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The John E. Brennan Outdoor Advertising Survey Reports document the professional endeavors of outdoor advertising design researcher John E. (Jack) Brennan for the time period 1947 to 1980. His work primarily consisted of conducting market surveys on the effectiveness of billboard advertisement design and layout, and reporting his findings to subscribers to advance design efficiency for the industry. About 786 surveys cover 15,720 different advertisement designs posted on signs in major markets around the US. Forty-two different cities were covered in 27 states. His survey interviewers questioned participants on how well they remembered advertisements and product brand names. Brennan then analyzed the survey data to produce practical information for advertisers and advertising companies on improving advertisement copy, thereby increasing advertising efficiency and profits. His emphasis was on outdoor advertisement design and copy, not traffic or other outdoor industry factors. The collection is comprised mainly of paper files, most containing color photographs attached to the paper data reports or sleeved along side them. Other significant items include the Copy Clues reports which capitalize on the data Brennan compiled, suggesting outdoor advertisement (also known as poster) design improvements. Other supporting materials within the collection include survey methodology information, related writings, summary data files, and business correspondence. Even without the context of Brennan's survey forms and data, the collection is a sizable photo library of mid-20th century commercial art created for outdoor advertising. Additional description of the individual series presented below may be found within the container list.

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 Terry Sanford Papers document Sanford's career as a United States Senator from North Carolina from 1986 to 1992. The collection contains papers dated from 1926-1992, with the bulk of the material dated between 1986 and 1992. His senatorial campaigns, views on issues, interactions with constituents, and activities in committees of which he was a member are documented throughout the collection. Sanford served on the following U. S. Senate committees: Select Committee on Ethics (Chair); Special Committee on Aging; Budget; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, including the Subcommittee on International Finance and Monetary Policy and Subcommittee on Securities; and Foreign Relations, including Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (Chair), Subcommittee on African Affairs, and Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere and Peace Corps Affairs.

When ALFA disbanded in 1994, the archival collections and the bulk of the periodicals collection were transferred to Duke's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. The book collection and the remaining periodicals stayed in Atlanta, with books relating to feminist theory going to Emory University and the rest to a community library. The ALFA Archives and Periodicals Collections that have been transferred to Duke are an incredibly rich source of information about feminist and lesbian activism and communities, especially in the Southeast, from the early 1970s to the present.

Collection contains miscellaneous files from the Detroit office; tearsheets, client and competitive advertising. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising and Marketing History.