Charlie Steinmann was an executive in the outdoor advertising industry, primarily in the Pennsylvania region, working with Superior Sign Systems, Penn-York Advertising and Lamar Outdoor Advertising. He was inducted into the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Hall of Fame in 1995. The Charlie Steinmann Papers span the years 1937-1988 and include 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. Collection also contains files on the Reserve Officer Association after World War II. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

The Charlie Steinmann Papers span the years 1937-1988 and include 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. Collection also contains files on the Reserve Officer Association after World War II.

Gaess Outdoor was a family-owned outdoor advertising company founded in the 1930s in northern New Jersey, serving the New Jersey-Metropolitan New York market. It was acquired in 1997 by Universal Outdoor, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. The Gaess Outdoor Advertising Photographs collection spans the decades of the 1950s and 1960s and includes 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. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

The Gaess Outdoor Advertising Photographs collection spans the decades of the 1950s and 1960s and includes 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, Gulf Oil, Schaefer and Schlitz.

Billboard and poster company formed in 1925 from the merger of The Fulton Group and Cusack Co. Outdoor Advertising Plans were scrapbooks that contained examples of billboards and outdoor posters, testimonial correspondence, trade advertisements and other materials. They were organized according to product type. Collection spans the years 1916-1927 and contains 18 scrapbooks. Companies represented include the Poster Advertising Service, General Outdoor, O. J. Gude, the Thomas Cusack Company, General Foods (Maxwell House) and Procter & Gamble (Crisco, Ivory soap). Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Outdoor Advertising Plans were scrapbooks that contained examples of billboards and outdoor posters, testimonial correspondence, trade advertisements and other materials. They were organized according to product type. Collection spans the years 1916-1927 and contains 18 scrapbooks. Companies represented include the Poster Advertising Service, General Outdoor, O. J. Gude, the Thomas Cusack Company, General Foods (Maxwell House) and Procter & Gamble (Crisco, Ivory soap).

John E. Browning was a commercial artist and designer who worked in outdoor advertising in New Jersey. The John E. Browning Papers span the years 1930-1999 and include billboard designs, photographs and negatives, correspondence, an autobiographical sketch, and printed materials relating to commercial art and typography. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

The John E. Browning Papers span the years 1930-1999 and include billboard designs, photographs and negatives, correspondence, an autobiographical sketch, and printed materials relating to commercial art and typography. Arranged alphabetically.

The Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation was an outdoor advertising company that operated in northern Ohio from 1965 to 2000. The Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation Records span the years 1929 to 1993 and 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 billboards in northern Ohio from 1937 to 1993. Also included are photographs of Ohio street locations and outdoor advertising activities. Other outdoor advertising companies represented in the collection reflect mergers, acquisitions, and business connections between Ohio Outdoor and other firms, and include Dingeman Advertising, Inc.; Outdoor Communications, Inc. (OCI); Outdoor Graphics, Inc.; Indiana Outdoor Advertising Corporation; Kentucky Outdoor Advertising Corporation; E.A. Eckert Advertising Company; and T.R. Sammons Outdoor Advertising Company.

The Ohio Outdoor Advertising Corporation Records span the years 1929-1993 and include clippings, corporation reports, negatives, 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 billboards in northern Ohio from 1937-1993. Also included are photographs of Ohio street locations and outdoor advertising activities. Other outdoor advertising companies represented in the collection reflect mergers, acquisitions, and business connections between Ohio Outdoor and other firms, and include Dingeman Advertising, Inc.; Outdoor Communications, Inc. (OCI); Outdoor Graphics, Inc.; Indiana Outdoor Advertising Corporation; Kentucky Outdoor Advertising Corporation; E.A. Eckert Advertising Company; and T.R. Sammons Outdoor Advertising Company.

The collection is organized into two series: Business Files and Photographs, Negatives and Slides. The Business Files Series includes clippings, corporation reports, poster boards, promotional materials, and regional maps. Large regional maps and poster boards in this series were used for presentations. The Photographs, Negatives and Slides Series makes up the bulk of the collection, and chiefly consists of photographs and slides of billboards in northern Ohio from the 1930s-1990s. Photographs by the E.A. Eckhert Company also document Ohio street locations and outdoor advertising activties. Included are photographs of actress and Westinghouse spokeswoman Betty Furness and a 1938 photograph of a handmade sign in support of Adolph Hitler hanging over a billboard. Slides, which range from 1967-1978, were used in business presentations for outdoor advertising staff or to improve public relations through community outreach.

Large-format materials have been removed from their original series locations and relocated to Oversize Materials. Relocated items have been replaced in the Detailed Description of the Collection by dummy folders enclosed in brackets.

