Writer, curator, and professor Benjamin Franklin March Jr. (1899-1934) studied, lectured, and wrote in the United States and in China, and through his works gained respect as one of the foremost authorities on Chinese art during the 1920s and 1930s. His papers, dating from 1923 to 1934, document his professional and personal life in the United States and in China and include lecture notes and outlines; research notes; diaries; scrapbooks; and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Benjamin March Papers span the years 1923 to 1934 and measure 15 linear feet. The collection includes: biographical data included in passports, obituaries, and fifty-seven condolence letters; lecture and course outlines; research notes; four diaries; one scrapbook; four illustrations including sketches for the March bookplate; fourteen photograph albums; printed matter; and 100 personal and artistic photographs.
Arrangement note:
The collection is divided into the following series:
Series 1: Biographical Information, 1927-1935
Series 2: Diaries, 1925-1934
Series 3: Writings and Research Materials, 1927-1934, undated
— Subseries 3.1: Lecture Materials
— Subseries 3.2: Research
— Subseries 3.3: Printed Matter
Series 4: Scrapbooks, 1924-1934
Series 5: Graphic Materials, 1925, 1933, undated
— Subseries 5.1: Illustrations
— Subseries 5.2: Photo Albums
— Subseries 5.3: Photographs
Biographical Information:
Biographical Sketch
1899 -- Born, Chicago, IL. Son of Benjamin Franklin and Isabel (née McNeal)
[1917?] -- Attended Lewis Institute and the YMCA College before transferring to the University of Chicago
1918-1919 -- Military service, Sergeant, Field Remount Squadron, No. 305, Army Service Corps
1922 -- Graduated from the University of Chicago (Ph.B)
1922-1923 -- Attended the Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY
1923-1925 -- Teacher of English, Latin, and Bible Studies at Hopei University; the Second Normal School; and the YMCA in Paotingfu, China
1925 June 25 -- Married Dorothy Rowe in Nanking, China
1925-1927 -- English instructor; Librarian; and Lecturer in Chinese Art, Yenching University Peiping, China
1927, summer -- Lecturer on Chinese art Columbia University
1927-1931 -- Curator of Asiatic Art Detroit Institute of Arts
1928 -- Honorary Curator of Oriental Aesthetic Art at the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1928 -- Appointed honorary curator at the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
[1929?] -- Daughter (Judith) born
1929 -- China and Japan in Our Museums, published by the American Council, Institute of Pacific Relations
1931 -- Spent six months in China under a special grant from the American Council of Learned Societies to study 13th century painter, Ch'ien Hsuan
1932 -- Curator, Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1932 -- Appointed honorary curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts
1933 -- Awarded a Freer Fellowship
1934 -- Standards of Pottery Description, published by the University of Michigan Press
1934, summer -- Organized, directed, and lectured at a summer session of the Institute of Asiatic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley
1934 December -- Died at home in Ann Arbor, Michigan after a five-week illness (heart ailment)
Far Eastern art writer, curator, and lecturer, Benjamin Franklin March Jr., was born in Chicago on July 4, 1899 to Benjamin and Isabel March. He studied, lectured, and wrote in the United States and China and through his works gained respect as one of the foremost authorities on Chinese art during the 1920s and 1930s. Although he lived only thirty-five years, Benjamin March was a respected and influential scholar of Asian art.
After high school, March attended the Lewis Institute and the YMCA College before transferring to the University of Chicago from which he graduated in 1922 (Ph.B). With thoughts of becoming a Methodist minister, March enrolled at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. At the same time, March enrolled in art classes at the Metropolitan Museum. After one year at the seminary, March was presented with and accepted the opportunity to work in China. From 1923 to 1927, March resided in China where he taught and lectured at colleges. Initially, March taught English, Latin, and Bible Studies at Hopei University, the Second Normal School, and the YMCA. From 1925 to 1927, he worked at Yenching University in Peiping (now Peking) as an instructor in English, a librarian, and lecturer in Chinese art.
