Schmidt (Bill) collection of Frank Lloyd Wright printed material, 1883-1987

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Summary

Title:
Bill Schmidt collection of Frank Lloyd Wright printed material
Dates:
1883-1987
Creators:
Schmidt, Bill (Walter)
Abstract:
Postcards, photographs, museum catalogs, and other printed ephemera assembled by Schmidt show many of Wright's most famous buildings and note the relationship of his work to that of other architects. The bulk of the collection comprises journals and other printed materials describing Wright, his work, or his ideas; some of the printed ephemera is published by the Taliesin Fellowship. All but two of the publications are listed in R. L. Sweeney's Frank Lloyd Wright: An Annotated Bibliography and are arranged by Sweeney number. The collection also includes copies of letters, plans, and some manuscript material.
Extent:
15.0 linear feet (45 boxes)
Language:
Collection material is in English
Preferred citation:

Bill Schmidt collection of Frank Lloyd Wright printed material, ca 1883-1987, Research Library, The Getty Research Insititute, Accession no. 850689.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa850689

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains postcards, printed ephemera and single issues of journals containing information about Frank Lloyd Wright and his designs. Most of the items are single issues of architectural or home design magazines, and all but two of the publications are listed in R. L. Sweeney's Frank Lloyd Wright: an annotated bibliography. The publications are arranged by Sweeney number.

Included in the collection are publications and printed ephemera from the Taliesan Fellowship (ca. 1930s-1970s), and a fine printed booklet of Harwell Hamilton Harris's Architecture as art, 1969. Other printed ephemera, including postcards, relate to Wright buildings, such as Unity Church, the Larkin building, the Imperial Hotel (Teikoku Hoteru), or to conferences, exhibitions, other events or publications. A few of the images in the collection refer to Wright's influence on graphic and architectural design, and his sources. One file of papers (ca. 70 items) contains plans, correspondence, photographs and manuscript material (most photocopies) from Louis Penfield about the Penfield houses (#1 and #2) designed by Wright in 1952. A notebook holds ca. 15 photocopied letters from Wright to various people; a few letters are from associates of Wright, and one is from Louis Sullivan (1909?) about the drawings for the Bradley house.

Arrangement note

The collection is arranged in two series: Series I. Postcards, photographs and ephemera, 1883-1987; Series II. Publications about F. L. Wright, 1900-1981

Biographical / historical:

Bill Schmidt (also known as Walter Schmidt), was a collector of Frank Lloyd Wright bibliographic and archival material.

Acquisition information:
The Getty acquired this collection in 1985.
Processing information:

J. Gibbs processed the collection and wrote the finding aid in 2000.

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.
Rules or conventions:
Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by J. Gibbs.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2015-05-07T16:13-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers.

Terms of access:

Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.

Preferred citation:

Bill Schmidt collection of Frank Lloyd Wright printed material, ca 1883-1987, Research Library, The Getty Research Insititute, Accession no. 850689.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa850689

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
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