Contributed by Anne Bahde, Rare Books and History of Science Librarian
SCARC is delighted to announce that the Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. Collection of Atomic Age Ephemera is now open to researchers.
Carefully collected over three decades, this collection was one of the largest collections on American nuclear history in private hands before coming to OSU in 2017. Collector Robert Dalton Harris, Jr. and his partner Diane DeBlois are authors, editors, historians, independent scholars, and long-time proprietors of aGatherin’, a business that deals in ephemera and original source materials. They began building a collection of materials from the era in the early 1980s, and added books, pieces of ephemera, manuscript collections, and artifacts gradually over decades.
Items involving atomic themes, including Christmas wrapping paper, candy wrappers, and restaurant menus. ID: undated.097
The materials of the collection span over a century of nuclear science and history. Together, these items tell the story of the Atomic Age from every possible angle, capturing the hopes and fears of the world’s citizens as they grappled with the promises and dangers posed by atomic discoveries, both in the United States and internationally.
The Harris Collection of the Atomic Age is in three parts. Part 1 is comprised of nearly 30 separate manuscript and archival collections from individuals who were associated in some way with the nuclear era, including Leo Szilard, Norman Hilberry, Joseph Dietrich, and Peter Skinner. The collection also includes rich collections around the concept of imminent danger or disaster, including the Y2K scare and the fable of Chicken Little. These collections will be processed individually in the coming years. The first of these, the Anne Frewerd Scrapbook, is an exciting first-hand look at a young woman’s life at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project and will be released soon.
Part 2, Books, is composed of nearly 1,000 published print items, again covering a multitude of nuclear angles and issues and dating from the late 19th century to the early 21st century. Print items include both books and magazines/journals. Cataloging for monograph and serial publications from the Harris Collection of the Atomic Age is ongoing, and research access to these titles is limited until cataloging is finished.
Remarks by Dr. Michio Kaku at UE’s 50th International Convention, Sept 16-20, 1985. ID: 1985.003
Part 3, Ephemera, is the part of the collection now open for researchers. (This previous post explores the definition of ephemera using materials from the collection.) In this collection , the story of the Atomic Age is told through nearly 50 different material types. The majority of items are typical ephemera formats such as newspapers, pamphlets, booklets, brochures, leaflets, flyers, posters, and postcards. Additional formats in the collection include stamps, promotional materials and advertisements, newsletters, instructional materials, conference materials, government documents, calendars, stickers, stamps and envelopes, original art, sheet music, and artifacts.
The Harris materials join existing collections on nuclear history in SCARC, and add considerable depth to a number of nuclear subjects already covered in those collections. The Harris materials also establish sub-strengths that did not yet exist in our collections. Below, and in the next post, we will explore a few of those areas and the research topics across many disciplines these materials can support.
Box-Folder 3.63: Radium Ointment Sign, undated, circa 1930s Advertisement for radium ointment as sunburn treatment. ID: undated.001 
Box-Folder 1.5: Radium Has Been Discovered at Stovall Hot Wells, 1929 Promotional pamphlet for hotel near natural mineral spring. ID: 1929.001 
Box-Folder 1.2: Radium Remedies Company, 1916 Promotional pamphlet for Radium Remedies’ radium products including complexion soap, suppositories, and cold cream. ID: 1916.001
Many materials prior to 1945 deal with early scientific advances and the therapeutic radium craze, documented through promotional materials, testimonials, and advertisements. Prior to the Harris acquisition, SCARC collections were somewhat sparse on this crucial era of nuclear history. The Ephemera Collection adds a number of items, and additional titles wait to be cataloged. These materials can support a wide variety of research topics around radium use in health, science, and culture.
Box-Folder 1.11: Information Bulletin for Oak Ridge Residents, January 15, 1945 Booklet for new residents about facilities and services in the town site. Topics discussed include cameras, radios, firearms, pets, shopping, milk and firewood distribution, churches, recreation, rationing, and secrecy. ID: 1945.001 
Box-Folder 4.22: Shopper’s Guide to Oak Ridge, December 21, 1944 Map insert from Oak Ridge Journal with warning “Restricted: Not to be taken from area.” ID: 1944.005 
Box-Folder 4.8: Oak Ridge Journal, August 9, 1945 Headline: Oak Ridge Attacks Japanese: Workers Thrill as Atomic Bomb Secret breaks: Press and Radio Stories Describe ‘Fantastically Powerful” Weapon; Expected to Save Many Lives. ID: 1945.036 
Box-Folder 4.1: Oak Ridge Journal, July 13, 1944 ID: 1944.002 
Box-Folder 1.10: Robert Francis Calfee Oak Ridge Employee Documents, June 25, 1944 Camera registration with the Clinton Engineer Works Auxiliary Military Police; Oak Ridge Health Association card; cautionary notice telling workers to preserve the secrecy mandate for Manhattan Project. ID: 1944.001
Photographs, scrapbooks, and newspapers from Manhattan Project sites reflect the development of the atomic bomb and the relationships between government, scientists, and citizens during the war. The Harris Ephemera collection has particular strength in the early American response to news of the atomic bomb. This response is documented through over 75 pieces produced in the immediate days and months after the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The large set of newspapers in this section, particularly the rare newspapers from Hanford and Oak Ridge announcing and discussing the atomic bomb, are a notable highlight of the collection.
