Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Eric Ackermann, Archivist; Tyler Williams, Student Assistant; LM Rozema, Archivist; and Special Collections and University
Archives Staff
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1997.026
Title
Howard S. Avery Papers 1913-1996
Quantity
13.8 Cubic Feet, 11 boxes
Creator
Avery, Howard S. (Howard Shaeffer), 1906-1996
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
Howard S. Avery graduated from Virginia Tech in 1927 with a B.S. in Mining and Engineering. He worked for the American Brake
Shoe Company, later known as the Abex Corporation, as a research metallurgist from 1935 to 1971. The collection consists of
Avery's personal papers and photographs related to his student days at Virginia Tech, including photos taken mainly in 1927
while Avery was the photographic editor of the Bugle yearbook. This collection also includes personal papers, correspondence,
brochures, and other materials, including professional papers from before his time at Abex.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University
Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization
form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition
form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with
forms or to submit a completed form.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
Howard S. Avery Papers, Ms1997-026, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The Howard S. Avery Papers were donated to the Special Collections and University Archives in 1996. Archivists transferred
some of Avery's personal and early professional papers from the Avery-Abex Metallurgical Collection, Ms1995-025, to this collection
in August 2022.
Processing Information
The arrangement and description of the Howard S. Avery Papers began in June 2006 and was completed in September 2006. The
collection had previously been re-housed and identified. Additional description was completed in November 2014. Addtional
materials were integrated in August 2022.
Howard S. Avery was born in Canon City, Colorado, in 1906. His family moved to Virginia when he was eleven, and he attended
high school in Roanoke and college in Blacksburg. He received a B.S. in Mining & Engineering in 1927 and an Engineer of Mines
degree with honors in 1928, both from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Avery was very active during his student days at VPI.
He was a member of the track team, the rifle club, the radio club, and the boxing club. In 1927 he served as the photographic
editor of the Bugle yearbook. He was married in 1935 to Louise Steele, and they had four children.
Following several years of mining engineering and geology work in Mexico, steel mill experience, and teaching, he joined the
newly organized Metallurgical Department of the American Brake Shoe Company, now the Abex Corporation, located in Mahwah,
New Jersey in 1934. He is identified with this company's research in various aspects of industrial wear. As a research metallurgist
his duties involved planning and supervising research and development of alloys to resist heat, abrasion and impact. He became
internationally known in the field of metallurgy, conducting pioneering work in the areas of precise creep-rupture testing,
thermal fatigue evaluation, and carburizing behavior. Two of his technical papers garnered Lincoln Gold Medal awards, and
he received the first Award of the New York Chapter of the American Society of Metals. He also contributed to several engineering
handbooks, was issued a number of patents, and is the author of several dozen technical papers. His career at the Abex Corporation
lasted until his retirement in 1971. Afterwards he continued his research career and acted as a consultant, including continuing
work for Abex, through the 1990s.
Professional affiliations outside the Abex Corporation include the American Welding Society, The American Society for Metals,
the Metal Science Club, The American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, The American Society for Quality Control,
and the British Iron and Steel Institute. Avery also had a wide range of outside interests and participated in activities
that included training Boy Scout leaders, supervision of a junior rifle club, operating an amateur radio station W2HBH, and
service on the Mahwah, New Jersey Board of Education and as a Civil Defense Director. Howard Avery passed away in August 1996
in Roanoke, Virginia.
The Howard S. Avery Papers contain correspondence, brochures, journals and photographs from Avery's student days at Virginia
Polytechnic Institute (VPI) as well as an assortment of his professional and personal papers amassed from the years 1922 to
1995.
The collection is comprised of memorabilia from his years at VPI, including an extensive photograph collection that illustrates
student life. Included with the photographs are negatives from The Bugle. The collection also includes several bullitens from
VPI. The collection also contains notebooks of class notes and journals of scouting trips that give extensive information
on the geology of southwest Virginia. The collection contains a VPI psalm book from 1924, a program of the dedication of War
Memorial Hall in 1926, and several original layout pages from the 1927 Bugle. The collection also contains corresspondence
from Avery's time at VPI. The collection also contains several blueprints that Avery used in engineering classes at VPI.
