Inventory of the Ernest M. Allison papers
Finding aid prepared by Taylor Brady, Jessica Yu
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2015, 2022
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Ernest M. Allison papers
Date (inclusive): 1910-2012
Collection Number: 2015C19
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English
Physical Description:
38 manuscript boxes, 4 card file boxes, 3 oversize boxes, 1 cubic foot box, 1 AV tray, 2 oversize folders, digital media
(24.23 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Diaries, flight logs, correspondence, printed matter, photographs, business papers, maps, VHS tapes and memorabilia of the
American aviator relating to commercial aviation in the United States and China before World War II. Includes other family
papers and collected material on aviation history.
Creator:
Allison, Ernest M., 1894-1976
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
Boxes 9, 47, and OCM2 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research;
materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the
collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2015.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Ernest M. Allison papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
An American aviator, Ernest M. Allison was active in the early days of American aviation, where he was one of the first to
fly routes with the US Air Mail service from 1918 to 1927. Allison moved to China in 1929 to serve the China National Aviation
Corporation (CNAC), where he flew mail routes, helped establish and expand the airfield at Shanghai, and oversaw the expansion
of CNAC into a commercial passenger line under Pan-American Airways, eventually serving as a vice president of CNAC. He flew
important missions, including delivering supplies, flying Soong May-Ling (Madame Chiang Kai-Shek) into Shanghai, and flying
Chiang Kai-Shek and Soong May-Ling back to Xi'an after the Xi'an Incident of 1936. Allison was well acquainted with important
figures in aviation such as Charles Lindbergh, Claire Lee Channault, Clement M. Keys, William Langhorne Bond, and Harold M.
Bixby. Allison returned to the United States after the Communist victory in China and worked in aviation in various capacities,
including for Boeing in Seattle.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection includes diaries, flight logs, correspondence, books, periodicals, bulletins, printed matter, photographs,
business papers, maps, and memorabilia relating to commercial aviation in the United States and China before World War II,
specifically, the development of the Air Mail Service of the United States Postal Service and the development of the China
National Aviation Company (CNAC) and the services that it provided, notably air mail and later passenger transportation. Includes
other family papers and collected material on aviation history, including the autobiography of aviator R. C. "Tex" Marshall,
and interviews with former CNAC employees such as Harold Chin, Frieda Chen, Moon Chin, Wong Tsu, and Fred Y. T. Chin. Contains
research correspondence with Dick Rossi, James McDivitt, and David Feng and personal correspondence with Harold Bixby, William
Langhorne Bond, Claire Lee Chennault, Royal Leonard, K. I. Nieh, and H. S. "Newsreel" Wong. Also includes writings by Ernest
Allison's daughter; a glossary of Chinese-English flight vocabulary, including Chinese script used at the time; VHS tapes
of China, work, Shanghai street and family, war scenes, CNAC planes and hangars, filmed by Allison and others; and CDs of
CNAC history.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Aeronautics -- China
Aeronautics -- United States
China National Aviation Corporation
Career File
1932-2005
Scope and Contents
Contains flight logs, journal, commendations, speech notes, and other materials.
Interview notes
1937-1998
box 1, folder 1
Harold Chin, China National Aviation Company (CNAC) Pilot
1937
box 1, folder 2
Frieda Chen, CNAC secretary
August 25, 1992
box 1, folder 3
Fred Y. T. Chin, CNAC copilot
1998
box 1, folder 4
Nancy Wright to/from William Longhorne Bond
1988
box 1, folder 5
Moon Chin, CNAC pilot and captain
1991-1992
box 1, folder 6
CNAC Monthly Bulletin
1948 May - September
Scope and Contents
Contains original editions of the bulletin.
box 1, folder 7
Pan American Airways, Inc.
