Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 403

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.7 linear feet (3 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Kneedler, Mirick & Zantzinger records concerning Albert C. Barnes, 1940-1946 and 1980, Ms. Coll. 403, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1940-1946, 1980 (inclusive)

Creator:

Kneedler, Mirick & Zantzinger

Form:

Architectural drawings (visual works) and Correspondence

Abstract:

Kneedler, Mirick & Zantzinger was a Philadelphia architectural firm that designed and oversaw the construction of a property, owned by Albert C. Barnes, that was originally known as the Cornman Farm near Rapps Corner in Chester County, Pennsylvania. This collection includes correspondence (with the addition of some associated clippings and business records), which concerns the contracting and execution of the project, as well as architectural drawings from the project.

Kneedler, Mirick & Zantzinger was a Philadelphia architectural firm. Each of the partners took his Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees at the University of Pennsylvania. Henry Martyn Kneedler and Clarence Clark Zantzinger formed the original partnership in 1935, and Henry Dustin Mirick joined them in 1937. All three remained in business together until Zantzinger retired in 1969, followed by Kneedler and Mirick in the 1970s.

Albert C. Barnes (1872-1951) was an American physician, chemist, businessman, art collector, writer, and educator who founded the Barnes Foundation in 1922 in order to display his collected artwork.

This collection contains two series concerning the design and construction of a property, owned by Albert C. Barnes, which was originally known as the Cornman Farm near Rapps Corner in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The first series includes correspondence (with the addition of some associated clippings and business records), which concerns Barnes' hiring of the firm to design alterations and additions to his Chester County farmhouse and to supervise their construction; the firm's interactions with various subcontractors; and social notes upon the completion of the project. Also in the first series are notes from a 1980 inquiry by the Barnes Foundation as to whether the firm had a complete set of plans from the project. The second series contains architectural plans from the project and is broken down into two subseries, the first being architectural drawings numbered 95-1 through 95-52 and the second being miscellaneous architectural drawings.