Phil Harms Collection

Phil Harms, c.1938-2005, was an avid collector with a life long interest in the history of automobile racing. Raised in the southern Indiana town of Columbus, Mr. Harms attended his first auto race, the Indianapolis 500, in 1952. His attraction to racing, and the Indy 500, can be seen in the newspaper clipping scrapbooks that are part of the collection, the earliest of which was started when Mr. Harms was 13 years old.

After attending Purdue University, Mr. Harms moved to southern California in 1965 to pursue a career in engineering, eventually holding a position with Boeing designing computer systems for satellites. Mr. Harms’ interest in collecting auto racing material continued, as he gradually accumulated a collection of over 10,000 photographic prints and negatives documenting the history of open wheel racing in the United States. Not limiting himself to auto racing images, Mr. Harms was also an avid stamp collector, and he began to accumulate racing statistics as well. His work with statistical data was facilitated in part by the advent of the personal computer and database software. The statistics in the Harms database have appeared in a number of published works, and a portion of the database is publicly available on the World Wide Web.

The enthusiasm that Mr. Harms held for racing led to his two sons becoming involved in motorsports as well, with the Harms family campaigning quarter midget race cars in the Southern California area during the early and mid-1980s.

Phil Harms co-authored one book, “Real Road Racing: the Santa Monica Road Races, and contributed statistics, photographs and index editing for many other publications.

Sources:
Harms, Phil. 2002. Posting on the Autosport.com bulletin board, nostalgia forum. Accessed 14 June 2010 at http://forums.autosport.com/lofiversion/index.php/t856-600.html.

Historic Columbus, Indiana. Columbus High School Yearbooks digital collection. Includes 1956 yearbook senior photograph of Phil Harms. Accessed 07 June 2010 at http://www.historiccolumbusindiana.org/yearbooks/1956/35.htm.

Osmer, Harold. 2005. Posting on TrackForum.com bulletin board, Eagle104’s nostalgia forum. Accessed 14 June 2010 at http://www.trackforum.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-53069.html.

Osmer, Harold L., and Phil Harms. 1999. Real road racing: the Santa Monica Road Races. Chatsworth, CA: Osmer Pub.

The Phil Harms Collection covers the period from 1896 to 2003, and is divided into eleven series: Indexes series, 1896-1989 (1 cubic ft.); Business and Financial series, c.1986-c.2009 (1.0 cubic ft.); Correspondence series, 1968-c.2000 (0.1 cubic ft.); Data and Statistics series, 1894-2004 (7.5 cubic ft.); Film series, 1911-1980 (1 cubic ft.); Newspaper Clipping Scrapbooks series, 1951-1980 (8 cubic ft.); Photographic Negatives series, 1896-1989 (9.6 cubic ft.); Photographic Prints series, 1896-1989 (17.7 cubic ft.); Posters and Artwork series, 1915-c.1992 (1.0 cubic ft.); Publications series, 1920-2003 (5.6 cubic ft.); Realia series, c.1970-1987 (1.2 cubic ft.).

The Indexes series, 1896-1989 (1 cubic ft.), consists of lists of the photographic images contained in the collection, which are sorted by various subject, date, and image number ranges. The lists in the series have been assembled by several sources including Phil Harms, photograph vendors, and staff of The Henry Ford. Lists that may be of particular interest include the two Harms Database lists, sorted by image number and date, which were generated from an electronic database created by Harms containing information on the majority of images in the collection. It is expected that researchers will require the index lists to identify images, as many prints and negatives in the collection are identified only by an image number.

The Harms images are numbered consecutively, 1 through 9999, with a suffix applied to indicate a specific negative frame. For example, image 1-8 would found on negative strip 1, frame 8. Note that Harms indicated the specific negative frame in two ways, using either the number imprinted in negative strip itself, or the frame position on the negative strip counting from left to right. The Harms image numbers in the range of 1-5620 will have an associated negative located in either the binders in the Negative Binder sub-series, or in one of the other negative sub-series. Numbers ranging from 9000-9032 are associated with negatives from the Speed Age negative sub-series. Harms numbers in the 9500 and 9980 ranges are associated with prints only, with the prints located in the Print Binder sub-series under the image year. Numbers in the 9950 and 9990 ranges can be located in the King Negative sub-series. Finally, the Harms numbers in the 9970 range are associated with images taken from digital files. Prints of these digital files can be found in the Print Binder sub-series under the image year, while some of the digital files can be found on the CDs contained in the Business and Financial series.

