Biographical material, professional and personal correspondence, subject files, financial records, artwork, printed material and an audio cassette.
Biographical information includes a résumé and award. Business correspondence, 1964-1984, regards the opening of The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and Block's teaching position at California State University, Northridge, and personal correspondence includes 5 illustrated letters by Block to his wife and two printed cards from Fritz Faiss. Subject files regard the WPA, 1938-1983, film animation, 1957-1976, and book illustration, 1978-1984. Financial records relate to Block's association with the Ankrum Gallery, 1936-1981. Photographs are of Block, his friends, family and works of art.
Artwork includes 2 sketches, 1962, and approximately 60 pencil figurative drawings and studies done during weekly life drawing sessions established by Block and Hans Burkhardt at the Studio Club on the MGM lot from the 1950s to mid-1970s (among them is a pastel by Burkhardt of Block drawing the nude model); and 16 drawings and one print and one poster, most of which were executed by Irving Block for Santa Susana Press, California State University, Northridge's 1986 broadside of John Updike's poem, A Pear Like a Potato. Printed material, 1941-1982, includes exhibition catalogs and clippings. An audio cassette contains Block's reminiscences of his friendship with Burkhardt and a recording of Block delivering a lecture to a senior seminar class on Walt Whitman.
Biographical / Historical:
Irving Block (1910-1986) was a painter and educator in Los Angeles, California. Block was born in New York City. He was involved in the Works Projects Administration's Federal Art Project in the 1930s, and worked as a matte shot artist at 20th Century Fox during the 1940s and 50s. He taught for many years at California State University, Northridge (1963-1980). Block co-authored with Alan Adler the original story for the science fiction film Forbidden Planet, for which he designed Robbie the Robot.
Provenance:
Donated 1984 by Block and in 1996 by Jill Block, the widow of Irving Block. Additional drawings, print and poster donated 2015 by Virginia Elwood-Akers, a former librarian at California State University, Northbridge who received the drawings from colleague Dean Norman Tanis, head of the Santa Susana Press.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Advertising and promotional materials for Erol's Video Club. Includes a calendar with advertising and coupons, two binders of member newsletters, newspapers, original design drawings for advertising, and posters.
Scope and Contents note:
The collection consists of advertising and promotional materials for Erol's Video, Inc. Materials include Series 1: The Erol's Video Club Newsletter, 1984-1985, which contains features of the month and items for sale.
Series 2: The Erol's Video Club Newspaper, 1986-1988, features video rentals, tapes for sale, video services, a gift tape guide, rental guide, and coming attractions.
Series 3: Advertising Materials, 1991, undated consist of a calendar, posters, original artwork, and one black and white photo promoting Erol's and it's video products.
Arrangement:
Divided into 3 series: (1) Erol's Video Club Newsletter; (2) Erol's Video Club Product Newspaper; (3) Advertising Materials.
Biographical/Historical note:
A Washington, D.C. area videocassette rental club, founded in 1963. It was later sold to Blockbuster Video.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Erol's Video Club.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment.
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.
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection consists of three scrapbooks dating from 1903 to 1955 containing mostly newspaper clippings which document the career of California artist Carl Oscar Borg, particularly his work as art director for Hollywood films.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection consists of three scrapbooks compiled by Borg, and after his death by his widow, Lily Borg Elmberg. These contain newspaper clippings from the U.S. and Sweden, documenting Borg's lifelong career as a painter and printmaker since his arrival in Los Angeles in 1903. One scrapbook, 1925-1938, highlights his role as supervising art director for the1926 silent film, The Black Pirate starring actor Douglas Fairbanks. Also included are articles about his years working in the silent movie industry (1925-1928) as the art director of films, Black Pirate, The Gaucho, The Night of Love, The Magic Flame, Two Lovers, and The Iron Mask.
Arrangement:
Volumes are divided into three main categories: I. Los Angeles Years (1903-1935), II. Silent movies and trip to Sweden (1925-1938), and III. Sweden and Santa Barbara years (1935-1955). The dates of a number of the newspaper clippings and exhibition catalogs found in the scrapbooks overlap. In addition, Scrapbook I, 1903-1935, is in fragile condition and should be handled with care.
