The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Creator: Parke Edwards ,
1892-1975
Title: Collection
Dates: 1906-1965
Call No.:
Acc. No.: 91x49,
92x95
Quantity: 17 boxes
Location: 3 D 1-11, and Map Case C, Drawer 9
BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT
Parke Edwards was an early twentieth-century
artist. Born in 1892 into a farming family
in Smithville,
At the outbreak of World War I, Edwards was drafted into the Army
Signal Corps, where he designed Aviation maintenance forms. Eventually, he prepared water color
renditions of human anatomy for the
Edwards' major work was undertaken at the Swedenborgian Cathedral at
Parke Edwards died in 1975. He
left behind a large collection of books on the fine, industrial, and decorative
arts. As well, he had been a collector
all his life, hunting arrowheads as a boy, and later buying pottery, frakturs,
metal work, country furniture, and folk art.
His collections were dispersed after his death. He was married to Mable Mae Edwards, and they
had at least two sons.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The collection consists primarily of works on paper in
pencil, ink, wash, watercolor, and colored pencil. Because Edwards was mainly a metalsmith, most
of the materials are arts and crafts designs for metal objects and architectural
elements including doors, windows, grilles, furniture hardware, switch plates,
latches and locks, and lighting devices.
A few are associated with his work at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral.
The collection also includes miscellaneous sketches and
drawings, some of them inspired by medieval sources. Some works are figure studies and free hand
perspective drawings of geometric figures probably done when Edwards was a
student. Others were apparently sketched
while on field trips or vacations in
Three binders of accounts, financial transactions, and a scrapbook from
the firm J. Barton Benson, Inc., were accessioned with the Edwards
material. While the relationship of the
materials is unclear, it seems that Benson and his associates were also
metalsmiths. The Benson items have been
designated as Collection 105.
ORGANIZATION
The drawings are
in
PROVENANCE
Purchased from
and gift of Robert Edwards.
ACCESS POINTS
People:
Stratton, Howard Fremont.
Pitcairn, Raymond.
Topics:
J.
Barton Benson, Inc.
Iron Craftsmen (
Bryn Athyn Cathedral (
Metal-work
- Drawings.
Arts and crafts movement -
Decoration and ornament.
Artists and architects.
Art metal-work.
Charcoal drawing.
Design - Study and teaching.
Pencil drawing - 20th century.
Pen drawing - 20th century.
Doors - Design.
Grilles - Design.
Artists' preparatory studies.
Church decoration and ornament.
Lighting, Architectural and
decorative.
Ironwork - Drawings.
Hardware - Design.
Locks and keys - Design.
Blacksmithing.
Interior decoration - Design.
Artists - Correspondence.
Artifacts.
Correspondence.
Clippings.
Sketches.
Drawings.
Photographic prints.
Watercolors.
Sketchbooks.
Art metal workers.
Art metal designers.
Artists.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 3 D 1-11 and Map Case C, Drawer
9
Accession number
91x49
.1-.3 Byzantine ornaments, ink
.4-.11 Byzantine and Greek ornaments,
colored pencil (some 1912)
.4 Historic
ornament: Byzantine Concours,
.8 Historic
ornament: Concours Mahometan, items depicted: ornament from a Persian mosque,
Turkoman border, Persian jug
.5 probably
Greek pottery, with animal design
.6-.7 Ionic and
Doric style capitals
.9 suggestion
for appliqué: Byzantine
.10 Historic
ornament: Concours Greek, depicts 3 oil jugs
.11 Historic
ornament: Concours Mahometan, depicts pottery tile from a mosque and a Turkoman
yamud [a type of rug?]
