Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81014100
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Ray Eber Brown, naval architect and engineer, were given to the Library of Congress by his wife, Florence Ann Eyre Brown, in 1962-1963.
The papers of Ray Eber Brown were arranged and described in 1964. The finding aid was revised by Joseph K. Brooks in 2011. The finding aid was updated in 2023 by Maria Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working Group.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Ray Eber Brown has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of Ray Eber Brown are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Ray Eber Brown papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Ray Eber Brown (1892-1962), a key figure in the navy's development of helium gas for lighter than air craft, span the years 1916-1962 with the bulk of the material between 1923 and 1962. The papers are arranged into Diaries , Correspondence , Subject File , Miscellany , and Oversize series and include diaries, correspondence, notebooks, personal papers, reports, articles, memoranda, blueprints, charts, graphs, specification sheets, photographs, and newspaper clippings. The papers document the study of airships, cryogenics, and the uses of helium.
The diaries are technical and not personal. Most of the letters in the Correspondence series are routine; much of the substantial professional correspondence in the papers is part of the personal file of the Subject File , which includes correspondence with naval officers and proponents of lighter-than-air craft such as Garland Fulton and Charles E. Rosendahl. The bulk of the Subject File reflects Brown's career as a naval architect and engineer, particularly his role in the navy's dirigible program and the development of cryogenic methods for storing and transporting helium in liquid form.
This collection is arranged in five series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81014100
Diaries of brief entries relating to technical matters.
Arranged chronologically.
Business letters sent and received and official correspondence.
Arranged chronologically.
Topical files, blueprints, personal papers, correspondence, card indexes, and photographs.
Arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material.
Notes, notebooks, calculations, printed matter, graphs, and drawings.
Arranged by type of material.
Blueprints, charts, and graphs
Arranged as received.