Search Results

Photographer:

Sears, Thomas Warren, 1880-1966  Search this

Collection Creator:

Sears, Thomas Warren, 1880-1966  Search this

Sears & Wendell  Search this

Olmsted Brothers  Search this

Harvard University  Search this

American Society of Landscape Architects  Search this

Extent:

1 Negatives (photographic) (black-and-white, 3.5 x 6 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Negatives (photographic)

Negatives

Reproductions

Place:

England

United Kingdom -- England -- Kent -- Tonbridge

Date:

1908.

General:

Original was a nitrate negative which has been digitized and the nitrate negative destroyed. A duplicate film negative is at Photographic Services, Smithsonian Institution (OIPPS). Negative Number: 94-7245.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Carriages and carts  Search this

Roads  Search this

Hedges  Search this

Houses  Search this

Post offices  Search this

Gatehouses  Search this

Genre/Form:

Negatives

Reproductions

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Thomas Warren Sears photograph collection.

Identifier:

AAG.SRS, Item ENG011008

See more items in:

Thomas Warren Sears photograph collection

Thomas Warren Sears photograph collection / Series 1: Photographic Images / International / England / ENG011: Kent -- Penshurst Place

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb65cac4d34-eb15-442e-93a5-191a5c9979d5

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-srs-ref1512

Photographer:

Sears, Thomas Warren, 1880-1966  Search this

Collection Creator:

Sears, Thomas Warren, 1880-1966  Search this

Sears & Wendell  Search this

Olmsted Brothers  Search this

Harvard University  Search this

American Society of Landscape Architects  Search this

Extent:

1 Negatives (photographic) (black-and-white, 3.5 x 6 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Negatives (photographic)

Negatives

Reproductions

Place:

England -- Cumbria -- Hawkshead

Lake District (England)

United Kingdom -- England -- Cumbria -- Hawkshead

Date:

1906 Jul.

General:

Original was a nitrate negative which has been digitized and the nitrate negative destroyed. A duplicate film negative is at Photographic Services, Smithsonian Institution (OIPPS). Negative Number: 94-7329.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Streets  Search this

Hotels  Search this

Carriages and carts  Search this

Horses  Search this

Genre/Form:

Negatives

Reproductions

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Thomas Warren Sears photograph collection.

Identifier:

AAG.SRS, Item ENG110005

See more items in:

Thomas Warren Sears photograph collection

Thomas Warren Sears photograph collection / Series 1: Photographic Images / International / England / ENG110: Lake District--Miscellaneous Site in the Lake District near Hawkshead

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb67a76bcc6-c728-4c8d-be0c-d39e222f6c0a

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-srs-ref2401

Creator:

Smithsonian American Art Museum  Search this

Type:

Lectures

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2012-09-20T00:12:04.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

See more by:

americanartmuseum

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

YouTube Channel:

americanartmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_oKDVhZkWcMo

Photographer:

Marchand, Russell E., 1924-1915  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Extent:

1 Slides (photographs) (col., 35 mm.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Place:

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (Miami, Florida)

United States of America -- Florida -- Miami-Dade County -- Miami

Date:

1985.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Spring  Search this

Villas  Search this

Loggias  Search this

Balconies  Search this

Fountains  Search this

Parterres  Search this

Obelisks  Search this

Pleaching  Search this

Sculpture  Search this

Moats  Search this

Columns  Search this

Tents  Search this

Awnings  Search this

Gardens -- Florida -- Miami  Search this

Terraces  Search this

Genre/Form:

Slides (photographs)

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, Item FL083056

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Florida / FL083: Miami -- Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb61bdb923b-522a-4138-be6c-bc24b9ae8215

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref12134

Landscape architect:

Manning, Warren H.  Search this

Collection Creator:

McFarland, J. Horace (John Horace), 1859-1948  Search this

American Rose Society  Search this

Extent:

1 Slides (photographs) (glass lantern, black-and-white, 3 x 5 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Place:

James Park (Madison New Jersey)

New Jersey -- Madison

United States of America -- New Jersey -- Morris County -- Madison

Date:

circa 1905-1920

General note:

Trough located at the intersection of Main Street and Park Avenue. The park is still in existence, but the trough is no longer there. James Park was created on the property purchased by the local philanthropist D. Willis James. Mr. and Mrs. James bequeathed the park to Madison. The park was designed by landscape architect Warren H. Manning and dedicated on July 4, 1898.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Garden lighting  Search this

Sculpture  Search this

People  Search this

Horses  Search this

Men  Search this

Watering troughs  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, J. Horace McFarland Company Collection.

Identifier:

AAG.MCF, Item NJ071001

See more items in:

J. Horace McFarland Company collection

J. Horace McFarland Company collection / Series 1: Garden Images / United States / New Jersey / NJ071: Madison -- James Park

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb685ebc0ce-0689-488f-a376-03d85c74a55a

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-mcf-ref10079

Collection Creator:

McFarland, J. Horace (John Horace), 1859-1948  Search this

American Rose Society  Search this

Extent:

1 Slides (photographs) (glass lantern, col., 3 x 5 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Place:

Unidentified Garden (Bar Harbor, Maine)

United States of America -- Maine -- Hancock County -- Bar Harbor

Maine -- Bar Harbor

Date:

circa 1905-1930

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Gardens -- Maine -- Bar Harbor  Search this

Houses  Search this

Flowering shrubs  Search this

Hydrangeas  Search this

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, J. Horace McFarland Company Collection.

Identifier:

AAG.MCF, Item ME049001

See more items in:

J. Horace McFarland Company collection

J. Horace McFarland Company collection / Series 1: Garden Images / United States / Maine / ME049: Bar Harbor -- Unidentified Garden in Bar Harbor, Maine

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb6289d9558-5c8f-4042-9227-5618da4e95d4

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-mcf-ref8411

Creator:

National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (U.S.)  Search this

Collection Collector:

Whitehead, Henry Preston, 1917-2002  Search this

Extent:

1 Document (10 3/4 x 8 1/4 inches)

Type:

Archival materials

Documents

Bulletins

Place:

Washington (D.C.)

Date:

December 1946

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

The Henry P. Whitehead collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.

Topic:

African American women -- Societies and clubs  Search this

Genre/Form:

Bulletins

Collection Citation:

Henry P. Whitehead collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Michael A. Watkins.

See more items in:

Henry P. Whitehead collection

Henry P. Whitehead collection / Series 3: Tomlinson D. Todd / 3.7: Subject Files / National Association of Colored Women's Club's, Inc.

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa7a595a75c-6dd8-42b1-9a26-c141e0aef1da

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-acma-06-042-ref1882

Collection Performer:

Basie, Count, 1904-1984  Search this

Webster, Ben  Search this

Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971  Search this

Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974  Search this

Fitzgerald, Ella, 1917-1996  Search this

Goodman, Benny (Benjamin David), 1909-1986  Search this

Jamal, Ahmad, 1930-  Search this

Robinson, Bill, 1878-1949  Search this

Davis, Miles  Search this

Collection Collector:

Smith, Ernie  Search this

Extent:

1 Motion picture film

Container:

Reel AC0491-OF0011

Type:

Archival materials

Moving Images

Motion picture films

Scope and Contents note:

Descriptive Summary: b&w, Filmed "live" at Central Plaza Dance Hall, New York City. An evening in a night club, the main visual focus is on dancing by the audience.

Copyright: 1954 Performance Date: 1954

Corporate Creator: dist. by Rhapsody Films

Producer: Roger Tilton Director(s): Roger Tilton and Richard Leacock

Performer(s): Jimmy McPartland, Jimmy Archey, Pee Wee Russell, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Pops Foster, George Wettling, dancing by Leon James and Al Minns

Song Title(s):

1. "A Very Lovely Blues"

2. "Ballin' the Jack" vocals by Willie Smith

3. "Royal Garden Blues"

4. "When the Saints Go Marching In"

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but the films are 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 copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Collection Citation:

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Sponsor:

America's Jazz Heritage: A Partnership of the The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund and the Smithsonian Institution provided the funding to produce many of the video master and reference copies.

See more items in:

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection

Ernie Smith Jazz Film Collection / Series 2: Additional Titles

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84776ffdc-8e2d-4259-a712-0e424eb7e4c2

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0491-ref1240

Collector:

Rosin, Henry D., Dr.  Search this

Rosin, Nancy  Search this

Creator:

Lyman, Benjamin Smith, 1835-1920  Search this

Ueno, Hikoma, 1838-1904  Search this

Beato, Felice, b. ca. 1825  Search this

Stillfried, Raimund, Baron von, 1839-1911  Search this

Underwood & Underwood  Search this

Names:

Meiji, Emperor of Japan, 1852-1912  Search this

Shōken, Empress, consort of Meiji, Emperor of Japan, 1850-1914  Search this

Extent:

616 Items (approximate count)

Culture:

Ainu  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Mammoth plates

Photographs

Photograph albums

Stereographs

Cartes-de-visite

Photographic prints

Place:

Japan

Japan -- 1890-1900

Kyoto (Japan)

Tokyo (Japan)

Yokohama-shi (Japan)

Date:

1860 - ca. 1900

Scope and Contents:

Assembled by collectors Dr. Henry D. Rosin and Nancy Rosin to document nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century photography of Japan. Includes albumen prints, portions handcolored, some signed and numbered in the negative. Taken by photographers Felice Beato (b. ca. 1825), Baron Raimon von Stillfried (1938-1911), Kusakabe Kimbei (active 1880s), Ueno Hikoma (1838-1904), Ogawa Kazumasa (1860-1929) and unknown photographers to depict architecture, landscapes, formal studio portraits, and daily activities.

Arrangement:

Organized chronologically by the creators.

Biographical / Historical:

Henry and Nancy Rosin were collectors of Japanese photography of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Local Numbers:

FSA A1999.35

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Topic:

Photography of women  Search this

Streets -- Japan  Search this

Temples -- Japan  Search this

Samurai  Search this

Sumo wrestlers  Search this

Religion  Search this

Japanese tea ceremony  Search this

Genre/Form:

Mammoth plates

Photographs -- 1850-1900

Photograph albums

Stereographs -- 1860-1900

Cartes-de-visite

Photographic prints

Citation:

Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.

Identifier:

FSA.A1999.35

See more items in:

Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc377c3c477-251b-43d9-8ce5-9626389db8ca

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-fsa-a1999-35

Collector:

Rosin, Henry D., Dr.  Search this

Rosin, Nancy  Search this

Photographer:

Kusakabe, Kimbei, 1841-1934  Search this

Collection Collector:

Rosin, Henry D., Dr.  Search this

Rosin, Nancy  Search this

Collection Creator:

Lyman, Benjamin Smith, 1835-1920  Search this

Ueno, Hikoma, 1838-1904  Search this

Beato, Felice, b. ca. 1825  Search this

Stillfried, Raimund, Baron von, 1839-1911  Search this

Underwood & Underwood  Search this

Extent:

1 Booklet (40 pages)

Type:

Archival materials

Booklets

Catalogs

Photographs

Place:

Asia

Japan

Date:

[1880-1900]

Scope and Contents:

Printed catalog of the Kimbei Studio in Yokohama, one of the leading commercial studios in Japan in the mid and late Meiji period. The catalog is divided by Costumes (mostly studio portraits and assemblages), and then by scenic regions. The catalog has extensive annotations in pencil and red ink.

Biographical / Historical:

Born to a family of textile merchants in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Kusakabe Kimbei moved to Yokohama in 1859. Although unclear, Kusakabe apprenticed under either Felice Beato and/or Raimond von Stillfried. Kimbei managed a studio in Yokohama, first at Bentendori until 1881, then later at Honchodori. His photo studio catered primarily to visiting foreigners.

Local Numbers:

R478 (Rosin Number)

FSA A1999.35 478

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Topic:

Photography -- Japan  Search this

Photography -- Studios and dark rooms -- 19th century  Search this

Photography -- 19th century  Search this

Genre/Form:

Catalogs

Photographs

Catalogs

Collection Citation:

Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.

Identifier:

FSA.A1999.35, Item FSA A1999.35 478

See more items in:

Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc353bec828-6b62-4d98-a13b-bd325dfb7b2d

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-fsa-a1999-35-ref619

Creator:

Cook Labs  Search this

Cook, Emory, 1913-2002  Search this

Names:

Cook Labs  Search this

Extent:

6.3 Cubic feet (Phonograph albums)

63.5 Cubic feet (Open-reel tapes)

8.75 Cubic feet (Business records)

78.55 Cubic feet

Culture:

Afro-Caribbean cults  Search this

10th Naval District Steel Band  Search this

Almerico, Tony, 1905-  Search this

American Indians  Search this

Audio Engineering Society  Search this

Ast, Anita  Search this

Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750  Search this

Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827  Search this

Big Shell Band  Search this

Boston Chorale  Search this

Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897  Search this

Brokenshire, Norman, 1898-1965  Search this

Brundage, Al (Alfred)  Search this

Brute Force Band  Search this

Camp, Red  Search this

Carroll, Jimmy  Search this

Crowley, Daniel J., 1921-  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Audiotapes

Photographic prints

Business records

Artifacts

Contracts

Phonograph records

Correspondence

Christmas music

Place:

Cuba

West Indies -- Lesser Antilles

Caribbean Area

Antigua

Barbuda

Amazon River Region

Benítez (Venezuela)

Baja California (Mexico : Peninsula)

Brazil

Connecticut

Cuba

Haiti

Date:

1908-2002, bulk 1948-1965

Summary:

The Cook Labs records, which date from 1939-2002, document the activities of audio engineer Emory Cook and his label Cook Labs. The contents include business records, materials relating to recording artists, photographs, and production materials, as well as phonograph records, master recordings and unpublished recordings produced by or associated with the Cook Labs label. The collection also contains two interviews conducted with Emory Cook in 1990: one by Jeff Place and one by Anthony Seeger and Nicholas Spitzer. There are several physical objects relating to Cook Labs including a bag of powdered vinyl, a binaural playing arm, and a condenser microphone.

Scope and Contents note:

There are two primary components of the Cook Labs records: the records, master tapes and other audio recordings, and the related paper files.

The Cook Labs records contains about 150 of the 200 released Cook recordings, and 739 master tapes. In addition, there are 330 unpublished tapes.

The the paper files include acquisition materials; business correspondence; recording reports; various production notes on records produced; news articles both about and by Emory Cook and Cook Labs; copyright, licensing, and trademark materials; photographs, correspondence, contracts, and other materials relating to recording artists; production materials for each Cook Labs release; and other miscellany. Many contracts are signed by both Cook Labs and the artist. Correspondence is primarily between business associates.

Two interviews were done with Emory Cook in 1990: one by Jeff Place and one by Anthony Seeger and Nicholas Spitzer; both interviews are included in the Cook Labs records.

There are several physical objects relating to Cook Labs including a bag of powdered vinyl, a binaural playing arm, and a condenser microphone.