R.C. Maxwell Company of Trenton, N.J., was one of the earliest enduring outdoor advertising companies, founded in 1894 by Robert Chester Maxwell (1873-1955) and continued to operate primarily in the New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania area until the company was sold in 2000. The R.C. Maxwell Company Records span the years 1891-2001 and include photographs and negatives, videocassettes, ledgers and account books, scrapbooks, correspondence and legal papers relating to the company's operations in outdoor advertising. Photographs and negatives in several formats (film, glass negatives, polaroid prints) document billboard designs for a variety of advertisers as well as depicting billboard and electric sign structures and their location relative to the surrounding environment. Urban locations include Times Square in New York and the Atlantic City, N.J., Boardwalk, where a number of photographs also document the Miss America beauty pageant parade and other parades in which the R.C. Maxwell Company participated. A few photographs document billboard construction and erection; there are also photographs of the Maxwell family and of Maxwell company staff and employees. Scrapbooks contain images of billboards and wall paintings produced by the Maxwell company as well as by David L. Clark, a High Point, N.C. artist and sign painter who was R.C. Maxwell's guardian. Other scrapbooks document primarily Coca-Cola signs of the early 20th century, as well as World War I support efforts including the U.S. Food Administration (under the direction of Herbert Hoover), the U.S. Fuel Administration, and Liberty Bond campaigns. Companies represented in the collection include the Boardwalk Advertising Signs Co., C&B Electric Signs Co., Trenton Advertising Co., and Trenton Poster Advertising Co. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

The R.C. Maxwell Company Records span the years 1891-2001 and include photographs and negatives, videocassettes, ledgers and account books, scrapbooks, correspondence and legal papers relating to the company's operations in outdoor advertising. Photographs and negatives in several formats (film, glass negatives, polaroid prints) document billboard designs for a variety of advertisers as well as depicting billboard and electric sign structures and their location relative to the surrounding environment. Urban locations include Times Square in New York and the Atlantic City, N.J., Boardwalk, where a number of photographs also document the Miss America beauty pageant parade and other parades in which the R.C. Maxwell Company participated. A few photographs document billboard construction and erection; there are also photographs of the Maxwell family and of Maxwell company staff and employees. Scrapbooks contain images of billboards and wall paintings produced by the Maxwell company as well as by David L. Clark, a High Point, N.C. artist and sign painter who was R.C. Maxwell's guardian. Other scrapbooks document primarily Coca-Cola signs of the early 20th century, as well as World War I support efforts including the U.S. Food Administration (under the direction of Herbert Hoover), the U.S. Fuel Administration, and Liberty Bond campaigns. Companies represented in the collection include the Boardwalk Advertising Signs Co., C&B Electric Signs Co., Trenton Advertising Co., and Trenton Poster Advertising Co.

Approximately 15,000 photographs, dating up to around 1952, have been described in the searchable ROAD Database (Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions). The numbered and indexed black-and-white photographs and negatives (along with a limited number of glass negatives) include images of billboard and electric spectacular executions (illuminated billboards); road shots showing the approach views to billboard structures; images of Maxwell advertising structures; and images of urban and rural billboard displays in various states, primarily Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including a number of images of Times Square in New York and the Atlantic City, N.J. boardwalk. Because the majority of photographs show the billboards in their surroundings, the images provide a snapshot of the people and buildings near the billboard.

The War Effort Mobilization Campaigns Poster Collection spans the years 1942-1945 and contains miniature reproductions of billboards designed by the War Advertising Council that advertise various government campaigns during World War II. A broad range of campaigns are represented in this collection, including war bonds, civilian employment, women’s Naval Reserve (WAVES) service, food rationing, civil defense, and fire prevention. Campaigns were approved by various government agencies. The Treasury Department is the most heavily represented agency in this collection, but other agencies such as the Office of Civilian Defense, the War Food Administration, the War Manpower (or Man Power) Commission, the National Housing Administration, and the Office of War Information are also included. Most of the posters are in full color and feature images depicting scenes involving military activity, civilian and family life, women’s war contributions, and patriotic symbolism. Many of the posters come with attached promotional literature or form part of "sales kits" designed to encourage businesses to purchase and sponsor a billboard to promote war effort campaigns in their community.

Included in the collection are examples of outdoor advertising for the Second through the Seventh War Loan drives. Examples of advertising for the First Bond drive (which was primarily promoted through newspapers and radio advertising) and the Eighth War Loan campaign may be found in the Ad*Access collection on the Web.

The War Effort Mobilization Campaigns collection consists of two series. The H.E. Fisk War Poster Collection Series contains war effort posters collected in a scrapbook by H.E. Fisk, an executive of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA). The War Effort Sample Posters Series contains a wide range of war effort posters. There is some overlap between the two series.

Related materials may also be found in the R.C. Maxwell Company Records, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America Archives, the J. Walter Thompson Co. Archives: World War II Advertising Collection, and the Advertising Council Records. For additional information on advertising campaigns during World War II, please see http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/wwad-history.html for an article titled "Brief History of World War II Advertising Campaigns." This article, part of the Ad*Access on-line image database, highlights six major advertising initiatives including the conservation, V-mail, and war bond campaigns.