The negatives in the Speed Age Negative sub-series are numbered consecutively from 145 to 10664, with some gaps between number ranges. To avoid confusion, researchers should be aware that in some cases the Speed Age numbers will overlap the Harms numbers. For example, both Harms and Speed Age negatives exist with numbers in the range of 2002 to 2015. Speed Age negatives are specifically called out in both the finding aid contents listing and in the image database.

Identifying images by date, or location, is useful in locating prints contained in both the binders and albums, while the image number is most useful in locating specific negatives. A suggested course for a researcher with specific image subject(s) in mind would be to begin by searching the Harms Database lists for image numbers that have descriptions related to the subject(s). Next, the appropriate negatives should be pulled for review in order to narrow the number of images. Finally, print binders and albums can be pulled and reviewed based on the image year or subject to determine if a print of the image already exists in the collection.

Researchers should be aware that there is no single listing or database within the collection that contains information for every negative and print contained in the collection, and that many of the negatives and prints remain only partially identified by approximate date range, or image location.

The Business and Financial series, c.1986-c.2009 (1.0 cubic ft.), consists of files related to Phil Harms’ business and financial activities, and is arranged in 4 sub-series: Electronic Files, Miscellaneous, Photo Lists and Orders, and Research Notes. The Electronic Files sub series consists of a set of three compact discs which contain files and folders copied from Phil Harms’ personal computer. Among other information these files include databases for photographs and race statistics, race statistics in Adobe PDF format, scans of photographs and magazines, and book manuscripts. The Miscellaneous sub-series includes a listing of recorded radio broadcasts, and user manuals for two pieces of office equipment. The Photo Lists and Orders sub-series consists of printed lists of photographs that Phil Harms offered for sale, along with order forms and correspondence. Please note that the lists contained in this series do not include all of the images in the collection. The lists found in the Indexes series are considered to be the most complete and up to date. The Research Notes sub-series consists of two notebooks and a set of score sheets that Phil Harms used in recording notes taken during his research. The notebook titled “Research Notes 1” included a set of four sheets of microfilm titled “American Racing Records 1894-1956”, which can be found in the Photographic Negatives series.

The Correspondence series, 1968-c.2000 (0.1 cubic ft.), contains letters sent and received by Phil Harms and others. Also included is a folder containing Frontenac vehicle data sent to Harms by Kem Robertson for aid in researching Frontenac photographs.

The Data and Statistics series, 1894-2004 (7.5 cubic ft.), contains printed race statistics compiled by Phil Harms, along with some of the supporting data used in assembling the statistical reports. The statistical reports cover the Indianapolis 500 for the years 1911-2003, championship and non-championship races held from 1895 to 2004, American Automobile Association (AAA) races from 1894 to 1955, and Grand Prix races held from 1894-1921. Typical reports include the following information: race date, location, and length; starting lineups with driver name, car name, car owner and car number; notes on cautions, accidents and relief drivers; and race finish results. There are also two specialized reports focusing on the Ascot race tracks located in California, and the road races held in Santa Monica (Calif.) from 1909-1919. The bulk of the supporting data consists of copies of microfilmed AAA forms, including “Official Report – Tabulation of Prizes Won” and “Official Entry Blank”, covering the period 1932 to 1935. Other supporting data includes lap leader data from Dick Jordan, USAC, and race results taken from the Indianapolis Speedway website. In addition to the printed information in this series, the same or similar data also exists in the form of electronic databases and PDF formatted files, which are contained on the compact discs listed in the Business and Financial series. A portion of the statistical information is also available online at the website listed in the Bibliography section of the finding aid.

The Film series, 1911-1980 (1 cubic ft.), contains both commercially made film and footage shot by Phil Harms, and primarily covers sprint and Championship car races from 1950-1980. The series is arranged in three sub-series: Digital Video Discs, Harms, and Racing.

The Digital Video Discs sub-series consists of five Digital Video Discs (DVDs) which contain transcriptions of selected films from the Harms and Racing sub-series. The DVDs were created by staff of The Henry Ford.

The Harms sub-series consists of footage shot by [Phil Harms] of non-racing subjects including a 1962 trip to Europe, and flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. The color film is in both 8mm and Super 8 formats.