.12-.45 Design
tracings, mostly of ornamental hardware, but including metalwork on doors,
metal frame over a well, metal grilles for windows, and stained glass designs; pencil, 1915-1925 (some of the subjects: Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York Public Library, Avery Library, Pratt, Notre Dame)
.46-.74 Design
tracings, ornamental metalwork, pencil, 1915-1925 (some of the subjects: Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York Public Library, Avery Library, Pratt, Notre Dame)
.75-.95 design
tracings, ornamental metalwork, pencil; .79 has “Spirit of Saint Louis” as part
of design; .84 might be reference to four gospel writers as it includes heads
of eagle, man, bull, and what appears to be a cougar but is possibly a lion
.98-.154 Freehand
sketches, pencil, some dated 1928; .108 is on letter head stationery of Pringle
Borthwick, general contractor for The New Church, Bryn Athyn; .109 resembles a
lectern with an eagle; .111-.112 include
winged bulls
.155-.193 Freehand
sketches, pencil (some dated 1914-1932)
.217-.223 Ornaments,
colored pencil (some dated 1930)
.224-.229 Ornaments,
black ink and pencil (1918, 1932); .225 depicts craftsmen at work
.230-.248 Rubbings
of hardware on a Spanish chest, pencil, colored pencil (1924, 1935)
.249-.257 Cut
grillwork, pencil
.258-.267 Grillwork
designs, pencil
Accession number 91x49
.268-.271 Grillwork, ink and wash (1917-1919)
.272-.285 Grillwork, pencil; .284-.285 labeled as
grillwork from Bryn Athyn Cathedral
.286 Sliding door design
.287-.300 Photos of a vase, lettering, rubbings,
European (1914)
.301-.302 Photographs
of metalwork: a sconce, a flower pot holder(?), and a glass-topped table with
decorative metal frame work
.303 Casement window frame, ink and
color (1927)
.304-.305 Floor plan sketches, pencil
.306-.308 Coats
of arms, pencil and colored pencil sketches
.309-.326 Bookplates, “Rules of Life,” and other
designs, pencil sketches (some 1917-1927)
.342-.351 Lettering, ink
.352-.364 Miscellaneous notes, quotations,
lettering exercise, 1919-1929
.365-.369 Book cover design -
Accession number 91x49
.370-.391, .393-.410 Logos,
pencil (some 1917); includes logos for Glencairn Foundation in Bryn Athyn; RCA;
the Hamilton Club of Bala Cynwyd; Haverford College; PPG Co.; and others
.411-.419 Logos
for Glencairn Foundation; Gabriele Pitcairn; and others; ink
.420-.424 Logo
design: J. Barton Benson, Smithery, Wyncote
.430-.435 Balustrade, pencil and colored pencil,
1925
.436-.437 sections
of 18th century English balustrade, Memorial Hall,
.438-.446 Rain conductor heads, pencil and
colored pencil (some dated 1918, 1921)
.447-.449 Rain conductor heads, ink and pencil,
1917-1918
.450a-.456a Correspondence, 1924-1954
.457-.460 Architectural designs, pencil
.461-.493 Newspaper clippings; and pictures of
.494-.496 Designs for steps, pencil, 1924
.497-.502 Designs for door or window, pencil
.503-.545 Copies
of Correspondence, mostly dates from 1914-1935, much from Howard Fremont
Stratton. Also a magazine article
apparently hand copied by Edwards and a cash register receipt. Roughly in order by date.
Accession number
91x49
. 546-.602 Copies of Correspondence
.603-.605 Door designs, watercolor, 1919
.603 tower door, top
.604 unidentified door
.605 door in east wall, s [south?] transept – 2
views
.607-.617 Book
clasps and hardware: suggestions for metal and enamel clasps for The Copy of
the Word, pencil and watercolor (some 1920)
.618-.619 Book rest, music stand, pencil, 1926
.622-.654 Key
Designs, including designs for key for Byecroft Studio, pencil (some 1924-1927)
.655-.666 Key Designs, with more designs for
Byecroft Studio, pencil
.667-.674 Key plates, pencil
.675-.680 Key designs, pencil, ink (some
1926-1927)
.681-.701 Door knockers, pencil and colored
pencil (some 1926-1928)
.703-.718 Latches and locks, pencil
.719-.742 Latches and locks, pencil (some
1925-1928)
Accession number
91x49
.743-.744,
.746-.774 Latches and locks, pencil
(some 1927)
.775-.780 Latches and locks, pencil, color pencil
(some 1925-1927)
.781-.790 Latches and locks, ink (one 1919, some
1927)
.791-.792 Monstrance, color
.793-.794 Andirons, pencil, ink, 1926
.796-.805 Goblets and cups, pencil
.807-.822 Chests and Caskets, pencil, color
pencil
.823-.834 Decorative
elements, including radiator parts, pencil, color pencil, (some 1919, 1924)
.835-.841 Decorative
elements, including a bolt, a key, and parts of staffs or rods, pencil, (some
1928)
.845-.864 Decorative switch plates, pencil (some
1922-1923)
.865-.877 Decorative switch plates, color pencil
(some 1923)
.878-.883 Handle designs, some marked as being
for casement windows, pencil (some 1924)
.884a Desk design, ink, 1929
.884b-.890 Sketches for ironwork, pencil, 1926-1929
.891-.918 Ray
Commission, Lighting devices, includes floor and table lamps, hanging lanterns,
candlestick holders, color pencil, pencil, ink (some 1914-1928)
.919-.940 Ray
Commission, Lighting devices, includes floor and table lamps, hanging lanterns,
candelabra, chandeliers, color pencil, pencil, ink (some 1919-1933)
Accession number
91x49
.941-.943 Ray Commission, Lighting devices:
chandeliers with candles, pencil and ink
.944-.950 Ray Commission, Lighting devices:
hanging lanterns, wall lanterns, sconces, color
.951-.959 Ray
Commission, Lighting devices: hanging lanterns, wall lanterns, sconces, table
and floor lamps; .958 is labeled “suggestion of porch lantern, Mrs. Webb’s
res.,
.960-.967 Ray
Commission, Lighting devices: table and floor lamps, sconces; pencil (some
1928)
.968-.999 Ray Commission, Lighting devices
(assortment), pencil (some 1922-1929)
.1000-.1028 Ray Commission, Lighting devices
(assortment),, pencil (some 1923-1933)
.1029-.1064 Ray Commission, Lighting devices
(assortment),, pencil (some 1919-1933)
.1065-.1096 Ray Commission, Lighting devices
(assortment),, pencil (some 1919-1928)
.1097-.1120 Ray Commission, Lighting devices
(assortment),, pencil (some 1924-1928)
.1121-.1147 Ray Commission, Lighting devices
(assortment),, pencil (some 1923-1927)
Accession number
91x49
.1148-.1169 Ray
Commission, Lighting devices (assortment, many candle holders), pencil (some
1924)
.1170-.1173 Hinges, color, 1919
.1171-.1173 are signed
J. W. or John Walter
.1174 Switch plates, pencil, 1923
.1179-.1186 Door pulls, pencil (some 1926-1927)
.1187-.1196 Drawer pulls, most in 18th
century style, pencil (some 1941)
.1197-.1217 Hinges, pencil (some 1926-1929, 1954)
.1215 labeled “hinges in
the Penn A.C., Dec. 7, 1926”
.1218-.1226 Hinges, pencil (some 1926-1928)
Includes
English latches; English cupboard hinges from the
.1229 “Suggestions for Enamel,”
butterflies, bugs, dragonflies (probably meant for jewelry designs), color,
1912
.1253-.1260 Pottery sketches, color (some 1912-1914)
Sketches
of fragments of Italian pottery; designs for pottery in the Arts and Crafts
style; sketches from Greek vases (shapes, no decoration); garden vases; designs
from Arabic pottery
.1261-.1262 two paintings, color
.1261 copy of a fraktur done in 1815 (inscription
in German)
.1262 woman in red hat and coat, carrying a muff
.1263-.1280 Miscellaneous drawings, color (some
1927-1928), including the following:
.1263-.1264 signs for
.1266 statue of William Penn;
.1270 chain links;
.1271 andiron
.1281-.1297 Miscellaneous drawings, ink and wash (some
1919-1924), including the following:
.1281 register cover;
.1268-.1288 rams;
.1295 partial sign for Pennock Brothers, Inc.,
Flowers (with two figural candlestick holders);
.1296 head of an old woman wearing spectacles
.1298-.1312 Miscellaneous drawings, ink and wash (some
1927), including the following:
.1298 “Bloody dagger of Macbeth, Booth”;
.1299 “antique Roman brass lamp, booth in
Richileu(?)’;
.1300 “wooden pipes used in Hamlet”;
.1310 vase of flowers;
.1312 coffee pot
various metal designs and
Accession number
91x49
.1313-.1331 Medieval theme drawings, pencil (some 1923-1928), includes drawings of knights, ladies, a monk, and a peasant of the period; metal work from the period; pieces of armor, especially helmets
.1332-.1345 Medieval theme and miscellaneous
drawings, pencil, ink, color (some 1912-1925), including the following:
.1332 drawing of
wife and children, Mabel Mae Lenore(?), Parke Jr., and Jimmy, in form of a
triptych;
.1333-.1338 drawings of jewelry;
.1339-.1341 designs for chair, seat, and cabinet, more
or less in medieval style;
.1342 design for a silver spoon
.1345 sketchbook of various objects, boy fishing, a
church, plain folk, men with bucket and dog; and a draft of a letter [ca.1945]
to Otto about purchasing illuminated manuscripts, with news of his sons’ war
work
.1346-.1359 Newspaper
clippings about metal workers in
.1360-.1373 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil (one 1923), including a toy dog, a snake, a chair, a radio
table(?), various metal designs, a jug, birds, a tree-shape design labeled “to
Harry from Jim & Parke, Xmas – 1927”
.1374-.1382, .1384-.1386 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil (some 1927-1928), including rocking horse, purse, chair,
stool, female figure, vignettes of craftsmen at work, metal designs
.1387-.1410 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil (some 1923-1934), including designs for bowls, metal designs,
human figures, men in saloon, man at desk holding bottle, design for a
Christmas card
.1411-.1433 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil, including a table, a vase(?) with the name Sylvia, metal
designs, human figures, a goblet
.1434-.1464 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil, including metal designs, a stool, a stand, a table, two
Mother and Child designs, hinges, door and window designs
.1465-.1499 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil (some 1924-1928), including metal designs, a rough sketch of a
desk, stands, chairs, a clock face, cups or vases, a female figure, a lidded
bowl, a knife or letter opener, and eagles
.1501-.1536 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil (some 1920-1928), including a lidded bowl, mermaids, human
heads, blacksmiths at work, a soldier, metal designs, a kneeling bench, signs
of the four gospel writers, a capital, latches
.1537-.1570 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil (some 1923-.1965), a design celebrating Charles Lindbergh’s
flight to Paris, suggestion for a window, metal designs, pomegranate designs,
head of a woman, caricature entitled “President of the Grouch Club,” toy(?)
