Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Heaney, Jack, 1904-1972.
- 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.
- Extent:
- 12 boxes
- Language:
- English.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
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.
- Biographical / historical:
-
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.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of JoAnne Heaney in 2010 .
- Arrangement:
-
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
- Series 14. Student papers, books, and artwork (1906-1926)
- Series 15. Personal papers and photographs (1926-1950s)
- Professional Records
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Note:
-
Finding aid last updated on October 16, 2014.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2129