The papers of New York City Asian American artist Ching Ho Cheng measure 6.8 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2014, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1970-1989. The collection documents Cheng's art career and life through biographical material, correspondence, personal business and estate records, printed material, a scrapbook, photographic material, artwork, sketchbooks, and artifacts.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York City Asian American artist Ching Ho Cheng measure 6.8 linear feet and date from circa 1950 to 2014, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1970-1989. The collection documents Cheng's art career and life through biographical material, correspondence, personal business and estate records, printed material, a scrapbook, photographic material, artwork, sketchbooks, and artifacts.
Biographical material includes artist's statements, biographical writings, lists, life and death documents, a memorial book, naturalization paperwork, and one file of collaborative poetry with David Rattray.
Correspondence includes letters and postcards from Cheng's friends, artists, and family, including Tally Brown, Ira Cohen, Gregory Millard, Vali Myers, David Rattray, and Dui Seid.
Personal business and estate records contain contracts, loan agreements, inventories, and other records documenting income and expenses.
Printed material is comprised of books, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, journals, magazines, newsletters, postcards, press releases, programs, and posters documenting Cheng's career.
One scrapbook contains clippings and reproductions of Cheng's work.
Photographic material includes photographs, negatives, and slides featuring portraits of Cheng, Gregory Millard, Tally Brown, Vali Myers, Sybao Cheng-Wilson, and others.
Artwork and fifteen sketchbooks contain drawings and sketches, mostly quick studies of geometric compositions done in pencil, ink, and colored pencil.
Artifacts include a metal box, various fabric scraps, a paintbrush, and a blue enamel mug, which is the subject of one of Cheng's paintings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1970-1990 (0.3 linear foot; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1957-2014 (2.2 linear feet; Box 1-3)
Series 3: Personal Business and Estate Records, circa 1970-2010 (0.7 linear foot; Box 3-4)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1954-2011 (1.1 linear feet; Box 4-5, 7, OV 9)
Series 5: Scrapbook, 1982-1983 (1 folder; Box 5)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1950-1990 (0.4 linear feet; Box 5, 7)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1960-1990 (1linear foot; Box 5, 8, OV 10)
Series 8: Sketchbooks, circa 1970-1990 (0.5 linear feet; Box 6, 8)
Series 9: Artifacts, circa 1970-1990 (0.6 linear feet; Box 6)
Biographical / Historical:
Ching Ho Cheng (1946-1989) was a Chinese American artist based in New York City.
Cheng was born in Cuba but spent most of life in New York City. After receiving his BFA from the Cooper Union in 1968, Cheng lived in Paris and Amsterdam, where he had his first solo exhibition in 1976. Shortly after, Cheng moved back to New York City. He became associated with the Warhol circle, and took up residence in the Chelsea Hotel, where he lived until his death in 1989.
Working in the pop psychedelic style early in his career, Cheng later developed a technique of creating abstract paintings with stencils and torn paper that he treated and soaked. He was in more than fifteen exhibitions before his death, and his work has been collected posthumously by the Hirshhorn, the Whitney, and many other museums.
Provenance:
The Ching Ho Cheng papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2014 and 2016 by Sybao Cheng-Wilson, Cheng's sister and executor of the Ching Ho Cheng estate.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of artist and educator Craig Kauffman measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1946 to 1997. The collection comprises biographical materials including address books, 10 day journals, identification documents, oral history transcripts, student records, and a few writings; correspondence with Lisa Adams, Billy Al Bengston, Alan Lynch, Ed Moses, and Babe Shapiro; and correspondence between Kauffman and his family. Also found are records documenting Kauffman's professional and business activities; printed materials featuring Kauffman, his exhibitions, and artwork; and photographic materials and moving images that include portraits and snapshots of Kauffman, personal photographs, photos of travel and works of art, and 3 unidentified film reels.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist and educator Craig Kauffman measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1946 to 1997. The collection comprises biographical materials including address books, 10 day journals, identification documents, oral history transcripts, student records, and a few writings; correspondence with Lisa Adams, Billy Al Bengston, Alan Lynch, Ed Moses, and Babe Shapiro; and correspondence between Kauffman and his family. Also found are records documenting Kauffman's professional and business activities; printed materials featuring Kauffman, his exhibitions, and artwork; and photographic materials and moving images that include portraits and snapshots of Kauffman, personal photographs, photos of travel and works of art, and 3 unidentified film reels.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1950-1990 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1956-1996 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 6)
Series 3: Professional and Business Records, 1950-1996 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 2, 6)
Series 4: Printed Materials, 1946-1997 (2.2 linear feet; Boxes 2-4, 6, OV 7)
Series 5: Photographic Materials and Moving Images, circa 1940-circa 1980s (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 4-6)
Biographical / Historical:
Craig Kauffman (1932-2010) was an artist and educator in Los Angeles, California.
