Letter to William Stanley AIA NOMA president on Congress of African American Architects from Harry G. Robinson III, FAIA Dean of Howard University School of Architecture and Planning
Collection is open for research. Access to collection materials requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The NMAAHC Archives can provide reproductions of some materials for research and educational use. Copyright and right to publicity restrictions apply and limit reproduction for other purposes.
Collection Citation:
Norma Merrick Sklarek Archival Collection, 1944-2008. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.
3.92 Cubic feet (consisting of 8 boxes, 1 folder, 12 oversize folders, 3 map case folders.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business ephemera
Business letters
Reports
Business records
Receipts
Sales letters
Auction catalogs
Catalogues
Advertising
Commercial catalogs
Advertising cards
Trade catalogs
Publications
Print advertising
Sales records
Correspondence
Manufacturers' catalogs
Manuals
Advertising fliers
Exhibition catalogs
Periodicals
Catalogs
Printed ephemera
Illustrations
Ephemera
Mail order catalogs
Sales catalogs
Legal documents
Commercial correspondence
Photographic prints
Invoices
Trade literature
Trade cards
Business cards
Advertising mail
Date:
1788-1955
bulk 1830-1930
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Horses forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
Horses covers goods and services for the procurement and maintenance of horses. Riding academies, racing, and breeding are represented. Some resources specifically target health care issues. Images are mostly illustrations with a few photographs. A few general interest pieces are present, but virtually nothing in the way of in-depth research or study. The bulk of the material is catalogues. The Pedigree folders contain some handwritten records, however, the origin/farm name is not readily apparent. A small amount of material is present regarding Warshaw's development of this category and sale of a poster to help generate income.
No extensive runs or complete records exist for any single company, brand, and no particular depth is present for any singular subtopic though some publications may provide general and historical overviews of a person, company, or facet of industry.
Arrangement:
Horses is arranged in three subseries.
Business Records and Marketing Material
Genre
Subject
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Horses is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
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.
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Horses, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Background and biographical information consists of Nesbitt's resume, an artist/designer statement, list of clients and accomplishments of Nesbitt Associates, Ltd., press releases, articles, and photographs of the designer.,The materials in this collection document Nesbitt's work from 1951 through 1984.
The records of the office of public relations cover the years 1955-1963 and include press releases and clippings describing some Nesbitt's products, his theories on consumer motivation, and the results of his surveys, as well as correspondence with members of the press. General office correspondence is boxed separately.
Color slides, color and black & white transparencies, and black & white photographs of most of Nesbitt's designs for packaging from 1951-1981 are included. Oversized materials include books jackets and booklets designed by Nesbitt, as well as some renderings for packaging designs done in color.
Three samples of fitted presentation boxes designed by Nesbitt are included, as well as a prototype for a design award for Parsons School of Design in New York, and two "Multiplication" cubes commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Arrangement:
This collection has been reboxed in archivally-sound containers, but the materials have only been partially processed and arranged. Record groups include: 1) Backgound and Biographical Information; 2) Records of the Public Relations Office, 1955-1963; 3) Correspondence; 4) Slides, Transparencies, and Photographs; 5) Oversized Materials; and 6) Samples.
Biographical / Historical:
Packaging, industrial, and graphic designer. Born in New York City, August 10, 1920. Nesbitt was a student of sculptor Chaim Gross and studied art at many New York institutions including: Art Students League; New York University; Columbia University; Pratt Institute of Art; and the New School.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945 where he worked as a cartographer and as the head of the visual aid section in a military intelligence training center. In 1945, he joined the staff of Harper's Bazaar magazine where he was an illustrator assisting art director Alexey Brodovich. In 1946, Nesbitt was hired by the industrial design studio of Raymond Loewy as a handletterer and packaging designer.
He worked with Lippincott Industrial Design from 1948 to 1951. Nesbitt opened his own design studio, Nesbitt Associates, Ltd. in 1951. The firm specialized in package design, trademarks, and corporate identities. Some of his most recognizable designs were for the label for Campbell's Soup and the Florists' Telegraph Delivery (F.T.D.) Winged Mercury 'Interflora' figure, still used today. Nesbitt's other clients included: Franco American; Revlon; Ballantine Beer; Borden; Champion spark plugs; Kodak; Philip Morris cigarettes; Schick razors; and Archway cookies. In addition, Nesbitt developed the "Karry Kit" for Ballantine Beer which came to be widely used and known as the six pack.
