International Cyclopedia of Aviation Biography Collection

The contents of the International Cyclopedia of Aviation Biography (I.C.A.B.) document prominent early aviation pioneers and aviation industries. The documentation was collected by William L. Hamberger of Beacon, New York during the late 1920s and early 1930s in preparation to publish the International Cyclopedia of Aviation Biography. Some files are more extensive than others, depending on the response from the contact person or corporation of interest. The files may contain correspondence, questionnaires, clippings, proofs of entries, and pamphlets or books.

Series I: Individual Files, 1910-1938, consists of 33 Hollinger boxes which contain files on individual men and women who were pioneers in the field of aviation. Items included are newspaper clippings, biographical information, correspondence, photographs and other related materials. Also included are individual men and women who were consulted for the National Cyclopedia of American Biography, but are not related to aviation. The files are arranged alphabetically by last name. Names of note include: Amelia Earhart, Charles A. Lindbergh, , James H. Doolittle, Edward Rickenbacker, Frank T. Coffyn, Glenn H. Curtiss, Cecil B. De Mille, Henry Ford, Harry F. Guggenheim, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, Frank P. Lahm, Glenn L. Martin, Edward O. McDonnell, George Palmer Putnam, Albert Francis Zahm, to name a few.

Series II: Organizations, Companies, and Events, 1911-1936, consists of files on topics such as aeronautical associations, flying magazines, famous aircraft, air shows, etc. The files largely consist of clippings and brochures. The series is arranged alphabetically by name.

Series III: Newspaper Clippings, is on the topic of aviation. The clippings were largely acquired from a clipping service, and are chiefly from the New York Times and Herald Tribune, but other papers were also clipped. They are arranged chronologically from 1928 to 1939. Series IV: Company Records, contains company records and documents for the International Cyclopedia of Aviation Biography (I.C.A.B.) and the Beacon Soap Company. The I.C.A.B. records include lists of people whom they had received information from and also those who had approved their biographies among other documentation. William Hamberger was also a chairman of the Beacon Soap Company. The Beacon Soap Company files contain a minute book, job orders, and photographs of the Beacon Soap Company, Inc. circa 1925.