Kauffman was born in Los Angeles to Judge Kurtz and Margaret Kauffman. He attended the University of Southern California School of Architecture in Los Angeles before transferring to the University of California in Los Angeles where he received both his bachelor's degree in 1955 and master's degree in 1956.
After several years working from a San Francisco studio and associating with the leading Bay Area artists, he returned to Southern California where he became an original member of the legendary Ferus Gallery group that included artists John Altoon, Ed Moses, Ed Kienholz, Billy Al Benston, Robert Irwin, Larry Bell, and Ed Ruscha. The group was founded by Kienholz and Kauffman's high school friend Walter Hopps. Beginning as an abstract expressionist, Kauffman quickly became known as one of California's leading finish-fetish and, later, light and space artists because of his minimalist styled vacuum-formed wall sculptures using acrylic plastics.
Kauffman began teaching art at the University of California, Irvine in 1967 and retired in 1994. He was also an instructor at the School of Visual Art in New York. Throughout his career, Kauffman was an avid traveler and spent much of his retirement living in the Philippines while continuing to exhibit and create new works.
Kauffman died in Angeles, Philippines in 2010.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Lisa Adams letters from Craig Kauffman, 1986-1991.
Provenance:
The Craig Kauffman papers were donated 1997 by Craig Kauffman.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
This collection consists of archival materials compiled by National Museum of American History Curator Katherine Ott, on numerous subjects relating to disability and the rights of the disabled.
Scope and Contents:
The Disability Reference Collection represents a range of research materials acquired by curators Audrey Davis (1967-1996) and Katherine Ott (2002- ) and Janice Majewski (1978-2001), the first director of the Smithsonian's Accessibility Program in support of their collecting and exhibition work in the Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History.
Material includes scholarly and popular articles, advertisements, product literature, clippings, schematics, photographs, audio, video, and ephemera. Some materials were sent to Davis and Ott by members of the general public who heard about their work; others were purchased by Ott at flea markets and on e-Bay.
Combined with associated Archives Center collections and objects housed in the curatorial divisions at NMAH, this collection constitutes one of the largest and most significant sources on American disability history. It is especially strong in accessibility policy documents from the early days of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its implementation, and product trade literature of the 1980s and 1990s. The collection also has a rich selection of newsletters and magazines published for various disability sectors, such as the Toomey J Gazette on polio and Mainstream.
Each series represents a subject or type of material. Researchers should look across all series when examining a topic or type of material. For example, trade literature items for the disabled person are found not only in the dedicated series, but also in series specific to a particular disability (i.e. Blindness: Aids and Appliances). Another example is material on polio. Researchers should look in the dedicated series, but also in Series 9: Edna Hindson's Scrapbooks and Series 8: Ron Mace.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seventeen series.
Series 1: Blindness, 1945-2001
Series 2: Hearing, 1855-2009
Series 3: Polio, 1925-2008
Series 4: Universal Design, 1962-2006
Series 5: Subject Files, 1863-2008
Series 6: Americans with Disabilities Act: 1968-2015, undated
Series 7: Brody, Lee/TTY, 1941-2001
Series 8: Mace, Ron, 1950-1990
Series 9: Hindson, Edna R., 1946-1954, 1991, 2003
Series 10: Lindahl, Lisa, 1988-2002, undated
Series 11: Wheelchairs, 1853-2007
Series 12: Arizonans for Safe and Equal Access to Transportation, 1987-1992
Series 13: Printed Material, 1959-2013
Series 14: Trade Literature, 1971-2013
Series 15: Newspaper Clippings, 1973-2000
Series 16: Ephemera, 1866-2011, undated
Series 17: Audio Visual Materials, 1979-2005
Historical Note:
The Disability Reference Collection represents a range of research materials [primarily] acquired by curators Audrey Davis (1967-1996) and Katherine Ott (2002-) in support of their collecting and exhibition work in the Divison of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History (NMAH). The collection also contains material acquired by Janice Majewski (1978-2001), the first director of the Smithsonian's Accessibility Program. Additional materials have been added since the collection was transferred to the Archives Center.