While in China, March met Dorothy Rowe, the daughter of a Methodist missionary stationed in Nanking. On June 25, 1925 the two were married. Ms. Rowe, whom March sometimes called Doré, had lived in China since infancy. The author of the children's story, "The Begging Dear," Rowe wrote children's stories with Chinese settings.
During the summer of 1927, the March's moved to the United States when Columbia University offered March an appointment as lecturer of Chinese Art. Later that year March was appointed curator of Asiatic art at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He remained at the Detroit Institute of Arts in this capacity until 1931. In 1928, March was appointed Honorary Curator of Oriental Aesthetic Art by the University of Michigan's Museum of Anthropology. The next year, Dorothy March gave birth to the couple's only child, Judith.
During this period March published extensively, including two publications, China and Japan in Our Museums, in 1929 and, Standards of Pottery Description, in 1934. In the latter, March developed a new technique for the scientific study of the materials and methods of manufacture of ancient Chinese pottery. ( Ann Arbor Daily News. -- "Death Takes Noted Curator". -- December 14, 1934)
In 1931, March received a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies. This grant allowed March the opportunity to travel to China and Europe to study the 13th century painter, Ch'ien Hsuan. In 1932, March was named a curator at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. The following year he was named a Freer Fellow. The summer of 1934 found March in Berkeley, California, organizing and directing the Institute of Asiatic Studies at the University of California. During the fall of 1934, March fell ill with a heart ailment. He was ill for five weeks before he died, at the age of 35, in December of 1934. At the time of his death, Benjamin March was survived by his wife Dorothy and their daughter, Judith.
Related Collections:
The Detroit Institute of Arts maintains administrative correspondence and files generated by Benjamin March during his tenure as curator.
The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan houses the Benjamin Franklin March drawings collection, This is a collection of drawings by March for his daughter; includes illustrated poems of Pentwater Beach, Michigan.
Provenance:
Judith March Davis, the daughter of Benjamin March, donated her father's papers to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives in 1995.
Benjamin March's daughter, Judith March Davis, donated her father's papers to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives in 1995.
Benjamin March Papers, FSA.A.1995.10. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Judith March Davis, 1995
182 Items (typed unbound pages with solid wood covers)
Container:
Box 1, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Diaries
Place:
China
Beijing (China)
China -- Description and Travel
Date:
1925-1926
Scope and Contents note:
Binding removed, 9 ½" x 6". 182 pages. First entry, 30 June 1925. Last entry, 13 March 1926. Inscribed, "The Memoirs of MA". Wood cover. In the introduction, March wrote, "Chronicles of Benjamin" had, for three years, served as a journal, notebook, and record for himself of places he visited. Said that since he's now not alone that it is fitting to rename his notes, "Memoirs of MA." (Chinese name of his family). ["Chronicles of Benjamin" may be found in Series V, subseries B, photo albums.]
Scope and Contents:
A diary typed by the young Chinese art scholar Benjamin March from June 1925 to March 1926 describing his life in China. Events include March's marriage to the author Dorothy Rowe (1898-1969) in Nanjing, their honeymoon in Hangzhou and Suzhou, and their subsequent life in Beijing. March describes hikes through scenic areas in Hangzhou and Beijing; his acquaintance with scholars such as John Calvin Ferguson and Alan Priest; attending performances by Ruth St. Denis and Mei Lanfang, and his work at Yenching University.
The Memoirs of Ma
Biographical / Historical:
East Asian art historian, curator and lecturer, Benjamin Franklin March Jr., was born in Chicago on July 4, 1899 to Benjamin and Isabel March. He studied, lectured, and wrote in the United States and China and through his works gained respect as one of the foremost authorities on Chinese art during the 1920s and 1930s. March was East Asian art lecturer at the University of Michigan, and curator of Asian art at the Detroit Institute of Art. Although he lived only thirty-five years, Benjamin March was a respected and influential scholar of Asian art.
