Abstract
The Elmo and Charlotte Ellsworth Papers (1948-1977) are comprised of business correspondence, room reservation records, promotional materials, and photographs from Elmo's employment at the Flamingo and Riviera Hotels in his work of securing conventions. There is also correspondence and promotional materials from his wife Charlotte Ellsworth, who worked as a reservations manager at the Riviera Hotel and the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and the MGM Grand Hotel in Reno, Nevada.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Elmo and Charlotte Ellsworth Papers (1948-1977) are comprised of business correspondence, room reservation records, promotional materials, and photographs from Elmo's employment at the Flamingo and Riviera Hotels in his work of securing conventions. There is also correspondence and promotional materials from his wife Charlotte Ellsworth, who worked as a reservations manager at the Riviera Hotel and the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and the MGM Grand Hotel in Reno, Nevada.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Material is arranged alphabetically.
Biographical / Historical Note
Hotel sales promotion manager Elmo Hughes Ellsworth was born in Safford, Arizona in 1911. He attended George Washington University Law School for a year until his job required him to move to San Francisco, California where he worked in sales promotion, publicity and theaters. He married Charlotte Rowberry in 1936 and a few years later they moved to the Las Vegas, Nevada. There he began working in the Security and Public Relations Department of the Basic Magnesium Company. Two years later he was appointed board supervisor in Nevada for the Office of Price Administration.
In 1947 he began working for the Reno, Nevada Chamber of Commerce. A year later the family moved back to Las Vegas, Nevada where he worked for the local Chamber of Commerce. The iconic neon sign Vegas Vic was rumored to have been modeled after Elmo. He was made Director of Membership and Conventions for the Chamber of Commerce. In 1957 he accepted a position at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada where he became its Vice-President of Sales, and then Assistant to the President. He and his friends organized J. E. E. and Associates to promote sales of conventions in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shortly thereafter, Elmo Ellsworth passed away in December of 1971.
Charlotte Ellsworth, Elmo's wife, was employed as room reservation manager at the Flamingo Hotel from 1950 through 1967 and the Frontier Hotel from 1969 to 1970 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After her husband passed away she moved to Reno, Nevada where she was room reservation manager for the MGM Grand Hotel.
Preferred Citation
Elmo and Charlotte Ellsworth Papers, 1948-1977. MS-00179. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 1978 by Jane Ellsworth Olive; accession number 78-43.
Processing Note
Material was processed in 2016 by Joyce Moore. In 2018, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Sarah Jones revised the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.