The Racing sub-series consists of both commercial and non-commercial footage of sprint, midget and Champ Car races held from 1911 1980, with the bulk of the material covering the period 1950-1980. The film is in both 8mm and Super 8 formats, and in color and black and white. Of particular interest would be the color footage shot by Phil Harms, such as that from the 1964, 1965 and 1968 Indianapolis 500 mile races.

The Newspaper Clipping Scrapbooks series, 1951-1980 (8 cubic ft.), consists of thirteen scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, arranged chronologically, and covering the period from 1951 to 1980. The clippings focus primarily on the Indianapolis 500 mile race, and are taken from various newspapers and auto racing publications including the Indianapolis Star, the Columbus (Ind.) Evening Republican, National Speed Sport News, and Autoweek. The earliest scrapbooks were assembled by Phil Harms when he was a teenager living in Columbus, Indiana.

The Photographic Negatives series, 1896-1987 (9.6 cubic ft.), consists of original and copy photographic negatives, in both black and white and color, and in a number of different formats. The series is divided into five sub-series: Harms, Hansen, Kadar, King, Posey, and Speed Age.

The Harms sub-series, 1896-1987 (6.2 cubic ft.), contains original negatives produced by Phil Harms and other photographers, and copy negatives that reproduce many of the photographic prints contained in the collection. The series is arranged in four sub-subseries: Binders, Indianapolis 500, Large Format, and Miscellaneous. The Binder sub-subseries consists of negatives housed in sleeve pages within binders, and arranged by image number. A handwritten image description sheet and a contact print sheet accompany most of the sleeve pages. The image numbers can be found on the verso of the collection’s photographic prints, and can be searched using the Harms Database Image Number list contained in the Indexes series. The Indianapolis 500 sub-subseries, 1966-1969 (0.3 cubic ft.), consists of black and white, 35mm, 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 and 2 1/4 x 2 3/4 negatives produced by Phil Harms. The images are of pre- and post-race activities, drivers, crew, track personnel, celebrities, race queens, and garage and infield areas taken at the Indianapolis Speedway during the month of May, 1966-1969. A number of notable individuals are captured including Jackie Stewart and Walter Cronkite (1966); Graham Hill and Dan Blocker (1967); Gary Bettenhausen, Mario Andretti and Jim McKay (1968); and O.J. Simpson, Kirk Douglas, Dan Blocker, George Forman and Dan Gurney (1969). Researchers should note that these images are not included on the lists contained in the Indexes series. The Large Format sub-subseries consists of 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 (or larger) negatives, some of which have been assigned a Harms image number in the range 500-1 to 541-32 and are covered in the Harms Database lists found in the Indexes series. The majority of these negatives have a description of the image written on the negative envelope, and some envelopes include a contact print taken from the negative. The Miscellaneous sub-subseries consists of a number of images thought to have been taken by Phil Harms, primarily at races held in California from 1967 – 1981. The negatives are grouped by location and date, and have not been assigned a Harms image number. Several of the images are thought to be of Harms family members or taken at events involving the Harms family. Also included are 4 sheets of microfilmed racing records that cover the period 1894-1956, and that are referenced by notebooks contained in the Business and Financial series.

The Hansen sub-series, c.1968-1980 (0.1 cubic ft.) consists of black and white, 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inch negatives produced by photographer Stan Hansen. These images are primarily of sprint car races held during 1980 at tracks which include Ascot (Calif.), Manzanita (Ariz.), and Santa Maria (Calif.). The Hansen negatives can also be searched using the “Hansen” list contained in the Indexes series.

The Kadar sub-series, 1939-1940 (0.3 cubic ft.) contains black and white 4 x 5 inch negatives produced by Joe Kadar, a noted racing photographer who worked on the East Coast (U.S.) during the period c.1936 to c.1942. Many of the images were taken at the Nutley Velodrome (Nutley, N.J.), which was former bicycle racing track. The Kadar negatives can be searched using the “Kadar by Image Number” list contained in the Indexes series, as well as by reviewing the printed images contained in the Kadar Sprints and Kadar Midgets albums. The King sub-series, c.1950-c.1970 (0.3 cubic ft.), contains black and white, and color, 2x2 inch negatives produced by Lloyd King, a photographer based in Hummelstown, Pa. King was also a founder and president of the Checkered Flag Fan Club, a Pennsylvania based group of auto racing enthusiasts. The King images are of sprint cars and drivers taken at tracks in the Eastern United States, including Williams Grove (Pa.), Reading (Pa.) and Darlington (S.C.).

The Posey sub-series, 1960-1968 (0.2 cubic ft.), consists of both 4x5 inch and 35mm strip negatives, in both black and white and color. These negatives are thought to be the work of John W. Posey, who served as a photographer for the Floyd Clymer series of Indianapolis 500 yearbooks. The image subjects are primarily of sprint car races held at tracks located in the Midwest (U.S.), including New Bremen Speedway (Ohio), the Springfield Mile (Ill.), the Indiana State Fairgrounds, DuQuoin (Ill.), Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Milwaukee Mile(Wis.), Rossburg (Ohio), and St. Paul (Minn.).

The Speed Age sub-series, c.1947-c.1952 (2.5 cubic ft.), consists of approximately 3,400 black and white, 3x4 and 4x5 inch negatives produced for Speed Age Magazine during the period 1947 to 1952. Speed Age, founded by editor Don O’Rielly, was an automotive enthusiast publication based in Hyattsville, Maryland, and was produced from 1947 to c.1960. Speed Age photographers included among others O’Reilly and Richard Adams. A wide variety of subjects are covered in these images including sprint car racing, NASCAR stock car racing, hydroplane boat racing, road racing, and auto thrill shows. Race tracks and locations include Washington (D.C.), Indianapolis (Ind.), Daytona Beach (Fla.), Watkins Glen (N.Y.), Darlington (S.C.), Detroit (Mich.), and Milwaukee (Wis.). Speed Age negatives can be searched using the Speed Age lists contained in the Indexes series. Please note, however, that these lists do not cover all the Speed Age negatives individually, and many of the images are only partially identified by event or location. Researchers may also refer to the Speed Age Contact Prints contained in the Photographic Print series, which cover a selected range of image numbers, and the Speed Age Magazines and Speed Age Subject Index contained in the Publications series.

The Photographic Print series, 1896-1982 (17.7 cubic ft.), consists of original and copy photographic prints, in both black and white and color, and in a number of differing sizes. The series is arranged in six sub-series: Albums, Binders, Contact Prints, Harms, Miscellaneous, Photographers, and Public Relations.

The Albums sub-series, 1910-1979 (4.0 cubic ft.), consists of photographic prints mounted in albums, with the albums arranged chronologically. Identification in the form of a description and/or image number is included for many of the images, either written directly on the print itself or on the album page. In addition, the lists contained in the Index series can be used to aid in identifying images in the albums that lack either an image number or description.

The Binders sub-series, 1896-1979 (9.0 cubic ft.), consists of photographic prints housed in clear sleeves within binders, and arranged either by image date or by race track. Identification of the print image is in most cases limited to a description or image number handwritten on the print verso. The lists contained in the Index series (Box 59) should be used to aid in identifying the images contained in the binders.

The Contact Prints sub-series, 1896-1967 (0.5 cubic ft.), consists of three binders containing photographic contact prints, photocopies and computer printouts that reproduce various images contained in the collection. A small number of the scanned images reproduced in the Scanned Photo Thumbnails binder can be found on compact disc “CD1” located in the Business and Financial series. Also, note that the images contained under sections titled “LOC-Elgin/Chicago”, “Eastman photos”, “Briarcliff”, and “Eary[sic] Photos” in the Scanned Phot Thumbnails binder have been drawn from the Chicago Daily News and Lazamick collections listed in the finding aid bibliography.

