United States of America -- Virginia -- Richmond County -- Warsaw
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets and photocopies from publications.
General:
Sabine Hall is a plantation residence in the Georgian style built by Robert "King" Carter for his son Colonel Landon Carter, circa 1730, on a property of 4,000 acres, in an axial plan with formal parterre gardens. Sabine Hall was named for Horace's Roman villa and passed down through the Carter family for nine generations. The family kept the original geometric plan intact, although not all the beds were planted over time. Facing the Rappahannock River, and encompassing several hundred feet are six terraced beds with connecting grass ramps, with a centered gravel walk nearly six feet wide leading from the porch steps into the first terrace. Gravel walks continued to at least the second and third terraces. The first terrace, planted in grass, was called a bowling green. There were formal flower beds planted in a symmetrical English style on the second terrace. The third terrace was likely planted in small fruits and medicinal herbs, the fourth and fifth terraces planted in vegetables, and the sixth with fruit trees. There was another vegetable garden (the kitchen garden) planted with necessities that did not conform to the aesthetics of the parterres, planted beyond the boxwood hedges, out of sight from the house. The fifth and sixth terraces were not maintained into the 20th century, but the outlines remain. The borders were hedged in boxwood. The front portico of the house has leads to a planted lawn surrounded and interplanted with both native and imported tree species.
Colonel Landon Carter is presumed to have been responsible for the initial geometrical design of the garden, based on 17th century English and Continental precepts. Indentured English gardeners may have been early workers, as well as slaves passed down through family bequests. The third owner, Robert Wormeley Carter, named slave gardeners in his will of 1794.
Flowers mentioned by Landon Carter include bulbs, roses, and wildflowers. Vegetables included artichokes, French beans, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, endives, lettuce, melons, mushrooms, onions, parsley, peas, potatoes, radishes, savoys, spinach, and turnips.
Following ownership by Colonel Landon Carter (1710-1778) and his wife Elizabeth Wormeley of Rosegill, the estate passed to Robert Wormeley Carter and his wife Winifred Beale; then to their son Colonel Landon Carter II and his wife Katharine Tayloe of Mount Airy; next to Robert Wormeley Carter II and his wife Elizabeth Merrie Tayloe of Mount Airy. Ownership then skipped a generation and went to Robert Carter Wellford (a grandson) in 1861, who married Elizabeth Harrison of Berkeley. She died in 1919, leaving Sabine Hall to two sons, Armistead Nelson Wellford and his wife Katherine Davis and William Harrison Wellford and his wife Ida Beverly. The property was passed on to ensuing sons, the Reverend Dabney S. Wellford and Hill B. Wellford.
Persons associated with the garden include the Carter family (1730) and their descendents.
Related Materials:
Sabine Hall related holdings consist of 1 folder (12 35 mm. slides (photographs))
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.
United States of America -- South Carolina -- Berkeley County -- Goose Creek
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, site plans, plant lists, and photocopies of articles.
General:
Medway Plantation comprises 6700 acres of longleaf and loblolly pine, live oaks, tupelo, swampland and lakes as well as the oldest masonry house in South Carolina. An ornamental garden with irregularly-shaped beds and serpentine paths, known as Miss Lou's garden, was redesigned in the 1930s by Ellen Biddle Shipman. The earlier garden was described as a bird sanctuary and nursery growing anise and Chinese bay trees, azaleas, fringe trees, roses, flowering almond, lilacs, spireas, myrtle, and yellow Jessamine, with wisteria growing up into deciduous trees. The surplus from Miss Lou's garden was planted in long borders alongside three shallow brick terraces, and along paths that led to a schoolhouse on the property. The current drive to the house has double borders of live oak trees hung with Spanish moss that were first planted after the Civil War. In the 1930s architect Ides van der Gracht designed a greenhouse with stepped gables, echoing that feature from the house, and added serpentine brick walls surrounding a garden of flowers and vegetables, on the site of the historic kitchen garden. Prior to the Civil War rice was cultivated at Medway Plantation, followed by cotton and the current crop, timber.
Medway Plantation was first organized as a land grant to Johan (or Jan) van Aerssen in the last quarter of the 17th century. He started the original house which during its long history was burned and rebuilt, nearly abandoned and used only as a hunting lodge, and finally renovated. The house has unusual stepped gables in the Dutch style, reflecting the van Aerssen heritage. After van Aerssen's death circa 1867 and the remarriage of his widow, Sabina de Vignon to Thomas Smith in 1689, the property came into the prominent South Carolina Smith family.