Audrey Davis (1934-2006) was a NMAH curator from 1967 to 1996. Her interest and expertise in rehabilitation medicine, including prosthetics and orthotics, led to important three-dimensional collections in the Division of Medicine and Science. Davis did a series of showcases on such topics as hearing aids, artificial noses, and a large exhibition in 1973 entitled Triumph over Disability: the Development of Rehabilitation Medicine in the U.S.A., for the 50th anniversary of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. The exhibition was dedicated to Mary Elizabeth Switzer, an influential figure in the field. Katherine Ott joined the Division in 2001 as a permanent curator and broadened research to include pan-disability issues. Ott led exhibitions on the history of maxillofacial surgery (About Faces, 1998), The Disability Rights Movement (2000-2002), polio (Whatever Happened to Polio?, 2005-2006), HIV and Aids Thirty Years Ago (2011-2012); general disability history (EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America, 2013), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA25, 2015). Ott received a grant in 2000 from NMAH's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation to study the history of Universal Design; this included the collection of supporting materials.
Janice Majewski was the first director of the Smithsonian's Accessibility Program. Her tenure lasted from 1978 to 2001. She gathered background on museums and accessibility, followed current events, consulted on museum projects around the United States, and received a constant flow of product literature from vendors hoping for a Smithsonian contract. Most of the assistive technology brochures, policy papers, and gray literature on accessibility came from her office.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Kevin M. Tuohy Papers (NMAH.AC.0317)
Milton S. Wirtz, D.D.S., Artificial Eye Collection (NMAH.AC.0501)
Van Phillips Video Oral History and Papers (NMAH.AC.0859)
Safko International, Inc. Records (NMAH.AC.0911)
Hariett Green Kopp Papers (NMAH.AC.1130)
Division of Science, Medicine and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection (NMAH.AC.1134)
Collection of TTY (text telephone) equipment, business records, posters, and awards relating to telecommunications pioneer Lee Brody. TTY phones allow the deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired to use the telephone to communicate.
Gallaudet University Library Deaf Collections and Archives
The Harry G. Lang Collection on Early TTY History, 1947-1999
Collection of correspondence, news clippings, technical data, and other materials documenting the invention and first 15 years of the phone teletypewriter for the deaf.
North Carolina State University Libraries
Ronald L. Mace Papers, 1974-1998
Collection of correspondence, project reports, architectural drawings, videos, and publications.
Provenance:
The core of the collection was assembled by curators Audrey Davis (1967-1996) and Katherine Ott (2002-) in support of their collecting and exhibition work in the Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History. The collection also contains material acquired by Janice Majewski, the first director of the Smithsonian's Accessibility Program. Additional materials have been added since the collection was transferred to the Archives Center.
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.
Collection includes music manuscripts, articles and clippings, concert programs, passports, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents, mostly in photographs, the musical career of Mongo Santamaria. Other materials include music manuscripts, magazine and newspaper articles, flyers, posters, and passports.
Series 1, Photographs, circa 1950s–1990s, includes primarily black and white and some color images of Mongo Santamaria. There is a photograph of Santamaria with the first Congo he brought from Cuba to the United States. Of particular interest is Santamaria performing with Tito Puente and Cal Tjada's bands. Some of the earlier photographs document performances at the Palladium Nightclub and Apollo Theatre. There are publicity photographs of Santamaria and his band created by the recording studios. The photographs also include award ceremonies, bar scenes and concert appearances. The materials are arranged in chronological order.
Series 2, Music Manuscripts, 1958-1985; undated, includes music created by Santamaria and music performed by him but written by other composers. Escena Afro-Cubanas composed and arranged by Valerie Capers (1985), Just Say Good-by by Rodgers Grant, Mambo Olga Pachanga by Nicolas Martinez (1961) and Peace by Horace Silver are included among these materials. The materials are arranged in alphabetical order by title.
