This collection consists chiefly of correspondence and research files reflecting the activities of California architect Sanford L. Berger (1919-2000) in the mid-to-late 20th century as a collector, student, and enthusiast of objects and knowledge related to 19th century English artist, decorator, poet, and printer William Morris (1834-1896), his circle, and his involvement with the Pre-Raphaelites and English Arts and Crafts Movement.

Sanford Lionel Berger (1919-2000), an architect and William Morris enthusiast, was born in San Francisco, California in 1919. His father, Samuel Berger, was an architectural woodcarver employed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and his work can be seen in many Bay Area churches and cathedrals among other sites. During World War II, Sanford Berger served as a civilian naval architect while stationed at the Boston Naval Ship Yard. A University of California at Berkeley and Harvard-trained architect, he practiced for 38 years and became a senior vice president for the firm of Stone, Marracini & Patterson in San Francisco, California. As a student, Berger, with his wife Helen, also a Harvard-trained architect, studied under such luminaries as Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.William Morris (1834-1896), an English artist, decorator, poet, and printer, was born March 24, 1834, in Walthamstow, England, then a suburb of London; he attended Marlborough College and in 1852 entered Exeter College, Oxford. He left in 1855, without taking religious orders, as he originally planned, and instead embarked on a varied career as a poet, visual artist and Socialist. He married Jane Burden on April 26, 1859, and they had two daughters, Jane Alice (Jenny), born in 1861 and Mary (May) in 1862.

52.26 Linear Feet (71 boxes)

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