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
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
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.
Biographical Note
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.
Scope and Content
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.
Arrangement
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.
Related Material
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.
The Mahwah Museum in Mahwah, New Jersey, also holds a collection of Howard S. Avery's papers .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- American Brake Shoe Company
- Avery, Howard S. (Howard Shaeffer), 1906-1996
- Science and Technology
- Students and alumni
- University History
- Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Howard S. Avery Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
Significant Persons Associated With the Collection
- Avery, Howard S. (Howard Shaeffer), 1906-1996
Container List
- Subseries A: Documents1913-1996Scope and Contents note
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 noteThis 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 Correspondence1920-1955
- box-folder 1 folder: 3
Christmas Cards1933-1978
- box-folder 1 folder: 4
Materials from Mexico
- box-folder 1 folder: 5
Professional Correspondence1932-1991
- box-folder 1 folder: 6
Newspaper Clippings, Metallurgy1944-1945, 1953
- box-folder 1 folder: 7
Abex News, Retirement announcementJuly - August 1971
- box-folder 1 folder: 8
U.S. Army Regulations1923-1929
- box-folder 1 folder: 9
National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel1945, 1960
- box-folder 1 folder: 11
Military Projects - American Brake Shoe Co.1943-1945
- box-folder 1 folder: 10
Military and Selective Service Materialsc.1927
- box-folder 1 folder: 10
- box-folder 1 folder: 12
Fort Humphreys, Maps and MaterialsSummer 1931
- box-folder 1 folder: 13
Fort Humphreys, Training Exercises1931
-
U.S. Army Engineering Correspondence Course
- box-folder 1 folder: 14
Materials
- box-folder 1 folder: 15
Subcourse 20-1December 1932
- box-folder 1 folder: 16
Subcourse 20-2December 1933
- box-folder 1 folder: 17
Subcourse 20-61932-1933
- box-folder 1 folder: 14
- box-folder 1 folder: 18
Military Correspondence, Officer Reserve CorpsMarch 1932 - October 1937
- box-folder 1 folder: 19
Science 11 - Educational Hygiene Lesson
- box-folder 1 folder: 20
Reserve Officer Associations - Roanoke, VA chapter1933-1934
- box-folder 1 folder: 21
National Rifle Association - Junior Division
- box-folder 1 folder: 22
NRA booklets and clippings1952
- box-folder 1 folder: 23
NRA Legislation Correspondence1935-1978
- box-folder 1 folder: 24
NRA Whittington Center1985-1988
- box-folder 1 folder: 25
Firearms Clubs and Organizations - Correspondence1935-1951
- box-folder 1 folder: 26
Rifle Club Materials1951-1984
- 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 Scouts1932-1971
- box-folder 1 folder: 30
Boy Scouts, Newspaper Clippings1931-1952
- box-folder 1 folder: 31
Roanoke Scout Notes, Troop 17Spring 1933
- box-folder 1 folder: 32
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
- box-folder 1 folder: 33
Iron and Steel Institute1936-1942
- 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 Engineers1958
- box-folder 1 folder: 36
American Welding Society1950-1985
- box-folder 1 folder: 37
Sierra Club correspondence1966-1988
- box-folder 1 folder: 38
American Geographical Society correspondence
- box-folder 1 folder: 39
Amateur Radio Materials1952-1966
- box-folder 1 folder: 40
Metallurgy and Engineering Education Materials1944-1966
- box-folder 1 folder: 41
Engineering Education Pamphlets
- box-folder 1 folder: 42
Industrial Arts Education Program1932-1960
- box-folder 1 folder: 43
High School speaking engagements1948, 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 Study1944
- box-folder 1 folder: 46
Sporting Goods, Clothing and Books Catalogs - Roanoke, VA1926-1927
- box-folder 1 folder: 47
Advertisement Cards, Arcos Company
- box-folder 1 folder: 48
Operations Manual for Portable Tape Recorder1970
- box-folder 1 folder: 49
Maps
- box-folder 2 folder: 48
VPI Calendar1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 49
VPI Alumni Association1926-1949
- box-folder 2 folder: 50
VPI Alumni Association Materials
- box-folder 2 folder: 51
Sounds from Virginia Tech LP1972
- 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
- box-folder 1 folder: 1
- Subseries B: Photographs1927-1987Scope and Contents note
These photographic prints and negatives include unidentified personal shots as well as photos taken in conjunction with his profession.
