Finding aid for the Paul Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979 (bulk 1922-1958) 870520
Andra Darlington.
Special Collections
2005
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Paul Outerbridge papers
Creator:
Outerbridge, Paul
Identifier/Call Number: 870520
Physical Description:
16.5 Linear Feet
(17 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1915-1979 (bulk 1922-1958)
Date (bulk): bulk
Abstract: The Paul Outerbridge papers document the American photographer's artistic and professional life from his earliest art studies
in 1915 through his varied career as an innovator in advertising photography, a pioneer in color photography, and a freelance
writer. The archive includes correspondence, notebooks and diaries, typescripts, drawings and sketches, business records,
scrapbooks, a portfolio, autobiographical and biographical statements, and intermittent clippings and ephemera.
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Language of Material: English
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Preferred Citation
Paul Outerbridge papers, 1915-1979 (bulk 1915-1958), Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 870520
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa870520
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1987.
Biographical/Historical Note
American photographer Paul Outerbridge (1896-1958) was born in New York City. He studied anatomy and aesthetics at the Art
Students' League of New York from 1915 to 1917 while working as a theatrical designer and illustrator, among other jobs. In
1917 he joined the Canadian Royal Flying Corps. Discharged after a minor crash, Outerbridge enlisted in the United States
Army and gained his first photographic experience documenting materials and operations for the army at a lumber camp in Oregon.
In 1921 he enrolled at the Clarence H. White School of Photography, New York, where he studied with White and Max Weber. Although
he did not complete the program at the White School, Outerbridge demonstrated such proficiency that he was soon invited to
teach there. His first published photograph appeared in
Vogue in 1922, the same year he became acquainted with Alfred Stieglitz and studied sculpture with Alexander Archipenko.
Through meticulous composition and manipulation of light, Outerbridge transformed everyday objects into formal abstractions
of mass and line, light and shadow. His innovative photographs were widely praised and published in magazines such as
Vanity fair,
Harper's bazaar, and
Vogue. As a freelance advertising photographer, he reinterpreted the 'product shot' in his own visual language, as seen in the
crisp precision and Cubist aesthetic of his Ide collar advertisement, first published in the July 1922 issue of
Vanity fair (see series VI). Marcel Duchamp was reportedly so impressed with the image that he tore it from a magazine and tacked it
to his studio wall. This landmark of early modernism in commercial photography led to more commissions, and Outerbridge had
his first solo exhibition at the Art Center, New York, in 1924.
Outerbridge interrupted his New York success by moving to Paris in 1925, then to Berlin three years later where he became
briefly involved in filmmaking. In Paris he met Edward Steichen, with whom he developed a friendly rivalry while they both
worked for the French edition of
Vogue. Man Ray was a frequent companion and entries in Outerbridge's pocket diaries from the period mention encounters with numerous
other artists, including Duchamp, Berenice Abbott, Kiki de Montparnasse, and Constantin Brancusi (see series II).
Shortly after his return to the United States in 1930, Outerbridge moved to Monsey, New York. There he concentrated on his
pioneering work in color photography, eventually perfecting his technique with the complex tri-color carbro process. As described
in
U.S. camera, "Technically his carbros are gems. Their color range, their flesh tones, their unbelievable fidelity make them the envy
of all who see them" (no. 2, 1939, p. 80). The primary subject of his technical virtuosity was the female nude, often exoticized
or fetishized with props, sometimes with menacing overtones. The full-color realism of the nudes shocked some viewers and
resulted in scandal, to which Outerbridge responded, "What this country needs is more and better nudes" (Outerbridge, "The
Nude," undated typescript, series III). Outerbridge's book,
Photographing in color, was published by Random House in 1940.
In 1943 Outerbridge moved from New York to California hoping to transition from photography to motion pictures. He never
found work in the film industry, however, and instead earned an irregular livelihood as a portrait photographer and freelance
writer, contributing articles and illustrations to photographic and travel magazines. From 1954 until his death he wrote the
monthly column "About Color" for
U.S. camera. Paul Outerbridge died October 17, 1958, in Laguna Beach, California.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Paul Outerbridge papers constitute the surviving body of documents relating to the American photographer's artistic and
professional life from his earliest art studies in 1915 through his varied career as an innovator in advertising photography,
a pioneer in color photography, and a freelance writer.