Arrangement note:

Many of the items in this list have been assigned an accession number, and like materials have been grouped together to create seven series:

Series 1: Business Papers, 1939-1990

Series 2: Recording Artists, 1949-1981, bulk 1950-1959

Series 3: Photographs, undated, 1957

Series 4: Production files, 1948-1995, bulk 1952-1963

Series 5: Objects, undated, 1908-1964

Series 6: Audio Interviews, 1990

Series 7: Audio Recordings

Biographical/Historical note:

Emory Cook (1913-2002) is widely regarded as a highly influencial audio engineer. Born and raised in Albany, New York, he joined the Army Air Corps in 1932. After his discharge in 1934 he obtained his degree from Cornell University and began working for Western Electric in the Audio Engineering Force. During World War II, while still at Western Electric, Cook supervised the creation of a fire-controlled radar "Trainer," for which he received a Commendation from the Service.

In the late 1940's, convinced he could do better than what was on the market, Cook began experimenting with making his own audio equipment. Cook Laboratories was started in 1945 when he developed a new cutting head to be used in record production. Future development of equipment brought about the discovery that he could record frequencies as high as 20,000 hertz, more than any other recording company at the time. He cut a record of piano and organ music to demonstrate this discovery, and took it to the 1949 Audio Fair in New York. When he demonstrated the record with the hopes to sell the recording equipment, he found that people were much more interested in buying the record itself. Shortly after, Sounds of Our Times, later called Cook Records, was born.

Cook Records collected many different sounds and was mostly aimed at the devoted high-fidelity listener. Cook believed that hearing was a sense often overlooked by people, and he wanted listeners of his albums to be able to hear things they might otherwise miss. In a New Yorker profile by Daniel Lang in 1956, Cook claimed that hearing was "always being kicked aside in favor of sight… There's a time and a place for everything, and that includes sound." In order to encourage listening, he put out many albums full of everyday sounds, such as Voice of the Sea, an album of noises of the ocean and Eye of the Storm, recorded during a thunderstorm. One of the most successful albums was Rail Dynamics, an album of steam trains pulling in and out of a station.

Cook Records also produced traditional music albums from its plant in Stamford, Connecticut. The label produced everything from organ music to folk, flamenco guitar, calypso and steel band. Cook had little interest in name musicians and instead searched high and low for anything he thought might be an interesting contribution to his label. He even invited listeners to send in their favorite sounds, some of which he eventually recorded.

Cook had such a large interest in Calypso music that he set up a second pressing plant in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. There he pressed calypso and steel band music for both a Trinidadian and American audience, and most albums sold well in both countries.

In addition to the wide range of music Cook recorded, he was also an inventor. It was Cook who first came up with the idea of pressing records with powdered, rather than solid, vinyl, a technique he dubbed "microfusion." This technique not only saved money, but cut out many of the traditional crackles and pops associated with records.

He also developed the binaural system of recording and playing records, which he thought was superior to the more commonly used stereo method. Binaural was more precise than stereo, and it required placing two microphones six inches apart, approximately the space between two ears, during the recording. It was then played back with a special two-needle playing arm. Binaural recordings were thought by Cook to best duplicate the original sound.

Emory Cook died at the age of 89 in 2002 after a long hospitalization.

Shared Stewardship of Collections:

The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.

COOK RECORDINGS - NUMERICAL LISTING:

001 20,000 Cycle Demo (1949) COOK00001

002 Night Rain and Surf COOK00002

003 Specimen Heart Beats COOK00003

004 Katydids, Frogs and Forrest Birds

E101 Grenada Stories and Songs (1957-58) COOK00101

E102 Amazon Sound: Yacu River Tribes (Rituals and Rites) (1954) COOK00102

E103 Music of St. Lucia (1953) COOK00103

E104 Rada (1958) COOK00104

E105 JOSE RAMON FORTUNE AND OLGA MAYNARD Nancy Stories (1956) COOK00105

106 Afro-West Indian Cultural Practices (1957-58) COOK00106

107 ESCOLA DE SAMBA DE BRAZIL The Boli, The Cocolute, and Brazil (1957-58) COOK00107

901 Steelband Jump Up Boys Town, Tropical Harmony, Silvertone COOK00901

904 THE ESSO STEEL BAND Esso Steelband of Bermuda (1958) COOK0904

906 LORD MELODY Lord Melody Sings Calypso (1958-59) COOK00906

911 TOM CHARLES AND HIS SYNCOPATER ORCHESTRA Fete for So! (1959) COOK00911

914 LORD MELODY Again! Lord Melody Sings Calypso (1957-58) COOK00914

916 Calypso Cross Section Young Killer, The Mighty Bomber, Small Island Pride, The Mighty Wrangler (1957-58) COOK00916

920 THE MIGHTY SPARROW King Sparrow's Calypso Carnival (1959) COOK00920

927 LORD MELODY Calypso through the Looking Glass (1959) COOK00927

928 CLARENCE CURVAN His Drums, His Orchestra COOK00928

930 Belly to Belly Clarence Curvan, Johnny Gomez, Tom Charles, Fitz Vaughn Bryan (1960-61) COOK00930

931 LORD MELODY Lord Melody, 1962 COOK0931

1000 TITUS MOODY DDDs of Binaural (1952) COOK01000

1011 The Christmas Music Box (1950) COOK01011

1012 Music Boxes of Long Ago (1950) COOK01012

1013 CHARLIE MAGNANTE Accordion Pops Concert (1954-55) COOK01013

1014 CHARLIE MAGNANTE AND LaVERGNE SMITH His and Hers (1954-55) COOK01014

1020 SAM ESKIN Sam Eskin's Songs of All Time COOK01020

1021 GROUPE MI-O Un Ti Bo (1958) COOK01021

1022 LAVINIA WILLIAMS' GROUPE FOLKLORIQUE Haiti Confidential (1958) COOK01022

1023 The Ramayana (Hindu Ceremony) (1961) COOK01023

1024 GUSTAVO ZEPOLI Concert Guitar (1954) COOK01024

1025 SEAN McGONIGAL AND ST. COLUMCILLE'S UNITED GAELIC PIPE BAND Kilts on Parade (1950) COOK01025

1026 ANITA AST AND THE VIENNA KONZERTSCHRAMMEREIN Inside Vienna (1952) COOK01026

1027 CARLOS MONTOYA AND THE JOSE GRECO TROUPE Fiesta Flamenca (1952) COOK01027

1028 CARLOS MONTOYA Montoya (1952) COOK01028

1030 EDWARD VITO The Harp (1951) COOK01030

1031 EDWARD AND JOSEPH VITO Dual Harp (1951) COOK01031

1032 RUTH WELCOME AND DICK MARTA Zither and Cimbalom (1951) COOK01032

1035 Barrelhouse Piano (1950) COOK01035

1036 FRANK GLAZER Liszt's Paganini Variations (1952) COOK01036

1037 GRETA AND JOSEF DICHLER Two Famous European Pianos (1952) COOK01037

1038 SAMUEL SORIN Piano: The Romantic Fabric (1953) COOK01038

1039 LEONID HAMBRO A Perspective of Beethoven (1953) COOK01039

1040 Steel Band Clash Brute Force Steel Band, Big Shell Band, and Hell Gate Band (1955)

1041 JIMMY CARROLL PERCUSSION EMSEMBLE WITH RED CAMP Speed the Parting Guest (1953) and The Hot Tempered Clavichord (1957) COOK01041

1042 BRUTE FORCE STEEL BAND Brute Force Steel Band of Antigua with Big Shell Band (1955) COOK01042

1043 Three Rituals (1955) COOK01043

1044 The Compleat In Fidelytie: Sounds Natural and Unnatural (1956) COOK01044

1045 Drums of Trinidad (1956) COOK01045

1046 Champion Steel Bands of Trinidad The Highlanders, Southern All Stars, The Katzenjammers, others (1957) COOK01046

1047 THE KATZENJAMMERS The Enchanted Steelband (1957) COOK01047

1048 BRUTE FORCE STEEL BAND Music to Awaken the Ballroom Beast (1957) COOK01048

1049 BRUTE FORCE STEEL BAND Beauty and the Brute Force (1957) COOK01049

1050 MICHAEL CHESHIRE The Pipe Organ, volume 1 (1952) COOK01050

1051 MICHAEL CHESHIRE The Pipe Organ, volume 2 (1952) COOK01051

1052 REGINALD FOORT Percussion and Pedal, volume 3 (1952) COOK01052

1053 REGINALD FOORT Reginald Foort at the Mosque, volume 4 (1952) COOK01053

1054 REGINALD FOORT Organ in Symphony Hall, volume 1 (1954) COOK01054

1055 REGINALD FOORT Organ in Symphony Hall, volume 2 (1954) COOK01055

1056 ALFONSO VEGA NUÑEZ Morelia Cathedral Organ (1954) COOK01056

1057 REGINALD FOORT Foort Pops (1956) COOK01057

1058 REGINALD FOORT Waltz and Ballet: The Mosque Organ (1956) COOK01058

1059 REGINALD FOORT Intermission at the Mosque (1956) COOK01059

1060 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Brahms First Symphony (1954) COOK01060

1061 FESTIVAL CASALS ORCHESTRA Hector Campos Parsi (1958) COOK01061

1062 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Stravinsky, Villa Lobos, and Bach (1955) COOK01062

1063 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Debussy (1955) COOK01063

1064 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Masterpieces of the Dance (1955) COOK01064

1065 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Mozart Symphony No. 40 (1955) COOK01065

1066 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Masterpieces of the Theater (1955) COOK01066

1067 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (1955) COOK01067

1068 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON New Orchestral Society of Boston (1966) COOK01068

1069 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Haydn Symphony No. 100: Military (1966) COOK01069

1070 Rail Dynamics: Steam Locomotives and Train Sounds (1950-54) COOK01070

1071 Burlesque Uncensored (1954) COOK01071

1072 Jump-up Carnival: Calypso Tent (1956) COOK01072

1073 Holy Week: Malaga (Spain) (1961) COOK01073

1074 Benevolent Society for the Preservation of Ancient Rhymes and Limerix Limerick Party COOK01074

1075 Voices of the Sky: Propellers and Jets (1957) COOK01075

1077 Voice of the Storm (1957-58) COOK01077

1078 A Double Barrel Blast: High Cost of Dying and Computer Conversations (1962) COOK01078

1079 Tour of High Fidelity (1965) COOK01079

1080 TRIO LEONES Trio Leones of Cabrito (1954) COOK01080

1081 LaVERGNE SMITH LaVergne Smith (01014B plus) (1954) COOK01081

1082 Le Jazz Primitif from Trinidad Rupert Clemendore and John Buddy Williams (1961) COOK01082

1083 Jawbone of an Ass: Musica de Cuba (1955) COOK01083

1084 SID DAVILLA AND FREDDIE KOHLMAN'S BAND WITH RED CAMP Blowout at Mardi Gras (1955) COOK01084

1085 TONY ALMERICO'S PARISIAN ROOM BAND Clambake on Bourbon Street (1954-55) COOK01085

1086 WILLIE RODRIGUEZ The Drums of Rodriguez (1953) COOK01086

1087 RED CAMP Camp Inventions: Jazz Piano and Zither Music (1955) COOK01087

1088 RED CAMP Red Camp Horizontal (1954) COOK01088

1089 RED CAMP Red Camp Upright (1954) COOK01089

1090 ARTHUR BILLINGS HUNT Arthur Billings Hunt Sings Hymns (1950) COOK01090

1091 ARTHUR BILLINGS HUNT Hunt Sings Old Favorites (1950) COOK01091

1092 HUFSTADER SINGERS Hufstader Singers (1953) COOK01092

1094 REGINALD FOORT AND THE BOSTON CHORALE The Seven Last Words of Christ (1954) COOK01094

1095 ST. JOHN'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHOIR Russian Christmas (Spring Valley, New York) (1961) COOK01095

1096 ST. JOHN'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHOIR Russian Easter Midnight Service (Spring Valley, New York) (1961) COOK01096

1097 ST. JOHN'S RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHOIR St. John's Russian Orthodox Choir (1961) COOK01097

1101 THE INVADERS FROM ST. CROIX Steel Band in San Juan (1964) COOK01101

1102 10TH NAVAL DISTRICT STEEL BAND New Paths for Steel Band (1965) COOK01102

1120 BENITEZ-VALENCIA TRIO Ecuador (1958) COOK01120

1121 Island in the Moonlight Trio Los Rubies, Grupo Paquito Lopez Cruz, Las Hermanas Colón, Martita Cuadrado (1958) COOK01121

1122 Hellish Calypso King Fighter, The Mighty Bomber, others (1962) COOK01122

1123 Calypso Atrocities King Fighter, The Mighty Bomber, others COOK01123

1124 HAYWIRE MAC McCook LabsINTOCK Haywire Mac (1951) COOK01124

1125 LORD MYRTLE, CECIL MITCHEL, AND JAMES CONVERY Calypso Jamaica (1960) COOK01125

1126 THE MIGHTY SPARROW Sparrow in Hi-Fi (1963) COOK01126

1127 STEVE CAMACHO Folk and Other Songs (1962) COOK01127

1131 BRUCE PRINCE-JOSEPH The Pedal Harpsichord (1953) COOK01131

1132 SHINCHI YUIZE The Japanese Koto (1955) COOK01132

1133 RED CAMP The New Clavichord (1957) COOK01133

1134 LUIS BONFA Guitar in Brazil (1959) COOK01134

1140 Steelband Promenade Brute Force Steel Band, The Merrymakers, Southern All Stars (1958) COOK01140

1150 BILL FLOYD The King of Organs (1957) COOK01150

1151 REGINALD FOORT The Theatre Organ, volume 2 COOK01151

1152 REGINALD FOORT The Theatre Organ, volume 3 COOK01152

1154 REGINALD FOORT The Theatre Organ, volume 5 COOK01154

1155 REGINALD FOORT The Theatre Organ, volume 6 COOK01155

1156 REGINALD FOORT The Baroque Organ, volume 1 COOK01156

1157 REGINALD FOORT The Baroque Organ, volume 2 COOK01157

1169 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, Serenade for Strings (1962) COOK01169

1180 Dance Calypso Johnny Gomez Band, Small Island Pride, Dictator, others (1956) COOK01180

1181 LIZZIE MILES Lizzie Miles Buglin' Sam DeKemel and the Parisian All Stars (1954-55) COOK01181

1182 LIZZIE MILES Moans and Blues Red Camp and Tony Almerico's All Stars (1956) COOK01182

1183 LIZZIE MILES Hot Songs My Mother Taught Me Red Camp, Tony Almerico's All Stars, Albert French (1956) COOK01183

1184 LIZZIE MILES Torchy Lullabies My Mother Sang Me Red Camp and Tony Almerico's All Stars (1956) COOK01184

1185 Calypso Kings and Pink Gin: Trinidad Carnival Tent Lord Melody, The Might Sparrow, others (1957) COOK01185

1186 ENSEMBLE AUX CALEBASSES Meringue (1958) COOK01186

1187 A Night at the Tropicoro Juan Luis, Oswaldo Seda, and Lito Peña Band (1959) COOK01187

1188 Dirty Jazz from Down South: Trinidadian Instrumentals (1958) COOK01188

1189 Calypso Exposed Lord Melody, Brute Force Steel Band, King Sparrow, The Mighty Cypher, and Skipper (1961) COOK01189

1280 Caribbean Limbo Music Rupert Clemendore Orchestra, Cyril Diaz Orchestra, others COOK01280

1281 Songs from the Garden of Love Jefferson-Jones' Orchestra COOK01281

1282 Italian Moom Jefferson-Jones' Orchestra COOK01282

2004 Tour of Stereo (1958) COOK02004

2066 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Masterpieces of the Dance, volume 3 COOK02066