In the early days land parcels routinely were acquired and sold and the dimensions of Medway Plantation changed frequently, finally ending up at 6700 acres under the ownership of Sidney J. and Gertrude S. Legendre in the 20th century, who had purchased and annexed neighboring plantations. Before her death in 2000 Gertrude Legendre put the property in a non-profit foundation with a conservation easement to preserve the pine forests, wetlands, and wildlife. It is recognized as a breeding site for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, bald eagles, wood ducks and wintering ring-necked ducks, and provides habitat for deer, turkey and quail.
Persons associated with the garden include Johan van Aerssen (former owner and builder of original house, 1686-circa 1688); Sabina de Vignon, (former owner, 1688-1689); Thomas Smith and members of the Smith family (former owners, 1689-1701); Edward Hyrne (former owner, 1701-1711); Peter Gaillard Stoney and family (former owners, 1833-1930); Sidney J. and Gertrude Sanford Legendre (former owners, 1930-1993; Ides van Waterschoot van der Gracht (architect, 1930s); Ellen Biddle Shipman (landscape architect, 1930s).
Related Materials:
Medway Plantation related holdings consist of 2 folders (2 35mm slides (photographs), 34 digital images)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.
Topic:
Gardens -- South Carolina -- Goose Creek Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Mulberry Plantation (Moncks Corner, South Carolina)
United States of America -- South Carolina -- Berkeley County -- Moncks Corner
Mulberry Plantation (Moncks Corner, South Carolina)
United States of America -- South Carolina -- Berkeley County -- Moncks Corner
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, site plans, and photocopies of book excerpts and articles.
General:
The brick house at Mulberry Plantation was built on a bluff by the first owner, Thomas Broughton in 1714, the date inscribed in iron on the four weathervanes atop the four pavilions at the corners of the house. Situated along the Cooper River the current property comprises 805 acres and includes gardens on three levels: a formal boxwood parterre garden next to the house, a descending camellia walk, and a formal circle garden, all designed by Loutrel W. Briggs (b.1893-d.1977) circa 1930. Other features include a parterre kitchen garden, a Live oak alleĢe, lagoon, rolling lawns and the oldest mulberry tree in the country. The plantation grew rice at various times in its history, as well as indigo and forest products. Another 19th century commercial project that did not succeed was breeding silk worms to produce domestic silk, with mulberry trees planted to house the worms. By the early 20th century the property was in decline and was sold out of the Broughton family to Mr. and Mrs. Clarence E. Chapman as a winter retreat. The Chapmans restored the house and brought in Briggs, known for developing the Charleston style for the many small gardens he designed in the city and at other Cooper River plantations.
Mulberry Plantation was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The style of the house has been described as Jacobean and French, with a mansard roof, rather than a typical low-country wooden structure. The brick house may have been used as a fortress against attacks during the Yamesse War in 1715, between settlers and Native Americans. At one time there were many slave cabins on the property but now only one remains that has been used as a hunting lodge.
Persons associated with the garden include Thomas Broughton and descendents (former owners, 1714-1914); Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Chapman (former owners, 1915-1981); Historic Charleston Foundation (former owners, 1981-1987); Loutrel Winslow Briggs (December 12, 1893-May, 1977) (landscape designer, circa 1930)
Related Materials:
Mulberry Plantation related holdings consist of 2 folders (2 35mm slides (photographs) + 27 digital images)
Mulberry Plantation related holdings consist of 1 slide (photograph) (col., 35mm.)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.
Topic:
Gardens -- South Carolina -- Moncks Corner Search this
Original photographic negatives, prints (black-and-white and color), and color slides and transparencies by Fishback, reflecting his career in advertising, calendar, and editorial photography; drafts of articles and correspondence by Fishback (typescripts), and incoming correspondence; copies of publications, such as magazines and annual reports, with reproductions. Lessons, assignments, outlines, and meeting minutes related to his school of photography.
Subjects of the photographs include children, sports, circuses, stage performers, landscapes, the Far East, the Air Force, industrial, female nudes and glamour, etc. Many photos were used in advertisements for photographic manufacturers such as Ansco, Kodak, Kalart, Rolleiflex, etc. His photos appeared in articles and on covers of popular camera periodicals and in Life, Look, Colliers, Saturday Evening Post, and Holliday.
