This collection, which dates from 1926-1986, documents the output of Moses Asch through the various record labels he founded and co-founded, and includes some of his personal papers. The Asch collection includes published recordings, master tapes, outtakes, business records, correspondence, photographs, and film.
Scope and Contents:
The Moses and Frances Asch Collection measures 841 cubic feet and dates from 1926-1987, with some contemporary, relevant correspondence, clippings, and ephemera added after 1987.
Most of the collection consists of audio recordings (commercial 78 rpm and long-playing records, open reel tapes, acetate discs, and test pressings), correspondence with recording artists and producers, artwork, photographs, ephemera, clippings, record production materials, writings, and business papers relating to Folkways Records. Materials relating to Folkways Records can be found primarily in the Correspondence, Folkways Production, Business Records, Photographs, Artwork, Sound Recordings, and Film series.
The collection also contains some biographical materials and personal correspondence, including materials related to Asch's first business, Radio Laboratories, located in the Biographical Materials series. Correspondence, ephemera, photographs, record production materials, business papers, and recordings relating to Asch's record labels before Folkways Records (Asch Recordings, Disc Company of America, Cub Records) are located in the Early Label Materials series as well as the Audio Recordings and Photographs series.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged in 10 series:
Series 1: Correspondence, 1942-1987
Series 2: Folkways Production, 1946-1987
Series 3: Business Records, 1940-1987
Series 4: Woody Guthrie papers, 1927-1985
Series 5: Early Label Materials, 1940-1949
Series 6: Biographical Materials, 1926-1987
Series 7: Photographs
Series 8: Artwork
Series 9: Audio Recordings
Series 10: Film
At this time, the collection is partially processed. Please contact rinzlerarchives@si.edu for more information.
Biographical/Historical note:
The son of Yiddish writer Sholem Asch, Moses Asch was born in Poland in 1905. His childhood was spent in Poland, France, Germany, and New York. While young, Asch developed an interest in radio electronics, which ultimately lead him to his life's work, recording the music and sounds of the world. He established several record labels in succession, sometimes partnering with other record companies. Two of his fist record companies, Asch Recordings and DISC Co. of America, went bankrupt. They were followed by his best-known label, Folkways Records, which was founded in 1948 with Marian Distler (1919-1964). He was still working on Folkways recordings when he died in 1986.
Folkways Records sought to document the entire world of sound. The 2,168 titles Asch released on Folkways include traditional and contemporary music from around the world, spoken word in many languages, and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, and current events. Asch's business practices revolved around the commitment to keep every recording issued by Folkways in print, despite low sales. Asch stayed afloat by cutting costs where he could (such as color printing) and offering a high-quality product, meticulously recorded and accompanied by extensive liner notes. In doing this, he could charge a slightly higher price than other commercial outfits. Despite a tenuous relationship with financial solvency, Folkways grew to be not only one of the most important independent record companies in the United States in the 20th century, but also one of the largest and most influential record companies in the world.
Moses Asch's record labels featured famous and lesser known American writers, poets, documentarians, ethnographers, and grass roots musicians on commercial recordings. American folk icon Woody Guthrie recorded on the Asch, Disc, and Folkways labels, and the Asch Collection includes some of his correspondence, lyrics, drawings, and writings. The collection also includes correspondence with other notable musicians and artists such as John Cage, Langston Hughes, Margaret Walker, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl, Alan Lomax, Henry Cowell, and Kenneth Patchen. Also in the collection are ethnographic field notes and photographs by as well as correspondence with Béla Barók, Sidney Robertson Cowell, Harold Courlander, Helen Creighton, Laura Boulton, and Samuel Charters. Asch hired various prominent artists and graphic designers including David Stone Martin, Ben Shahn, John Carlis, and Ronald Clyne to create album cover art for his recordings. Much of the original art and designs for these covers can be found in the Asch Collection.
Asch's output of recordings on various labels, including published recordings, open reel master tapes, outtakes, and acetate disks, in addition to his business papers, correspondence, photographs, and other files were acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987. The collection came to the Smithsonian with the understanding that all 2168 titles under the Folkways label would be kept available in perpetuity.