1932-1949
Scope and Contents
Raw notes about involvement with CNAC.
box 1, folder 8
Biography of Wong Tsu (CNAC Chief Engineer 1928-1949) from Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington
2005
box 1, folder 9
The China Memoirs of Charles S. "Chilie" Vaughn
1930
box 1, folder 10-12
Flying Autobiography of R.C. "Tex" Marshall
1970 June
box 1, folder 13
"Over the Hump: Pioneering China's Air Routes," by Nancy Allison Wright.
Aviation History Magazine
1998 November
box 1, folder 14
Aviation articles
1996-2002
Scope and Contents
Contains articles titled, "America's First Coat-to-Coast Mail Run," "Allie's Choice," and "China's Aviation Pioneer, CNAC,
Spreading its Wings."
box 2, folder 1
History of CNAC and aviation in China
undated
Scope and Contents
Consists of nine DVDs.
box 2, folder 3
"On the Trail of the Air Mail," by Lieutenant J. Parker Van Zandt, US Army Air Service.
The National Geographic Magazine
1926 January
box 2, folder 4
"Yankee on the Yangtze," by Nancy Allison Wright.
Aviation Quarterly
1980
box 2, folder 5
"Adventurous Travellers - First in the Skies of China,"
2012
Scope and Contents
Booklet from the Rosamonde Aviation Lounge at The Peninsula Hotel in Shanghai.
box 2, folder 6
Flight In the China Air Space 1910-1950, by Malcolm Rosholt
1984
box 2, folder 7-8
Saga of the US Air Mail Service First Edition, Air Mail Pioneers, Inc.
1962
box 2, folder 9
Correspondence regarding CNAC from Nancy Allison Wright
1998
box 2, folder 10
Interview with Dick Rossi
1992
box 2, folder 11
Research correspondence, Charles Euripideas
1999
box 2, folder 12
Research correspondence, David Feng
1998
box 2, folder 13
Research correspondence, James McDivitt
1948, 1995
Books Regarding the History of CNAC
1938
box 3
Wings Over Asia: A Brief History of China National Aviation Corporation
undated
box 3
Top Side Ricksha, by Harold M. Bixby
1938
Scope and Contents
Independently written and bound manuscript.
Writings, Personal Effects, and Correspondence
1918-1973
box 4, folder 1
Certificates and commendations
undated
box 4, folder 4
Speaking notes, "Industrialization of China,"
1950
box 4, folder 5
Business and membership cards
undated
box 4, folder 6
Personal journal of Ernest Allison
1938
box 4, folder 7
Writings
1931-1938
Scope and Contents
Includes Allison's general account of time spent in China, and a story from 1938 titled, "All Asleep But Me," about a flight
from Chungking to Changsha.
box 4, folder 8
"Landing In a Walled City,"
1962
box 4, folder 9
Operations Report 1947 - Pan American
January 1948
box 4, folder 10
The "All Thru" Flying System of Flying Instruction at Brooks Field, booklet
undated
box 4, folder 14
William Langhorne Bond
1932-1976
box 4, folder 16
Claire Lee Chennault
1939-1941
box 4, folder 24
Hsien-ling Tseng (Ceng Xianling)
1941-1942
box 5, folder 3
Boeing B-20 and B-29 airplanes, Wichita, Kansas
1944
box 5, folder 7
CNAC I, Beijing aerial photos, photo of Longhua (Lunghwa) Pagoda
1930
box 5, folder 11
CNAC, Hong Kong
1947-1949
Scope and Contents
Pictured with William Langhorne Bond, Max Polin, James McDivitt, Hugh Chen, P. Ling, S. T. C. Kao, Q. Rossevelt, Colonel C.
Y. Liu, and Colonel C. H. Wang.
box 5, folder 13
CNAC in Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu
1929-1934
box 5, folder 14
Ernest Allison with Boeing B29
1944
box 5, folder 15
Flossie Allison
1928-1949
Florence Allison
1935-1949
box 5, folder 23
Notebook
Scope and Contents
Notebook detailing members and associates of the Allison family, and personal information about them.