Nesbitt was known for his revealing studies and surveys of the buying needs and preferences of the "average American housewife" and consumers in general. His opinions on what he referred to as "underpackaging" were widely publicized in professional magazines and journals. In 1984, Nesbitt retired from the design field and went to California to resume his career as a sculptor until his death in 1993.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
NMAH.AC.0367 Campbell Soup Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project
NMAH.AC.0552 Caroline R. Jones Papers
NMAH.AC.0060 Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Collection donated by the designer's wife, Mrs. Saul Nesbitt, in 1994.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The materials in this collection span the years from the late 1920s to the 1970s and document Metzig's work in Germany and the United States. Little background and biographical information is available.
Project files : More than 500 examples of the designer's work, including letterheads, logos, trademarks, brochures, book jackets, magazine covers and layouts, certificates, awards, and product labels.
Printed Materials : Includes articles written by Metzig and a copy of his publication, "Art Lettering and Design," which was done for the International Correspondence Schools of Pennsylvania in 1957. This collection does not include any business records or correspondence.
Other Visual Materials : Photographs, slides, and transparencies of many of Metzig's designs.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into three record groups: 1) printed materials; 2) project files; and 3) other visual materials. Project files are arranged in alphabetical order by name of client. Extensive files for projects done for distilleries and publishing companies are alphabetized separately.
Biographical / Historical:
Graphic designer and artist. Born Hanover, Germany, 1893. Metzig apprenticed with a lithographer prior to establishing his own studio in the 1920s. He designed trademarks, logos, letterheads, brochures, and posters for clients. He is best known for his work for Pelikan Ink Company.
He also designed book covers, magazine covers, and page layouts. In the 1930s, Metzig became known as a leading calligrapher and advertising artist in Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1939 and settled in New York where he taught calligraphy and did freelance graphic design until his death in 1989.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Mr. Metzig's daughter, Mrs. Matthew Murgio, and a former student and friend of Metzig's, Lili Wronker, 1990.
Restrictions:
Permission of staff required to photograph materials.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
General correspondence files contain all communications that do not pertain to a specific project. Because Friedman's personal life and business were so interconnected, many of his business associates also shared personal correspondence with the designer.,Materials in this collection document Friedman's work from 1967, as a student, until his death in 1995.
Files that document his affiliations with Yale University and the State University of New York at Purchase include administrative memos, proposals, lecture outlines, syllabi, bibliographies, examples of students' work, and design projects Friedman did for each school. A copy of the goals and objectives of the Division of Visual Arts within the School of the Arts at SUNY Purchase written by Friedman is included.
Project files include business correspondence, invoices, sketches, contracts, clippings, photographs, and slides. In the case of his graphic projects, some samples of stationery and brochures are included. Extensive documentation exists for Friedman's projects for Citibank, WilliWear, National Public Radio, and Bonwit Teller. Some correspondence is in German. Friedman's lecture notes, proposals for articles and books, and drafts of many articles are included. Clippings of articles on the designer and his work are arranged chronologically.
Research files consist of articles and Friedman's notes on topics of interest to him, such as typography, structure, simultaneity, and information theory. Photographs, slides, and transparencies of many of Friedman's projects, his sources of inspiration, and the work of his students are included.
Arrangement:
Record Groups include:
1: General Correspondence
2: University Affiliations
3: Project Files
4: Lectures and Writings
5: Clippings
6: Research Materials
7: Photographs and Slides
Biographical / Historical:
Educator, graphic and furniture designer. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, 1945. Friedman recieved a BFA from Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburg, PA. He studied graphic design at Hochschule fur Gestaltung, Ulm, and studied with Armin Hofmann and Wolfgang Weingart at Allgemeine Gewerbeschule, Basel. Friedman returned to America in 1969 and began his career as graphic designer for large corporations.