2070 Aboard a Fast Express / Jet Dynamics COOK02070

4057 REGINALD FOORT The Theater Organ COOK04057

4069 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Hayden Military Symphony COOK04069

5001 American Storytellers, Volume 1 Harry Wass, Master Marriner's Association (1952) COOK05001

5002 K.C. DOUGLAS K.C. Douglas (1952) COOK05002

5003 Caribeana: Hidden Music from the Caribbean (1949) COOK05003

5004 TIRORO Tiroro: Haitian Drummer (1948) COOK05004

5005 RED CAMP Camp Has a Ball (1954) COOK05005

5006 AL BRUNDAGE Square Dance (1951) COOK05006

5007 Mexican Marimba Band (1954) COOK05007

5008 American Storytellers, Volume 2 John Hawley Cook (1954) COOK05008

5009 American Storytellers, Volume 3 Captain Charles A. Chace, Matthew Richards (1954) COOK05009

5010 Calliope, Carousel, and Hand Organ (1953) COOK05010

5011 Voice of the Sea (1954) COOK05011

5012 Earthquake (1953) COOK05012

5013 Ionosphere (1955) COOK05013

5014 Mariachi Music of Mexico (1954) COOK05014

5015 Mexican Firecrackers (1951) COOK05015

5016 Calypso Lore and Legend (1956) COOK05016

5017 Bamboo-tamboo, Bongo, and Belair (1956) COOK05017

5018 East Indian Drums of Tunapuna, Trinidad (1956) COOK05018

5019 ALONZO CRUZ Blind Troubadour of Oaxaca (1956) COOK05019

5020 Epilogue to the String Band Tradition (1956) COOK05020

5022 ABCs of Hi Fi COOK05022

5025 BUCKMINSTER FULLER Buckminster Fuller Speaks His Mind COOK05025

5050 NORMAN BROKENSHIRE Radio Moscow and the Western Hemisphere COOK05050

5051 FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The Four Inaugural Addresses COOK05051

6061 BUCKMINSTER FULLER The Clock Is Stopping COOK06061

8374 BUCKMINSTER FULLER Dymaxion Ditties: Buckminster Fuller Sings COOK08374

10001 Sound Effects, volume 1 COOK10001

10002 Sound Effects, volume 2 COOK10002

10003 Sound Effects, volume 3 COOK10003

10120 Music Boxes, Carousels, and Hand Organs (01012 and 05010) (1950-53) COOK10120

10248 The Voice of Mexico Gustavo Zepoli, Trio Leones (01024 and 01080) (1954) COOK10248

10251 SEAN McGONIGAL AND ST. COLUMCILLE'S UNITED GAELIC PIPE BAND Kilts on Parade (01025 plus solos) (1950-53) COOK10251

10271 CARLOS MONTOYA AND THE JOSE GRECO TROUPE Fiesta Flamenca (selections from 01027 and 01028) (1952) COOK10271

10289 CARLOS MONTOYA Montoya (selections from 01028 plus) (1952) COOK10289

10301 EDWARD AND JOSEPH VITO The Harp (selections from 01030 and 01031 plus) (1951-54) COOK10301

10326 Cafe Continental Ruth Welcome, Dick Marta, and Anita Ast (selections from 01026 and 01032) (1951-52) COOK10326

10350 Nickelodion and Calliope (selections from 01035 and 05010) (1950-53) COOK10350

10500 REGINALD FOORT The Theater Organ COOK10500

10501 MICHAEL CHESHIRE Pipe Organ in the Mosque (selections from 01050 and 01051) (1952) COOK10501

10523 REGINALD FOORT Percussion and Pedal (selections from 01052 and 01053) (1952) COOK10523

10545 REGINALD FOORT The Organ at Symphony Hall (01054 plus) (1954) COOK10545

10579 REGINALD FOORT Foort Pops (selections from 01057 and 01058) (1956) COOK10579

10646 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Tempo Vivace: Symphonic Masterpieces of Dance & Theater (selections from 01064 and 01066) (1955-56) COOK010646

10657 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Two Classical Symphonies: Mozart Symphony No. 40, Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (01065 and 01067) (1955) COOK10657

10659 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Two Classical Symphonies: Mozart Symphony No. 40, Haydn Symphony No. 100 (01065 and 01069) (1955-56) COOK10659

10683 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Modern Orchestral Textures (01068 and 01063) (1955) COOK10683

10850 RUPERT Cook LabsEMENDORE BAND Le Jazz Trinidad COOK10850

10867 Before and After Willie Rodriguez (selections from 01086 and 05007) (1953-54) COOK010867

10889 RED CAMP Horizontal & Upright & Downright & Dunright (01088 and 01089) (1954) COOK10889

10890 The Castiliane Johnny Gomez Band, John Buddy Williams Band, Girl Pat Steel Band, And Grand Curacaye String Orchestra (1956) COOK10890

11312 BRUCE PRINCE-JOSEPH AND HUFSTADER SINGERS The Forgotten Pedal Harpsichord and Hufstader Singers (01131 and 01092) (1953) COOK11312

11815 TONY ALMERICO'S PARISIAN ROOM BAND AND LIZZIE MILES Clambake on Bourbon Street (1954-55) COOK11815

50130 Tour of Cook Labs COOK50130

70889 RED CAMP Popular Piano and Combo COOK70889

80134 LUIZ BONFA Waterfall: Guitar COOK80134

80417 MARIMBA ORCHESTRA Waterfall: Children's Music COOK80417

80680 NEW ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY OF BOSTON Waterfall: Symphonic COOK80680

XX1 Audio Follies Sampler COOK00XX1

XX2 Calypso Jazz Sampler COOK00XX2

Series 10 Cook Series 10 COOK_Series10

Series 30 Cook Series 30 COOK_Series30

Series 60 Cook Series 60 COOK_Series60

Series 70 Cook Series 70 COOK_Series70

Series 80 Cook Series 80 COOK_Series80

Series 90 Cook Series 90 COOK_Series90

Series 100 Cook Series 100 COOK_Series100

Series 300 Cook Series 300 COOK_Series300

Series 301 Cook Series 301 COOK_Series301

Series 302 Cook Series 302 COOK_Series302

Series 303 Cook Series 303 COOK_Series303

Provenance:

The Smithsonian Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections acquired the Cook Labs Records in 1990, when Emory and Martha Cook donated their company records to the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Anthony Seeger, then Director of Smithsonian Folkways Records, received a call from Mr. Cook in the summer of 1989 offering to donate the Cook label to the Smithsonian. Dr. Seeger visited him in August of that year to view the contents of the collection, and the Smithsonian received custody of the collection in May 1990. In return for the donation from Mr. Cook, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage agreed to keep the record titles available and to store the papers in the archives.

Restrictions:

Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.

Rights:

Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.

Topic:

Popular music -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Wit and humor  Search this

Calypso (Music)  Search this

Folk music -- Caribbean Area  Search this

Folk music  Search this

Sounds  Search this

Music -- 18th century  Search this

Folk music -- United States  Search this

Jazz -- Louisiana -- New Orleans  Search this

Jazz  Search this

Accordion music  Search this

Airplane sounds  Search this

Animal sounds  Search this

Audio equipment industry  Search this

Blues (Music)  Search this

Bonfá, Luiz  Search this

Calypso (Music)  Search this

Burlesque (Theater)  Search this

Calliope music  Search this

Calypso (Music)--Trinidad and Tobago  Search this

Campos Parsi, Héctor, 1922-  Search this

Catholicism  Search this

Christianity  Search this

Christmas  Search this

Cimbalom and zither music  Search this

Clavichord  Search this

Clemendore, Rupert  Search this

Drum  Search this

Genre/Form:

Audiotapes

Photographic prints

Business records

Artifacts

Contracts

Phonograph records

Correspondence

Christmas music

Citation:

Cook Labs records, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

CFCH.COOK

See more items in:

Cook Labs records

Archival Repository:

Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk50980aef1-30c4-4f77-9de4-97337007b9f0

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-cfch-cook

Collector:

Robinson, Franklin A., Jr., 1959- (actor)  Search this

Creator:

Quinn, Terry (photographer)  Search this

Conner, Mary Robinson, 1930-2009  Search this

Names:

Capital Transit Company (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Serenity Farm, Inc.  Search this

Howes, Grace Bourne, ?-1976  Search this

Robinson, Adina Theresa, 1963-  Search this

Robinson, Amanda Baden, 1849-1940  Search this

Robinson, Elizabeth Bourne, 1892-1976  Search this

Robinson, Frank A., 1883-1970  Search this

Robinson, Franklin A., 1841-1905  Search this

Robinson, Franklin A., Sr., 1932-  Search this

Robinson, Martha Walls, 1807-1897  Search this

Robinson, Robert David, 1962-  Search this

Robinson, Robert Henry, 1851-1937  Search this

Robinson, Thomas Wells, 1803-1869  Search this

Townshend, Martha Robinson, 1880-1961  Search this

Via, Adina Mae, 1937-1966  Search this

Via, Ida Virginia Woods, 1914-2010  Search this

Via, Robert Delano, 1933-  Search this

Via, Robert Milton, 1906-1983  Search this

Extent:

31.1 Cubic feet (93 boxes, 3 map-size folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion pictures (visual works)

Correspondence

Photographs

Postcards

Baby books

Phonograph records

Postcard albums

Ephemera

School yearbooks

Diaries

Albums

Housebooks

Snapshots

Home movies

Family papers

Scrapbooks

Funeral registers

Architectural drawings

Place:

Maryland -- Family farms

Washington (D.C.)

Prince George's County (Md.)

Arizona -- Motion pictures

Benedict (Md.)

Charles County (Md.) -- Family farms

Calvert County (Md.) -- Family farms

California -- Motion pictures

Bahamas -- Motion pictures

Yosemite National Park (Calif.)

Puerto Rico -- Motion pictures

Washington -- motion pictures

Oregon -- Motion pictures

Disneyland (California)

Brandywine (Md.)

St. Thomas, V.I. -- Motion pictures

Florida -- Motion pictures

United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- Westminster

United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- Marston

United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- New Windsor

Date:

1838-2023, undated

bulk 1872-1985

Summary:

Papers documenting the farming and family life of the Robinson family of Prince George's County and after 1975, Charles County, Maryland. Papers documenting the farming and family of the Via family of Greene County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Prince George's and Calvert Counties, Maryland, by 1949.

Scope and Contents:

An extensive and comprehensive collection of papers relating to family, farming, and the Southern Maryland tobacco culture, the Robinson and Via Family Papers cover many aspects of family and farm life. The papers are particularly important in regard to the tobacco culture that defined Southern Maryland for generations. The papers concern two distinct family groups, the Robinson and Via families who are connected through the marriage of Franklin A. Robinson and Adina Mae Via. The papers consist of material generated by the Robinson and Via families in their personal and working lives and as farm owners and operators.

The papers are especially strong in 20th century material. They consist of various types of farm records: account books, bills, receipts, tenant farming agreements, ephemera, land rental and purchase agreements, insurance policies, photographs and 8mm and 16mm films of farming practices and procedures, equipment and landscapes, related to the farming of tobacco, small grains, and livestock. The personal records include diaries, letters both personal and business, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, high school yearbooks, baby books, house plans, recipe books, photographs and 8mm films of birthdays, holidays, weddings, baptisms, family occasions, and family travel, oral histories, and funeral ephemera including photographs, and transcription discs. Of particular interest are the "Serenity Farm Tobacco Production Photographs" documenting the crop year 1999-2000 and the films detailing agricultural practices. There is a memorandum book for Black Walnut Thicket, 1885-1901, the Baden farm in Baden, Prince George's County.

This collection includes a comprehensive range of 8mm and 16mm films and photographs documenting farming practices and landscapes as well as family gatherings, birthdays, holidays, and vacations. The researcher is alerted to the fact that in some cases with the memorandum and account books, books printed for a given year were often saved and used for subsequent years, some were dated, some were not.

The collection is divided into seven series arranged by subject and most often chronologically at folder level within each series.

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into seven series:

Series 1: Ferndale Farm (Potomac Landing), Prince George's County, Maryland, 1861-1973, undated

Subseries 1.1: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, and publications, 1861-1973, undated

Subseries 1.2: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, 1945-1960, undated

Subseries 1.3: Farm papers, bills, and receipts, 1960-1965, undated

Series 2: Robinson Family, 1845-2017, undated

Subseries 2.1: Family Papers and Publications, 1845-1993, undated

Subseries 2.2: Townshend, Martha Robinson, 1896-1961, undated

Subseries 2.3: Robinson, Frank A., 1899-1970, undated

Subseries 2.4: Robinson, Elizabeth Bourne, 1841-1976, undated

Subseries 2.5: Conner, Mary Robinson, 1938-1985, undated

Subseries 2.6: Robinson, Franklin A., 1932-1997, undated

Subseries 2.6.1: Farming, 1948-1976, undated

Subseries 2.6.2: Financial, 1948-1988, undated

Subseries 2.6.3: 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA), 1945-1954, undated

Subseries 2.6.4: Travel, 1959-1970, undated

Subseries 2.7: Robinson, Jr., Franklin A., 1959-2001, undated

Series 3: Serenity Farm, Charles County, Maryland, 1962-2000, undated

Series 4: Via Farm, Calvert County, Maryland, 1954-1987, undated

Series 5: Via Family, 1932-2010, undated

Subseries 5.1: Family papers, 1941-1983, undated

Subseries 5.2: Via, Robert M., 1933-1987, undated

Subseries 5.3: Via, Ida Virginia, 1928-2010, undated

Subseries 5.4: Via, Robert D., 1933-1988, undated

Subseries 5.5: Robinson, Adina Via, 1937-1966, undated

Series 6: Photographs, Photographic Slides, and Photographic Negatives, 1860-2000, undated

Subseries 6.1: Photographs, 1872-2000, undated

Subseries 6.2: Photographic negatives, 1927--2000, undated

Subseries 6.3: Photographic Slides, 1955-1979, undated

Series 7: AudioVisual, 1943-1988

Biographical / Historical:

Robinson Family

The Robinson family is thought to be of Scottish origin and appear in the records of Prince George's County, Maryland by the early 18th century. The line has been definitively traced to James Robinson (?-1849). James' father was probably Benjamin Robinson (?-1810), of Prince George's County, Maryland. (Will Book TT1, pg. 15, Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Maryland State Archives (MSA))

James Robinson and Sarah Wynn were issued a marriage license on February 28, 1802 in Prince George's County, Maryland. (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland) Eleven children lived to maturity (not listed in birth order); Thomas Wells (1803-1869), Ann, Priscilla, James Monroe, Benjamin (1813-1882), John C. (1819-1895), Mary Sophia, Thomas Stanley (1800-1874), Alfred, Sarah Ann, Matilda, and Rebecca Maria.

