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The Duplex Advertising Company. Billboard Images and Records spans the period 1964-1993 and documents the outdoor advertising work of this company in the central Texas area, primarily through photographs, negatives and slides of billboards. Many of the images are in color. A large number of the images are of national campaigns advertised in central Texas, as well as billboards, signs and posters of local Texas business services. In addition, a handful of articles written by R. V. Miller, Jr. for a number of publications, as well as other printed material and miscellaneous items from the Duplex Advertising Company, are present. Some of these articles, along with the images themselves, provide examples of commercial art and design in the outdoor advertising arena. The collection includes outdoor advertising images from national clients such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chevrolet, Coca Cola, Coors, Wendy's, Hardee's, and Taco Bell, and Texas clients such as Lone Star and Pearl beers.

The Wayne P. Ellis Collection of Kodakiana spans the dates 1886 to 1989, and was created by Mr. Ellis over the period of nearly four decades. Whereas many photographic collectors concentrate on cameras and photographs, Ellis emphasized advertising and marketing material. As a consequence, the collection is especially rich in print advertisements for Eastman Kodak products that were published in general interest periodicals beginning in the late 19th century. More unusual items are the product catalogs, how-to manuals for both amateur and professional photographers, serial publications for salesmen and photographers, and a variety of marketing and promotional items. There are several scrapbooks of advertising materials with considerable marginalia. The collection also includes training manuals and other publications for Kodak employees. In addition, many items in the collection deal with various aspects of the corporate history of Eastman Kodak from its earliest years up to the mid-20th century.

The records of the Harriet Wasserman Literary Agency span the dates 1948-1993, with most of the records dating after 1974. The records dated prior to 1981, when the agency was formed, are those of writers who were Wasserman's clients when she was employed at the Russell and Volkening agency and stayed with her when she formed her own agency. The collection documents the careers of individual writers and in doing so indicates the varied activities of a major literary agency: preparation and submission of manuscripts, negotiation of contracts, handling of foreign and reprint rights, publicity, and the differing ways affairs are handled for lesser known or beginning writers and for major authors. Among the more prominent American fiction writers included are Richard Bausch, Saul Bellow, Frederick Buechner, Oscar Hijuelos, Josephine Humphreys, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Alice McDermott, and Reynolds Price. In addition, records about historian George F. Kennan and philosopher and historian Allan Bloom are included. The correspondence is primarily about professional matters, although some sense of the personal relationships between the agent and the more prominent clients can be gleaned.

The Gene Federico Papers span the years 1918-2003, with the bulk of the collection dating 1951-1991. The collection documents Federico's sixty years as a pioneering leader in advertising and graphic design, and contains materials from a variety of formats, including correspondence, writings, advertisements proofs and clippings, graphic design and printed materials, posters, sketches/sketchbooks, photographs, negatives, and videotapes. In addition to limited personal and biographical material, the collection primarily documents Federico's creative output as a graphic designer, art director, and advertising executive at agencies including Grey Advertising, Doyle Dane Bernbach, Douglas D. Simon, Benton & Bowles, Warwick & Legler, and as a principal at Lord Geller Federico Einstein; the collection has limited material relating to the specific agencies for which he worked. The collection also documents Federico's extensive freelance and exhibition work throughout his career (most notably the "Love of Apples" and "24-Page Book" designs), in addition to his later consulting work for Brouillard Communications. Client advertisements and graphic design materials compose the majority of the collection. Significant clients represented include: Christian Dior; Elektra Records; Elizabeth Arden; Goldman Sachs; IBM; L'Aiglon Apparel; Lady Pepperell; Napier; The New Yorker; and Woman's Day. Though an art director throughout most of his career, Federico contributed significantly to the graphic design and typographical components of advertising. Through clear and innovative integration of design and typographical components, Federico pioneered the use of visual puns in advertisements, and emphasized clarity of message over design complexity. The collection will be of particular value to researchers interested in developments in print advertising and typographical design since World War II. The collection is organized into six series which focus on Federico's contributions to advertising and graphic design: Professional Files, Personal Files, Graphic Design, Advertising Campaigns, Photographs and Negatives, and Videocassettes.

The papers of William Mahone span the period 1853 to 1895, with the bulk of the material dating from 1876 to 1892. The collection consists of copies of letters written by Mahone to others, incoming letters to Mahone, subject files on a variety of topics, clippings, and scrapbooks, but primarily focuses on Mahone's railroad and political interests. There is a great deal of overlap of topics between the different series in the collection; thus information concerning Mahone's political and railroad interests is repeated in the different series.

The Cannon Mills Records, a textile manufacturer, span the years 1836-1983, although the bulk occurs during 1887-1983. Files and account books concern the operations of Cannon Manufacturing Company and its successor in 1928, Cannon Mills, its subsidiary and associated textile mills, related business interests, and community involvement. The records include correspondence, volumes, memoranda, statistical compilations, reports, printed material, and financial and legal documents.