Walter P. Innes Jr. Collection
Collection Summary
Title: |
Walter P. Innes Jr. Collection |
Call Number: |
MS 96-01 |
Size: |
3.0 linear feet |
Acquisition: |
Purchased from Rock Castle Antiques, Wichita |
Processed by: |
APB, 5-11-1998; SMC, 11-18-1998; MN, 9-2014 |
Restrictions: |
None |
Literary Rights
Literary rights were not granted to Wichita State
University. When permission is granted to examine the manuscripts, it is
not an authorization to publish them. Manuscripts cannot be used for publication
without regard for common law literary rights, copyright laws and the laws
of libel. It is the responsibility of the researcher and his/her publisher,
to obtain permission to publish. Scholars and students who eventually plan
to have their work published are urged to make inquiry regarding overall
restrictions on publication before initial research.
Content Note
The Walter P. Innes Jr. collection contains material concerning two important Wichita businesses, the Innes Department Store and the Stearman Aircraft Company. It includes correspondence, photographs, blueprints, technical reports, financial documents, engineering diagrams, business agreements, pamphlets, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, and personal notes and letters dating from the late 1920s. These documents are primarily concerned with his role as a manager in the George Innes Dry Goods Company, his position as Secretary of the Stearman Aircraft Company, and his involvement with a spark plug and rotary engine invention and Wichita real estate developments.
Biography
Walter Pease Innes Jr. was born on December 9, 1902. He was the son of Walter Innes, a well-known Wichita merchant and owner of the Innes Department Store located in downtown Wichita. Innes Jr. was involved in retail merchandising, the aviation industry, and was a Wichita civic leader. He was vice president and secretary of the George Innes Company and a manager at the Innes Department Store until it was sold in 1951. Walter Jr. became president of the new Travel Air Company in 1925 and would later help organize and serve as secretary of the Stearman Aircraft Company. In 1930, Innes Jr. became president and treasurer of Stearman and directed the business management of the firm. He also served on the board of directors of several Wichita businesses during the 1950s including the Fourth National Bank, Wheeler-Kelly-Hagny Investment Company, and the KFH Company. As a civic leader, Walter Jr. was president of the Wichita Chamber of Commerce in 1951 and vice president of the Wichita Community Chest in 1952. Walter Innes Jr. died in Wichita on May 1, 1977.
Detailed Description: Series Listing
Series 1 |
Box 1 FF 1-6 |
Innes Department Store, 1927-1929. Arranged chronologically by subject matter, this series contains correspondence from Walter Innes Jr. concerning the relocation and operation of the Innes Department Store. Also included are proposals from various vendors, financial statements, and descriptions of the department store layout. |
Series 2 |
Box 1 FF 7-17 |
Stearman Aircraft Company, 1928-1929. Arranged chronologically by subject matter, this series contains correspondence, photographs, financial statements, pamphlets, sales guides, oversized engineering diagrams, and the personal notes of Walter Innes Jr. relating to his position as Secretary of the Stearman Aircraft Company. |
Series 3 |
Box 1 FF 18-26 |
Spark Plug Invention, 1927-1929. Arranged chronologically by subject matter, this series contains correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and various manufacturers, attorneys, and his partner Earl Bidwell concerning the development and promotion of their spark plug invention. Also included are numerous notes, business contracts, and blueprints. |
Series 4 |
Box 1 FF 27-28 |
Rotary Internal Combustion Engine Invention. Arranged chronologically by subject matter, this series contains correspondence, business contracts, blueprints, engineering diagrams, and personal notes concerning the rotary engine invention of Earl Bidwell and Walter Innes Jr. |
Series 5 |
Box 1 FF 29 |
Marsh Manor Housing Addition. This series contains a list of owners from a housing development representing Walter Innes Jr.'s involvement in Wichita real estate. |
Series 6 |
Box 1 FF 30 |
Walter Innes Jr. Personal Correspondence, 1928-1929. Arranged chronologically, this series contains personal correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and his parents, Margaret and Walter Innes Sr. |
Series 7 |
Box 2, Map Case |
Oversized. This series contains oversized blueprints of the spark plug invention, plat maps of Wichita and the surrounding counties, graphs of engineering test results, and structural diagrams of Stearman and Travel Air aircraft. |
Detailed Description: Box and Folder Listing
Series 1 ‒ Innes Department Store, 1927-1929
Box 1 |
FF 1 |
Innes Department Store correspondence, 1929. Contains
correspondence from Walter Innes Jr. concerning the relocation
and operation of the Innes Department Store along with a
photograph of store utilities and a menu from the Innes Tea
Room. |
Box 1 |
FF 2 |
Light fixtures for the new Innes Department Store, 1927. This
file contains correspondence, photographs, drawings, and price
lists concerning the purchase of light fixtures for the new
location of the Innes Department Store. |
Box 1 |
FF 3 |
Fur storage vaults for the new Innes Department Store, 1927.