Benjamin March Papers, FSA.A.1995.10. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Judith March Davis, 1995
The collection consists of 109 scrapbooks of newspaper clippings assembled by Julian Black, manager of Joe Louis, heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. They document Louis's career from 1935 to 1944.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 109 scrapbooks of newspaper clippings assembled by Julian Black, manager of Joe Louis, heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. They document Louis's career from 1935 to 1944. Louis became one of America's most celebrated sports figures both for his extraordinary boxing skills and for his role as a symbol of national pride, especially in his bouts with the German champion Max Schmeling. His national respect and international prominence stood in ironic contrast to the nation's legal and social practices of racial segregation.
Joe Louis's manager, Julian Black, assembled three sets of scrapbooks to document Louis's career. This collection consists of ninety-two volumes from Black's set, sixteen volumes from a similar but not identical set of scrapbooks assembled for Louis, and one oversize miscellaneous volume.
The third set of scrapbooks belonged to John W. Roxborough, Joe's manager or co-manager from 1933 to 1948. It is held by the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. This set contains ninety-four volumes covering the period 1935 to November 1941. Part of this collection has been microfilmed. Although the numbering of the volumes in each of the three sets is different it appears that each set has the same information.
The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings from throughout the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1944 and articles from Ring magazine. This collection documents Joe Louis's fights from June 25, 1935, through 1944, including championship fights from June 22, 1937, through September 29, 1941. (The Steve Ketchel fight on January 11, 1937, in Buffalo is not represented. See the scrapbook volume listing at the end of this guide.)
The scrapbooks were assembled with great care using high-quality binding and paper. The clippings are neatly mounted and show great attention to detail. All clippings are identified by the name of the paper; the day of the week and the date; and the author, artist, or photographer. Clippings include full-length articles and brief sketches, cartoons, photographs, and records and statistics of the boxers. The clippings are grouped in volumes by each of Louis's fights and then arranged chronologically.
Hundreds of major and minor newspapers throughout the United States and Canada are represented in the scrapbooks. Coverage extends from very large metropolitan dailies to small-town newspapers. Among the newspapers represented are titles as diverse as: Akron Beacon Journal; Daily Colonist, Victoria, British Columbia; Shreveport Times; Tribune Tulsa; and the Worchester Daily Telegraph.
While these scrapbooks are about the Joe Louis fights, there is a wealth of material on many other people connected with boxing in this period, including all of Joe Louis's opponents, his trainer, his managers, his promoter Mike Jacobs, and most of the sports reporters and writers of the time. Anyone of any importance connected with boxing during this period can be found in the pages of these volumes. There are also retrospective articles on earlier boxers and historical fights.
The two sets of scrapbooks in this collection are numbered separately: the Julian Black Scrapbooks, Volumes 1-92; and the Joe Louis Scrapbooks, Volumes 17-20, 52-58, 61-63, and 71 and 72. Although much of the same material is found in both sets, there are sufficient differences in content and in physical condition of the volumes. The container list indicates the relationship between the two sets. The 109th volume consists of an oversize miscellaneous scrapbook of random news clippings, 1941-1944, of later Louis matches.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series. Clippings arranged chronologically in scrapbooks, grouped in volumes.
Series 1: Julian Black Volumes, 1935-1941
Series 2: Joe Louis Volumes, 1936-1940
Biographical note:
Joe Louis Barrow, the seventh child of Monroe and Lily Barrow, was born May 13, 1914 in a cabin in the cotton fields of Lexington, Alabama. While Joe was still a young boy, his father suffered a mental breakdown and later died in the Searcy State Hospital near mobile, Alabama. His mother later married Pat Brooks, a widower with many children of his own, and the combined family moved to Detroit when Joe was ten.
After an introduction to boxing and lessons by his friend Thurston McKinney, Joe tried his luck at competition. The Brewster East Side Gymnasium became a second home for him. At sixteen he entered his first amateur tournament.
Joe Louis was an outstanding amateur. He lost only four decisions in fifty-four fights, and forty-one of his wins were by a knockout. Joe fought his last amateur fight on April 13, 1934, in St. Louis.
