The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Georgian Lighting Shops

Title: Drawings

Dates: 1921-1950

Call No.: Col. 103

Acc. No.: 90x56

Quantity: 18 boxes, 4 microfilm reels

Location: 42 I 5-10, J 2-13, and Map case D, drawer 4, and microfilm

HISTORICAL STATEMENT

The Georgian Lighting Shops flourished in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between 1921 and 1950. At this point, the earliest documentation for the firm is a photocopied letter on the company's letterhead dated 29 December 1921. It carries the address 22 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, and the names John G. Lisberger and Carroll G. Stewart. There are also copies of some of their advertisements, such as the one that appeared in the January 1925 issue of Arts and Decoration magazine (p. 94). This small ad lists the firm’s address as 223 South 17th Street, Philadelphia. Another early reference point in the firm's history is its appearance in the 1926 Philadelphia city directory at 2041 Locust Street.

The time and manner of the firm's demise are uncertain. Among these papers, one finds very few clues. A very small number of the drawings are done on the reverse of mimeographed listings (by the F.W. Dodge Corporation) of construction contracts open for bidding. Some of these are dated 1950. Neither trade catalogs nor business papers from the firm have been located.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The microfilm collection consists of 1,927 sheets or pieces of paper on which are drawings of the Georgian Lighting Shops’ designs. These include lighting fixtures, decorative metal scrollwork for gates and fences, railings for porches and stairs, fireplace equipment, and general design ideas for the same. Most of the drawings are finely-done, hand-colored pencil tracings rendered at a scale of 3 inches to a foot. The collection also includes a number of full size shop drawings. A few sheets have drawings on both sides. This repository holds 527 original drawings.

Over 800 of the drawings have numbers on them. These appear to be some sort of catalog type numbering. The collection includes some numbered designs for which there are multiple copies of the same drawing, as if tracings were prepared ahead of time to distribute to prospective clients. Most of the numbered drawings are clearly marked with a four digit number between 1000 and 5999; they are filed numerically. The few other numbered pieces have letters prefixed to the numbers, or are not 4 digits long.

The bulk of the drawings are not numbered. They have been organized according to design type. For example, all the wall-mounted lamps are together. Within the wall-mounted fixtures, the designs with exposed light bulbs have been divided from those with shaded or enclosed bulbs. Within each of those divisions, the drawings have been further divided according to the number of bulbs in the fixture, and so on. Similar designs within each filing category have been grouped, but this effort is not infallible.

The size of the originals varies. Some of the pieces of paper measure only about 5 centimeters square. At the other end of the scale, at least one measures approximately 1 meter by 1/2 meter.

The owner of the original drawings (whose grandfather and great-uncle worked at the firm) consented to the microfilming of the entire collection. Winterthur was then allowed to select 527 of the original drawings for its collection. The originals are housed in 18 boxes; the microfilm records are on reels Mic. 2926 to Mic. 2929.

ORGANIZATION

The drawings were divided into two groups: those with numbers and those without. Those with numbers are filed in numerical order. (A list of these numbers is appended to this finding aid.) The unnumbered drawings were organized by form (e.g. wall-mounted lighting fixtures, chandeliers, railings, etc.). The detailed description which follows is a list of what is on the microfilm reels. The original drawings in the Downs Collection are in the same order as they were filmed.

PROVENANCE

Gift of Donald and Lillian Eckard.

ACCESS POINTS

People:

Lisberger, John G.

Stewart, Carroll G.

Topics:

Sterling Bronze Company.

Designers - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

Decoration and ornament - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

Lighting, Architectural and decorative.

Hand-railing.

Metal-work - Drawings.

Fretwork.

Chandeliers.

Brasswork - Drawings.

Interior lighting.

Scrolls (Decorative arts) - Pennsylvania - Philadelphia.

Drawings.

Tracings.

Advertisements.

