Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, and from the General Acquisitions Endowment Fund
Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, and from the General Acquisitions Endowment Fund
Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, and from the General Acquisitions Endowment Fund
The papers of scenographer, graphic designer, architect, and furniture designer Antonin Heythum measure 4.1 linear feet and date from circa 1928-1954. They illustrate his career through biographical materials, writings, exhibition files, and printed and photographic material.
Scope and Contents:
The Antonin Heythum papers measure 4.1 linear feet and date from circa 1928-1954. Biographical materials include the birth certificate for Heythum's daughter Jan Antonin Columbus Heythum and miscellaneous correspondence. Writings includes draft manuscripts for two books by Heythum and his wife, Charlotta, Design for Use and Packaging Design Considerations. Typescripts of essays by Robert M. Hutchins concerning education and World War Two and a typescript titled "Industrial Design" by Donald Dohner are also included.
Exhibition files contains letters, photographs, and printed material for the International Exposition in Brno, Czechoslovakia, (1928), the Paris Exposition (1937), the San Francisco Bay Exposition (1939), the Swiss Exposition in Zurich (1939), the New York World's Fair (1939-1940), the exposition in Rome (1942), and the Cleveland International Exposition (1944). Teaching files contains materials relating to Heythum's classes at the California Institute of Technology and Syracuse University as well as a folder regarding designs created by Heythum for Gladding McBean.
Printed material includes exhibition catalogs and various publications surrounding industrial design, as well as news clippings and oversize posters. Photographic material includes photographs of the Czechoslovakian countryside, people, museums and exhibitions. Also included are photographs of industrial design materials, projects, and classes.
Arrangement:
This collection consists of six series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1935-1948 (.1 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 2: Writings , circa 1941-1946 (.6 Linear feet: Box 1, OV 7)
Series 3: Exhibition Files, circa 1928-1944 (1.6 Linear feet: Boxes 1-3)
Series 4: Teaching Files, circa 1938-1952 (.2 Linear feet: Box 3)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1933-1954 (1.1 Linear feet: Boxes 3-5, OV 8)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1928-1944 (.5 Linear feet: Boxes 4 and 6)
Biographical / Historical:
Antonin Heythum (1901-1954) was a scenographer, graphic designer, architect, and furniture designer who worked primarily in New York and Central Europe.
He was born in Most, Austria-Hungary, then the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In 1924 he studied architecture, civil engineering, and ship construction at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He joined the Devětsil art association and participated in the beginning of the Liberated Theater where he worked as a scenographer from 1924-1925. In 1932 he worked with Evžen Linhart to design a house in Na Ostrohu in a colony of houses in Osada Baba, Prague.
Heythum participated in many exhibition installations. In 1933 in Prague, he created a national glass exhibition and he worked on pavilions at the World Exhibition in Brussels. In 1938 he participated in the New York World's Fair and San Francisco Bay expositions and after the beginning of World War Two remained in the United States where he wrote a book with his wife on exhibition management titled Design for Use (1944). Heythum also founded the Industrial Design Department at the California Institute of Technology and was the head of Industrial Design at Syracuse University from 1946 to his death. He also taught at Columbia University and was a consultant for the firm of Norman Bel Geddes.
Heythum died on January 10, 1954 in the town of Rottach in southern Bavaria.
Provenance:
The Antonin Heythum papers were donated in 1985 by Arthur Pulos who received the papers from Charlotta Heythum in 1956.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Furniture designers -- New York (State) Search this
Antonin Heythum papers, circa 1928-1954, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
This collection, which dates from 1926-1986, documents the output of Moses Asch through the various record labels he founded and co-founded, and includes some of his personal papers. The Asch collection includes published recordings, master tapes, outtakes, business records, correspondence, photographs, and film.
Scope and Contents:
The Moses and Frances Asch Collection measures 841 cubic feet and dates from 1926-1987, with some contemporary, relevant correspondence, clippings, and ephemera added after 1987.
