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William H. Short Collection on the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
William H. Short, a Princeton University graduate (Class of 1946), began his career in Manhattan with Holden, McLaughlin Associates and was chosen by Frank Lloyd Wright to supervise construction of the Guggenheim Museum from 1956 to 1960. He went on to a partnership with Robert Venturi of Philadelphia. In the early 1980s he guided restoration of the governor's mansion, "Drumthwacket," in Princeton. Short was a founding partner in 1974 of Short and Ford and Partners, an architectural firm that is one of the leading historic preservation organizations in the country. He died in Princeton, N.J., in 1991.
The collection consists of papers relating to the building of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City and Frank Lloyd Wright, its architect, collected by Short (Princeton Class of 1946), the project supervisor for the building. The Wright material includes a typed carbon of a manuscript, "Concerning the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum," notes of an interview between Wright and Robert Venturi and Short, and correspondence. Short's papers include correspondence, notes and memos (1956-1962), and his expense accounts (1957-1959). In addition, there are daily construction reports on the museum (1956-1959), blueprints and plans, photographs of Wright and the museum, miscellaneous material, and newspaper clippings.
Box 1--Frank Lloyd Wright material including a manuscript, correspondence, and interview notes; William H. Short material including correspondence, notes, and memos chronologically arranged (1956-1962), and expense accounts (1957-1959); Box 2--Guggenheim Museum construction reports (1956-1959), blueprints, plans, photographs of Wright and the museum, miscellaneous material, and printed matter.
Gift of William H. Short. Additions are a gift of Short via Alfred Bush.
A box and folder list (2 pp.) is available in the Dept.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
Folder inventory prepared by Feng Zhu '2014 in 2011.
Folder inventory prepared by Feng Zhu '2014 in 2011.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2008
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
TMs (carbon), 3 pp.
Physical Description1 folder
TMs and TMs (carbon)
Physical Description1 folder
18 TLs, 1 AL, 3 telegrams.
Physical Description1 folder
1 telegram, 1 AL.
Physical Description1 folder
Includes notes on Plaza, memo re: Plaza Apt. to W. Short, TL Irene W. Haehl to W. Short (House Beautiful) re: Plaza Apt., inventory list.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
3 folders
1 folder
1 folder
Contains draft of Architect's Certificate of Substantial Completion (AMs); List of Work still to be Incorporated in Guggenheim Museum, 1959 April 22 (carbon); Man-Hour cost list for T&M Billing (carbon); Cost Analysis of Guggenheim Museum (carbon).
Physical Description1 folder
4 folders
1 folder
Contains 4 blueprints, 3 copies of drawing of Guggenheim Museum, 16 blueprint copies.
Physical Description1 folder
Contains 10 photos, note from Scribner's.
Physical Description1 folder
Contains 25 photos, 8 proof sheets.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder