Search Results

Collection Creator:

Ostroff, Elaine  Search this

Container:

Box 21, Folder 16

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1995

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Reference copies for audio and moving images materials do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.

Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information has been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.

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:

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers, 1965-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers / Series 3: Universal Design Education Program Files

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1356-ref505

Collection Creator:

Ostroff, Elaine  Search this

Extent:

28 Slides

Container:

Box 36

Type:

Archival materials

Slides

Date:

1971

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Reference copies for audio and moving images materials do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.

Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information has been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.

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:

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers, 1965-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers / Series 6: Photographs and Slides

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1356-ref526

Collection Creator:

Ostroff, Elaine  Search this

Container:

Box 27, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1995 September

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Reference copies for audio and moving images materials do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.

Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information has been rendered unreadable and redacted. Researchers may use the photocopies in the collection. The remainder of the collection has no restrictions.

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:

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers, 1965-2009, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

See more items in:

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers / Series 4: Adaptive Environments

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1356-ref635

Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Names:

Dymo Industries  Search this

Industrial Design Affiliates  Search this

Mattel Toys  Search this

Product Specialists  Search this

Ronco Teleproducts  Search this

Stansbury Company  Search this

Walter Dorwin Teague Associates  Search this

Extent:

5 Cubic feet (15 boxes, 1 oversize folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Correspondence

Clippings

Memorandums

Manuals

Design drawings

Slides (photographs)

Date:

1955 - 1995

Summary:

The collection documents the inventing and design work of Benjamin Stansbury.

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the inventing and design work of Benjamin Stansbury. It contains correspondence; photographs and slides; memoranda, manuals and other internal company documents; design drawings; clippings; and trade literature. The bulk of the material relates to Stansbury's work at the Stansbury Company and the PULSAR electric toothbrush.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1: Personal Materials, 1954-1983

Series 2: Walter Dorwin Teague and Associates Records, 1959-1971

Series 3: Dymo, 1961, 1966

Series 4: Mattel Toymakers, Inc., 1962-1966

Series 5: Product Specialists, 1962-1971

Series 6: Innovation, undated

Series 7: Industrial Design Affiliates, 1964-1973

Series 8: The Stansbury Company, 1966-1994 (bulk 1978-1990)

Series 9: Ronco Teleproducts, Inc., 1978-1980

Series 10: Pulse Innovations, Inc., 1990-1995

Biographical / Historical:

Benjamin H. Stansbury, Jr. (September 26, 1934-March 11, 1996) was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and graduated high school from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (founded in 1883 as an engineering school). He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Architecture, earning a BS in Engineering in 1957. From 1957 to 1961, Stansbury worked for Walter Dorwin Teague Associates in New York as an industrial designer. At Teague, Stansbury worked on a variety of products and missile components. In 1960, he won the Industrial Design Institute Design Award Citation for the Euphorian dental chair (for Ritter Dental). While at Teague, Stansbury met Helen Marie Beheney (December 5, 1935-July 27, 2014) who was a secretary. The couple married in 1961 in California and had two children, Claude and Jacqueline.

Stansbury left New York for Berkeley, California where he joined Dymo Industries, Inc. as Director of New Product Planning from 1961 to 1965. At Dymo, Stansbury crafted a new corporate image and supervised plant and office construction. From 1965 to 1966 he worked for Mattel Toymakers in Hawthorne, California as Director of Corporate Planning and Acquisitions. In 1966, Stansbury, along with John Pylant, formed Product Specialists in Santa Monica. Rudy Hurwich later invested in the company as a three-way partner. Product Specialists focused on product development, manufacturing and marketing. While at Product Specialists, Stansbury developed and built a folding polypropylene boat called the Stowboat (US Patent 4,556,009) available in three sizes (seven, eight and nine feet). His marketing included the phrase, "Let's Go Stowboating!" Stansbury obtained approximately thirty-five patents, many of which were design patents. Almost all of the patents issued to him were assigned to the company who contracted his services. In 1969, Stansbury founded Innovation, a company to take conceptual ideas to the point of commercialization and to then license or sell them.