Series 3, Personal and Background Information, 1945-1996; undated, include a profile of Santamaria and other musicians written in Japanese. There are also magazine articles documenting the development of Santamaria's career and his public appearances. Articles from the Miami Herald and the Chicago Tribune are also included among the materials. Personal items consist of Santamaria's Cuban and American passports. The materials are arranged in alphabetical order by type.
Series 4, Performance Materials, 1977-1996; undated, includes the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Certificate to Mongo Santamaria and his Latin-Jazz Orchestra in recognition of nomination for the Best Tropical Latin Performance for Free Spirit, Espirito Libre, 1985. There are also flyers and an entertainment guide, some in Spanish, advertising public appearances for concert performances. A program in French for a jazz festival in Vienna includes profiles of the performers. There are posters including a black and white drawing of jazz musicians by Robert Leonard (1985) and appearances at the Miami Jazz and Heritage Festival, Apollo Theatre, Oberlin College and the Blue Note. Materials are arranged in alphabetical order by type.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 4 series.
Series 1: Photographs, circa 1950s-1990
Series 2, Music Manuscripts, 1958-1985 and undated
Series 3, Personal and Background Information, 1945-1996 and undated
Series 4, Performance Materials, 1977-1996 and undated
Biographical / Historical:
Cuban-born percussionist, composer, arranger, and bandleader.
Related Materials:
The materials in this collection complement the Latino Music Collection, Tito Puente Papers, Chico O'Farrill Papers, Dizzy Gillespie Collection and Paquito d'Rivera Music Manuscripts and Photograph.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives Center by Mongo Santamaria's daughter, Nancy Anderson.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Fees for commercial reproduction. Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark.
Abstract: Collection consists of over a century of paper dolls documenting their use as advertisements, and depictions of popular culture, fashion trends, family lifestyles, gender roles, ideal communities,and cultural heroes.
Scope and Contents:
Collection consists of paper dolls dating from the 1800s-1998. The bulk of the paper dolls, however, date from the 1900s-1970s. Due to the Grepkes' careful selection, the paper dolls are in excellent condition, most were never used or played with. In addition, most of the sets are complete, with few or no missing pieces. A sustainable amount of the collection remains in original packaging which often included the periodical or comic book in which it was published, the original box, or a folder or booklet. A substantial amount of these paper dolls was commercially produced with examples of hand-made dolls and clothing. Clothing for the dolls is mostly created from paper with examples of cloth, wood, and plastic. Hand colored commercially produced dolls and clothing also exist within the collection. Special features on the dolls could include hair, plastic eyes, photographic faces, and moveable parts.
The artwork aspect of the collection provides potential research use with illustrations by such paper doll artists as Queen Holden, who was renowned for her dolls of the 1930s, and Tom Tierney, who has depicted almost every celebrity of the 20th century in paper doll form. Originals and reproductions of Grace Gebbie Drayton's (1877-1936) Dolly Dingle paper dolls series, which appeared in the Pictorial Review from 1913-1933, are included among the materials. Drayton is well known for her creation and illustration of the "Campbell Kids." She illustrated books and other publications and designed dolls and toys. Frances Tipton Hunter, creator of the "Little Busy Bodies" who appeared in Women's Home Companion in 1922 and 1923, career spanned from the 1920s to her death in 1957. Besides the "Little Busy Bodies" her work also appeared in periodicals including the Saturday Evening Post, The Delineator, Collier's, and Ladies Home Journal.
Not just seen from the perspective of artwork or playthings the serious scholar will be able to focus on a variety of topics related to the dolls. Researchers interested in fashion, popular culture, and images of women, children, or celebrities will find this collection of great value. The collection has a large representation of movie and television stars from the 1930s through the 1950s. In addition, American notions of ideal family sizes, settings, relationships, teenage life, and leisure activities are represented in the collection. Dates of the paper dolls are most often time of publication rather than era they represent.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 14 series.
