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Jack Heaney Papers: Finding
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archHeaney
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Table of contents
Title: Jack Heaney Papers.
Dates (inclusive): 1906-2009
Bulk dates: 1940-1970
Collection Number: archHeaney
Creator:
Heaney, Jack, 1904-1972.
Extent:
12 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Rare Books Department
Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of Scottish-American naval architect and interior designer Jack Heaney (1904-1972) primarily
related to projects Heaney worked on in the mid 20th century at
the marine design and naval architectural firm of George G. Sharp Inc. in New York City and later at Jack Heaney and Associates.
The bulk of the collection dates from the late 1930s to the 1960s and includes Heaney's design drawings
and renderings, photographs of ship interiors, as well as some ephemera, miscellaneous business records, and personal papers.
Notably, the collection includes drawings, photographs, clippings, and
ephemera related to Heaney's work on the design of the NS
Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, built in the late 1950s.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on October 16, 2014.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
Jack Heaney Papers. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of JoAnne Heaney in 2010.
Processing of this collection included a collection survey, re-housing in appropriate archival containers, and the creation
of this finding aid.
This collection was minimally re-arranged into series and subseries based on the original arrangement and description created
by Dr. Norman Boas, a close friend of Jack Heaney. Dr. Boas’s notes
on the collection and document, “Chronology and Inventory of the John Heaney Papers” are available with the collection.
John Heaney (1904-1972) was a Scottish-American interior and industrial designer who specialized in marine interior design.
Better known as “Jack,” Heaney was born on May 26, 1904, in Glasgow, Scotland. Following his education
in the Glasgow public schools, Heaney studied naval architecture at the University of Glasgow, attended the Glasgow School
of Art, and completed a seven-year apprenticeship at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Ltd.
In 1926, Heaney immigrated to New York City and in 1931 became a United States citizen. He worked a series of jobs, including
as a door-to-door refrigerator salesman, until 1937, when he joined the naval
architecture and marine design firm of George G. Sharp Inc. At Sharp's firm, Heaney worked on ship interior design and exterior
styling for various steamships including the Robin Line (1937-1939 and 1946-1947) and the Delta
Line (1945-1947).
In 1947, Heaney opened his own design firm on West 54th Street in Manhattan under the name John Heaney (the firm was later
renamed Jack Heaney and Associates). In 1950, the firm moved to Beekman Place
in New York City, and in 1954 to Wilton, Connecticut. The firm specialized in
marine interior design and exterior styling, and their projects included a wide array of commissions from many of the notable
cargo-passenger ship lines and companies of the era including
Heaney’s most noteworthy project: the NS
Savannah, the first nuclear powered cargo-passenger ship.
The firm also took on land-based planning and design projects including the design of an aluminum stacking chair for Treitel-Gratz
Co. of New York.
Heaney’s aluminum-stacking chair, the “Aluma-Stack”, was exhibited at Museum of Modern Art as part of its 1947 “Useful Objects”
exhibition.
Heaney was married to Tui Anderson from 1927 until her death from illness in 1934. In 1950, Heaney married his George G. Sharp
associate JoAnne (Joan) B. Steane. Jack Heaney died in November 1972.
This collection contains the papers of naval architect, artist, and interior designer Jack Heaney primarily related to projects
Heaney worked on in the mid 20th century at the New York City
marine design and naval architectural firm of George G. Sharp Inc., and later at Jack Heaney and Associates. The bulk of the
collection dates from the late 1930s to the 1960s and includes
both professional and project records primarily reflecting Heaney's design work for cargo-passenger vessels, and some personal
documents.
The professional and project records in the collection includes design renderings and drawings of ship exteriors, interiors,
furniture, and fixtures; photographs primarily of ship interiors; miscellaneous ephemera, often with
graphic components by Heaney; publications and clippings profiling Heaney's work; and some miscellaneous correspondence. Ship
lines with three or more related items are distinguished as
separate series, followed by other miscellaneous marine and furniture projects. For the most part, series are arranged chronologically
according to Heaney's work on the specific projects. The largest section relates to the
first nuclear cargo ship, the NS
Savannah. While most of the collection concerns Heaney's work, the Staten Island Ferries series also includes correspondence
related to JoAnne Heaney's interior design work on the project in the late 1970s. The materials also include twelve of the
first issues of
Harmony in G. Sharp, the George
G. Sharp firm's in-house magazine dating from the mid 1940s.
The personal papers include three shipbuilding books and a notebook used by Heaney as a student; six pieces of student artwork
dating from 1924 to 1926; and some additional postcards and pieces of ephemera.
Note: Titles in the contents list are chiefly transcribed from items; titles devised by the cataloger are enclosed in square
brackets.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Mid-century and atomic-age design
- Southern California Edison Collection
- Maynard Parker Collection (Call number: photCL MLP)
- Edward Durell Stone Collection (Call number: archStone)
Maritime history and design
- John Haskell Kemble Maritime collection
- Kemble Maritime Ephemera Collection (ephJHK)
Nuclear science, energy, and related topics
The collection is arranged in the following 15 series:
- Professional Records
- Series 1. Robin Line (1937-1939) and (1946-1956)
- Series 2. Delta Line (1943-1947)
- Series 3. American President Lines (1945-1947)
- Series 4. Luckenbach Steamship Company (1947-1948)
- Series 5. Great Lakes Ore Carriers (1950-1956)
- Series 6. SS Aquarama (1954–1957)
- Series 7. NS Savannah (1957-1965)
- Series 8. Gulf and South American Steamship (1960-1963)
- Series 9. Farrell Lines (1963-1965)
- Series 10. Staten Island Ferries (1969 and 1977-1980)
- Series 11. Other Marine Projects (approximately 1938-1972)
- Series 12. Other Furniture Projects (1947-2009)
- Series 13. Harmony in G Sharp magazine, (approximately 1944-1946)
- Personal Papers
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Architectural drawings.
Architectural photographs.
Clippings.
Design drawings.
Ephemera.
Industrial design drawings.
Interior design drawings.
Heaney, Jack, 1904-1972 -- Archives.
Heaney, JoAnne -- Archives.
George G. Sharp (Firm)
Interior decorators -- Archives.
Naval architects -- Archives.
Naval architecture.
Shipbuilding.
Georges, Alexandre, photographer.
Heaney, JoAnne -- Archives.
George G. Sharp (Firm)