In 1969, Stansbury was hired by Industrial Design Affiliates (IDA) of Beverly Hills to help turn around the faltering design practice. After years of creative frustration working for someone else, Stansbury left IDA and founded his own design firm, the Stansbury Company, in 1973. Stansbury believed in giving creative people as much freedom as possible and all of his employees were encouraged to be part of the creative process. His company provided full service product development--concept, design, appearance models, engineering development, prototype construction and testing, tool patterns, and pre-production models. A strong emphasis was placed on engineering and manufacturability. Some of the diverse products created included: an exercise bike, roller skates, a smokeless ashtray, a sewage treatment device for boats, cosmetic bottles, surgical rubber gloves, musical toys, a dental chair, packaging (Elvis concert album), and special effects (twenty-four foot alligator) for the film Alligator and miniature sets for the disaster filmMeteor. In 1978, The Stansbury Company was awarded the Western Plastics Art and Design Award for the toy category (sun runner roller skates) and the rotational molding category (La Chair). Some of his clients included: Honda Motor Car, Mansfield Sanitary, Procter and Gamble, Max Factor & Company, Mattel Toys, Schlage Lock, Technicolor, Tomy Toys, Redkin, Jaybee Manufacturing, American Hospital Supply Company and Ronco Teleproducts, Inc.

Stansbury was also a senior consultant to the Bender Corporation, which advised large manufacturing facilities about air quality issues and engineering improvements. He worked with the company on matters related to fluid dynamic modeling and to devise optimal air movements/clearance within a structure.

Stansbury was heavily involved in local politics in Beverly Hills, California. He served as traffic commissioner (1973-1977) and as a planning commissioner (1977-1980). In 1980, Stansbury was elected to the Beverly Hills City Council serving as mayor in 1983 and 1988. After leaving politics, Stansbury continued to invent and in 1992, moved to King City, Ontario, Canada to pursue his invention of the PULSAR Electric Toothbrush (US Patent 5,259,083). The patent was later reissued (RE 35,941) on November 3, 1998. Stansbury was an initial shareholder in Pulse Innovations, Inc., a Canadian corporation formed to develop, market, and license the Pulse toothbrush. The other shareholders in Pulse Innovations included Spark Innovations, Inc. (SPI), a Canadian venture capital incubator and other investors. At SPI, Stansbury was Vice-President of technical services and acted as an engineering consultant and technical advisor on other products under development. In 1995, Procter & Gamble was given an exclusive development option for the Pulse toothbrush, but ultimately Procter & Gamble underwent a restructuring and returned its focus to core products which did not include electric toothbrushes. In 1996, Pulse entered into an agreement with Butler Gum, Canada's largest consumer oral care product company. Stansbury's children, Claude and Jacqueline sold their parents' shares in Pulse Innovations to other shareholders. Stansbury returned to the United States in 1995 and died on March 16, 1996, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Separated Materials:

Artifacts related to the Ronco Egg Scrambler are located in the Division of Work and Industry.

Artifacts related to The Mr. Dentist, Pulse toothbrushes, Hayes School Publishing Co. posters for ""Good Manners"" (1957) and Safety (1957), a Sesame Street learning kit and parent guides (1970) are located in the Division of Cultural and Community Life.

A Hayes School Publishing Company poster for ""Good Habit Check Charts"" (1959) is located in the Division of Medicine and Science.

Materials related to Helen Stansbury's volunteer work for the Democratic Party, especially a George McGovern Handbook, 1972 and Mike Dukakis materials, 1988 are in the Division of Political History (now Division of Political and Military History).

Provenance:

Collection donated to the Archives Center by Benjamin H. Stansbury's daughter, Jacquelyn Stansbury in 2015.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Toys  Search this

Inventors  Search this

Designers  Search this

Design, Industrial  Search this

Inventions -- 1950-2000 -- United States  Search this

Toothbrushes  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs -- 2000-2010

Correspondence -- 1950-2000

Clippings -- 1950-2000

Memorandums -- 1950-2000

Manuals -- 1950-2000

Design drawings -- 1950-2000

Slides (photographs) -- 1950-2000

Citation:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1350

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1350

Collection Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Collection Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1964 - 1973

Scope and Contents:

Industrial Design Affiliates (IDA) specialized in designing and developing products for mass production. Stansbury worked at IDA from 1969-1973 where he was the general manager and creative director. The materials include information about employee/personnel matters such as vacation policies, performance reviews, orientation procedures, leave of absence, overtime, equipment use and personal notes belonging to Stansbury. The personal notes relate to Stansbury's future with IDA, with emphasis on Stansbury's salary, bonus, and profit sharing with the company. Also, Stansbury details in his notes the pros and cons of working for IDA versus working for himself. In 1973, Stansbury would form The Stansbury Company and begin working for himself.

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1350, Series 7

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1350-ref105

Collection Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Collection Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1970 - 1970

1964

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers / Series 7: Industrial Design Affiliates

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1350-ref106

Collection Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Collection Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1969 - 1973

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers / Series 7: Industrial Design Affiliates

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1350-ref107

Collection Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Collection Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Container:

Box 13, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers / Series 9: Ronco Teleproducts, Inc.

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1350-ref269

Collection Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Collection Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Container:

Box 17, Folder 1

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1955 - 1955

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers / Series 1: Personal Materials / 1.1: Benjamin H. Stansbury

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1350-ref40

Collection Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Collection Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Container:

Box 17, Folder 2

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1955 October 11

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers / Series 1: Personal Materials / 1.1: Benjamin H. Stansbury

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1350-ref41

Collection Donor:

Stansbury, Jacqueline  Search this

Collection Creator:

Stansbury, Benjamin H., 1935-1996  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1959 - 1971

Scope and Contents:

This series contains materials from Stansbury's employment with Walter Dorwin Teague Associates in New York City. Stansbury worked at Teague from 1957-1961 on a variety of projects and while there won the Industrial Design Institute Design Award Citation for the Euphorian dental chair (for Ritter Dental) in 1960. Materials include sketches and drawings from projects, an award, and a procedural manual and pay day schedule for Walter Dorwin Teague Associates. The Procedural Manual, 1961, provides employees with organizational information and general information about employment issues such as sick leave, time cards, vacations, and travel.

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Benjamin H. Stansbury Collection, 1959-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1350, Series 2

See more items in:

Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1350-ref51

Container:

Box 24, Folder 11

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

1998 - 1999

Series Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Series 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.

See more items in:

Disability Reference Collection

Disability Reference Collection / Series 4: Universal Design

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1319-ref304

Creator:

Nesbitt, Saul, 1920-1993  Search this

Names:

Archway Cookies, Inc.  Search this

Borden's Farm Products Co. of Illinois  Search this

Campbell Soup Company  Search this

Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive  Search this

Eastman Kodak Company  Search this

Florists' Telegraph Delivery Association  Search this

Franco American Food Co.  Search this

Lever Brothers and Unilever, ltd.  Search this

National Distillers and Chemical Corporation  Search this

Nesbitt Associates, Ltd.  Search this

P. Ballantine & Sons  Search this

Philip Morris Incorporated  Search this

Revlon, Inc.  Search this

Schick (Firm)  Search this

Scott Paper Company  Search this

Seagram Company  Search this

Collector:

Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive  Search this

Extent:

3.5 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Slides

Sketches

Transparencies

Press releases

Correspondence

Photographs

Media lists

Blueprints

Drawings

Clippings

Client lists

Date:

1951-1984

Scope and Contents:

Background and biographical information consists of Nesbitt's resume, an artist/designer statement, list of clients and accomplishments of Nesbitt Associates, Ltd., press releases, articles, and photographs of the designer.,The materials in this collection document Nesbitt's work from 1951 through 1984.

The records of the office of public relations cover the years 1955-1963 and include press releases and clippings describing some Nesbitt's products, his theories on consumer motivation, and the results of his surveys, as well as correspondence with members of the press. General office correspondence is boxed separately.

Color slides, color and black & white transparencies, and black & white photographs of most of Nesbitt's designs for packaging from 1951-1981 are included. Oversized materials include books jackets and booklets designed by Nesbitt, as well as some renderings for packaging designs done in color.

Three samples of fitted presentation boxes designed by Nesbitt are included, as well as a prototype for a design award for Parsons School of Design in New York, and two "Multiplication" cubes commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Arrangement:

This collection has been reboxed in archivally-sound containers, but the materials have only been partially processed and arranged. Record groups include: 1) Backgound and Biographical Information; 2) Records of the Public Relations Office, 1955-1963; 3) Correspondence; 4) Slides, Transparencies, and Photographs; 5) Oversized Materials; and 6) Samples.

Biographical / Historical:

Packaging, industrial, and graphic designer. Born in New York City, August 10, 1920. Nesbitt was a student of sculptor Chaim Gross and studied art at many New York institutions including: Art Students League; New York University; Columbia University; Pratt Institute of Art; and the New School.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945 where he worked as a cartographer and as the head of the visual aid section in a military intelligence training center. In 1945, he joined the staff of Harper's Bazaar magazine where he was an illustrator assisting art director Alexey Brodovich. In 1946, Nesbitt was hired by the industrial design studio of Raymond Loewy as a handletterer and packaging designer.

He worked with Lippincott Industrial Design from 1948 to 1951. Nesbitt opened his own design studio, Nesbitt Associates, Ltd. in 1951. The firm specialized in package design, trademarks, and corporate identities. Some of his most recognizable designs were for the label for Campbell's Soup and the Florists' Telegraph Delivery (F.T.D.) Winged Mercury 'Interflora' figure, still used today. Nesbitt's other clients included: Franco American; Revlon; Ballantine Beer; Borden; Champion spark plugs; Kodak; Philip Morris cigarettes; Schick razors; and Archway cookies. In addition, Nesbitt developed the "Karry Kit" for Ballantine Beer which came to be widely used and known as the six pack.

Nesbitt was known for his revealing studies and surveys of the buying needs and preferences of the "average American housewife" and consumers in general. His opinions on what he referred to as "underpackaging" were widely publicized in professional magazines and journals. In 1984, Nesbitt retired from the design field and went to California to resume his career as a sculptor until his death in 1993.

Provenance:

Collection donated by the designer's wife, Mrs. Saul Nesbitt, in 1994.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. 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.

Occupation:

Industrial designers  Search this

Packaging designers  Search this

Graphic designers  Search this

Topic:

Consumers -- Research  Search this

Consumers' preferences -- United States  Search this

Housewives as consumers  Search this

Labels -- Design  Search this

Corporate image -- Design  Search this

Logos (Symbols) -- Design  Search this

Graphic arts -- United States  Search this

Design, Industrial -- United States  Search this

Packaging -- Design  Search this

Genre/Form:

Slides

Sketches

Transparencies

Press releases

Correspondence

Photographs -- 20th century

Media lists

Blueprints

Drawings

Clippings

Client lists

Citation:

Saul Nesbitt Papers, 1951-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1275

See more items in:

Saul Nesbitt Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1275

Creator:

Robins, Seymour, 1913-2011  Search this

Names:

AT & T (Firm)  Search this

Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive  Search this

Creative playthings, Inc.  Search this

Diamond International Corporation  Search this

Genesco, Inc.  Search this

Kimberly-Clark Corporation  Search this

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Mohawk Paper Mills (Cohoes, N.Y.)  Search this

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this

Neenah Paper (Firm)  Search this

Philadelphia Museum of Art  Search this

Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Extent:

0.5 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Trade catalogs

Date:

1962 - 1992

Scope and Contents:

Materials consist of project catalogs for Mohawk Paper Mills and Neenah Paper, a division of Kimberly-Clark. The collection documents Robins' work as a graphic and industrial designer.

Biographical / Historical:

Seymour Robins is a graphic and industrial designer.,Born in Canada, he has lived most of his life in New York City and had his design practice there. Although locking together slotted pieces of paper has been done for many years, in the two decades that Robins has been designing these shapes that become forms when opened, he has developed them into a unique art form in itself. Robins' interlocking paper sculptures have been called "magic". He has had successful design assignments for AT&T, Diamond International Corporation, Genesco, Mohawk Paper Mills, Neenah Paper, Creative Playthings, and a host of other names in American industry. Robins designed the complex and precise Armillary Sphere for the Smithsonian, and has done paper sculptures for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Whitney Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Philadelphia Museum, and others. Over the years his demands and guidance for perfection in production have forced graphic arts suppliers into innovative improvements that have raised the level of die-makers' and the die-cutters' crafts. His work appears regularly in international design journals and is in the permanent collection at the Cooper-Hewitt Archives. He now lives and works in Sheffield, Massachusetts, in a barn he has converted into a studio and home.