Series 1, Advertisements, circa 1800-1980, undated
Series 2, Animals, circa 1950-1995, undated
Series 3, Celebrities, circa 1930-1995, undated
Subseries 3.1, Film, circa 1930-1995, undated
Subseries 3.2, Music, circa 1950-1995, undated
Subseries 3.3, Pop Culture, circa 1950-1995, undated
Subseries 3.4, Royalty, circa 1950-1995, undated
Subseries 3.5, Stage and Theater, circa 1930-1950, undated
Subseries 3.6, Television, circa 1950-1995, undated
Series 4, Literature, circa 1920-1995, undated
Series 5, Mass Media, circa 1935-1995, undated
Subseries 5.1, Cartoons, circa 1960-1995, undated
Subseries 5.2, Comic Books, circa 1940-1995, undated
Subseries 5.3, Motion Picture Film, circa 1935-1995, undated
Subseries 5.4, Newspapers, circa 1934-1951, undated
Subseries 5.5, Radio, circa 1940-1955, undated
Subseries 5.6, Television, circa 1950-1995, undated
Series 6, Toys, circa 1890-1990, undated
Subseries 6.1, Paper Dolls, circa 1890-1980, undated
Subseries 6.2, Three Dimensional Dolls as Paper Toys, circa 1910-1990, undated
Series 7, Family, circa 1880-1990, undated
Subseries 7.1, Children, circa 1880-1980, undated
Subseries 7.2, Infants, circa 1920-1970, undated
Subseries 7.3, Family, circa 1930-1950, undated
Subseries 7.4, Teenagers, circa 1910-1990, undated
Series 8, Clothing and Fashion, circa 1890-1995, undated
Subseries 8.1, Bridal, circa 1900-1990, undated
Subseries 8.2, Clothing of the World, circa 1900-1995, undated
Subseries 8.3, Designers, circa 1950-1980, undated
Subseries 8.4, Eras and Historic, circa 1890-1995, undated
Subseries 8.5, Military, circa 1940-1950, undated
Series 9, Historical Figures and Events, circa 1950-1998, undated
Subseries 9.1, African American, circa 1990-1995, undated
Subseries 9.2, Military, circa 1970-1990, undated
Subseries 9.3, Religion, circa 1984-1998, undated
Subseries 9.4, United States Presidents, circa 1970-1995, undated
Subseries 9.5, United States History, circa 1950-1990, undated
Subseries 9.6, Women, circa 1910-1995, undated
Subseries 9.7, World Leaders, circa 1980-1990, undated
Series 10, Holidays and Celebrations, circa 1930-1990, undated
Series 11, Occupations, circa 1900-1995, undated
Series 12, Periodicals, circa 1890-1995
Subseries 12.1, Characters, circa 1900-1995
Subseries 12.2, Periodicals, circa 1890-1995
Series 13, Miscellaneous Materials, circa 1890-1995, undated
Series 14, Publications, 1978-1993
Subseries 14.1, Articles, circa 1980-1990
Subseries 14.2, Books, 1978-1993
Biographical / Historical:
Donald Eugene Grepke (September 18, 1932- April 15, 2005) and Carolyn Joan Moyer Grepke (December 10, 1937- December 19, 1995) began collecting paper dolls in the 1970s in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Donald was born and raised in Fort Wayne where he attended Elmhurst High School, worked at a grocery store filling station, and graduated in 1951. In 1955, he began working at Zollner Corporation, manufacturers of pistons for cars and trucks, and retired on disability in 1989.
Carolyn Joan Moyer was born in Pennville, Indiana. Carolyn's family moved to Fort Wayne when she was four years old and after a few years they moved to Churubusco, Indiana. They returned to Fort Wayne where Carolyn attended North Side High School and graduated in 1956. Carolyn began working at Lincoln National Life Insurance Company after high school and continued to work there until she passed away.
Donald Grepke and Carolyn Moyer married at Trinity United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana on March 2, 1957. One child, Randell Lee Grepke, was born to the union on May 5, 1958.
One of Carolyn's favorite toys as a child was paper dolls. One day while reading a publication about antiques, Donald saw an advertisement for an auction which included paper dolls in excellent condition. This began their paper doll collection. Over the next - 20-25 years, while on vacations and weekend drives, they would stop at antique shops, flea markets, and auctions in search of paper dolls. When Carolyn worked on weekends, Don would venture out by himself or with a male friend in search of paper dolls. Their collection grew to over 4,000 paper dolls.