James worked as a farm manager for Benjamin Oden near Upper Marlborough, Prince George's County. (Oden Papers, Maryland Historical Society) The Robinsons and their children, moved to Wood County, Virginia (now West Virginia) by April 18, 1818 where James acted as Oden's land agent (Deed Book 6, pg. 123, Land Records of Wood County, West Virginia). They brought with them three enslaved described in the above reference as, "Kate a woman 45 years of age very black; Colonel a boy aged 8 years yellow complexion: and George a boy aged six years of a dark brown complexion." They settled on part of what was known as the "Burnt Mill" tract in the general area where the Hughes River meets the Little Kanawha River. (Deed Book 9, pg. 110 and Deed Book 14, pg. 40, Land Records of Wood County)

Thomas Wells Robinson may not have accompanied his family to Virginia as he has a presence in Prince George's County prior to 1822 and was employed as a farm manager for Benjamin Oden at least until 1832. He married Elizabeth J. Richards on December 15, 1829 (Robinson Family Bible). They had nine children; Richard Thomas (1831 1906), Rebecca Maria (1832-1895), Mary Wynn (1834-1916), James George (1835-1883), Virlinda Victoria (1837-1838), Elizabeth Ann (1839-1916), Sarah Ann Sophia (1840-1874), Franklin Alexander (1841-1905) and John Alfred (1843); seven lived to maturity. (Robinson Family Bible) Elizabeth died on August 17, 1843 from complications in childbirth. She was buried in the graveyard of Page's Chapel (later known as St. Thomas Episcopal Church), Croom, Prince George's County. In 1843, Thomas purchased the plantation of Dr. Benjamin B. Hodges for $10,000 or approximately $15 an acre. Hodges was a brother-in-law of Benjamin Oden. The deed dated September 7, 1843 describes the parcel as containing, "Six hundred and twenty nine acres of land more or less and constitute that plantation or Estate of the said Benjamin Oden heretofore commonly called "Brown's Quarter Place" being the Land tracts and parcels of land sold by the said Benjamin Oden to the said Benjamin B. Hodges and by deed bearing date the tenth day of December eighteen hundred and thirty five and recorded in Liber AB no. 10 folio 162 also one of the land Records of the County aforesaid". (JBB no. 3 pgs. 312 314, Land Records of Prince George's County) The land was level to rolling bordered on the north by a tributary of Piscataway Creek and generally termed "white oak land". Underlying the whole property was a large strata of gravel and sand. The entire parcel went by the name, Potomac Landing.

Thomas supplemented his land holdings with later purchases. With the exception of twenty acres purchased from Sarah Talbert in 1844, (JBB no. 3 pg. 475, Land Records of Prince George's County) and the purchase of lot #3 consisting of 195 acres, part of the estate of John Townshend in 1856, these purchases were not contiguous to Potomac Landing. By the time of his death in 1869 these non-contiguous parcels had been sold. Thomas sold eighty-six acres of Potomac Landing and Jeffries to Edward Eversfield in October of 1843. (JBB no. 3, pg. 198, Land Records of Prince George's County) On January 13, 1846 Thomas married the widow Martha Ann Walls, daughter of George and Martha Naylor Walls. They had two sons; Benjamin Wells (1848-1849) and Robert Henry (1851-1937).

In addition to his sons, Thomas owned enslaved. The number varied from six in 1849 (JBB 6, folio 186, Land Records of Prince Georges' County) to eleven as noted in the census for 1850, and finally six as noted in the census of 1860. The 1867 Maryland Slave Statistics noted that, "at the time of the adoption of the Constitution of Maryland, in the year 1864, . . ." Thomas owned six enslaved, their names and ages being; Isaac Franklin age 31, Alfred West age 19, Susan West age 17, Margaret Franklin age 14, Fannie Franklin age 12, and Peter Franklin age 9. All were noted as being in good physical condition. (Prince Georges' County Slave Statistics 1867 1869, C 1307 1, MdHR:6198, page 185, MSA)

Thomas's financial problems began in the mid-1800s when Deeds of Trust appear in the county records securing outstanding loans. In 1856 and 1857 Thomas joined with others as bondsman for his son, Richard who was serving as "Collector of the State and County Taxes" for the 4th collection district, making he and the other signatories liable for any uncollected taxes. This, coupled with poor investments, led to his almost being "sold out" in 1859-1860 by J.W. & E. Reynolds of Baltimore to pay his debts. He executed three drafts on Penn & Mitchell, also of Baltimore, to pay off J.W. & E. Reynolds. (Equity Case #597, Prince Georges' County) Thomas was in poor health and his son James managed the farm in 1857 and 1858, and again from 1861 to October of 1862 (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County)

In October of 1862 Thomas' two sons, James and Franklin, traveled to Richmond to join the Confederate States Army. James enrolled in the 5th Battalion, Local Defense Arsenal and Franklin enrolled in the 5th Virginia Infantry, the Stonewall Brigade. (CSA Military Records, National Archives) James visited home frequently but was captured by the Union Army in St. Mary's County, Maryland on May 15, 1864 and spent the remainder of the war in Point Lookout Prison Camp. He was released on May 14, 1865. Franklin was not able to visit home at all during the war but survived to return home in 1865. In 1865, Thomas surveyed a parcel of 172 acres for his daughter Rebecca Maria. Rebecca had married her second cousin, William B. Robertson, on November 18, 1855. He made a gift of fifty acres, and Rebecca agreed to purchase the remainder. The Robertsons named this parcel Holly Grove. In Equity Case #849 (1872) filed after Thomas' death, his widow Martha and Samuel H. Berry, as executrix and executor, sought to recover payment for this land. At that time, William B. Robertson described this 172 acres of Potomac Landing: "There was no fences on the line which separated this land from the old gentleman's land, but he was to put a fence on it which he agreed to do before we agreed to come there. The land was thin, unimproved, with gullies and scrubby pine. If witness had been a judge of land he would not have given five dollars for it. All the improvements were one comfortable quarter the other indifferent with a poor oak shingle roof, worn out which made it not tenantable." Further along in his testimony, William gave an account of a conversation, "In a few days my father in law Thos. W. Robinson came to Washington and told me there his children had returned from the South, his two sons, that his debts were small and he was a happy man." Rebecca and William built a house on the property, a side-hall, double parlor plan that most likely her brother James was builder. They also built accompanying farm structures. (Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Equity Case #849, MSA)

Thomas' son, Franklin, managed the farm after the War. In December 1868 Thomas entered into a sharecropping agreement with Edward Hanson, an African-American. After about a year-long illness, on May 16, 1869, Thomas died, deeply in debt. He was buried beside Elizabeth in the graveyard at St. Thomas' Church. He named as executrix his wife, Martha, and his friend and lawyer, Samuel H. Berry, as executor. His will divided the farm into thirds, one third going to his wife and their son Robert Henry, one third to his son James, and one third to his son Franklin. The land was surveyed according to the will. His personal property was sold but not enough profit was realized to pay off his creditors. The Commissioners of Prince George's County sued the estate on behalf of Thomas' creditors. The outcome was that in 1876 the property was sold at public auction. The Notice of Sale dated September 1, 1876 in the local county newspaper, The Prince Georgian, describes the farm as, "containing 514 2/3 acres More or less. The Improvements consist of a SMALL DWELLING, Three Barns, Stabling, and other necessary outbuildings. It is well wooded and watered, and the soil of fair quality. It has recently been divided into three lots and will be offered in lots, a description of which will be given at the time of sale." The sale was held on September 27, 1876, Lot No. 1 was purchased by Robert for $6.00 an acre, Lot #2 was purchased by Franklin for $5.00 an acre and Lot #3 was purchased by James for $4.00 per acre. Robert and Franklin eventually paid off their mortgage, but James defaulted on his purchase and later moved to St. Mary's County, Maryland. His portion later came to be owned by the Hawkins family, some members who had worked on the Robinson farm. (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County, MSA)

Lot #1, purchased by Robert from his fathers' estate, consisted of 177-1/3 acres, including the dwelling and farm buildings. On July 24, 1872, he married Amanda Malvina Baden (1849-1940), daughter of Robert W. G. and Margaret Caroline Early Baden. The Baden and Early families were both prominent south county families. Robert and Amanda had eight children; Caroline Early (1873 1967), Lucy Tennent (1875 1958), Albert Henry (1878 1914), Martha Perry (1880 1961), Robert Gover (1882 1882), Frank Alexander (1883 1970), Margaret Baden (1886 1956) and Grace Malvina (1889 1965).

By 1880 Robert had paid off his debt on the property and was fully engaged in farming. Unlike his father, or perhaps because of his father, Robert did not add to his land holdings, choosing to remain relatively debt free for his lifetime. The only land transactions he participated in were the sales of 79-3/4 acres in 1921 of Amanda's inheritance from her father and her interest in two smaller parcels of her father's land sold in 1894 and 1928 respectively. In 1928 he transferred 3.09 acres to his son Frank.

As late as the Federal census of 1880, Franklin was living with Robert and his household, both men engaged in farming. Sometime after 1880, Franklin took up residence on his part of Potomac Landing. His brother James most likely built the side-hall double parlor house that copied the main house at Potomac Landing. On February 18, 1897, Martha Robinson, died at the age of ninety. She was buried in the graveyyard of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden, Prince George's County. Robert continued cultivation of tobacco and small grains as his father before him. The first reference to the farm being named Ferndale is found in the "Communion Record" of Robert's daughter, Martha Perry "Pattie", dated 1896. (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The exact origin or reason for this new name is lost but perhaps the name Potomac Landing held such bitter memories of debt and hardship that, as a symbolic break with the past, a new name was found. It also may have simply been a way to distinguish this portion of Potomac Landing from the others. The farm continued to be listed on tax bills as Potomac Landing well into the 20th century, but was known to the general public and businesses as the Ferndale Farm. (Robinson and Via Family Papers)

Robert served as deputy inspector at the State Tobacco Warehouse in Baltimore for eight years under W.B. Bowie. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Brandywine. In July of 1905, Franklin died, a bachelor farmer. He was buried facing south in the graveyard of the Church of the Atonement, Cheltenham, (a chapel in St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish) where he had served as vestryman, treasurer, and cemetery custodian. Franklin died intestate and a lengthy process of dividing his estate began. This resulted in the sale of his part of Potomac Landing (Lot #2) in July 1908 to William E. Boswell. The court declared Robert ineligible for any inheritance due to his being " . . . a brother of the half blood." The Boswell family later sold the property to the Billingsley family of St. Mary's County. (Equity Case 3209, Prince George's County)

In 1910, after living in the farm's original home for approximately sixty seven years, the Robinson family built a new home. It was described in a 1956 insurance policy as, "2 story, frame, metal roof, 16x43, wing 14x28, 9 rooms." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The house design was a simple Victorian with plastered walls, and lit by carbide gas. Electrical lighting was installed in 1951. The house was built with monies from Robert and Amanda, and their son Frank, who served as builder and contractor.

On Tuesday March 9, 1937, "During a celebration in honor of his wifes birthday anniversary, Mr. Robinson collapsed at the table and died immediately without a word or a sigh." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) Robert was buried beside his mother in the cemetery at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden.

At Robert's death, Ferndale Farm was valued at $30.00 an acre, the total acreage, 174 acres, being valued in the whole at $5,220.00. Robert died intestate, again the fate of the land was in question. He left eight heirs, his widow, Amanda, six of his children and his son Albert Henry's only surviving child, R. Henry Robinson. Rather than have the farm sold and his mother's life disrupted, Frank purchased the estate and personal property from the heirs. Before this could take place, a deed had to be granted the heirs for the property since one had never been recorded after the 1876 sale. Equity case 873 was reopened sixty-two years after its supposed resolution. Frank testified, "over a period of about thirty years I would on a number of occasions, talk about the fact that he had purchased and paid for this property and that a deed had never been executed to him and [he] kept saying he was going to have someone straighten this matter out for him." It was discovered that Robert had fully paid for his part of Potomac Landing. On February 14, 1938 the farm was deeded from Amanda along with Robert''s heirs to Frank. (Book 499, page 334, Land Records of Prince George's County) According to the deed and a 1937 fire insurance policy the farm consisted of 177 1/3 acres, "1 two story dwelling, one tenant house, 1 barrack, 1 tobacco barn, 1 corn house & cow stable, 1 Stable, and 1 Granary & Stable." (Robinson and Via Family Papers)

Frank A. Robinson, now the sole owner of Ferndale Farm, was born August 17, 1883. He learned farming and in addition took up the trade of builder and contractor. As a young man, he worked in the general store of his uncle Robert Baden. He was the contractor for the first Bank of Brandywine and many homes in and around the town of Brandywine, including the home of his cousin Robert E. Baden, DDS. He was secretary of the Building Committee for construction of the Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine, a mission chapel for St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish. His success in the building trade gave him disposable income that he invested in land. His first purchase was in August, 1915 of a 2-9/100 acre of land in Brandywine that was being sold by the Board of County School Commissioners; the purchase price was $300. In March 1916 he purchased 38.09 acres of his Uncle Franklin's farm. This property adjoined Ferndale Farm. Over the next fifty-four years of his life, Frank bought and sold many pieces of real estate. Perhaps his most significant purchases were: 18-1/3 acres purchased from The German American Colonization Land Company of Maryland in October 1915 (Book 115, pg. 140, Land Records of Prince George's County); 147.99 acres purchased from August and Wilhelmina Noltensmeir in December 1917 (Book 129, pg. 263, Land Records of Prince George's County) and 320 acres called the Vineyard purchased from William M. Wilson in March 1928. Frank used these three parcels as collateral for other purchases. Never once did he mortgage Ferndale Farm, insuring that no matter what financial stormy seas might blow, his home was secure. Over the course of his life, especially in the case of the Noltensmeir farm, when cash was needed a parcel of land would be surveyed off and sold. He inherited his grandfather Thomas' love of land but had fortunately developed a shrewd business sense to go along with it.

On November 20, 1929, he married Elizabeth Freeland Bourne, daughter of Joseph Blake and Maria Gantt Bourne of Calvert County, Maryland. They had three children: Mary Elizabeth (1930-2009), Franklin Alexander (1932-2023), and Robert Lee (1935-1997). In addition to his construction business he continued farming, raising tobacco, hay, and small grains. He engaged in sharecropping with tenants on his various properties. He was active in community affairs serving on the Board of The Maryland Tobacco Growers Association (MTGA), the Vestry of St. Thomas Parish, and as sheriff of Brandywine. On January 9, 1940 Amanda Baden Robinson died. She was buried next to her husband at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden. In February 1958, Frank and Elizabeth conveyed 1.57 acres of Ferndale Farm to son Franklin where he and his fiancée, Adina M. Via, were building their new home prior to their marriage in July of that same year.

