The Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT), Inc. Air-Rail Service Scrapbooks collection consists of three large, fabric covered scrapbooks. The set documents the pre- and post-inaugural activities of TAT for the period of time between June and November, 1929.
Scope and Contents:
This collection includes three scrapbooks. The news clippings in Volume I cover the period of July 6-10, 1929, when the first transcontinental air-rail service was inaugurated. Volume II, covering the period of June 11 through August 23, 1929, documents the pre- and post-inaugural activities surrounding the establishment of the TAT. Both volumes contain newsprint with images of high-profile travelers and stakeholders, such as Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Ina Claire, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. The third volume (untitled) covers the time between September 4 and November 1, 1929, when the news of the TAT Ford Tri-Motor "City of San Francisco" disappearing in the mountains of New Mexico captivated readers nationwide.
Arrangement:
This collection is in orginal order, with each scrapbook compiled in chronological order.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) was the first U.S. airline associated with railroads (Pennsylvania and Santa Fe) to provide a rapid form of coast-to-coast transportation. Daniel M. Sheaffer, chairman of the executive committee of TAT, was a pioneer in the development of commercial aviation for passenger and express mail services. Both he and founder Clement Melville Keys were instrumental in the development of the TAT line and with the inauguration of the service.
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