John Roxborough had encouraged Louis as an amateur and became his manager when Joe turned pro. Roxborough hired Jack Blackburn, a boxer himself, to coach and train the young Joe Louis. At this time Roxborough also teamed up with Julian Black of Chicago in a business venture that carried over into the management of Joe Louis.
Joe's professional debut took place in Bacon's Arena in Chicago on July 4, 1934. He decisively defeated Jack Kracken for a fifty-dollar purse. Only four of his first twenty-seven foes lasted all fifteen rounds.
As Joe Louis worked his way up the ladder as a contender for the heavyweight championship he acquired the nickname the "Brown Bomber." On May 14, 1935, one day after his twenty-first birthday, the young pugilist signed a ten-year contract with Julian Black. The contract stipulated that fifty percent of Joe Louis's gross earnings from boxing contests, exhibitions, movies, and radio would go to Julian Black. Jack Blackburn, the trainer, was paid from Joe's portion of the money. John Roxborough, the other manager, claimed "to have a contract for twenty-five percent of Louis's gross earnings for an indefinite period."
The newly organized 20th Century Sporting Club, with Mike Jacobs as promoter, operated in competition with Madison Square Garden. The club signed the promising young boxer to an exclusive contract. Joe's first appearance in a New York ring took place at Yankee Stadium on June 25, 1935, against Primo Carnera. Joe KO'd Carnera in the sixth round. On September 24, 1935, also at Yankee Stadium, Joe knocked out Max Baer in the fourth round.
After winning twenty-seven straight fights, including twenty-three KO's, Louis was the heir apparent to James J. Braddock's heavyweight title. On June 19, 1936 he battled max Schmeling, the former champ who was considered washed up. Schmeling surprised everyone by punishing and then finishing Louis off with a twelfth-round knockout.
A year later, in his thirty-sixth professional fight, Joe Louis won the heavyweight crown at twenty three years of age by defeating Jim Braddock in Chicago in eight rounds. Braddock fought Louis to avoid a fight with Max Schmeling and the possible loss of the title to a German. Braddock, however, insisted on a percentage of Louis's future purses. It is generally believed he received ten percent of all Joe's earnings over a period of fifteen years.
After defeating two easy opponents, Louis met max Schmeling in a dramatic rematch on June 22, 1938. Like Jesse Owens in the Berlin Olympic Games, Louis symbolized American democracy versus an increasingly menacing Nazi Germany. The irony of a black hero representing a racially segregated society in a symbolic battle between freedom and oppression was not lost on all Americans and, although Louis himself was not a political activist, his example added fuel to the movement for racial equality and civil rights. Louis defeated Schmeling in two minutes and four seconds of the first round.
In the following years promoter Jacobs searched for opponents for Louis. After defeating five former champions - Carnera, Baer, Sharkey, Braddock, and Schmeling-the pickings were slim. on January 25, 1939, Joe "squared-off" with the first Black to fight him professionally -- John Henry Lewis (great-great nephew of Tom Molineaux, the first of America's Black heavyweight champions). Lewis was the light-heavyweight champion of the world and a natural 175 "pounder." He and Joe were close personal friends outside of the ring. Nevertheless, Joe totally outclassed Lewis in the ring.
Joe Louis defended his title twenty times before World War II interrupted his career. He was eventually classified 1-A and inducted into the Army. During the winter of 1941-1942 he staged bouts for the Navy and Army. The service relief fund received $75,000 from the purse of each fight. While in the service the Brown Bomber traveled extensively, giving boxing exhibitions and refereeing bouts. For his service on behalf of the armed forces, he received a citation from the United States government.
Louis retired an undefeated champion March 1, 1949. He came out of retirement and lost a fifteen-round decision to Ezzard Charles on September 27, 1950 at Yankee Stadium. He won eight more fights from the end of 1950 until the fall of 1951. However, on October 26, 1951, Louis lost by a knockout in the eighth round to Rocky Marciano. He retired for good after this comeback attempt. For many years after he retired, Joe had income tax problems and other financial problem. He also underwent a brief stay in a Denver psychiatric hospital. Joe Louis died in 1981.
