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The American Brake Shoe (later Abex) Company was formed in 1902 from the merger of five smaller foundries that specialized in railroad brake shoes, castings and forging, as well as hydraulic equipment. The research laboratory, known as the Mahwah Research Center, from which the collection is drawn, did applied industrial research, but was closed in 1990. Howard Avery (1906-1996), VPI graduate (B.Sc. MinE 1927, M.Sc. MinE 1928), was one of the center's leading research metallurgists. Collection includes research data of the properties of metals conducted by The American Brake Shoe Company (later Abex). Materials include research files, photographic materials, polymer resin-encased specimens, publications, and more.

The Baughman Family Papers contain correspondence between members of the Baughman family of Richmond, Virginia, as well as with friends, written from 1837 to 1957 (bulk, 1837-1907). The second part of the collection is family papers from about 1859 to the 1940s. This includes military documents, estate papers, legal documents, Confederate society papers, poetry, and photographs.

This collection contains the papers of G. Grahame Duce (1916-1952), aeronautical enthusiast and president of Duce Aeronautical Research in Baltimore, Maryland. The collection includes various airplane notes and characteristics from 1920 to 1939, an approved aircraft index from 1947, and manuscript drafts of articles discussing subjects such as new paratroop devices, the fastest long-ranger, the Martin XB-48, the building of XB-48, airlines in the red, pilot judgment, air races, the Boeing XB-47, the jet pilot, and the future of jet planes.

This collection contains business records and personal financial records generated by Henly Fugate.

The collection consists of reference material NASA artist James Dean used in producing the artwork for astronaut Michael Collins' book Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space and Dean's book Journey into Space.

John T. Parsons (1913-2007) was a manufacturer and inventor of numerical control, which is the application of computer technology to manufacturing processes. The John T. Papers include correspondence, memoranda, financial records, engineering drawings and specifications, files about civic affairs in Traverse City, Michigan, reading files and other materials.

This collection contains NASA administrator and physicist John W. Townsend, Jr.'s (1924-2011) personal and professional papers from 1949 until his retirement from corporate and government aerospace work in 1990. In addition to professional correspondence, memos, and subject files, there are extensive travel files from 1949-1968 and 1985-1990, congressional testimony on NASA projects from 1982-1986, and files on the history of the Upper Air Rocket Research Program at the Naval Research Laboratory from about 1956-1958. Throughout his career, Townsend also served on a number of councils, boards, and panels. The collection also includes files from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station Advisory Panel (1966-1968, the International Academy of Astronautics (c. 1981-1987), the NASA Advisory Council (1982-1987), the National Academy of Engineering (1982-1987), the National Research Council Space Applications Board (1983-1987), and the Office of Technology Assessment Advisory Board Panel on International Cooperation and Competition in Civilian Space Activities (1982-1985).

The collection contains advertising materials from Louis Vehon's mail-order garment business in Chicago, Illinois, dating from the 1890s.

The collection includes the papers of Michael Collins, pilot, astronaut, assistant secretary of state, director of the National Air and Space Museum and author, dating from 1907-2004. Materials include reports, instruction manuals, personal notes, printed materials, audio recordings, photographs, awards and memorabilia associated with Collins' Air Force, NASA, State Department and NASM careers. There are also papers and research relating to Collins' writings; materials from public speaking engagements and board and club memberships; and small sets of personal correspondence and biographical material.

This collection includes a small pink business card from Simon Sycle, a dealer in clothing, furnishings, hats, and shoes located in Richmond, Virginia. This business was opened from about the 1890s to the 1920s.