Box-Folder 1.27: Construction for Atomic Bomb Facilities, December 13, 1945 Reprint from Engineering News-Record published December 13, 1945. ID: 1945.070 
Box-Folder 1.81: The Atom Bomb and You, September 1950 Booklet discusses atomic weapons, their dangers, and need for disarmament and peace. ID: 1950.007 
Box-Folder 3.146: What is ABCC?, 1949 Booklet with reproduced photographs; in Japanese. ID: 1949.008 
Box-Folder 1.63: Using the Atom for Peace, 1947 Booklet by the New York Herald Tribune’s science reporter describing ways atomic energy can be used for peace. ID: 1947.005 
Box-Folder 1.31: Pilot Lights of the Apocalypse: A Playlet in One Act, January 1946 Short play dealing with defense against atomic bombs. First published in Fortune Magazine, January 1946. ID: 1946.001 
Box-Folder 1.53: Atomic Energy and World Government, 1946 Behind the Headlines, v. 6, no. 4. Author discusses the history of atomic energy, speculates on whether other countries will be able to recreate its secrets, and warns the focus has shifted toward atomic weapons. ID: 1946.029
Tensions around international control of atomic energy in the years just following the war are represented through offprints, reports, and speeches. Growing anxiety at the start of the Cold War and calls for peace from individuals and organizations can be seen in pamphlets, newsletters, and article reprints. One very rare item describes the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission and its mission in Japanese for victims of the Hiroshima bombing.
Box-Folder 2.67: Survival! Is Your Personal Business, 1961 Brochure with immediate actions to complete during attack. ID: 1961.014 
Box-Folder 2.53: Office of Civil Defense Survival Instructions Envelope, 1960 Civil defense packet for Austin and Travis counties, Texas containing four booklets: “Fallout Protection: What to know and do about nuclear attack”, “Ten for Survival: survive nuclear attack”, “Survival in a Nuclear Attack”, and “Family Shelter Designs”. Also contains smaller pamphlets and leaflets. ID: 1960.022 
Box-Folder 2.42: Student Manual for Personal Preparedness in the Nuclear Age, December 1960 ID: 1960.011 
Box-Folder 1.128: Defense Against the H-Bomb, July 1955 Survival guide for residents of Clackamas, Columbia, Hood River, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon and Clark County, Washington, with specific directions for Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. Includes Portland evacuation routes map and damage radius of an atomic bomb. ID: 1955.008 
Box-Folder 1.110: “Operation Survival” and You: Basic Orientation for the Medical Services, 1953 Orientation documents for medical defense volunteers in event of nuclear attack. Includes armband that reads “Public Utilities – New York”. ID: 1953.007 
Box-Folder 1.96: Atomic Blast Creates Fire, 1951 Pamphlet on fire prevention and fire issues from atomic attacks. ID: 1951.007 
Box-Folder 1.80: You and the Atomic Bomb, July 1950 Pamphlet for Portland, Oregon residents to prepare and respond in the event of an atomic attack or other major emergency. ID: 1950.006 
Box-Folder 3.71: Ticket for Meramec Caverns Atomic Shelter, undated, circa late 1940s No. 40858. Unsigned. ID: undated.011 
Box-Folder 1.100: Just in Case Atom Bombs Fall: Handbook for Civilians, 1951 Booklet illustrated in color for Colorado residents, focused on Denver. Booklet describes the dangers of atomic weapons, preparedness, and other types of attack. Includes registration card for Denver Civil Defense office. ID: 1951.011
Civil defense is a primary concentration of the collection, and a number of handbooks, manuals, training materials, and survival guides dominate the collection from 1950 to 1965. The Harris materials deepen this existing concentration for our collections and provide exciting new examples of civil defense ephemera, including a fallout shelter sign and other artifacts. These examples with others across our collections can support a wide range of research into this tense period of American history.
The final post in this series will continue to explore the rich Harris Collection, including materials relating to testing, fallout, public engagement with nuclear issues, education, nuclear industries, nuclear power, nuclear disasters, and anti-nuclear activism. The Harris Collection of Atomic Age Ephemera can be now consulted by appointment in SCARC’s reading room.