Earl Nisbet Collection 2011.-05

Emily Vigor
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
2011
230 Bauer Wurster Hall #1820
Berkeley, CA 94720-1820
designarchives@berkeley.edu


Contributing Institution: University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: Earl Nisbet Collection
Creator: Nisbet, Earl, 1926-2013
Identifier/Call Number: 2011.-05
Physical Description: 9 Linear Feet: 6 document boxes, 1 flat box, 1 flat file drawer
Date (inclusive): 1931-2007
Language of Material: English .

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the Curator.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Earl Nisbet Collection, [2011-05] Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.

Biographical / Historical

Earl Nisbet was born on June 17, 1926 in San Jose, California. Nisbet joined the army after high school and served in WWII. Upon returning to civilian life, he enrolled in an architecture and engineering college in San Francisco, where he was inspired by the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright. After college, he worked as a carpenter's apprentice and assisted in the construction of the Midglen residence in Woodside, a home that was being built by apprentices of Frank Lloyd Wright. This experience influenced him to apply for a fellowship studying with Frank Lloyd Wright and in 1950 he was accepted as a Fellow at Taliesin in Wisconsin. Nisbet spent three years at Taliesin and Taliesin West before pursing an independent career designing homes in Northern California. In 1958, following an extended stay in Tahiti, he moved to Hawaii and established a practice in Waikiki. During this period, Nisbet built the Doo House. He returned to California in the early 1960s where he continued to design residential and commercial buildings. Nisbet's architectural drawings reflect the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright throughout his career. He passed away in Aptos, CA in 2013.
Sources: Nisbet, Earl. Taliesin Reflections: My Years Before, During, and After Living with Frank Lloyd Wright. Petaluma, CA: Meridian Press, 2006.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into four series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Office Records, and Project Records.

Scope and Contents

Personal and Professional Papers consist primarily of correspondence with friends and colleagues, as well as personal photographs. A scrapbook that Nisbet created during his life that contains numerous clippings on Frank Lloyd Wright is also included in the Personal Papers series. Office records include photographs from two exhibitions on Taliesin Fellows that Nisbet was included in, as well as publication clippings on the Doo House and Tanglewood House.
The Project Records consist of built and unbuilt projects, mostly residential. They include construction drawings of Gene Masselink's abstraction for Frank Lloyd Wright's Frank Sander House in Stamford, Connecticut, a decorative wood screen for the current owner, Erik Gavriluk. This collection also includes a drawing that Nisbet completed for Frank Lloyd Wright of a tent while at Taliesin with Wright's own sketch in the bottom right corner.

 

Personal Papers 1945-2007

Scope and Contents

Box 1-3 This collection consists primarily of personal correspondence received by Nisbet, and Holiday cards that Nisbet created. Personal photographs include images of Earl at Taliesin and photographs that he took during his apprenticeship. A. Correspondence B. Writings C. Travel D. Photographs E. Awards F. Sketches G. Scrapbook
 

Correspondence A.

Box 1, Folder 2-3

Correspondence 1952-2006

Box 1, Folder 4

Nisbet designed and sent holiday cards 1987-2001

Box 1, Folder 5-6

Holiday cards received 1959-2007, n.d.

 

Writings B.

Box 2, Folder 7

Essay "On Frank Lloyd Wright" n.d.

Box 2, Folder 8

Notes 1957-1991

 

Travel C.

Box 2, Folder 9

International Date Line certificate 1957

 

Photographs D.

Box 2, Folder 10

Portraits n.d.

Box 2, Folder 11

Taliesin Photographs n.d.

Box 2, Folder 12

Unidentified photographs 1945-1956

 

Awards E.

Box 2, Folder 14

Dietary Service, Stanford Hospital Center 1963

 

Sketches F.

Box 2, Folder 15

Drawings and sketches n.d.

 

Scrapbook G.

Box 3, Folder Unknown

Clippings related to Frank Lloyd Wright n.d.

 

Professional Papers 1931-2003

Scope and Contents

Box 4 The correspondence in this collection includes architects that Nisbet met while at Taliesin and correspondence from both the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the Taliesin Fellowship and Preservation, Inc. A. Correspondence B. Reference Files
 

Correspondence A.

Box 4, Folder 1

Alvin Badenhop correspondence 1958-1997

Box 4, Folder 2

Chuck Bass correspondence 1959-1988

Box 4, Folder 3

Jackson Wong correspondence 1988-2001

Box 4, Folder 4

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation correspondence 1984-2003

Box 4, Folder 5

Taliesin Fellowship correspondence 1950

Box 4, Folder 6

Taliesin Preservation, Inc. correspondence 1987-2002

Box 4, Folder 7

Correspondence 1998

 

Reference Files B.

Box 4, Folder 9

Lecture notes on architectural perspective - George M. Allen 1931

 

Office Records 1954-1995

Scope and Contents

Box 5 Photographs are from the Taliesin Fellows Exhibition at the Marin Civic Center and an exhibition at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo of the Taliesin Fellows Northern California chapter. A. Photographs B. Clippings C. Forms & Stationary
 

Photographs A.

