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Western Union Telegraph Company Records

Creator:
United Telegraph Workers.  Search this
Western Union Telegraph Company  Search this
Extent:
452 Cubic feet (871 boxes and 23 map folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Administrative records
Articles
Books
Clippings
Contracts
Drawings
Photographs
Patents
Newsletters
Photograph albums
Scrapbooks
Specifications
Technical documents
Date:
circa 1820-1995
Summary:
The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.
Scope and Contents:
The collection is divided into twenty-six (26) series and consists of approximately 400 cubic feet. The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into twenty-seven series.

Series 1: Historical and Background Information, 1851-1994

Series 2: Subsidiaries of Western Union, 1844-1986

Series 3: Executive Records, 1848-1987

Series 4: Presidential Letterbooks and Writings, 1865-1911

Series 5: Correspondence, 1837-1985

Series 6: Cyrus W. Field Papers, 1840-1892

Series 7: Secretary's Files, 1844-1987

Series 8: Financial Records, 1859-1995

Series 9: Legal Records, 1867-1968

Series 10: Railroad Records, 1854-1945

Series 11: Law Department Records, 1868-1979

Series 12: Patent Materials, 1840-1970

Series 13: Operating Records, 1868-1970s

Series 14: Westar VI-S, 1974, 1983-1986

Series 15: Engineering Department Records, 1874-1970

Series 16: Plant Department Records, 1867-1937, 1963

Series 17: Superintendent of Supplies Records, 1888-1948

Series 18: Employee/Personnel Records 1852-1985

Series 19: Public Relations Department Records, 1858-1980

Series 20: Western Union Museum, 1913-1971

Series 21: Maps, 1820-1964

Series 22: Telegrams, 1852-1960s

Series 23: Photographs, circa 1870-1980

Series 24: Scrapbooks, 1835-1956

Series 25: Notebooks, 1880-1942

Series 26: Audio Visual Materials, 1925-1994

Series 27: Addenda
Biographical / Historical:
In 1832 Samuel F. B. Morse, assisted by Alfred Vail, conceived of the idea for an electromechanical telegraph, which he called the "Recording Telegraph." This commercial application of electricity was made tangible by their construction of a crude working model in 1835-36. This instrument probably was never used outside of Professor Morse's rooms where it was, however, operated in a number of demonstrations. This original telegraph instrument was in the hands of the Western Union Telegraph Company and had been kept carefully over the years in a glass case. It was moved several times in New York as the Western Union headquarters building changed location over the years. The company presented it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1950.

The telegraph was further refined by Morse, Vail, and a colleague, Leonard Gale, into working mechanical form in 1837. In this year Morse filed a caveat for it at the U.S. Patent Office. Electricity, provided by Joseph Henry's 1836 "intensity batteries", was sent over a wire. The flow of electricity through the wire was interrupted for shorter or longer periods by holding down the key of the device. The resulting dots or dashes were recorded on a printer or could be interpreted orally. In 1838 Morse perfected his sending and receiving code and organized a corporation, making Vail and Gale his partners.

In 1843 Morse received funds from Congress to set-up a demonstration line between Washington and Baltimore. Unfortunately, Morse was not an astute businessman and had no practical plan for constructing a line. After an unsuccessful attempt at laying underground cables with Ezra Cornell, the inventor of a trench digger, Morse switched to the erection of telegraph poles and was more successful. On May 24, 1844, Morse, in the U.S. Supreme Court Chambers in Washington, sent by telegraph the oft-quoted message to his colleague Vail in Baltimore, "What hath God wrought!"

In 1845 Morse hired Andrew Jackson's former postmaster general, Amos Kendall, as his agent in locating potential buyers of the telegraph. Kendall realized the value of the device, and had little trouble convincing others of its potential for profit. By the spring he had attracted a small group of investors. They subscribed $15,000 and formed the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Many new telegraph companies were formed as Morse sold licenses wherever he could.

The first commercial telegraph line was completed between Washington, D.C., and New York City in the spring of 1846 by the Magnetic Telegraph Company. Shortly thereafter, F. O. J. Smith, one of the patent owners, built a line between New York City and Boston. Most of these early companies were licensed by owners of Samuel Morse patents. The Morse messages were sent and received in a code of dots and dashes.

At this time other telegraph systems based on rival technologies were being built. Some companies used the printing telegraph, a device invented by a Vermonter, Royal E. House, whose messages were printed on paper or tape in Roman letters. In 1848 a Scotch scientist, Alexander Bain, received his patents on a telegraph. These were but two of many competing and incompatible technologies that had developed. The result was confusion, inefficiency, and a rash of suits and counter suits.

By 1851 there were over fifty separate telegraph companies operating in the United States. This corporate cornucopia developed because the owners of the telegraph patents had been unsuccessful in convincing the United States and other governments of the invention's potential usefulness. In the private sector, the owners had difficulty convincing capitalists of the commercial value of the invention. This led to the owners' willingness to sell licenses to many purchasers who organized separate companies and then built independent telegraph lines in various sections of the country.

Hiram Sibley moved to Rochester, New York, in 1838 to pursue banking and real estate. Later he was elected sheriff of Monroe County. In Rochester he was introduced to Judge Samuel L. Selden who held the House Telegraph patent rights. In 1849 Selden and Sibley organized the New York State Printing Telegraph Company, but they found it hard to compete with the existing New York, Albany, and Buffalo Telegraph Company.

After this experience Selden suggested that instead of creating a new line, the two should try to acquire all the companies west of Buffalo and unite them into a single unified system. Selden secured an agency for the extension throughout the United States of the House system. In an effort to expand this line west, Judge Selden called on friends and the people in Rochester. This led, in April 1851, to the organization of a company and the filing in Albany of the Articles of Association for the "New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company" (NYMVPTC), a company which later evolved into the Western Union Telegraph Company.

In 1854 there were two rival systems of the NYMVPTC in the West. These two systems consisted of thirteen separate companies. All the companies were using Morse patents in the five states north of the Ohio River. This created a struggle between three separate entities, leading to an unreliable and inefficient telegraph service. The owners of these rival companies eventually decided to invest their money elsewhere and arrangements were made for the NYMVPTC to purchase their interests.

Hiram Sibley recapitalized the company in 1854 under the same name and began a program of construction and acquisition. The most important takeover was carried out by Sibley when he negotiated the purchase of the Morse patent rights for the Midwest for $50,000 from Jeptha H. Wade and John J. Speed, without the knowledge of Ezra Cornell, their partner in the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company (EMTC). With this acquisition Sibley proceeded to switch to the superior Morse system. He also hired Wade, a very capable manager, who became his protege and later his successor. After a bitter struggle Morse and Wade obtained the EMTC from Cornell in 1855, thus assuring dominance by the NYMVPTC in the Midwest. In 1856 the company name was changed to the "Western Union Telegraph Company," indicating the union of the Western lines into one compact system. In December, 1857, the Company paid stockholders their first dividend.

Between 1857 and 1861 similar consolidations of telegraph companies took place in other areas of the country so that most of the telegraph interests of the United States had merged into six systems. These were the American Telegraph Company (covering the Atlantic and some Gulf states), The Western Union Telegraph Company (covering states North of the Ohio River and parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota), the New York Albany and Buffalo Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company (covering New York State), the Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph Company (covering Pennsylvania), the Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company (covering sections of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois), and the New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Company (covering the southern Mississippi Valley and the Southwest). All these companies worked together in a mutually friendly alliance, and other small companies cooperated with the six systems, particularly some on the West Coast.

