The El Rancho Vegas Collection (1953-1961) is comprised of materials and memorabilia from the El Rancho Vegas Hotel collected by former hotel controller, Frank Watts. Records include financial documents including endorsed checks to performers at the resort. Other items included unused stationary, copies of the menu, and memorabilia from the hotel. The collection also contains a bathmat, hangers, and a drinking glass from the hotel.
Archival Collection
The Minnie Perchetti Photograph Collection (approximately 1902-1959) consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives of Tonopah, Nevada and documents Tonopah in the first half of the 20th century. The photographs depict mines, events, buildings, people, and landscapes in Tonopah, Nevada. Included in the collection are photographs of the 1923 fire in Goldfield, Nevada.
Archival Collection
The Union Pacific Railroad Collection (1828-1986) is comprised of the original corporate records of the Union Pacific Railroad's operations in Southern Nevada, Utah, and Southern California, particularly focusing on Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The collection documents the purchase of Stewart ranch and the construction of the original depot and town which became modern Las Vegas. The collection also contains the records of the Las Vegas Land & Water Company (LVL&W), a subsidiary of the railroad formed in 1905 to handle the railroad's land transactions. The collection contains office files, correspondence, reports, leases, various legal, governmental and financial document, the collection contains large and small format maps, architectural and engineering drawings, published technical reports, railroad operational manuals, bound legal briefs, ledgers, and payroll and receipt books. The collection also includes the personal files of Walter Bracken, the Union Pacific's special representative in Nevada and vice president of the Las Vegas Land and Water Company, and a paper index of the collection materials.
Archival Collection
The Tomiyasu Family Photograph Collection (approximately 1908 to 1991) consists of black-and-white photographic prints of the Tomiyasu family and their farming business in southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
The Tobias Mattstedt Menu Collection (approximately 1990-2009) is comprised of menus documenting the restaurant industry in Las Vegas, Nevada, the United States, and internationally. The menus include restaurants located in Las Vegas casinos, most notably the MGM Grand, located in Las Vegas. Included in the MGM Grand menus are restaurants such as the Pearl, Tabu Ultra Lounge, and the Grand Wok and Sushi Bar. The collection also documents menus collected by Mattstedt that are not affiliated with the MGM Corporation. These include menus located in the United States, especially Hawaii, including menus from the restaurants Olio!, Nob Hill, Diego's, and Sea Blue. The collection also includes international menus with a focus on Asian countries. The material provides insight into menu design, food culture, and the Las Vegas service industry.
Archival Collection
The Bogie's Niteclub Revue Collection (1969-1990) consists of photographs, flyers, and newspapers advertising Bogie's Niteclub, which ran the female impersonation (now known as drag) revue "Frivolous Follies" in Las Vegas, Nevada. Images include performers on stage, portraits, and publictiy photographs of members of "Frivolous Follies," which was renamed "Vive les Boys" in 1984. Issues of Las Vegas Mirror and Vegas magazine are also included, and contain advertisements for Bogie's Niteclub drag shows and male strip shows. Also included in the collection is a single photograph of Stewart Randall Armstrong, who was born and raised in Las Vegas and passed away from AIDS in 1994. The collection was donated in his honor. This collection also contains digital scans of the photographs and some ephemera.
Archival Collection
Victor Kunkel Collection of Artifacts (1964-1971) consists of the following items: dice sets from Las Vegas hotels; Clark County deputy badges; and a coin and currency collection from all over the world.
Archival Collection
Archival Component
The Coates Playing Cards Collection (1920s-1960s) consists of sixty-six decks of playing cards collected by Mrs. Phillip A. Coates. The collection includes promotional decks from various businesses, including the Southern Pacific Lines railroad and the Grace Line steamship company. The majority of the decks are of a narrower design to be used in playing canasta or bridge, with many being multi-deck sets.
Archival Collection
The Neon in Nevada Photograph Collection contains black-and-white and color photographic slides of neon signs from cities and towns in Nevada dating from 1913 to 1989. The collection includes slides from Las Vegas, Reno, Boulder City, Laughlin, Henderson, Lovelock, Winnemucca, Elko, Wells, McGill, Ely, Eureka, Austin, Hawthorne, and Carson City. The collection also includes slides from the Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) that depict the "sign graveyard" in Las Vegas, Nevada of broken and retired neon signs.
Archival Collection