After Carolyn passed in 1995, Don lost interest in collecting paper dolls. He pondered for about three years on what to do with the collection. He decided to donate the collection to the Smithsonian Institution in memory of his wife, where the materials would be available to the public for research and exhibition purposes.
Related Materials:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Helen Popenoe Paper Doll Collection (NMAH.AC.1156)
Elinor S. Miller Paper Doll Collection (NMAH.AC.1110)
Ming-Ju Sun Garfinckel's Fashion Drawings (NMAH.AC.0897)
Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Series 9: Domestic and Community Life (NMAH.AC.0300)
Brownie Wise Papers (NMAH.AC.0509)
Edward J. Orth Memorial Archives of the World's Fair (NMAH.AC.0560)
Division of Cultural and Community Life, National Museum of American History
Division holds a collection of paper dolls.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, by Donald Grepke in memory of his wife Carolyn Grepke in December 2000.
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.
Collection primarily documents American folk art collected by Frederick Fried (1908-1994) and his wife Mary McKensie Hill Fried (1914-1988). It includes photographic materials, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, research files, lecture notes, unpublished manuscripts, brochures, drawings, printed advertisements, blueprints, books, patents, correspondence, trade literature, sheet music, auction catalogs, oral history interviews, and commercially recorded music. Of particular interest is the material relating to carousels. There is a substantial amount of material relating to New York architecture, wood carvings, show figures, weathervanes, mechanical and coin operated machines, amusement parks, the circus, tattoos and lesser-known folk arts. The collection is arranged by subject or genre in the order maintained by Frederick and Mary Fried.
Arrangement:
Series 1, Professional Materials, 1930-1995, undated
Subseries 1.1, Lectures, 1968-1989, undated
Subseries 1.2, Research Notes, 1962-1975, undated
Subseries 1.3, Published and Unpublished Materials, 1960-1990, undated
Subseries 1.4, Exhibitions, 1966-1985, undated
Subseries 1.5, Correspondence, 1945-1995, undated
Subseries 1.6, Office Files, 1930-1991, undated
Series 2, Sculptors and Ship Carvers, 1855-1987, undated
Series 3, Ship Carving Reference Files, 1875-1990, undated
Subseries 16.2.1, Lectures and Performances, 1969-1973, undated
Subseries 16.2.2, Interviews, 1940-1976, undated
Subseries 16.2.3, Conferences and Meetings, 1973-1977
Subseries 16.2.4, Music, 1956, undated
Subseries 16.2.5, Other, undated
Subseries 16.3, Videotapes, 1982-1991, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Frederick P. Fried was born December 11, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn where his father owned a clock business across the street from Charles Carmel, a carousel carver. Fried acquired a fine-arts education in the 1930s with an emphasis on sculpture. He served with the Air Force during the Second World War. After a successful military career, Fried worked as art director in several fashion agencies. He met Mary McKenzie Hill, an academically trained artist in one of the studios.
Mary McKenzie Hill was born in 1914 in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from the Maryland Institute of Fine Arts. After graduation, she spent a year abroad studying before she returned to the United States to work as a fashion illustrator in Baltimore and New York. During World War Two Hill was a draftsman for a firm of architects.
Fried and Mary Hill married in 1949. The couple had two children Robert Hazen and Rachel. Around 1953 Fried began to collect architectural ornaments in New York. Fried served as the art director for Bonwit Teller in New York City from 1955-1962. He left the fashion world in 1962 to pursue his passion for collecting and writing full time. Fried published his first book, Pictorial History of Carousels in 1964. In 1967, Fred and Mary Fried purchased a forty-acre farm in Bristol, Vermont where the family spent their summers.
In 1968, Fried led a national campaign to preserve the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse (Seamen's Church Institute at South Street). He also became active in politics and served as the campaign manager for a New York State senator. His interest in Indian cigar store figures resulted in his publication Artists in Wood: American Carvers of Cigar Store Indians, Show Figures and Circus published in 1970. The focus of the book was Samuel Anderson Robb a New York wood carver. Fried co-founded the National Carousel Association in 1973. In 1978, Fried wrote America's Forgotten Folk Art with his wife Mary. This publication covered subjects such as carousels, banner painting, scarecrows, beach sand sculpture, tattoos, cast iron toys, amusement park architecture and trade signs.