Includes correspondence and drawings from several vendors
concerning the purchase of fur coat storage accessories for the
new Innes Department Store. |
Box 1 |
FF 4 |
The Innes Company Controller’s Report for 1928. Contains
consolidated balance sheets and profit and loss statements. |
Box 1 |
FF 5 |
Description and location of showcases in the new Innes
Department Store. Contains a detailed description of every
showcase in the store by floor and department. Provides the
layout for the Innes Department Store. |
Box 1 |
FF 6 |
Location of cash registers and phones in the new Innes
Department Store. Contains hand written notes by Walter Innes
Jr. which provide the location of every cash register, pay phone,
and store phone throughout the Innes Department Store. This
illustrates the floor plan of the entire store. |
Series 2 ‒ Stearman Aircraft Company, 1928-1929
Box 1 |
FF 7 |
Stearman stock correspondence, 1927-1929. This file contains
letters and telegrams arranged chronologically to and from
Walter Innes Jr., Secretary of the Stearman Aircraft Company,
concerning shares of Stearman stock. Also included are letters
of congratulations when Innes decided to devote his full time to
the Stearman Aircraft Company in July, 1929. |
Box 1 |
FF 8 |
Stearman Aircraft Company notes of Walter Innes Jr.. This file
contains a collection of handwritten notes concerning the
Stearman Aircraft Company and its shareholders. The notes are
contained on a variety of media including address books,
cardboard, and scrap paper. Also included are proxy voting
statements for the June 15, 1929 shareholders’ meeting that
select Walter Innes Jr. as the shareholder’s representative. |
Box 1 |
FF 9 |
Stearman photographs. This file contains photographs of
Stearman aircraft and employees. Of particular interest are
photographs of Charles Lindbergh with company officials in
1928. |
Box 1 |
FF 10 |
Stearman photographs. This file contains Stearman aircraft
photographs that were part of a distributor sales guide. |
Box 1 |
FF 11 |
Stearman photographs. This file contains photographs of
Stearman aircraft that were part of a distributor sales guide. |
Box 1 |
FF 12 |
Stearman photographs. This file contains photographs of
Stearman aircraft during their production phase at the factory.
These photographs were part of a distributor sales guide. |
Box 1 |
FF 13 |
Stearman photographs. This file contains Stearman aircraft
photographs that were part of a distributor sales guide. |
Box 1 |
FF 14 |
Stearman photographs. This file contains photographs of
Stearman aircraft in various stages of development along with
several photographs of the factory production line. These
pictures were part of a distributor sales guide. |
Box 1 |
FF 15 |
Stearman distributor sales guide information, 1928. This file
contains Stearman special features lists, optional equipment
lists, price lists, and confidential company bulletins which were
part of a Stearman distributor sales guide. |
Box 1 |
FF 16 |
Stearman Aircraft Company literature and financial statements,
1928-1929. This file contains a Stearman Aircraft Company
informational pamphlet, the company's monthly magazine Contact (March, 1929), a 1928 financial report, a 1928 report to
stock-holders, a Stearman stock prospectus, an aircraft price list,
and newspaper clippings of Stearman Aircraft Company stock
prices and business news. |
Box 1 |
FF 17 |
Aviation industry newsletters and pamphlets, 1928-1929. This
file contains various newsletters, government reports,
promotional pamphlets, and newspaper clippings concerning the
civilian aircraft industry in general and the Kansas aviation
industry in particular. |
Series 3 ‒ Spark Plug Invention, 1927-1929
Box 1 |
FF 18 |
Photographs - Unidentified individuals, n.d. |
Box 1 |
FF 19 |
Correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and Earl Bidwell,
1927-1929. This file contains letters, telegrams, and contractual
agreements between Walter Innes Jr. and Earl Bidwell
concerning their partnership in the development, promotion, and
patenting of a new type of spark plug. |
Box 1 |
FF 18 |
Correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and the firm of
Vermilion, Evans, Carey, and Lilleston, 1927-1930. This file
