An interview of Walter Nottingham conducted 2002 July 14-18, by Carol Owen, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the studios of Idyllwild Arts, in Idyllwild, California. Nottingham speaks of his enthusiasm for basketball; being an altar boy and, as such, surrounded by beautiful fabrics at an early age; attending St. Cloud State University on the GI Bill; his teachers Jim Crane and Pauline Penning; serving as an art consultant for public schools in Jackson, Michigan; the lasting influence of an exhibition of battle flags at the Metropolitan Museum; articulating aging and decay through self-taught weaving; developing a fiber art program at University of Wisconsin, River Falls; attending Cranbrook Academy of Art and working with Glen Kaufman and Meda Johnson. He discusses specific works including his "Yahooties", that combine both his grandmother's and mother's crochet work; his trip to Mexico City on a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1974; forming the company Off the Wall with his eldest daughter Karron and their decorative design commissions; the influence of his Catholic upbringing, oriental philosophy, and spirituality in his work; and techniques and materials. Nottingham recalls Shelly Ross, Helen Drutt, Francis Merritt, Don Miller, Lois Moran, Jack Lenor Larsen, Marianne Strengell, Mildred Constantine, Gerhardt Knodel, Lee Nordness, Ed Rossbach, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Walter Nottingham (1930-2012) is a fiber artist from Hilo, Hawaii. Carol Owen is a fiber artist from Pittsboro, North Carolina.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 41 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Adela Akers conducted 2008 March 4-6, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Akers' studio, in Guerneville, California.
Akers speaks of her California studio; moving from Spain to Cuba at a young age; earning a degree in pharmacy before pursuing art at the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; her parents' businesses; struggling with English and becoming a citizen; the influence of architecture, geometry, and math in her work; her first big show at the American Craft Museum; working at Penland School of Crafts and Cranbrook Academy of Art; her several commissioned works; light and shadow in her accordion-shaped pieces; working with the Peace Corps and weaving in Peru; learning pre-Colombian weaving techniques; working on a commissioned project in Mexico with native weavers; experimenting with size and color in weaving; teaching at the Tyler School of Art; the influence of travel in her work; the qualities of jute, sisal, metal, and horsehair in weaving. Akers also recalls Cindy Cleary, Guido Llinas, Abelardo Estorino, Marianne Strengell, Ed Rossback, Glen Kaufman, Julia and Isiah Zagar, Joyce Chow, Katie and Billy Bernstein, Tom Suomalainen, Ron Garfinkel, Lee Nordness, Janet Taylor, Leora Stewart, Aron Siskin, Lewis Knauss, Agnes Martin, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Adela Akers (1933- ) is a fiber artist from Guerneville, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 59 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
This archive includes interesting documents related to Trude Guermonprez's life and work as a weaver. The archives are especially related to the designer's work for her major clients, like Holland America Line and Owens Corning Fiberglass; other pieces in this archive are related to Guermonprez's work for custom curtains made for major synagogues and her designs, interior fabrics, screens and rugs realized in conjunction with J.P. Oud, Architects Associated, New York; Eric Mendelsohn, Warren Callister, etc. The correspondence and the photographs in this collection provide insight into the designer's private life. Included in this collection are press articles, brochures, correspondence, postcards, photographs, color slides, notebooks, textiles, and textile wood patterns.
Arrangement note:
Unprocessed; Included in this collection are press articles, brochures, correspondence, postcards, photographs, color slides, notebooks, textiles, and textile wood patterns.
Biographical/Historical note:
Trude Guermonprez is an experienced weaver as well as a designer, artist, craftsman and teacher. She has executed architectural commissions and has done interior design for industry. Her work is of great variety in character and form. Guermonprez started weaving in Halle, Germany at the Municipal School of Arts and Crafts. Six years of weaving in a Dutch rug shop preceded her coming to America, at the invitation of Anni Albers, to teach at Black Mountain College, and later to northern California to join her friend Marguerite Wildenhain, at Pond Farm Workshops in a producing-teaching cooperative. She served as Chairman of the Craft Department at The California College of Arts and Crafts. Though she designed fabrics for New York textile manufacturers, her works were mainly custom produced for architects and individuals. In 1970 she was honored the Craftsmanship Medal from the American Institute of Architects.
Guermonprez published works in Art and Architecture, 1949; Shuttlecraft Weaving Magazine, 1957; and Research in Crafts, 1961.
She also participated in the following exhibitions: de Young Museum; American Wallhangings, London; Oakland Art Museum; Pasadena Art Museum; U.S. Information Agency State Department Show, traveling Europe exhibition; "Craftsmen of the West", "Fabrics International" and "10 American Weavers" at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 2000 at Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle Landeskunstmuseum, Halle (Salle), Germany: "From Bauhaus to the Pacific: The Impact of Emigration on Marguerite Wildenhain and Trude Guermonprez".
Location of Other Archival Materials Note:
The North Carolina State Archives web site has material in its collection related to Guermonprez as a teacher and artist-in-residence at Black Mountain College.
The Archives of American Art hasoral history interviews of Merry Renk conducted 2001 Jan. 18-19 by Arline M. Fisch for Nanette L. Laitman's, Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Guermonprez is only mentioned.