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Provenance:
Ralph Rinzler arranged the Smithsonian's acquisition of the Moses and Frances Asch Collection in 1987, beginning with Asch before his death in 1986 and continuing with extensive discussions between Rinzler and the Asch family. Since its acquisition, archivist Jeff Place and others have added contemporary, relevant correspondence with Folkways artists and related individuals.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
7.18 Cubic feet (10 letter size document boxes, 3 legal size document boxes, one tall document box, and one oversize folder.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
New Bern (N.C.)
Fort Greely (Alaska)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Date:
1992-2015
Summary:
Phil Jordan was a Stamp Art Director for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Jordan's involvement with the USPS started in 1991 and ended 23 years later having worked on 300 stamps. The collection consists primarily of stamp design files created and maintained by Jordan during his time as a Stamp Art Director for the United States Postal Service (USPS) from 1991 to 2014. The majority of the files relate to stamps that were issued by the USPS while a smaller portion of the files are related to unissued stamps that Jordan worked on. As a Stamp Art Director, Jordan was responisbile for leading and providing direction for stamp designs and regularly worked with researchers, artists, painters, illustrators, photographers, and typographers to bring to fruition an aesthetic vision for each stamp.
Scope and Contents:
The Phil Jordan collection consists primarily of stamp design files created and maintained by Jordan during his time as a Stamp Art Director for the United States Postal Service (USPS) from 1991 to 2013. The majority of the files relate to stamps that were issued by the USPS while a smaller portion of the files are related to unissued stamps that Jordan worked on. As a Stamp Art Director, Jordan was responsible for leading and providing direction for stamp designs and regularly worked with researchers, artists, painters, illustrators, photographers, and typographers to bring to fruition an aesthetic vision for each stamp.
Of the some 300 stamps Jordan was responsible for, some that are represented in this collection include stamps related to hospice care (Jordan consider his work on this stamp to be amongst the most rewarding); legends of baseball; the Civil War Sesquicentennial; legends of Hollywood; the Indianapolis 500; literary arts; Owney the postal dog; the Washington, D.C. cherry blossom centennial; bicycling; ʻĪd al-Fiṭr; Grand Central Terminal in New York City; the USS Arizona Memorial; Wilt Chamberlain; the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Coast Guard; and the 50th anniversary of supersonic flight.
In addition, there are portfolios that provide visual documentation of Jordan's work on stamps, correspondence related to stamp design inquiries, and some biographical information.
Materials in the collection include correspondence, drawings, illustrations, color photographs, color transparencies, maps, news releases, notes, research materials, brochures, and clippings. Some materials are in electronic format.
Many of the stamps that Jordan worked on as Stamp Art Director can be found at the National Postal Museum.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into five series.
Series
Series 1: Issued Stamps Issued Stamps, 1999-2011
Series 2: Unissued Stamps, 1998-2006
Series 3: Portfolios, 1993-2015
Series 4: General Files, 1992-2013
Series 5: Oversize, 1994-2015
Biographical / Historical:
Phil Jordan was a Stamp Art Director for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Jordan's involvement with the USPS started in 1991 and ended 23 years later having worked on 300 stamps.
Jordan grew up in New Bern, North Carolina and attended East Carolina University. After a period of service with the Army Arctic Indoctrination School in Fort Greely, Alaska, Jordan graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in visual communications. Early in his career he worked as an artist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Baughman Company offset lithographers while attending school on the GI Bill.
Later he worked at the advertising agency Robert Kline and Co. Inc. as their art supervisor before serving as the assistant art director the United States Chamber of Commerce. Next, he joined Beveridge and Associates, Inc. guiding art direction for corporate, institutional and government design projects. Eventually becoming a partner at the firm, Jordan left after 18 years to form his own communications consulting firm where he managed projects for USAir, NASA, McGraw-Hill, IBM, the National Air and Space Museum, and Smithsonian Books.
Jordan was responsible for the formats of the Air and Space and Smithsonian magazines and was their Design Director for fifteen years. From there his work as consulting art director for the United States Postal Service's Stamp Development Department saw him art direct and produce 300 postage stamps as well as other stamp collateral publications for 23 years. Among some of the stamps he worked on include the 2011 Neon! Celebrate stamp, the 2012 Major League Baseball All-Stars stamps, the 2013 Civil War stamps; the 2012 Cherry Blossom Centennial stamps; the 1997 Classic American Aircraft stamps; and the 2003 First Flight stamp.