Letters to and from Outerbridge document the acquisition, exhibition, and publication of his work, while professional records
itemize prints sold and loaned. A large portion of the archive consists of Outerbridge's writings, which range from early
poems to a draft and a proof of his book,
Photographing in color (New York: Random House, 1940), to typescript drafts of articles. Among the articles are drafts of every issue, from 1954
until his death, of Outerbridge's monthly column "About Color" for
U.S. camera. Also included are writings by others, primarily poems and brief excerpts, but also a typescript of a play by Alvan L. Barach.
Monthly diaries for four years chronicle the details of Outerbridge's daily life in the 1920s and offer a glimpse of the
artistic life of New York and Paris, the cities in which he lived at the time. Among many artists mentioned in these volumes
are Alexander Archipenko, Man Ray, Edward Steichen, Marcel Duchamp, Berenice Abbott, Kiki de Montparnasse, and Constantin
Brancusi.
Preliminary sketches and drawings, a student notebook, and a teaching notebook provide insight into Outerbridge's creative
process. Detailed notes, exposure records, and lighting diagrams document his work methods. The published results are contained
in two large scrapbooks and a portfolio. With approximately 500 tear sheets from magazines and journals, the portfolio and
scrapbooks together comprise a comprehensive collection of Outerbridge's published work.
The archive also contains resumes, transcribed comments about Outerbridge's work, an incomplete autobiography (1929), and
brief biographical and autobiographical statements written at different stages in his career. Materials collected intermittently
by Outerbridge, including clippings, printed ephemera, and writings and drawings by others, point to his varied interests
and associates.
Although a substantial portion of the material is undated, the bulk can be situated between 1922, the year of Outerbridge's
first published photographs, and his death in 1958. Also included are obituaries, correspondence regarding the final dispensation
of his estate, and other materials collected by his widow, Lois (Weir) Outerbridge, after his death.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged in eight series: Series I. Correspondence, 1915-1979; Series II. Writings, 1929-1958; Series III.
Notebooks and diaries, 1915-1926; Series IV. Drawings and sketches, 1935-1938; Series V. Professional records, 1922-1958;
Series VI. Portfolios, 1922-1956; Series VII. Autobiographical and biographical information, 1924-1973; Series VIII. Clippings
and ephemera, 1923-1966.
Publication Rights
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Drawings (visual works)
Diaries
Photographic prints
Paris (France) -- Intellectual life -- 20th century
New York (N.Y.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th century
Correspondence
Color transparencies
Advertising photography
Color photography
Photography, Artistic
Commercial art -- United States
Portfolios (groups of works)
Photographs, Original
Photographers -- Correspondence
Photography
Sketches
Man Ray, 1890-1976
Loomis, Maurine
Epstean, Arnold Allen
Barach, Alvan L. (Alvan Leroy), 1895-1977
Wood, Robert W. (Robert William), 1889-1979
Quinquela Martín, Benito, 1890-1977
Outerbridge, Paul
Correspondence, Series I.
1915-1959, undated
Physical Description:
0.52 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Scope and Contents note
Includes approximately 300 business and personal letters arranged alphabetically by correspondent with unidentified correspondents
at the end. Letters to and from individuals, art institutions, and publications pertain primarily to the acquisition, exhibition,
and publication of Outerbridge's work. A 1942 letter from Beaumont Newhall, for example, recognizes the gift of three Outerbridge
carbro prints as the Museum of Modern Art's first acquisition of color photography (March 6); the director of the Cleveland
Museum of Art in a letter the following year requests on behalf of his museum's board that Outerbridge substitute "some other
subject" for "the Nude" offered as a donation by Outerbridge's friend and collector Vivian Allen (January 13, 1943). Other
topics include financial and legal matters, awards, memberships, and employment inquiries. Also included are condolences and
correspondence with Outerbridge's widow, Lois, concerning the final dispensation of his estate.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent with unidentified materials at the end.