The booming economy and suburbanization of the Washington metropolitan area in the early 1960's led to the high quality gravel lying beneath Ferndale into becoming a valuable commodity. In October 1962, Franklin and his parents granted a three-year lease to William C. Nolte for mining sand and gravel on the Ferndale Farm at .174 per yard. (Book 2747, pg. 11, Land Records of Prince George's County) From now until 1975 when the property was sold, gravel would be mined from under the farm by various companies. In November 1962, Elizabeth and Frank transferred to Franklin the 38.09 acres Frank had purchased from Fitzhugh Billingsley in 1916. (Book 2754, pg. 99, Land Records of Prince George's County) That same year they transferred 6.754 acres, part of the Vineyard, to son Robert and his wife Lois, (Book 2765, pg. 201, Land Records of Prince George's County)

On December 28, 1965, Frank and Elizabeth participated in a land exchange/purchase of the farm of Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown located along the Patuxent River in Benedict, Charles County, Maryland. Franklin had rented this farm the year before and was impressed enough by its location and arability to work out a purchase. Frank and Elizabeth traded 65.9920 acres that would eventually become Franklin's under Frank's will. On February 21, 1966 they deeded the Charles County farm to Franklin and Adina. Adina named this property Serenity Farm. The property consisted of 480.66 acres. (Liber 179, page 708 etc., Land Records of Charles County)

On February 5, 1970, after a short illness, Frank died at Cafritz Memorial Hospital. He was buried at St. Paul's Episcopal Church near his parents. In his will, probated March 4, 1970 he left thirty acres of the property purchased from the German American Land Company and A. Noltensmeir to Elizabeth. He willed forty acres of the same parcel to daughter Mary Robinson Conner. The remainder of Ferndale Farm was willed to Franklin and the remaining acreage of the Vineyard was left to Robert Lee. Franklin Alexander Robinson was born August 13, 1932 at the Garfield Hospital in Washington, D.C.. He received his schooling in the public school system of Prince George's County, graduating from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. He was a charter member of Gwynn Park's chapter of The Future Farmers of America. He was extremely active in FFA, achieving the Degree of Maryland Farmer in 1950 and their highest award, the Degree of American Farmer at their convention in Kansas City, Missouri in October 1953. He obtained his private pilots license in 1954. He entered the United States Army in February 1955 and went through basic training at Camp Gordon, Augusta, Georgia. After basic training he was transferred to Camp Hanford, Washington State. There he worked part time on the farm of Dick and Theresa Laurent during his off duty hours and began a lifelong friendship with them. He returned home to farming on an agricultural discharge in October of 1956. On July 27, 1958 he married his high school sweetheart, Adina Mae Via, daughter of Robert Milton and Virginia Woods Via. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962), and Adina Theresa (1963).

Franklin continued expanding and improving the farming operation by modern methods and means. At times, he farmed over one thousand acres, both owned and rented. On February 21, 1966, his parents deeded their purchase of the Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown farm in Benedict to he and Adina, later known as Serenity Farm Franklin and Adina engaged an architect to draft house plans for an anticipated new residence. A small A frame vacation home was built on the property so the family could spend weekends there.

On December 14, 1966, after a long illness, Adina died from complications associated with Hodgkin's Disease. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Waldorf, Charles County. Franklin married Margaret Walker Lennox (nee Tallen, known as Rita) on August 21, 1970 (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland). This marriage ended in divorce in 1977. There were no children from this marriage.

On July 14, 1975 the Robinson family, Franklin, his second wife, Margaret, her daughter Margaret W. Lennox, Franklin, Jr., R. David, A. Theresa and Elizabeth B. Robinson, moved to Serenity Farm. On July 17, 1975 Franklin and Elizabeth sold the remaining acreage of Ferndale Farm to Brandywine Sand and Gravel, thus ending 131 years of ownership by the Robinson family. Elizabeth Bourne Robinson died on July 15, 1976 and was buried beside her husband at St. Paul's Church, Baden. Franklin married Hiltrud (Ceddie) Harris (nee Sedlacek) on July 15, 1978. (Robinson Family Bible) This marriage ended in divorce in 1986. There were no children from this marriage. Franklin married Diedre Gale Merhiage on April 19, 1989; this marriage ended in divorce in 1997. There were no children from this marriage. He married Remelda Henega Buenavista on January 13, 2007.

The Robinson family continue day-to-day operations of Serenity Farm. The land is well suited to the growing of tobacco and small grains, which crops, (with the exception of tobacco) along with a flock of sheep, are cultivated there to the present time. After the crop year 2001 the Robinson family took the tobacco buyout program offered by the state of Maryland and ceased growing tobacco. Franklin is active in farming and community affairs having served on the vestry of St. Thomas Episcopal Parish, the Board of Directors of the Maryland Tobacco Growers Association (MTGA), the Board of the Production Credit Association, the Boards of three schools, Holy Trinity Day School, Queen Anne School, and Calverton School, and numerous other organizations. Currently the farm consists of approximately 275 acres. In 1981 a state agricultural land preservation district of 222.755 acres was created. This was the first such district in Charles County and one of the first in the state of Maryland.

Via Family

The Via family traces its origins to the colony of Virginia, where the probable progenitor of the line, Amer Via, a French Huguenot, settled in Manakin Town, Albemarle County between 1670-1700. It is impossible to trace the Via line definitively due to the loss of Virginia county records during the Civil War.

The Via family line covered in this collection can be definitively traced to William Via of Fredericksville Parish, Louisa (later Albemarle) County, Virginia. The William Via family lived west of the present day town of Whitehall at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, an area commonly known as Sugar Hollow. William Via III served in the Virginia Line during the Revolutionary War. He married Mary Craig, daughter of Thomas Craig and Jane Jameson, on March 17, 1784. William died on June 27, 1836, in Albemarle County (Rev. War Pension Appl. 6363, National Archives). His son Thomas married Sally, widow Griffin, on January 1, 1811 (Albemarle County Marriage Records). Their son, Hiram Karl Via (1812-1893), married Harriet Ardenia Naylor by license dated March 7, 1836 (Albemarle County Marriage Records).

Hiram and Harriet's son, Robert St. Clair Via (1844-1925), served as a private in Company I, 7th Virginia Infantry of the Confederate States Army (CSA Military Service Records, National Archives). After the war he married his first cousin, Mary Frances Naylor, daughter of Samuel Chapman Naylor and Eliza Jane Gardner, on April 3, 1866 in Rockingham County (Rockingham County, Virginia, Marriage Records). Sometime between 1870 and 1872, they moved to Linn County, Missouri, and settled about seven miles from the town of Bucklin. Their son, Hiram Chapman Via (1872-1933), was born there. In 1893, the family returned to Virginia, and settled on a farm in Greene County near the town of Stanardsville.

Hiram Chapman Via operated a mill as well as a farm. On March 15, 1899, he married Adina Eleanor Eusebia Runkle, daughter of Milton D. L. Runkle and Roberta A. Beadles (Greene County, Virginia, Marriage Records). They had three children: Bernice Olive (1902-1999), Robert Milton (1906-1983), and Deward Daniel (1909-1977).

Robert moved to Washington, D.C.. In December 1927 he began employment with the Capitol Traction Company as a streetcar conductor (Robinson and Via Family Papers). During the early 1930s, Robert rented a townhouse at 715 A St., SE, where he lived with his sister Bernice V. McMullan and her son, William C. McMullan; his brother and sister in law, and his parents. Next door, at 717, lived the Moses Albright family, including Moses's stepdaughter Ida Virginia Woods (1914-2010), daughter of Jesse Lee Woods (1894-1918) and Donna Mae Barker (1896-1928) of Frederick County, Maryland. Robert and Virginia began a courtship and on September 3, 1932 were married in Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland (Frederick County, Maryland, Marriage Records).

After their marriage, Robert and Virginia lived in various locations in the Washington metropolitan area. Their first child, Robert Delano, was born on March 24, 1933, and their second child, Adina Mae, was born on April 12, 1937. Virginia was employed outside the home while her children were in school. Her first job before her marriage had been with Woolworth's in Martinsburg, WV working the candy counter and then before the birth of her son at The Hecht Company on F St. in Washington, D.C.. After her marriage she worked briefly for the United States Postal Service in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Beginning in the 1950s, she worked first at the Hecht Company department store on 7th Street in the District and later for Charles of the Ritz as a receptionist in their beauty salon located in Woodward & Lothrop's F Street store in Washington, D.C.. She also worked as salon manager at the Charles of the Ritz salons in the Woodward & Lothrop stores in Seven Corners, Virginia, and Chevy Chase, Maryland. She retired due to health reasons in 1973.

On September 10, 1941, Robert and Virginia purchased Lot #43 in Woodlane subdivision in Prince George's County. (Book 619, pg. 12, Land Records of Prince George's County) A house was designed for them for this lot by Clyde E. Phillips. They did not construct a home on this property due to the outbreak of World War II. Robert, due to his employment in public transportation, did not serve with the Armed Services in World War II. On October 18, 1946, they purchased approximately thirty acres bordering on Burch's Creek near the towns of Clinton, also know as Surrattsville, and T.B. in Prince George's County from Joseph H. and M. Pauline Blandford. (Book 873, pg. 483, Land Records of Prince George's County) Over the next three years, hiring private contractors, doing work themselves, and with the help of Robert's brother Deward, they built the two story house designed by Phillips in 1941. They moved to the farm from Capitol Heights in 1949. Robert raised hogs, small grains and a crop of tobacco yearly on this farm and also maintained his job with Capitol Transit (formerly Capitol Traction). In 1954, Robert and Virginia purchased a farm of approximately 150 acres in Island Creek, Calvert County, Maryland. The intention was for Robert and his son to enter into a full time farming operation on expanded acreage. Robert D. Via, known as Delano, graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. Delano was a part-time farmer and pursued a career as a country and western singer with Bashful Bob and the Rhythm Rangers, he being Bashful Bob. He was employed in various jobs, and began a tour in the Army in 1953. By the time the Via family moved to Calvert County in 1956, he decided to pursue careers other than farming. He eventually traveled and worked in various parts of the United States. He married first Delores Cooper, second Gloria J. Irick, and finally Candice Marinelli in December 1974, they had two children, Robert Marin (1975) and Kirstin Marin (1976).

On June 1, 1956 Robert resigned from his position at Capitol Transit due to health reasons. He and his family moved to the farm in Island Creek, Calvert County where he began full time farming. He and Virginia sold the thirty-acre farm in Prince George's County on June 21, 1956 to Melvin C. and Geraldine H. Rardia. (Book 2003, pg. 564, Land Records of Prince George's County) Virginia continued her employment with Charles of the Ritz. Adina, now a graduate of Gwynn Park High School, was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland. They both commuted daily from Calvert County to their places of employment.

Robert farmed in Calvert County, raising hogs, cattle, small grains and tobacco. Over the course of the next twenty-seven years, Robert and Virginia sold smaller parcels off the farm. In 1974, Robert and Virginia built a small retirement home designed for them by Calvert Masonry Contractors. Robert died on December 22, 1983. He was buried beside his daughter Adina in Trinity Memorial Gardens. At the time of Robert's death, the farm consisted of 28.694 acres. In 1998, Virginia deeded the remainder of the farm, then less than six acres, to her grandson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. who sold all but a one-acre lot in April 1999.

Virginia continued to live on the farm in Calvert County, maintaining a small herd of cattle. In the fall of 1989 Franklin, Jr. went to live with her. In 1993, the onset of Alzheimer's Disease required her to move to Serenity Farm and take up residence with her granddaughter A. Theresa. Virginia participated in various studies on Alzheimer's Disease conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland beginning in 1992. She was profiled in the September 1997 issue of Washingtonian Magazine. In October of 1998 she moved to All American Senior Care in Brandywine, Maryland and in 1999 she moved to Morningside, an elderly care facility in Waldorf, Maryland. In 2002, she moved to St. Mary's Nursing Center in Leonardtown, Maryland. The remainder of the farm was sold in 1999 and 2002. She died January 14, 2010 and was buried at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Waldorf.

Adina Mae Via was born April 12, 1937 at the Homeopathic Hospital in Washington, D.C.. Adina grew up in Washington, D.C. attending public schools. She moved with her family to the Burch's Creek farm, Prince George's County, in 1949. She enrolled in the Prince George's County school system, and graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June of 1955. After graduation, she was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs.

In July of 1956, she moved with her family to the Via farm in Island Creek, Calvert County. On July 27, 1958 she married Franklin A. Robinson at the Chapel of the Incarnation. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962) and Adina Theresa (1963). In the fall of 1958, she and Franklin took up residence in the home they had built on Ferndale Farm. She resigned from her position with the USAF in 1959.

On December 14, 1966, at Providence Hospital in Washington, DC, Adina died from complications due to Hodgkin's Disease. She had been battling this disease for many years prior to her death. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Charles County.

Related Materials:

Materials at Other Organizations

The Maryland Historical Society holds items (costume, farming related implements) related to the Robinson and Via families.

Separated Materials:

Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Work and Industry (Agriculture Collection) holds agricultural implements and artifacts associated with both the Robinson farms and the Via farm; the Division of Home and Community Life holds clothing, textiles (crib quilt), jewelry, cosmetics and Adina M. Robinson's sewing box and dress patterns; (Costume and Textiles Collection). See accession numbers: 1989.0688, 1990.0394, 1991.0010; 1991.0722, 1992.0184, 1992.0283, 1992.0321, 1992.0474, 1992.3106, 1994.0064, 1994.0304, 1997.0327, 1998.0038, 1998.0129, 2001.0196, 2002.0087, 2003.0015, 2005.0009.

Division of Armed Forces History (now Division of Olitical and Military History, National Numismatics Collection) holds the Robert M. Via Trolley Token Collection.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center, by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., in November 1993.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

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Home movies

Family papers

Scrapbooks

Funeral registers

Architectural drawings

Citation:

The Robinson and Via Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Sponsor:

Preservation of the 8mm films in this collection was made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Film Preservation Fund.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0475

See more items in:

Robinson and Via Family Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86b1972cf-a789-45ec-8f3e-fb780d43456d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0475

Container:

Box 2 of 2

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 03-145, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Office of the Registrar, Loan Records

See more items in:

Loan Records

Loan Records / Box 2

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa03-145-refidd1e2876

Container:

Box 2 of 3

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 09-163, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Office of the Registrar, Outgoing Loan Files

See more items in:

Outgoing Loan Files

Outgoing Loan Files / Box 2

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa09-163-refidd1e1078

Container:

Box 3 of 3

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 09-163, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Office of the Registrar, Outgoing Loan Files

See more items in:

Outgoing Loan Files

Outgoing Loan Files / Box 3

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa09-163-refidd1e1903

Container:

Box 3 of 3

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 09-163, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Office of the Registrar, Outgoing Loan Files

See more items in:

Outgoing Loan Files

Outgoing Loan Files / Box 3

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-sia-fa09-163-refidd1e2311

Photographer:

Choate, John N., of Carlisle, Pennsylvania  Search this

Anderson, J. A.  Search this

Creator:

Northwestern Photographic Company  Search this

Names:

Anderson, W. W.  Search this

Berht, Stella  Search this

Black Bear, Carrie  Search this

Calls Horse Looking  Search this

Cleveland, William Joshua, 1845-1910  Search this

Flood, Thomas  Search this

Four Horn, Charlotte  Search this

Galiego, Louisa  Search this

Gallagher, H. D. Col  Search this

Good Nation, Laura  Search this

Hand, Emma  Search this

Horse Looking, Irene  Search this

Iron Eagle Feather  Search this

Jackson, Sheldon, 1834-1909  Search this

Little Bull  Search this

Low, Adelia  Search this

McChesney, Charles E.  Search this

McLaughlin, James Major  Search this

Pratt, Richard Henry, 1840-1924  Search this

Shields, John  Search this

Spence, L. F. Agent  Search this

Standing Bear, Victoria  Search this

Townsend, Harvey  Search this

Two Dogs, Isabella  Search this

Wells, Mark  Search this

White Bear, Rosa  Search this

White Birch, Katie  Search this

White Horse  Search this

White Thunder, Rosa  Search this

Wilson, Susan  Search this

Wright, John V. Judge  Search this

Extent:

44 Prints (mounted)

Culture:

Dakota Indians  Search this

Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Prints

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents:

Photographs of Carlisle by J. N. Choate, three Rosebud Agency photographs by J. A. Anderson, the rest unidentified as to photographer. The photographs probably date between 1880 and 1895.