Joe Louis Heavyweight Championship Fights, 1937-1950:
1937 June 22 -- Joe Louis knocked out James J. Braddock, 8 rounds, Chicago.
1937 August 30 -- Joe Louis defeated TOUT Farr, 15 rounds, decision, New York City.
1937 August 30 -- Joe Louis defeated TOUT Farr, 15 rounds, decision, New York City.
1938 February 23 -- Joe Louis knocked Out Nathan Mann, 3 rounds, New York City.
1938 April 1 -- Joe Louis knocked out Harry Thomas, 5 rounds, New York city.
1938 June 22 -- Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling, one round,, New York City.
1939 January 25 -- Joe Louis knocked out John H. Lewis, one round, New York City.
1939 April 17 -- Joe Louis knocked out Jack Roper, one round, Los Angeles.
1939 June 28 -- Joe Louis knocked out Tony Galento, 4 rounds, New York city.
1939 September 30 -- Joe Louis knocked out Bob Pastor, 11 rounds, Detroit, Michigan.
1940 February 9 -- Joe Louis defeated Arturo Godoy, 15 rounds,decision, New York City.
1940 March 29 -- Joe Louis knocked out John Paychek, 2 rounds, New York city.
1940 June 20 -- Joe Louis knocked out Arturo Godoy, 8 rounds, New York city.
1940 Decenber 16 -- Joe Louis knocked out Al McCoy, 6 rounds, Boston.
1941 January 31 -- Joe Louis knocked Out Red Burman, 5 rounds, New York city.
1941 February 17 -- Joe Louis knocked out Gus Dorazio, 2 rounds, Philadelphia.
1941 March 21 -- Joe Louis knocked out Abe Simon, 13 rounds, Detroit, Michigan.
1941 April 8 -- Joe Louis knocked out Tony musto, 9 rounds, St. Louis, Misssouri.
1941 May 23 -- Joe Louis beat Buddy Baer, 7 rounds, Washington, D.C., on a disqualification.
1941 June 18 -- Joe Louis knocked out Billy Conn, 13 rounds, New York city.
1941 September 29 -- Joe Louis knocked out Lou Nova, 6 rounds, New York city.
1942 January 9 -- Joe Louis knocked out Buddy Baer, one round,, New York City.
1942 March 27 -- Joe Louis knocked out Abe Simon, 6 rounds, New York city.
1946 June 19 -- Joe Louis knocked out Billy Conn, 8 rounds, New York city.
1946 September 13 -- Joe Louis knocked out Tami Mauriello, one round, New York City.
1947 December 5 -- Joe Louis defeated Joe Walcott in a 15-round bout by a split decision, New York city.
1948 June 25 -- Joe Louis knocked out Joe Walcott 11 rounds, New York city.
1950 September 27 -- Ezzard Charles defeated Joe Louis in latter's attempted comeback, 15 rounds, New York City.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Mrs. Julian Black in two installments to the Division of Community Life (now the Division of Home and Community Life), National Museum of American History: twenty-two volumes in 1976 and eighty-seven volumes in 1977.
Restrictions:
Due to fragility of the scrapbook volumes, researchers must use the microfiche version located in the Smithsonian Libraries, American History branch. Request call number mfc 000887. See repository for more details.
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.
1 Photograph album (Bound album with 21 gelatin silver prints with hand-written captions. One photograph is hand-tinted., Accordian album)
Type:
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Place:
Japan
Japan -- Description and Travel
Date:
Undated
Scope and Contents:
A large-format album of photographs of Benjamin March's travels in Japan in 1923, 1925 and 1931.
Biographical / Historical:
East Asian art historian, curator and lecturer, Benjamin Franklin March Jr., was born in Chicago on July 4, 1899 to Benjamin and Isabel March. He studied, lectured, and wrote in the United States and China and through his works gained respect as one of the foremost authorities on Chinese art during the 1920s and 1930s. March was East Asian art lecturer at the University of Michigan, and curator of Asian art at the Detroit Institute of Art. Although he lived only thirty-five years, Benjamin March was a respected and influential scholar of Asian art.