box 1, folder 1
Adam: la revue de l'homme, Paris,
1928
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 2
Advertising Club of New York,
1943
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 3
Allen, Vivian B.,
1942-1948, undated
Physical Description:
5 items
box 1, folder 4
Alshin, Edith,
1943, undated
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 5
Anna Rosenstock, Inc., New York,
1956
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 6
ANSCO, New York,
1956
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 7
Appleby, Edgar,
undated
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 8
Arkin, Harry and Sidney,
1948
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 9
Art Center School, Los Angeles,
1955
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 10
Arts et Métiers Graphiques, Paris,
1931
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 11
Authors Guild, New York,
undated
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 12
Automobile Club of Orange County,
1945
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 13
Ayer Gallery, Philadelphia,
1931
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 14
Barrien, J. G.,
1922
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 15
Batton, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, New York,
1931
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 16
Bennett, Ralph H.,
1944
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 17
Boeck, William C.,
1956
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 18
Brunoff, M. de,
1925
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 19
Butterworth, E. T., and S. C. Goff,
ca. 1953
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 20
California Division of Real Estate, Sacramento,
1945
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 21
Camera Craft Publishing, San Francisco,
1956
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 22
Clarence H. White School of Photography, New York,
1922-1932
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 23
Cleveland Museum of Art,
1942-1943
Physical Description:
4 items
box 1, folder 24
Condé Nast Publications, New York,
1935
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 25
Cunningham, L.,
1944
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 26
Devean, Ross R.,
1943
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 27
Drier, Hans [?],
undated
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 28
Durege, Paul,
1958
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 29
Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester,
1941-1958
Physical Description:
17 items
box 1, folder 30
Galin, Roland,
1931
Physical Description:
4 items
box 1, folder 31
Gamma Picture Agency, New York,
1955-1956
Physical Description:
13 items
box 1, folder 32
Graf Optical Co., South Bend,
1922
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 33
Greenberg Publisher, New York,
1956
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 34
H. A. Samuel Picture Framing, Laguna Beach,
1943-1944
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 35
Handelman, Dorothy,
1948
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 36
Henderson, Jack,
undated
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 37
Holiday magazine, Philadelphia,
1950
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 38
Honigsberg, Michael,
1958
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 39
House beautiful magazine, New York,
1938
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 40
J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia,
1932
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 41
Johnson, Nicholas,
1945
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 42
Jones, Marc and Priscilla,
undated
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 43
Julien Levy Gallery, New York,
1932
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 44
Kemnitzer, W. J., Mrs.,
1944
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 45
Kestner Gesellschaft,
1929
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 46
L. W. Frohlich and Co., New York,
1956
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 47
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1958-1959
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 48
Life magazine, New York,
1941-1945
Physical Description:
7 items
box 1, folder 49
Los Angeles Museum,
1944-1945
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 50
M. S. Rau, Inc., New Orleans,
1955
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 51
MacGregor, Sophie L.,
1943
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 52
MacPhee, Jack,
1958
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 53
Maloney, T.J.,
1940-1941
Physical Description:
14 items
Scope and Contents note
See also
U.S. Camera.
box 1, folder 54
May, Mrs.,
1943
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 55
May Co., Los Angeles,
1944
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 56
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
1957
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 57
McAlpin, David H.,
1941
Physical Description:
4 items
box 1, folder 58
McCall Co., New York,
1931
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 59
McManus, Austin,
1945
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 60
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
1941
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 61
Minicam photography, Cincinnati,
1946
Physical Description:
8 items
Scope and Contents note
Includes a brief autobiography of Outerbridge (1946).
box 1, folder 62
Mohrenwitz, L.,
1932
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 63
Museum of Modern Art, New York,
1942-1955
Physical Description:
6 items
box 1, folder 64
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.,
1958
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 65
National geographic magazine, Washington, D.C.
