2026-3-9 Guide to the Byrd Antarctic Expedition I Collection, 1928-1940, 1980-2003, bulk 1928-1930 SPEC.PA.56.0255 Finding aid prepared by Audrey Wimbiscus Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2026 February This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2026-05-28T15:08-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Byrd Antarctic Expedition I Collection SPEC.PA.56.0255 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 11.5 Cubic feet Bulk, 1928-1930 1928-1940, 1980-2003, bulk 1928-1930 The Byrd Antarctic Expedition I (1928-1930) was the first Antarctic expedition led by Admiral Richard E. Byrd. The Byrd Antarctic Expedition I Collection contains materials both from and about Byrd Expedition I, some of which date after the expedition. Materials include black and white photographs and glass slides from the expedition, artifacts from Byrd's flagship, commemorative medals given in recognition of the expedition, promotional material about the expedition and Byrd's tour, and VHS videocassette and DVD copies of black and white film shot by expedition member Lawrence Gould during his time in Antarctica, with a commentary track recorded later in his life. The collection dates from 1928 to 1940 and 1980 to 2003, with the bulk of materials dated 1928 to 1930. (5) artifacts; (3) cartons; (2) card boxes; (2) oversize flat boxes; (2) 5" letter document boxes; (1) framed item English Arrangement of Materials

This collection is arranged in chronological order; items with the same date are further arranged in alphabetical order by title.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. PA.1993.0003: Donald Robinson, 1993 April; Accession No. PA.1994.0001: Parmer Books, 1994 March; Accession No. PA.1994.0005: Robert Wiskoff, 1994 May; Accession No. PA.1996.0004: Ray Gottfried, 1996 June; Accession No. PA.1996.0007: John A. Knapp, 1996 June; Accession No. PA.1997.0007: Grace B. Oakley, 1997 August; Accession No. PA.1999.0010: Purchased, 1999 December; Accession No. PA.2000.0010: Purchased, 2000 November; Accession No. PA.2002.0014: Tom Slater, 2002 November; Accession No. PA.2003.0002: Henry Pollack, 2003 March; Accession No. PA.2005.0011: Chas Cowing, 2004 November; Accession No. PA.2006.0003: Russell Clark, 2006 February; Accession No. PA.2006.0015: Donald L. Lynch, 2006 September; Accession No. PA.2006.0003: Russell Clark, 2006 February; Accession No. PA.2009.0001: Purchased, 2009 January; Accession No. PA.2014.0004: John Kelley, 2014 September; Accession No. PA.2017.0007: Sandra Holmwood, 2017 July

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Byrd Antarctic Expedition I Collection, SPEC.PA.56.0255, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Proram, Ohio State University

 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Contains a VHS videocassette and a DVD.

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Audio/visual materials may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. 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: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2026 February; Finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2026 February

 Historical Note

The Byrd Antarctic Expedition I (1928-1930) was the first Antarctic expedition led by Admiral Richard E. Byrd. This expedition was privately funded by donors and advertisers, and involved two ships (the City of New York and the Eleanor Bolling) and three airplanes (the Floyd Bennett, the Stars and Stripes, and the Virginia). A camp named Little America was constructed on the Great Ice Barrier (later named the Ross Ice Shelf in 1953), and was the base camp for all exploration during the expedition. In addition to the scientific experiments and Antarctic exploration, the expedition also flew the first airplane over the South Pole; Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, co-pilot Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley flew the Floyd Bennett from Little America to the South Pole and back in a non-stop flight of 18 hours, 41 minutes.

 Scope and Contents

The Byrd Antarctic Expedition I Collection contains materials both from and about Byrd Expedition I, some of which date after the expedition. Materials include black and white photographs and glass slides from the expedition, artifacts from Byrd's flagship the United States Ship City of New York, commemorative medals given in recognition of the expedition, promotional material about the expedition and Byrd's tour, and a drawing of the United States Ship City of New York by the creator of Smokey the Bear. Also included are VHS videocassette and DVD copies of black and white film shot by expedition member Lawrence Gould during his time in Antarctica, with a commentary track recorded later in his life. The collection dates from 1928 to 1940 and 1980 to 2003, with the bulk of materials dated 1928 to 1930.