Box 5, Folder 1

Taliesin Fellows Exhibition, Marin Civic Center 1995

Box 5, Folder 2

TFNC Cal Poly Exhibition n.d.

 

Clippings B.

Box 5, Folder 3

Doo House publication clippings 1958-1965

Box 5, Folder 4

Tanglewood House publication clippings 1954, n.d.

Box 5, Folder 5

Various projects publication clippings 1958-1968

 

Forms & Stationary C.

Box 5, Folder 6

Contract forms n.d.

Box 5, Folder 7

Construction forms n.d.

Box 5, Folder 8

Business cards n.d.

 

Project Records 1953-2011

Scope and Contents

Box 5-6, Flat files Arranged by project. This series includes project files, drawings, and photographs of projects both completed and envisioned by Nisbet.
 

Baird, Robert: Hidden River Ranch Salt Lake City UT 2011

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 24

Drawings

 

Blois, R.M. Portola Valley CA 1955

Box 5, Folder 1

Project Files

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 2, Box 5, Folder 1

Drawings

Box 6, Folder 13, Box 7, Folder 2a

Photographs

Box 6, Folder 13

Slides

 

Brookside Park Woodside CA 1954

Box 5, Folder 2

Project files

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 3

Drawings

 

Buchea, William Newport OR 1956

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 4

Drawings

 

Canyon House Woodside CA 1954

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 5

Drawings

 

Design: Furniture studies n.d.

Box 6, Folder 21

Drawings

 

Design: Hidden River Ranch Salt Lake City UT 2011

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 24

Drawings

 

Design: house Woodside CA 1956

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 21

Drawings

 

Design: Maple Ave House Sunnyvale CA 1956

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings

 

Design: Plexidom 1956

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings

 

Design: Small bungalow n.d.

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings

 

Design: Studio Apartment n.d.

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings

 

Design: Valley National Bank n.d.

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings

 

Designs: Various buildings n.d.

Box 6, Folder 23

Drawings

 

Doo, S.C. Honolulu HI 1959

Box 5, Folder 3-5

Project files

Box 5, Folder 3, 7, 2b, flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 6

Drawings

Box 6, Folder 14-15

Photographs

Box 6, Folder 15

Slides

 

Elwood, Wayne Palo Alto Hills CA 1965

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 7

Drawings

Box 7, Folder 2c

Photographs

Box 6, Folder 16

Slides

 

Falconer, D.W. Soquel CA 1955

Box 5, Folder 7

Project files

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 8-9

Drawings

Box 6, Folder 17

Photographs

 

Falconer, D.W. Scheme 1 Soquel CA 1955

 

Gores, Joseph San Anselmo CA 1978

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 10

Drawings

 

John, Harry Oconomowoc WI n.d.

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings

 

Larry's Snack Counter Honolulu HI 1960

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 22

Drawings

 

Longevar Prefab Honolulu HI 1958

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 12

Drawings

 

McCord, Glenn Arlington NJ n.d.

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings

 

McNemey, Michael and Debbie light deck design n.d.

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 25

Drawings

 

Meija, F. pool cover design Santa Cruz CA n.d.

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings

 

Moore residence Felton CA

Box 7, Folder 2d

Photographs

 

Newman, Jack La Honda CA 1953

Box 6, Folder 22, flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 13

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl Anderson Island WA 1990

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 1

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl Santa Cruz CA 1978

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 22

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl Aptos CA 1976

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 22a

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl House Studies Aptos CA 1976

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 14

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl Scheme 1 Aptos CA 1976

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 15

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl Scheme 2 Aptos CA 1976

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 16

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl Portola Studio Portola Valley CA 1955

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 22

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl: Drafting Studio Portola Valley CA 1955

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 22

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl: Frank S. Sander House decorative wood screen Stamford CT 2011

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 24

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl: Kalakawa Office Honolulu HI 1958

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 11

Drawings

Box 6, Folder 18

Photographs

 

Nisbet, Earl: Mini Storage Building Santa Cruz CA 1976

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 22

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl: Nisbet Associates Office Los Altos CA n.d.

Box 5, Folder 8

Project files

 

Nisbet, Earl: Sunridge House Pebble Beach CA 1965

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 19

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl: Taliesin Tent Scottsdale AZ 1952

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 23

Drawings

 

Nisbet, Earl: Tanglewood Felton CA 1953

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 20

Drawings

Box 6, Folder 20

Slides

 

Palo Alto Hills Project Palo Alto CA 1965

Box 5, Folder 9

Project files

 

Pescadero Heights Pebble Beach CA 1965

Box 6, Folder 10

Drawings

 

Sedgwick Pharmacy Capitola CA 1955

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 22

Drawings

 

Smith, Roscoe Los Altos CA 1955

Box 6, Folder 11

Project files

Box 6, Folder 22, flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 17

Drawings

 

Spade, H.V. Alpine Hills CA 1955

Box 6, Folder 12

Project files

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 18

Drawings

 

Tanglewood [see Nisbet, Earl] Felton CA 1953

 

Unidentified architectural drawings

flat-file-drawer W 14.13, Flat-File 26

Drawings

 

Winn Residence Kalamazoo MI

Box 6, Folder 22

Drawings