Provenance:
All materials were donated to the museum by Mr. Eric and Mrs. Sylvia Elsesser in 1993.
Restrictions:
Unprocessed; access is limited. Permission of Library Director required. Policy.
An interview of Kay Sekimachi [Stocksdale] conducted 2001 July 26-August 6, by Suzanne Baizerman, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Sekimachi's home in Berkeley, California.
Sekimachi speaks of her family and early childhood in Berkeley; a trip to Japan when she was four, during which her older brother died of dysentery; what it was like growing up in a Japanese community in Berkeley; the death of her father when she was ten years old; learning Japanese culture through her mother's cooking and traditions; the relocation of her family during WWII; learning to paint and draw at the relocation center in Tanforan; moving to Utah, then Cincinnati before finally returning to Berkeley; her trip to Japan in 1974 and how it felt like she really belonged there, and falling in love with the Japanese aesthetic; trips to London, and consequently meeting Ann Sutton and Peter Collingwood; studying and working with Trude Guermonprez; teaching for Mary Woodard Davis in Santa Fe, N.M.; her first trip to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine.; how the community groups and guilds provided support and many friendships, including Claire Weaver; some of the magazines she subscribes to, and the numerous books that influenced her during her career, by Anni Albers, Mary Atwater, and others; how her work started out as functional and gradually became non-functional; the many different types of her artwork, monofilament, paper bowls, and hornets nests; the limitations of the loom, and learning to experiment with fiber; difficulty of selling her craft; the numerous places she has exhibited and sold her work, including but not limited to Local Color, Nanny's (both in San Francisco), the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, and Brown Grotta Gallery in Wilton, Connecticut; how she doesn't like to deal with agents, and dealers; her marriage to Bob Stocksdale; her studio and the studio of her husband; all of the artwork in her dining room and living room area; and how she is still weaving, but is not as frequent in her studio because she has been taking care of Bob. Sekimachi also recalls Kenneth Trapp, Marguerite Wildenhain, Lee Nordness, Loiuse Allrich, Jack Lenor Larsen, Dominic DiMare, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Kay Sekimachi (1926- ) is a Japanese American fiber artist based in Berkeley, California. Suzanne Baizerman is a curator at the Oakland Museum in Oakland, California. Sekimachi is also known as Kay Sekimachi Stocksdale. She is married to wood-turner Bob Stocksdale.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 21 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Fiber artists -- California -- Berkeley Search this
The papers of weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Liebes date from circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970) and comprise 24.7 linear feet. Through biographical material including a sound recording of an interview, family and general correspondence, writings including a draft of Liebes's autobiography, subject files providing detailed records of her influential consulting work, financial and legal files, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, textile samples, and photographic material picturing a wide variety of career and personal activities, the collection provides rich and extensive documentation of Liebes's career and personal life.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Liebes date from circa 1850-1973 (bulk 1922-1970) and comprise 24.7 linear feet. Through biographical material including a sound recording of an interview, family and general correspondence, writings including a draft of Liebes's autobiography, subject files providing detailed records of her influential consulting work, financial and legal files, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, textile samples, and photographic material picturing a wide variety of career and personal activities, the collection provides rich and extensive documentation of Liebes's career and personal life.
Biographical material consists of awards, biographical notes, membership and identification cards, passports, a will, and a sound recording of a 1945 interview with Liebes.
Correspondence is personal with family and friends, and general with friends and colleagues including artists, and fellow weavers and designers. Notable correspondents include Dorr Bothwell, Daren Pierce, Beatrice Wood, and Frank and Olgivanna Lloyd Wright.
Diaries and calendars record Liebes's busy professional and personal life, with notations on daily activities and, beginning in 1952, detailed notes by staff recording activities at the studio on days when Liebes was absent.
Writings by Dorothy Liebes include notes, drafts, and manuscripts of published and unpublished writings, including an autobiography, speeches, and drafts for an unpublished book on weaving.
Subject files contain correspondence, printed material, photographs, and miscellaneous items in varying combinations, and focus heavily on Liebes's consulting work for businesses in the textile industry, including her work with DuPont, Bigelow-Sanford, Goodall, Dow, and others. The files document the importance of her work as a colorist and show how she successfully adapted craft weaving to machine methods. Furthermore, they record how Liebes used her marketing instincts and broad media appeal to rebrand the image of companies such as DuPont from one of chemistry and utility, to one that represented high style and glamor in durable and practical fabrics that were affordable and desirable in home furnishings. Other subject files document organizations, individuals, and topics of interest to Liebes, including files recording her involvement with arts and crafts organizations, her role as director for the Decorative Arts Display at the Golden Gate Exposition in 1939, her work as director of the Red Cross's Arts and Skills workshop, scattered exhibition records, and files on weavers and weaving. Files on Liebes's extensive promotional work for multiple clients are also included here, as are files documenting Liebes's relationship with Relman Morin, such as correspondence and scattered records of Morin's career as a Pullitzer Prize winning journalist.
Financial and legal records are comprised of accounting records from the 1930s-1940s, financial summaries, investment statements, personal and business inventories, personal and business tax returns, and some legal records.