Howard Avery's personal papers contain professional correspondence, brochures, newspaper clippings, and National Rifle Association
(NRA) legislation actions in which he participated. It also includes correspondence, brochures, and related documents from
the Boy Scouts, the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, the Sierra Club, and other organizations he was involved in during his
lifetime. The collection also contains records relating to Avery's time in the Army and some professional papers unrelated
to his work at Abex.
The collection is arranged in two series divided by subject matter, Personal and Professional Papers and VPI Student Years,
each of which has four subseries divided by format of material.
Series I: Personal and Professional Papers, 1913-1996, consists of materials collected and created by Avery during his professional
career. There are also documents relating to his hobbies. The series is arranged into three subseries: A. Documents, B. Photos,
C. Journals, and D. Artifacts.
Series II: VPI Student Papers, 1923-1928, consists of records created while Avery was a student attending VPI, including schoolwork
and extracurricular activities. The series is arranged into three subseries: A. Documents, B. Photos, C. Journals, and D.
Artifacts.
VT Special Collections and University Archives also holds the Avery-Abex Collection, Ms1995-025 , which contains the research papers of Howard S. Avery while working as a metallurgist at the American Brake Shoe (later
Abex) Company's Mahwah Research Center.
These documents include personal correspondence, bulletins, newspaper clippings, U.S. Military Regulations, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineering, NRA information, Rifle Club correspondence, Boy Scouts manuals, and miscellaneous professional societies membership
booklets.
Arrangement note
This subseries is grouped together by the subject of the material (such as personal information, professional documents, military
documents, NRA), and is chronological within each grouping.
box-folder 1 folder: 1
Personal Information and Materials
box-folder 1 folder: 2
Personal Correspondence
1920-1955
box-folder 1 folder: 3
Christmas Cards
1933-1978
box-folder 1 folder: 4
Materials from Mexico
box-folder 1 folder: 5
Professional Correspondence
1932-1991
box-folder 1 folder: 6
Newspaper Clippings, Metallurgy
1944-1945, 1953
box-folder 1 folder: 7
Abex News, Retirement announcement
July - August 1971
box-folder 1 folder: 8
U.S. Army Regulations
1923-1929
box-folder 1 folder: 9
National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel
1945, 1960
box-folder 1 folder: 11
Military Projects - American Brake Shoe Co.
1943-1945
box-folder 1 folder: 10
Military and Selective Service Materials
c.1927
box-folder 1 folder: 12
Fort Humphreys, Maps and Materials
Summer 1931
box-folder 1 folder: 13
Fort Humphreys, Training Exercises
1931
U.S. Army Engineering Correspondence Course
box-folder 1 folder: 14
Materials
box-folder 1 folder: 15
Subcourse 20-1
December 1932
box-folder 1 folder: 16
Subcourse 20-2
December 1933
box-folder 1 folder: 17
Subcourse 20-6
1932-1933
box-folder 1 folder: 18
Military Correspondence, Officer Reserve Corps
March 1932 - October 1937
box-folder 1 folder: 19
Science 11 - Educational Hygiene Lesson
box-folder 1 folder: 20
Reserve Officer Associations - Roanoke, VA chapter
1933-1934
box-folder 1 folder: 21
National Rifle Association - Junior Division
box-folder 1 folder: 22
NRA booklets and clippings
1952
box-folder 1 folder: 23
NRA Legislation Correspondence
1935-1978
box-folder 1 folder: 24
NRA Whittington Center
1985-1988
box-folder 1 folder: 25
Firearms Clubs and Organizations - Correspondence
1935-1951
box-folder 1 folder: 26
Rifle Club Materials
1951-1984
box-folder 1 folder: 27
Remington Peters, Shooting Instructor Bulletin
box-folder 1 folder: 28
Firearms Clubs and Organizations - Junior Rifle Tournament Materials
box-folder 1 folder: 29
Boy Scouts
1932-1971
box-folder 1 folder: 30
Boy Scouts, Newspaper Clippings
1931-1952
box-folder 1 folder: 31
Roanoke Scout Notes, Troop 17