1956
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 66
Nevius, Brett & Kellogg, New York,
1940
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 67
New Yorker magazine,
1931
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 68
Newark Museum,
1940
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 69
Newton, Arthur F.,
1958
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 70
Ohlson, David,
1956
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 71
Overseas Press Club of America, New York,
1958
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 72
Parsons, Louella,
undated
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 73
Patacek, Martin F.,
1955
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 74
Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia,
1931-1933
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 75
Peters, Clinton,
1915-1919
Physical Description:
2 items
box 1, folder 76
Peters, Rollo,
undated
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 77
Phillips, Dr.,
1945
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 78
Photography magazine, New York,
1954
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 79
Ponder & Best, Los Angeles,
1956
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 80
Pousette-Dart, Nathaniel,
1945
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 81
Powers, James T., Mrs.,
undated
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 82
Quicke, Charles,
1931
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 83
R. H. Macy & Co., New York,
1932
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 84
Richardson, Alley & Richards Co., New York,
1931
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 85
Riggins, Marie,
1943
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 86
Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain,
1925-1931, undated
Physical Description:
5 items
box 1, folder 87
Samuel Goldwyn Studios, Los Angeles,
1943
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 88
San Francisco Museum of Art,
1944-1945
Physical Description:
4 items
box 1, folder 89
Seilset, L., Mrs.,
1944
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 90
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
1958-1959
Physical Description:
16 items
box 1, folder 91
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York,
1957
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 92
Spiratone, Inc., New York,
1955
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 93
Stafford Studios, Johannesburg,
1955
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 94
Taylor, Jane,
1948
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 95
Technicolor Motion Picture Corp., Los Angeles,
1943-1944
Physical Description:
6 items
box 1, folder 96
Town & country magazine, New York,
1936
Physical Description:
1 item
box 1, folder 97
U.S. camera, New York,
1939-1958
Physical Description:
13 items
Scope and Contents note
See also series III.
box 1, folder 98
United States of America, Office of War Information,
1941-1942
Physical Description:
3 items
box 1, folder 99
Van Patton, John H.,
1945
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 1
Vanity fair, New York,
1931
Physical Description:
2 items
box 2, folder 2
Verlag Ullstein, Berlin,
1931
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 3
W. H. S. Lloyd Co., New York,
1941
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 4
Walker, Patricia,
1945
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 5
Warren Imports, Laguna Beach,
1944
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 6
Weir, B. W.,
1947
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 7
Winter, Inc., Los Angeles,
1944
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 8
Wolfe, Jose,
1956
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 9
World Wide Trading Co., Los Angeles,
1956
Physical Description:
1 item
box 2, folder 10
Wright, George B.,
1957
Physical Description:
2 items
box 2, folder 11
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven,
1942
Physical Description:
4 items
box 2, folder 12-13
Unidentified,
1917-1958, undated
Physical Description:
48 items
Scope and Contents note
The names of some correspondents are unidentified or illegible; the following are identified by first name only: Constance,
Thea, Dom, Ruth, Suzanne, Bill and Jon, Florence, Helen, Betty, May (or Mae), Reg, and Ada.
Writings, Series II.
1929-1958, undated
Physical Description:
1.73 Linear Feet
(4 boxes)
Scope and Contents note
Includes a typescript and a proof of Outerbridge's book,
Photographing in color (New York: Random House, 1940), typescript drafts of articles, as well as poems, stories, essays and musings. Among the articles
are drafts of all 56 issues of Outerbridge's column "About Color" in
U.S. camera (1954-1958). The disparate topics for his other articles range from travel destinations to feminine beauty to individual
artists. The article "How Are You Doing These Days?" (undated) about landscape painter Bob Wood is accompanied by black and
white photographs of the artist at work; color transparencies that accompanied the article on Wood and an article on Argentine
painter Benito Quinquela Martín (1951) have been moved to a separate box. Writings by people other than Outerbridge are located
at the end of the series. The different types of writings are arranged chronologically with undated items at the end.
box 2, folder 14-17
Typescript of
Photographing in Color,
ca. 1940
box 2, folder 14
Introduction and chapters 1-3
box 2, folder 18
Proof of
Photographing in Color,
1940
box 3, folder 1-11
Typescripts for U.S. camera column "About Color,"
1954-1958
box 3, folder 7-10
Typescript drafts of articles,
1950-1956
box 3, folder 7
"Do You Like Amethysts and Topaz?"