By the time of the Civil War, there was a strong commercial incentive to construct a telegraph line across the western plains to link the two coasts of America. Many companies, however, believed the line would be impossible to build and maintain.

In 1860 Congress passed, and President James Buchanan signed, the Pacific Telegraph Act, which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to seek bids for a project to construct a transcontinental line. When two bidders dropped out, Hiram Sibley, representing Western Union, was the only bidder left. By default Sibley won the contract. The Pacific Telegraph Company was organized for the purpose of building the eastern section of the line. Sibley sent Wade to California, where he consolidated the small local companies into the California State Telegraph Company. This entity then organized the Overland Telegraph Company, which handled construction eastward from Carson City, Nevada, joining the existing California lines, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Sibley's Pacific Telegraph Company built westward from Omaha, Nebraska. Sibley put most of his resources into the venture. The line was completed in October, 1861. Both companies were soon merged into Western Union. This accomplishment made Hiram Sibley leader of the telegraph industry.

Further consolidations took place over the next several years. Many companies merged into the American Telegraph Company. With the expiration of the Morse patents, several organizations were combined in 1864 under the name of "The U.S. Telegraph Company." In 1866 the final consolidation took place, with Western Union exchanging stock for the stock of the other two organizations. The general office of Western Union moved at this time from Rochester to 145 Broadway, New York City. In 1875 the main office moved to 195 Broadway, where it remained until 1930 when it relocated to 60 Hudson Street.

In 1873 Western Union purchased a majority of shares in the International Ocean Telegraph Company. This was an important move because it marked Western Union's entry into the foreign telegraph market. Having previously worked with foreign companies, Western Union now began competing for overseas business.

In the late 1870s Western Union, led by William H. Vanderbilt, attempted to wrest control of the major telephone patents, and the new telephone industry, away from the Bell Telephone Company. But due to new Bell leadership and a subsequent hostile takeover attempt of Western Union by Jay Gould, Western Union discontinued its fight and Bell Telephone prevailed.

Despite these corporate calisthenics, Western Union remained in the public eye. The sight of a uniformed Western Union messenger boy was familiar in small towns and big cities all over the country for many years. Some of Western Union's top officials in fact began their careers as messenger boys.

Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century the telegraph became one of the most important factors in the development of social and commercial life of America. In spite of improvements to the telegraph, however, two new inventions--the telephone (nineteenth century) and the radio (twentieth century)--eventually replaced the telegraph as the leaders of the communication revolution for most Americans.

At the turn of the century, Bell abandoned its struggles to maintain a monopoly through patent suits, and entered into direct competition with the many independent telephone companies. Around this time, the company adopted its new name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

In 1908 AT&T gained control of Western Union. This proved beneficial to Western Union, because the companies were able to share lines when needed, and it became possible to order telegrams by telephone. However, it was only possible to order Western Union telegrams, and this hurt the business of Western Union's main competitor, the Postal Telegraph Company. In 1913, however, as part of a move to prevent the government from invoking antitrust laws, AT&T completely separated itself from Western Union.

Western Union continued to prosper and it received commendations from the U.S. armed forces for service during both world wars. In 1945 Western Union finally merged with its longtime rival, the Postal Telegraph Company. As part of that merger, Western Union agreed to separate domestic and foreign business. In 1963 Western Union International Incorporated, a private company completely separate from the Western Union Telegraph Company, was formed and an agreement with the Postal Telegraph Company was completed. In 1994, Western Union Financial Services, Inc. was acquired by First Financial Management Corporation. In 1995, First Financial Management Corporation merged with First Data Corporation making Western Union a First Data subsidiary.

Many technological advancements followed the telegraph's development. The following are among the more important:

The first advancement of the telegraph occurred around 1850 when operators realized that the clicks of the recording instrument portrayed a sound pattern, understandable by the operators as dots and dashes. This allowed the operator to hear the message by ear and simultaneously write it down. This ability transformed the telegraph into a versatile and speedy system.

Duplex Telegraphy, 1871-72, was invented by the president of the Franklin Telegraph Company. Unable to sell his invention to his own company, he found a willing buyer in Western Union. Utilizing this invention, two messages were sent over the wire simultaneously, one in each direction.

As business blossomed and demand surged, new devices appeared. Thomas Edison's Quadruplex allowed four messages to be sent over the same wire simultaneously, two in one direction and two in the other.

An English automatic signaling arrangement, Wheatstone's Automatic Telegraph, 1883, allowed larger numbers of words to be transmitted over a wire at once. It could only be used advantageously, however, on circuits where there was a heavy volume of business.

Buckingham's Machine Telegraph was an improvement on the House system. It printed received messages in plain Roman letters quickly and legibly on a message blank, ready for delivery.

Vibroplex, c. 1890, a semi-automatic key sometimes called a "bug key," made the dots automatically. This relieved the operator of much physical strain.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Additional moving image about Western Union Telegraph Company can be found in the Industry on Parade Collection (AC0507). This includes Cable to Cuba! by Bell Laboratory, AT & T, featuring the cable ship, the C.S. Lord Kelvin, and Communications Centennial! by the Western Union Company.

Materials at Other Organizations

Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware.

Western Union records (Western Union Right of Way and Other Agreements, 1848-1990, bulk: 1910-1989 and the Western Union Locality Files, 1892-1995, bulk: 1910-1989) form part of the MCI Communications Corporation Records, 1849-1999. See accession 2225.

First Data Corporation, Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Records of First Data Corporation and its predecessors, including Western Union, First Financial Management Corporation (Atlanta) and First Data Resources (Omaha). Western Union collection supports research of telegraphy and related technologies, and includes company records, annual reports, photographs, print and broadcast advertising, telegraph equipment, and messenger uniforms.

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Western Union Telegraph Expedition, 1865-1867

This collection includes correspondence, mostly to Spencer F. Baird, from members of the Scientific Corps of the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, including Kennicott, Dall, Bannister, and Elliott; copies of reports submitted to divisional chiefs from expedition staff members; newspaper clippings concerning the expedition; copies of notes on natural history taken by Robert Kennicott; and a journal containing meteorological data recorded by Henry M. Bannister from March to August, 1866.
Separated Materials:
Artifacts (apparatus and equipment) were donated to the Division of Information Technology and Society, now known as the Division of Work & Industry, National Museum of American History.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Western Union in September of 1971.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but Series 11 and films are stored off-site. Special arrangements must be made to view some of the audiovisual materials. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Communications equipment  Search this
Communication -- International cooperation  Search this
Electric engineering  Search this
Electric engineers  Search this
Electrical equipment  Search this
Electrical science and technology  Search this
Telegraphers  Search this
Telegraph  Search this
Genre/Form:
Administrative records
Articles
Books
Clippings
Contracts
Drawings
Photographs -- 19th century
Patents
Photographs -- 20th century
Newsletters
Photograph albums
Scrapbooks -- 19th century
Scrapbooks -- 20th century
Specifications
Technical documents
Citation:
Western Union Telegraph Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0205
See more items in:
Western Union Telegraph Company Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8b72e8493-288c-4bd0-84d5-011155da30a7
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0205
Online Media:

Barna, Joseph T. and Heritage of Pride (HOP), New York, New York

Collection Collector:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History  Search this
Collection Donor:
Becker, John M.  Search this
Gay Officers Action League. GOAL  Search this
Heritage of Pride (HOP)  Search this
Rohrbaugh, Richard  Search this
Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Hirsch, Leonard  Search this
Guest, Barbara  Search this
Barna, Joseph T.  Search this
Guest, Michael E.  Search this
Cruse, Howard, 1944-2019  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1910-2014, undated
Scope and Contents:
This series contains documents, photographs, and personal ephemera produced and collected or produced by Joseph T. Barna (1949-2014), associated with his personal life and his position as board member of Heritage of Pride, New York, New York. Barna was born in Middlebury, Vermont and grew-up in Brandon, Vermont. His parents were teachers at Brandon High School and Otter Valley Union High School where Barna was a member of the debating team. While at Otter Valley he organized a group named The Stage Crew to assist with the lighting for dramatic productions. Barna graduated from Otter Valley Union High School in 1967. Barna graduated with a B.A. from Yale in 1971 and later went on to graduate with his M.F.A. from the Yale School of Dramatics in technical design and construction in 1981.

