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Photographs of Completed Buildings in Leather Portfolios, 1907-1941
90 portfolios, 2 boxes (black-and-white prints; 4-1/2x6-1/2-inch to 10x14-inch)
The Photographs of Completed Buildings in Leather Portfolios series (90 portfolios, 1907-1941) is an important collection of large-format, black-and-white images of Kahn's projects, built between 1907 and 1941. With the exception of the Hudson Motor Car Company Factory photographs, which document the project under construction in a series of fold-out images, all of the photographs in this subseries were taken after the buildings were completed and measure between 4-1/2x6-1/2 and 10x14 inches, with the majority at the larger end of this range. These prints are housed in their original, 90 leather portfolios, with marbled end-papers. A few smaller leather albums can be found in Boxes 11 and 12. The series is arranged alphabetically by project title. The portfolio numbers were assigned by the Bentley Historical Library during processing of the collection.
The full dimensions of Kahn's work are represented here, from institutional, residential, commercial, and industrial buildings to such important First and Second World War projects as Langley Field (Hampton, VA), Buick Airplane Engine Plant (Melrose Park, IL), Chrysler Tank Arsenal (Warren, MI), Curtiss Wright Corporation Aeroplane Division Buildings (Buffalo, NY), and Thompson Aircraft Products Building (Euclid, OH). The twenty-three photographs of Langley Field (1917) are particularly interesting, because they document views of several military and civilian structures, even before the roads were completed. The portfolio photographic collection offers researchers an unparalleled opportunity to view in rich detail the exteriors and interiors of Kahn's buildings, representing the entire range of his industrial-modern and historically influenced projects. Five of the leather portfolios contain photographs of important buildings by other architects, including Paul P. Cret, York & Sawyer, Malcomson & Higgenbotham, Ayman Embury, Charles Platt, Walker & Gillette and McKim, Mead & White.
The photographers whose work is represented in the portfolio collection were among the most respected architectural photographers of their day, including the Hedrich-Blessing Studio of Chicago, John Wallace Gillies of New York, and Thomas Ellison of Detroit. The partnership of Ken and Bill Hedrich and Phillip Blessing, established in 1929, is particularly noteworthy, as the firm became the premier, architectural, photographic studio in the country, with such other famous architects as Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill also using their services. Albert Kahn hired Hedrich-Blessing to photograph four of the projects in the portfolio collection: Curtiss Wright Corporation Aeroplane Division Buildings (Buffalo), W. K. Kellogg Auditorium and High School (Battle Creek), Southeastern Junior High School (Battle Creek), and Thompson Aircraft Products Building (Euclid, Ohio). The archives of the Hedrich-Blessing Studio have been housed at the Chicago Historical Society since 1991.
Photographs: Prints, 1880-1986
The Visual Materials series includes photographic prints, negatives, and glass slides, and motion picture films and negatives. They offer especially good coverage of Maddy's life and the Camp's early years as well as a sampling of later events and personages.
Interlochen maintains its own photographic and audio archives which offer more extensive coverage, particularly for more recent events. Much of the Interlochen holdings remain in active use for publicity, rebroadcast, and listening purposes. For information about them, researchers should contact the photo archive, music library, or radio station (WIAA) at Interlochen.
Photographs consist of prints (including a few postcards), negatives, and glass slides. They cover both Maddy's career and Interlochen's history. Since the two are closely interrelated, researchers interested in one should check the other. The Interlochen images were taken by both staff members and professional photographers. Documentation about professionals can be found under "photography" in Chronological Camp files, 1935-1945. Often, the images were used for publicity purposes in publications by, or articles about, Interlochen.
The Prints (1), circa 1880-1986, has separate descriptions for regular and outsized images, including sections on Maddy, the National High School Orchestra, the Early Camp, Later Camp/Academy, and Later Administrators.
Maddy, circa 1880-1967
The Maddy portion, circa 1880-1967, features his parents, brother, family homes, boyhood friends, recreational activities, and major events in his professional career, including his broadcasting, conducting, and other music education endeavors. They also cover his work at Interlochen, including scenes of him with many prominent guests. The prints begin before his birth and conclude a year after his death (with the sculptured bust presented to Interlochen in his memory). Volumes 3 and 4 of the Scrapbooks, 1938-1940, also contain images of Maddy.
Closely related to both Maddy and the Camp are scenes of the National High School Orchestra. They cover its appearances, 1926-1930 and 1938. The last, a special revival for the MENC convention in St. Louis, Missouri, with Joseph Maddy presiding, celebrated the centennial of music education in America.
Administrative Files, 1874-1985
The Administrative Files, 1874-1985 subseries (2 linear feet) include interoffice and campus-wide mass mailings to students, faculty, departments, and schools from 1912-1987. Data on financial aid for graduate students is documented, as is a history of administrative systems and processes within Rackham. Furthermore, a large amount of statistics dating back to the early part of the twentieth century documents graduate degree information.