By Nicole Milano and Johnamarie Macias
Title: John C. Hanna Collection, 1916-1985
Predominant Dates:1916-1942
ID: RG1/031
Creator: Hanna, John C. (John Clifford) (d. 1988)
Extent: 1.48 Cubic Feet. More info below.
Arrangement: This collection is partially processed. The papers in Box 1 are arranged alphabetically by folder title and date, the albums in Box 2 are arranged by size, and the loose photographs and negatives are stored in Box 3. Some of the later correspondence from specific individuals in Box 1 was grouped together by Hanna (in the “Correspondence, 1950-1985” folder.) The oversize scrapbook is housed separately. The wooden panel is stored in Box 4.
Date Acquired: 00/00/1957
Languages: English
Producer John C. Hanna was an ambulance driver with the American Field Service (AFS) during World War I and an AFS Representative in Michigan during the early years of World War II. The John C. Hanna Collection contains correspondence, photographic albums, photographic prints and negatives, a wooden ambulance piece, and other material documenting his involvement with AFS throughout his life.
The John C. Hanna Collection contains correspondence, photographic albums, photographic prints and negatives, and other material documenting his involvement with the American Field Service (AFS) throughout his life. The large amount of correspondence documents his service in World War I, his time as an American Field Service representative for recruitment during World War II, and his participation with the AFS Association and ambulance driver reunions before and after World War II. Key figures represented in his correspondence are Director General Stephen Galatti, and World War II ambulance driver George Rock. The collection also includes AFS bulletins and newsletters , publications (in French, including La Guerre en Août), a luggage tag and passenger list from 1919 for the “Espagne” ship (which included A. Piatt Andrew as a passenger), and a World War I-era scrapbook containing correspondence, newsletters, and other documents (dated August 21, 1916 to November 25, 1916.)
The collection also contains approximately 270 loose negatives and photographic prints, and two photographic albums. Most of the loose material is labeled at item level, though not all, and depicts Hanna’s involvement with SSU 1. The bulk of the loose material is negatives, many of which have a corresponding positive print in one of the photographic albums. The first, more modern album (which may contain photographic reproductions), includes twenty seven 3 ½” x 5” photographs from 1916 to 1917, which depict fellow AFS ambulance drivers, local civilians, and ambulances. The second album contains around 278 original photographs (most at 1 ¾” x 2 ½”) in a bound album on soft black paper, and is dated November 1916 to September 1917. Many of the photographs in the second album were captioned by Hanna, and contain scenes from AFS and SSU 1 history, including photographs of A. P. Andrew receiving the Cross of the Legion of Honor, landscape photographs of Esnes and Paris, and ambulances in Argonne. All photographs in the bound albums are inventoried.
Finally, the collection includes a wooden panel piece from his AFS ambulance number 424, which carried the inscription “Yale Classes of 1916 and 1916S”, and was donated by members of Classes 1916 and 1916S of Yale University.
Alternate Extent Statement: 4 boxes, 1 oversize folder
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research.
Use Restrictions: Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Archives. In the event that this research becomes a source for publication, a credit line indicating the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs is required. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Acquisition Method: The John C. Hanna Collection was donated to the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs (AFS Archives) in 1955 and 1957. The scrapbook, photograph albums, loose photographs and negatives, and certain artifacts were transferred or donated to the AFS Archives at an unknown date.
Appraisal Information: No items were deaccessioned, separated, or removed from the collection.
Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], [Date]; John C. Hanna Collection; Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs, New York, NY.
Processing Information: This collection was partially processed by AFS Archives staff at an unknown date, and again by Nicole Milano and Johnamarie Macias in May 2011 and 2017. Preliminary finding aid written by Nicole Milano and Johnamarie Macias in 2011 and encoded by Nicole Milano in June 2011 under the scope of the 2010-2011 Basic Processing grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The finding aid was updated in 2017 by Nicole Milano.