Catalog Number 4574: Letter of 3/21/58 from Richard A. Pohrt (donor): "...eleven photographs from the Indian School at Carlisle. Pa. These I am certain were all taken by J. N. Choates [Choate], a photographer who had a studio at 21 West Main St., Carlisle, Pa." (1) Carlisle Indian School "The dining hall, Indian Training School" (Original Number 45) Photographer: J. H. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (2) Carlisle Indian School "Sheldon Jackson, John Shields and Harvey Townsend, Pueblos." (Original Number 70) J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (3) Carlisle Indian School "Pine Ridge Boys" (Original Number 155) (caption written by hand) J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (4) Carlisle Indian School "After School; Indian Training School, Carlisle, Pa." (written by hand). (Original Number 163) J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (5) Carlisle Indian School Group of students, presumably of Carlisle School. Labeled on back (by hand) as follows: "No. 1 White Horse Little Bull "No. 2 Calls Horse Looking "No. 3 Brule Iron Eagle Feather "No 4 Stella Berht "No. 5 Rosa White Thunder "No 6 Irene Horse Looking "No 7 Laura Good Nation Compliments of Capt. Pratt, E." J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (?) (6) Carlisle Indian School Group of girls, presumably students at Carlisle School. Labled by hand as follows; left to right, row 1 (kneeling) Emma Hand, Rosa White Bear (dead), Isabella Two Dogs, Louisa Galiego (Pine Ridge). Row 2, (sitting) Carrie Black Bear, Susan Wilson (S sister [?]), Charlotte Four Horn, Esther Side [?] Bear. Row 3 (standing) Katie White Birch, Adelia Low, Victoria Standing Bear, Martha Bordeaux [?], Mose Dion [?]. J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (?). (7) Carlisle Indian School Group of boys, presumably students at Carlisle School. J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (?). (8) "Girl's Quarters, Carlisle Barracks" [Choate Broadside, No 78?] J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (?). (9) "School Rooms, Carlisle Barracks." [Choate broadside, No. 80 ?].

Catalog Number 4574: (10) Carlisle Indian School "Cap't Pratt's House and Chapel." [Choate broadside, No. 82 ?] Captain Pratt near steps. J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (11) Carlisle Indian School (?) "Band of Indian Boys at the Government School, Washington, D. C." ("Popular Series"). Stereoscopic view. Probably copy of Choate No. 76, erroneously labeled. [See Choate broadside, B.A.E. Catalog Number 4241.] J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa (?) (See R. A. Pohrt correspondence, 9/24/59). (12) Tribe: Dakota (Oglalla ?) "High Hawk." Resembles closely the man identified as High Hawk in Signal Corps Photograph at National Archives (No. 101549). Only slight resemblance to S. I. Negative 42,827. He must have been considerably older when the latter was taken if they are the same person. J. N. Choate, Carlisle, Pa. (13) Dakota:Agency Personnel, various agencies Seated left to right: Reverend William J. Cleveland (Episcopal missionary and sometime agent at Rosebud-- See Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 5, page 20 for biography), Captain Richard Henry Pratt (Chairman), and Judge John V. Wright of Tennessee, -- the three composed the 2nd commission to the Sioux, 1888. (For account of the commission see Eastman, "Pratt, the Redman's Moses," University of Oklahoma Press, 1935). (Identified from BAE Negative Number "Portraits 13-b"). No date, but because of the 3 main figures, suggests ca. 1888. Standing. left to right: , (appears third from left in S. I. Negative 43,563-- identified more clearly in original prints of same group National Archives-- N. A. Numbers 86-1, 86-2, 87), Col. H. D. Gallagher, Agent Pine Ridge (same ident. source), Major W. W. Anderson, agent at Crow Creek and Lower Brule; for a Mark Wells see Negative 3307-c, Dr C. E. McChesney, agent at Cheyenne River Agency (Number 14, in row 5.), Major James McLaughlin, Agent Standing Rock Reservation, Col. L. F. Spence, Agent Rosebud Agency (identified from S. I. Negative 43,563). No date, but because of the 3 main figures, suggests ca. 1888.

Catalog Number 4574: (14) Dakota: Agency Personnel Seated: Col. L. F. Spence, Agent at Rosebud, (identified from S. I. Negative 43,563) Standing: unidentified, but compare with 4574: (28), below. (15) Dakota: Pine Ridge Agency Labeled in pencil, "Agent's Dwelling, Pine Ridge Agency, D. T." (Verified by numerous views of the Agency in the National Archives). Two Indian Policemen on porch. Water tower behind house. (16) Dakota: Pine Ridge Agency ? Distant view of Agency, almost certainly Pine Ridge (compare with original prints catalog Number 4464. "Pine Ridge Agency from the North in 1891"). Print marked in pencil, "Fort Niobrara, Nebraska Territory"-- erroneous ? Northwestern Photographic Co, Chadron, Nebraska (17) Dakota: Rosebud Agency "No. 4 St Francis' Mission, Rosebud Agency, S. D., West Side." Church and school, one wing in process of being built. Print not marked. Received in package marked by donor, "J. A. Anderson." (18) Dakota: Rosebud Agency "No 7. Birds-eye view of St Francis Mission. Rosebud Agency, S. D." Print not marked. Received in package marked by donor,"J. A. Anderson." (19) Dakota: Rosebud Agency "No 8. Fathers and Brothers of St Francis Mission. Rosebud Agency, S. D." J. A. Anderson, Rosebud Agency, S. D. (20) Dakota: Rosebud Agency View of Rosebud Agency, and garden, from the South (if 17 above correct). Must have been taken prior to the Anderson photograph, since the new wing is not in evidence. (Identified from 17 and 18.) (21) Dakota: Rosebud Agency Nuns with large group of students in school uniforms, (St Francis Mission, Rosebud Agency ?) Little white girl in front row looks like one in 4574: (32) below, and possibly same as in 4574: (31).

Catalog Number 4574 (22) Dakota: Rosebud Agency "View at Rosebud Agency. May 8th 1892." This series of "row" houses corresponds, perhaps, to ones in J. A. Anderson's Among the Sioux, "A typical Indian Agency" (BAE temporary 77). Note "Police Station " sign. 1892. (23) Dakota: Rosebud Agency Agent's house, Rosebud Agency (identified from Negative Number 43,791-B). Standing in front, left to right: , , Col. L. F. Spence, Agent (identified from S, I, Negative 43,563 and National Archives' prints of same group), , , . (24) Boy on horse in front of agent's dwelling, Rosebud Agency. (House, and thus agency, identified from S. I. Negative 43,791-B and others). (25) Dakota: Rosebud Agency Group of Indian Police, civilian men, women, and children around flag pole in front of agent's house (identified from S. I. Negative 43,791-B), Rosebud Agency. Reverend William J. Cleveland (with whiskers and derby) in back row, 2nd to right of flagpole. (Indentified from BAE Negative Number "Portraits 13-b.") (26) Dakota: Rosebud Agency Distant view of agent's dwelling and unidentified home and/or school to the left of it. Copy in negative catalog made from another original print. See Negative Number 43,791-C.

Catalog Number 4574: (27) Dakota: Rosebud Agency Unidentified home and/or school to left of agent's dwelling (see 4574:(26) above, then 43,791-B), large group of men in front of building. Possibly Reverend William J. Cleveland, (note whiskers) on porch, 3rd from right. (28) Dakota: Rosebud Agency (?) Agency personnel (?), including Indian police. 4th from left, front row: Col. L. F. Spence, Agent at Rosebud (identified from S. I. Negative 43,563). 5th from left, front row: same as man on right in 4574: (14) (?). 2nd from left, 2nd row: same as man on left in 4574: (14) (?). 2nd from right, 2nd row: Thomas Flood, Interpreter (identified from S. I. Negative 43,563). Indentification as Rosebud Agency rests primarily upon the presence of Spence. See Negative Number 45,793-B. (29) Dakota: Rosebud Agency (?) Large building, with chapel, set in open area. Built 1885 (date on front gable). In front are 5 women (one on horse) 3 children, three men; Rev. William J. Cleveland at extreme left (identified from BAE Negative Number "Portraits" 13-b). May be Saint Mary's Mission Boarding School for Sioux Boys and Girls, 12 miles from Rosebud Agency, on Antelope Creek, Dakota Territory, for the following reasons: 1. The building is a self-contained unit--including a chapel--and there are no other buildings in view. 2. The building is dated 1885. Pilling, in Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 5, 1887 states that Cleveland had at that time been principal of Saint Mary's for 2 years, which fits neatly with the 1885 date. (30) Dakota: Rosebud Agency (?) Side view of same building as in 4574: (29). Several women and children in foreground. Reverend William J. Cleveland holding horses (identified from BAE Negative Number "Portraits" 13-b), and one other man. See 4574:(29) above.

Catalog Number 4574: The following photographs (4574: (31-39)), along with a group of similar photographs in the National Archives, seem to establish a consistent pattern in the location and structure of agency school facilities. In general, the schools were small frame buildings, apparently widely scattered over the agencies, each with a small frame house for the teaching couple and family. (31) Dakota: Agency Unidentified Frame school (?) building. In foreground, group of students with teachers (man and woman--and their little girl ?), and Indian police. (32) Dakota: Agency Unidentified Group of students with teachers (man and woman--and their child) in front of frame school (?) house. Also an Indian Policeman. (33) Dakota: Agency unidentified Group of students with teachers (man and woman) and Indian Police in front of frame school (?) house. White man on right appears to be identical with the first man on left in S. I. Negative 43,563, Sioux delegation to Washington, 1888. (34) Dakota: Agency unidentified Group of students with teachers (man and woman) in front of frame school (?) house. Also an Indian Policeman. (35) Dakota: Agency unidentified Frame school (?) building. In foreground a group of students with teacher(s). (36) Dakota: Agency unidentified Frame school (?) with group of students and teacher in the foreground. The teacher is the same as in 4574:(36), as are many of the pupils. (37) Dakota: Agency unidentified Teachers (and their child) with group of students in front of frame school building. (See 4574: (38) for identity as school.) (38) Dakota: Agency unidentified School building (and teachers' dwelling ?) with man, woman, and child (same ones as in 4574: (37) above) in front, and two Indian men at side. 2 duplicate prints.

Catalog Number 4574: (39) Dakota: Agency unidentified Teacher's dwelling-schoolhouse complex with one or two scattered cabins in the foreground. Follows what appears to be the typical pattern of small, widely scattered schools. (40) Dakota: Agency unidentified Frame building. Function ? Odd door on back and man standing in doorway suggest this might be an exterior view of 4574: (41). (41) Dakota: Agency Unidentified Pine Ridge (?) or Rosebud (?) Slaughter house (?), interior view, with three men, one an Indian. One man looks like Col. H. D. Gallagher, Pine Ridge Agent. But the print was among a group of views mainly from Rosebud Agency. (42) Dakota: Agency Unidentified Large group of uniformed Indian Police on horseback in front of frame buildings. Agency might be: 1. Standing Rock ? Man front row, left looks like Red Tomahawk. 2. Pine Ridge ? But the men aren't posed in same area of agency where other PR Police pictures were taken. Also the men in this picture have more uniform uniforms than are shown in PR pictures. (See Original Prints, "temporary" Number 29, and Catalog Number 4544: (59, 60).) 3. Rosebud ? (43) Dakota: Agency Unidentified Indian Police, same uniform, same agency, same building, as 4574: (42). Also additional evidence for identifying Agency as Standing Rock: compare officers to those in BAE Negative Number 3711-e. See Negative Number 45,793. (44) Dakota Badlands scenery. "In general it seems to resemble the badlands of southwestern South Dakota not far distant from Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations."--Information from John C. Ewers, 4/5/60.

Biographical / Historical:

Pohrt states, "I believe they were taken about 1890. Some are identified and many are not, but I have reason to believe that the majority were taken on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations in South Dakota. They are of school children, Indian Police, Agency buildings, etc." See correspondence in Smithsonian Institution-Bureau of American Ethnology files.

Local Numbers:

NAA MS 4574

Local Note:

Filed: Original Prints: Carlisle Indian School; Dakota.

Topic:

Photographs  Search this

Federal-Indian relations -- Agencies  Search this

Education -- Carlisle Indian School  Search this

Sioux  Search this

Citation:

Manuscript 4574, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NAA.MS4574

Archival Repository:

National Anthropological Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3d018cb80-1871-4a77-abaf-7a2601ccfe2d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-naa-ms4574

Creator:

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

Names:

Benton, Elizabeth Cornell  Search this

Cornell, Robert  Search this

Extent:

24.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

1804-1986

bulk 1939-1972

Summary:

The papers of Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) measure approximately 24.9 linear feet and date from 1804 to 1986 with the bulk of the material dating from 1939-1972. The collection documents the life, work, interests, and creative activities of the self-taught artist, who was best known for his shadow box constructions, assemblages, and collages. Papers include correspondence, diaries, source material, notes, writings, photographs, printed material, two- and three-dimensional ephemera, art works, and books, as well as a limited amount of legal and financial records, and some miscellaneous personal and family papers. The collection also includes the papers of his sister, Betty Cornell Benton, relating to the handling of Cornell's estate and the personal papers of his brother, Robert Cornell.

Scope and Content Note:

The Joseph Cornell papers measure approximately 24.9 linear feet and date from 1804 to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1939-1972. The collection documents the life, work, interests, and creative activities of the self-taught artist, who was best known for his shadow box constructions, assemblages, and collages. Papers include correspondence, diaries, source material, notes, writings, photographs, printed material, two- and three-dimensional ephemera, art works, and books, as well as a limited amount of legal and financial records, and some miscellaneous personal and family papers (which comprise a series of biographical material). The collection also includes the papers of his sister, Betty Cornell Benton, relating to the handling of Cornell's estate and the personal papers of his brother, Robert Cornell.