Printed material includes advertisements, articles, and exhibition announcements and catalogs, recording Liebes's career. This material is supplemented by thirty-three bound scrapbooks of printed publicity material, photographs, and documents recording Liebes's career in substantial depth.
Artwork by Dorothy Liebes consists of designs, feather weavings, a small hooked composition, and tapestry samples. Artwork by others includes prints by Dorr Bothwell, designs by Lawrence J. Colwell, and painted sketches of clothing designs by Daren Pierce. Two linear feet of samples consist primarily of textile swatches primarily designed by Dorothy Liebes Studio, Inc.
Photographic material includes professional portraits of Liebes and others, photos of Liebes at events and parties, with staff and other weavers, at work in her studio, and traveling. Of note are a series of pictures taken at Taliesin West with Frank and Olgivanna Wright, Relman Morin, and others. Photographic material also provides examples of Liebes's design work in homes, hotels, offices, and elsewhere, and shows her work pictured in exhibitions and showrooms. Photographs of other subjects include portraits of unidentified women by Man Ray and Consuela Canaga.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1934-circa 1970 (Box 1, OV 23; 0.28 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1973 (Boxes 1-2; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Diaries and Calendars, 1948-1971 (Boxes 2-4; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, 1920-circa 1971 (Boxes 4-5; 1.05 linear feet)
Series 5: Subject Files, circa 1933-1971 (Boxes 5-13, 20, OVs 23, 59; 8.43 linear feet)
Series 6: Financial and Legal Records, circa 1935-1972 (Box 13, 20; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1897-1971 (Boxes 14, 20-21, OV 38; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1933-1972 (Box 21-22, 24-36; 5 linear feet)
Series 9: Artwork, circa 1920s-circa 1960s (Boxes 14, 22, OVs 23, 39, 42, RD 37; 1.24 linear feet)
Series 10: Samples, circa 1850-1855, circa 1930s-circa 1970 (Boxes 15-16; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 11: Photographic Material, circa 1875, circa 1897-circa 1970 (Boxes 17-19, 36, OVs 38, 40-41; 2.0 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
California and New York weaver, textile designer, and consultant Dorothy Wright Liebes (1899-1972) was known for distinctive textiles featuring bold color combinations and unusual textures achieved through the use of materials such as glass rods, sequins, bamboo, grass, leather, ribbon, wire, and ticker tape. Her work with companies in the synthetic fiber industry to make craft weaving compatible with man-made fabrics and machine looms, produced an innovative and exciting new aesthetic in interior design that was both functional and affordable, and made Liebes a mid-century household name.
Born Dorothy Wright in Santa Rosa, California, Liebes was the daughter of chemistry professor Frederick L. Wright and teacher Bessie Calderwood Wright. She studied art, education, and anthropology at San Jose State Teachers College and the University of California, Berkeley. During her college years, a teacher encouraged her to experiment with weaving and textile design since many of her paintings resembled textiles.
Liebes was a teacher for several years before deciding to pursue a career in textile design. She then studied weaving at Hull House in Chicago and traveled to France, Italy, Guatemala, and Mexico to learn the traditional weaving forms of those cultures. Upon her return to the United States, Liebes opened her first professional studio for weaving and textile design on Powell Street in San Francisco; Dorothy Liebes Design, Inc. was established in 1934, and eventually employed a staff of weavers. Liebes moved her studio to 545 Sutter Street in 1942.
Her first client in the industry was Goodall-Sanford Mills, with whom Liebes worked as a consultant for more than a decade. As her client base expanded, she decided to open a New York studio and maintained both studios until 1948 when she closed her San Francisco operation and relocated to New York City.
Liebes became a color and design consultant to corporations such as DuPont, Dow, and Bigelow-Sanford and tested and promoted newly developed synthetic fibers. She advised textile chemists in the development of fibers that were versatile enough to produce many different textures and worked with engineers and technicians to develop new machines that could reproduce the irregularities of hand-loomed fabrics. Liebes became a sought-after speaker by textile industry and consumer groups, and sometimes taught workshops on color and design.
Liebes's commissions included the United Nations Delegates Dining Room, the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel and the King of Saudi Arabia's traveling royal throne room. Between 1937 and 1970, Liebes participated in more than thirty solo and group exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, de Young Museum, Cranbrook Museum, Detroit Institute of Art, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, and other venues. She received prizes and awards from institutions and corporations such as Lord and Taylor, Neiman-Marcus, the Paris Exposition, the American Institute of Decorators, the American Institute of Architects and the Architectural League. She was also awarded the Elsie de Wolfe Award and an honorary degree from Mills College in 1948.
Liebes's other notable activities included her work a director of the Decorative Arts Display for the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair, which she credited with establishing her as an authority in the field, and her work as organizer and director of "Arts and Skills," a Red Cross occupational therapy project that included training in weaving for soldiers injured in World War II. In the 1950s, she worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, journeying though the southwest to study Indian schools and weaving techniques.
Liebes was married to businessman Leon Liebes from 1928 until their divorce in 1940 and continued to use the name Liebes for the remainder of her life. In 1948, she married Pulitzer prize winning Associated Press special correspondent Relman "Pat" Morin.