He occasionally taught a course on electrics at Yale as well as working as a computer programmer and later as a lighting designer for theatrical and dance productions in Oregon, New York, New York, and the New York City area. He was adjunct faculty for the Institute of Design & Construction (IDC). He was an amateur historian of wooden roller coasters. Barna died 2014 June 8 at the Jersey City Medical Center, Jersey City from "a combination of illnesses."

Barna's association with Heritage of Pride (HOP), the producing organization for the annual New York Pride Parade, began in the 1980s. He was one of HOP's leading photographers up until his death in 2014. Heritage of Pride (HOP) is the successor organization to the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee. HOP is a non-proft orgainzation that plans, coordinates, and sponsors the annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride week in New York City commemorating the Stonewall riots of June 1969. The HOP archives are housed at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, "The Center", in New York City. This series is divided into three subseries.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.

Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1146, Series 15
See more items in:
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a53bb8f4-0e5a-4389-9e12-96d0cd85fe6f
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1146-ref1271

Hooker, Meryl

Collection Collector:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History  Search this
Collection Donor:
Becker, John M.  Search this
Gay Officers Action League. GOAL  Search this
Heritage of Pride (HOP)  Search this
Rohrbaugh, Richard  Search this
Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)  Search this
Collection Creator:
Hirsch, Leonard  Search this
Guest, Barbara  Search this
Barna, Joseph T.  Search this
Guest, Michael E.  Search this
Cruse, Howard, 1944-2019  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1989-1996, undated
Scope and Contents:
Materials collected by Meryl Hooker in a variety of activities as an activist, organizer, performer, and amateur historian. The material contains programs and ephemera from Pride celebrations, the 1993 March on Washington, and other events. There are also materials from Hooker's thesis centering on The Furies a Washington DC woman's collective of twelve young lesbians the early 1970s. These include interviews with the remainging Furies and a copy of Hooker's thesis.
Biographical / Historical:
Meryl Hooker (1971--) was President of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi Alliance at The George Washington University from 1992 – 1995 and helped coordinate the student activities for the 1993 March on Washington. In spring 1994, she was a volunteer with Stonewall 25 in New York. She was the recipient of the 1995 Baer Award for Individual Excellence by the George Washington University Office of Student Life. From 1996 – 1997, she worked as the Event Coordinator at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In the late 1990's she worked at Lammas Women's Books and More, produced some of the early DC drag king shows with Puss 'N Boots Productions, and helped to build community through the True Spirit conferences (1998 – 2003). She was an activist, organizer, performer, and amateur historian of the queer community in Washington, DC until 2023.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.

Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves. Researchers must use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis, as resources allow.

Do not use original materials when available on reference video or audio tapes.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1146, Subseries 28
See more items in:
Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8284238ba-6924-40c6-aa08-a2a287f0699e
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1146-ref3380

Burt Chernow papers

Creator:
Chernow, Burt  Search this
Names:
Housatonic Community College (Bridgeport, Conn.)  Search this
Housatonic Museum of Art  Search this
Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection  Search this
Westport-Weston Arts Council (Westport, Conn.)  Search this
Arman, 1928-2005  Search this
Avery, Milton, 1885-1965  Search this
Christo, 1935-  Search this
Hendricks, Barkley L., 1945-  Search this
Jeanne-Claude, 1935-2009  Search this
Johnson, Lester, 1919-2010  Search this
Peterdi, Gabor  Search this
Woodham, Jean, 1925-  Search this
Zúñiga, Francisco, 1912-1998  Search this
Extent:
21.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Transcriptions
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Photographs
Date:
1930-2002
Summary:
The papers of Burt Chernow measure 21.8 linear feet and consist mainly of research materials gathered and produced in the course of writing Christo and Jeanne-Claude: A Biography over an extensive period of close contact with the subjects, from the early 1980s until Chernow's death in 1997. Research materials for the biography include photocopies of personal documents of the Christos, hundreds of recorded interviews with Christo, Jeanne-Claude, their family members, and their associates, transcripts of interviews and research on interview subjects, other collected research material compiled chronologically, drafts of the biography written by Chernow, drafts of the biography and its epilogue produced after Chernow's death, and business records related to the book's production, which include significant correspondence with the Christos. Also found are the published German and U.S. editions of the biography, printed materials and photographs related to the book's subject matter, and fabric samples from five of the Christos' projects undertaken during Chernow's association with them. Chernow's career as an art critic, writer, educator, and arts advocate, primarily in Southern Connecticut, is documented in Chernow's other writings, organizational records, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Burt Chernow measure 21.8 linear feet and consist mainly of research materials gathered and produced in the course of writing Christo and Jeanne-Claude: A Biography over an extensive period of close contact with the subjects, from the early 1980s until Chernow's death in 1997. Research materials for the biography include photocopies of personal documents of the Christos, hundreds of recorded interviews with Christo, Jeanne-Claude, their family members, and their associates, transcripts of interviews and research on interview subjects, other collected research material compiled chronologically, drafts of the biography written by Chernow, drafts of the biography and its epilogue produced after Chernow's death, and business records related to the book's production, which include significant correspondence with the Christos. Also found are the published German and U.S. editions of the biography, printed materials and photographs related to the book's subject matter, and fabric samples from five of the Christos' projects undertaken during Chernow's association with them.

Chernow's career as an art critic, writer, educator, and arts advocate, primarily in Southern Connecticut, is documented in Chernow's other writings, organizational records, printed materials, and photographs. Other writings include drafts of articles, lectures, exhibition reviews, and catalog essays, some of which include research material gathered on the subjects. Artists written about by Chernow include Arman, Milton Avery, Barkley Hendricks, Francisco Zuñiga, Lester Johnson, Gabor Peterdi, and Jean Woodham, among many others, and including many Connecticut artists. A recorded interview with Arman, as well as transcripts of multiple interviews with Zuñiga, are filed with these writings. Also found are many writings and lectures related to the value of visual art in public life and in elementary and higher education. Numerous lectures by Chernow about several of the Christos' large-scale projects are also found, one of which, on the Wrapped Reichstag, is recorded on video.

Organizational records document Chernow's involvement in various art education organizations, his years of teaching at Housatonic Community College, his development of the Housatonic Museum of Art collection, and his work with several local arts organizations in Westport, Conn., including the Westport Arts Advisory Council, the Westport Arts Center, the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection Committee, and the Westport Weston Arts Council. Types of documents found include correspondence, clippings, photographs, flyers, and notes.