Designers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 42 I 5-10, J 2-13, Map case D, drawer 4, and microfilm cabinet

The complete collection at time of microfilming, listing the groups in the order filmed, with number of sheets or pieces of paper in each group and the number of sheets of originals which are in the Downs Collection. For example, there were 167 drawings numbered in the 1xxx series, all of which were microfilmed, and of which 38 originals are held by the Downs Collection.

Mic. 2926:

Numbered drawings, 1XXX series {167 sheets; 38 orig.}

Numbered drawings, 2XXX series {140 sheets; 36 orig.}

Numbered drawings, 3XXX series {183 sheets; 49 orig.}

Mic. 2927:

Numbered drawings, 4XXX series {154 sheets; 40 orig.}

Numbered drawings, 5XXX series {81 sheets; 23 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall mounted, exposed single bulb {88 sheets; 30 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, white metal (silver or pewter) fixture {18 sheets; 5 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, brass or bronze fixture {44 sheets; 17 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, painted metal fixture {21 sheets; 14 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, wrought iron fixture {34 sheets; 13 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, wooden back panel fixture {6 sheets; 4 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, with hanging glass pendants {30 sheets; 15 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, with lyre-shaped back plate {5 sheets}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, glass back plate fixture {23 sheets; 5 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall-mounted, exposed double bulb, miscellaneous full scale drawings {28 sheets; 6 orig.}

Mic. 2928

Unnumbered, wall mounted, exposed double bulb, miscellaneous small scale drawings {20 sheets; 1 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall mounted, exposed multiple (3 or more) bulb {36 sheets; 12 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall mounted, enclosed or shaded single bulb {71 sheets; 20 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall mounted, enclosed or shaded double bulb {23 sheets; 11 orig.}

Unnumbered, wall mounted, enclosed or shaded multiple (3 or more) bulb {3 sheets; 3 orig.}

Unnumbered metalwork, gates and doorways, scrollwork {74 sheets; 18 orig.}

Unnumbered metalwork, stair and porch railings {27 sheets; 3 orig.}

Unnumbered metalwork, furniture {21 sheets; 8 orig.}

Unnumbered metalwork, fireplace equipment {11 sheets; 4 orig.}

Unnumbered exterior pedestal lamps {3 sheets; 2 orig.}

Unnumbered table lamps {14 sheets; 4 orig.}

Unnumbered, hanging, lantern-like, round fixtures {43 sheets; 19 orig.}

Unnumbered, hanging, lantern-like, star plan fixtures {10 sheets; 5 orig.}

Unnumbered, hanging, lantern-like, 4-sided fixtures {33 sheets; 17 orig.}

Unnumbered, hanging, lantern-like, multi- (5 or more) sided fixtures {73 sheets; 25 orig.}

Unnumbered, hanging, lamp-like fixtures {11 sheets; 7 orig.}

Mic. 2929

Unnumbered, hanging, chandelier-like fixtures {61 sheets; 15 orig.}

Unnumbered, ceiling-mounted fixtures (not hanging) {48 sheets; 18 orig.}

Unnumbered miscellaneous lighting fixtures or parts {15 sheets; 2 orig.}

Unnumbered drawings and design ideas {53 sheets}

Unnumbered decorative iron scrollwork design ideas {16 sheets}

Unnumbered drawings, oriental influenced designs {10 sheets}

Unnumbered drawings, seated figures {9 sheets}

Numbered drawings, done catalog fashion {7 sheets}

Oddly numbered lighting fixtures (numbers prefixed with "GO") {22 sheets; 7 orig.}

Mounted photographs of lighting fixtures, embossed with the name "Sterling Bronze Company, New York, NY" as owners of the designs {18 pieces; 18 orig.}

Not drawings or photographs of lighting fixtures or ironwork {9 pieces}

Oddly numbered lighting fixtures {29 sheets} [oversize]

Unnumbered floor lamps {31 sheets} [oversize]

Unnumbered large-scale drawings {101 sheets} [oversize]

Georgian Lighting Shops

Numbered Drawings

This is a list of the numbers on the sheets which have been designated as the “numbered drawings.” It contains all the numbered drawings in the collection at the time of microfilming. Please note the following: 1) The drawings are in numerical order, but clearly there are gaps in the sequence. 2) When there are multiple copies of a drawing this is noted in parentheses. 3) Some sheets contain more than one numbered drawing; in these cases the list ties these together by adding “(with ####)” so that the numbers appear in proper sequence even though the sheet was only filmed once. 4) Some odd numberings are #### ½ or ####B (which reflect the numbering as found on the drawing), or ###? (which indicates that a digit has been obscured or torn off before we received the collection for filming).