Printed Matter and Maps
1933-1937
box 6, folder 1
Sian: A Coup D'Etat, by Mayling Soong Chiang (Madame Chiang Kai-Shek), and
A Fortnight in Sian: Extracts from a Diary, by Chiang Kai-Shek. Copy signed by Mayling Soong Chiang.
1937
box 6, folder 2
Journal of the West China Border Research Society, Volume VI
1933-1934
box 6, folder 3
The Climate of China and The Adjoining Seas, by Father E. Gherzi, S.J. Director, Met. Seismic Observatory for CNAC
undated
box 6, folder 4
"China's Children: The Season's Greetings", booklet published by the Publicity Committee, United Church of Canada, West China
Mission
undated
box 6, folder 5
"'Two Kingdoms' (or the Philosophy of Finance): A Fable for Grown Up People," by "Ivangels,"
1935
box 7
Martini Shaker
undated
Scope and Contents
Silver martini shaker with relief of a dragon. Gift to Ernest M. Allison from Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek.
box 8
Oversize Material
1923-1968
- Hardbound copy of
The Saturday Evening Post, October 30th, 1937.
- A 1923 glass plaque commemorating US Air Mail Service Pilots ) from the Detroit Aviation Society.
- A 1931 framed photograph of Ernest M. Allison's sailboat, the "Nidaros."
- War memorial medal given by China National Air Corporation (CNAC) to Ernest M. Allison.
- Plaque commemorating Ernest M. Allison for the 1918 to 1927 Air Mail Service. Awarded in 1968.
Digital Materials
Access
Digital materials are not available until processed. If interested in accessing these materials, please contact us for more
information.
Scope and Contents
11 optical disks.
box MC36
"Dragon Wings: The Story of the China National Aviation Corporation" and "Saga of CNAC #53" (from CNA Captain Fletcher Hanks)
undated
Scope and Contents
Consists of two DVDs regarding CNAC history.
box MC37
CNAC and Chinese Aviation history
2005-2012, undated
Scope and Contents
9 optical disks.
Incremental Materials 2018
box 5
Photographs
Scope and Contents
Includes planes and people
box 9
Aviator cap, hatband, and pin
Scope and Contents
Box 9 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
box OCM2
Silk banner with signatures
Access
Box OCM2 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
Incremental Materials 2019
Processing Information
These incremental materials were processed to a baseline standard that employs an accession inventory for description. An
accession inventory is a basic description of an archival collection with no attempt at intellectual arrangement. The depth
of description varies depending on the format of the materials and the amount of pre-existing description received when the
materials were acquired.
box 10
1937-1980s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, printed material, speeches and writings, office files, financial documents, and legal documents.
There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 11
1934-1990s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, printed material, and financial documents. The following is a list of original folder titles
present in the box: "State Department."
box 12
1930s-1990s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, printed material, office files, financial documents, speeches and notes, and photographic
prints. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 13
1930s-1990s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, printed material, and speeches and writings. The following is a list of original folder
titles present in the box: "Misc"; "Duplicate Clippings, Letters, etc."; "Letters, Shanghai"; "Letters Mom to Dad."
box 14
1937-1990s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, speeches and writings, printed material, financial documents, and photographic prints. The
following is a list of original folder titles present in the box: "Lederer, Jerry"; "History, AMP"; "50th Anniversary."
box 15
1930s-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, speeches and writings, transcriptions of interviews, printed material, office files, photographic
media. The following is a list of original folder titles present in the box: "H. H. Kung, Chennault - Bixby"; "US Intelligence
1945"; "Chu-Xiong Zhou Tai Chi"; "Rossi, Dick"; "Interviews I, Bob Pottschmidt DC-2"; "Chen, Hugh, Central Aircraft Mfg";
"Conventions."