Spring 1933
box-folder 1 folder: 32
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
box-folder 1 folder: 33
Iron and Steel Institute
1936-1942
box-folder 1 folder: 34
American Society for Metals, National Engineers Register of Engineers, and O'Connor Research Center
box-folder 1 folder: 35
American Institute of Mining Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers
1958
box-folder 1 folder: 36
American Welding Society
1950-1985
box-folder 1 folder: 37
Sierra Club correspondence
1966-1988
box-folder 1 folder: 38
American Geographical Society correspondence
box-folder 1 folder: 39
Amateur Radio Materials
1952-1966
box-folder 1 folder: 40
Metallurgy and Engineering Education Materials
1944-1966
box-folder 1 folder: 41
Engineering Education Pamphlets
box-folder 1 folder: 42
Industrial Arts Education Program
1932-1960
box-folder 1 folder: 43
High School speaking engagements
1948, 1955, 1968
box-folder 1 folder: 44
Applications of Metallurgical Microscopy
box-folder 1 folder: 45
Department of Interior Reports - Bureau of Mines Black Powder Study
1944
box-folder 1 folder: 46
Sporting Goods, Clothing and Books Catalogs - Roanoke, VA
1926-1927
box-folder 1 folder: 47
Advertisement Cards, Arcos Company
box-folder 1 folder: 48
Operations Manual for Portable Tape Recorder
1970
box-folder 1 folder: 49
Maps
box-folder 2 folder: 48
VPI Calendar
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 49
VPI Alumni Association
1926-1949
box-folder 2 folder: 50
VPI Alumni Association Materials
box-folder 2 folder: 51
Sounds from Virginia Tech LP
1972
box-folder 2 folder: 52
Bulletin - Important Facts on State Supported Colleges
box-folder 2 folder: 53
VPI Memorabilia
box 3
Invoices from Virginia Photo Finishing Co. and Roanoke Cycle Co.
1925-1927
Subseries B: Photographs
1927-1987
Scope and Contents note
These photographic prints and negatives include unidentified personal shots as well as photos taken in conjunction with his
profession.
Arrangement note
The subseries is organized by material type, personal photographs of family and various locations, as well as photographs
taken in a professional capacity. For most photographs the date is unknown.
box-folder 2 folder: 39
Scenes Unidentified, Negatives
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 40
Griffith Industries, Negatives
1931
box-folder 2 folder: 41
Maynard Industries, Welding Negatives
1931
box-folder 2 folder: 42
Slide POS film wear
box-folder 2 folder: 43
Unidentified Negatives
box-folder 2 folder: 44
47 Cottage Grove
box-folder 2 folder: 45
Miscellaneous Railroad Crossings
box-folder 2 folder: 46
Unidentified Negatives
box-folder 2 folder: 47
Walkerton Industries, Maynard Industries
box 3
Framed Portrait of H. S. Avery
box 3
Framed Portrait William B. Given Jr., Founder of the American Brake Shoe Company
1933
box-folder 4 folder: 41
Personal Photos, H. S. Avery
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 42
Personal Photos, Unidentified
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 43
Personal Photos, Scenic
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 44
Finished Thesis Work
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 45-46
Scenes, Unidentified
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 47
Griffith Industries
1931
box-folder 4 folder: 48
Tractor Wear information
1986
box-folder 4 folder: 49
Visit U.S. Bureau of Mines
1986
box-folder 4 folder: 50
Unidentified Rock Samples
1987
box-folder 4 folder: 51
Staffer Chemical Company
box-folder 4 folder: 52
Caracas and Vicinity
box-folder 4 folder: 53
Photo, Unidentified
box-folder 4 folder: 54
Modern Railroad Crossing, Odin, Illinois
box-folder 4 folder: 55
Taylor-Wharton/Abex Conference
box-folder 4 folder: 56
Foundry Shots
box-folder 4 folder: 57
Maynard Industries
Subseries C: Journals
1913-1936
box 3
U.S. Army Training Regulations Booklet
1922-1931
box-folder 5 folder: 9
The Soldier's Handbook for Use in the Army of the United States
1913
box-folder 5 folder: 10
Manual of First Aid Instruction for Miners, and Mercurochrome in First Aid
1922, n.d.