Benjamin March Papers, FSA.A.1995.10. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Judith March Davis, 1995
1 Photograph album (with 68 gelatin silver prints mounted on pages, some with typed captions)
Container:
Box 9, Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Place:
China
Beijing (China)
Date:
1925-1926
Scope and Contents note:
"Benjamin March". 6 ½" x 9 ½", cloth covered, binding removed. 68 photographs, black and white, affixed to pages. Some captioned and dated. Depicted: Dorothy March; March residence; Benjamin March.
Scope and Contents:
Album of photographs, mostly in Beijing taken by Benjamin March of the Marchs' home, with Dorothy and their dogs.
East Asian art historian, curator and lecturer, Benjamin Franklin March Jr., was born in Chicago on July 4, 1899 to Benjamin and Isabel March. He studied, lectured, and wrote in the United States and China and through his works gained respect as one of the foremost authorities on Chinese art during the 1920s and 1930s. March was East Asian art lecturer at the University of Michigan, and curator of Asian art at the Detroit Institute of Art. Although he lived only thirty-five years, Benjamin March was a respected and influential scholar of Asian art.
Benjamin March Papers, FSA.A.1995.10. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Judith March Davis, 1995
1 Photograph album (Bound album with 20 mounted gelatin silver prints with hand printed captions. Two photographs are hand-tinted., Accordian album)
Container:
Box 12, Folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Place:
China
China -- Description and Travel
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents note:
Cloth covered. 10" x 12". 20 photographs, black and white, 2 hand colored, affixed to pages. Captioned. Depicted: Lintsing Pagoda; Tsinanfu, Lung Tang; Peking; Temple of Heaven; Great Wall of China; Ta Ch'ing River; Paotingfu; T'ang Shan; Kaoyang; New Year's morning in the Tung Yueh Miao.
Scope and Contents:
Large format photographic prints by Benjamin March of scenes of China, mostly around Beijing and Baoding. Also includes a photographic reproduction of a painting by Qiu Ying.
未注日期的相册，照片20张。中国内地遊行記念
Photo album
Biographical / Historical:
East Asian art historian, curator and lecturer, Benjamin Franklin March Jr., was born in Chicago on July 4, 1899 to Benjamin and Isabel March. He studied, lectured, and wrote in the United States and China and through his works gained respect as one of the foremost authorities on Chinese art during the 1920s and 1930s. March was East Asian art lecturer at the University of Michigan, and curator of Asian art at the Detroit Institute of Art. Although he lived only thirty-five years, Benjamin March was a respected and influential scholar of Asian art.
Benjamin March Papers, FSA.A.1995.10. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Judith March Davis, 1995
The Museum of Contemporary Art Interviews measure 8 linear feet and contain video interviews with 35 artists, curators, and an art collector, conducted by the staff of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago between 1979 and 1986, on 107 U-Matic videocassettes.
Scope and Contents:
The Museum of Contemporary Art Interviews measure 8 linear feet and contain video interviews with 35 artists, curators, and an art collector, conducted by the staff of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago between 1979 and 1986, on 107 U-Matic videocassettes.
The first set of interviews are with contemporary artists who had solo exhibitions at the museum between 1979 and 1985, including Chuck Close, Roger Brown, Eric Fischl, Peter and Ritzi Jacobi, Steve Keister, Sol Le Witt, and collector Dennis Adrian, whose Chicago art collection was exhibited in 1982. The remainder of the series contains four sets of interviews and other footage relating to exhibitions and programming, including the 1979 exhibition Wall Painting - Ryman, Hafif, Pozzi, Jackson, Yasuda; the 1981 exhibition Kick out the jams: Detroit's Cass Corridor 1963-1977; and the 1983 exhibition and educational program Eleven Chicago Artists, created with Chicago's N.A.M.E. gallery, which traveled to area high schools featuring short video documentaries about each artist that were created from the footage on the tapes in this collection. The last set includes interviews with architects Dirk Lohan and George Danforth and historian Franz Schulze, created for the 1986 program "Mies van der Rohe Remembered," celebrating the centennial of the architect's birth.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged as one series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Interviews with Artists, Collectors, and Curators (Boxes 1-8)
Biographical / Historical:
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago was founded in 1967 with Jan van der Marck as its first Director. The period from 1979 to 1986, represented in the videorecordings in this collection, was a period of physical expansion for the Museum, as well as a period when audiovisual components of artworks and exhibition design were increasingly incorporated into exhibitions and other programming. In 1979, a physical expansion of the museum begun in 1977 was unveiled with the opening of four new galleries, signaling an increased capacity for showing local and emerging contemporary artists and engaging the community.