box 16
1930s-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, speeches and writings, and printed material. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 17
1970s-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, speeches and writings, printed material, and photocopies of newspaper articles. There are
no titled enclosures in this box.
box 18
1949-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, speeches and writings, transcriptions of interviews, printed material, photocopies of newspaper
articles, and office files. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 19
1936-1938
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence and newspaper clippings. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 20
1936-1995
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence and newspaper clippings. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 21
1930s-2002
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, magazines, newspaper clippings, and photocopies of newspaper articles. There are no titled
enclosures in this box.
box 22
1930s-1960s
Scope and Contents
This box includes newspaper clippings, and photocopies of newspaper articles. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 23
1926-1991
Scope and Contents
This box includes newspaper clippings, photocopies of newspaper articles, correspondence, and office files. There are no titled
enclosures in this box.
box 24
1928-1941
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, office files, and printed material. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 25
1929-1938
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photocopies of newspaper articles. There are no titled enclosures
in this box.
box 26
1934-1938
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photocopies of newspaper articles. There are no titled enclosures
in this box.
box 27
1936-1990s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, printed material, financial documents, and newspaper clippings. The following is a list
of original folder titles present in the box: "Jesse Davidson"; "Letters - Davidson questions"; "Letter - Gould, Randall,
Doolittle - Keiha."
box 28
1938-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, newspapers clippings, printed material, financial documents, and office files. The following
is a list of original folder titles present in the box: "Hua, Renjie" ; "Churchill, Edward" ; "Showalter, Noah - Flossie Boeing"
; "Roberts, Ellna" ; "Letter - Liu - Hg. Dire. operations" ; "Lym, Art - Mud hole CNAC."
box 29
1932-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence and newspaper clippings. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 30
1934-1935
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, photocopies of newspaper articles, and financial documents. There are
no titled enclosures in this box.
box 31
1929-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, photocopies of newspaper articles, printed material, and photographic
prints. The following is a list of original folder titles present in the box: "Ott letters" ; "Ott" ; "Ray Ott"; "Shanghai
Yacht Club, Nidaros" ; "Letters - Pawley" ; "Misc. Route Info Clippings" ; "Ollie articles" ; Misc Flight Instructions" ;
"Letters - Showalter - B-29 - Flossie" ; "Letters - Tex Marshal - Allie" ; "Wong, Donald" ; "Dewart, Lewis" ; "Knight, Reed
- Me."
box 32
1920s-2008
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, speeches and writings, printed material, newspaper clippings, and photocopies of newspaper
articles. The following is a list of original folder titles present in the box: "Boeing Magazines" ; "Doyl - CIA - PAA" ;
"Dean, Howard" ; "Kaughlin, Victor" ; "Glenn, Oliver" ; "Green, Morris nee Kuhn" ; "Hassig, Grant" ; "Frondorf - R.O." ; "Colthorpe,
Ken" ; "Doolittle - Albert? parachute" ; "Chang, Freda, Bond sec." ; "Chin, Fred Y.T." ; "Clare, Kathleen."
box 33
1920s-1990s
Scope and Contents
This box includes newspaper clippings, photocopies of newspaper articles, printed material, speeches and writings, and correspondence.
There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 34
1920s-1990s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, printed material, financial documents, and photographic prints. There are no titled enclosures
in this box.
box 35
1920s-2000
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photocopies of newspaper articles. The following is a list of original
folder titles present in the box: "Fleet, Reuben" ; Culver, Paul - 1918."
box 36
1920s-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, financial documents, speeches and writings, photocopies of newspaper articles, and office
files. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 37
1920s-2000s
Scope and Contents
This box includes correspondence, office files, speeches and writings, photocopies of newspaper articles, and a pilots manual.
There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 45
1937, 1947
Scope and Contents
This box includes a book titled "A Comprehensive Glossary of Definitions and Nomenclature for Aeronautics" and a map of downtown
Shanghai. There are no titled enclosures in this box.
box 38, folder 3
Airmail DH4 - No. 191 and No. 286
1910s-1920s
box 38, folder 5
Allison, Ernest - Misc.