Most of his pictures have cheerful, optimistic themes or subjects, such as his laughing daughter, Judy, posing with circus clowns.
Arrangement:
Divided into twenty-two series.
Series 1: Fishback Career and Biography
Subseries 1.1: Writings and Personal Materials
Subseries 1.2: Glen Fishback School of Photography
Series 2: Photographs--Advertisements and Contests
Series 3: Numbered and labeled envelopes in Glen Fishback's numbering system
Series 4-17: Photographs by Subject
Series 4: Air Force
Series 5: Animals
Series 6: Circus
Series 7: Far East
Subseries 7.1: Places
Subseries 7.2: People
Series 8: Landscapes and places
Subseries 8.1: Architecture
Subseries 8.2: Grand Tetons
Subseries 8.3: Nature
Series 9: Industrial
Series 10: Kids
Subseries 10.1: Babies
Subseries 10.2: Children
Series 11: Men
Subseries 11.1: Glen Fishback
Subseries 11.2: Other
Series 12: Mixed Groups
Subseries 12.1: Men and Women
Subseries 12.2: Men, Women, and Children
Series 13: Nudes
Series 14: Sports
Series 15: Stage Performers
Series 16: Transportation
Series 17: Women
Series 18: Reproductions
Series 19: Duplicates
Series 20: Magazines
Series 21: Ephemera
Series 22: Slides
Series 23: Audio Visual Materials
Biographical / Historical:
Glen Fishback was born in Orange, California in 1912. He became interested in photography in the early 30s after his friend took a photograph of him diving. He bought his first camera, a 39 cent univex camera, in 1934. He began his professional career as a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee from 1937 until 1939. He owned his own portrait and commercial studio for the next 17 years; he sold the studio in the mid-1950s in order to devote his time to free-lancing. In 1958, flew over the Far East with the U.S. Air Force as a brigadier general on a special assignment sponsored by U.S. Camera magazine, Ansco, Rolleiflex, and the Air Force. Fishback and his wife also established the Glen Fishback School of Photography in the 1950s. It was the only school at the time which taught how to become a freelancer. The school lasted until the 1990s, even after Fishback's death.
Fishback also wrote technical and popular articles for photographic magazines and publications.
Fishback won 10 first places in major national and international photography contests; at the time of his death, he had reportedly won more money in contests than any other photographer.
He developed an accurate and reliable exposure system which Pentax included with each of their spotmeters. Fishback's system worked for both black and white and color photography.
Fishback and his wife were friends with Edward Weston Fishback took photographs of Weston at Point Lobos. The two exchanged photos and correspondence. Fishback supplied his photos for a film on Edward Weston's Daybooks; He also wrote an article "Edward Weston, A Legend in His Own Time" for Petersen's Photographic. Fishback and his wife named their son, Kurt Edward Fishback, in honor of their friend.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Fishback's daughter, Judy White, who, with her brother Kurt, inherited it on her father's death. Ms. White made the availability of the collection known on an Internet listserv, where the archivist saw the description and contacted Ms. White.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some materials are restricted until 2050 and are noted in the container list.
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.
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Search this
Extent:
1.6 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Slides (photographs)
Blueprints
Books
Clippings
Newsletters
Pamphlets
Photograph albums
Patents
Photographs
Date:
1958-1974.
Scope and Contents:
The collection relates to covered bridges in America and Europe. It includes hundreds of slides (with index) of photographs of covered bridges; an album of prints of photographs of covered bridges in Germany, Switzerland and Austria; books and pamphlets, both national and regional, about covered bridges; newsletters from covered bridge organizations, both national and regional, such as the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges; drawings; notes; copies of patents, an album of photographs entitled TRUSSES; articles and clippings; correspondence about covered bridges; blueprints of plans for repair work on bridges.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Mechanical engineer and covered bridge enthusiast.
Provenance:
Donated by Wilson's daughter in 1983 to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, now called the Division of Work and Industry.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
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.
Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI. Search this
Electricity and Modern Physics, Division of, NMAH, SI. Search this
Author:
Marton, Ladislaus Laszlo, 1901-1979 (physicist) Search this
Names:
United States. National Bureau of Standards Search this
Extent:
4.66 Cubic feet (15 boxes, one (1) 16 mm film)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Blueprints
Lantern slides
Drawings
Photographs
Correspondence
Diagrams
Slides (photographs)
Notebooks
Date:
1932 - 1970
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of materials documenting the history of electron optics, especially electron microscopes. Included are engineering drawings of Marton's devices, designed in Belgium, Stanford and RCA in the 1930s and 1940s; notebooks concerning extensive investigations in electron microscopy; photographs and micrographs concerning development work in this area of physics; correspondence 1930s 702; and reprints of scientific literature relating to Marton's interests.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Notebooks, electron microscope, 1920s, undated
Series 2: Photographs, undated
Series 3: Printed Materials, 1940-1970
Biographical / Historical:
Ladislaus L. Marton 1901 1979 was a physicist best known for his pioneer work in electron physics, specifically in electron microscopy, electron optics, and electron interferences and scattering. He came to the United States in 1938, and became a naturalized citizen in 1944. He was a member of the faculty at the University of Brussels (Belgium), 1928 1938, and assistant professor from 1933 1938. He was a research physicist at the RCA Manufacturing Company from 1938 1941. He was associate professor of electron optics, head division Stanford University, 1941 1946. He was a physicist from 1946 1970 at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington. Until his death he was an honorable research associate at the Smithsonian Institution.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Ladislaus Laszlo Marton, circa 1970.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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 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:
Collection is open for research but boxes 1-83 are 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. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use. Standard copyright restrictions apply to all copyrighted material.
Collection documents Sims's activities as a traveler and his interest in historic restoration. It includes forty-one notebooks, 6,000 color slides, a smaller number of photographic prints, forty-one stereo view cards, and three boxes of personal papers and ephemera. While some images are personal, the majority form a documentary record of various subjects and places and provide biographical information on Sims.
Scope and Contents:
These papers document Sims's activities as a traveler and his interest in historic restoration. They consist of forty-one notebooks, Series 1-4; and three boxes, Series 5-9, of personal papers and ephemera. Series 5-7 are particularly valuable for biographical information. Series 10 includes 6,000 color slides, a smaller number of photographic prints, and forty-one stereo view cards. The total volume of the collection is approximately eleven linear feet.
The notebooks cover the years 1896, 1908-1913, 1918, and 1934-1976. The notebooks are written in a documentary styles that is enhanced by literary touches and perceptive details. The subjects include visits to several national parks, the Boronda adobe, and travel on most continents.
The 6,000 35mm slides that Sims took between 1944 and 1976 portray the use of the automobile in travel, national and international touring, and family travel. They are organized by either trip or location. They document his collecting, research, and restoration interests, and complement his written and artistic work. In technique, Sims's photographs are at least a cut above amateur photography. The slides remain in the order in which the Archives Center received them. In some cases they are organized, captioned, and numbered as a slide program. In other cases, while they are captioned they are not part of a specific slide program that Sims organized. Usually the identification in the Detailed Container List represents Sims' s own captions, which have been copied from the slide sleeves.
While some images are personal, the majority form a documentary record of various subjects and places. All the slides are dated and labeled or captioned, either on box inserts or on the slides themselves. The slides are generally organized by trip. Of particular interest is the documentation of Sims's restoration of the Boronda adobe. These slides are well captioned and show the step by step process.
The slides include many early Kodachromes from the 1940s in excellent condition. These represent the few examples of this type in the Museum. Although these slides are not extraordinarily rare, they are a very early example of the color process.
There are also black and white prints and a few color prints. Some of these document an automobile trip along the California coast in the 1930s. All the black-and-white prints portray the photographer for Sims's concern to document his travels adequately and in a meaningful way.
The three document boxes of supplemental material includes articles, correspondence (for example, a letter to Sims from the Henry Ford Museum thanking him for donating an oral history of a motoring trip he had taken), business cards, certificates of achievement, hotel ephemera, news clippings (Series 12), published travel accounts, printed travel brochures, and audio tapes (Series 11), in which Sims recounts many of his trips over the years. This material is valuable because it provides biographical information on Sims. It also may be useful for exhibits and research. Much of the materialāthe hotel ephemera and the printed travel brochures and accountsāis similar to ephemera in the Warshaw Collection.
Sims's photographs are similar in content to two other collections in the Archives Center. The Clyde W. Stauffer Family Photographic Album portrays family automobile trips across the United States between 1935 and 1940. The Donald Sultner Welles Collection of travel slides documents locations throughout the United States and around the world.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 12 series.
