The Donald A. Hall Collection
The Collection is not the destination. It is the launchpad.
Original photographs, engineering records, correspondence, designs, negatives, art, books, and years of interpretation give Flying Over Time something rare: a public story with evidence underneath it.
Editorial principle
Evidence before eloquence.
A compelling story is only as durable as its source trail. Flying Over Time connects public interpretation to identified records, distinguishes fact from inference and open research, preserves credits and restrictions, and maintains a correction path.
That discipline lets one collection serve many forms: a student lesson, a restored article, an exhibition, a press request, a book, a film conversation, or the spark that helps someone imagine a STEAM career.
Explore
One collection. Four ways in.
Begin with a person, a story, a publication, or a research question.
Curated reading room
Stories from the record
Eight promoted first-person and institutional records introduce the discovery, Collection stewardship, exhibitions, and artistic interpretation.
Collection guide
Donald A. Hall
Meet the aeronautical engineer through photographs, family records, design history, correspondence, and source-based interpretation.
Publication
Spirit & Creator
Nova Hall’s book carries the family-held photographs and documentary record into a narrative about Donald Hall and the Spirit of St. Louis.
Press and production
Work with the evidence
Request interviews, approved assets, source material, credits, rights information, and production conversations.
From evidence to interpretation
The engineering record has texture.
A family discovery, a technical drawing, and a finished aircraft each reveal a different part of the work.
Collection workflow
From physical evidence to a reusable public record.
- 1
Preserve
Inventory the item, record source and condition, create an archival master, and maintain backup and custody information.
- 2
Describe
Add people, places, dates, subjects, relationships, uncertainty notes, and a stable identifier.
- 3
Review rights
Record ownership, copyright, privacy, publicity, donor terms, restrictions, and permitted uses.
- 4
Interpret
Attach source-based context and distinguish evidence, interpretation, and unresolved questions.
- 5
Publish and track reuse
Create web, print, exhibit, press, and education derivatives while preserving credits, corrections, placements, and licenses.
Keep the evidence useful