During the last year of her life, Dorothy Liebes was semi-retired due to a heart ailment. She died in New York City on 10 September 1972.
Provenance:
Gift of the Estate of Dorothy Liebes through Relman Morin, 1972, and Ralph Higbee, 1973-1974.
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.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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.
Occupation:
Textile designers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Textile designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Weavers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Weavers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art consultants -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of the Dorothy Liebes papers was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the digitization of the collection was provided by the Coby Foundation.
The bulk of this collection was processed by Jane Livermore, a devoted and tireless volunteer in the Smithsonian Institution Archives between 1995 and 2004. Livermore
is a former Science Service employee. She worked in the organization's library, oversaw the educational project "THINGS of Science," and served as Assistant to the Director.
The Archives wishes to thank Ms. Livermore for her excellent work on this collection.
Many others have assisted on this project. SIA also thanks Helen Shade, Program Assistant in the Archives Division, who helped create folder listings for many of the later
series in this record unit. SIA is especially indebted to historian Marcel C. LaFollette, who has conducted extensive research in this collection, written a historical summary
for this guide, and whose findings in these records have generated excitement both within the Archives and among professional colleagues. SIA could not have created this finding
aid without Dr. LaFollette's contributions, annotations, and insights.
Descriptive Entry:
Record Unit 7091 contains: correspondence and telegrams; drafts and final versions of articles, books, and radio scripts; staff notes and interoffice correspondence;
published material such as pamphlets and news clippings; photographs and drawings; advertisements and trade literature; and other ephemera related to science news coverage
and publishing.
This record unit is one of the largest single collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA). There are several related collections in SIA (see Accessions 01-122,
01-243, 04-042, 90-068, 90-105, 93-019, and 97-020 (see also the National Air and Space Museum; the National Museum of American History, including the Archives Center and
collections in agriculture and mining, chemistry, costume, engineering, electricity, medical sciences, military history, modern physics, and photographic history; the National
Museum of Natural History; and the National Portrait Gallery).
The arrangement of RU 7091 reflects the eclectic nature of an active news organization that was reactive to current events and discoveries, in touch with a worldwide network
of researchers, and concerned about accuracy. In 1960, the organization's educational director described their records in this way: "... Science Service has been distributing
science news for 40 years. During that time we have been in touch with practically all the major scientists and the developments which were taking place. Since all of our
material has to have full authentification, we have built up a mass of files" (Letter from Frederick A. Indorf to Joseph C. Shipman, October 24, 1960, Box 350, Folder 13).
This "mass of files" also included two extensive "morgues" that contained back-up material, information, and photographs that could be used in future stories. The informational
"morgue" files were organized according to the Library of Congress classification scheme. A few of these files are in RU 7091 (see Series 7); more extensive collections are
located in SIA Accessions 01-122, 01-243, 90-068, 90-105, and 93-019 and in curatorial collections in Smithsonian Institution museums. A major portion of the biographical
"morgue," containing photographs and information about scientists, engineers, and other public figures, is in SIA Accession 90-105.
Editorial correspondence with news sources was usually filed in the general correspondence files of Series 1 - 5. Some was also filed with the resulting story for the Daily
Mail Report (see Series 8) or with other back-up in a morgue file. Correspondence with scientists and engineers who appeared on the Science Service radio programs may
also be found in the radio program files (see Series 10). Audiotapes of some broadcasts are in Series 20, SIA Accession 04-042, and in the NMAH Archives Center collection
(Call # ACNNMAH0223).
Most folders in RU 7091 retain the original folder's title. This finding aid uses edited descriptions and additional notes to assist researchers in navigating through the
record unit. Most correspondence was filed by the date and the last name of correspondent, but documents were sometimes filed alphabetically according to a topic or by the
name of an individual's affiliation.
The topics covered in RU 7091 include all fields of science and engineering, theoretical physics to bridge construction techniques, wildlife conservation to plastics and
paints. There is considerable attention to social and economic issues and to military research and censorship during World War II. The staff visited museums, observatories,
industrial test facilities, and military installations; they reported on most of the major scientific events of the time, including the Scopes trial. During the 1930s and
1940s, Science Service purchased news and photographs from official U.S.S.R. news offices and also supported efforts to interact with Soviet scientists. There were attempts
to establish branch operations in England and France and to encourage science popularization and education in Mexico.
Correspondents include trustees, news sources, publishers, writers, and business clients. Most inquiries from readers or listeners were answered and filed with regular
editorial correspondence. "Taffy" is the term Science Service used for complimentary correspondence; it is often filed separately. Series 5 also contains manuscripts and letters
from scientists and non-scientists who were convinced they had discovered, proved, or understood a new scientific principle or insight - or else could save humanity from foreseeable
destruction.
Frequent correspondents among the trustees included: C. G. Abbot, Edward U. Condon, Rene J. Dubos, Frank R. Ford, George Ellery Hale, Ross G. Harrison, Harrison E. Howe,
W. H. Howell, Vernon Kellogg, Karl Lark-Horovitz, D. T. MacDougal, Kirtley F. Mather, John C. Merriam, Robert A. Millikan, Raymond Pearl, Marlen E. Pew, Michael I. Pupin, I. I.
