Clara Adams Addition Papers
Scope and Content
This collection contains baggage tags, route maps, schedules, menus, and a patch from the Graf Zeppelin’s envelope. Photographs include images of some famous aviators, some signed; post cards, some signed by Clara Adams; aircraft such as the Dornier DO-X, the China Clipper, and other aircraft. There is also an album that contains photographs and clippings. The Clara Adams Addition Papers are housed in three boxes of varying sizes, totaling 2.2 linear ft.
The collection was purchased and arrived in good condition. The processing archivist imposed order and identified five series with the first series being the Documents Series containing background information on the Graf Zeppelin, Hindenburg, LZ-130, women firsts, and August Post.
The personal history of Clara Adams is reflected through History of aviation “firsts” by Clara Adams and her passport with the last entry showing her arrival at Lakehurst, New Jersey on the Hindenburg; the personal correspondence contains a letter from August Post to Adams; the diaries include photographs and artwork and give a day-to-day account of Adams' travel.
The second series is the Clippings Series featuring articles from the New York Herald, Monday, November 10, 1919, describing Clara Adams’ surprise greeting to her returning husband, a German language newspaper clipping about the Hindenburg disaster, and a clipping about the record world passenger flight in 1929 featuring Clara Adams.
The third series is the Ephemera Series, which comprises baggage tags, schedules, brochures, menu cards, and route maps that were collected by Adams.
The fourth series is the Artifact Series showcasing a patch from the envelope of the Graf Zeppelin, a piece of stationary bearing the signature of Hugo Eckener, two sketches by Clara Adams, and a Zeppelin scarf.
The fifth series is the Images Series depicting aircraft that Adams flew in, her portraits, people, beached ship, a sailing yacht in dry dock, a large oval table set for dinner with a model of an airport in the center, and postcards. The album depicts the Panama Canal, "Doc" Allen, Thea Rascha and Eleanor Smith as well as Havana, Cuba.
Dates
- Creation: 1913 - 2004
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1936 - 1939
Creator
- Adams, Clara, Mrs., 1884-1971 (Collector, Person)
Language of Materials
Collection is in English and German.
Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection are open for research.
Literary Rights Statement
Permission to publish material from this collection in any form, current or future, must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives Division, Eugene McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas.
Biographical Sketch
Clara Adams was born on December 3, 1884 in Cincinnati Ohio. Her parents were Walter and Ida Grabau and her paternal grandmother was Augusta von Hindenburg, a distant relative of German President, Paul von Hindenburg. Her mother, Ida, lived next door to Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in Baden-Baden, Germany.
Clara received training at the Conservatory of Music in Leipzig, Germany, where her father was a professor of music. While studying there, Clara became an accomplished piano player. She also learned to speak several languages and had some artistic talent as well.
Clara married George Lincoln Adams of Boston, Massachusetts, a man forty years her senior. They built a home in Tannersville, Pennsylvania where her husband owned and operated a chain of tanneries in that state. Partly because of the age difference, their marriage was a short one. George passed away in 1929 making Clara a wealthy widow.
Clara Adam’s main claim to fame is that she holds many firsts for women in aviation, not as a pilot, but as a paying passenger. Her first flight came in March 1914 at Lake Eustis, Florida where she went up in a Thomas Flying Boat piloted by Walter E. Johnson. This flight sparked an interest in aviation that lasted the rest of her life.
Clara was introduced to Lighter-Than-Air transportation through a letter of introduction by General Paul von Hindenburg to Dr. Hugo Eckener. She was given a ride on the ZR III during one of her test flights. The Zeppelin Company built the ZR-III for the United States Navy as war reparations for WWI. When the ZR-III was delivered to the Navy, the ship was christened the USS Los Angeles.
One of Clara’s most memorable journeys took place in 1928 when the Graf Zeppelin made its first trip from Europe to the United States and back. Clara was the first woman to buy a ticket to fly across the Atlantic, paying the price of $3,000.00. She was the only woman on the trip with the flight lasting seventy-one hours.
In 1931 she again became the first woman to purchase a ticket to fly on, what was then the largest aircraft ever built, the Dornier DO-X flying boat. The DO-X had left Germany for a multi-continent trip. Clara joined the DO-X’s journey in Rio de Jenario where the DO-X was to continue on to New York.
Clara was among the passengers that made the maiden flight of the Hindenburg in 1936, a sixty-one hour flight from Germany to Lakehurst, New Jersey. In the same year she made the maiden voyage on board of the Hindenburg, Clara made another historic flight, the inaugural flight of Pan American’s China Clipper; flying from California across the Pacific. All together in 1936 Clara flew 27,000 miles.
During her many years of flying, Clara Adams flew in free balloons, gliders, Zeppelins, and various passenger aircraft. Along the way she met many famous flyers such as Amelia Earhart, Hugo Eckener, Edwin Musik, and the Stinson sisters to name a few. Her hobby was being a “historic first flighter,” as she is sometimes called. She was never associated with any commercial concern or publications and was always a private passenger.
According to her passport, Clara Adams listed her occupation as “lecturer and writer,” no doubt a vocation that grew from her many flying firsts. On her travels, she always kept the collector in mind. She purchased and signed many first day covers, programs, schedules, menus, and other airline memorabilia.
Her flying came to an abrupt halt with the outbreak of WWII and although she may have continued flying, she made no more inaugural flights. It would not be until 1966 when she again made news. She flew with five of the original passengers and officers to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the first passenger flight across the Pacific.