1951
Scope and Contents note
Drafts of an article on the Uruguayan amethyst and topaz industry.
box 3, folder 8
"Quinquela Martin,"
1951
Scope and Contents note
Drafts of an article about Argentine painter Benito Quinquela Martín; two accompanying color transparencies moved to box 13.
box 3, folder 9
"Maurine,"
1954
Scope and Contents note
Drafts of an article about celebrity photographer Maurine Loomis.
box 3, folder 10
Typescript drafts of miscellaneous articles,
1950-1956
Scope and Contents note
Drafts of nine articles.
box 4, folder 1-3
Typescript drafts of articles,
undated
box 4, folder 1
"And They Both Lived Happily Ever After,"
undated
Scope and Contents note
Drafts of an article about marriage.
box 4, folder 2
"How Are You Doing These Days?"
undated
Scope and Contents note
Drafts of an article about landscape painter Robert W. Wood accompanied by seven black and white photographs; nine accompanying
color transparencies moved to box 13.
box 4, folder 3
Typescript drafts of miscellaneous articles,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Drafts of nine articles.
box 17, folder 1
Accompanying color transparencies,
1951, undated
box 17, folder 1
"Quinquela Martin,"
1951
Scope and Contents note
Two color transparancies (2.6 x 2.9 in.) that accompanied drafts of an article about Argentine painter Benito Quinquela Martín
(1951), showing the artist at work.
box 17, folder 1
"How Are You Doing These Days?"
undated
Scope and Contents note
Nine color transparancies (2.9 x 3.4 in.) that accompanied drafts of an article about landscape painter Robert W. Wood (undated),
showing the artist at work.
box 4, folder 4-8
Creative writing,
1929-1944, undated
box 4, folder 4
Poetry,
1929-1932, undated
Scope and Contents note
35 leaves of poetry.
box 4, folder 5-6
Poetry,
undated
Scope and Contents note
69 leaves of poetry.
box 4, folder 7
Prose,
1930-1944, undated
Scope and Contents note
Stories, essays, musings, and a screen treatment (46 leaves).
box 4, folder 8
Notebooks of poetry and prose,
1929-1932, undated
box 4, folder 8
"Prose and prose poems,"
1929-1932
Scope and Contents note
Binder of typed poems and prose (52 leaves) with 41 loose leaves enclosed in the back pocket; includes a 1 p. statement entitled
"Why I work" (1932).
box 4, folder 8
Poetry notebook,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Pocket notebook with handwritten poems (41 p.).
box 4, folder 9-10
Writings by others,
1922-1931, undated
box 4, folder 9
Writings by others,
1922-1931, undated
Scope and Contents note
Poems, aphorisms and excerpts from books, transcribed or collected by Outerbridge (22 leaves).
box 4, folder 10
"Office hour: a play in three acts," by Alvan L. Barach,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript of a play (66 leaves).
Notebooks and diaries, Series III.
1915-1926, undated
Physical Description:
0.85 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Scope and Contents note
Includes five notebooks and 48 pocket diaries. Three of the notebooks contain notes and sketches from distinct periods in
Outerbridge's life: his studies in anatomy and aesthetics (ca. 1915); his training with the Canadian Royal Flying Corps (1917);
and his first teaching assignment (ca. 1922). The fourth notebook is an almost blank address book (undated), and the fifth
contains journal entries and recipes written by an unidentified young girl (undated). The diaries provide detailed accounts
of Outerbridge's life and early career in New York and Paris in 1919, 1922, and from 1924-1926, including his work schedules,
personal finances, travels, exhibitions, and social activities. The diaries also chronicle aspects of the artistic life of
the two cities, with references to numerous artists, including Alexander Archipenko, Ralph Steiner, Man Ray, Kiki de Montparnasse,
Marcel Duchamp, Berenice Abbott, and Constantin Brancusi.