Provenance:

All materials were donated by Mr. Robins in 1992. Transferred to the Archives Center in 2012.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. 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.

Occupation:

Industrial designers -- United States  Search this

Topic:

Design, Industrial -- Sources -- History -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Graphic arts -- Sources -- History -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Genre/Form:

Trade catalogs

Citation:

Seymour Robins Papers, 1962-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1270

See more items in:

Seymour Robins collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1270

Creator:

Bach, Alfons, 1904-1999  Search this

Names:

Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company  Search this

Callaway Mills  Search this

Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive  Search this

General Electric Company  Search this

Heywood-Wakefield Company  Search this

Palm Trail Plaza  Search this

Philco Corporation  Search this

Ridgeway Center  Search this

Sach's New York  Search this

Seneca Textile Building  Search this

Extent:

6 Cubic feet (5 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Slides

Clippings

Aerial photographs

Sketches

Photographs

Plans

Proposals

Exhibition catalogs

Writings

Speeches

Awards

Scrapbooks

Certificates

Date:

1934 - 1992

Scope and Contents:

Biographical files cover the period from 1938-1989 and include resumes, clippings, correspondence, certificates, awards, speeches, brochures for exhibitions, and artwork. Project files cover the period from 1934-1961 and contain clippings, catalogs, brochures, and scrapbooks. This collection documents Bach's work as an industrial designer, architect, and painter from 1934-1992.

The files on the Ridgeway Center mall are particularly extensive. Photographs cover the period from 1937-1961 and document Bach's design projects, particularly the Ridgeway Center, his house in Stamford, and the Miami and New York offices of Callaway Mills. Portraits of Bach and his family are included as well. Glass lantern slides document of seven of Bach's interior and exterior design projects. Also included are several signed and numbered prints of Bach's watercolor scenes of the Riviera.

Arrangement:

Materials are arranged chronologically within four series.

Series 1: Biographical files, 1938-1989

Series 2: Project files, 1934-1961

Series 3: Photogaphs, 1937-1961

Series 4: Glass Slides

Biographical / Historical:

Industrial designer, architect, and painter. Born in Germany, 1904. Bach studied film directing and design in Europe. He turned to industrial design upon immigrating to the United States in 1926. His design work from 1932-53 include a Philco radio, furniture for Heywood-Wakefield, carpets for Bigelow-Sanford, and appliances for General Electric. Bach designed and built his own home in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1938.

In the late 1940s, he developed a plan for one of the first shopping malls in America, the Ridgeway Center of Stamford. He remodeled the interior and exterior of Sach's furniture store, 1948-49, and redesigned the Seneca Textile Building on 34th Street in Manhattan in 1952. Bach moved to Florida in 1959, where he designed the Palm Trail Plaza, a marina apartment complex in Delray Beach, completed in 1961. In addition, Bach was also a noted painter. His watercolors were featured in numerous exhibitions in the United States and Europe.

Related Archival Materials:

431 drawings of designs for furniture, textiles, lamps, pianos, clocks, appliances, and retail, office, and home interiors.,Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Drawings and Prints Department.

Provenance:

All materials were donated by Alfons Bach in 1993.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. 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.

Occupation:

Industrial designers -- United States  Search this

Architects -- United States  Search this

Topic:

Design, Industrial -- United States  Search this

Display of merchandise  Search this

Furniture design -- United States  Search this

Radio -- Receivers and reception  Search this

Carpets -- United States  Search this

Interior decoration -- United States  Search this

Architecture -- Designs and plans  Search this

Shopping malls -- United States  Search this

Watercolor painting -- United States  Search this

Apartment houses  Search this

Genre/Form:

Slides

Clippings

Aerial Photographs

Sketches

Photographs -- 20th century

Plans

Proposals

Exhibition catalogs

Writings

Speeches

Awards

Scrapbooks

Certificates

Citation:

Alfons Bach Papers, 1934-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1272

See more items in:

Alfons Bach Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1272

Creator:

Winfield, Armand G.  Search this

Names:

Affordable House (Norwich, Conn.)  Search this

California. Department of Industrial Relations. Committee on Attitude Response and Evaluation  Search this

Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive  Search this

New Mexico. Corrections Dept.  Search this

New York World's Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Society of Plastics Engineers  Search this

United Nations Industrial Development Organization  Search this

Winfield Fine Art in Jewelry (Firm)  Search this

Extent:

18 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Correspondence

Stage designs

Sketches

Blueprints

Drawings

Builder's models

Design patents

Place:

Midland (Tex.)