1002

1002 (2nd copy)

1002 (3rd copy)

1002 (4th copy)

1002 (5th copy)

1002 (6th copy)

1002 ½

1003

1010

1049

1049 (2nd copy)

1054

1057

1057 (2nd copy)

1057 (3rd copy)

1086

1086 (2nd copy)

1086 (3rd copy)

1090

1097

1097 (2nd copy)

1101

1103

1105

1111

1124

1131

1134

1140

1140 (2nd copy)

1144

1146

1146 (2nd copy)

1146 (3rd copy)

1146 (with 1859)

1153

1153 (2nd copy)

1153 (3rd copy)

1157

1170

1170 (2nd copy)

1170 (3rd copy)

1170 (4th copy)

1170 (5th copy)

1178

1194

1194B

1219

1225

1229

1232

1236

1240

1242

1245

1252

1255

1267

1283

1284

1299

1302

1312

1314

1315

1315 (2nd copy)

1335

1337

1340

1355

1356

1365

1377

1378

1383

1383 (2nd copy)

1388

1392

1394

1412

1414

1414 (2nd copy)

1414 (3rd copy)

1414 (4th copy)

1419

1443

1453

1455

1467

1486

1487

1488 (with 1489)

1489 (with 1491)

1491 (with 1488)

1492 (with 1493)

1493 (with 1494)

1494 (with 1492)

1505

1505 “with crystals”

1557

1557 (2nd copy)

1557 (3rd copy)

1557 (4th copy)

1557 (5th copy)

1557 (6th copy)

1566

1566 (2nd copy)

157?

1573

1575

1581

1598

1602

1610

1615

1621

1625

1638

1640

1641

1641 (2nd copy)

1643

1643 (2nd copy)

1643 (3rd copy)

1674

1678

1694

1697

1697 (2nd copy)

1704

1708

1711

1720

1759

1760

1762

1782

1790

1792

1793

1799

1813

1816

1827

1830

1831

1831 (2nd copy)

1836

1837

1839

1840

1840 (2nd copy)

1840 (with 1146)

1841

1841 (2nd copy)

1841 (with 1840)

1847

1859 (with 1841)

1879

1881

1886

1901 (with 1902)

1902 (with 1901)

1942

1946

1949

1969

1969 (2nd copy)

1971

1971 (2nd copy)

1972

1973

1977

1985

20??

2002

2004

2005

2020

2024

2024 (2nd copy)

2036

2037

2041

2053

2054

2103

2105

2143

2153

2185

2188

2198

2214

2218

2226

2237

2246

2251

2261

2277

2281

2284

2298

2299

2313

2314

2314 (2nd copy)

2315

2319

2345

2346

2350

2382

2385

2387

2390

2393

2430

2439

2441

2448

2457

2459

2474

2479

2479 (2nd copy)

2505

2517

2542

2543

2549

2556

2577

2590

2597

2597 (2nd copy)

2602

2610

2613

2615

2616

2624

2626

2632

2633

2638

2641

2654

2661

2666

2667

2668

2684

2689

2690

2692

2694

2695

2699

2700

2708

2716

2717

2720

2720 (2nd copy)

2726

2729

2730

2739

2744

2749

2753

2757

2785

2793

2794

2803

2804

2806

2808

2821

2846

2846 (2nd copy)

2849

2851

2853

2855

2857

2863

2865

2866 (with 2867)

2867 (with 2868)

2868 (with 2866)

2875

2890

2903

2905

2915

2921

2929

2930

2935

2938

2943

2945

2947

2949

2950

2960

2976