Finding Aid of the USC Library of Aeronautical History George T. Cussen collection on aviation 0053

Mariah Sander
USC Libraries Special Collections
2018
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu


Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: USC Library of Aeronautical History George T. Cussen collection on aviation
Creator: Cussen, George T.
Identifier/Call Number: 0053
Identifier/Call Number: 389
Physical Description: 2 Linear Feet 2 boxes
Date (inclusive): circa 1918-1963
Abstract: The collection consists of Cussen's personal scrapbook pages, books and photographs pertaining to the commercial aeronautic industry from the 1930s to the 1950s, and a collection of World War I & II war effort posters and maps. George Cussen worked the Santa Fe Railway for eight years before a brief stint at Maddux Air Lines in 1929. From 1932 to 1940, he worked for Transcontinental & Western Airlines as a traffic manager, alternating between Los Angeles and San Francisco operations. During the 1940s, he worked for American Airlines, was the operations officer for the 302nd Transportation wing during WWII, and was appointed the Director of Traffic for TACA Airways' American and Carribbean region in 1946. Throughout the 1950s, he was the vice president and head sales executive for the Flying Tiger Line.
Language of Material: English .

Biographical / Historical

After leaving law school in the 1920s, George Cussen worked in the transportation industry for the next several decades. He worked for the Santa Fe Railway for eight years before a brief stint at Maddux Air Lines in 1929. From 1932 to 1940, he worked for Transcontinental & Western Airlines as a traffic manager, alternating between Los Angeles and San Francisco operations. During the 1940s, he worked for American Airlines, was the operations officer for the 302nd Transportation wing during WWII, and was appointed the Director of Traffic for TACA Airways' American and Carribbean region in 1946. Throughout the 1950s, he was the vice president and head sales executive for the Flying Tiger Line.
Starting in 1963, Cussen was among the aeronautic industry personnel who supported USC Library's campaign to established a library of aeronautical history. His donation was one among the large collections of air transport papers the library obtained through this effort.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of Cussen's personal scrapbook pages, books and photographs pertaining to the commercial aeronautic industry from the 1930s to the 1950s, and a collection of World War I & II war effort posters and maps.

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

CONDITIONS GOVERNING USE All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred Citation

[Box/folder# or item name], USC Library of Aeronautical History George T. Cussen collection on aviation, Collection no. 0053, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Aeronautics -- History -- Archival resources
Aeronautics, Commercial -- Freight -- Archival resources
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States -- History -- Archival resources
Aeronautics, Military -- Archival resources
Air charter contracts -- Archival resources
Transcontinental flights -- Archival resources
Transportation -- Archival resources
World War, 1914-1918 -- United States -- Archival resources
World War, 1939-1945 -- Archival resources
United States -- History -- Archival resources
Books
Correspondence
Ephemera
Photographs
Posters
Reports
Scrapbooks
Cussen, George T. -- Archives
Flying Tiger Line -- Archives
Los Angeles International Airport -- Archives
Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc -- Archives
Trans World Airlines -- Archives

Box 1

World war posters & ephemera 1918-1945

Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet1 box
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Series consists of WWI and WWII war effort and propaganda posters from the various U.S. government agencies such as the Polish Information Center and other organizations such as the American Red Cross and the American Library Association.
Box 2

Air freight transportation papers 1932 - 1964

Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet1 Box
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series consists of industry reports, air freight transportation guides, historical books, scrapbook pages, photograph albums, and company promotion booklets pertaining to several commercial air charter companies from the 1930s to the 1960s. Since the collection originated from George Cussen, much of the material relates specifically to his career while the rest of the material pertains to the air frieght industry in general.
Box 2

The Flying Tiger Line papers 1949-1964

Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Sub-series consists of various books and documents pertaining to the operations of the Flying Tiger Line, including correspondence, promotional pamphlets, company reports, photograph albums, and a book by Frank J. Cameron chonicling the company's history.

Biographical / Historical

The Flying Tiger Line, headquartered at Los Angeles International Airport, was the first scheduled air cargo line in the U.S. Robert William Prescott, an ace pilot for the Flying Tigers AVG during WWII, and nine other pilots from the same AVG founded the company after the war in 1945 with financial investment from oil tycoon Samuel B. Mosher. By the 1950s, they had become the largest trans-Atlantic charter operation, transporting militray troops and supplies during the Korean War, refugees, and unusual commercial items such as rare flowers, IBM machines, and exotic animals up until 1989.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Flying Tiger Line -- Archives
Los Angeles International Airport -- Archives
Box 2, Box 3, Box 4

Transcontinental & Western Airlines papers 1932 - 1952

Biographical / Historical

Transcontinental & Western Airlines formed in 1930 out of Postmaster General Walter Folger Brown's forced merger of Transcontinental Air Transport (T-A-T) and Western Air Express to expand airmail contracts. This merger brought two prominent aeronautic experts, Charles Lindbergh and Jack Fyre, within the same company. TWA offered one of the first scheduled plane services from east to west coast U.S. and continued to be one of the major American airlines until it ceased operations in 2001.

Scope and Contents

Series consists of scrapbooked newspaper clippings, photographs, correspondence, and books that chronicle Cussen's career progression in TWA starting in 1932. A TWA pamphlet published in 1952 traces the history of the company.