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This collection consists of two brochures issued in 1920 by the Gnome Manufacturing Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, relating to their line of rubber-powered toy airplanes designed by aeronautical engineer James Henry "Jimmy" Steenson.
New Jersey native James Henry "Jimmy" Steenson (1895--1935) worked as a draftsman for the Standard Aero Corporation of Plainfield, New Jersey, before joining the Gnome Machine and Tool Company of nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey, as a mechanical engineer, becoming Gnome's chief engineer by 1923. In 1920, Steenson—identified as an aeronautical engineer—appears to have been the driving force behind the design and production of a line of rubber-powered toy aeroplanes produced by the company, then known as the Gnome Manufacturing Company. Steenson went on to work on aviation related engineering projects with Eclipse Machine Co. (Hoboken, NJ, and Elmira, NY), Detroit Air Appliance Co. (Detroit, MI), and General Airplanes Corp. (Buffalo, NY). He was killed in a car crash in New Jersey in 1935.
NASM.1993.0052
1920
James Steenson, gift, 1993, NASM.1993.0052
0.05 Cubic feet (2 brochures)
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This collection consists of two brochures issued in 1920 by the Gnome Manufacturing Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, relating to their line of rubber-powered toy airplanes designed by aeronautical engineer James Henry "Jimmy" Steenson. A single-sheet threefold brochure, "They Fly Furthest And Last The Longest," includes photographs of the model in flight, selling points, a parts price list, and a message from Steenson with a portrait photograph; the opposite side features a line drawing of a standard Gnome monoplane design with instructions for assembly and flying. A larger 16-page booklet "Gnome Fliers" (with color cover) includes assembly and flying instructions for each type of model, information about materials used, a spare parts list with prices, a list of the company officers, and a "Chronology of Aviation" from 1500 to 1919.
No specific order.
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Gnome Manufacturing Company Model Brochures, Acc. NASM.1993.0052, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Aeronautics
Collection descriptions
Archival materials