Biographical Note:
Self taught Swedish-American artist Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947) began his career as a sign painter in New York. He emigrated to the United States from Stockholm, Sweden in 1901, settling in Los Angeles in 1903 where he became active in the emerging Los Angeles art community. He became the protogé of Phoebe Apperson Hearst (mother of William Randolph Hearst) whose support and endorsement enabled him to study in Europe. He established himself as a serious artist after World War II working in the fields of print, film and painting, enabling him to secure a place among the Los Angeles artistic elite. Borg specialized in painting the Southwestern Hopi and Navajo Indians. He also painted mariners and the seal hunting scenes which took place in Channel Island near Santa Barbara. He was a member of the National Academy of Design, the National Academy of Arts, the Sociéte Internationale des Beaux Arts (Paris) and the prestigious Salmagundi Club. He traveled to Sweden in 1939, remaining there until the end of World War II. Upon his return to California, he settled in Santa Barbara where he remained until his death in 1947.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1998 by Helen Laird, who received the papers from Borg's widow, Lily Borg Elmberg in preparation for a biography on Carl Oscar Borg.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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.
Series 6: PUBLICATIONS, 1911-1953 & undatedcontains a range of publications relating to the motion picture industry, specific stars or motion pictures. The series is arranged chronologically.
Series Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Series 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.
Series Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Motion Pictures, 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).
This donation consists of Heveran's scrapbook which contains photographs and ephemera. The photographs include images of the following aircraft and aviation scenes: Curtiss H Flying Boat; SPAD XVI and XIII; de Havilland D.H.4; Salmson; Fokker D.VIII; Halberstadt C.II; Royal Aircraft Factory (RAF) S.E.5; power winch for raising a balloon; and images of the 14th Balloon Photo Section members. There are also images of armament, tanks (including a decoy German tank), German artillery and mortar, images of dead German soldiers, and images of the destruction of the French countryside. The scrapbook also includes a map, French and Belgian currency, a Christmas menu, and newspaper articles.
Biographical / Historical:
Glenn Edward Heveran, Sr. (1895-1960) was born in Chicago, Illinois. As a young man he was a commercial photographer and participated in the infant motion picture industry in Chicago. Heveran was inducted into the United States Army in March of 1918. He became a corporal in the 14th Balloon Photo Section, First Army, and was sent to France in August of 1918. When he returned home in 1919, he prepared a scrapbook, containing photographs that he took or collected during his time in France
Provenance:
Ronald D. Heveran, Gift, 2003
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
"Science Finds Silver Mines in Movie Studios" February 26, 1932
"Beware the Motor Oil GYPS" May 13, 1932
"The Switch Engine of the Air"
"Practical Exposure and Development"
Miscellaneous Notes
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at http://airandspace.si.edu/permissions
Collection Citation:
Joseph D. Mountain Collection, Acc. 1991-0079, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection was collected from movie houses and video stores in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and with two exceptions, exclusively covers the decade of the 1990s. The collection contains movie posters from a wide range of motion pictures; animated, children's, adult, studio and independently made films and consists of full size, six-sheet posters with two small four-sheet size posters. The collection is arranged alphabetically by movie title.
Historical:
Motion pictures have been exhibited in the United States since debuting at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. The public's love affair with the movies has never waned. Beginning with silent films with simple plots the motion picture industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry where the small simple film costs millions of dollars and a great portion of a motion picture budget is designated for advertising. Movie posters have been an integral marketing tool for the motion picture from its inception. Movie posters attempt to capture the essence of the film in one clear defining image and image that will hopefully remain in the consumers mind. Early movie posters boasted original artwork with bright colors and bold lettering. Beginning in the 1950s, movie posters began to use actual photographs from the movie itself as the primary artwork for the movie poster. In the latter 20th century almost all movie posters were photographic in nature. With the expansion of motion pictures into the home video market from the early 1980s onward, movie posters became not only a marketing tool for the movie theatre but for the video store as well.
Collection Restrictions:
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment.
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:
Archives Center Poster Collection, 1910s-2001, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
The Video Press Kit Collection contains press kits produced from the late 1970s to the early 1990s for over 5,000 film titles for domestic and foreign productions dating from the 1930s to the early 1990s. This collection was created by Erol's Video Club in Springfield, Virginia. The date span of the collection reflects the release dates of the films profiled in the press kits.