box-folder 5 folder: 11
Geology, Southeast of Roanoke
1927
box-folder 5 folder: 12
Notebook, Journal of travel notes
1928-1930
box-folder 5 folder: 13
Notes on thesis, Geology around Roanoke
c.1928-1929
box-folder 5 folder: 14
USGS Maps for field work, Roanoke and Christiansburg
c.1929
box-folder 5 folder: 15
Maps, measuring tools, notebook for fieldwork
c.1932
box-folder 5 folder: 16
Mine Examination and Geological Field Work
1930-1931
box-folder 5 folder: 17
Notebook, Hikes Around Roanoke
1931-1932
box-folder 5 folder: 18
Iron and Steel Institute Handbook No. 1
1935
box-folder 5 folder: 19
Address List, American Brake Shoe Company
March 1946
box-folder 5 folder: 20
Address List, Metallurgical Department Personnel
c.1936
box-folder 5 folder: 21
Address List of Executives, Officials and Representatives of the American Brake Shoe and Foundry Company and Associated and
Subsidiary Companies
box-folder 5 folder: 22
LeFax Data Sheets on Mining Methods, Metal Stoping
box-folder 5 folder: 23
S-Curves of Austenite Transformation
box-folder 5 folder: 24
Notes on mapping and geology in the vicinity of Roanoke, VA
box-folder 5 folder: 25
Society of American Military Engineers, Aims and Activities, and TAM Division National Lead Company, Steels for Nuclear Reactors
1931, 1961
box-folder 5 folder: 26
American Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Engineers, Aims and Activities
This subseries includes documents created and collected by Howard Avery while attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The
documents consist of course work, class assignments, newspaper clippings and VPI memorabilia.
Arrangement note
The documents are arranged chronologically.
box-folder 2 folder: 1
VPI Psalm Book or A Military Life in Comic
1924
box-folder 2 folder: 2
Chemistry Lab Notebook
1923
box-folder 2 folder: 3
Freshman Chemistry Notes, Third Term
1924
box-folder 2 folder: 4
Chemistry Exercises
1924
box-folder 2 folder: 5
Chemistry Lab Tests
1924
box-folder 2 folder: 6
Class Assignments, Analytics
1924
box-folder 2 folder: 7
Writing Exercises
1924
box-folder 2 folder: 8
Physics Course Notes
1924
box-folder 2 folder: 9
Football Team, Bugle Page
1925
box-folder 2 folder: 10
R.O.T.C. Materials
1923-1926
box-folder 2 folder: 11
Physics 212 Outline and Notes
c.1925
box-folder 2 folder: 12
Physics 232 Outline and Notes
c.1925
box-folder 2 folder: 13
Physics Lab Reports
1925
box-folder 2 folder: 14
Regulations of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute
1925
box-folder 2 folder: 15
Newspaper Clippings, VPI Athletics
1926
box-folder 2 folder: 16
Program for Dedication of the World War Memorial Hall and the Miles Stadium
October 1926
box-folder 2 folder: 17
Electrical Engineering Lab Report
1926
box-folder 2 folder: 18
Official Program for University of Richmond Fourth Annual South-Atlantic Track Meet
May 1927
box-folder 2 folder: 19
Public Speaking essay, "The Dependence of the United States on Foreign Mineral Resources"
box-folder 2 folder: 20
Program for 1927 Rally at VPI, including The Vocational Agricultural High School Contest, the Little International Livestock
Show, the Virigina Tech Dairy Show, and a meeting of the Future Farmers of Virginia
April 1927
box-folder 2 folder: 21
Issue of The Athletic Journal
January 1928
box-folder 2 folder: 22
Geological Columnar Section for Pocahontas Folio
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 23
VPI Sophomore Pranks, letters to Giles Syndor
1980
box-folder 2 folder: 24
The Cerro De Pasco District , copied from Mineral Deposits of South America by Miller and Singewald
1919
box 3
Metal items made in VPI Forge Class
1923
box 3
Freshman Engineering Drawings
1923
Subseries B: Photographs
1924-1927
Scope and Contents note
This subseries contains photographic prints and negatives of images created by Howard Avery while a student at VPI. Most of
the photographs were taken while he was the Photographic Editor of the 1927 Bugle.
