Ford A. Carpenter Papers
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2005
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Descriptive Summary
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Ford A. Carpenter Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0273
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear feet
(2 archives boxes, 1 shoebox, 4 oversize folders, 1 art bin item)
Date (inclusive): 1935-1944
Abstract: Papers created by Ford Ashman Carpenter, meteorologist, aeronaut, author and photographer. The papers contian photographs,
including several aerial and panoramic photographs of the Los Angeles area and images of the Pacific Northwest and Panama
Canal. Also included is an edited typescript of a lecture on General Billy Mitchell given by Carpenter in 1944; small books
published by Carpenter, writings, and miscellaneous materials.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 1995, 2008.
Preferred Citation
Ford A. Carpenter Papers, MSS 273. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Biography
Ford Ashman Carpenter was born on March 25, 1868, in Chicago, Illinois. His career as a meteorologist and aeronaut included
employment with the U. S. Weather Service (1888-1919), a lectureship at The War College in the War Department (1915-1943)
and an appointment as a meteorological observer of aerial bombing of ex-German battleships (1921). Carpenter authored numerous
monographs, pamphlets and articles of meteorology and employed photography in his research and documentation of weather events.
Scope and Contents of Collection
The first accession contains four photograph albums and a typescript lecture created by Carpenter in the late 1930s and early
1940s. The materials are arranged in two series: 1) MANUSCRIPTS and 2) PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS.
SERIES 1: MANUSCRIPTS
The MANUSCRIPTS series contains a single typescript of a biographical lecture given by Carpenter before the University Club
of Los Angeles on April 19, 1943 entitled "General Billy Mitchell as I knew him." In it, Carpenter recounted the development
of the aerial bombing of ships after World War I, his experiences serving under General Mitchell as air meteorologist for
air bombing tests at the Virginia Capes between 1921 and 1923, and provided anecdotal sketches of General Mitchell.
SERIES 2: PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS
The PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS series comprises four black and white albums and a folder of loose prints created by Carpenter during
the 1930s and 1940s. The albums are arranged alphabetically by title.
The first album entitled "Four Voyages to New York from Los Angeles via Panama" documents passage through the Panama Canal
from shipboard and aerial perspectives, landscape scenes and places along the canal, people, and cloudscapes. Included is
a laid in photograph of Carpenter in flight gear next to an army biplane.
The second album entitled "Flying Vancouver's Route of Discovery" contains a mixture of aerial and on-the-ground photographs
taken on Carpenter's trip from Southern California to Queen Charlotte Sound in 1937. Of particular interest is Carpenter's
opening aerial photograph of Burbank.
"A June Four O'Clock in the Gardens of the Los Angeles University Club, 1943" contains numerous environmental portraits of
an unidentified woman seated in a garden. The last album, "Retreat on Huntley Hill," documents Carpenter's Los Angeles home
and its environs on Huntley Drive. The album includes several panoramas of downtown Los Angeles in the early 1940s. Finally,
the collection contains a folder of loose, unidentified photographs.
Accession processed in 2008
SERIES 3: SMALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CARPENTER
The SMALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CARPENTER series contains small publications by Carpenter, mainly ones he created, designed and
gave away to others as gifts. Many of the publications contain photographs taken by Carpenter with his poems or text included.
SERIES 4: WRITINGS
The WRITINGS series includes manuscripts and reprints. It is arranged in two subseries: A) By Carpenter, and B) By Others.
A)The By Carpenter subseries is comprised of typed copies of Carpenter's writings, including those written during his tenure
as Manager of the Department of Meteorology and Aeronautics, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, during the 1930s, and other
typed drafts of stories.
B) The By Others subseries contains typed carbon copies of short story manuscripts given to Carpenter by family or friends.
SERIES 5: PHOTOGRAPHS
The PHOTOGRAPHS series contains photographs of mainly Carpenter, but also includes photographs he took of locations.
SERIES 6: MISCELLANEOUS
The MISCELLANEOUS series includes news clippings and other miscellaneous manuscripts. It also includes a Melanesian lime spatula,
which had been given as a gift to Carpenter.