Rabi, Charles Edward Scripps, Robert P. Scripps, Paul B. Sears, Thomas L. Sidlo, Harry L. Smithton, Mark Sullivan, Warren S. Thompson, Henry B. Ward, Alexander Wetmore, David
White, William Allen White, and Robert M. Yerkes.
Other notable writers, scientists, and public figures include: William Beebe, Hans A. Bethe, Charles Bittinger, Howard W. Blakeslee, Edwin G. Boring, Bart J. Bok, Gregory
and Marjorie Breit, P. W. Bridgman, Wilfred Swancourt Bronson, Rachel Carson, George Washington Carver, Morris L. Cooke, Clarence Darrow, Frances Densmore, Thomas A. Edison,
Enrico Fermi, Henry Field, George Gamow, Eugene Garfield, Robert H. Goddard, Peter C. Goldmark, Hamilton Holt, J. Edgar Hoover, Julian S. Huxley, Louis M. Lyons, Margaret
Mead, Merrill Moore, Edward R. Murrow, H. H. Nininger, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Gifford Pinchot, James A. Reyniers, J. B. Rhine, Walter Orr Roberts, M. Lincoln Schuster, John
T. Scopes, Glenn T. Seaborg, Gilbert Seldes, Elizabeth Sidney Semmens, Upton Sinclair, Otto Struve, Elihu Thomson, Harold C. Urey, Mark Van Doren, Selman A. Waksman, Henry
A. Wallace, Warren Weaver, H. G. Wells, and Gaylord Wilshire.
RU 7091 contains extensive records of the transactions with temporary correspondents and photographers, notes on the article titles and amounts paid, as well as correspondence
discussing particular scientific events and, during the 1930s and 1940s, the situation in Europe. Among the active European correspondents were Maxim Bing in Switzerland,
Victor Cofman in England, and Theodor G. Ahrens, Hans F. Kutschbach, and Gabrielle Rabel in Germany.
Researchers interested in the history of American publishing, journalism, advertising, and public relations will find extensive correspondence with professionals in those
fields. Newspaper Enterprise Association, or "NEA Service," was a news syndicate established by the Scripps organization in 1909, to which Science Service sold articles and
feature series. They also marketed articles and photographs to publications like Life and Reader's Digest. There is considerable correspondence with the editors
about topic selection and why particular stories were rejected.
Science Service staff used special abbreviations in their interoffice correspondence. Starting in the 1930s, small name and date stamps were also used to record or acknowledge
all correspondence and notes. Abbreviations were written in all capital letters as well as in initial cap form (e.g., Watson Davis was "WD" as well as Wd"). Here is a partial
list of abbreviations that appear frequently in RU 7091:
ACM = A. C. Monahan
An = Anne Shiveley, secretary to Watson Davis
Ba = Howard Bandy, treasurer
Be = Miriam Bender, office staff
DGL = Donald G. Loomis, assistant treasurer
Do = Dorothy Reynolds, secretary to Watson Davis
Ed = Emily C. Davis (sometimes written as "ECD")
En = Leonard Engel
Ew = Ann Ewing
Fa = Bob Farr
FD = Fremont Davis
Fl = Margaret Fleming
Fr = Violet Frye
Gi = Minna Gill, librarian
Hd = Helen Miles Davis
Hj = Hallie Jenkins, sales manager
Ho = Janet Howard
HW = Howard Wheeler, business manager
JWY = J. W. Young
Js = James Stokley
Kl = Fred Kline, list room
Kr = Joseph Kraus, science youth programs
Md = Marjorie MacDill (Breit); in 1928, Jane Stafford became the medical editor and used these initials from 1928-1936
Mg = Mary McGrath, secretary to Watson Davis
Ml = Bernice Maldondo
Mm = Martha G. Morrow
Mn = Minna Hewes
Mo = Morton Mott-Smith
Ot = Frances Ottemiller
Pd = Phillippa Duckworth, secretary to E. E. Slosson
Ps = Page Secrest
Pt = Robert Potter
Ri = William E. Ritter
RLI = Ronald L. Ives, photograph editor
RNF = Robert N. Farr
Ro = Ron Ross
Sl = E. E. Slosson
St = Jane Stafford, after 1936
Th = Frank Thone
Vn = Marjorie Van de Water
Wd = Watson Davis
We = Margaret Weil
Wi = Austin Winant
Interoffice correspondence in the 1920s also used these abbreviations: Bk = bookkeeper; Cr = circulation; Fl = File; Lb = library or library files; Mr = mailroom; Rt =
retail files; Sa = sales department; Tp = typing department; Wb = wastebasket.
Historical Note:
Science Service, a not-for-profit institution founded to increase and improve the public dissemination of scientific and technical information, began its work in 1921.
Although initially intended as a news service, Science Service produced an extensive array of news features, radio programs, motion pictures, phonograph records, and demonstration
kits and it also engaged in various educational, translation, and research activities. It later became Science Service, Inc., an organization that publishes Science News
and promotes science education. On January 10, 2008 Science Service was renamed Society for Science & the Public (SSP).
Record Unit 7091 contains correspondence and other material related to Science Service, from just before its establishment through 1963, including the editorial correspondence
of the first two directors and senior staff.
