The Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT), Inc. Air-Rail Service Scrapbooks collection consists of three large, fabric covered scrapbooks. The set documents the pre- and post-inaugural activities of TAT for the period of time between June and November, 1929.
The Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) was the first U.S. airline associated with railroads (Pennsylvania and Santa Fe) to provide a rapid form of coast-to-coast transportation. Daniel M. Sheaffer, chairman of the executive committee of TAT, was a pioneer in the development of commercial aviation for passenger and express mail services. Both he and founder Clement Melville Keys were instrumental in the development of the TAT line and with the inauguration of the service.
This collection includes three scrapbooks. The news clippings in Volume I cover the period of July 6-10, 1929, when the first transcontinental air-rail service was inaugurated. Volume II, covering the period of June 11 through August 23, 1929, documents the pre- and post-inaugural activities surrounding the establishment of the TAT. Both volumes contain newsprint with images of high-profile travelers and stakeholders, such as Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Ina Claire, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. The third volume (untitled) covers the time between September 4 and November 1, 1929, when the news of the TAT Ford Tri-Motor "City of San Francisco" disappearing in the mountains of New Mexico captivated readers nationwide.
Arrangement note
This collection is in orginal order, with each scrapbook compiled in chronological order.
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Restrictions
No restrictions on access
Citation
Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT), Inc. Air-Rail Service Scrapbooks, Acc. XXXX.0081, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Topics
Aeronautics Railroad travel Air travel Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States Aeronautics, Commercial Aeronautics, Commercial -- Passenger traffic Ford Tri-Motor Family Curtiss Condor Family