Series 1:Notebooks, 1896-1975
Series 2: Political Notes, 1964-1976
Series 3: Comments on Vietnam, 1954-1975
Series 4: Moon Landings, 1969-1976
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1896-1981, undated
Series 6: Correspondence, 1920-1987
Series 7: Biography, 1911-1938
Series 8: Published Material, 1927-1966
Series 9: Artifacts, 1913-1937
Series 10: Photographs, circa 1936-1962
Series 11: Audio Materials
Series 12: Newsclippings, undated
Historical:
Boronda Adobe
In 1946 George W. Sims purchased the old Boronda adobe in the Carmel Valley of California, and over the next ten years he restored it.
The Boronda family sold the ranch and adobe to Nathan W. Spaulding in the late 1860s or early 1870s. He was a mayor of Oakland, California. The next owner was the Pacific Improvement Company in the early 1880s, the forerunner of Del Monte Properties Company. A small cheese factory was built to commercialize the product under the name "Monterey Jack." Nevertheless, the adobe eventually became abandoned as a house. Before Sims purchased it the adobe was used as a shelter for dairy cows.
Sims plastered the outside walls to protect the soft adobe bricks and whitewashed the interior walls. The original dirt floor was covered with a floor of two-inch clear, heart redwood, random planks. It slopes downhill as does the roof of the house. The entire house follows the topography of the site. Sims left several cables stretching across the crudely raftered ceiling to support the walls.
Sims reroofed the house with one hundred year old roof tiles from the old Vasquez adobe in Monterey, California. He also constructed a workshop on the cement foundation of the old cheese factory and milk barn, added a carport, and built a fence protected patio of the Mexican type, adjacent to a Spanish garden with gravel paths. The patio walls were made of adobe created from Carmel Valley soil.
The first floor of the adobe consists of a long living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bath. An inside staircase was added and leads to the second floor living room, two bedrooms, and a bath. All of the rooms on the main floor are on a different level. The kitchen at one end of the house is thought to date to the 1790s when the land belonged to the Carmel Mission.
Biographical / Historical:
George W. Sims (1896-1986) was a tax lawyer, certified public accountant, world traveler, and collector of pre-Columbian objects. He spent his childhood in Fairfax County, Virginia. At age seventeen he began the study of law at the Washington College of Law (now American University), and worked at night as a telephone company traffic manager. He was employed as a clerk in the Panama Canal Zone by the Panama Railroad Company, Commissary Branch, from 1915-1916. Sims left Washington, DC, because he needed money for school and received a better salary in Latin America. "The pay was 25% higher there [Panama] than in the U.S.A., because the risks of Yellow Fever were great, and work and living conditions less satisfactory than at home." (Box 8, folder 6) This was the first of his many trips to other countries. He then returned to Washington and graduated from law school.
Between 1918-1919 he served as sergeant first class in the aviation section of the Signal Corps. He was stationed for a time at the Vichy (France) Hospital Center, a part of the United States Base Army Hospital, No. 115. After the war Sims did graduate work in accounting at Benjamin Franklin University in the District of Columbia, studying at night. During the day he worked in the Navy Department's communications section.
In 1919 Sims and a few friends traveled west on one of the early automobile trips across the United States. In July he visited Fresno, California. He returned that same year to Washington, DC, and "made plans for making the West (and Fresno) his permanent home." In January, 1924, Sims returned with his wife to fulfill those plans and thus began his long time love affair with the West and California." (Scrapbooks: Vol. 38, Box 8, folder 2)
After his first wife Katherine died in 1946, Sims spent much time on world cruises. His destinations included North, South, and Central America, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Between 1946 and 1956 he also purchased and restored the 1832 Boronda adobe in Carmel, California.
Sims married Emma Marenchin Sims on her birthday November 2, 1971 in Santa Barbara, California. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Sims (1914-? ) worked in the public health field after graduating from Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She remarked, "My world opened up when I married George." Sims died in 1986.
Provenance:
Collection donated by George W. Sims, January 10, 1985.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Engineering and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI. Search this
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Extent:
3 Cubic feet (11 boxes, 1 map folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Postcards
Picture postcards
Photographs
Slides (photographs)
Date:
1900-1991
Summary:
This collection is made up of Richard H. Miller's collection of postcards and slides illustrating bridges from around the world.