The inspiration for such an organization developed during conversations between newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps (1854-1926) and zoologist William E. Ritter (1856-1944),
who headed the Scripps-funded oceanographic institute in California. "Document A - The American Society for the Dissemination of Science," dictated by E. W. Scripps on March
5, 1919 (see Box 1, Folder 1), declared that the "first aim of this [proposed] institution should be just the reverse of what is called propaganda." Scripps believed that
it should not support partisan causes, including those of any particular scientific group or discipline, but should instead develop ways to "present facts in readable and
interesting form..." (p. 3). Scripps and Ritter held meetings throughout the United States to solicit ideas and support from scientists. By 1920, they had concluded that the
best way to improve the popularization of science would be to create an independent, non-commercial news service with close ties to, but not operated by, the scientific community.
The scientists would lend credibility to the organization's work, help to ensure accuracy, and project an image of authority.
Scripps supplied an initial donation of $30,000 per year from 1921 until his death in 1926. His will placed $500,000 in trust for Science Service and provided a continuing
endowment until the trust was dissolved in 1956.
Science Service did not provide all its services for free. Scripps believed that the news service would be more valued by its clients - and would better reflect their needs
and professional standards - if it charged a fair price for its products. As a result, the history of the organization is one of continual innovation, as the staff developed
and marketed new syndicated features, wrote articles and books for other publishers on commission, and re-wrote each basic news story for multiple markets.
From the beginning, Science Service was guided by a 15-member board of trustees composed of two groups: prominent scientists nominated by the National Academy of Sciences,
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Smithsonian Institution, and newspaper editors or executives nominated by the Scripps-Howard organization or the Scripps
family trust. William E. Ritter served as the first president of the board of trustees. Such scientists as J. McKeen Cattell, Edwin G. Conklin, Harlow Shapley, and Leonard
Carmichael (the seventh Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution) succeeded him over the next four decades.
During the summer of 1920, Ritter began negotiations with Edwin E. Slosson (1865-1929), a well-known chemist and popularizer. Slosson had taught at the University of Wyoming
for thirteen years until moving to New York to become the literary editor of The Independent. He began work as the head of Science Service in January 1921.
The first public announcement of the creation of Science Service appeared in Science, April 8, 1921, pp. 321-323. The first meeting of the trustees was held on May
20, 1921; the Science Service trust was set up July 22, 1921; and the not-for-profit organization was incorporated in the state of Delaware on November 1, 1921.
In 1921, Howard Wheeler, former editor of the San Francisco Daily News, was hired as the business manager. Watson Davis (1896-1967), a civil engineer who had been
working at the National Bureau of Standards and writing science features for a Washington, D.C., newspaper, was hired as principal writer. In 1923, Wheeler was fired; Slosson
(whose title had been "Editor") was named Director; and Davis was promoted to managing editor.
Throughout the 1920s, Davis built the news service through the "Daily Science News Bulletin," which later became the syndicated "Daily Mail Report" sold to newspapers around
the country. He developed a local radio program and script service ("Science News of the Week"), coordinated a project to produce phonograph records, and assembled a skilled
staff to handle reporting, circulation, production, sales, advertising, and accounting. Davis also edited the organization's most successful product, Science News Letter
(titled Science News Bulletin, April 2, 1921-March 1922, and Science News-Letter, March 1922-October 1930).
After Slosson's death on October 15, 1929, the trustees favored replacing him with another scientist. Davis lobbied for the position but remained as managing editor until
he was finally appointed director in 1933. He guided the organization until his retirement in 1966.
From 1921-1924, the editorial offices were located in offices rented by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington. When the NAS moved to its own building at
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., in April 1924, Science Service acquired space there. As World War II began, space became precious at the NAS headquarters. In spring 1941,
Science Service purchased its own building at 1719 N Street, N.W., to house its expanding operations and staff.
Between 1921-1963, Davis and senior writers such as Frank Thone, James Stokley, Jane Stafford, and Marjorie Van de Water interviewed hundreds of scientists and engineers,
and wrote thousands of articles, often maintaining a lively correspondence with their sources. Thone, a botanist with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, worked for the
organization from 1924 until his death in 1949, covering both the Scopes trial and the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll; astronomer Stokley joined the group in 1925 and continued
to write the "Star Map" feature even after he went to work for the Franklin Institute and for General Electric. Stafford, one of the founding members of the National Association
of Science Writers, covered medicine and biology for Science Service from 1928 to 1956. Van de Water covered psychology and related topics from 1929 through the 1960s. Other
members of the Davis family also assisted in the operations, including Watson's wife, the chemist Helen Miles Davis (1896-1957), who edited Chemistry from 1944, when
it was acquired by Science Service, until shortly before her death. Watson's brother Fremont Davis served as the organization's photographer.
Science Service also depended on an extensive network of part-time correspondents, or "stringers," in the United States, Europe, and Asia, to provide information and photographs.
Most of these contributors were graduate students, young professors, or schoolteachers. By the mid-1930s, Science Service was dispensing small fees (under $10.00) for over
500 short news items and illustrations annually. The staff was also answering hundreds of letters each year from readers of all age who were curious about science in general
or had specific questions about a subject mentioned in the news. The correspondence with these people afford a rich resource for social and cultural historians.
