AV 161 Fairchild Company Collection

              AV 161
Fairchild Company Collection
1
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Manuscripts/Audiovisual Collections
AV 161
Fairchild Aerial Surveys Collection
1946-1948, 1951
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Number:
AV 161
Title:
Fairchild Aerial Surveys Collection
Creator:
Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc.
Dates:
1946-1948, 1951
Media:
Film negatives and photographs
Quantity:
0.19 cubic feet
Location:
Ohio Historical Center
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE COLLECTION
A pioneer in the field of aerial photography, Sherman Mills Fairchild (1896-1971), founded Fairchild Aerial Surveys. During the 1900’s, Sherman Fairchild developed several new camera features, including the first synchronized camera shutter and flash.
In 1924, Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc. was established. The first contract Fairchild received was photomapping Newark, New Jersey. This was the first time that a major city had been aerially mapped. After the success of the Newark mapping project, the company went on to map areas along the Eastern seaboard, New York and also in Canada.
Source: New Jersey State Archives
SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION
The collection consists of aerial views of Ohio locations created by Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc. dating from 1946-1948, 1951. There are 128 black and white negatives measuring approximately 8x10 inches and 10 photographic prints. The negatives and photographs are housed in their original envelope and filed in order by city. Dates, locations, and subjects of the images are recorded on the envelopes.
Photographs are professional photographic documentation of Ohio’s built environment and farmland during the late 1940’s and early 1950s. The elevation at which they were taken is low enough to read signs and examine structures pictured. Additionally, the facilities of historically important businesses in Ohio, such as Zanesville area pottery companies and the National Cash Register factory in Dayton, are represented.