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N.W. Ayer and Son, Inc. flying golf publicity for the Kellett Aircraft Corporation booklet

Creation: 1931
 Collection
Accession: 2015-299

Abstract

N.W. Ayer & Son, Inc. lays claim to being the first and oldest advertising agency in the United States. Established in Philadelphia by Francis Ayer (1848-1923) in 1869. The Kellett Aircraft Corporation was a manufacturer of airplanes, specifically autogiros, helicopters, and aircraft for the U.S. military. This item is a thin booklet style scrapbook containing newspaper articles about a publicity stunt where a golfer flew a Kellet autogiro to each hole on the golf course at Locust Grove Country Club in Westfield, New Jersey. The demonstration was arranged by N.W. Ayer & Son to promote the Kellet autogiros. All of the articles include a photograph image.

Dates

  • Creation: 1931

Creator

Extent

1 item(s)

General Physical Description

1 booklet : black, paper binding, stapled ; 10.5 x 13 in. (closed), 9 pages. Contains 9 newspaper clippings. 1 photographic print : b&w ; 5 x 7 in. 1 item : typed note.

Historical Note

N.W. Ayer & Son, Inc. lays claim to being the first and oldest advertising agency in the United States. Established in Philadelphia by Francis Ayer (1848-1923) in 1869, Ayer named the company after his father, Nathaniel Wheeler Ayer (d. 1873).

He began with eleven newspaper clients. By 1900, N.W. Ayer & Son was considered the largest advertising agency in the United States. In 1875 Ayer began to change the process of advertising from being a middleman for the newspaper to being a representative of the advertiser. He started the “open-contract-plus-commission-plan” which meant that Ayer would negotiate the lowest price possible with the newspaper and receive a commission from the advertiser based on what was paid.

Gerold M. Lauck was president of Ayer in the 1930s. Some of their most notable accounts were Morton’s Salt, Camel Cigarettes, Kellogg's, DeBeers, and AT&T. The company began to decline in the 1960s.In 1973 N.W. Ayer & Son moved its headquarters to New York. The company underwent a number of mergers in the 1990s and closed in 2002.

The Kellett Aircraft Corporation was a manufacturer of airplanes, specifically autogiros, helicopters, and aircraft for the U.S. military. The company was founded in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania 1929 by W. (William) Wallace Kellett (1891-1951). Kellett was an aviator who had previously founded the Kellett Autogiro Company in 1919.

Scope and Content

This item is a thin booklet style scrapbook containing newspaper articles about a publicity stunt where a golfer flew a Kellet autogiro to each hole on the golf course at Locust Grove Country Club in Westfield, New Jersey. The demonstration was arranged by N.W. Ayer & Son to promote the Kellet autogiros. All of the articles include a photograph image. Six images show Guy Miller taking a shot with the autogiro in the background. One image shows the four golfers in the party with a caddy around a hole with the autogiro in the background. Another image shows the three members in the golfing party on the ground and the plane in the air above. There is one image of the profile of the plane itself with Miller seated inside and another of him seated in the plane handing his caddy his golf clubs. There is one image of seven men standing in front of the plane. The seven men are William B. Taylor, Guy Miller, Samuel G. Wingfield, Johnny Hoctor, Edward M. Powell, Bobbie Wilkinson, and W.G. Wilkinson.

Johnny Hoctor, W.G. Wilkinson, and his son Bobbie Wilkinson were among the golfing party with Guy Miller. Edward M. Powell (publicity director), William B. Taylor, and Samuel G. Wingfield were representatives of N.W. Ayer and Son.

There is one photograph which shows Miller seated in the autogiro holding his golf clubs surrounded by camera men taking photographs with the publicity representatives from N.W. Ayer & Son, Inc. standing at the rear of the plane. Underneath this photograph there is a typed paragraph about the stunt.

Location

GL Box 1.

Access Restrictions

This item is available for research.

Language of Materials

English

Related Names

Subject

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
N.W. Ayer and Son, Inc. flying golf publicity for the Kellett Aircraft Corporation booklet
Author:
Laurie Sather
Date:
2015
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400