In addition to sending its writers to participate in expeditions, Science Service established projects to collect scientific data, such as seismological information and
ursigrams, and to compile weekly astronomical and meteorological charts. They also initiated a "Scientific Minute Men" project in which a network of archeologists and other
scientists were authorized to wire Science Service at no charge.
The activities of the staff and organization were wide-ranging and reflect the breadth of science and scientific concerns during the twentieth century. Slosson and Davis
were involved extensively with groups like the American Association for the Advancement of Science, British Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi, and American
Eugenics Society, and the staff writers covered dozens of scientific meetings every year, sometimes serving as officers of those associations. Davis was a major participant
in the National Inventors Council and served on dozens of advisory committees for scientific laboratories and universities, and national and international government agencies.
With Alexander Gode, Davis worked to promote acceptance of Interlingua, an international scientific language. One of the organization's most lasting contributions was to science
education, through its sponsorship of Science Clubs of America, National Science Fairs, the Science Talent Search, and informal teaching units called "THINGS of Science."
Science Service also sponsored early innovation in microphotography, established a Documentation Division and a Bibliofilm Service, and helped to found the American Documentation
Institute.
For the first four decades of its existence, however, the central mission remained science journalism. As Davis wrote in 1960, Science Service strived from the beginning
to convince both publishers and scientists that "science is news, good news, news that can compete, from a circulation standpoint, with crime, politics, human comedy and pathos,
and the conventional array of news and features" and that science "could be written popularly so as to be accurate in fact and implication and yet be good reading in newspaper
columns" (Watson Davis, "The Rise of Science Understanding," 1960, Box 368, Folder 2). These records will help historians to understand better the processes of negotiation,
adjustment, and innovation which created that news. - Marcel C. LaFollette
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
191 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2011 July 5-6
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Consuelo Jimenez Underwood conducted 2011 July 5 and 6, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Underwood's home and studio, in Cupertino, California.
Biographical / Historical:
Consuelo Jimenez Underwood (1949- ) is a textile artist and weaver in Cupertino, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded as 7 sound files. Duration is 6 hr., 41 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
60 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2002 June 4-10
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Dominic Di Mare conducted 2002 June 4-10, by Signe Mayfield, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at his home and studio, in Tiburon, California.
Di Mare speaks of growing up in Monterey, California, around thread, as his mother crocheted and his fisherman father made lures; drawing as a child; receiving the Junior Scholastic Art Awards in high school; enrolling at Monterey Peninsula College and San Francisco State; acquiring a teacher's degree and taking a craft class; being "enthralled" by setting up a loom; teaching art in junior high schools; getting married and buying a loom; reading Craft Horizon magazine and becoming inspired by the work of Kay Sekimachi; buying yarn from Helen Pope at The Yarn Depot and forming a friendship with her; exhibiting at The Yarn Depot; participating in craft competitions and showing his work to Paul Smith, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Crafts; his first show at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in 1965; exhibiting at Museum West (the west coast extension of the Museum of Contemporary Crafts); recognizing "self and struggle and passion" in Ferne Jacobs' work; his dealers including Marjorie Annenberg (Annenberg Gallery, San Francisco), Ruth Braunstein (Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco), Susan Cummins (Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, Calif.), and Florence Duhl (Florence Duhl Gallery, New York); receiving a grant from the Marin Arts Council; quitting his teaching job, receiving an NEA grant, and becoming a full-time artist; collectors Dan and Hillary Goldstein; the beauty of poet Betty Parks' article, "Dominic Di Mare: Houses for the Sacred," in American Craft (October/November 1982); his "shrine" imagery; his military service during the Korean War and being assigned to a post office in Paris, France; going to the Louvre and encountering the Nike, "winged victory" sculpture; and Jack Lenore Larson's support.
Di Mare considers himself to be "self-taught" although he attended the California College of Arts and Crafts, San Francisco State, and Rudolph Schaefer School of Design. He also talks about autobiographical elements in his work; his "personal, artistic vocabulary"; the repetition of black and white; his use of sticks and feathers; and cross shapes, representing the church and a ship's mast. He comments on making portraits during his summers in Switzerland and making magical wands; and his artistic philosophy. Di Mare also recalls Camille Cook, Helen Drutt, Trude Guermonprez, Sophi Harpe, Gyongy Laky, Marjorie Livingston, Hal Painter, June Schwarcz, Rose Slivka, Millie Tresko, and Dorian Zachai.
Biographical / Historical:
Dominic Di Mare (1932- ) is a fiber artist from Tiburon, California. Signe Mayfield is an art historian.