Printed material includes many of the books written by Chernow, and monographs and magazines which included essays on specific artists by Chernow. A file of clippings about Chernow spanning his career is also found. Photographs include prints, negatives, and contact sheets, and consist mainly of photographs of artists, many of which were taken by Chernow, and many of which are signed by the artists with a personal note to the Chernows. A handful of personal photographs of the Chernows are also found.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged as 5 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Research Material for -- Christo and Jeanne-Claude: A Biography -- , 1930-2002 (17.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-17, 23, OV 24)

Series 2: Other Writing, 1962-1999 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 17-19)

Series 3: Organizational Records, 1963-2000 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 19-20, 23, OV 24)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1960-2002 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 20-21, 23)

Series 5: Photographs, 1950-1997 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 21-23, OV 24)
Biographical / Historical:
Burt Chernow was an art historian, writer, educator, collector, and dealer who founded the Housatonic Museum of Art in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and who, upon his retirement from Housatonic Community College, became the authorized biographer of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which he researched through close contact with the Christos from 1984 until his death in 1997. Although he had not completed the biography when he died, his wife Ann Chernow saw the manuscript through to publication, and the biography, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: A Biography, was first published in Germany in 2000, and then in the United States in 2002.

Born in New York City in 1933, Chernow earned a master's degree in art education at New York University in 1960, and began his career as an art teacher in the Westport, Connecticut public schools, later joining the faculty of the Art Department at the Housatonic Community College, where he eventually became the department's director. He also taught at the Museum of Modern Art, organizing the Children's Art Carnival in Harlem through the museum, and at Silvermine School of the Arts, the A.B.C.D. Arts Center in Bridgeport, Conn., and the Stamford Museum. While on the faculty at Housatonic Community College, he began collecting original artworks, mainly through donations directly from the artists, for what eventually became the Housatonic Museum of Art. Over the course of nearly 30 years he amassed over 4000 works for the collection, the largest of its kind for a community college, and remained the museum's Emeritus Director until his death. He remained active in civic arts organizations in Westport as well, where he was a founding member of the Westport Arts Center, served on the Westport Arts Advisory Council, and helped to establish the annual Westport Arts Awards.

Upon his retirement from the Housatonic faculty in 1984, Chernow approached Christo and Jeanne-Claude about becoming their authorized biographer. He had participated in their project Surrounded Islands in Miami in 1983, and had played a role in exhibitions and artist talks by Christo at the Aldrich Museum (1981) and the Wadsworth Atheneum (1978) as well. He and his wife Ann Chernow attended and helped to document the Wrapped Pont Neuf (1985) in Paris, and then visited Christo's family in Bulgaria in 1986. It was after their Bulgarian trip that Christo and Jeanne-Claude agreed to authorize him to write their biography, and Chernow's research began in earnest. He conducted hundreds of interviews with them, their family, and associates, participated in the major large-scale projects that took place between 1985 and 1995, and completed a draft of the biography up to the year 1982 before he died suddenly in 1997. After his death, his wife Ann Chernow saw the biography through to publication. It was published with an epilogue by Wolfgang Volz, the Christos' official photographer, bringing the Christos' story up to date from where Chernow had left off, first in Germany, and later in the United States and Italy.

Chernow wrote many books, catalogs, and articles about other artists as well, including Milton Avery, Francisco Zuniga, Gabor Peterdi, Will Barnet, Jean Woodham, and Lester Johnson, among others, and published and lectured widely on the subjects of art education and public art.
Provenance:
Donated 2002 by Ann Chernow, the widow of Burt Chernow.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Connecticut  Search this
Art critics -- Connecticut  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Authors -- Connecticut  Search this
Educators -- Connecticut  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Transcriptions
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Photographs
Citation:
Burt Chernow papers, 1930-2002. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.cherburt
See more items in:
Burt Chernow papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b0f96b06-f802-418f-9058-619da6096571
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-cherburt
Online Media:

Stories the Lenape told their grandchildren

Editor:
Townsend, Camilla 1965-  Search this
Michael, Nicky Kay  Search this
Physical description:
x, 255 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates illustrations, maps 23 cm
Type:
Texts
Biography
Textes
Biographies
Place:
Oklahoma
Date:
2023
Topic:
Delaware Indians--Folklore  Search this
Indians of North America--Folklore  Search this
Delaware language  Search this
Social life and customs  Search this
Delaware (Langue)  Search this
Peuples autochtones--Mœurs et coutumes  Search this
Delaware Indians  Search this
Delaware Indians--Social life and customs  Search this
Indians of North America--Social life and customs  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1163497

Contemporary photography in China

Editor:
Chiu, Melissa  Search this
Johnson, Betsy (Curator)  Search this
Contributor:
Roberts, Claire 1959-  Search this
Schell, Orville  Search this
Smith, Karen (Art historian)  Search this
Warsh, Larry  Search this
Issuing body:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
Physical description:
ix, 225 pages (some folded) illustrations (chiefly color), portraits 29 cm
Type:
Books
Pictorial works
Exhibition catalogs
Photobooks
Illustrated works
Catalogues d'exposition
Livres de photographies
Place:
China
Chine
Date:
2023
20th century
21st century
20e siècle
21e siècle
Topic:
Photography--History  Search this
Photography, Artistic--History  Search this
Photographie--Histoire  Search this
Photographie artistique  Search this
Photography  Search this
History  Search this
Photography, Artistic  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1163665

Material histories of early globalisms

Author:
Flood, Finbarr Barry  Search this
Fricke, Beate  Search this
Physical description:
vii, 293 pages illustrations (chiefly color), color maps 28 cm
Type:
Sources
Case studies
Études de cas
Place:
Africa
Date:
2023
12th century
13th century
12e siècle
13e siècle
Topic:
Civilization, Medieval  Search this
Material culture  Search this
Culture and globalization  Search this
History--Methodology  Search this
Civilization, Medieval--Sources  Search this
Civilisation médiévale--Sources  Search this
Culture matérielle  Search this
Culture et mondialisation  Search this
Histoire--Méthodologie  Search this
Civilisation médiévale  Search this
ART--History--Medieval  Search this
HISTORY--East  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1165325

JGAPE

Author:
Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era  Search this
Physical description:
volumes ; 23 cm
Type:
Electronic resources
Periodicals
History
Place:
United States
Date:
2002
[2002-]
1865-1921
Topic:
History  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_930395

Daniel Varney Thompson papers, 1848-1979, bulk 1923-1979

Creator:
Thompson, Daniel V. (Daniel Varney), 1902-1980  Search this
Subject:
Berenson, Bernard  Search this
Greene, Belle da Costa  Search this
McKean, Mary Sargeant  Search this
Winslow, Henry  Search this
Thompson, Randall  Search this
Courtauld Institute of Art  Search this
Type:
Notebooks
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Watercolors
Photographs
Poetry
Musical scores
Prints
Oil paintings
Manuscripts
Citation:
Daniel Varney Thompson papers, 1848-1979, bulk 1923-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Food  Search this
Gardening  Search this
Engineers -- United States  Search this
Authors -- Massachusetts  Search this
Kermes (Insect)  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9246
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211441
AAA_collcode_thomdani
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211441
Online Media:

Walter Horn papers, 1908-1992, bulk 1943-1950

Creator:
Horn, Walter William, 1908-1995  Search this
Subject:
Smith, John T.  Search this
Sennhauser, Hans Rudolf  Search this
Harbison, Peter  Search this
Dupree, A. Hunter  Search this
Kunzelman, Charles J.  Search this
von Hummel, Helmuth  Search this
von Hummel, Edeltraut  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Koehler, Wilhelm Reinhold Walter  Search this
Charles, Fred  Search this
Eggenbacher, Christopher  Search this
Duft, Johannes  Search this
Panofsky, Erwin  Search this
University of California, Berkeley  Search this
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Citation:
Walter Horn papers, 1908-1992, bulk 1943-1950. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Art thefts -- Germany -- History -- 20th century  Search this
Crown jewels -- Holy Roman Empire  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9658
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211866
AAA_collcode_hornwalt
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211866
Online Media:

