Three Days, Two Passions

[Guy]

Tuesday afternoon I set out from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. returning today, Friday morning at 4 AM, combining my two passions, teardrops and veterans, in a dizzying jaunt of heavy researching, power politics, formal dinners, dusty archives, microfilm machines, free wifi, old fashioned books, and sleeping in my car on Independence Ave. just off the Vietnam Memorial. I'm beat, but can't sleep.

My trip was initially just for some fundraising for veterans running for Congress, from New York State to Georgia, Texas, Florida and Colorado, having to meet and pigeonhole the likes of Wes Clark, Max Clelland, and former Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Crowe ( who I had never met before and turns out to be one of the greatest guys I have ever met in my life.)

In the middle of this, I decide to spend all my other time, researching for a "scholarly" article I have been threatening to write on "The Origins of Teardrop Trailers" This took me into the Library of Congress, using research assistants in five separate rooms in all three buildings which make up the Library of Congress. Crazed, obscure research in Science, Business, Periodicals, Newspapers, and Copyright.

Then I descended deep into the bowels of the Arts and Industry Building at the Smithsonian Institute. It was closed to the public for renovations, but Ole Silver Tongue got into the Archives. It turns out the more obscure your topic the more archivists want to help and bend the rules. Then it was atop the American History Museum I would go, looking at handwritten notes from early automobile trailer builders and aerodynamics scientists. My brain got cluttered and my hands were filthy.

I still have to go to the New York Public Library, Cooper Union, and, as crazy as it sounds, to Brooklyn Technical High School, MY HIGH SCHOOL, which has the only known collection of some Travel Trailer Industry Newsletters from 1925-1939.

The material surprised me, as you would be too, and is way beyond my expectations. I hope I can do it justice.

[Chip]

Guy,,, I am waiting for the end result,,,, sounds like an interesting project and from your post ya found some good stuff,,, share it when ya can,,,,,

Ill take an autographed copy when its published

chipper

[Rob]

Dear Guy

Sounds like two great passions. Please reserve an autographed copy of the book for me too.

[asianflava]

How Ironic is that? having your research lead you back to your old High School for info.

[Miriam C.]

Oh how fun.
[url]but Ole Silver Tongue got into the Archives[/url].
It would be worth the work just to see the rules bent.

I tried years ago but they had closed for the day and we left DC the next day.

Sounds like a great project, and I am sure your fundraising was successful.
Perhaps you could share some of the more interesting bits as you come across them.

I know NAG,NAG, NAG
Enjoy
Miriam

[Guy]

An outrageous find

[len19070]

Hey Guy, cuss a'diege.
This should be a good piece of research. Judging from the preamble we heard at R.B. Winter. I'd be interested to know the story about any European connections.

Happy Trails

Len

[Ira]

Man, is that COOL!

And the best part is, Guy's gonna have a REAL slice of pizza!

Say hi to Canarsie for me!

[Guy]

Here is a one patented "Teardrop automobile trailer"

[Ira]

Guy, what year is that? And is that the COMPLETE set of plans for the patent?

[Guy]

Dear Ira,

Application was in 1931, and no, it was not the complete set of plans. Just some of the drawings. There are others, I just did not post them.

[Ira]

Do they just let you scan that stuff while you're there to your laptop?

[Guy]

Dear Ira,

It all depends on which room you are in when you find something and how accomodating the research room and libvrarians are. Some of this material is digitized, some on Microform, and still others are still on paper. Microform is the least flexible since they have them hooked up to B&W laser printers which are not very good.
A young student was there with a hand held scanner and she scanned a few things for me that were in books. It helped that I was wearing my HARVARD baseball cap (a gift from my son who just graduated from there). It made me look important to the academic types who frequent those archives.

If the material is all ready digitized you can mark the document and at the end of your search you can EMAIL it directly to yourself from their computer stations. A lot simpler than the process I had to go through when I was a young law student/copyright attorney.