box 5, folder 1-2
Notebooks,
ca. 1915-ca. 1922, undated
box 5, folder 1
Student notebook,
ca. 1915
Scope and Contents note
Sketches and notes on anatomy, aesthetics and compositional theory, probably from Outerbridge's studies at the Art Students'
League of New York.
box 5, folder 1
Canadian Royal Flying Corps notebook,
1917
Scope and Contents note
Notes and sketches from training in airplane engine mechanics, flight theory and practice, and aerial gunnery, among other
topics.
box 5, folder 2
Teaching notebook,
ca. 1922
Scope and Contents note
Outerbridge's lecture notes and sketches made while an instructor at the Clarence H. White School of Photography, New York.
box 5, folder 2
Address book,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Blank except for two hotel addresses and miscellaneous notes on three pages.
box 5, folder 2
Notebook of a young girl,
undated
box 7
Diaries,
1919-1926
Scope and Contents note
48 diaries: one volume for 1919 and more extensive monthly diaries for 1922 and 1924-1926, except July 1926. The 1919 volume
records only personal expenses. There are no entries for August 1922.
Drawings and sketches, Series IV.
1935-1938, undated
Physical Description:
1.41 Linear Feet
(5 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Includes approximately 100 preparatory sketches and drawings for Outerbridge's photographic work. Most are undated preliminary
pencil sketches, but the range extends to completed designs in colored crayon and watercolor. Annotations, explanations, variations
and additions provide insight into Outerbridge's creative process. Also included are several drawings by other artists. Among
them are portraits of Outerbridge (1938) and Man Ray (1937) by Arnold Allen Epstean, two caricatures of Man Ray with a halo
and wings by Epstean (1937), and a silhouette of Outerbridge by Baron Scotford (1924), all signed and dated.
Drawings and sketches,
1935-1938, undated
box 15*, folder 2
Drawings by others,
1924-1938, undated
Professional records, Series V.
1922-1958, undated
Physical Description:
0.48 Linear Feet
(4 folders)
Physical Description:
0.48 Linear Feet
4 folders
Scope and Contents note
Includes intermittent business and technical records from Outerbridge's career in photography, including lists of prints sold
or loaned. Plans for a studio renovation project are documented with floor plans, equipment lists, and cost estimates (ca.
1933). Records from advertising assignments include cost analyses, lighting diagrams, and exposure and development records
(1940-1942). Among the technical records are five "Photographic Exposure Calculator" notebooks detailing the date, time, film,
light, subject, etc., of specific exposures (1922-1925). The first pages of two otherwise blank pocket diaries list photographic
equipment (1944), and a pocket-size "Photo Data Book" published by General Electric provides technical information and exposure
index tables for different kinds of film and photographic equipment (1946).
box 5, folder 3
Studio renovation project,
ca. 1933
Scope and Contents note
Floor plans, equipment lists and cost estimates.
box 5, folder 4
Advertising projects,
1940-1942, undated
Scope and Contents note
Cost sheets, lighting diagrams, and exposure and development records from approximately 20 advertising projects, many for
A&P Grocery Store products.
box 5, folder 5
Professional records,
1931-1958, undated
Scope and Contents note
Miscellaneous records including cost sheets, receipts, and lists of prints sold or loaned for exhibition and publication.
Professional notebooks,
1922-1946
box 5, folder 6
Photographic equipment notebooks,
1944
Scope and Contents note
Lists of photographic equipment on 1 p. each of two pocket diaries, labeled January and February, 1944.
box 5, folder 6
"Photographic data book,"
1946
Scope and Contents note
Pocket-size book published by General Electric with technical information and exposure index tables for different kinds of
film and photographic equipment.
box 7
"Photographic exposure calculator" notebooks,
1922-1925
Scope and Contents note
Five pocket notebooks record the date, film, time, light, stop, exposure, and subject of specific exposures in 1922, Jan.-Apr.
1923, Oct.-Dec. 1923, and June-Nov. 1926. A volume for 1914 has no entries.
Scrapbooks and portfolio, Series VI.