The Harms sub-series, 1923-1981 (0.4 cubic ft.), consists of prints that have been assigned Harms image numbers, are prints of photographs taken by Harms, or have image subjects that include the Harms family. The Michigan group of prints includes images from races held in Detroit (Mich.) and Mt. Clemens (Mich.). These image numbers are listed in the Harms database, and can also be reviewed using the Harms Database lists contained in the Indexes series. The California print group consists of a number of 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 and 3 1/2 x 5 inch, black and white prints, and are primarily images of racing in California, c.1960. Images include USAC stock cars at Riverside, Pomona and several short tracks; sprint cars at Sacramento, Ascot, Clovis and Saugus; sports cars at Riverside, Pomona and Palm Springs; and several images of Mickey Thompson’s Challenger I land speed record car, c.1959. While the majority of images are of California events there are several photographs of Champ car races at Indianapolis (Ind.) and Milwaukee (Wis.), c.1960. Note that the associated negatives can be found in the Negative Binders in the number range 4609-1 – 4736-32, however these images do not appear on the lists contained in the Indexes series or in the image database. The Racing , c.1971-c.1981, group of prints are attributed to Phil Harms and cover a range of subjects including the 1971 Indianapolis 500; 1974 and 1979 Champ car races at Ontario (Calif.); 1975 Champ car race at Phoenix (Ariz.); the 1978 Long Beach Grand Prix; 1979 sprint car races at Ascot Park (Gardena, Calif.); and the 1981 demolition of Ontario Motor Speedway (Calif.). These are small format prints in both color and black and white. While these images are not listed in the Harms database, the associated negatives and transparencies can be found in the Photographic Negatives-Miscellaneous sub-series.

The Miscellaneous sub-series, c.1912-c.1980 (2.5 cubic ft.), consists of prints generally arranged by image subject or location, among which include Board Tracks, CRA sprint cars, Barney Oldfield, Indianapolis (Ind.), Ontario (Calif.), Phoenix (Ariz.), and Long Beach (Calif.). The prints are stored in either smaller photographic printing paper boxes or in folders, and are not arranged within these boxes or folders. In addition, there are numerous duplicate prints within the sub-series, with the duplicates often spread across the smaller boxes and folders. Researchers are advised to begin a search for prints in either the Album or Binder sub-series, using the image lists from the Indexes series as a guide, then turning to the Miscellaneous sub-series if the desired print has not been located.

The Photographers sub-series, c.1915-1982 (0.8 cubic ft.), consists of prints attributed to a number of individual photographers or photo agencies, including the Foto-Ad agency of Detroit (Mich.), Ed Hitze, Charles Lytle, Albert Mecham, Jeff Sharpe, Speedway Official Photos of Indianapolis (Ind.), Larry Sullivan, Tower Photographers of Indianapolis (Ind.), Ted Wilson, and Joseph Wurth. The Larry Sullivan, Ted Wilson and Joseph Wurth prints may be of particular interest. The Sullivan prints are black and white images of sprint car dirt track races held in the Midwest (U.S.). Many of the prints have image descriptions and index numbers written on the print verso. Researchers can use the Larry Sullivan lists contained in the Indexes series as aids in identification, although the lists lack description of image location. The Wilson prints, 1916-1941 are black and white prints primarily of sprint car races held on the West Coast (U.S.). Tracks include Ascot (Calif.), Beverly Hills (Calif.), Culver City (Calif.), Indianapolis (Ind.), and Oakland (Calif.). Many of the prints have image numbers written on the print verso, and researchers can use the Ted Wilson photo lists contained in the Indexes series to aid in identification. Finally, the Wurth set of prints, c.1937-c.1955 (0.1 cubic ft.), are black and white images primarily of sprint and midget cars taken at race tracks in the East and Midwest (U.S.). The locations include Jungle Park (Ind.), Williams Grove (Pa.), and Detroit (Mich.). The set also includes a number of prints related to the Altoona Speedway (Pa.) board track. In addition to the prints described here, the collection contains an album of Wurth prints within the Photographic Print-Album sub-series, as well as a number of photocopied prints with written identification contained in the Photographic Print-Contact Print sub-series.

The Public Relations, c.1970-c.1980 sub-series (0.5 cubic ft.), contains prints distributed as promotional material, or included in press information kits. These are primarily 8x10 black and white prints, with subjects that include Eagle Racing, Penske Racing, March Engineering, NASCAR, USAC, the Long Beach Grand Prix, the Can-Am racing series, STP Corporation, and Pennzoil Chaparral Racing. A portion of these prints may be associated with the Press Bulletins material contained in the Bulletins and Newsletters sub-series within the Publications series.

