The Lee W. Maurer Automobile Advertisement Collection consists of hundreds tear sheets (1917-1967) for automobile advertisements mostly from the pages of National Geographic magazine. The collection documents the evolution of advertising used by U.S. automakers throughout the 20th century especially the highly developed graphics used in the 1910s-1940s and early use of color in advertising (1930s-1960s). Also includes advertisements for tires. Automobiles represented include Chalmers, Wills Saint Claire, Paige, Hudson, DeSoto, Nash, Packard, Pierce Arrow, La Fayette, Marmon, Studebaker, Wyllys-Knight, Essex, Maxwell, Chandler, Mitchell, Stutz, Moon, Jeep, Franklin, Frazer, Buick , Chevrolet, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Dodge, Pontiac, Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Plymouth, and several brands of tires.

Lee West Maurer (1901-1979) was born in Fremont, Ohio to Frederick Maurer and Armina Hufford Maurer. He was raised in St. Louis Michigan. He worked in a Ford Model T auto plant before studying engineering at Michigan State during the 1920s. He took a variety of engineering jobs prior to joining the Civilian Conservation Corps as a supervisor in 1933. Maurer was hired by Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan as a construction engineer in 1942 and worked there until 1965. He married Norma Lou Carpenter (1902-1983). They had two children Carole and Diane.

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There are no access restrictions on this collection.