He worked with the firm Anspach Grossman Portugal as a senior designer from 1975 to 1977. Friedman contributed significantly to what came to be known as "post-modern" or "new wave" typography in the 1970s. He taught graphic design at Yale University, 1970-73. He became Assistant Professor and Chairman of the Board of Study in Design at the State University of New York at Purchase, 1972-1975. Friedman designed catalogs and brochures for both universities. Friedman worked with Pentagram Design in New York City from 1979 to 1984. He designed corporate identity programs, posters, publications, packaging, letterheads, and logos, for clients such as Citibank, and Williwear.
Friedman was a long-time friend of artist Keith Haring, and designed the book, "Keith Haring", 1982. He was the author of "Dan Friedman: Radical Modernism", 1994, and co-authored with Jeffrey Deitch, "Cultural Geometry", 1988, and "Artificial Nature", 1990. He designed the books "New Italian Design", 1990, and "Post Human", 1992. He also designed furniture, lighting, screens, wall elements, and interiors. Many of his furniture designs were done especially for Galerie Noetu in Paris. Among his best known furniture designs are the 1989 Virgin Screen, 1989 Zoid sofa and chair, and the Three Mile Island lamps.
Friedman served as the Frank Stanton Professor of Graphic Design at the Cooper Union in New York city, from 1994 until his death in 1995.
Related Materials:
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Drawings and Prints Department
Hundreds of designs for letterheads, logos, business cards, invitations, greeting cards, furniture, lighting, screens, office interiors, shoppings bags and gift boxes, calendars, packaging, weather pattern diagrams and maps, book covers, and posters
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Applied Arts Department
"U.S.A." table and dome-shaped floor lamp.,.
Friedman's work can be found in the collections of the following museums: Museum of Modern Art, New York City; Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Seibu, Tokyo; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA; and Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the museum by the designer's brother, Ken Friedman in 1995.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Landor Associates used 35 mm color photographic slides for business presentations and work sessions, both internally and with business clients. Slides documented Landor Associates design projects in progress, social events, the ferryboat Klamath, and the Museum of Packaging Antiquities. Most of the slides are of finished products -- carefully produced images of packaging and of corporate identity work, including logos, symbols, and stationery. Several versions of a design often are included for comparisons and there are occasional images of point-of-sale locations. For come corporate identity assignments, especially banks, there are on-location slides of existing buildings and signage. Documentation is especially rich for Philip Morris international brand cigarettes. Most of the slides were initially found in binders but not always in a discernable order.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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:
Landor Design Collection, circa 1862-2002, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Lūgūʹhā-yi maṭbūʻāt-i dawrah-ʼi Qājār = Logos of Iranian printed media in the Qajar period pizhūsh va nigārish-i, Muḥsin Iḥtishāmī ; bā hamkārī-i, Kūrūsh Nawrūz Murādī va muqaddamahʹī az Sayyid Farīd Qāsimī ; vīrāstār, Saʻīd Ṣidqī
Title:
لوگوهاى مطبوعات دورۀ قاجار = Logos of Iranian printed media in the Qajar period / پژوش و نگارش، محسن احتشامى ؛ با همکارى، کوروش نوروز مرادى و مقدمهاى از سيد فريد قاسمى ؛ ويراستار، سعيد صدقى
Logos of Iranian printed media in the Qajar period
This collection documents Horwitt's major projects from the 1930s to the 1960s.Project files include drawings, sketches, blueprints, correspondence, patents, legal correspondence, clippings, financial reports, and advertisements for Horwitt's projects. Samples of logos and letterheads he designed are included as well. The most thorough documentation pertains to the Braquette, the Cyclometer, the Museum Watch, and the Beta Chair. Drawings, sketches, blueprints, and plans are boxed separately, mostly flat. Interviews with individuals who worked with and knew Horwitt are on audio cassettes, "Recollections of Nathan Horwitt." Two short videos, "The Legend behind the Museum Watch" and "Movado Worldwide Museum" are stored on 3/4 in. video cassettes.
Arrangement note:
Arranged in six record groups; 1) Project files; 2) Drawings, sketches, and blueprints; 3) Film and video; 4) Photographs and Transparencies; 5) Sound Recordings; and 6) Reference Material.
Biographical/Historical note:
Industrial designer. Born Romania, 1889. Horwitt studied at City University of New York, New York University, and the Art Students' League, New York. In the 1920s, Horwitt formed his own, short-lived company, Design Engineers, Inc. He served as an advertising copywriter for the pharmaceutical company, E.R. Squibb, after serving in World War II.