The Posters and Artwork series, 1915-c.1992 (1.0 cubic ft.), consists of auto racing related graphic posters, artwork and oversize matted photographs. Poster subjects include the 1992 Indianapolis 500, the 1931 Detroit 100 Miler sprint car race, Riverside International Raceway (Calif.), Gilmore Stadium (Calif.), and race events held in Springfield (Ill.), Langhorne (Pa.), Jungle Park (Ind.), and Monza (Italy). The series also includes a color lithograph, signed by John W. Burgess, entitled “Buying a Little Fence”, and an 8x36 inch black and white panoramic photograph entitled “Start of the “Grand Prix” Race. Panama-Pacific International Exposition. February 27, 1915.”

The Publications series, 1920-2003 (5.6 cubic ft.), is divided into five sub-series: Books and Manuscripts by Others, Bulletins and Newsletters, Miscellaneous Printed Material, Periodicals, Race Programs, and Yearbooks.

The Books and Manuscripts by Others sub-series, 1998-2001 (0.5 cubic ft.), consists of two self-published racing statistical guides by French authors covering the period c.1900-2001. Researchers interested in these statistical guides should also refer to the materials listed in the Data and Statistics series, as well as inquire with Benson Ford Research Center staff regarding Phil Sheldon’s “A Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing, Vol. 1-12” that is part of the Harms book collection, but not listed in this finding aid.

The Bulletins and Newsletters sub-series, 1968-1978 (0.5 cubic ft.) is arranged in three sub-subseries: Fronty Newsletter, Press Bulletins and Race Results, and United States Auto Club (USAC) News. The Fronty Newsletter sub-subseries, 1968-1978 consists of issues of Castor Oil Fumes, a publication of the Frontenac Club. Among other information the newsletters include descriptions and results of races that involved Frontenac automobiles. The Press Bulletins and Race Results sub-subseries, 1971-1978 contains information related primarily to races held at Ontario Motor Speedway during the 1970s, with the materials consisting of published race bulletins, press releases and hand written race scoring notes. The press information packets in this sub-series may have also included photographs that are contained in the Photographic Prints-Public Relations sub-series. The United States Auto Club (USAC) News, 1971-1976 sub-subseries consists of bi-weekly newsletters published by USAC, which contain news and racing results for all of the racing series sanctioned by USAC.

The Miscellaneous Printed Material, 1923-2003 sub-series (0.2 cubic ft.), includes material not covered under the other Publications sub-series, such as autograph sheets, timing and scoring reports, and promotional information. Among the sources for this material are the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Penske Racing, and the United States Auto Club (USAC). The sub-series also includes a folio consisting of photographic and textual materials related to Altoona Speedway.

The Periodicals sub-series, 1896-1990 (0.2 cubic ft.), consists of selected issues and articles from Car Life and Speed Age magazines, along with subject indexes prepared by Phil Harms that cover Speed Age and several other automotive and racing related publications. The sub-series also includes a folder of photocopied newspaper articles that describe races and race results during the period 1931-1934. Researchers interested in these newspaper articles should also review the 1931-1935 Legion Ascot Speedway programs contained in the Race Programs sub-series.

The Race Programs sub-series, 1920-2003 (3.5 cubic ft.), consists of racing event programs primarily from AAA races held 1920-1955, the 1920-1988 Indianapolis 500, and from events held at race tracks on the West Coast (U.S.), c.1970-c.1980. The sub-series also includes several programs from quarter midget race events in which the Harms family participated.

The Yearbooks sub-series, 1957-1981 (0.7 cubic ft.), consists of publications summarizing yearly race results for the Indianapolis 500 and for United States Auto Club (USAC) sanctioned events. The Indianapolis 500 yearbooks include qualification and race results; written summaries of the race; articles on drivers, race history and events surrounding the race; and numerous photographs and illustrations. The USAC yearbooks include championship point standings; individual race results; listings of USAC officials, race tracks and drivers; written summaries for each division; and numerous photographs. Researchers interested in these yearbooks should also inquire with Benson Ford Research Center staff regarding additional Indianapolis 500, USAC, CART and IRL yearbooks that are contained in the Harms book collection but are not listed in this finding aid.

The Realia series, c.1970-1987 (1.2 cubic ft.), consists of framed memorabilia and plaques. Of particular note in this series is the framed grouping of three Offenhauser and Drake engine serial number plates.

In addition to the materials described in the Scope and Content notes above, the Harms Collection contains a number of books covering racing related topics, which researchers may find useful in identifying or further describing the images contained in the collection. Researchers interested in reviewing these books should contact Benson Ford Research Center staff.