Fried's collecting goal was to first preserve artifacts and to then make them available through his writings and exhibitions. His most treasured relics were the items he salvaged from the ruins of Coney Island. Fried referred to such artifacts as the uncelebrated arts. He became one of the founders of the Anonymous Arts Recovery Society a group of individuals who saved architectural ornaments from the wreckers' balls. In addition, he was one of the founders of the National Carousel Round Table which was created to preserve hand-carved merry-go-rounds. As a result of his collecting, research and writing Fried became recognized as the authority on carousels, coin-operated machines, and cigar store figures. He served as a consultant to many Museums; in particular as chief consultant on American Folk Art for the Smithsonian Institution.
Frederick and Mary Hill worked together in many ways to document, collect, preserve and increase the awareness about primarily the folk arts. Mary McKenzie Hill Fried passed away in 1988 at the age of seventy-four. Frederick P. Fried died July 1994 at the age of eighty-six.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
E. Howard Clock Company Records (NMAH.AC.00776)
M. Francis Misklea Carousel Collection (NMAH.AC.0665)
Archives Center Carousel Collection (NMAH.AC.0675)
Messmore and Damon, Incorporated Company Records (NMAH.AC.0846)
Anthony W. Pendergast Collection (NMAH.AC.0882)
Frank Paulin Photoprints (NMAH.AC.1373)
Wurlitzer Company Records (NMAH.AC.0469)
Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507)
Reel #191, Craftsmen of the Carousel, 1954. Manufacturing merry-go-rounds for amusement reports. Arrow Development Co., Mountain View, California.
Provenance:
Collection a bequest of the Frederick Fried Estate.
Rights:
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark. Fees for commercial reproduction.
Collection documents Andre Piette's career as an illustrator and designer. The materials include sketches, drawings, tracings, photographs (color transparencies, slides, and prints), and samples of wallpaper, designs for gift wrap, and a few textiles.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of a wide range of materials documenting Andre Piette's career as an illustrator and designer. The materials include sketches, drawings, tracings, photographs (color transparencies, slides, and prints), and samples of wallpaper, designs for gift wrap, and a few textiles. The materials are the product of the Piette's early years in the United States (1960s) as a landscape artist in New England and as an associate of Norman Rockwell and of his later work for Tiffany & Company as a freelance designer. As an employee of Tiffany, Piette designed the White House china set for Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson. Materials documenting this effort—White House China—are the largest series in the collection. Other design work includes cards, silver, parquet flooring, and china. There also are drawings and tracings not associated with specific functional products.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: White House China, 1967-1970, undated
Series 2: Other Designs, undated
Series 3: Andre Piette Scrapbook, undated
Series 4: Oversize, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Piette, artist and designer, spent his early years studying at the Academie Royale De Beaux-Arts in Liege, Belgium. He is noted for his designs of Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and wallpaper. In 1968 he was commissioned by Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson to design a set of White House state china, consisting of 2,500 pieces.
Provenance:
Donated by Sam Magdoff, Dean of Continuing Education, Parsons School of Design, July 29, 1985.
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.
The collection documents S. Newman Darby's development of the sailboard, which became known as the windsurfer through sketches, mechanical drawings, plans, patent specifications, legal documents, photographs, correspondence, notebooks, clippings, periodicals, and an 8mm film.
Scope and Contents:
The S. Newman Darby Windsurfing Collection, 1946-1998, documents the body of Newman Darby's inventive output as well as the development of the windsurfing industry. It consists of sketches, mechanical drawings, plans, patent specifications, legal documents, photographs, correspondence, notebooks, clippings, periodicals, an 8mm film and a videocassette. The collection is particularly rich in the material related to the development of the sailboard, including Darby's personal memoirs. It contains U.S. and foreign patents related to windsurfing as well as records and reports related to Darby's testimony in litigation and the recognition of the priority of his invention. the collections research value lies in the documentation of the invention of the windsurfer and the industry and culture it spawned. It documents the processes of invention and marketing of new devices. It is evidence of the full range of S. Newman Darby's imagination, life and career.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.