General:
Originally recorded 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 47 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use transcript. Transcript available online. Sound recordings (3 cassettes) are ACCESS RESTRICTED; Written permission required.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
University of Wisconsin--Madison -- Faculty Search this
University of Wisconsin--Madison -- Students Search this
Extent:
76 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2002 June 16
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Joyce Marquess Carey conducted 2002 June 16, by Glenn Adamson, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Carey's home, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Carey speaks of growing up in Redding, California; her widowed mother working to support Carey and herself; her "lonesome" childhood and her eagerness to leave Redding to attend the University of California at Berkeley; majoring in English; meeting her husband Harlan (Mark) Marquess in her senior year at Berkeley and marrying him; dropping out of college; regretting her marriage; her life as a housewife and mother in the late 1950s and 1960s; moving to Madison, Wisconsin, for her husband's job as a Russian teacher; taking weaving classes with Larry Edman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and meeting fiber artist Claire Zeisler on a field trip to Chicago. Carey discusses experimentation in her work and "stretching the limits of the technique" in Edman's class; receiving her undergraduate degree in textile arts in 1971; working with a computer-driven Dobby Loom; studying with Ruth Gao and Jim Peters at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for her MFA in the early 1970s; teaching weaving at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a focus on technical and design skills; writing articles on the technical aspects of fiber art for "Fiber Arts," "Weaver's Journal," "Shuttle, Spindle, & Dye Pot," and other periodicals; exhibiting with the Wisconsin Designer Craftsmen in the 1970s; participating in the Quilt National Show in 1979; receiving a five-year development grant from the University of Wisconsin and quitting her teaching job; using "systematic" weaving methods in quilting; her involvement with galleries such as the Connell/Great American Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia; working with art consultants; the difference between private and corporate commissions; her use of bright colors and various fabrics; her use of tools and technology including an industrial sewing machine and computer programs such as Photoshop; her second marriage to Phil Carey in 1980 after her divorce to Marquess in the mid-1970s; and the "ephemeral" qualities in art. She considers herself a "collager," assembling fabrics and "embellishments." She also discusses her involvement with the Studio Art Quilt Associates and in the Art Quilt Network; and her piece, "Blue Ribbon," in the collection of the American Craft Museum. Carey recalls Camille Cook, Lia Cook, Martha Connell, Hillary Fletcher, Ted Hallman, Pat Mansfield, Ursula Ilse-Neuman, Yvonne Porcella, [Laurence] Rathsack, Victor Vasarely, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Joyce Marquess Carey (1936- ) is a quilt maker from Madison, Wisconsin. Glenn Adamson is an art historian.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 51 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Jack Lenor Larsen conducted 2004 February 6-8, by Arline M. Fisch, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Longhouse, East Hampton, N.Y.
Larsen speaks of his childhood in Seattle, Washington; his parents and other adults who had a positive impact on his development; building things with his friends; attending the University of Washington to study architecture and deciding to study textiles instead; visiting Dorothy Liebes's textile studio; leaving school and moving to Los Angeles; attending the University of Southern California and eventually returning to the University of Washington; becoming a teaching assistant to Ed Rossbach; getting a Masters degree at Cranbrook Academy of Art; meeting many influential people in San Francisco and New York; moving to New York and setting up a studio; working on commission for several companies including Thaibok; expanding his offices to include larger looms and a showroom; setting up a branch of production in Haiti; working in the fashion industry and designing home decor; and working in Southeast Asia developing handcrafted woven exports. He also speaks of his involvement with the American Craft Council and the World Crafts Council, re-organizing and building the new campus at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; traveling to Central Asia, Africa, Europe, and his desire to travel more; working and exhibiting in Japan; experiencing the Japanese textile industry; writing numerous books on fiber arts including, "The Dyer's Art," often collaborating with other fiber artists; developing a classification system for interlacing; collecting art; gardening and its relation to art and design; building Round House and the inspiration behind it; building LongHouse using the Japanese Ise Shrine as a model and plans for further expansion; retiring and difficulties writing, "A Weaver's Memoir." Larsen also recalls Dorothy Liebes, Marianne Strengell, Florence Knoll, Edgar Kaufman, Ed Rossbach, Toshiko Takaezu, Francis Merritt, Mary Bishop, Garth Clark, Issey Miyake, Mildred Constantine, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Jack Lenor Larsen (1927-2020) was a weaver and textile designer from East Hampton, N.Y. Arline M. Fisch (1931- ) is a jeweler from San Diego, Cailfornia.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound discs and 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 19 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hrs., 23 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Textile designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Neda Al-Hilali conducted 2006 July 18-19, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home, in Los Angeles, California.
Al-Hilali speaks of her childhood in Czechoslovakia and Bavaria; studying language in London; her experience living in Baghdad, Iraq with her first husband; moving to California and completing her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UCLA; teaching experiences at Scripps College, Claremont Graduate University, California State University Los Angeles, and UCLA; the installation processes of Beach Occurrence with Tongues, Black Passage, the Cassiopeia series, and others; frustrations she encountered with commission work; the rich history of the fiber tradition; travels to Afghanistan, Japan, and Oaxaca, Mexico; achieving gestural and painterly qualities with fiber; the importance of color in textile work in the Middle East; experiences with galleries, including the Hunsaker/Schlesinger Gallery in Santa Monica, California; utilizing a Ouija board for reflection and creative guidance; issues such as global warming and over-development; the status of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule; the gratitude she feels at being a part of the fiber tradition; and plans for the future. Al-Hilali also recalls Bernard Kester, Jim Bassler, Fern Jacobs, Joyce Hunsaker, Alice Simsar, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Neda Al-Hilali (1938- ) is a fiber artist and weaver in Los Angeles, California. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 22 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 46 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
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