Cconsists of design and layout materials created by Kleb Associates, Incorporated for Commercial Decal, Incorporated. Included among the materials are advertisements for White House China designs, Royal Copenhagen Dishes and employment, as well as, artwork for annual reports and brochures. The materials are organized chronologically by date with undated material at the end.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but a portion of the collection remains unprocessed and is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Commercial Decal, Incorporated Corporate Records, 1940-1991, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection documents Andre Piette's career as an illustrator and designer. The materials include sketches, drawings, tracings, photographs (color transparencies, slides, and prints), and samples of wallpaper, designs for gift wrap, and a few textiles.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of a wide range of materials documenting Andre Piette's career as an illustrator and designer. The materials include sketches, drawings, tracings, photographs (color transparencies, slides, and prints), and samples of wallpaper, designs for gift wrap, and a few textiles. The materials are the product of the Piette's early years in the United States (1960s) as a landscape artist in New England and as an associate of Norman Rockwell and of his later work for Tiffany & Company as a freelance designer. As an employee of Tiffany, Piette designed the White House china set for Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson. Materials documenting this effort—White House China—are the largest series in the collection. Other design work includes cards, silver, parquet flooring, and china. There also are drawings and tracings not associated with specific functional products.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: White House China, 1967-1970, undated
Series 2: Other Designs, undated
Series 3: Andre Piette Scrapbook, undated
Series 4: Oversize, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Piette, artist and designer, spent his early years studying at the Academie Royale De Beaux-Arts in Liege, Belgium. He is noted for his designs of Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and wallpaper. In 1968 he was commissioned by Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson to design a set of White House state china, consisting of 2,500 pieces.
Provenance:
Donated by Sam Magdoff, Dean of Continuing Education, Parsons School of Design, July 29, 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.
Association of Curators Project Oral History Interviews
Creator::
Association of Curators Project (National Museum of American History) Search this
Extent:
3 audiotapes (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Transcripts
Date:
1983
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also reminiscences and
interviews recorded by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Margaret Brown Klapthor, J. Jefferson Miller, and John T. Schlebecker, Smithsonian curators, were chosen to present their reminiscences because of their long and distinguished
careers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Descriptive Entry:
Harold D. Langley, chair of the Association of Curators, NMAH, moderated these sessions in 1983, and they were recorded by Smithsonian Institution Archives Historian,
Pamela M. Henson.
Historical Note:
In 1983, the chair of the Association of Curators of the National Museum of American History (NMAH), Harold D. Langley, hosted a series of talks by senior curators
"On Being a Curator." Informal remarks were followed by a question and answer period with curatorial staff. Margaret Brown Klapthor, J. Jefferson Miller, II, and John T. Schlebecker
discussed their careers at the museum, focusing on development and curation of collections, and reminiscences of their museum years. Klapthor and Miller served on the NMAH
Collections Committee and also addressed issues of collecting policies and curatorial methods. Their reminiscences span the years of the United States National Museum (USNM),
the formation of a separate National Museum of History and Technology (NMHT), and its renaming as the National Museum of American History in 1980.
Margaret Brown Klapthor (1922-1994) received the B.A. from the University of Maryland and was appointed Museum Aid in the Division of History of the USNM in 1943. She advanced
to Assistant curator in 1947, Associate Curator in 1952, and Curator in 1970. After forty years at the museum, she retired in 1983. Her curatorial work focused on the First
Ladies gowns collection, White House china, and political campaign contributions.
J. Jefferson Miller, II (1928-2005) received the B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and the L.L.B. from the University of Maryland. He changed careers after pursuing
a fellowship in American decorative arts at Winterthur and receiving the M.A. in American culture history from the University of Delaware. He came to the Division of Ceramics
and Glass of the NMHT as Assistant Curator in 1962, after completing his master's degree. He served as Associate Curator from 1964 to 1969 and Curator from 1970 until his
retirement in 1980. He then served as director of the Maryland Historical society from 1984 to 1989. His collecting and research focused on European ceramics and American
art porcelains.
John T. Schlebecker, a noted scholar of agricultural history and a key player in the living historical farms movement, graduated from Hiram College in 1949 with a major
in social science, earned the M.A. in history from Harvard University in 1951 and the Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1954. He was curator of agricultural history
at the American History Museum from 1965 until his retirement in 1984, and also served as chair of the Department of History of Science and Technology in 1978.
Rights:
Restricted. Contact SIHistory@si.edu to request permission.
Piette, Andre, 1934-1984 (ceramic designer, artist) Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 12
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Andre Piette Collection, 1954-1979, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Piette, Andre, 1934-1984 (ceramic designer, artist) Search this
Container:
Box 4, Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Andre Piette Collection, 1954-1979, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Piette, Andre, 1934-1984 (ceramic designer, artist) Search this
Container:
Box 4, Folder 3-4
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Andre Piette Collection, 1954-1979, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Piette, Andre, 1934-1984 (ceramic designer, artist) Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 4
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Andre Piette Collection, 1954-1979, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Piette, Andre, 1934-1984 (ceramic designer, artist) Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Andre Piette Collection, 1954-1979, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