contains correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and his
Wichita attorneys concerning various business matters. |
Box 1 |
FF 18 |
Correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and the firm of
Dyrenforth, Lee, Chritton, and Wiles, 1928-1929. This file
contains correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and his patent
attorneys concerning his attempts to successfully patent the
spark plug that he had developed in partnership with Earl
Bidwell. |
Box 1 |
FF 18 |
Correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and the Universal
Milking Machine Company, 1927-1928. This file contains
correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and B.F. Beaty of the
Universal Milking Machine Company concerning the
manufacture and distribution of his new spark plug invention. |
Box 1 |
FF 18 |
Correspondence between Walter Innes Jr. and various vendors,
1927-1929. This file contains correspondence between Walter
Innes Jr. and various manufacturers and vendors concerning his
new spark plug invention. |
Box 1 |
FF 18 |
Correspondence between Earl Bidwell and various vendors,
1927-1928. This file contains correspondence between various
manufacturers, vendors, and attorneys concerning the
development and patenting of the spark plug invention that he
was in partnership with Walter Innes Jr.. |
Box 1 |
FF 18 |
I-B Foul Proof Spark Plug, 1927. This file includes reports to
investors, blueprints, diagrams, and descriptions of the Innes-Bidwell spark plug invention for internal combustion engines. |
Box 1 |
FF 18 |
Spark plug notes of Walter Innes Jr.. This file contains the
handwritten notes of Walter Innes Jr. concerning the
development of his new spark plug. These notes are written on
pieces of cardboard and scrap paper. |
Box 1 |
FF 26 |
Spark plug manufacturers. This file contains the sales brochures
of various spark plug manufacturers and a pamphlet explaining
how inventors can obtain a patent. |
Series 4 ‒ Rotary Internal Combustion Engine Invention
Box 1 |
FF 27 |
Rotary internal combustion engine. This file contains
descriptions of the rotary internal combustion engine invention,
a product of the Innes-Bidwell partnership. The file also
includes a copy of a development agreement for this invention
and a letter from Walter Innes Jr. promoting the benefits of this
engine to a potential customer. |
Box 1 |
FF 28 |
Rotary engine notes and diagrams. This file contains the
handwritten notes of Walter Innes Jr. concerning the rotary
internal combustion engine invention. It also includes several
photographs, blueprints, and diagrams of the engine and its
components. |
Series 5 ‒ Marsh Manor Housing Addition
Box 1 |
FF 29 |
Marsh Manor Addition. This files contains a list of property
owners in the Marsh Manor housing addition of Wichita, a real-estate development project that Walter Innes Jr. was involved
in. This development was bordered by Douglas Avenue, East
Street, 2nd Street, and Marsh Avenue. |
Series 6 ‒ Personal Correspondence, 1928-1929
Box 1 |
FF 30 |
Personal correspondence of Walter Innes Jr., 1928-1929. This
file contains the personal correspondence, arranged
chronologically, between Walter Innes Jr. and his parents,
Margaret and Walter Innes Sr., as they traveled around the
United States and the world. The topics of the majority of the
letters concerns the welfare of family members and the operation
of the Innes Company. |
Series 7 ‒ Oversized
Box 2 |
FF 1 |
Structural diagrams of Stearman aircraft. This folder contains
oversized structural diagrams of various components of
Stearman and Travel Air aircraft including the engine, wings,
and fuselage.
|
Box 2 |
FF 2 |
Engineering graphs. This folder contains oversized graphs of
engineering test results that were performed on various aircraft
components.
|
Box 2 |
FF 3 |
Spark plug blueprints. This file contains oversized blueprints of
the Innes-Bidwell foul-proof spark plug invention.
|
Box 2 |
FF 4 |
Real-estate plat maps. This file contains oversized plat maps of
downtown Wichita and a map of several counties in south-central Kansas. Also included are the plat maps of two
residential subdivisions, Marsh Manor and the Innes Addition,
that had connections to Walter Innes Jr. |
Map Case |
|
Real estate plat map. Elbing-Peabody District.
|