“horse for Jesse,” sleighs, fireside vignette labeled “Grandmother Eckman,”
sign for some builders, desk, animal designs, a clock, landscape with windmill,
chairs
.1571-.1583 Miscellaneous
drawings, pencil (one 1928), metal designs, cup or vase, design for feet of a
stand
Accession number
91x49
.194-.216 Ornaments,
color wash (some 1919), includes round bosses, a design with a knight, and
another with the head of a man, both for tiles?
.327-.341 Miscellaneous
lettering, pencil, including heart-shaped designs with the name Margaretha
Fendler; a picture frame(?) with the names Marjorie Conner and William Gold,
Jr., and the date June 13, 1942; lettering for various signs
.842-.843 Oriental
Rug designs, color, 1914, one copied from the
.1233-.1241a designs
for Mosaics, watercolor, 1913-1914, mostly for mosaic borders, also an original
design for a cement garden seat, a floor, and a slab
.1241-.1243 flower still-life paintings, watercolor
(one 1937)
.1244-.1246 flower still-life paintings, watercolor
.1247-.1249 flower still-life paintings and plant
analysis, watercolor (one 1912)
.1250-.1252 Elementary design, pencil, color, 1912
.1250, .1252 rose motifs
.1251 metalwork with floral motifs
.1311 ink drawing of dogwoods, 1917
.1343-.1344 Designs for oilcloth, color, 1914
.1370 Miscellaneous drawings, pencil,
sprays of flowering branches
.1505 Miscellaneous drawings, pencil,
knife blades, one with a handle
.1652 Pencil drawings, 1911, chair and
stool
Accession number
92x95
.45 Sketchbook
and sketches, which are in separate folder; the sketches were done at public
library in 1917, include andirons, hinges, latches, doors, chandeliers,
knights, crowns, etc.
.46a, b, c Notes on tools
.47-.59 Bryn
Athyn Cathedral, pencil (some 1925-1927), various metal designs, photo postcard
of a balustrade (unknown building)
.60-.70 Leaf rubbings, 1926-1928
.71-.80 Leaf rubbings, 1926-1928
.81-.90 Leaf rubbings, 1927-1928
.91-.100 Leaf rubbings, 1927-1928
.101-.106 Leaf rubbings, 1927-1928
.107-.109 Plants, watercolor
.110-.117 Anatomical drawings, ink
.118-.122 Anatomical drawings, ink, crayon
.123-.125 Female portrait drawings, pencil
.126-.131 Portrait
drawings, pencil: heads; woman; woman and two boys playing cards of a porch,
etc.