1920s
box 38, folder 6
Airmail - Martin Field, Cleveland
1920
box 38, folder 8
Airmail - Cleveland Air Mail Field
1920s
box 38, folder 9
Air Mail Service DH-4Bx
1910s-1920s
box 38, folder 10
AMP photos - Wyoming
1920s
box 38, folder 11
CNAC - Hong Kong
1947-1949
box 38, folder 12
AMP photos - Meetings
1950s
box 38, folder 14
E. Hamilton Lee, U.S. Air Mail Service
1918-1927
box 38, folder 15
Airmail - Belleforte Field
1910s-1920s
box 38, folder 16
Airmail - Jack Knight
1910s-1920s
box 39, folder 1
Air Mail Service - AMP
1950s-1970s
box 39, folder 2-3
Air Mail Service - AMP--Washington D.C. [Folders 1-2 of 2]
1968 May
box 39, folder 4
Air Mail Service - AMP--[Untitled file]
1967
box 39, folder 5
Air Mail Service - AMP--[Untitled file]
1964, 1971
box 39, folder 6
Air Mail Service - AMP--[Untitled file]
1975
box 39, folder 7
Air Mail Service - AMP--Miscellaneous AMP
1960s-1970s
box 39, folder 8
Air Mail Service - AMP--Allie and Florence
1950s-1970s
box 39, folder 9
Air Mail Service - AMP--National Air and Space Museum
1973
box 39, folder 10
Air Mail Service - AMP--Omaha Plaque
1975
box 39, folder 11
Air Mail Service - AMP--Nebraska Centennial DH-4
1967
box 40, folder 1-2
Douglas planes [Folders 1-2 of 2]
1930s-1970s
box 40, folder 4
Old 249--D-H-4 249, Santa Paula A.M.P.
1960s
Audiovisual material
Scope and Contents
Contains 33 VHS videocassettes, 5 Betacam SP videocassettes, 3 U-matic videocassettes, and 1 Betamax videocassette
box 46, folder 1
Photocopies of newspaper articles and diaries
1990s
box 46, folder 2
Map of proposed airlines routes in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona
1947
box 46, folder 3
Crew lists of Sailing Yacht Nidaros
1931
box 46, folder 4
Certificate of Registry for Nidaros
1931
box 46, folder 5
China National Aviation Corporation, Monthly Report of Operations
1931
box 46, folder 5
China National Aviation Corporation, Monthly Report of Operations
1929-1930
box 46, folder 5
China National Aviation Corporation, Monthly Report of Operations
1932
box 46, folder 7
China National Aviation Corporation, Brief History of Loening
1938
box 46, folder 8
Report on Communist Shanghai article by Robert Doyle
1950
box 46, folder 9
Pictorial, The Japanese Occupation of Jehol
1933
box 46, folder 10
Civil Airways of the United States map
1938
box 46, folder 11
Pan American Air Ways, Pacific Supplement No. 2
1935
box 46, folder 12
Photograph taken aboard Nidaros
1930s
os_folder 1
Signed correspondence regarding Boeing B-29 press conference
1944 May 6
os_folder 1
Proposed Route: Kansas City Southern Airlines map
1949
os_folder 1
Pilot Chart of the North Pacific Ocean
1932 July 22
os_folder 1
Maps of China
1930s-1940s
Digital material
Conditions Governing Access
Digital materials are not available until processed. If interested in accessing these materials, please contact us for more
information.
Scope and Contents
Contains 3 optical disks and 1 floppy disk
box 47
Air Mail Pioneers Member decals
1950s-1960s
Conditions Governing Access
Box 47 may not be used without permission of the Archivist
box 47
Air Mail Pioneers badges
1956-1962
Conditions Governing Access
Box 47 may not be used without permission of the Archivist