Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Ingrid Hutton, 1993 March 4. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection does not represent the entire Parzinger archive. The German firm, K.P.M., has the drawings Parzinger produced for the line of ceramics and a part of the documentation for the work in the United States was damaged or lost in a 1951 flood in the Madison Avenue office. However, enough of the archive remains to document a significant part of the designer's work from the 1940s-1970s. Included in the collection are brochures, ad sheets, magazine pages, chart-like sheets of furniture designs, drawings or blueprints, clippings, photographs, press articles, and pages of notes. The collection does not include business papers which were deliberately excluded for space reasons.
Arrangement note:
Materials are arranged into ten record groups: I. Furniture Designs for Willow & Reed, Salterini, Parzinger Originals and others; II. Silver Design; III. Ceramic/China Design; IV. Designs for Objects made of non-precious metals; V. Objects of Miscellaneous or Obscure Materials; VI. Designs for Enamel Work; VII. Designs for Textiles and/or Wallcoverings; IX. Lighting Fixture Design (electric); and X. Miscellaneous Items. There are also seven 3-ring binders containing photographs of Parzinger's furniture, silver, ceramics, and metalwork from the 1930s--the 1970s. There are notes on the backs of many of the photographs. There are also sketches of his designs for clients. Binder 7 contains photographs of 63 furniture designs by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings.
Biographical/Historical note:
Tommi (Anton) Parzinger (1903-1981) was born in Munich and received professional design training there at the Kunstgewebeschule (School of Arts and Crafts).He began his career as a freelance designer in Germany and Austria, working in ceramics, wallpapers, lighting, textiles, and furniture. In 1932 he came to the United States as a prize for winning a poster contest for North German Lloyd, the steamship company. In 1935 he settled in New York and became associated with Rena Rosenthal ("smart furniture and accessories shop") as a designer of china, glassware and furniture. Furniture became is primary focus in 1938 he became a designer for Charak of Boston. In 1939 he formed his own business, Parzinger, Inc., 54 East 57th Street, designing silver as well as furniture. Renamed Parzinger Originals in 1946, the firm also had addresses at 32 East 57th Street; 601 Fifth Avenue and 441 Madison Avenue. Donald Cameron became his partner. In addition to his own firm, he designed furniture, fabrics, lighting and a range of accessories for other firms, including Salterini (wrought iron), Hofstatter (furniture), Dorlyn (brass), and Willow & Reed (rattan). He also produced custom designs for interior decorators and many private clients. In 1996 and 1998 his work was shown by Palumbo Gallery, 972 Lexington Avenue, New York City.
Separated Materials note:
The Cooper-Hewitt departments of Drawings and Prints, Applied Arts, and Textiles and Wallcoverings has additional materials on Parzinger in their collections.
Provenance:
All materials were donated to the museum by Donald Cameron in 1998.
Restrictions:
Unprocessed; access is limited; Permission of Library Director required; Policy.
York, Sarah Mountbatten-Windsor, Duchess of, 1959- Search this
Extent:
11 Boxes (13 albums)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drafts (documents)
Awards
Designs
Press releases
Drawings
Templates
Clippings
Articles
Speeches
Slides (photographs)
Date:
[196-]-1994
Summary:
The Parish-Hadley Collection documents the history of the New York City design firm from 1962-1994.Particular emphasis is on Sister Parish (Mrs. Henry Parish II) and Albert Hadley. Magazine clippings from various publications make up the majority of the collection as well as gossip column excerpts about Parish-Hadley or infamous clients. The slides date mostly from the 1980s-1990s and depict some but not all Parish-Hadley projects.
Arrangement note:
Materials are arranged in 13 albums
Organized by album title. The albums contain magazine and newspaper clippings, sketches, templates, speeches, and press releases, project slides. Arranged alphabetically by client, or in lieu of a client name, by project name (There is some overlap in the albums and the album labels are not accurate).