 Related Materials Admiral Richard E. Byrd Papers Edward Goodale Papers S. Edward Roos Papers Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1st: 1928-1930) Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 1888-1957 City of New York (Ship) Gould, Laurence McKinley, 1896-1995 Anchors (watercraft equipment) Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--American--20th century Black-and-white slides Commemorative medals Cultural artifacts Dishes (vessels for food) DVDs Explorers--Antarctica--Medals--20th century Gimbal lamps Icebreakers (Ships)--United States--20th century Male artists--United States--20th century Scientific expeditions--Antarctica--20th century Ship's compasses Ship's telegraphs VHS Commemorative paper cup 1 1928-1930 Crew with animals photographs 1 1 1928-1930 Hoffmann (Poul) City of New York photographs 1 2 1928-1930 Keystone View Company Antarctic expeditions glass slides 2 3 1928-1930 Owens-Illinois Glass Company glass bottle 2 1928-1930 Scope and Contents

Clear glass specimen bottle made for Byrd's First Antarctic Expedition, 1928-1929. It shows one of Byrd's planes at the top, with embossing that reads, "Byrd Antarctic 1928-1929 Expedition." One of only 500 made by the Owens-Illinois Glass company in Toledo, Ohio.

 Press photographs 1 3 1928-1930 United States Ship City of New York brass engine order telegraph dial 4 1 1928-1930 United States Ship City of New York compass 5 1928-1930 United States Ship City of New York ice anchors 1928-1930 General Note

Both ice anchors are on permanent display at the Goldthwait Polar Library in the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at the Ohio State University. The Goldthwait Polar Library is open limited hours, please call 614-292-6531 before visiting.

 Existence and Location of Copies

A photograph of the ice anchors is available online.

United States Ship City of New York lamps 6 1928-1930 United States Ship City of New York plaque 4 2 1928-1930 United States Ship City of New York ship's wheel 3 1928-1930 United States Ship City of New York unidentified wooden item 4 3 1928-1930 South Pole Flight press map illustration 1 4 1928 April 27 "The Continent Byrd Hopes to Map" clipping 1 5 1928 May 20 Crew list 1 6 1928 September 4 "A World of White" press photograph 1 7 1929 October 27 Shipboard photographs 1 8 1929 November Bridgeport Leather Specialty Company poster 7 circa 1930 Scope and Contents

Signed by Byrd and Bridgeport chairman James Bush.

 Crew members commemorative medal 4 1930 First flight over South Pole gold commemorative medal 5 1930 "Highlights of the Byrd Expedition" booklet 1 9 1930 Return home press photographs 1 10 1930 "Little America Tour" 3-sheet color lithograph 6 circa 1931 Wendelin (Rudolph) City of New York pencil drawing 8 1935 Inscribed metal plane part 9 1940 October Scope and Contents

Inscription reads "Taken off crashed plane of Bernt Balkan (sic Balchen) and Larry Gould, by Ted Petras, October 1940. Plane had sunk into blue ice, but parts were still visible."

 Gould (Laurence) 1928-1930 Antarctica "Great Sledge Journey" silent film footage with 1980-1995 narration track 1 1 1 1 1 11 1980-1995, 2003 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements DVD; black and white; sound; approximate run time: 20 minutes VHS videocassette; black and white; sound; approximate run time: 20 minutes Existence and Location of Copies

Also available online.

Scope and Contents Shot list and notes regarding contents of original film are available; these are stored in Box 1 / Folder 11. This item consists of a video recording of a screen playing Laurence Gould's original black and white silent film footage recorded in Antarctica from 1928 to 1930. While the screen was recorded, Gould was out of view providing audio narration, which was then used to create a shot list for the film. The narration was recorded between 1980 and 1995. The DVD copy of the VHS videocassette was created in 2003.