Natalie Platel

CIST 660
Prof. Sinn
14 February 2022

Collection Processing Plan

Note: This plan will be carried out by Natalie Platel at the World War I Museum and Memorial
in Kansas City, Missouri under the supervision of the Director of Exhibitions and Registrar, Stacie
Petersen.

Collection Overview

Acquisition Source

Michael R. Johnson
230 N. Huffman St
Naperville, Illinois 50540

Anticipated Use/Restrictions

The anticipated use of this collection follows the strategic plan of the Museum to be established
as the foremost repository of World War I historical collections in the United States. During the
Centennial of World War I (2014-2019) the museum set forth a larger focus on honoring the
men and women of the War, so this collection ultimately was acquired so it’s important
historical information could be preserved and shared with the nation in new and exciting ways.

Additionally, there are no restrictions to access, copyrights, or privacy rights for this collection
set forth by the donor or Museum.

Title/Accession Number

From the service of Private Harry C. Carlson, 13th Field Artillery Band, 4th Division then 4th
Division Orchestra, AEF.

2017. 199

Provenance/Chain of Custody

As noted in a letter/email from the donor, Michael R. Johnson, this collection was purchased as
3 lots by him on November 24th 2002 at John Prigge Auction in Elgin, Illinois. The items are
stated to be from an unincorporated area of Des Plaines, Illinois from the estate of area
firefighter, Robert Carleson. It is assumed that Robert Carlson is the son of Private Harry C.
Carlson. The Museum officially acquired this collection on November 14, 2017 after
correspondence with the donor.

Quantity/Format/Physical Condition

The collection is comprised of a myriad of materials of varying conditions which are described
below:

1 Personal Agenda
The agenda is in good shape for its age, but still very fragile with cracks on the cover, slightly
detached spine and yellowed pages, text is mostly all legible.

1 Directory of Veterans from the Fourth Division, A.E.F.

The directory book is in great condition, the spine is still completely in tact and pages are
unripped and only slight yellowing of those pages has occurred. The book jacket is ripped in
many places, but it seems to be a homemade book jacket that is irrelevant to the meaning of
the book itself.

2 Small Personal Notebooks

The notebooks are both in good condition with slight wear and tear on the covers, but all pages
still in tact and unripped with most of the text legible.

3 German Theatre Tickets

The tickets are in good condition, paper slightly discolored, no rips or tears, and print still
completely legible.

1 Soldiers Individual Pay Book

The book is in good condition with wear and tear on the cover, pages yellowed, but spine and
pages all still intact with all text legible as well.

8 Postcards
The postcards are all in various but overall good condition with slight wear and tear on only 2 of
them. The photo on the postcard in worst condition has faded a great deal but the image is still
able to be understood for the most part.

7 Photographs
The photographs are all in various but again overall good condition. The larger 2 of the 4
photographs (two identical 8x10 group band photographs) both have some folded/fragile edges
but image still completely intact. The smaller two photographs have no folded/fragile edges
and only one of the images is slightly faded.

1 Silver Gelatin Dry Plate Glass Negative

The condition of this glass negative is good, there is noticeable residue in some spots, but the
overall image is still in tact.
1 Poster Type Photograph
This poster’s image is in good condition, however it has been rolled up for decades I presume,
so there is wear and tear (folds and slight degradation of the poster paper) from the position it
was rolled into.

1 Badge/Name Tag from the 1928 Annual 4th Division Association Reunion
This badge is in decent condition, the ribbon part of the badge is folded at the bottom and has
some frayed edges, and the thread used to embroider the text has become darker/discolored in
areas.

1 Medic Apron/Pouch?
Although dirty with multiple stains and probably dust/dirt from being stored over the years, the
fibers of the apron are still intact with no visible rips or holes. The apron/pouch definitely needs
more context as to what it was used for/if it belonged to Private Carlson.

3 Program/Itinerary Booklets from Dance Events

These booklets are both in great condition with just slight yellowing of the cardstock. One of
the booklets even has it’s original pencil still attached to it.

7 Documents Relating to Soldier Compensation

These documents are all in okay shape, many have been folded for decades, so there are
noticeable crease marks, some tearing the edges, and many of the documents have yellowed.
All text from the documents is legible. H

1 Official Order Document

This document has been folded for decades, so there are crease marks where the folds are and
some frayed edges. The ink of the text is still bold and easily legible.

3 Membership Cards
These membership cards are all in great condition with all text and writing legible. Only
degradation of the cardstock is worn down edges probably from being kept in a wallet.

3 Newspaper Clippings/Articles
These documents have also been folded and have some small rips and tears around the edges
and creases where they have been folded. The paper has also become very fragile and yellowed
over time.

5 Official Passes
All of these passes are in various conditions, some have been folded, one has extremely
worn/torn edges, a couple of them have become very thin and the ink has faded/bled over time
as well. While all these passes are pretty fragile, they are still for the most part legible and
intact.

4 Documents Relating to the Fourth Division Veterans Association

These documents are all in great condition with only one of the documents having a couple ink
stains and frayed/ripped edges.