Biographical/Historical note:
Dorothy "Sister" Parish born Dorothy May Kinnicutt in Morristown, New Jersey. Sister is a nickname given to her by her three brothers. She graduated from the Foxcroft School for Girls, an elite Virginia boarding school. She began her career in 1933. It was the year of the "Crash" and financial necessity prompted her to set up shop, "Mrs. Henry Parish II Interiors", in Far Hills, New Jersey, where she began decorating houses for friends. She had no formal training but attributes her taste and instinct for quality to European travel, exposure to art, and, most of all to her upbringing. Alone, and then together with her partner, Albert Hadley, who joined the firm in 1962, she has decorated houses of every size and kind throughout the world. It is said that she represents the "undecorated" look; Vogue magazine calls her "the most famous of all living American women interior designers whose ideas have influenced life-styles all over America."
Sister Parish--grande dame of American decor--shaped the American domestic aesthetic of various Kennedys, Astors, Paleys, and Whitneys. Parish-Hadley was the upper-crust New York firm formed by Mrs. Parish and the Tennessee-born decorator Albert Hadley.
Mr. Hadley, a graduate of and former teacher at Parsons School of Design in both New York and Paris, established his own design firm before joining McMillen, Inc. He began his legendary association with Mrs. Henry Parish II in 1962, when they co-founded the distinguished design firm of Parish-Hadley Associates, which grew to encompass 25 associates and staff members.
Described by The New York Times as "the most illustrious American decorating team of the 20th century," Parish-Hadley's client register includes names of the Kennedys, Rockefellers, Astors, Gettys, Whitneys and Vanderbilts. Parish's cozy, yet dignified style, combined with Hadley's Modernism and attention to architectural space, has led to Parish-Hadley's constant surviving achievement.
The partnership lasted until the death of Sister Parish in 1994. After closing Parish-Hadley in late 1999, Hadley opened a new office and continues collaborating with clients toward his goal to "help them realize more than they thought possible within the framework of their own tastes." His impressive roster of distinguished clients includes former Vice President and Mrs. Albert Gore, Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols, former Ambassador and Mrs. Henry Grunwald and Mrs. Vincent Astor.
Location of Other Archival Materials Note:
Parish-Hadley Associates, Inc. papers; Also located at The John F. Kennedy Library of the National Archives and Records Administration. Boston, Mass.
Provenance:
All materials donated by Mr. Albert Hadley in 1999. Unprocessed.
Restrictions:
Unprocessed; access is limited; Permission of Library Director required; Policy.
Milton Bradley Co. ; Modernfold ; New Castle Products, Inc. Search this
Notes content:
1959 catalog of classic mid-20th century school furniture: chairs (plywood and metal, fiberglass and metal) ; desks ; tables ; auditorium and stadium seating
Includes:
Trade catalog
Color images
Physical description:
1 piece; 1 box
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
New Castle, Indiana, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Educational institutions; equipment and supplies (includes playground equipment) Search this
Color samples ; Luminall (brand) ; paint ; X-Cell-All (brand) paint and varnish remover ; " Short course in interior decorating " numerous paint color samples ; unique ; illustrated room paint schemes and color suggestions ; Harmon Technic (brand) method for coordinating major physical factors in the classroom environment to optimize children's performance, featuring certain beneficial color combinations ; due to shortages of lead and oil during World War II, National Chemical developed Ultra Laminall, one of the first water-based resin emulsion paints that could easily be used by homeowners. Emulsion paints, which after 1949 used latex as their main binder, could be easily cleaned and thinned by water, dried colorfast and had little odor. Cited from: "Do-It-Yourself: Home improvement in 20th-century America," by Carolyn M. Goldstein (Princeton Architectural Press, 1998)
Ultramodern : Samuel Marx : architect, designer, art collector / Liz O'Brien ; design, Stafford Cliff ; managing editor, Jane K. Creech ; editors, Terra Chalberg and Anne Hellman White ; production, Dominick J. Santise