The museum's education department began using video to create a rich record of solo and group exhibitions mounted at the museum, and created short video programs to reach out to new audiences. For their 1979 Wall Paintings exhibition, artists were interviewed while making their work in the museum, creating a visual record of the ephemeral works on display and the process of their creation. Video interviews with Detroit artists were created in preparation for a 1981 exhibition showing contemporary artists in the Cass Corridor community of that city. In 1983, Museum staff collaborated with Chicago's N.A.M.E. gallery to create the traveling exhibition Eleven Chicago Artists, which combined artwork with video documentaries showing artists at work and talking about their creative process. The exhibition traveled to city and suburban schools around Chicago. And on the centenary of the birth of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1986, interviews were conducted with Mies' grandson, Dirk Lohan, also an architect, as well as architectural historians George Danforth and Franz Schulze.
Provenance:
Donated 1986 by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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:
Artists -- United States -- Interviews Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews Search this
Museum of Contemporary Art interviews, 1979-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
The collection documents Parke, Davis and Company, one of the largest and oldest pharmaceutical firms in America.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Parke, Davis and Company, one of America's oldest and largest drug makers. Parke, Davis had the first research laboratory in the American pharmaceutical industry. The company played a major role in the development of some of the principle new drugs of the twentieth century and pioneered the field of drug standardization. They were one of the first American firms to produce antitoxins, hormones, and other biologicals. They introduced new and important drugs such as adrenalin, dilantin, chlorenpleniol, and other antibiotics. They also did important research on vitamins, disinfectants, and pencillin.
The collection contains complete documentaion of all the research activities done, including research laboratory notes, correspondence, and published papers. The collection also contains corporate, financial, advertising and sales materials, photographs, and audiovisual materials. The collection is important for those researchers interested in the history of public health, the history of biologicals, pharmaceutical manufacturing and business history.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into 13 series.
Series 1: Corporate Materials, 1887-1951
Series 2: Financial Materials, 1880-1970
Series 3: Employee/Personnel Materials, 1900-1989
Series 4: Advertising/Sales Materials, 1868-1980
Series 5: Photographs, 1866-1992
Series 6: Notebooks, 1908-1968
Series 7: Control Department Records, 1884-1931
Series 8: Formulas, 1882-1967
Series 9: Equipment Data Files, 1922-1978
Series 10: Publications, 1968-1988
Series 11: Research Materials, 1920-1978
Series 12: Drawings, 1911-1971
Series 13: Addenda, 1867-1970
Series 14: Audio Materials, 1956-1957
Historical:
Parke, Davis and Company traces it's origins to Samuel Pearce Duffield (1833-1916), a physician and pharmacist. Duffield was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and his family moved to Detroit when he was an infant. Duffield graduated from the University of Michigan in 1854 and he attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, latter leaving for Germany where he studied chemistry and sought treatment for his eyesight. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy from Ludwig University at Giessen in Germany. Duffield returned to Detroit in 1858 and established a retail drugstore with a strong interest in manufacturing pharmaceuticals. Duffield sought financial partners for his retail and manufacturing venture with A.L. Patrick and Francis C. Conant. Both men retracted their investments and Duffield met Hervey Coke Parke (1927-1899), a native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Duffield and Parke formed a formal partnership in 1866. George S. Davis, a third partner and traveling salesman previously with Farrand, Sheley and Company, was added 1867. Augustus F. Jennings joined the company as a partner to head manufacturing. The company became known as Duffield, Parke, Davis, & Jennings Company. Duffield withdrew in 1869 and the name Parke, Davis & Company was adopted in 1871. The company incorporated in 1875 and began planning world-wide scientific expeditions to discover new vegetable drugs such as Guarana, Bearsfoot, Eucalyptus Globulus, and Coca. The company first showed a profit in 1876, and the first dividend paid to shareholders in 1878 and dividends paid until mid-1960s. Research was a major activity of the company.