Scope and Contents:
This collection is made up of postcards and photographic slides of bridges collected and organizedby Miller. Many of the postcards were sent by others before being purchased by Miller and include messages, postmarks and secondhand prices. A small number of postcards appear to have been sent to Miller by friends, while the remainder do not have any dates or notations. The slides are captioned.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Postcards, undated
Series 2: Slides, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Richard H. Miller (1913-2015) was an an industrial engineer and bridge enthusiast. A longtime resident of Cheshire, Connecticut, Miller collected postcards and slides of famous bridges as a lifelong hobby.
Provenance:
Donated by Richard H. Miller in 1991.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
Priscilla of Boston Collection, 1940-1996(NMAH.AC.0557)
Maidenform Collection, 1922-1997 (NMAH.AC.0585)
Dorothy Shaver Papers, ca. 1922-1959 (NMAH.AC.0631)
Virginia "Jimmie" Booth Collection (NMAH.AC.0729)
Provenance:
Collection transferred by Division of Social History.,National Museum of American History.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research and 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.
Collections consists of the records of both the Norcross Greeting Card Company founded in New York City in the 1920s and The Rust Craft Greeting Card Company, founded in Kansas City, Missouri, 1906. Both the Norcross and Rust Craft companies collected antique greeting cards. Also includes a small number of modern cards by other manufacturers, circa 1930-1980. Collection represents development of the greeting card industry, social trends in the United States and technology of the printing industry from 1924 through 1978.
Scope and Contents:
The Norcross Greeting Card Collection consists of cards and a few records of both the Norcross Greeting Card Company and the Rust Craft Greeting Card Company, circa 1911 1981; antique greeting cards, circa 1800 1930 (bulk 1880 1900) collected by both these companies and their executives; and a small number of modern cards by other manufacturers, circa 1939 1960. According to Norcross Company officials in 1978, this collection represents "not only a history of the development of the greeting card industry but also a history of social trends in the United States" and gives "an indication of the quality and technology of the [printing] industry from 1924 through 1978."
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series.
Series 1: Norcross Company Records, 1920-1981
Series 2: Antique Greeting Card Collection, circa 1800-1930 (bulk 1880-1990)
Series 3: Rust Craft Company Records, circa 1920-1980
Series 4: Greeting Cards by Other Manufacturers, 1939-1960
Series 5: Norcross Company Permanent Files, 1911-1981
Series 6: Rust Craft Company Permanent Files, 1927-1981
Biographical / Historical:
Arthur D. Norcross founded the Norcross Greeting Card Company in New York City in the nineteen twenties. From the start Norcross cards had a "look" which contributed to their selling success although, through the years, the company commanded only a small share of the greeting card market. In 1974 the company relocated to West Chester and Exton, Pennsylvania, where in 1981 Norcross and the Rust Craft Greeting Card Company merged to form divisions of a parent company.
At some point, Norcross executives realized the value of collecting and preserving antique greeting cards. The company built a large collection of antique cards, a number of which traveled in shows around the country bringing attention not only to the cards themselves but also to the Norcross Company.
Arthur Norcross died in 1968, and the company had four owners from then until 1982. One of the owners, the Ziff Corporation, a New York publisher, picked up the Norcross Company to augment the floundering Rust Craft Greeting Card Company that it had purchased primarily for its television holdings. Finally the Norcross and Rust Craft combination was acquired by Windsor Communications, Inc., a privately held company. In August 1981 Windsor entered into Chapter 11 proceedings under the Federal bankruptcy law and ceased producing greeting cards. Factors leading to bankruptcy included the expensive consolidation of Norcross and Rust Craft, a doubtful marketing strategy, and unsuccessful efforts to continue producing two distinct lines of greeting cards.
The Rust Craft Greeting Card Company, some of whose records are contained in this collection, was begun as a little bookshop by Fred Rust, (1877? 1949) in Kansas City in 1906. Later that year he created a plain Christmas folder which he called a "letter," perhaps a forerunner of the greeting card. These "letters" proved successful sellers prompting Rust to increase his publications over the years and expand his line to include post cards, greeting cards with envelopes, calendars, and blotters, in addition to lines of cards for New Year's and birthdays.