1 Foreign French Letter/Document Relating to the Verdun Veterans Association

The envelope of this letter is in very fragile condition with many frayed and ripped edges, but all
text/writing is still legible. The letter and certificate itself is in great condition with all text
legible.

5 “Other” Documents Needing More Context

These documents are in okay condition, some of them with frayed edges and rips, but overall
text and writing on these documents is legible.

Current Arrangement
The World War I Museum traditionally processes their collections on an item based level, rather
than on an entire collection level. This means that this collection has not been arranged in any
specific way that is discernable other than similar items being grouped together in the box
where the collection currently resides.

Work Proposed

Arrangement

The collection in question will be arranged on a series, subseries, and item level. The summary
of the collection’s contents above make it clear that there are similar items that can be grouped
together into a specific category or “series” with subseries for further differentiation, and that
there are items that are unique and should be processed on an item level. The reason for this
type of arrangement is justified by the way I believe this collection might be used for research.
The unique historical nature of this collection works to tell a story of a soldier and his
involvement with World War I during and after the war. With that being said, a researcher most
likely will want to look at this collection in order to find out what the daily life of a soldier was
like, and more specifically what the life of soldier who also participated in the musical
bands/orchestras of the military was like, so arranging in a way that helps a researcher discover
the different aspects of that soldiers life will only help their research. Another reason it makes
sense to arrange by series is because if a researcher wants to look more generally at, for
example, soldier compensation documents, they could find the series in this collection that
relates just to the compensation of the soldier, instead of having to shuffle through the entire
collection to find those documents. Additionally, arranging at a series level for most of the
collection allows me to process more quickly and make the collection available to researchers in
a shorter amount of time.

Finding Aid

When creating the finding aid for this collection, I plan to describe many important parts of the
collection which relate to the provenance, the contents, and the series and subseries by which
they are arranged. The documents and artifacts that the Museum offers for researchers
becomes very common after a while, as there are only so many types of documents and
artifacts that relate to the War. So, being as descriptive as possible in the finding aid of this
collection will help someone figure out if the materials in this collection differ from other
materials in a way that is important to them.

Materials to be Separated/Discarded

This collection does have some materials that will likely be discarded or separated for optimal
processing. These materials are all documents that don’t fit into specific series or subseries and
are not unique enough in context and high enough in relation and importance to the collections
other materials that they must be kept in the collection. There is also a duplicate photo that is
mounted on a cardboard like frame that is ripped and in bad shape, so I will also separate this
photo and keep the one that is in better condition and not mounted on a torn and ripped up
cardboard frame.

Preservation Actions

The largest preservation action that needs to be taken is the creation of surrogate records for
some of the more fragile documents, especially some of the documents that are made of
“onion” paper. Creating a surrogate record for some of these documents would help keep the
original documents in a controlled environment where they will be better preserved. The
second preservation action that needs to be taken is to replace the cloth that is holding the
glass plate negative with an acid free fully enclosed envelope that will protect the glass
negative for far longer than the loose cloth will. Lastly, it’s possible that many of the more
fragile paper documents could be stored in plastic covers to keep any moisture, oils, and
dirt/dust away from them.

Publicity Plan

Once this collection is available to researchers and the public, the best publicity is to
differentiate this collection from all other artifacts in the Museum’s collection. What makes it
more interesting or worth the closer look? Why does it matter more in today’s context than 10
years ago or 50 years ago? These answers to these questions help to guide the publicity. That
being said, this collection’s most unique aspect is the perspective of a soldier who was also a
musician. There were a lot of soldiers, but not a lot of them were also musicians, so the
crossover of these activities help to distinguish this collection as something new and interesting
to the public. Additionally, I believe this collection holds more weight in our current society
than it did in the past because we have become so much more geared toward following one’s
passions and fostering creativity. Therefore, Carlson’s collection becomes more relatable to
current society because it mirrors that same sentiment, that even while he had to serve for his
country he still found a way to foster his passion for music. So, publicity should overall be
geared toward the uniqueness and relatability of Carlson’s collection.
Resources

There are a number of items I will need to ensure this collection is stored according to best
practices for the types of materials that are in the collection. These include:

1. Acid free folders

2. Four flap glass negative envelope
3. Upright standing box for collection to be stored in
4. Acid free plastic folders to store more fragile paper documents in if needed

Additionally, I will conduct research through Ancestry.com and other online or physical sources
to understand further details and answer any questions that come up during the processing.

The cost estimate of these materials is about $20 . The Museum has most of these resources
available to me free of cost, including unlimited access to Ancestry.com. The only cost that I
might need to cover on my own is the envelope for the glass negative, which I’m not sure the
Museum has readily on hand.

Related Collections

The Museum doesn’t process by collection, but by item, so there aren’t necessarily related
“collections” but are a number of items in their entire collection that relate to this collection.
There are multiple photos of military bands and orchestras that are included in their that
resemble closely many of the photos in Private Carlson’s personal collection. Additionally, there
are many other items in the Museum’s collection that are also in Private Carlson’s, like personal
diaries, some of which might reflect some of Carlson’s own experiences in the War as well.