Horwitt is best known for his design of a numberless black-face watch that has become known as the "Museum Watch" and was produced by the Movado Watch Company. He also designed the 1930 Beta chair and the Braquette, a frameless picture frame. His innovative designs for timepieces incorporated the classic elements of modern design while retaining some of the traditional elements of telling time, such as the circular face.
Location of Other Archival Materials Note:
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Applied Arts Department. Models and prototypes of approximately 25 objects, including models of the Museum Clock, the Cyclox clock, the Braquette, and the Beta Chair.
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Drawings and Prints Department. Three drawings of Horwitt's designs for perfume bottles.
Movado Web Page. Information on Horwitt's work for the Movado Watch Company can be found on the company's web site, http://www.movado.ch/nhorwit.html.
Provenance:
Hank Horwitt, the designer's son, gave Cooper-Hewitt all his relevant design materials from his home studio in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1991.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use onsite by appointment. Permission of staff required to photograph materials.
3 Boxes (2 letter sized boxes, 1 legal sized box.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Clippings
Press releases
Speeches
Photographs
Date:
[mid-1940s-early 1960s]
Summary:
This collection spans the period from the mid-1940s to the early-1960s and consists ofnewspaper and magazine articles by and about Loewy, including the 1949 TIME magazine on which he appeared on the cover. Extensive clippings exist pertaining to his designs for automobiles. Also includes many articles and speeches written by and about William Snaith, a partner in the firm which was renamed Raymond Loewy/William Snaith, Inc. in 1961. A catalog from the exhibition, "Ten Automobiles," which took place at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1953, is included. Other materials include brochures printed and designed by the firm, press releases, a listing of projects, honors, and membership. Some photographs of Loewy and his design team are included. The collection does not contain any original design materials or project files.
Arrangement note:
Unprocessed.
Biographical/Historical note:
Industrial Designer. Born Paris, France, November 8, 1893, Loewy initially studied electrical engineering, and by 1909, he has designed and sold a successful airplane model. He immigrated to the United States in 1919 and became a naturalized citizen in 1938. Loewy began working as a freelance window display designer for Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue, and as an illustrator for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and others, from 1919.
He designed the trademark for Neiman-Marcus in 1923. Loewy is identified as one of the founding fathers of industrial design. In 1929, he started Raymond Loewy Associates in New York, and by 1947, he appeared on the cover of TIME magazine. Loewy's designs always stressed the importance of the clean, functional, dynamic design of products. His schooling in electrical engineering translated into his designs for automobiles, trains, airplanes, ships, and spacecraft for NASA. He also designed interiors for many hotels, offices, and supermarkets. He is best known for his designs for the 1947 Studebaker Starlight Coupe; the 1953 Starliner Coupe; the 1961 Avanti; the 1947 line of Hallicrafter radio recievers; the 1929 Gestetner duplicating machine; the 1934 Sears Coldspot refrigerator; and the S-I steam locomotive for the Pennsylvania Railroad.
He also designed logos for Exxon and Shell oil companies, and bottles and refrigerated vending machines for Coca Cola. He became President of the American Society of Industrial Designers in 1946. Loewy established Compagnie de l'Esthetique Industrielle in Paris in 1952. His work has been featured in many exhibitions, including: "An Exhibition for Modern Living", Detroit Institute of Arts, 1949; "The Designs of Raymond Loewy", Renwick Gallery of the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1975; and "The Machine Age in America", Brooklyn Museum, 1986, among others. He authored, "The Locomotive: Its Esthetics", 1937; "Never Leave Well Enough Alone", 1951; and "Industrial Design", 1979. In 1961, Loewy went into semi-retirement, became partners with William Snaith, and renamed the company Raymond Loewy/William Snaith, Inc. Loewy died in Monte Carlo, July 14, 1986.
Location of Other Archival Materials Note:
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The Raymond Loewy Collection. Drawings, blueprints, sketches, phtographs, slides, and audio and video recordings, covering the period from 1929-1988.
Canadian Center for Architecture, Special Collections. Vertical file docmenting Loewy's work.
Provenance:
The materials in this collection were donated to Cooper-Hewitt by Betty Reese, Loewy's publicist.
Restrictions:
Unprocessed; access is limited. Permission of Library Director required for use.