Cornell's correspondence is typically with family, friends, artists, dealers, collectors, galleries, museums, admirers, individuals whom he admired, "helpers," and various charitable institutions. Correspondence generally concerns the creation, exhibition, sale, and reception of Cornell's art work; his "explorations" and other research and collecting activities; his preoccupations with certain individuals and motifs; his usual practices of giving gifts of art work to those he liked or admired and making donations to charities in aid of those less fortunate; and his relationships and shared interests with family, friends, and colleagues. Also found is correspondence between and amongst various other members of the Cornell family, including, most notably, Robert Cornell's letters to his sisters, Elizabeth (typically addressed as Nell) and Helen.

Dating from 1941 to 1972, Cornell's diaries span almost the entirety of his career as an artist, which began in earnest when he left his job at the Traphagen textile studio in 1940 to pursue art full-time and ended with his death in 1972. The diaries record his day-to-day experiences (usually comprising his thoughts, feelings, impressions, and ideas); and reflect on his various art projects (boxes, films, and collages) and creative activities ("explorations," and various other research, collecting, and publishing ventures). They also explore many of the themes and underlying concerns of his art work; and document his intense preoccupations with certain individuals, his wide-ranging interests, and the interconnectedness of his ideas and activities. Cornell's style of writing in the diaries tends to be stream-of-conscious with entries being composed of phrases, rather than complete sentences and with the progression of passages being more poetic and associative than either logical or narrative. He tended to compose by hand, occasionally typing up his notes into more formal entries, and also to use abbreviations for oft-repeated words and initials for individuals. At times, his handwriting can be difficult to read, and his references can be difficult to decipher. It was also common practice for him to review or revisit previous entries at various points in time, often making revisions or comments on them with dated annotations in the margins or on the reverse side of a page.

Cornell's source material is largely comprised of files of newspaper and magazine clippings, cutouts, notes, writings, book excerpts, photostats (or stats), prints, postcards, art reproductions, and other printed material. Some files are devoted to people (ballerinas, actresses, singers, artists, and writers) and topics (astronomy, romantic and modern ballet, birds, films, literature, music, plants, and science, among others). Other files relate to specific art works, "explorations," publishing projects, and exhibitions. Source material documents Cornell's preoccupation with certain individuals (past and present), events, subjects, and motifs; the development of some of his major "explorations" and their influence on his various artistic and commercial projects; and his work on certain box constructions and collages, publishing ventures, and exhibition catalogues. Source material also sheds light on Cornell's efforts to gain access to the past; his interest in the symbolism of images and objects; the linkages he found between seemingly unrelated things; and the connections between his many creative endeavors.

Ephemera and artifacts include various objects, mementos, and items of memorabilia, some of which were accumulated by Cornell (in much the same way that he collected his source material) and some of which are of uncertain origin. For Cornell, items such as these were not merely inanimate objects, but were instead evocative of past worlds and capable of bringing the past into the present (an idea which he often expressed in his diaries as the "metaphysique d'ephemera"). He seems to have used some of these items in a layout he designed for Good Housekeeping. Other items may have been used as source material for some of his box constructions.

The collection also houses photographs of Cornell, his family, art work, other artists, and friends, as well as photographs taken by various individuals and publicity photographs from the New York City Ballet. Also found are scattered works of art, including collage fragments and Rorschachs (or ink blot drawings) by Cornell, collages by Cornell's sister, Betty Cornell Benton, on which he collaborated, and a box by Christine Kaufman, which was a gift to Cornell. The books in the collection most likely comprise the remainder of Cornell's library, which was transferred to the Joseph Cornell Study Center, and include some that seem to have belonged to his sister, Betty. Printed material includes various publications and clippings collected by Cornell apart from that which he collected as source material. Writings about Cornell include an article by the poet, Mina Loy, and copies of various theses, presentations, and articles by graduate students in art history received by Benton (who assisted them in their research).

The Joseph Cornell Estate Papers consist of correspondence relating to Betty Cornell Benton's administration of the part of Cornell's estate for which she was responsible and legal documents relating to her various legal disputes with the executors of the estate, as well as a limited amount of printed material, some of which was originally accumulated by Cornell and subsequently shared with Benton, and miscellaneous papers belonging to Benton and their mother, Helen S. Cornell. Estate Papers provide insight on the exhibition and sale of Cornell art works after his death; the disposition of his belongings (including art work, papers, books, records, and source material); and Benton's efforts to foster and safeguard the memory and legacy of Cornell. The Robert Cornell Papers include correspondence, writings, art works, photographs, printed material, and scattered financial and personal records, documenting the full and creative life Robert led despite being confined to a wheelchair. Their inclusion in the collection suggests the family's effort to foster Robert's memory.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into eleven series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1918-1972, 1975 (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1909-1982 (Boxes 1-5, OV 31; 4.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries, 1941-1973 (Boxes 6-10; 5 linear feet)

Series 4: Source Material, 1804-1972 (Boxes 11-18, 25-28, OV 29; 8.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Ephemera and Artifacts, 1858-1946 (Boxes 18, 23; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1905-1972 (Boxes 18, 28, OV 30; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Art Works, circa 1966-1971 (Boxes 19, 23; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 8: Books and Printed Material, 1806-1968 (Boxes 19, 23; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Writings about Cornell, 1950, circa 1975-1980 (Box 19; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 10: Joseph Cornell Estate Papers, circa 1911, 1944-1986 (Boxes 19-22; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Robert Cornell Papers, 1924-1965 (Boxes 24, 28; 0.4 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Joseph Cornell, assemblagist, collagist, and filmmaker, was born on December 24, 1903 in Nyack, New York. He was the oldest son of Joseph I. Cornell, a textile salesman and designer, and Helen Storms Cornell, and had two younger sisters, Elizabeth (b. 1905), nicknamed Nell and later Betty, and Helen (b. 1906), and a younger brother, Robert (b. 1910), who suffered from cerebral palsy. Cornell shared close relationships with his siblings, and was especially attached to his brother whom he took care of as an adult. His fondest childhood memories included family Christmas celebrations, outings to Manhattan where he saw vaudeville shows and strolled around Times Square, and trips to Coney Island where he encountered penny arcade machines. These childhood memories, among others, inspired some of the themes later explored in his art work.

After his father's death in 1917, Cornell was sent to study at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He remained there for four years, but left without receiving a diploma. During this time, the family moved from Nyack to Bayside, Queens, where they lived in a series of rented houses. Cornell rejoined his family in 1921, at which time he went to work as a salesman in the Manhattan office of a textile wholesaler, the William Whitman Company. He joined the Christian Science church in the mid-1920s, and in 1929, the family bought a house at 37-08 Utopia Parkway in Flushing, where he resided for the rest of his life, living there with his mother and brother after both his sisters married and moved away.

During the 1920s, Cornell developed his passion for walking the city streets and taking in their sights, sounds, and impressions; browsing in the secondhand bookshops along Fourth Avenue; and collecting material such as books, prints, postcards, and printed and three-dimensional ephemera. He cultivated his growing interest in culture and the arts by attending opera and ballet performances, seeing plays (the 1922 play Rain, which starred Jeanne Eagels, was among his favorites), visiting galleries and museums, reading, and going to the movies.

In 1931, Cornell began to frequent the Julien Levy Gallery, where he encountered Surrealist art for perhaps the first time. Around this time, he created his first works of art - a series of black-and-white collages composed from cutouts of nineteenth-century engravings - inspired by Max Ernst's collages, in particular his collage-novel, La Femme 100 tetes (1929). Cornell went on to create three-dimensional works of art such as pill boxes and a glass bell series (consisting of objects arranged under a bell jar). His work, including several collages and a glass bell, was first exhibited as part of the groundbreaking "Surrealisme" show at the Levy Gallery in January 1932. He also designed the cover of the show announcement. His first one-man show at the gallery, "The Objects of Joseph Cornell," followed in the fall of 1932. (It was seven years before his next solo show.) By this time, Cornell had been laid off from his job at Whitman's. He was out of work for several years before getting a job as a textile designer at the Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio in 1934. During the next several years, he continued to work on his art at night.

Around this time, Cornell began collecting movies and movie stills, and embarked upon various film-related projects. In 1933, he wrote a scenario for a silent movie, Monsieur Phot. A few years later, he made his first film, Rose Hobart (1936), comprised of re-edited footage from the B-movie, East of Borneo (1931), which starred the actress, Rose Hobart. And he began work on a trilogy of collage-films - The Children's Party, Cotillion, and The Midnight Party (circa 1937). He then took a break from making films until the mid-1950s, but continued to collect film-related material, which he began to incorporate into his other art work.

In 1936, Cornell constructed his first glass-fronted shadow box, Untitled (Soap Bubble Set), which was included that same year in the "Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, along with a cabinet box and several glass bells. In creating some of his other early boxes, he began the practice of using photo reproductions of images which he located in books and magazines, or in the Picture Collection at the New York Public Library, among other places. In his tribute boxes to actresses (1930s), he made use of publicity shots, and in the box, Dressing Room for Gilles (1939), he employed a photostat (or stat) of a reproduction of Jean-Antoine Watteau's painting, Gilles (1718).

Over the years, Cornell came into contact with various figures of the art, dance, and literary worlds. In the 1930s and 1940s, he met the artists, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, and Salvador Dali, and befriended the artists, Lee Miller and Dorothea Tanning. His formative friendships during 1940s were with the artist, Pavel Tchelitchew, the writers, Charles Henri Ford (founder of the avant-garde periodical, View), Parker Tyler, and Donald Windham, and the balletomane, Lincoln Kirstein (founder of Dance Index). His other friends included the artists, Roberto Matta Echaurren and Robert Motherwell, the dancer and actress, Tilly Losch, and the poets, Mina Loy and Marianne Moore. In the 1950s, he associated with artists from the Abstract Expressionist movement, including Willem de Kooning, Jack Tworkov, and Mark Rothko. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he befriended many young artists, including Lee Bontecou and Carolee Schneeman, and young actresses, including Lois Smith, Gwen Van Dam, and Suzanne Miller, whom he sought to appear in his films. And in the early 1960s, he met the Pop artists, Robert Indiana, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol.

Beginning in 1940, Cornell developed a keen interest in dance, particularly ballet. Ballerinas from the Romantic era, such as Marie Taglioni and Fanny Cerrito, especially captured his imagination, inspiring such works as the box, Taglioni's Jewel Casket (1940), and the Portrait of Ondine "exploration," which comprised a portfolio of material relating to Cerrito and her famous role in the ballet, Ondine. Cornell was also fascinated with the modern counterparts of the Romantic ballerinas. In 1940, he befriended the Russian ballet dancer, Tamara Toumanova, and over the years produced many works in homage to her, including swan boxes (inspired by her role in Swan Lake), boxes made with scraps from her costumes, and scrapbooks of clippings, stats, and memorabilia. In 1949, he became enamored of the French dancer, Renee "Zizi" Jeanmarie, after seeing her perform in Carmen and meeting her backstage, and he created several dance-related boxes in her honor. In 1957, he met the ballerina, Allegra Kent. After meeting again in 1964, they became friends, and she served as the subject of several works based on images reproduced from a Parmigianino painting.

In December 1940, Cornell left his job at the Traphagen textile studio to pursue art full-time. He set up a workshop in the basement of the house on Utopia Parkway, which served as a combination studio and storage space. While he spent most days at home, he continued to make regular trips into Manhattan to wander around the city, visit with friends, and hunt for material. Around this time, he began to keep a diary, recording his day-to-day experiences (usually comprising his thoughts, feelings, impressions, ideas) on scraps of paper (including used envelopes, paper bags, napkins, and ticket stubs, among other fragments). He would then type up some of these notes into more formal diary entries, but most of them remained, in his word, "scribblings." Diary keeping eventually became one of his primary activities, along with box construction, collage, research, and collecting.

By this time, his art work was beginning to sell, yet he was not able to live from these sales alone. During the 1940s, he primarily supported himself by doing freelance work for magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Good Housekeeping, supplying illustrations from his picture collection and designing covers and layouts. He also regularly contributed pieces to View and Dance Index. His notable contributions to View included "Enchanted Wanderer: Excerpt from a Journey Album for Hedy Lamarr" (December 1941), "Story Without a Name - for Max Ernst" (April 1942), and "The Crystal Cage [portrait of Berenice]" (January 1943). His projects for Dance Index included various collage-covers, essays, and thematic issues, such as the Summer 1944 issue, which comprised a 22-page tribute to the Romantic ballerinas, Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Cerrito, and Fanny Elssler. To supplement his income, Cornell also held brief positions at an electronics plant, the Allied Control Company, Inc. (in 1943), and at a nursery, the Garden Centre (in 1944).

In 1942, Cornell created one of his more memorable works, Medici Slot Machine, embarking upon a large series of Medici boxes in which he utilized reproductions of portraits by Italian Renaissance artists, such as Sofonisba Anguissola and Pinturicchio. His other boxes from this time period explored themes ranging from ballet, as in A Pantry Ballet (for Jacques Offenbach) (1942), to doomed love, as in Paolo and Francesca (1943-48), to nature, as in the Sand Boxes (1940s) and Sand Fountains (1950s). Cornell often created boxes in series, producing variations on a theme with variants that differed significantly or only slightly. Over the years, series included: Pink Palaces, Pharmacies, Habitats, Aviaries, Dovecotes, Hotels, Observatories, and Night Skies, among others.

In late 1945, Cornell joined the Hugo Gallery, which was run by Alexander Iolas, and a year later mounted the show, "Romantic Museum at the Hugo Gallery: Portraits of Women by Joseph Cornell" (December 1946). He designed the exhibition catalog for this show, which consisted of portraits - box constructions, objects, and "dossiers" - of the opera singers, Giuditta Pasta and Maria Malibran, the ballerinas, Taglioni and Cerrito, and the actresses, Eleanora Duse, Jeanne Eagels, Greta Garbo, and Jennifer Jones, and which also featured one of his most famous boxes, Untitled (Penny Arcade Portrait of Lauren Bacall) (1945-46).

In 1949, Cornell joined the Egan Gallery, which was run by Charles Egan. Around this time, he began creating his series of Aviary boxes, which explored the symbolism of birds and birdcages. He showed twenty-six of these box constructions in his first exhibition at the Egan Gallery, "Aviary by Joseph Cornell" (December 1949-January 1950). He created other series of whitewashed boxes, including the Dovecote series and a small group relating to the poet, Emily Dickinson. He then went on to explore the themes of astronomy and celestial navigation in the Observatory, Night Skies, and Hotel series. Works from these series were featured in his two remaining shows at the Egan Gallery, "Night Songs and Other Work" (December 1950-January 1951) and "Night Voyage" (February-March 1953). In the fall of 1953, sparked by seeing the painting, Figure Seated in a Cafe (1914), Cornell embarked upon a major series of bird constructions dedicated to the Cubist artist, Juan Gris. Notably, these were the only boxes he explicitly dedicated to another artist.

Over the next couple of years, Cornell's work was exhibited across the country. In 1955, he joined the Stable Gallery, which was run by Eleanor Ward. His first one-man show there, in the winter of 1955-56, was "Winter Night Skies," which featured various box constructions based on constellations. During the mid-1950s, he embarked upon a series of Sand Fountains (vertical standing boxes featuring a broken glass and sand that flowed through it when turned upside down), elaborating upon his earlier Sand Boxes (1940s). These boxes along with some of his other latest works, including the Bleriot boxes and the Space Object boxes (which comprised his final box series), were exhibited in his second and last show at the Stable Gallery, "Selected Works" (December 1957).

