Finding Aid for the Fritz Block papers, 1889-1995 0000112
Finding aid prepared by Jillian O'Connor, Chris Marino
The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered
through the Council on Library and Information Resources “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project.
Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
Arts Building Room 1434
University of California
Santa Barbara, California, 93106-7130
805-893-2724
adc@museum.ucsb.edu
Title: Fritz Block papers
Identifier/Call Number: 0000112
Contributing Institution:
Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum
Language of Material:
German
Physical Description:
7.0 Linear feet
(4 record storage boxes and 1 flat file drawer)
Date (inclusive): circa 1918-circa 1955
creator:
Block, Fritz, 1889-1955
Partially processed collection, open for use by qualified researchers.
Gift of Ingrid Levy-Huneberg, 1986.
Fritz Block papers, Architecture and Design Collection. Art, Design & Architecture Museum; University of California, Santa
Barbara.
Fritz Block was born in Hamburg Germany in 1889. He studied under Wilhelm Kreis and in 1921 opened an architectural office
in Hamburg with Ernst Hochfeld. Block & Hochfeld were dedicated to the functional building style of the 1920s. Block documented
his work extensively with photography. He traveled extensively to North Africa, France, Asia, North America, and the Dalmatian
coast producing, with the help of his wife Anna Sophia, travel reportages that were published in Hamburg magazines. In 1938,
Block liquidated his architectural firm and moved to Los Angeles, California to focus exclusively on photography. Two years
later in 1940, Block started his own color slide company in Hollywood, California called Dr. Block Color Productions where
he sold 2 x 2 in. kodachrome sets of slides on the subjects of modern architecture, modern ceramics, and nature. His major
clients were museums and universities. Fritz Block died in 1955.
The Fritz Block papers span 7 linear feet and date circa 1918 to circa 1955. The collection is composed of pencil drawings
of furniture designs, presentation and working drawings primarily of apartment residences located in Germany, pencil drawings
of tombstone lettering and design, sketches of building exteriors, slides, glass plate negatives, newspaper and magazine clippings,
correspondence, scrapbooks, lecture notes, and black-and-white photographs taken by Block documenting architecture, interior
design, nature, and people. The Fritz Block papers also include a folder of reprographic copies of other architects work:
Ain, Johnson, Day; Clark & Frey; Richard E. Lind; and R.M. Schindler. The majority of material is in German.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Block, Fritz, 1889-1955
Architectural drawings
Furniture design
Photographic prints