Series 1: Biographical materials, 1969-1982
Series 2: Inventions and designs, 1953-1990
Series 3: Darby Industries, 1982-1983
Series 4: History of windsurfing, 1944-1998
Series 5: Photographs, 1946-1997
Series 6: Audio-Visual materials, 1965-1997
Biographical / Historical:
S. Newman Darby is recognized as the first person in the United States to conceive of connecting a hand-held sail rig fastened with a universal joint to a floating platform for recreational use. He called it sail boarding in 1965, when he published his designs in Popular Science Monthly magazine. Although he and his brothers Ronald and Kenneth began manufacturing the boards through their company Darby Industries, they never applied for a patent.
S. Newman Darby (1928-2016) was born in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. He graduated from West Pittston High School in 1946. A sign painter and artist, like his father Sidney Darby, he studied drafting at the Pennsylvania State University extension school where he took chemistry, business, art, and photography courses for one year. His first invention, the Darby Dory, a folding rowboat dates from 1953. The sailboard developed out of Darby's experiments with a personal pontoon catamaran, each hull being big enough for one foot and designed to be operated with a hand-held sail and no rudder. By 1964 he had designed a universal joint that connected a mast to a flat bottom sailing scow. This board had a centerboard, tail fin and kite shaped free sail. Early tests were conducted on Trailwood Lake and the Susquehanna River, near West Pittston.
Today sail boarding is known as windsurfing. It adopted its name from Windsurfer International, a company Hoyle Schweitzer and Jim Drake established on the basis of a patent granted to them in 1970 for a "wind-propelled apparatus." In all essential qualities, their claims duplicated Newman Darby's earlier work.
After Schweitzer bought out Drake's share in 1973, he energetically promoted the sport and licensed manufacturing rights to more than 20 companies around the world. Schweitzer forcefully prosecuted patent infringements he perceived among windsurfer manufacturers and he threatened to sue the 1984 Olympic Committee should it authorize a board produced by a manufacturer not licensed by Windsurfer International.
Although he was aware of the growth of the sport and the profits flowing into Windsurfer International through its licensing activities, Darby was unable to mount a legal challenge to Schweitzer. His priority in the invention of the sport was overlooked and almost forgotten.
In the late 1970's, Mistral, a Swiss manufacturer sued by Windsurfer International in Germany, located Darby and presented his "prior art" as a defense. In the early 1980's, courts in the United States were asked to rule on the validity of the Windsurfer International patent. Newman Darby's prior art was at the center of the controversies. The court voided Windsurfer's original patent and Schweitzer was forced to apply for a reissue based on severely limited claims. He lost the use of "windsurfer" as a trademark. Schweitzer retained the reissued patent through further challenges until it expired in 1987. The example of Newman Darby has become a textbook case of the importance of thorough searches for "prior art" for patent attorneys.
Following completion of the patent litigation Darby designed original sail rigs for Mistral in Europe and Horizon in the United States. In 1982 Newman entered into a new partnership with his brothers Ronald and Kenneth and formed NRK, Inc., to design and manufacture windsurfing boards, training devices and to produce written and video documentaries of his contributions to the history of the sport.
Naomi Albrecht Darby, Newman's wife, sewed the first sails for the boards and participated in their testing and marketing. She documented Darby's inventions through the years in photographs and moving images. Over the years, Darby has worked on numerous inventions--most of them related to wind propulsion. Like many independent inventors, Newman Darby conceives of his ideas, executes all of the mechanical plans, builds his own prototypes and tests them. Darby continues to research improvements in windsurfing and to teach courses in boat building and design.
Related Materials:
An original sailboard, rig, mast and daggerboard from the same period are also housed in the Pennsylvania State Museum at Harrisburg.
Separated Materials:
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds artifacts relating to S. Newman Darby and his invention of the windsurfer, including an original board, boom and mast, and sail dating from 1964. See accessions #1998.0086 and #1998.0323.
Provenance:
Most of the collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History by S. Newman Darby and his wife Naomi on February 3, 1998.
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.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
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.
Collection Citation:
Marjorie Kreilick papers, 1946-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Marjorie Kreilick.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
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.
Collection Citation:
Marjorie Kreilick papers, 1946-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Marjorie Kreilick.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
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.
Collection Citation:
Marjorie Kreilick papers, 1946-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Marjorie Kreilick.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
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.
Collection Citation:
Marjorie Kreilick papers, 1946-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Marjorie Kreilick.