The Sounds of Ozarks Religion, Beyond the Bible Belt

Creator:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this
Type:
Blog posts
Smithsonian staff publications
Conversations and talks
Blog posts
Published Date:
Tue, 12 Dec 2023 20:18:00 GMT
Topic:
Cultural property  Search this
See more posts:
Festival Blog
Data Source:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:posts_909f1623a90c3e2cb0fd0426022c0b8d

Searching for Space Mountain: Reading Disney maps

Creator:
National Museum of American History  Search this
Type:
Blog posts
Smithsonian staff publications
Conversations and talks
Blog posts
Published Date:
Fri, 29 Sep 2023 15:23:44 +0000
Topic:
American History  Search this
See more posts:
Blog Feed
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:posts_564bdcebc663caed5adf389ff9f59a73

An Unbroken Line: Josh Berer and Mariam Lodin Share the Art of Islamic Calligraphy

Creator:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this
Type:
Blog posts
Smithsonian staff publications
Blog posts
Published Date:
Wed, 20 Sep 2023 18:36:00 GMT
Topic:
Cultural property  Search this
See more posts:
Festival Blog
Data Source:
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:posts_4f16595b9654463807f308fe1135299c

Folio from a Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizami (d.1209); The prophets Elias and Khidr at the fountain of life

Medium:
Opaque watercolor, ink, gold, and silver on paper
Dimensions:
H x W: 15.7 x 13.4 cm (6 3/16 x 5 1/4 in)
Type:
Manuscript
Origin:
Herat, Afghanistan
Date:
late 15th century
Period:
Timurid period
Topic:
Timurid period (1378 - 1506)  Search this
Afghanistan  Search this
fountain  Search this
Elias  Search this
Khadir  Search this
Arts of the Islamic World  Search this
prophet  Search this
Credit Line:
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Accession Number:
F1937.24
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Related Online Resources:
Google Cultural Institute
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3b8ebaae9-3e7f-4869-ad14-77bd97baf678
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_F1937.24

Daniel Varney Thompson papers

Creator:
Thompson, Daniel V. (Daniel Varney), 1902-1980  Search this
Names:
Courtauld Institute of Art -- Faculty  Search this
Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959  Search this
Greene, Belle da Costa, 1883-1950  Search this
McKean, Mary Sargeant  Search this
Thompson, Randall, 1899-1984  Search this
Winslow, Henry, b. 1874  Search this
Extent:
10.1 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Notebooks
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Watercolors
Photographs
Poetry
Musical scores
Prints
Oil paintings
Manuscripts
Date:
1848-1979
bulk 1923-1979
Summary:
The papers of art conservator and historian, engineer, and professor Daniel Varney Thompson (1902-1980) are dated 1848-1979, with the bulk of the material dated 1923-1979. The collection measures 10.1 linear feet and consists of biographical material, correspondence, subject files, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art conservator and historian, professor, engineer, and writer Daniel Varney Thompson (1902-1980) are dated 1848-1979, with the bulk of the material dated 1923-1979. The collection measures 10.1 linear feet and consists of biographical material, correspondence, subject files, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs.

Biographical information includes certificates and diplomas, passports, and wills. Correspondence documents Daniel Varney Thompson's personal and professional life. Personal correspondence centers heavily on family members including his brother, the composer Randall Thompson. Professional correspondence concerns Thompson's academic career, research, writing, and work as a technical consultant and engineer. Among the correspondents are colleagues from Harvard, Yale, the Courtauld Institute, publishers, and academic and technical journals, in addition to corporate clients.

Subject files are comprised of varying correspondence, printed matter, photographs, notes and writings relating to Thompson's areas of interest. Personal and professional subject files include many relating to his research interests and engineering consulting projects. Of particular interest are numerous letters from Bernard Berenson. There is also correspondence with Belle da Costa Greene, as well as files concerning the Kermes beetle (a source of crimson dyes in the middle ages). Food and gardening subject files reflect Thompson's career as a writer and columnist on these subjects.

Writings consist mainly of manuscripts, drafts, research and miscellaneous notes; also included are diaries, poems, miscellaneous items, and a music score. Daniel Varney Thompson's personal and professional writings include two diaries, poems, and student writings. Most of his extant writings are on art-related topics, science and technology. Among the notes is an index to medieval manuscripts on craftsmanship in major European libraries was compiled by Thompson in 1935. His work on the subject remains unpublished and his notes are extremely valuable since some of the materials noted were lost in World War II. Scientific and technical notebooks, along with various wirings and reports, document projects undertaken as a technical consultant and engineer. The food and gardening writings are extensive and consist of manuscripts and notes for articles and columns, and for a book-length compilation of these writings. Among the writings by other authors are diaries of his mother and wife, and a music score by his brother, Randall Thompson.

Artwork by Daniel Varney Thompson, Mary Sargent McKean, and Henry Winslow consists of drawings, prints, watercolors, a sketchbook, and an oil painting. Printed material includes articles and book reviews by Daniel Varney Thompson, and items about or mentioning him and his family. Also found are articles and books about art, history, medieval studies, science and technology, and food and gardening topics.

Photographs are of artwork, people, places and miscellaneous subjects. Images of people are mainly Thompson and family members.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1848-1970s (Box 1, OV 11-12; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1914-1979 (Boxes 1-3; 2.0 linear ft.)

Series 3: Subject Files, 1925-1979 (Boxes 3-6; 3.0 linear ft.)

Series 4: Writings, 1907-1970s (Boxes 6-9; 2.85 linear ft.)

Series 5: Artwork, 1923-1934 (Box 9, OV 13; 5 folders)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1917-1979 (Box 9; 0.75 linear ft.)

Series 7: Photographs, circa 1900-1972 (Box 10; 0.4 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Daniel Varney Thompson (1902-1980) was an art conservator and historian, professor, engineer, and writer. A noted authority on medieval painting, Varney lived and worked primarily in the Boston area and London.

Daniel Varney Thompson was born in New Jersey in 1902. He was the son of Grace Randall Thompson and Daniel Varney Thompson, Sr., a classics teacher at the Lawrenceville School and later headmaster of Boston Latin School. American composer Randall Thompson was his older brother. Following family tradition, Thompson attended Harvard, earning the A.B. in 1922 and A.M. in 1926, focusing his attention on fine arts, physical chemistry, and literature. Daniel V. Thompson stopped using the designation Jr. after his father's death in 1932.

Between 1922 and 1925 Thompson was employed in the Fogg Museum's laboratory devoted to analyzing art materials for the purposes of detecting forgeries, preserving works of art, and devising methods to aid working artists. During this period, Thompson went to Italy as a Sheldon Fellow in Fine Arts, to learn medieval fresco painting techniques from Edward W. Forbes, Director of the Fogg Museum. He also had an opportunity to study medieval and Renaissance painting techniques with Inicio Federico Joni, and while in Italy began life-long friendships with the Forbes family and Bernard Berenson. Thompson served as a technical advisor to the 1924-1925 Second Harvard China Expedition; he traveled to China by way of India, where he studied wall paintings in caves at Ajanta and Elura and researched newly discovered scrolls.

