The Albert Aaron Johnson Papers contain correspondence, writings, patent records, genealogical information, and agreements, expense records, and other materials concerning his trips to the Soviet Union. The papers are organized into General Correspondence, Family Correspondence, Photographs, a Writings file, and a Subject file.
The General Correspondence, 1899-1954, totals only one folder and includes two items of particular interest: a long letter dated December 6, 1926, from J. C. Penney reminiscing about his youth and his beginnings in the department store business, and an October 30, 1940, letter from an attorney discussing a 1923 slander suit brought by Johnson against a member of the Farmingdale Institute board.
Extensive family correspondence, 1884, 1899-1963, includes concentrations of letters between Johnson and his mother during the Spanish-American War, letters from Johnson to his first wife during their courtship and his later travels, and letters between Mr. and Mrs. Johnson and their son Albert, as well as letters from other family members. Arrangement is chronological. The Albert R. Johnson Papers, also available at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, include other correspondence between Albert A. Johnson, Mrs. Johnson, and Albert R. Johnson.
Photographs are split into five visual materials collections. PH 307 (3) consists of two photograph albums from the 1923 tour by Johnson and a Congressional party to observe agricultural conditions in the Soviet Union and Poland. Images include portraits, townscapes, and landscapes. PH 4092 consists of photographs and negatives of Albert Johnson and Johnson with acquaintances and national leaders. Also included are images of A.A. Johnson Syndicate Oil Leasing Office, Rosalyn, South Dakota, and photographs from his travels. PH 4093 consists of photographs documenting the early military, academic, and athletic activities of Albert A. Johnson. Included are images of U.S. Militia training in San Francisco prior to departure for the Philippines, 1898; military cadets and athletic teams from South Dakota Agricultural College, 1900-1903; and University of Wisconsin military cadets and football teams, 1903-1907. PH 4094 consists of photographs of Albert Johnson, his family, and friends. Included are images of his first wife Ellen Glenn Johnson, their children Albert Richard and William Glenn, Johnson's mother Ellen Bakke, and his in-laws Mina and Ole Strand. PH 4095 consists of photographs and negatives documenting Albert Johnson's trips to the Soviet Union, 1921-1934. Included are images of his travels, a Volga River trip, and Russian officials. Many of the images in this collection may be duplicated in the 1923 photograph albums (PH 307 (3)). Also included are two lots of nitrate negatives showing cadet training in Madison, Wisconsin, Johnson's Russian tour in 1923, building construction, views of a cathedral, the construction of a brick building, and Albert Johnson and others in Russia, 1921-1934.
The Writings file reflects Johnson's activities in the Philippines, his travels in Russia, and his interest in psychic phenomena, particularly spiritualism. It includes several diaries and notebooks, a copy of his thesis and of three of his books on the Soviet Union, poetry, a proposal for a Psychic Science and Peace Center of America, and miscellaneous writings on the state of the world.
The Subject file is a catch-all category for remaining materials and includes biographical and genealogical information, copies of Johnson's patents and letters concerning the marketing of his inventions, a report and charts prepared while he was employed by the War Assets Administration, and miscellaneous materials concerning the Soviet Union. Arrangement is alphabetical by folder title.