Donald Rust, his brother, soon joined him to take over manufacturing, and in 1908, Fred Rust, seeking to increase distribution, carried his line to Boston while Donald carried his to California. The original bookshop was retained until 1910 when all retailing was discontinued. After building a considerable volume of business, the firm was consolidated in Boston in 1914 and became known as Rust Craft Publishers.
Sales mounted as the company issued cards for various seasons. Many of the sentiments were written by Fred Rust himself. Around 1927 Ernest Dudley Chase joined the firm as an associate in charge of creation and advertising. In the 1950s the company relocated to Dedham, Massachusetts and finally in 1981 merged with the Norcross Company in West Chester and Exton, Pennsylvania.
A popular innovation of the Rust Craft Company was a card bearing the sentiment printed on the card itself with four or five extra sentiments tucked in as part of the message and design. This card was so popular that it was patented with the name Tukkin. The Rust Craft Company also collected some antique greeting cards.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
AC0109 Division of Domestic Life Greeting Card Collection, circa 1854-1975
AC0126 Burris and Byrd Family Card Sample Case, circa 1920
AC0468Archives Center Scrapbook Collection, circa 1880-circa 1960
AC0579 Greeting Card Collection, 1920s-1970s
AC0886 Ernest Dudley Chase Papers, 1930s-1940s
AC1198 Beatrice Morgan Steyskal Collection of Greeting Cards, 1958-1970
AC0060 Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
AC1251 L.F. Pease Greeting Card Company Collection, circa 1908-1913
AC 1252 Sandford Greeting Card Company and Family Papers, circa 1840-1990
AC 0062 Hoffmania (or Hoffman Collection
AC0295 Rocky Herosian Collection, 1910-1943
AC0674 Jean Clairmook Radio Scrapbook, 1930-1932
AC0136 Celia K. Erskine Scrapbook of Valentines, Advertising Cards, and Postcards, circa 1882-1884
The Valentine & Expressions of Love [videocassette], 2000 within the
Archives Center Miscellaneous Film and Videotape Collection, (AC0358)
Provenance:
Norcross Greeting Card Company, West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1982-1985.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270. Viewing the film portion of the collection without reference copies requires special appointment, please inquire.
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.
Genre/Form:
Lithographs
Business records -- 20th century
Chromolithographs -- 1880-1900
Color slides
Greeting cards -- ca. 1800-1980
Valentines
Trade cards
Postcards
Motion pictures (visual works) -- 1960-1980
Advertisements
Scrapbooks
Slides (photographs) -- 1950-2000
Citation:
Norcross Greeting Card Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
The records of the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art measure 18.9 linear feet, date from 1973 to 1988, and document the brief thirteen-year history of LAICA's activities as a Southern California visual arts organization and exhibition space for contemporary art. Records detail the founding of the organization, operations and administration, exhibitions, events, and publications. More than half of the collection is comprised of exhibition, program, and event files that include correspondence with artists, curators, and others; printed materials; and photographs, negatives, and slides. There is a 0.9 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes slides; performance and exhibition notes and supplements; newsletters and other printed material; a chronology of exhibitions, projects, publications and activities. Materials date from 1974- 1987.
Scope and Content Note:
The Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art records measure 18.9 linear feet, date from 1973 to 1988, and document the founding of the organization, board activities, general operations and administration, exhibitions, programs, events, and publications. There is a 0.9 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes slides; performance and exhibition notes and supplements; newsletters and other printed material; a chronology of exhibitions, projects, publications and activities. Materials date from 1974- 1987.
Founding documents and Board of Director's files contained in the collection include the articles of confederation, by-laws, constitution, director's reports, board meeting minutes, and scattered correspondence of Peter Plagens and Judy Spence, both of whom served as Chair of the Board. These records detail the mission, organization, objectives, and goals of LAICA.
More than half of the records are comprised of exhibition, program, and event files covering LAICA's entire history of operation. Included are exhibition announcements and catalogs; correspondence with artists, curators, and organizers; press releases and other publicity; grant applications and proposals; and photographs, contact sheets, negatives, and slides which depict the exhibition's installation and works of art.
Two series of photographs and slides provide additional visual documentation of LAICA's exhibitions and events, including the installations and work of LAICA's Artists-in-Residence program. Slides depicting LAICA's buildings, offices, and staff activities are also found.