In 1907, Parke, Davis and Company bought 340 acres in northeast Avon Township, Michigan, and called it Parkedale Farm. The farm was dedicated on October 8, 1908, and included sterilization rooms and a vaccine propagating building. By 1909 the farm included 200 horses, 25 to 50 cattle, 150 sheep, and employed 20 men. The horses produced the antitoxin for diphtheria and tetanus, the cattle produced a vaccine for smallpox preventatives, and the sheep made serum. Only the healthiest animals were used and all were well cared for. Exotic plants were also grown on the site and used for drugs. Parke-Davis' chief products were antitoxins and vaccines as well as farm crops for feeding the animals. The farm continued to produce vaccines for diphtheria, scarlet fever, tetanus, smallpox, anthrax, and in the 1950s, the Salk polio vaccine.
Due to a weakening financial position, the company became susceptible to take-over, and was purchased by Warner-Lambert in 1970. Warner Lambert, was then acquired by Pfizer in 2000. In 2007, Pfizer closed its research facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Source
Rochester Hills Museum at Voon Hoosen Farm (last accessed on September 29, 2021 https://www.rochesterhills.org/Museum/LocalHistory/ParkeDavisFarm.pdf)
Parke, Davis and Company. Parke-Davis At 100...progress in the past...promise for the future. Detroit, Michigan, 1966.
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Materials at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collection
Trade catalogs related to Parke, Davis & Co.; Warner-Lambert; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals; and Pfizer, Inc.
Materials at Other Organizations
Detroit Public Library, Special Collections
Parke, Davis & Company records, 1892-1959
Scrapbook of clippings, 1929-44; Excursions & Announcements, 1892-1902; and company newsletters.
University of California San Francisco
Drug Industry Documents was created by the University of California San Francisco Library in collaboration with faculty members C. Seth Landefeld, MD and Michael Steinman, MD. Originally established to house documents from an off-label marketing lawsuit against Parke-Davis (United States of America ex rel. David Franklin vs. Parke-Davis), the archive has grown to include documents from additional sources illustrating how the pharmaceutical industry, academic journals and institutions, continuing medical education organizations and regulatory/funding agencies operate in ways that are detrimental to public health.
Separated Materials:
Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History
The division holds objects related to Parke, Davis that primarily include containers (boxes and glass bottles) that held phamrmaceuticals, biologicals (vaccines), crude drugs, and herb packages. See accessions: 1978.0882; 1982.0043; 1982.0043; 1984.0351; 1985.0475; 1988.3152; 1991.0415; 1992.3127; 2001.3066; 2012.0165; and 2018.5001.
Provenance:
The initial collection of approximately 185 cubic feet was donated by the Warner-Lambert Company, through Jerry A. Weisbach, Vice-President and President of the Pharmaceutical Research Division, on February 3, 1982.
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.
Letters dated between 1917 and 1919, mostly discussing the offer of Chinese art objects by the Shanghai based dealer Seaouke Yue (You Xiaoxi)
游篠溪
Freer collection numbers: F1904.61
Letters between Charles Lang Freer and Seaouke Yue (You Xiaoxi)
Arrangement:
Organized chronologically under correspondent.
Biographical / Historical:
Charels Lang Freer first met Yue in 1917. Yue had travelled to New York with items from the collection of Pang Yuanji, an important Shanghai collector who met Freer in 1911. Over the next two years, Freer purchased a number of important works of Chinese painting, jades, pottery and bronzes from Yue.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.01 02.1Yue
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
