Search

The Garrett Orr Papers document the artistic output and personal files of advertising executive Garrett Orr. Although the collection spans the years circa 1873 to 1994, the bulk of the materials fall within two main periods: the 1890s to 1914, comprising a photographic collection of old poster images; and 1930 to 1965, which approximates the span of Orr's professional life. The collection includes the original drawings, water colors and paintings produced by Orr as designs for the outdoor advertising campaigns of a wide variety of products such as Gillette razors, Ipana toothpaste (Bristol-Myers), Lucky Strikes and Viceroy cigarettes (Brown & Williamson), Mazola corn oil (Corn Products Refining Company), Seagram beverages, Verney fabrics, and White Rose tea. Also included are folders of photographs, slides and negatives of Orr's advertising work for approximately 550 companies (with index). In addition, a collection of almost 200 large-format negatives and photographs document images of 19th- and early 20th-century posters for plays, musicals, minstrel shows, circuses, and hotels. A large set of clippings files contain published examples of the work of over 100 graphic artists and illustrators contemporary with Orr, including Floyd Davis, Ronald McLeod, George Petty, Howard Scott, Ben Stahl, Jon Whitcomb, and J. Walter Wilkinson. The collection is organized into five series--the General Files Series; the Artists and Illustrators Series; the Product Files Series; the Other Photographic Materials Series; and the Sketches Series. Large-format items from the Artists and Illustrators Series and Sketches Series have been relocated to Oversize Materials.

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America Slide Library spans the years 1891 through the 2000s, with the bulk of the collection originating in the 1950s and later. The collection documents over a hundred years of outdoor advertising primarily in the United States, plus some international campaigns from several other continents. The Slide Library is a large collection, almost entirely comprised of slides of billboards, exhibiting a grand range of graphic artistry, advertising campaigns, and marketing strategies. A smaller group of images supports the ad collection with views of artwork, billboard construction and other related images. In addition to over 62,000 slides, there are a few early glass slides, as well as transparencies, a small number of paper files, and six audiocassettes accompanying slide presentations. Many images were submitted by outdoor advertising companies over a number of years to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) as entries in annual national competitions to determine the best poster designs. The OAAA currently sponsors the OBIE Awards, which were preceded by awards programs under various names and sponsorships starting in the early 1930s. The award is modeled after the ancient Egyptian obelisk, considered by many the earliest form of outdoor advertising. Indeed much of the collection can be seen as evidence of this awards program although only the Award Nominees Series contains slides labeled as such. Other slides probably were transferred to OAAA when companies cleaned out their back files, though the precise sources of many items are unknown. The slides were maintained at OAAA primarily as a large supply of creative examples for member companies. Researchers interested in the following subjects may find the Outdoor Advertising Association of America Slide Library especially helpful: the outdoor advertising medium itself, advertising awards, advertising design, billboard construction, and commercial art, as well as the many outdoor advertising companies, advertisers, and advertising campaigns represented.