LAICA's production of its publications, including material related to their regular periodical, Journal, is well-documented through correspondence, manuscripts, and editorial files. Also found are unedited transcripts of interviews and material that was not used for publication. Meeting minutes and correspondence represent the activities of the publication committee from the mid 1970s to 1987.
The correspondence of LAICA directors Robert Smith (18 folders) and Ben Marks (one folder) contain information on almost all of the organization's activities, including exhibitions, events, funding, staffing, and general operations. General Operations files include Administrative Files and Financial Files that document members and donors, staff, financial activities, fundraising efforts, income, expenses, and grants.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 9 series.
Slides were separated from Series 1-6, and filed in Series 8 for better preservation housing.
Series 1: Board of Directors, 1973-1987 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet )
Series 2: Correspondence, early 1970s-1987 (Boxes 1-2; 0.75 linear feet )
Series 3: General Operations, 1974-1988, undated (Boxes 2-3; 1.25 linear feet)
Series 4: Publicity, 1974-1986 (Box 3; 15 folders)
Series 5: Exhibitions and Programs, 1974-1987 (Boxes 3-13; 9.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Publications, 1974-1987 (Boxes 13-15; 2.75 linear feet)
Series 7: Photographs, mid-1970s-1983 (Box 15; 11 folders)
Series 8: Slides, 1974-1987 (Boxes 16-18; 3.0 linear feet)
Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, 1974-1987 (Boxes 19-21, 0.9 linear feet)
Historical Note:
The Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art was formed between 1973-1974 to provide a permanent exhibition venue for the visual contemporary arts in the Los Angeles area. The founding principle was to establish an arts organization that operated democratically and spoke with a multiplicity of voices. In order to remain flexible and minimize operating expense, LAICA did not establish a permanent collection.
Members of the Board of Directors included Peter Alexander, John Baldessari, Rosamund Felsen, Peter Plagens, Judy Spence, and other artists, gallery owners, and members of the art community. Committees that supervised exhibition programming and LAICA's published Journal were elected by members, and the duties of exhibition curator and periodical editor rotated among members, rather than being the responsibility of permanent staff. A registry of slides and biographical materials, begun in 1971, was open to submission by any Southern California artist. LAICA's first exhibitions were held in the fall of 1974, under founding director Robert Smith, a former curator at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale, California. The first issue of Journal was published in June of the same year.
LAICA's first exhibition space consisted of 4,200 square feet on the fifth floor of the Century City complex. During the mid-1970s, the organization hosted numerous exhibitions and events - all were were well attended, despite the lack of parking and restrooms. Exhibitions focused on a wide variety of contemporary painting, sculpture, decorative arts, fashion, performance art, video, music, architecture, social issues, and public art. Exhibitions were curated by both LAICA staff and guest curators, including Walter Hopps. Desiring to expand their space, LAICA had hopes of Frank Gehry redesigning the Century City space. The institute, however, was forced to relocate after losing their lease.
In March of 1977, LAICA reopened in an 8,000 square foot facility on 2020 South Robertson Boulevard. In addition to their public programming, the organization created an Artist-in-Residence program with funding made available by the Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA). By the end of the 1970s, LAICA was flourishing with increased budget and staff, and, by 1980, opened a second exhibition space at 815 Traction Avenue, referred to as the "Downtown Gallery." An additional storefront exhibition space in the Eastern Columbia building was donated by State Senator Alan Sieroty.
A decrease in public funding in the early 1980s forced LAICA to cut some of its public programs. The organization, however, still staged ambitious exhibitions, including one of contemporary Italian art that traveled to nine different venues, and a show of nine contemporary Australian artists in connection with the 1984 Olympics Art Festival.
Robert Smith resigned from his position as director in early 1985. Ben Marks, the former director of the Center of Contemporary Art in Seattle, was hired that summer. By March of 1986, however, Marks had resigned and the Board of Directors decided to sell LAICA's South Robertson location. Faced with financial burdens and the lack of a permanent exhibition space, LAICA staged exhibits at temporary spaces around Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art officially closed in 1987 after thirteen years of operation.
Related Material:
Found in the Archives of American Art are the Peter Plagens papers, 1941-1987, which include meeting minutes and correspondence relating to LAICA.
Provenance:
The bulk of the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art records were donated by Judy Spence, the former Chair of the LAICA Board of Directors, in 1986. Additional material was donated in 1997 by her husband, Stuart Spence and in 2021 by Robert Smith, founding director of LAICA.
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.