Scope and Contents:
This collection was complied over approximately ten years by the Erol's Video Club in Springfield, Virginia. The Video Press Kit Collection contains an extensive range (over 5,000 titles) of press kits produced from the late 1970s to the late 1980's for domestic and foreign productions. Materials relating to earlier, vintage film and television are included but only as they pertain to their video release. Within each series, the materials are arranged alphabetically according to title. Some composite title press kits were built around a major title; these kits have been filed according to the most prominently displayed title. Not all secondary titles are listed in the finding aid. Folders containing combined advertisements for more than one movie are filed under the title used in the original order of the material as it was received by the Archives Center. The boxes are described giving an alphabetical range of titles contained in that box. Materials may include press releases, publicity stills, posters, clip-art, ad slicks, advertising, product packaging. Dates, when given, are either video release dates or original theatrical release dates, some entries remain undated since it is unclear what date to assign to the press kit or theatrical release. There may be some series' co-mingling due to original order; the researcher is advised to check all series even if on first glance it may not seem to apply to the title being searched. Works bearing the same title but with different release dates may sometimes be filed together under that title.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into ten series and is arranged alphabetically by video title.
Series 1: Commercial Motion Pictures, 1935-1993, undated, contains press kits relating to the video release for motion pictures that were initially produced for the commercial film market or expressly for a straight-to-video release. They are arranged alphabetically by title and constitute the bulk of the collection.
Series 2: Children, 1985, undated contains titles produced especially to appeal to the children's market. They are arranged alphabetically by title.
Series 3: Documentaries and Educational, 1985, undated contains non-fiction titles produced as either a documentary or for an educational purpose, excepting sports related videos.
Series 4: Instructional, undated contains titles produced for instruction. They are arranged alphabetically by title.
Series 5: Varied Materials, 1985-1993, undated contains a variety of titles and material not easily assigned to any other series and a wide variety of advertising and publicity materials including catalogues, slides, photographs, and ephemera within this series. They are arranged alphabetically by title.
Series 6: Performances, undated contains titles of filmed performances including dance, opera, concerts, and comedy. They are arranged alphabetically by title.
Series 7: Sports and Fitness, 1988, undated contains sports-related titles and fitness videos (i.e., Jane Fonda's Workout). They are arranged alphabetically by title.
Series 8: TV Series, undated contains press kits for video collections of television shows released on video either singly or as part of a collection. They are arranged alphabetically by title.
Series 9: Video Collections, undated contains titles released as a collection, usually centering on a particular performer, director, or genre. They are arranged alphabetically by title.
Series 10: Oversize Materials, 1947-1993, undated contains oversize stand-up displays and quarter, half, and full size posters. They are foldered according to size and titles are listed alphabetically within their respective folders.
Biographical / Historical:
The explosion of the video rental and purchase industry in the 1980s meant that not only would a motion picture, television show, or even a theatrical production, have a revenue-producing first run, it would have a second revenue generating life on video cassette geared to the home viewing market. The growth of the home viewing market also spurred an industry of exclusively made-for-video productions, compilations of popular and vintage television shows, educational and documentary features, and filmed theatrical entertainment. Video "clubs," as retail video tape rental/purchase stores were called, proliferated as the VCR revolution took hold throughout the United States. At first, local independent one-store operations and small chains dominated the market but within a few years, video rental purveyors had been consolidated into larger national and regional chains. Two examples are Erol's Video Club in the east and Blockbuster Video nationwide. As video moved into the 1990s further consolidation of video clubs took place. Erol's Video Club ceased to exist as a separate entity circa 1992 when it was sold to Blockbuster Video.
To help "sell" the video product and assist video clubs in their rental/sale operations, production companies treated many video releases like a traditional first-run theatrical movie release - by preparing a press kit. These kits included some, but not all, of the standard publicity elements: 8x10 glossy photographs, posters, stand-ups, talent biographies and interviews, reviews, ad slicks, and other types of material. Some press kits were quite elaborate while others contained the barest essentials. Elaborate or simple, the goal of the press kit was to place the video product prominently in the viewing public's mind.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Erol's Video Club Collection, 1984-1991 (AC0687)
The collection consists of advertising and promotional materials for Erol's Video, Inc.
Provenance:
Donated to the Division of Cultural History, National Museum of American History from Erol's Video Club in 1993.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Physical Access: Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. Standard copyright restrictions apply to all copyrighted material.
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:
Leonard and Mary Gaskin Papers, 1923-2006, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Marx, Groucho (Julius Henry), 1890-1977 (comedian) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (ink on paper., 11.1" x 8.6")
Container:
Box 6, Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Scripts (documents)
Date:
May 20, 1940
Scope and Contents:
Property of Loew's Incorporated - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.
Local Numbers:
AC0269-0000009 (AC scan)
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Reference copies of audiovisual materials must be used.
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.