Jordan's work has been featured in a number of exhibitions and in publications such as Graphis, Society of Illustrators, and Communication Arts. A recipient of professional awards from these organizations over the years, he was also the recipient of the NASA Group Achievement Award. He is a past president of the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington and was an avid glider pilot, being a founding member of the Skyline Soaring Club and the former long-time editor of Skylines newsletter.
Provenance:
Donated by Phil Jordan, 2015. This collection was initially part of the museum collections (Accession 2015.2015), but was released to the NPM Archives in December 2023.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Access to original archival materials is by appointment only. Researchers must submit request for appointment in writing. Please direct reference inquiries to the National Postal Museum Archives: NPM_Archives@si.edu.
Rights:
The National Postal Museum Archives makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and the NPM Rights and Reproductions for additional information. Please direct reference inquiries to the National Postal Museum Archives: NPM_Archives@si.edu.
Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, and from the General Acquisitions Endowment Fund
Client files, administrative files, artwork, and collected food labels from graphic and industrial designer Francis Mair. Mair specialized in beverage labels and packaging during his many years with Landor Associates in San Francisco. Late in his career, he directed Landor's Museum of Packaging History. His prolific freelance career included designs for furniture, decorative arts, letterhead, and corporate images. His personal artwork included alphabets, typefaces, and sketchbooks. Much of his personal artwork is humorous or erotic.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists largely of client files and artwork from Mair's years with Landor Associates and his freelance design work. Mair's specialty was the design of beverage containers, labels, and packaging, and there is a significant body of material produced for West Coast and national breweries and wineries. Mair also managed Landor's Museum of Packaging Antiquities, and there are several boxes of the Museum's administrative files. Of particular interest is Mair's large collection of historical and contemporary wine, liquor, and fruit crate labels (both foreign and domestic). The labels seem to have served as an inspiration and a record of his work, as well as documentation of historical packaging for the Museum. Mair's freelance clients were diverse, though most of them were small businesses and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to food and beverage labels, these commissions included posters, promotional materials, letterhead and personal announcements, invitations, and cards. Lastly, the collection includes personal artwork and records of entrepreneurial projects (such as the Flexigon, a flexible geometric toy).
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into eight series.
Series 1, Professional Materials, 1956-1991, undated
Series 2, Landor Associates Files, 1946-1993, undated
Series 3, Landor Museum of Packaging Antiquities, 1960-1989, undated
Series 4, Freelance Client Files, 1946-1989, undated
Series 5, United States Naval Training School, Radio Chicago, 1943-1945, undated
Sereis 6, Personal Artwork and Designs, 1935-1994, undated
Series 7, Reference Files, 1950-1985, undated
Series 8, Labels, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Francis Marion Mair was born in Streator, Illinois to Alexander Morrison Mair and Jessie C. Williams on May 5, 1916. He began his career as an artist and designer at the University of Illinois School of Design in Chicago receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting in 1938. That year he joined the United States Navy and where he designed visual aids for the Naval Training School in Chicago, Illinois. Even at this early stage in his career, acute design sense and humor are evident in his work. In 1949, he joined Landor Associates in San Francisco, California where he worked for forty years, retiring in 1989. At Landor, he specialized in designing packaging and labeling for beverages. He also was the director of Landor's Museum of Packaging History which shared quarters with Landor Associates on the Ferryboat Klamath. Throughout his career, Mair took on diverse freelance projects. One of his most successful was the Suva line of rattan furniture and decorative objects for Decorative Imports. Mair published articles in Advertising Age, Industrial Design, Advertising Techniques, and Wines and Vines. Mair died on April 29, 1991 in Contra Costa County, California.
Related Archival Materials:
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507)
Reel #167, Sitting Bull's Last Stand, 1953. Peter Meindl, a German woodcarver, making cigar store wooden Indians, New Hampshire.
Walter Landor and Associates (AC0500)
NW Ayer Advertising Agenecy Records (AC0059)
Hills Bros. Coffee Company Records (AC395)
Emmett McBain Afro American Adertising Poster Collection (AC0192)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC0060)
Marilyn E. Jacklear Memorial Collection of Tobacco Advertisements (AC1224)
Marlboro Oral History and Documentation Project (AC0198)
Related Materials:
A glass final production version of a French's mustard jar and three hand-carved, solid-wood prototypes for this jar are in the Museum's Division of Work and Industry. These were found in Mair's home studio.
Provenance:
Collection donated by LaVeda Mair, April 23, 1996.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Copyright for a portion of the collection held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.