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Related Materials
The University of California, San Diego, Mandeville Special Collections Library also holds in its collection an additional
album of photographs taken by Ford Carpenter. (Rare F866 .C37 1903) The album contains photographs, taken between August 3
and September 9, 1903, of the San Pedro Martir mountain range located in central Baja California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Panama Canal (Panama) -- Pictorial works
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
Northwest, Pacific -- Pictorial works
Southwest, New -- Pictorial works
California, Southern -- Pictorial works
Carpenter, Ford A. (Ford Ashman), 1868-
Mitchell, William, 1879-1936
Box 1, Folder 1
General Billy Mitchell as I Knew Him - Typescript with laid in letters and ephemera
1944
Box 1, Folder 2
Four voyages to New York from Los Angeles via Panama
1935 - 1937
Box 1, Folder 3
Flying Vancouver's route of discovery
August 3-17, 1937
Box 1, Folder 4
June Four O'Clock in the Gardens of the Los Angeles University Club
1943
Box 1, Folder 5
Retreat on Huntley Hill (Los Angeles)
1941
Box 1, Folder 6
Loose photographs - Includes probable images of Carpenter
SMALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CARPENTER
Box 2, Folder 1
"Dahlias" - Photo album of still flowers
1930
Box 2, Folder 2
"The Day Before Christmas: Nineteen Hundred and Thirty-six Years Ago"
1936
Box 2, Folder 3
"Intimate Glimpses" - Photos with text
1934 - 1935
Box 2, Folder 5
"Opido: A True Story of the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California" - Uncorrected draft
Box 2, Folder 6
"Pennsylvania Spring"
1931
Box 2, Folder 7
"The Poet Visits the Scientist" - Memory book
1931
Box 2, Folder 8
Masefield, John, "Adventure On! Companion"
1936
Box 2, Folder 9
"An American Aborigine's View of Wealth" - Reprint and original carbon copy
1930
Box 2, Folder 10
"The Barometer is Rising" - Reprint
1932
General
Written while Carpenter was Manager, Department of Meteorology and Aeronautics, Los Angeles Chamber.
Box 2, Folder 11
"Biographical Sketch for Malcolm Logan Project"
1931
Box 2, Folder 12
"The Call of the Gypsy Swimmer" - Carbon copy
Box 2, Folder 14
"A Flying Excursion Among the Clouds: An Illustrated Address on Clouds and Weather" - Brochure for lecture
Box 2, Folder 15
"The Gold and Silver Lights: The Last Hours of Elizabeth Bonte Goodrich" - Carbon copy
Box 2, Folder 16
"Indianapolis, Indiana" - Carbon copy
1931
Box 2, Folder 17
"Los Angeles After the Olympics are Over" - Carbon copy
1933
General note
-Written as Manager - Department of Meteorology and Aeronautics Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
Box 2, Folder 18
"A Man's Study of the Material Instinct in Woman and its Effect on the Child" - Carbon copy
1933
Box 2, Folder 19
"Old Haunts Revisited" - Typed manuscript
1933
Box 2, Folder 20
"On Coming Home from Grandma's" - Carbon copy
Box 2, Folder 21
"Prejudices" - Reprint
1939
Box 2, Folder 22
"The Rib," "The Cabin-Boy and the Carpenter," "The Poodle Dog and the Meerschaum Pipe" - Carbon copy
Box 2, Folder 23
"She Wanted to Play the Harp" - Carbon copy
Box 2, Folder 24
"The Story of a Late Breakfast in Washington Territory, Autumn of 1884" - Carbon copies
Box 2, Folder 25
"The Sunset Club Meeting" - Carbon copy
Box 2, Folder 26
"Swinging Round the Circle with the Naval Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives" - Carbon copy
1930
Box 2, Folder 27
"Traditional Honesty as an Element of Efficiency" - Carbon copy
1933
General note
-Written as manager - Department of Meteorology and Aeronautics, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
Box 2, Folder 28
"What Flying Means to National Business and National Defense," presentation introduction of Ford Carpenter. Typescript carbon
copy
1935
Box 2, Folder 29
Carpenter, Charlotte, "A Mother's Reminiscences of Her Children"
1893
Box 2, Folder 30
"PHOTGRAPHING RED SNOW IN NATURAL COLORS," gallery proof for printed section
1912
Box 2, Folder 31
Warnack, James W., typescripts of unpublished poems
Box 2, Folder 32
Miscellaneous stories - Carbon copies
Box 2, Folder 33
Carpenter's office and weather instruments
Box 2, Folder 34
Ford Ashman Carpenter - in uniform and at work
Box 2, Folder 35
Aerial views of Chicago and cloud formations
Box 2, Folder 36
Washington State and other miscellaneous locations
Box 2, Folder 37, Oversize FB48101
Box 2, Folder 38, Oversize FB48102
Carpenter in uniform, a top building, framed
Box 2, Folder 39, Oversize FB48103
Framed portrait in air officer uniform
1938
Box 2, Folder 40, Oversize FB48104
Carpenter at California Club, 1930; Home in Los Angeles; Portrait in uniform
Oversize AB-16-C01
Frederico Georgi painting of Ford Carpenter, [35" long, 27" wide]
1932
Box 2, Folder 42
Lecture tours - Brochures
1932 - 1936
Box 2, Folder 43
Miscellaneous correspondence
Box 2, Folder 44
Letter from Carpenter regarding spatula
Box 2, Folder 45
News clippings
1930 - 1947
Box 3, Folder 1
New Guinea lime spatula - Milne Bay, Trobriand Islands
General note
Carving on head of spatula