After leaving the Stable Gallery, Cornell had several dealers handle his work rather than allowing any one to assume too much control. Dealers included Richard Feigen (in Chicago and then in New York) and Irving Blum (in California), among others. Throughout his career, Cornell never liked selling his boxes. He was always reluctant to let his work go and became increasingly uneasy about the growing status of his work as a commodity. He preferred instead to make gifts of his art work to friends and individuals he admired (especially female ones).

In the mid-1950s, Cornell returned to making films. Rather than just splicing together found images as he had in his films of the 1930s, he began to collaborate with others to shoot original footage. He worked with the experimental filmmaker, Stan Brakhage, on two films, one about the Third Ave El which was about to be torn down ( Wonder Ring or Gnir Rednow) and the other about an old house in Cornell's neighborhood that was slated for demolition ( Centuries of June). Cornell then went on to make nine films with the filmmaker, Rudy Burckhardt, including Aviary, A Legend for Fountains, and Nymphlight, among others. In the late 1960s, he enlisted the help of Larry Jordan, who was also a filmmaker, in completing the trilogy of collage-films that he had begun in the 1930s.

Along with creating works of art and making films, Cornell was involved in a host of other creative endeavors throughout his career as an artist. These included: keeping a diary, which was for him another medium for exploring and expressing the themes, ideas, and concerns recurrent in his art work; carrying out "explorations," which typically involved conducting research, collecting material, and compiling files on persons or topics of interest to him; and other projects, such as publishing pamphlets (or brochures) dedicated to the nineteenth-century opera singers, Malibran and Giulia Grisi. Cornell's "explorations" clearly informed his artwork, but they were also works of art in and of themselves. He continually sought to share this work with an audience and twice had the opportunity to do so, when he exhibited versions of his Portrait of Ondine "exploration" at the Museum of Modern Art in 1945 and at the Wittenborn Bookstore in 1956.

Around the mid-1950s, Cornell returned to making collages as independent works of art. Unlike his earlier ones, which were composed from cutouts of black-and-white engravings, his latest collages were made with color images cut out of contemporary magazines and books. In these collages, he explored many of the same themes and preoccupations of his box constructions, including birds, as in Couleur de Peche (1967) and Untitled (Vierge Vivace) (1970), children's games, as in the Penny Arcade series (1960s), and actresses, as in The Sister Shades (1956). Towards the end of his career, collage became his principal medium.

By this time, Cornell was taking fewer trips into Manhattan. Instead, he spent more time at home or traveled only so far as downtown Flushing, where he frequented the public library, hunted for material in stores, such as Woolworth's, and passed time in the coffee-shops on Main Street. From this time on, he kept his diary with increasing regularity, taking down notations with more frequency and creating entries of greater length.

In 1961, fourteen of Cornell's boxes, including Medici Slot Machine, were exhibited as part of the "The Art of Assemblage" show at the Museum of Modern Art. As his biographer notes, Cornell came to view this show "as a turning point in his creative life," marking the "[fall] off in his work" that took place in the sixties (Solomon 271-2). He continued to work on boxes that he had begun long before, but, after this time, rarely if ever constructed new ones. Instead, he focused on making collages and became increasingly concerned with other projects, such as organizing his basement workshop, for which he hired various "helpers" or assistants (mostly young women) over the years. He also became more and more prone to obsessions (or preoccupations, as he called them) with various young women that he encountered both in fantasy (actresses on stage or in films) and in real life (working girls in the city, "teeners" on Main Street, or his female visitors and "helpers" at home). These preoccupations infused his diary writings, and inspired the keeping of "dossiers" on particular individuals and the creation of various collages dedicated to others, including most notably the Penny Arcade series dedicated to Joyce Hunter (or "Tina," as he referred to her in his writings).

After Robert's death in February 1965, Cornell created a series of collages in his memory, many of which incorporated his brother's drawings of animal characters. In January 1966, he exhibited some of these collages, alongside a selection of Robert's drawings, in a show at the Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition." In 1967, there were two retrospective exhibitions of Cornell's work, "An Exhibition of Works by Joseph Cornell" at the Pasadena Art Museum and "Joseph Cornell" at the Guggenheim Museum. By now, Cornell was receiving considerable public recognition for his work. He had received his first profile (by Howard Griffin) in the December 1957 issue of Art News and, ten years later, was treated to a 12-page spread (by David Bourdon) in the December 1967 issue of Life magazine. He was also the recipient of various prizes for his art work, including the M.V Kohnstamm Prize at the Art Institute of Chicago's "62nd American Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture" in 1957 and the winning prize in India's first Triennale of Contemporary World Art in 1968.

In the last years of his life (especially from the time of his mother's death in the fall of 1966), Cornell suffered from severe depression and loneliness, and withdrew even further from the outside world. However, he still maintained relationships with various young friends and artists, who frequently visited Utopia Parkway and/or served as one of his assistants. He became more and more interested in sharing his work with a younger audience and his last two exhibitions in 1972 were expressly for children, "A Joseph Cornell Exhibition for Children" at the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture and "Joseph Cornell - Collages and Boxes" at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.

Cornell continued to work until the end of his life, "refurbishing" earlier boxes and creating memorial collages. Following prostate surgery in June 1972, he spent several months recuperating with family in Westhampton before returning to Utopia Parkway in November. He died of heart failure at home on December 29, 1972.

The biographical note draws heavily from Deborah Solomon's biography, Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 1997), and Diane Waldman's book, Joseph Cornell: Master of Dreams (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002).

Related Material:

The Archives holds several collections of different provenance that relate to Joseph Cornell, including the small collections of Allison Delarue (comprised of two letters from Cornell, available on reel 2803), Muriel Streeter Schwartz (comprised of two letters from Cornell, available on reel 4283), Wayne Andrews (comprised of letters from Cornell and printed material), and Marion Netter (comprised of items received from Cornell). In addition, photographs of Cornell can be found amongst the Hans Namuth photographs and papers. Also found within the Archives is a transcribed interview of Cornell's sister, Elizabeth Cornell Benton, conducted on April 21, 1976 as part of the oral history program.

Separated Material:

The bulk of Cornell's source material resides in the Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum, along with his library and record collection. Cornell's sister, Betty Cornell Benton, donated a portion of this material directly to SAAM (then known as the National Museum of American Art), occasioning the creation of the Study Center circa 1978. The bulk of the source material and library that she donated to AAA, including approximately 66 linear feet of three-dimensional and non-textual source material and 50 linear feet of books, was transferred to the Study Center in 1994 and 1995.

Originals of loaned material returned to the donor after microfilming include: some unidentified and miscellaneous correspondence; significant correspondence between Joseph Cornell and Helen S. Cornell; significant correspondence between Helen S. Cornell, family members and others; and some of Joseph Cornell's family correspondence and general correspondence from the Robert Cornell papers. The loaned material is available on microfilm reels 1055-1058 but is not described further in the Series Descriptions/Container Listing of this finding aid.

Provenance:

The Joseph Cornell papers were donated and microfilmed in several installments from 1974 to 1989 by Joseph Cornell's sister, Betty Cornell Benton. Most, but not all, of the correspondence, which was loaned for microfilming in 1974, was subsequently donated in 1989. Additional material was donated in 2004 by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

Restrictions:

Use of the original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Topic:

Celebrities  Search this

Assemblage (Art)  Search this

Found objects (Art)  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Assemblage artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.cornjose

See more items in:

Joseph Cornell papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ff67e8a6-6a88-40f0-9df4-537c9826eed7

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-cornjose

Collection Creator:

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

Extent:

5 Linear feet (Boxes 6-10)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1941-1973

Scope and Contents note:

Series is comprised of Cornell's diaries, which are unconventional in form, consisting of entries, notes, and writings recorded on loose sheets and scraps of paper, as well as in the margins of newspapers, on the backs of used envelopes, on creased paper bags, napkins, labels, train tickets, library slips, blank telegram forms, calling cards, and parts of bakery boxes. Included are other items, such as TV Guide pages, dried leaves and flowers, cutouts, plastic and metal objects, and a part of a whisk broom, collected by Cornell presumably because they related, in one way or another, to what he was recording.

Diaries record Cornell's day-to-day experiences (sometimes in very minute detail), with allusions to: the books he read, the music he listened to, the films he watched, and the many "sparkings" he received from them; his various finds ("trouvailles") while hunting for material; his thoughts and practices relating to Christian Science; the meals and snacks he ate; the places he went and the sights he saw during his city wanderings; the evocations brought on by ordinary, everyday things; the tensions at home; the people who visited him; the "teeners," "fees," and other women who captured his imagination; his dreamings and awakenings; and his thoughts, feelings, impressions, and ideas during the course of a day.

Diaries also record and reflect on Cornell's various art projects, with references to particular box constructions, box series, collages, and films on which he is working, and to ideas and inspirations for new projects, as well as some commentary on his chosen mediums, the creative process, and the final products. They explore many of the themes that recur in Cornell's art work, including, among others, his fascination with actresses and ballerinas of the past and present, and his abiding appreciation of birds, the night sky, and nature. They also reflect on many of the ideas and concerns underlying his art work and other creative activities, such as his preoccupation with the past, his notions of "metaphysique d'ephemera" (the metaphysical aspects of ephemera) and "the beauty of the commonplace," and his concern to recapture past experiences in his art works and other projects.

Diaries record and reflect on Cornell's wide-ranging "explorations," ranging from GC 44 (with references to his initial experiences during the time he was working at the Garden Centre nursery, and to his subsequent and on-going attempts to recreate the flavor and atmosphere of those days) to Portrait of Ondine (with references to the early inspirations of discovering a portrait of Fanny Cerrito and of seeing a vision of her in a warehouse window, and to his later efforts to compile and create an "unauthorized biography" of the ballerina). They also refer to his many other creative activities, including various research and collecting ventures, such as regular browsing in secondhand book stalls and stores, visits to the library, accumulating material and compiling files on people and topics; and various publishing ventures, such as his contributions to Dance Index and View, and his self-publications, Maria and Bel Canto Pet. They comment on the act of keeping a diary, expressing many times over some of Cornell's deepest concerns about the necessity and difficulty of trying to capture experience "before it fades" and the discrepancy between the original experience and the "cataloguing" of it in writing.

Diaries document Cornell's on-going preoccupations with certain historical and cultural figures, such as the ballerinas, Marie Taglioni and Fanny Cerrito, the singers, Maria Malibran and Raquel Meller, various composers (from Mozart to Satie), the author, Gerard de Nerval, the artists, Delacroix and Vermeer, and various actresses of stage and screen (from Jeanne Eagels to Claire Bloom). Later diaries are taken up with Cornell's episodic preoccupations with various young women he encountered along Main Street (waitresses and shopgirls) or at home ("helpers," young artists, and friends).

Arrangement note:

Distinguishing between consistently dated material that was organized into chronological files and mostly undated material that was organized into bulk files, the Diaries series is arranged into two subseries.

3.1: Diary Entries, 1941-1972

3.2: Diary Notations, 1941-1973

Collection Restrictions:

Use of the original papers requires an appointment.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.cornjose, Series 3

See more items in:

Joseph Cornell papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c0c269a0-2395-4dc1-b029-16f102614180

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-cornjose-ref248

Former owner:

Bartlett, Adolphus Clay  Search this

Bartlett, Adolphus Clay, Mrs.  Search this

Spencer, William Marvin, Colonel, Mr.  Search this

Spencer, William Marvin, Colonel, Mrs.  Search this

Landscape architect:

Olmsted, John Charles, 1852-1920  Search this

Mariani Landscape  Search this

Architect:

Shaw, Howard Van Doren  Search this

Provenance:

Lake Geneva Garden Club  Search this

Arborist:

Bartlett Tree Experts  Search this

Creator:

Olmsted Brothers  Search this

Collection Creator:

Garden Club of America  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Digital images

Place:

House in the Woods (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin)

United States of America -- Wisconsin -- Walworth -- Lake Geneva

Scope and Contents:

The folder includes worksheets and articles about the house.

General:

Beauty without boundaries is the guiding principle for the more than 50 acre vacation estate. Since it was identified as one of the most beautiful country houses by Ladies Home Journal in 1912 and had gardens landscaped by John Charles Olmsted in 1905, the owners chose to restore rather than renovate when they purchased the property in 1971. The wooded shore of Lake Geneva with rockwork retaining walls transitions into an ornamentally landscaped estate. Drifts of hydrangea, hosta and buckeye at the gated entrance are succeeded by the original concrete driveway through woodland gardens with sugar maple, red oak, white oak, linden, boxwood, ground covers and perennial flowers that include daylilies, bleeding heart, phlox, and rugose roses. The formal drive circle at the house has a fountain in the center and a perimeter of flowering shrubs and variegated ivy topiaries. A grass terrace facing the lake features a rustic planted stone staircase. White roses and hydrangea are accented by a bell placed on an old tree stump. The children's garden has containers of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs with rustic wattle arches and furniture.

An enclosed courtyard for the swimming pool between the main house and guest house has clipped yew hedges, ground covers and perennials, trumpet, clematis and wisteria vines, and potted citrus trees. Near stands of mature trees planted more than 100 years ago there is a grotto, a mound of soil and stones topped by a statue with a stone bench nearby. One lawn is kept sculpted into a labyrinth. There is a mineral spring on the property, which is said to be restorative, that flows into a fieldstone basin surrounded by a planted rockwork wall. The other formal gardens include a rose garden planted in parterres and enclosed by espaliered apple trees and an organic potager with vegetable, herb and cutting flower beds laid out geometrically on either side of a wide path of stabilized degenerate granite with more espaliered fruit trees on the surrounding wire fence and covering a pergola.

Renovations were required for a family member with disablilites, including widened and level walkways with very gradual inclines, smooth stone patios and terraces with narrow joints, benches placed where there are good views of the lake, access to the house and swimming pool, and an elevator to the second floor inside the house. Trees in the woodland gardens were replaced as needed and tagged for future reference.

Persons associated with the garden include: Mr. and Mrs. Adolphus Clay Bartlett (former owners, 1905-1930); Colonel and Mrs. William Marvin Spencer (former owners, 1930-1971); John Charles Olmsted (landscape architect, 1905); Howard Van Doren Shaw (architect, 1905); Bartlett Tree Experts (arborists, 2011); Mariani Landscape (landscape architect, 1980- ).

The property was featured in "Ladies Home Journal" in 1909 when it was selected as one of the the twelve most beautiful homes in America.

Related Materials:

House in the Woods related holdings consist of 1 folder (3 35mm slides (photographs); and 21 digital images)

Records related to this site can be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 03038, A. C. Bartlett.

See others in:

Richard Marchand historical postcard collection, circa 1900s-1970s, bulk 1920-1940s.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Topic:

Gardens -- Wisconsin -- Lake Geneva  Search this

Genre/Form:

Digital images

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.GCA, File WI027

See more items in:

The Garden Club of America collection

The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Wisconsin

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb65ecad488-b154-45ec-85d7-31c2ef917cc4

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref11667