| | Abstract: | William Ganson Rose (1878-1957) was a noted Cleveland, Ohio, author, historian, lecturer, advertising executive, and civic promoter. In 1915, Rose formed Wm. G. Rose, Inc., his own advertising and public relations firm. He managed numerous fairs and expositions, including the first Cleveland Electrical Exposition (1914), the Gordon Bennett International Balloon Race and Aerial Carnival (1930), the Great Lakes Exposition (1936-1937), and the Cleveland Sesquicentennial (1946). In 1916-1917, Rose chaired the group which promoted and ultimately secured passage of a bond issue financing the construction of the Cleveland Public Auditorium. He served on the board of Hiram House, a Cleveland social settlement founded by George Bellamy in 1896, and belonged to the American Press Humorists and the Cleveland Athletic Club. Rose authored several books and numerous articles for newspapers and magazines, as well as a comprehensive history of Cleveland entitled Cleveland, the making of a city, published in 1950. Rose died in 1957. The collection consists of newspaper clippings, promotional material, correspondence, biographical material, photographs, reports, and historical material pertaining to the history of Cleveland, Ohio and many of its prominent citizens, but also including material on national and international events and personages. Individuals, organizations and events that figure most prominently include: the American Press Humorists, Newton D. Baker, George Bellamy and Hiram House, Charles F. Brush, the Cleveland Sesquicentennial of 1946, the visit to Cleveland of Emile Coue, Thomas A. Edison, the Gordon Bennett International Balloon Race and Aerial Carnival of 1930, Abraham Lincoln, the Cleveland Public Auditorium, John D. Rockefeller, the Cleveland War Service Center, the Cleveland Grays, and the writings of Whiting Williams. Also included is a significant amount of biographical material on numerous women in Cleveland's history, material pertaining to sports, particularly baseball, and material relating to the theater in Cleveland, with newspaper reviews of performances. | |