Daniel Varney Thompson was on the faculty of Yale from 1926-1933, where he taught art history, and tempera painting courses, and laid the foundation for the Department of Fine Arts when Yale became a university in 1932. During his time at Yale, Thompson married Cecile [Cecily] de Luze Simonds.

When The American Council of Learned Societies awarded Thompson a research fellowship for the academic year 1933/34, he returned to Europe and surveyed major libraries for materials concerning the history of technology of the arts. Thompson was then invited to be Professor of the History of Technology at the University of London. He was on the faculty from 1934-1946, and also served as research and technical advisor, developing a laboratory at the Courtauld Institute for analysis of art materials.

During World War II, the Courtauld's laboratory - which had facilities for emission, absorption, and x-ray spectrography - was offered to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. To avoid compromising the University's tax-free status, Thompson formed and served as managing director of Daniel Varney Limited, a private company which leased the premises and equipment. From 1940 to 1945, the company was operated in the name of the Courtauld Institute, employing 200 people in tool making, gauge making, fine mechanisms, and development and production of optics instruments. After the war, Daniel Varney Limited shifted its interests to high vacuum diffusion pumps, gas manipulation, and glassblowing.

Upon returning to the United States in 1947, Thompson settled in the Boston area, becoming a technical consultant. He worked on projects for E-Z Mills, Inc., Sylvania Eloctronics, Comstock & Wescott, Inc., and other corporations. He was chief engineer of Jarrell-Ash Co., 1953-1955, redesigning optical instruments, spectrography, and schlieren systems. Between 1955 and 1957, Thompson served as Vice President of Swett & Sibley, involved with the design and development of optical instruments, scanning spectrometers, and densistometers. He then moved to Avco Corporation, where for the next decade he was a Senior Staff Consultant working on optical design in rocket instrumentation. Thompson retired from his engineering career in 1967.

Daniel V. Thompson wrote and published extensively. Art-related writings include translations and a monograph published by Yale University Press, and numerous articles and reviews. Translations are: Cennino Cennini's Il Libro dell'Arte (3 volumes: Text of Il Libro dell'Arte, 1932; The Craftsman's Handbook, 1933; and The Practice of Tempera Painting, 1936), and An Anonymous Fourteenth Century Treatise ( De arte illuminadi) (with his student George Heard Hamilton), 1936. A monograph, The Materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting (foreword by Bernard Berenson) appeared in 1936.

Most of Thompson's scientific and technical writings are unpublished and relate to projects for which he served as a consulting engineer.

Soon after retiring, Thompson began a new career that he continued for the remainder of his life. A serious cook and long-time gardener, he began writing about these topics, producing weekly columns that were published by newspapers from Maine to Chicago and contributing articles to Gourmet, Horticulture, and similar periodicals. Thompson also lectured to garden clubs and judged garden and flower competitions.

Daniel Varney Thompson died on January 4, 1980, following an automobile accident in Malaga, Spain.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews conducted with Daniel V. Thompson by Robert Brown, September 25, 1974-November 2, 1976. There are also three letters from Thompson to his sister-in-law Edith Simonds Moore.
Provenance:
The Daniel Varney Thompson papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in increments between 1974-1981 by Mr. Thompson and his estate.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Conservators  Search this
Art historians  Search this
Topic:
Food  Search this
Gardening  Search this
Engineers -- United States  Search this
Authors -- Massachusetts  Search this
Kermes (Insect)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Notebooks
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Watercolors
Photographs
Poetry
Musical scores
Prints
Oil paintings
Manuscripts
Citation:
Daniel Varney Thompson papers, 1848-1979, bulk 1923-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.thomdani
See more items in:
Daniel Varney Thompson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9528dc18c-6119-4c37-946d-004d2c9fea4c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-thomdani
Online Media:

Walter Horn papers

Creator:
Horn, Walter William, 1908-1995  Search this
Names:
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
University of California, Berkeley -- Faculty  Search this
Charles, Fred  Search this
Duft, Johannes, 1915-  Search this
Dupree, A. Hunter  Search this
Eggenbacher, Christopher  Search this
Harbison, Peter  Search this
Koehler, Wilhelm Reinhold Walter, 1884-1959  Search this
Kunzelman, Charles J.  Search this
Panofsky, Erwin, 1892-1968  Search this
Sennhauser, Hans Rudolf  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Smith, John T.  Search this
von Hummel, Edeltraut  Search this
von Hummel, Helmuth  Search this
Extent:
2.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1908-1992
bulk 1943-1950
Summary:
The papers of art historian and World War II Monuments Man Walter W. Horn measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1908 to 1992, with the bulk of material dating from 1943 to 1950. Walter Horn taught art history at the University of California, Berkeley from 1938 to his retirement in 1974. During World War II, Horn served as Head of the U. S. Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFAA.) The papers contain biographical materials; professional correspondence; records documenting his service in the MFAA; administrative files relating to his work at the University of California, Berkeley; and scattered photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian and World War II Monuments Man Walter W. Horn measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1908 to 1992, with the bulk of material dating from 1943 to 1950. Walter Horn taught art history at the University of California, Berkeley from 1938 to his retirement in 1974. During World War II, Horn served as Head of the U. S. Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFAA.) The papers contain biographical materials; professional correspondence; records documenting his service in the MFAA; administrative files relating to his work at the University of California, Berkeley; and scattered photographs.

Biographical materials include certificates, transcripts, registration books, and diplomas, immigration papers and supporting documentation, birth certificate, passports, and Horn's application for U.S. citizenship. Also found here are papers relating to Horn's academic work, such as bibliographies, curriculum vitae and a few other miscellaneous materials.

The bulk of the papers consist of professional correspondence between Horn and his colleagues. Many of the letters relate to Horn's scholarly publications and projects, especially his seminal work The Plan of St. Gall: A Plan of the Architecture and Economy of, and Life in a Paradigmatic Carolingian Monastery (1979). Prominent correspondents include Meyer Schapiro, Wilhelm Koehler, Fred Charles, Christopher Eggenbacher, Johannes Duft, Hunter Dupree, Peter Harbison, H.R. Sennhauser, and John T. Smith.

Papers and records documenting Horn's World War II service in the the U. S. Army Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section have been arranged in one series. There are scattered letters, including ones from Erwin Panofsky, Charles J. Kunzelman, and Helmuth and Edeltraut von Hummel. There are also letters of inquiry about the recovery of the crown jewels of The Holy Roman Empire. Also found in this series are official Army documents, including a directory and inventory of recovered gold coins; receipts for transporting recovered artwork; art looting investigation, interrogation, and arrest reports; and reports on Horn's investigation and recovery of the crown jewels and the gold coin investigation. There is scattered printed material and photographs of the recovered gold coins and of Helmuth and Edeltraut von Hummel.

Horn's papers also contain a few administrative files from his tenure at the University of California, Berkeley, and one folder of color photographs of Horn's papers being prepared for shipment to the Archives of American Art.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 5 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1908-1989 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, 4)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1937, 1949-1992 (1.2 linear feet; Box 1-2, 4, OV 5)

Series 3: U.S. Army Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section Files, circa 1938-1989 (0.6 linear feet; Box 2-4, OV 5-6)

Series 4: University of California, Berkeley Administrative Files, 1938-1976 (0.1 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 5: Photographs, 1989 (1 folder; Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
Walter William Horn (1908-1995) was a professor of art history at the University of California, Berkeley. During World War II, he served in the Army Intelligence Unit of the Monument, Fine Arts and Archives Section (MFAA.)

