The papers of weaver, author, and teacher Osma Gallinger Tod measure 3.7 linear feet and date from circa 1925 to 1993. The collection comprises biographical materials including photographs of Tod and writings about her by her daughter Josephine Couch Del Deo; files on Tod's numerous writing projects including typescripts, drawings, and samples; records documenting Tod's role as organizer and director of the National Conference of American Handweavers; and printed materials including a scrapbook of clippings, documenting Tod's career.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of weaver, author, and teacher Osma Gallinger Tod measure 3.7 linear feet and date from circa 1925 to 1993. The collection comprises biographical materials including photographs of Tod and writings about her by her daughter Josephine Couch Del Deo; files on Tod's numerous writing projects including typescripts, drawings, and samples; records documenting Tod's role as organizer and director of the National Conference of American Handweavers; and printed materials including a scrapbook of clippings, documenting Tod's career.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1927-1993 (3 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Writing Projects, circa 1925-1992 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 1.3, 5)
Series 3: National Conference of American Handweavers, 1938-1957 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Series 4: Printed Materials, 1927-1981 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)
Biographical / Historical:
Osma Gallinger Tod (1895-1983) was a weaver, teacher, and author active in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Tod was at the forefront of the reawakened American craft movement of the 1930s, and was the author of Basket Pioneering, Joys of Handweaving, The Shuttle Service, and numerous other instructional guides in the field of decorative art.
Tod was born Lucy Osma Palmer in Newark, New Jersey. She graduated from Wellesley College and married artist Frank Byron Couch with whom she had a daughter, Josephine Couch Del Deo. She developed a craft project known as Cromaine Crafts in Hartland, Michigan, which became a model for efforts in teaching residents of rural communities how to earn money at home. Couch died in 1928 and Tod married cabinet maker and craftsman Milo Oliver Gallinger. They owned a studio and loom factory in Guernsey, Pennsylvania, and established their own business, Creative Crafts. Oliver died in 1956.
After moving to Coral Gables, Florida, Tod established a studio in 1962 from which she taught weaving. The Coral Gables Library and the Weavers Guild of South Florida held a retrospective of her work in 1981. Along with writing and teaching, Tod organized and directed the National Conference of American Handweavers for over 20 years.
Tod died in 1983 in Centerville, Massachussetts.
Provenance:
The Osma Gallinger Tod papers were donated in 1993 and 1995 by Josephine Couch Del Deo, daughter of Osma Gallinger Tod, and in 2020 by Romolo Del Deo, Tod's grandson.
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.
Tod organized and headed the National Conference of American Handweavers for over 20 years. The files contain conference programs, correspondence, clippings, photographs of the conference and attendees, reports, logs of the first 5 conferences beginning in 1938, and manuscripts for articles and lectures by Tod, Helen Daniels Young, Lorraine Kessenich, and others.
Collection 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.
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:
Osma Gallinger Tod papers, circa 1925-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Osma Gallinger Tod papers, circa 1925-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Osma Gallinger Tod papers, circa 1925-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Osma Gallinger Tod papers, circa 1925-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Records for 1952 were not included with the donation of the papers.
Collection 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.
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:
Osma Gallinger Tod papers, circa 1925-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Osma Gallinger Tod papers, circa 1925-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Osma Gallinger Tod papers, circa 1925-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Osma Gallinger Tod papers, circa 1925-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Talks on weaving techniques given at the second session of the National Conference of American Handweavers, Waldenwoods, Hartland, Michigan, June 12 to July 2, 1939 / Mary Meigs Atwater
