Search

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.