Scott Air Force Base (Ill.)

Date:

1960 - 1980

Scope and Contents:

The eleven boxes contain documentation relating to project files including business correspondence, invoices, sketches, contracts and agreements, research materials, brochures, photographs, slides and models.

This collection, which includes some biographical material and which is specifically related to the design process and to the use of plastics, is interesting because it sufficiently covers the work of this inventor and experimenter. This collection includes Winfield's work in plastics in conjunction with architecture, building and design.

Biographical / Historical:

Armand G. Winfield, pioneering plastics researcher and consultant. Throughout the past fifty-six years Winfield has done extensive research and development in the areas of plastics in architecture and building, art, museum work, industry (applications engineering), and low cost housing for developing countries. In addition, he has worked in the entertainment field on the application of plastics for stage sets and amusement parks. His career is documented in over 300 published articles, chapters and books on plastics and other subjects, almost 90 of which are concerned with plastics in building and architecture.

Armand G. Winfield has been involved professionally in the plastics and business fields since 1939. He graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in 1941 and did graduate work at the University of New Mexico, the State University of Iowa and at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. He began his career in museum work using synthetic lattices and acrylics for the preservation of specimens. His interest shifted to the plastics materials in the mid-1940s, and he invented the first mass-producible process for embedding specimens in acrylics. As a principal in Winfield Fine Art in Jewelry in New York City, he conducted precursory work for the electronics encapsulation field and pioneered biological, medical and art embedments in the United States.

Professor Winfield has been on the teaching faculties of Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa. (Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship: 1939-1941); Harris Teachers' College (1950) and Washington University School of Engineering (1956) in St. Louis, Mo.; Yale University Art School (1960-1961) in New Haven, Conn.; Pratt Institute Industrial Design Department (1964-1970) in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Visiting Critic in Architecture (Plastics), The College of the City of New York (1968-1969), New York, N.Y.; Adjunct Professor of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell (1978-1981), Lowell, Mass.; and Research Professor Mechanical Engineering (Plastics), the University of New Mexico (Appointed 1993), Albuquerque, N.M. He has also been an invited lecture at over 40 other colleges and universities in the United States and abroad.

Provenance:

All materials were donated to the museum by Armand G. Winfield in 1992. Transferred to the Archives Center in 2012.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. 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.

Occupation:

Industrial designers -- United States  Search this

Plastics designers -- United States  Search this

Topic:

Plastics in building  Search this

Plastics industry and trade -- Sources -- History -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Plastics as art material  Search this

Plastics -- Research  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Correspondence

Stage designs

Sketches

Blueprints

Drawings

Builder's models

Design patents

Citation:

Armand G. Winfield Papers, 1960-1980, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1271

See more items in:

Armand G. Winfield Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1271

Collection Creator:

Plastics Pioneers Association  Search this

Container:

Box 1, Disk Reference CD 1

Type:

Archival materials

Audio

Scope and Contents:

Bakelite Company, vice president in charge of advertising and public relations -applications of plastics, radio industry, 1932 symposium on industrial design

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Copyright status unknown. No releases exist. Collecion items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply.

Collection Citation:

[Plastic Pioneers Association Interviews, September 18-20, 1968], Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Tape number x.

See more items in:

Plastic Pioneers Association Interviews

Plastic Pioneers Association Interviews / Plastic Pioneer Association Interviews - Reel 1, Side 1

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1235-ref29

Creator:

Hollander, Bernard  Search this

Bernhard, Lucian  Search this

Extent:

0.6 Cubic feet (1 box, 3 rolled items)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Posters

Design drawings

Advertisements

Articles

Date:

1920s-2000

Summary:

This collection documents Bernhard's career as an REM advertisement artist in the 1920s as well as his pursuit of canvas painting following his retirement. It contains REM advertisements and materials from posthumous exhibitions of Bernhard's paintings, as well as writings from Bernhard himself and researchers.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists of archival materials relating to the graphic artist and designer Lucian Bernhard, including a water color design drawing, five subway car cards advertising the cough syrup Rem, five advertising proofs for Rem, a 1956 magazine called PRODUCTIONWISE with an article about Bernhard, a folio of color reproductions advertising the sale of Bernhard's artworks, an exhibit announcement, two oversize posters, and miscellaneous printed material.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into four series.