Arrangement noteThe 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, Negatives1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 40
Griffith Industries, Negatives1931
- box-folder 2 folder: 41
Maynard Industries, Welding Negatives1931
- 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 Company1933
- box-folder 4 folder: 41
Personal Photos, H. S. Avery1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 42
Personal Photos, Unidentified1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 43
Personal Photos, Scenic1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 44
Finished Thesis Work1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 45-46
Scenes, Unidentified1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 47
Griffith Industries1931
- box-folder 4 folder: 48
Tractor Wear information1986
- box-folder 4 folder: 49
Visit U.S. Bureau of Mines1986
- box-folder 4 folder: 50
Unidentified Rock Samples1987
- 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
- box-folder 2 folder: 39
- Subseries C: Journals1913-1936
- box 3
U.S. Army Training Regulations Booklet1922-1931
- box-folder 5 folder: 9
The Soldier's Handbook for Use in the Army of the United States1913
- box-folder 5 folder: 10
Manual of First Aid Instruction for Miners, and Mercurochrome in First Aid1922, n.d.
- box-folder 5 folder: 11
Geology, Southeast of Roanoke1927
- box-folder 5 folder: 12
Notebook, Journal of travel notes1928-1930
- box-folder 5 folder: 13
Notes on thesis, Geology around Roanokec.1928-1929
- box-folder 5 folder: 14
USGS Maps for field work, Roanoke and Christiansburgc.1929
- box-folder 5 folder: 15
Maps, measuring tools, notebook for fieldworkc.1932
- box-folder 5 folder: 16
Mine Examination and Geological Field Work1930-1931
- box-folder 5 folder: 17
Notebook, Hikes Around Roanoke1931-1932
- box-folder 5 folder: 18
Iron and Steel Institute Handbook No. 11935
- box-folder 5 folder: 19
Address List, American Brake Shoe CompanyMarch 1946
- box-folder 5 folder: 20
Address List, Metallurgical Department Personnelc.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 Reactors1931, 1961
- box-folder 5 folder: 26
American Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Engineers, Aims and Activitiesc.1925
- box 3
- Subseries D: Artifacts
- box 6
Official Leggings of the Boy Scouts of America
- box 6
305th Engineers Hat
- box 7
U.S. Army pennant
- box 7
Blue and white tie
- box 7
VMI Armband
- box 6
- Subseries A: Documents1923-1928, 1980Scope and Contents note
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 noteThe documents are arranged chronologically.