.132-.139 Lettering
exercises, poems, essays, calligraphy copy of
.140-.147 Ironwork
and other designs, pencil sketches, includes “memory” and “time” sketches
.148-.153 Charcoal
and wash drawings (some 1912-1914): jug, statue of lion, shield with lion, pottery
vases, “renderings from bronze and iron, in the Museo Civico, Venise, 1914,
[signed] Leon W. Corson,” another jug
.154-.158 Watercolors
(some 1907-1937): Japanese building in a garden; elephant vase with flowers
(arrangement done by Mabel Mae Edwards, won first place in garden club show,
1937); Wild West outlaw; woman with naval officer and father(?); three men at a
baseball game, entitled “Two Strikes and the Bases Full”
.159-.165 Correspondence
and drawings (some 1926-1940): animal sketches; “suggestion of weather vane for
Mr. H. Scheerbaum,
Accession number
91x49
.606 Door,
ink wash; king or knight on horseback in the tympanum over the door; door is
decorated with large metal hinges
.795 cups and goblets, pencil
.1222 Hinge; on back: lettering
exercise, human figures, and a turkey
.1230-.1232 Designs for wallpaper friezes, mostly with
floral motifs, watercolor, 1913-1914
.1248 Flowers in a vase, watercolor,
1927
.1584 Design for wallpaper, powdered
pattern, motive: monk’s hood, watercolor, 1913
.1586 Design for wallpaper, motif:
apple blossom, watercolor, 1914
.1588 Design for wallpaper, all over
pattern, motive: mistletoe, watercolor, 1913
.1587a, b Design for inlaid linoleum, motif:
geometrical, watercolor, 1914
.1588 Designs for wallpaper and
linoleum, watercolor, 1913-1914
.1590-.1597 Figure drawings, ink, watercolor (some
1906-1911)
.1590 “A Hopless [i.e.
Hopeless] Case,” nurse and doctor with patient in bed;
.1591 “No. 38: His Fortune: You are Going on a Long
Journey,” old man and young boy with cards [see also 92x95.5-.6 in
.1592 lady and gentleman, dated 1908 (in the style
of the Gibson Girl);
.1593 four ladies manipulating a small male figure
under a magnifying glass, dated 1911 (in the style of the Gibson Girl);
.1594 woman tying her shoe, dated 1906;
.1595 “At the matinee,” four women at the theater,
dated 1908;
.1596 old man and woman at dining table, woman
reading newspaper with news about women’s suffrage, 1911;
.1597 woman in green dress, 1906
.1598-.1606 Figure drawings, pencil, charcoal (some
1912)
.1598 soldier(?);
.1599a woman playing harp;
.1599b an Arab(?)
.1600 seated man clinging to something large;
.1601 seated young man playing a flute;
.1602 seated figure;
.1603 man with discus;
.1604 man with fishing net(?);
.1605 standing figure;
.1606 seated man
.1607-.1613 Figure drawings, charcoal
.1607 man with bow or stick;
.1608 young seated woman playing a flute;
.1609 seated woman holding small ball;
.1610-.1611 standing women
.1612-.1613 standing men with sledge hammers
Accession number
91x49
.1589 “When
Woman Drives,” worried man sitting next to woman at wheel of car, ink on board,
1911
.1614-.1647 Anatomical studies and studies of statues,
charcoal, 1911-1912
.262 Grillwork
design, for holding potted flowers, color, for or from workshop or J. Barton
Benson
.392 Logo for PPG, pencil
.745 Latch and lock, door corridor
to toil room, n. building, pencil, 1925
.1383 Miscellaneous drawing, metal
design, pencil
.1175-.1176 Switch
plates, pencil; topped with eagle in flight, seated eagle with wings extended,
candlestick holder, chef carrying platter with boar’s head, scrolls and finial,
hunting dog, ducks in flight
.1227 Miscellaneous drawing, metal
design, pencil, 1918
.96 Ornament design tracing,
pencil
.702 Latch and lock, pencil
.959 three table lamps, color
Accession number
92x95
.1-.7 Miscellaneous drawings and
lettering, ink, pencil and ink
.1 calligraphy, “Some Rules of Con[duct?],”
not completed;
.2 calligraphy, a story about a ship
running into an iceberg;
.3 a fleur-de-lis/scallop shell design;
.4 a bridge;
.5-.6 two studies of the figure of the old man in
“His Fortune,” see 91x49.1591 in
.7 “A Castle in the Air,” wealthy couple
sits at elegant dinner table, while she dreams of simple family life in the
country
.8-.12d Miscellaneous
drawings, and exam papers from the
.8 flower study;
.9 horse in pasture;
.10 roses;
.11 “The Isle of Tears,” head of a woman;
.12a-d examination papers and envelope
.13-.18 Perspective
studies, pencil
.13 seahorses, fish, starfish, part of the
poem “The Chambered Nautilus”;
.14-.18 perspective studies
.19-.26 Perspective
studies, various objects and shapes, pencil
.27-.34 Perspective
studies, various objects and shapes, pencil
.35-.38 Perspective
studies, various objects and shapes, pencil
.39-.42 Perspective
studies, various objects and shapes, pencil
Iron scrollwork or
grillwork