Walter Horn was born in Waldangelloch, Germany and graduated from the Gymnasium in Heidelberg in 1926. He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg, Berlin and Hamburg. In 1934 he received his Ph.D. in art history from the University of Hamburg, studying under Erwin Panofsky. His dissertation on the facade of the Church of St. Gilles was published in 1937. Horn fled Nazism in Germany and immigrated to the United States.

In 1938 Horn accepted a position at the University of California at Berkeley as a lecturer in art history, becoming the first state sponsored teacher of art history within California. He quickly became a professor and co-founded the university's Department of Art History.

Horn married twice. His first wife was Ann Binkley Rand. His second marriage was to Alberta West Parker, a physician. They had three children, Michael Peters, Peter Matthew, and Rebecca Ann.

In 1943, Horn became a naturalized American citizen and was soon inducted into the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Detailed Interrogation Center, and by 1945 was serving as a lieutenant in the Third Army Intelligence Center. His German language skills were put to use interrogating prisoners of war and personnel of the Gestapo and S.S. Horn later continued his interrogation work in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). After the war, Horn was assigned to the Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section (MFAA) and became one of the Monuments Men responsible for tracking and recovering art works and other cultural heritage objects that had been systematically looted and hidden by the Nazis.

Horn led the team of Monuments Men who recovered the stolen Crown Jewels or Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire. The Crown Jewels, including a crown and sceptre, were discovered walled up in a passage in Nuremburg. Horn also recovered a collection of gold coins valued at $2,000,000 in 1946. He tracked the coins primarily through interrogations of Edeltraut von Hummel. Edeltraut's husband Helmuth von Hummel served as the chief secretary to Martin Bormann, leader of the Nazi Party Chancellery.

After the war, Horn resumed teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Art History until his retirement in 1974. He also helped establish the University Art Museum. In 1949, the school implemented a requirement that all employees must sign a loyalty oath to affirm their allegiance to the state constitution and disavow any intent to overthrow the government. There was substantial outcry among the university faculty and several professors who refused to sign were fired. Horn signed the loyalty oath under protest in 1950. He wrote a letter to the press explaining his decision and expressing his concerns.

In 1979, a decades long collaboration with distinguished architect Ernest Born resulted in The Plan of St. Gall, a three volume work on medieval architecture. The book was praised as a monumental undertaking by the scholarly community upon its publication.

Walter Horn died of pneumonia in 1995.
Related Materials:
Walter Horn papers, 1917-1989, are located at The Getty Research Institution Special Collections.
Provenance:
Walter Horn donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1989. Additional papers were donated by his wife Dr. Alberta Parker Horn in 1998 and 2002.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- California -- Berkeley  Search this
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Art thefts -- Germany -- History -- 20th century  Search this
Crown jewels -- Holy Roman Empire  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Walter Horn papers, 1908-1993, bulk 1943-1950. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.hornwalt
See more items in:
Walter Horn papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94f78cd8e-2b64-4ea9-af93-f998c908bca4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-hornwalt
Online Media:

Millard Meiss Papers

Creator:
Meiss, Millard, 1904-1975  Search this
Names:
American Committee for the Restoration of Italian Monuments  Search this
College Art Association (U.S.)  Search this
Committee to Rescue Italian Art  Search this
Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, N.J.)  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Princeton University  Search this
Gombrich, E. H. (Ernst Hans), 1909-2001  Search this
Lavin, Irving, 1927-  Search this
Nordenfalk, Carl Adam Johan, 1907-  Search this
Panofsky, Dora Mosse  Search this
Panofsky, Erwin, 1892-1968  Search this
Extent:
11.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1918-circa 1977
bulk 1950-1975
Summary:
The papers of art historian, writer, and educator Millard Meiss measure 11.4 linear feet and date from circa 1918 to circa 1977, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 1975. The papers are comprised of biographical material, correspondence, writing projects and lectures, and professional files that document his post World War II work as chairman of the American Committee for the Restoration of Italian Monuments, among other work.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian, writer, and educator Millard Meiss measure 11.4 linear feet and date from circa 1918 to circa 1977, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 1975. The papers are comprised of biographical material, correspondence, writing projects and lectures, and professional files that document his post World War II work as chairman of the American Committee for the Restoration of Italian Monuments, among other work.

Biographical material includes various awards and honorary degrees received; a bibliography of published and unpublished books, articles, essays, and editing projects by Meiss; memorial materials and obituaries for Meiss as well as for Dora and Erwin Panofsky (to whom he was close); and resumes and education materials among other files.

Correspondence is predominantly professional in nature and is with colleagues, peers, museums, and institutions. Some correspondents include Ernst Gombrich, Irving Lavin, Carl Nordenfalk, and Erwin Panofsky, among many others.

Writing project and lecture files document Meiss's work on numerous published and unpublished articles and book projects, and lectures. Books include The Boucicaut Hours, De Artibud Opscula XL: Essays on Erwin Panofsky, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry, and Painting in Florence and Siena, among many other works. Files contain manuscripts, notes, book proposals, reviews, correspondence, and clippings.

Professional files document the many committees, institutions, and organizations in which Meiss was involved, including the American Committee for the Restoration of Italian Monuments, Committee to Rescue Italian Art, and International Committee of the History of Art. Also included are general files on The Art Bulletin, College Art Association, Institute for Advanced Study, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Princeton University, among others.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 4 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1918-circa 1977 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1936-circa 1977 (4.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-5)

Series 3: Writings Projects and Lectures, circa 1934-circa 1975 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 5-8)

Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1933-circa 1975 (4.4 linear feet; Boxes 8-12)
Biographical / Historical:
Millard Meiss (1904-1975) was an art historian and educator whose expertise was medieval and Renaissance art. He taught at Columbia University and Princeton, and was a curator at the Fogg Museum for four years. Following World War II, Meiss served as chairman of the American Committee for the Restoration of Italian Monuments until 1951.

Millard Meiss received a B. A. from Princeton University in 1926, and a Ph. D. from New York University in 1933. He was a professor of fine arts and archaeology at Columbia University from 1934-1953. In 1954, Meiss accepted the position of professor of fine arts and curator of paintings at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University. In 1958, he returned to Princeton, New Jersey to become professor of art history at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he remained for the rest of his career.

While at Columbia University, Meiss acted as editor-in-chief of The Art Bulletin, and also stayed on the editorial board for the next thirty-three years until his death in 1975. Throughout his career, Meiss edited several leading art journals, and wrote numerous articles and books on medieval and Renaissance painting, including Painting in Florence and Siena after the Black Death (1951), and his multi-volume French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry (1967-1974), as well as many others.

In addition to serving as chairman of the American Committee for the Restoration of Italian Monuments after World War II, Meiss organized the Committee to Rescue Italian Art in 1966 after the flood of the Arno River in Italy. He worked to help organize the first meeting in the United States of the International Congress of the History of Art and served as president and vice-president. He was actively involved in the College Art Association of America.