- box-folder 2 folder: 1
VPI Psalm Book or A Military Life in Comic1924
- box-folder 2 folder: 2
Chemistry Lab Notebook1923
- box-folder 2 folder: 3
Freshman Chemistry Notes, Third Term1924
- box-folder 2 folder: 4
Chemistry Exercises1924
- box-folder 2 folder: 5
Chemistry Lab Tests1924
- box-folder 2 folder: 6
Class Assignments, Analytics1924
- box-folder 2 folder: 7
Writing Exercises1924
- box-folder 2 folder: 8
Physics Course Notes1924
- box-folder 2 folder: 9
Football Team, Bugle Page1925
- box-folder 2 folder: 10
R.O.T.C. Materials1923-1926
- box-folder 2 folder: 11
Physics 212 Outline and Notesc.1925
- box-folder 2 folder: 12
Physics 232 Outline and Notesc.1925
- box-folder 2 folder: 13
Physics Lab Reports1925
- box-folder 2 folder: 14
Regulations of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute1925
- box-folder 2 folder: 15
Newspaper Clippings, VPI Athletics1926
- box-folder 2 folder: 16
Program for Dedication of the World War Memorial Hall and the Miles StadiumOctober 1926
- box-folder 2 folder: 17
Electrical Engineering Lab Report1926
- box-folder 2 folder: 18
Official Program for University of Richmond Fourth Annual South-Atlantic Track MeetMay 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 VirginiaApril 1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 21
Issue of The Athletic JournalJanuary 1928
- box-folder 2 folder: 22
Geological Columnar Section for Pocahontas Folio1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 23
VPI Sophomore Pranks, letters to Giles Syndor1980
- box-folder 2 folder: 24
The Cerro De Pasco District , copied from Mineral Deposits of South America by Miller and Singewald1919
- box 3
Metal items made in VPI Forge Class1923
- box 3
Freshman Engineering Drawings1923
- box-folder 2 folder: 1
- Subseries B: Photographs1924-1927Scope 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 noteMaterials 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 Teams1924
- box-folder 2 folder: 26
War Memorial Gym1926
- box-folder 2 folder: 27
Cadet Formation at Athletic Event1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 28
Cadet Companies, Unidentified1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 29
Cadets at Play1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 30
Graduation at War Memorial Gym (interior view)1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 31
Father and Son Banquet, YMCA1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 32
Unidentified Swimmers1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 33
VPI Senior H.S. Avery, Negatives1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 34
Col. Deem Inspection, Negatives1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 35
Cadets, Unidentified negatives1927
- 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, negative1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 54
Engineer ROTC Camp1926
- box-folder 2 folder: 55
Rats on parade1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 56
VPI Cadets and campus
- box-folder 2 folder: 57
Campus life1927
- 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 season1927
- box-folder 2 folder: 61
VPI Campus life1926-1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 1
"B" Company Officers1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 2
Rats on parade1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 3
Cadets parade in town1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 4
Cadets with artillery1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 5
Cadets at class1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 6
Cadets at play1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 7
Cadet Corps commandant with staff1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 8
Cadet formation inspection1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 9
Cadet equipment inspection1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 10
Cadet companies1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 11
Cadet brass ensemble1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 12
Cadet formation at athletic event1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 13
Cadet dress uniform parade1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 14-15
Unidentified Individual Cadets1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 16
Cadet Individuals, Names listed on envelope1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 17
Bugle elections1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 18
Athletic managers1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 19
Baseball team1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 20
Baseball games1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 21
Boxing team1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 22
Football team1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 23-26
Football games1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 27
Rifle team1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 28
Drama club1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 29
Tennis team1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 30
Track team1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 31
Track team, individuals1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 32
Track and field meets1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 33
Wrestling1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 34
Horticulture exhibit1927
- 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, interiors1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 38
Campus buildings1927
- box-folder 4 folder: 39-40
Campus scenes
- box-folder 2 folder: 25
- Subseries C: Journals1923-1927
- box-folder 5 folder: 1
Students Handbook of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Compliments of the YMCA, Volume 281923-1924
- box-folder 5 folder: 2
Boy Scout Diary1925
- box-folder 5 folder: 3
Notebook, Metallurgy class1926
- box-folder 5 folder: 4
Notebook, DAM Geology personnel and VPI addresses1927
- box-folder 5 folder: 5
Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the World War, VPI Bulletin Vol. XXI, No. 1November 1927
- box-folder 5 folder: 6
Notebook, finances, class notes, photography notesc.1927
- box-folder 5 folder: 7
Notebook, Economics
- box-folder 5 folder: 8
Notebook, Petrography
- box-folder 5 folder: 1
- Subseries D: Artifacts1923-1926
- box 6
VPI Cadet Cord
- box 6
VPI Cadet Hat
- box 7
Va Tech pennant
- box 8
VPI belt buckles, 3
- box 8
VPI belts, 2
- box 8
VPI buttons with Virginia state seal, 11
- box 9
VPI sweater
- box 9
VPI pennant1927
- box 9
VPI paddle
- box 10
VPI Cadet uniform, jacket and pantsc.1923-1926
- box 10
VPI Football uniform, pants onlyc.1923-1926
- box 6