Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Allison, Ernest M., 1894-1976
- 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.
- Extent:
- 38 manuscript boxes, 4 card file boxes, 3 oversize boxes, 1 cubic foot box, 1 AV tray, 2 oversize folders, 24 film reels, digital media (24.23 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- In English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Ernest M. Allison papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
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.
- Biographical / historical:
-
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.
- Acquisition information:
- Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2015.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
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.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Ernest M. Allison papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563