarctica) includes artifacts from the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1940-1941) and Operation Highjump (1946-1947). Blakeslee's fur hood and dog tags are dated 1946-1947, while the other artifacts in this collection were left at the Little America III site by the crew of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition, and were found by Blakeslee while he was working with Byrd during Operation Highjump. The items had been covered up over time after being buried in snow.

 Related Materials Admiral Richard E. Byrd Papers Blakeslee, Alton L. Little America III (Antarctica: Research station) Little America IV (Antarctica: Research station) Operation Highjump (1946-1947) United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939-1941) Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--20th century Food Fur garments Ink bottles Military dog tags Science news--Antarctica--20th century Science writers--Antarctica--20th century Black drawing ink bottle 2 2 circa 1940-1941 Blue drawing ink bottle 1 1 circa 1940-1941 Green drawing ink bottle 1 2 circa 1940-1941 Ink bottle with white material 2 1 circa 1940-1941 "Last Days of Pompeii" inscribed by Richard Byrd to Alton Blakeslee 5 circa 1940-1941 Lemon juice can 3 1 circa 1940-1941 Lifesavers roll 4 1 circa 1940-1941 Superchrome ink can 3 2 circa 1940-1941 Toft O Luxe roll 4 2 circa 1940-1941 Blakeslee (Alton) service dog tags 6 circa 1946-1947 Fur hood 7 circa 1946-1947