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Antique Comb Collectors Club (AC3) Records

An inventory of its records at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 23 Apr 2019

Biographical History

The Antique Comb Collector's Club (AC3) was formed in 1985 by Betty Miller and Doris Eff to enable those interested in antique combs and hair ornaments to exchange information and research, and share their passion for these collectible items. Betty also owned The Miller Comb Museum, which operated out of her home in Homer, Alaska and housed more than 3000 artifacts. The club's first convention was held in Florida in 1993. The club was active until 2013.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Antique Comb Collectors Club (AC3) Records consists of the retained records of the club. To preserve contextual information, and to retain the club's original filing scheme, material has been left in original folders and/or the original folder titles have been retained. Unfoldered material found in the boxes was foldered and assigned a title based on content; these titles are given in the inventory below in square brackets [...]. Folders have been grouped into logical series as follows: board material, convention material, correspondence, publicity-related material, club records, and miscellaneous.

Board material includes minutes, notes, correspondence and other material.

Convention material relates to the club's international convention, held in 2001.

Correspondence contains correspondence with prospective members and current members. Correspondence with prospects includes descriptions of the club and its activities. Correspondence with current members remains as received; some is arranged alphabetically and some chronologically. There is one folder of correspondence which is of indeterminate purpose, and may be a mix of board, prospect, and current member material. There is a good deal of correspondence with collector-authors Belva Green, Mary Bachman, and Jen Cruse.

Publicity-related material includes discussions of how to publicize the club and attract new members, as well as book reviews, advertisements, club listings in various directories, presence at various meetings and conferences, clippings.

Records contains two folders explicitly labeled as such. They contain membership lists and some financial/expense information.

Miscellaneous contains membership cards and a videotape.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection remains largely as received, in original folders with original labels. Folders have been grouped into logical series, as described above, and within that arranged in rough chronological order. Material inside each folder has been left as received. Material found to be unfoldered was assessed and grouped with the series where it seemed the best fit.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Numerous issues of the club's newsletter, Antique Comb Collector, have been cataloged. Please refer to Libraries Search to locate these items. A small amount of related material may be found in the Antique Comb Collector's Club (AC3) Collection.

Special Collections Research Center has numerous other collections with sketches, designs and other items related to hair combs. Please search our collections for "combs" to see a full listing.

Subject Headings

Persons

Bachman, Mary.
Beall, Glenn.
Cruse, Jen.
Eff, Doris, 1917-
Gardiner, Eleanor.
Green, Belva.
Kent, Virginia.
Miller, Betty, 1933-

Corporate Bodies

Antique Comb Collectors Club (U.S.)
Antique Comb Collectors Club International.

Subjects

Hair ornaments -- Collectors and collecting.
Ornamental combs -- Collectors and collecting.
Ornamental combs -- Societies and clubs.

Genres and Forms

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Directories.
Financial records.
Membership lists.
Minutes (administrative records)
VHS.
Videocassettes.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Antique Comb Collectors Club (AC3) Records,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Betty Miller, 2019.

Table of Contents

Board material

Convention material

Correspondence

Publicity-related material

Records

Miscellaneous

Inventory