Most of the collection consists of audio recordings (commercial 78 rpm and long-playing records, open reel tapes, acetate discs, and test pressings), correspondence with recording artists and producers, artwork, photographs, ephemera, clippings, record production materials, writings, and business papers relating to Folkways Records. Materials relating to Folkways Records can be found primarily in the Correspondence, Folkways Production, Business Records, Photographs, Artwork, Sound Recordings, and Film series.
The collection also contains some biographical materials and personal correspondence, including materials related to Asch's first business, Radio Laboratories, located in the Biographical Materials series. Correspondence, ephemera, photographs, record production materials, business papers, and recordings relating to Asch's record labels before Folkways Records (Asch Recordings, Disc Company of America, Cub Records) are located in the Early Label Materials series as well as the Audio Recordings and Photographs series.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged in 10 series:
Series 1: Correspondence, 1942-1987
Series 2: Folkways Production, 1946-1987
Series 3: Business Records, 1940-1987
Series 4: Woody Guthrie papers, 1927-1985
Series 5: Early Label Materials, 1940-1949
Series 6: Biographical Materials, 1926-1987
Series 7: Photographs
Series 8: Artwork
Series 9: Audio Recordings
Series 10: Film
At this time, the collection is partially processed. Please contact rinzlerarchives@si.edu for more information.
Biographical/Historical note:
The son of Yiddish writer Sholem Asch, Moses Asch was born in Poland in 1905. His childhood was spent in Poland, France, Germany, and New York. While young, Asch developed an interest in radio electronics, which ultimately lead him to his life's work, recording the music and sounds of the world. He established several record labels in succession, sometimes partnering with other record companies. Two of his fist record companies, Asch Recordings and DISC Co. of America, went bankrupt. They were followed by his best-known label, Folkways Records, which was founded in 1948 with Marian Distler (1919-1964). He was still working on Folkways recordings when he died in 1986.
Folkways Records sought to document the entire world of sound. The 2,168 titles Asch released on Folkways include traditional and contemporary music from around the world, spoken word in many languages, and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, and current events. Asch's business practices revolved around the commitment to keep every recording issued by Folkways in print, despite low sales. Asch stayed afloat by cutting costs where he could (such as color printing) and offering a high-quality product, meticulously recorded and accompanied by extensive liner notes. In doing this, he could charge a slightly higher price than other commercial outfits. Despite a tenuous relationship with financial solvency, Folkways grew to be not only one of the most important independent record companies in the United States in the 20th century, but also one of the largest and most influential record companies in the world.
Moses Asch's record labels featured famous and lesser known American writers, poets, documentarians, ethnographers, and grass roots musicians on commercial recordings. American folk icon Woody Guthrie recorded on the Asch, Disc, and Folkways labels, and the Asch Collection includes some of his correspondence, lyrics, drawings, and writings. The collection also includes correspondence with other notable musicians and artists such as John Cage, Langston Hughes, Margaret Walker, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl, Alan Lomax, Henry Cowell, and Kenneth Patchen. Also in the collection are ethnographic field notes and photographs by as well as correspondence with Béla Barók, Sidney Robertson Cowell, Harold Courlander, Helen Creighton, Laura Boulton, and Samuel Charters. Asch hired various prominent artists and graphic designers including David Stone Martin, Ben Shahn, John Carlis, and Ronald Clyne to create album cover art for his recordings. Much of the original art and designs for these covers can be found in the Asch Collection.
Asch's output of recordings on various labels, including published recordings, open reel master tapes, outtakes, and acetate disks, in addition to his business papers, correspondence, photographs, and other files were acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987. The collection came to the Smithsonian with the understanding that all 2168 titles under the Folkways label would be kept available in perpetuity.
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.
Provenance:
Ralph Rinzler arranged the Smithsonian's acquisition of the Moses and Frances Asch Collection in 1987, beginning with Asch before his death in 1986 and continuing with extensive discussions between Rinzler and the Asch family. Since its acquisition, archivist Jeff Place and others have added contemporary, relevant correspondence with Folkways artists and related individuals.
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.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Victoria Barr, 1977 January 11-February 18. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Jennifer White-Johnson, Neurodivergent Artist and Designer
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Jennifer White-Johnson, Neurodivergent Artist and Designer