1922-1956, undated
Physical Description:
9.23 Linear Feet
(7 boxes)
Scope and Contents note
Includes a two volume scrapbook and a portfolio, together containing approximately 500 tear sheets of Outerbridge's published
work, some unattributed, from periodicals such as
House beautiful,
Vogue,
Good housekeeping,
Harper's Bazaar,
Popular photography,
American photography, and
U.S. camera. Some images are labeled with typed captions and additional information. Also included are correspondence, miscellaneous
printed material, 13 black and white photographs, four signed and dated ink drawings by Outerbridge (1934) and two layouts
for magazine covers.
Scrapbook, vol. I,
1922-1953, undated
Scope and Contents note
Volume I of the scrapbook was disbound due to poor physical condition. The cover is in box 8; the 88 scrapbook pages are arranged
in order in boxes 9-12 with several loose items at the end. The original format of volume I was the same as volume II, which
remains intact, though fragile.
box 8*
Cover,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Painted on the front cover and spine: "Outerbridge / I."
box 9*, folder 1-5
Pages 1-20,
1923-1953, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes a pastel layout for a cover of
McCall's homemaking (p. 18).
box 10*, folder 1-6
Pages 21-48,
1924-1943, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes eight black and white photographs of house interiors and exteriors (p. 34).
box 11*, folder 1-6
Pages 49-74,
1922-1944, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes a photograph of Outerbridge in an airplane (p. 71).
box 12*, folder 1-5
Pages 75-88 and loose items,
1922-1952, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes a copy of Outerbridge's Ide collar advertisement from the November 1922 issue of
Vanity fair (loose item, folder 5).
box 13*
Scrapbook, vol. II
1922-1956, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes 108 pages and two loose inserts. In addition to tear sheets of Outerbridge's work, it contains a watercolor layout
for a cover of
House beautiful, a portrait photograph of Outerbridge, three contact prints of a woman in a bonnet, and four signed and dated ink drawings
by Outerbridge (1934). Three of the drawings, entitled "The Clown," "The Acrobat," and "The Elephant," are from the "Circus"
series. The fourth is entitled "The Great Northwest." Painted on the front cover and spine of the scrapbook: "Outerbridge
/ II."
box 14*, folder 1
Portfolio,
1922-1956, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes tear sheets of Outerbridge's magazine work. Written in pencil on the cover: "Annoncement [sic]: Paul Outerbridge
is now represented by Nathaniel Pousette-Dart."
Autobiographical and biographical information, Series VII.
1924-1973, undated
Physical Description:
0.15 Linear Feet
(2 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Includes resumes, bibliographies, transcribed comments about Outerbridge's work, an incomplete autobiography (1929), and brief
biographical and autobiographical statements written at different stages in his career. Also includes a photographic baby
portrait (matte collodion, undated), and a manuscript genealogy of the Outerbridge family from 1066-1675.
box 5, folder 7
Autobiographical and biographical information,
1924-1973, undated
box 5, folder 8
Outerbridge family genealogy,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Manuscript entitled "Genealogy of the most ancient family of Outerbridge of Co. Yorks, etc." traces the family history from
1066-1676, including family trees and coats of arms.
Clippings and ephemera, Series VIII.
1923-1966, undated
Physical Description:
2.13 Linear Feet
(8 folders)
Scope and Contents note
Includes invitations, event programs, exhibition catalogs, and magazine and newspaper clippings of illustrations and articles,
some of which are by or about Outerbridge. Those dated after Outerbridge's death in 1958, including obituaries, were probably
collected by his widow, Lois Outerbridge.
box 5, folder 9
Clippings and ephemera,
1923-1943, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes printed invitations, programs, and exhibition catalogs, and miscellaneous magazine and journal clippings.
box 15*, folder 3
Clippings and ephemera,
1937-1960, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes invitations, magazine clippings, a lithograph poster for a Greenwich Village, NY, block party called "Night of Stars,"
and the cover of
House beautiful, October 1937.
box 16*, folder 1-3
Newspaper clippings,
1926-1966, undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes clippings of newspaper articles, some by or about Outerbridge.