Series 1: Exhibitions, 1999-2000

Series 2: Publications, 1956 November

Series 3: Miscellaneous, 1920-2000

Series 4: REM Cough Syrup Advertising, 1920-2000

Biographical / Historical:

Lucian Bernhard (1883-1972) was a German-American graphic artist, interior designer, industrial designer, and professor. His work in advertising art, especially his designs for Rem Cough Syrup, was highly influential and he designed several popular type fonts. Born in Germany, he moved to New York City in the early 1920s and worked prolifically in both German and American advertising. His artistic style is defined by straightforwardness, color, and simplicity. Bernhard is known as the creator of the Sachplakat poster style, which features a bold lettering style paired with a simple central image and unique, non-primary colors. This style is designed to attract the viewer's eye amidst a barrage of advertising posters. Following his career as a commercial artist, he turned to canvas painting and created works until his death in 1972.

Sources

"Lucian Bernhard." ADC • Global Awards & Club. (http://adcglobal.org/hall-of-fame/lucian-bernhard/) Last accessed on July 05, 2016.

"Plakatstil." (http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/Lecture06/Plakastil.html Last accessed on July 5, 2016

Provenance:

Collection donated by Bernard Hollander.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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:

Patent medicines  Search this

Commercial art -- 1940-1990  Search this

Graphic design  Search this

Design, Industrial  Search this

advertising  Search this

Genre/Form:

Posters

Design drawings

Advertisements

Articles

Citation:

Lucian Bernhard Advertising Art Collection, 1920s-2000, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1161

See more items in:

Lucian Bernhard Advertising Art Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1161

Collection Creator:

Gerber, H. Joseph, 1924-1996  Search this

Gerber Scientific Instrument Company (Hartford, Conn.).  Search this

Container:

Box 59, Folder 14

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

undated

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Collection Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records

Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records / Series 3: Engineering Department Records / 3.3: Dave Logan's Competitors Files

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0929-ref886

Designer:

Deskey, Donald, 1894-  Search this

Advertiser:

Procter & Gamble Company  Search this

Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Science, Medicine, and Society  Search this

Extent:

1.5 Cubic feet (3 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Packaging

Date:

1940s-1970s.

Summary:

A collection of flat-folded product packages for soap and detergent. Some of the packages were designed by industrial designer Donald Deskey.

Scope and Contents:

Collection comprises of sample packages, and signs for Proctor & Gamble products. The samples were for test marketing product names. Some of the products have the date stamped on the item. The industrial designer Donald Deskey designed a number of the packages. Most of the materials are personal care products, but there is a substantial amount of household products. Researchers interested in graphic design and the creative process of developing packaging for consumer goods will find this collection useful.

Series 1, Packaging, 1946-1980, includes sample packages for products such as soaps, shaving creams, laundry detergents, dental care, household cleansers, hair care and dish detergents. The packages are arranged first by size and then in alphabetical and chronological order.

Series 2, Signs, undated, includes two signs for Lennox and Naptha soaps. These materials are arranged in alphabetical order.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1, Packaging, 1946-1980, undated

Series 2, Signs, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Candle maker William Procter and soap maker James Gamble formed a partnership in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1837 to sell their products. Procter & Gamble is probably best known for developing Ivory Soap, but the company has also developed other products such as Ivory Flakes, Chipso (the first dishwasher soap), and Crisco. Innovations in production, distribution, market research and advertising have also contributed to the success of the Procter & Gamble Company.

Provenance:

Donated to the National Museum of American History by Procter & Gamble in 1984, along with many artifacts.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research and access on site by appointment.

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:

advertising  Search this

Soap  Search this

Genre/Form:

Packaging

Citation:

Procter & Gamble Company Product Packaging Collection, 1940s-1970s, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0836

See more items in:

Procter & Gamble Company Product Packaging Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0836