Clara Adams died 10 February 1971 with her passing relatively unnoticed. However, she did plan her last plane ride. She had her body cremated and her ashes scattered over the ocean from an airplane.
Although not a pilot, Clara helped to contribute to the advancement of commercial aviation. Today, flying is taken for granted, but at a time when commercial aviation was in its infancy, she and other brave souls like her who believed in the future of mass passenger service braved the dangers and flew over great distances in aircraft whose airworthiness was questionable.
Sources
- Source
- "Clara Adams Collection," Finding Aid, History of Aviation Collection, Special Collections and Archives Division, Eugene McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas.
- Source
- Provan, Jon. "Clara Adams". Kelkheim, West Germany, New York: Luftschiff-Zeppelin Collection, Jon Provan, 1985.
Extent
2.2 Linear Feet (One manuscript box, one non-standard box (10.5x12.5x3), and one non-standard box (12x16x3).)
Abstract
Clara Adam’s main claim to fame is that she holds many firsts for women in aviation, not as a pilot, but as a paying passenger. Her first flight came in March 1914 at Lake Eustis, Florida where she went up in a Thomas Flying Boat piloted by Walter E. Johnson. This flight sparked an interest in aviation that lasted the rest of her life. Clara was introduced to Lighter-Than-Air transportation through a letter of introduction by General Paul von Hindenburg to Dr. Hugo Eckener. She was given a ride on the ZR III during one of her test flights. During her many years of flying, Clara Adams flew in free balloons, gliders, Zeppelins, and various passenger aircraft. Although not a pilot, Clara helped to contribute to the advancement of commercial aviation.
Series Description
The Clara Adams Addition Papers are arranged in five series:
Series I. Documents
0.2 linear ft. (five folders), 1913-1933.
Arranged by topic.
Series II. Newspaper Clippings
0.1 linear ft. (one folder), 1919-1929.
Arranged chronologically by date.
Series III. Ephemera
0.1 linear ft. (nine folders), 1934-1939.
Arranged by topic.
Series IV. Artifacts
0.1 linear ft. (one folder), undated.
Arranged by topic.
Series V. Images
1.8 linear ft. (two non-standard boxes), 1917-1928.
Provenance Statement
The Clara Adams Addition Papers were purchased from Charles Apfelbaum Rare Manuscripts and Archives by the History of Aviation Archives, Special Collections and Archives Division, Eugene McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas with monetary donations from Jan Collmer, Johnson M. Taylor, and HAC funds, on 2007-01-08.
Existence and Location of Copies
Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online:
Image ID
It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission from copyright holders of materials to which this institution does not own copyright.
Images in this collection are identified by a unique number that provides information about the format, record group, collection, series, box, folder, and image numbers. Please use this number when ordering reproductions of images from this collection.
Record Group Code
1 = CAT/Air American Archives
2 = Doolittle Archives
3 = Lighter than Air Archives
4 = George H. Williams, Jr., World War I Aviation Library
5 = History of Aviation Archives (HAC)
6 = University Archives
7 = HAC Stacks
8 = WPRL Stacks
9 = Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Collection
10 = Belsterling Collection
11 = Closed Stacks
12 = Unidentified
13 = Chance Vought Archives
14 = Twirly Birds Archives
Image Format Code
P = Photograph/Postcard
S = Slide
N = Negative
T = Positive Transparency
B = Black and White
C = Color
Example: 05CAA-01-01-PB001
05 = History of Aviation Archives (HAC)
CAA = Clara Adams Addition Papers
01 = Box Number
01 = Folder Number
P = Photograph/Postcard
B = Black and White
001 = Image Number
Images archived in plastic image holders may also have a location code in the format: 1/TL. In this example, the number is the sheet number and the letters indicate the top left position on the sheet. Position indicators are T = top, L = left, R = right, M = middle, and B = bottom. Position indicators may be combined to describe the position on the sheet, as shown in this example.
Note to the Researcher
This collection is a separate collection from the existing Clara Adams Papers located in the History of Aviation Collection. If using both collections, please be sure to cite the respective collections accordingly.
The metal fasteners were removed and replaced by coated paper clips.
Topical
- Air pilots
- Airships
- Boeing 314 (Seaplane)
- China Clipper (Airplane)
- Deutsche Lufthansa (1926-1945)
- Dornier Do X (Seaplane)
- Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937
- Eckener, Hugo, 1868-1954
- Graf Zeppelin (Airship)
- Hindenburg (Airship)
- History of Aviation Archives
- Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974
- Pan American World Airways, Inc.
- Panama Canal (Panama)
- Stinson, Marjorie Claire, 1896-1975
- Transcontinental flights
- Transpacific flights
- Women air pilots
- Zeppelin, Ferdinand, Graf von, 1838-1917
- Title
- Guide to the Clara Adams Addition Papers, 1884-1971
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Paul A. Oelkrug, CA
- Date
- 2007-04-06
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English (eng)
- Edition statement
- First revision by Patrizia Nava, CA, 2015-11-13. Second revision by Patrizia Nava, CA. 2020-08-12. Third revision by Patrizia Nava, CA, 2022-05-04.
Revision Statements
- 2015-11-13: 1st revision was a migration to Archivists' Toolkit by Patrizia Nava, CA.
- 2020-08-12: 2nd revision was an update of the format by Patrizia Nava, CA.
- 2022-05-04: 3rd revision was an update of the Image ID number by Patrizia Nava, CA.
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and Archives Division, History of Aviation Archives. Repository
3020 Waterview Pkwy
SP2
Suite 11.206
Richardson Texas 75080 US
972-883-2570
LIBSPCO@utdallas.edu.