Meiss was a member of many arts and scholarly organizations in Europe and the United States including the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, Accademia Senese degli Intronati, Accademia Clementina, Accademia Toscana Colombaria, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, American Philosophical Society, British Academy, and the Société des Antiquaires de France. In addition, he was a Fellow of the Mediaeval Academy of America and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as an honorary trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Meiss was also the recipient of many awards, including the Wanamaker English Prize, 1925; Haskins Medal from the Mediaeval Academy of America, 1953; Lewis Prize from the American Philosophical Society, 1967; Morey Award from the College Art Association of America, 1969, and posthumously in 1976; and the Art Dealers Association of America Award, 1974.
Provenance:
The Millard Meiss papers were donated to the archives in 1976 and 1986 by Meiss's widow Margaret L. Meiss.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New Jersey -- Princeton  Search this
Educators -- New Jersey  Search this
Authors -- New Jersey  Search this
Topic:
Painting -- Italy  Search this
Painting -- France  Search this
Citation:
Millard Meiss papers, circa 1918-circa 1977, bulk 1950-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.meismill
See more items in:
Millard Meiss Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94ebe979a-1adb-4ef8-bb78-249b7b5f81e6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-meismill
Online Media:

Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings papers

Creator:
Robsjohn-Gibbings, T. H. (Terence Harold), 1905-1976  Search this
Names:
Hadrian's Villa (Tivoli, Italy)  Search this
Robsjohn-Gibbings (Firm)  Search this
Dunn, Alan, 1900-  Search this
Hadrian, Emperor of Rome, 76-138 (Homes and Haunts) -- Italy -- Tivoli  Search this
Petty, Mary  Search this
Richter, Gisela Marie Augusta, 1882-1972  Search this
Extent:
14.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Date:
1915-1977
1898
Summary:
The papers of furniture and interior designer Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings measure 14.4 linear feet and date from 1898 to 1977 with the bulk of material dating from 1915 to 1977. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, writings, project files, printed materials, artwork including 4 sketchbooks, 30 scrapbooks documenting Robsjohn-Gibbings career, and photographs of Robsjohn-Gibbings and his work.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of furniture and interior designer Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings measure 14.4 linear feet and date from 1898 to 1977, with the bulk of material dating from 1915 to 1977. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, writings, project files, printed materials, artwork including 4 sketchbooks, 30 scrapbooks documenting Robsjohn-Gibbings career, and photographs of Robsjohn-Gibbings and his work.

Biographical materials consist of a key to the city of San Francisco, an award certificate, a photograph of a table from Robsjohn-Gibbings' personal art collection, and a ring design.

Correspondence is primarily with Robsjohn-Gibbings' friends, business associates, and scholarly researchers discussing relationships, business commissions, and his professional work. Correspondents of note include illustrators Alan Dunn and Mary Petty, and classical art historian Gisela Richter.

Writings by Robsjohn-Gibbings consist of 13 essays, 2 copies of the draft manuscript The Cuckoo Sings, 2 manuscript drafts of Furniture of Classical Greece, and a notebook of collected inspirational quotations. There is also a translation of a selection of Heinz Kahler's Hadrian und Seine Villa Bei Tivoli.

Project files include photographs and portfolios of 28 commercial and residential commissions; photographs and watercolor renderings of designs produced by Robsjohn-Gibbings Ltd.; photographs and portfolios of designs for Widdicomb Furniture Company; and printed material and research related to the furniture designs for Saridis of Athens. The series also includes portfolios of residences photographed by Ezra Stoller Associates, and photographs and notes for a 25 year Interior Design retrospective exhibition.

Printed material includes published books by Robsjohn-Gibbings, annotated books on Hadrian's Villa and decorative sculpture, catalogs, clippings, press releases, and miscellaneous printed material.

Photographs are of Robsjohn-Gibbings, his friends, his New York office and Athens apartment, and photo shoots for Life and Look magazines.

There are 24 volumes documenting Robsjohn-Gibbings career from 1936 to 1963, an additional 4 volumes of press coverage of his books, and 2 more volumes documenting European art and historical interior design.

Artwork includes 4 sketchbooks of classical Greek and Roman furniture designs rendered in graphite and watercolor by Robsjohn-Gibbings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1942-1970 (4 folders, Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1940-1976 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1930-1976 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, BV 12)

Series 4: Project Files, circa 1930-1976 (4 linear feet; Box 1-2, Box 6-8, BV 13-16, OV 42-53, OV 55)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1898-1977 (1.9 linear feet, Box 2-4, Box 9)

Series 6: Photographic Materials, 1915-1976 (0.3 linear feet; Box 4, Box 9, OV 54)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1936-1970 (5.9 linear feet, Box 9-11, BV 17-41)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1930-1976 (0.5 linear feet; Box 4-5, Box 9)
Biographical / Historical:
Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905-1976) was a furniture and interior designer who lived and worked in New York City and Athens, Greece.

Robsjohn-Gibbings was born in England and studied architecture at London University. In 1930, he immigrated to America, and six years later opened his own interior decorating firm, Robsjohn-Gibbings Ltd., on Madison Avenue. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, he was one of the most recognized decorators in America and designed homes for Doris Duke, Alfred Knopf, and Thelma Chrysler Foy. One of his earliest commissions was Hilda Boldt Weber's 43 room Casa Encantada mansion in Bel-Air, for which he created more than 200 custom pieces of furniture between 1934 and 1938.

From 1943 to 1956, Robsjohn-Gibbings was the principal designer for the Widdicomb Furniture Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. These residential furnishings reflected an elegant, simplistic aesthetic and were regularly showcased in the magazines Town and Country, Interior Design, Vogue, and House Beautiful.

He was a critic of the prevailing taste in Bauhaus modernism and Queen Anne, Georgian, and Spanish extravagance and expressed these views on design and aesthetics in the books Goodbye, Mr. Chippendale (1944), Mona Lisa's Moustache (1947), and Homes of the Brave (1953).

In 1960, he and his collaborator, Carlton Pullin, met the Greek furniture makers Susan and Eleftherios Saridis, who commissioned Robsjohn-Gibbings to design a line for their company, Saridis of Athens. These pieces were modeled after classical Greek forms and aesthetics, and are detailed in Robsjohn-Gibbings' Furniture of Classical Greece (1963).

In 1965, Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece and continued designing residential and commercial spaces until his death in 1976.
Provenance:
Portions of the Terence Robsjohn-Gibbings papers were donated by the artist in 1966. In 1977, Margaret Carson donated a manuscript copy of The Cuckoo Sings. Later in 1977, the bulk of additional material in the collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Robsjohn-Gibbing's associate and executor, Carlton Pullin.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Furniture designers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Interior decorators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Furniture design  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Citation:
Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings papers, 1898, 1915-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.robstere
See more items in:
Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b2b2f9a4-755e-4d40-97fb-b6b97e020fff
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-robstere
Online Media:

Woman's Building records, 1970-1992

Creator:
Woman's Building (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Subject:
Chicago, Judy  Search this
De Bretteville, Sheila Levrant  Search this
Raven, Arlene  Search this
Feminist Studio Workshop  Search this
Women's Graphic Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Type:
Slides
Artists' books
Citation:
Woman's Building records, 1970-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Art organizations  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6347
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215074
AAA_collcode_womabuil
Theme:
Women
Art organizations
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_215074
Online Media:

Burt Chernow papers, 1930-2002

Creator:
Chernow, Burt, 1933-1997  Search this
Subject:
Peterdi, Gabor  Search this
Hendricks, Barkley L.  Search this
Johnson, Lester  Search this
Arman  Search this
Avery, Milton  Search this
Christo  Search this
Zúñiga, Francisco  Search this
Woodham, Jean  Search this
Jeanne-Claude  Search this
Westport-Weston Arts Council (Westport, Conn.)  Search this
Housatonic Community College (Bridgeport, Conn.)  Search this
Housatonic Museum of Art  Search this
Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Transcriptions
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Photographs
Citation:
Burt Chernow papers, 1930-2002. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Authors -- Connecticut  Search this
Educators -- Connecticut  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6021
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)235373
AAA_collcode_cherburt
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_235373
Online Media:

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