Arrangement note
Materials are grouped in three divisions: cadet photographs, athletic photographs and personal photographs. Larger format
prints precede the smaller photos. There are also eight photo albums that contain pictures of campus life and trips to surrounding
areas.
box-folder 2 folder: 25
Athletic Teams
1924
box-folder 2 folder: 26
War Memorial Gym
1926
box-folder 2 folder: 27
Cadet Formation at Athletic Event
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 28
Cadet Companies, Unidentified
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 29
Cadets at Play
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 30
Graduation at War Memorial Gym (interior view)
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 31
Father and Son Banquet, YMCA
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 32
Unidentified Swimmers
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 33
VPI Senior H.S. Avery, Negatives
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 34
Col. Deem Inspection, Negatives
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 35
Cadets, Unidentified negatives
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 36
Unidentified VPI Groups, Negatives
box-folder 2 folder: 37
Unidentified campus scenes, Negatives
box-folder 2 folder: 38
Unidentified Woman, negative
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 54
Engineer ROTC Camp
1926
box-folder 2 folder: 55
Rats on parade
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 56
VPI Cadets and campus
box-folder 2 folder: 57
Campus life
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 58
Campus scenes, unidentified individuals
box-folder 2 folder: 59
Roanoke College football game, 1927 Bugle
box-folder 2 folder: 60
VPI Spring track season
1927
box-folder 2 folder: 61
VPI Campus life
1926-1927
box-folder 4 folder: 1
"B" Company Officers
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 2
Rats on parade
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 3
Cadets parade in town
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 4
Cadets with artillery
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 5
Cadets at class
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 6
Cadets at play
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 7
Cadet Corps commandant with staff
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 8
Cadet formation inspection
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 9
Cadet equipment inspection
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 10
Cadet companies
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 11
Cadet brass ensemble
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 12
Cadet formation at athletic event
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 13
Cadet dress uniform parade
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 14-15
Unidentified Individual Cadets
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 16
Cadet Individuals, Names listed on envelope
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 17
Bugle elections
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 18
Athletic managers
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 19
Baseball team
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 20
Baseball games
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 21
Boxing team
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 22
Football team
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 23-26
Football games
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 27
Rifle team
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 28
Drama club
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 29
Tennis team
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 30
Track team
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 31
Track team, individuals
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 32
Track and field meets
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 33
Wrestling
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 34
Horticulture exhibit
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 35
VPI Banquet, interior of Solitude
box-folder 4 folder: 36
Initiation into Monogram Club
box-folder 4 folder: 37
Campus buildings, interiors
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 38
Campus buildings
1927
box-folder 4 folder: 39-40
Campus scenes
Subseries C: Journals
1923-1927
box-folder 5 folder: 1
Students Handbook of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Compliments of the YMCA, Volume 28
1923-1924
box-folder 5 folder: 2
Boy Scout Diary
1925
box-folder 5 folder: 3
Notebook, Metallurgy class
1926
box-folder 5 folder: 4
Notebook, DAM Geology personnel and VPI addresses
1927
box-folder 5 folder: 5
Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the World War, VPI Bulletin Vol. XXI, No. 1
November 1927
box-folder 5 folder: 6
Notebook, finances, class notes, photography notes