The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Gregor Norman-Wilcox

Title: Papers

Dates: ca.1930-1980s

Call No.: Col. 115

Acc. No.: 70x29, 78x309, 80x245, 91x101, 94x71, 99x64, 99x83

Quantity: 39 boxes

Location: 18 J 1-2 and K 1-5

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Gregor Norman-Wilcox was a curator of decorative arts at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from 1931 until his retirement, shortly before his death in 1969. Norman-Wilcox was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 9, 1905, the son of Carl Humphreys and Eunice Wilcox. (The name on his birth certificate was Gregor Norman Humphreys; he later changed his name to Gregor Norman-Wilcox.) After graduating from the Cleveland School of Art, he worked for interior decorators in his hometown before making his way to Los Angeles. There, he joined the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1931, quickly becoming Curator of Decorative Arts.

In 1934, he married Grace A. Steen, a specialist in Oriental art. She wrote articles and taught classes on that subject. After becoming interested in Oriental, particularly Chinese art, she learned enough to become a buying agent for a New York importing firm, and worked in Shanghai in 1925. For a short time, she ran a shop in Cleveland where she sold Oriental imports, but the Great Depression ended her business. After becoming engaged to Gregor, she moved with him to Los Angeles.

Throughout his career, Norman-Wilcox wrote extensively on various aspects of the decorative arts, making many contributions to The Magazine Antiques (they first published one of his articles in 1927 and his last they published in August 1969, several months after his death), as well as other journals, encyclopedias, and books. He wrote a column on antiques for the Los Angeles Times from 1949 to 1959; the column was then nationally syndicated from 1958 to 1969. Norman-Wilcox was also a creative writer and cartoonist in his spare time, as evidenced by the keepsake books which he made for his wife.

In 1957, Norman-Wilcox took a year’s leave of absence from his job in Los Angeles to be in charge of furnishing Tryon Palace in New Bern, North Carolina. He was also responsible for restoring and refurnishing the Hugo Reid Adobe in Los Angeles. He was a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, numerous historical societies, collectors clubs, and preservation groups in the United States and England, as well as being an honorary member of the American Institute of Interior Designers.

Gregor Norman-Wilcox died on April 26, 1969, at the age of 63, after having retired the previous September. He and his wife had no children. After his death, his wife established a memorial scholarship fund in his name at Winterthur Museum, which is used to support fellows in the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. Grace Norman-Wilcox died around 1995.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The collection contains professional correspondence and papers created while Norman-Wilcox was a curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The bulk of the material consists of research notes, correspondence, typed drafts, photographs, and some tear copies of magazine articles on decorative arts topics. The correspondence is arranged by the article, speech, etc., to which it relates. Also included are copies of all of Norman-Wilcox's columns about antiques for the Los Angeles Times. Additional material includes catalogs of private collections, particularly of silver, with appraisals; correspondence, clippings, and photos of an honorary nature; surveys and reports he made as an advisor on silverwork acquisitions for the museum; and finally, installation drawings featuring gallery displays and room settings.

There are files on Oriental art, which were assembled by Grace Steen Norman-Wilcox, and some personal correspondence.

These papers also contain 145 keep-sake books that Norman-Wilcox created for his wife, dating from 1935 to 1944. They were presented to her on birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. The books were typed, illustrated, bound, and numbered by him. As well, there are fifty illustrated poems, written in the 1930s. Some are thank-you notes, one was written to ask his wife out to dinner, and others celebrate events in their lives.

ORGANIZATION

The papers have been divided into four series. Series I includes correspondence, catalogs, and materials for miscellaneous articles, in Boxes 1-8 and 22-23, and copies of Norman-Wilcox’s newspaper articles in Boxes 9-21. Materials removed from a scrapbook are in Box 23. Some of Grace’s papers are mixed into Series I, but mostly they are Gregor’s papers. Series II consists of the keepsake books, in Boxes 24-32, and the keepsake poems in Box 33. Series III are Grace Norman-Wilcox’s papers on Oriental (mostly Chinese) art. Series IV is one box of files related to Mr. Norman-Wilcox’s work for Tryon Palace.

PROVENANCE

Gifts of Mrs. Gregor Norman-Wilcox and Dwight P. Lanmon.

ACCESS POINTS

People:

Page, James R., Mrs.

Marble, John Emerson, Mrs.

Crawford, Jeanette.

Winchester, Alice.

Comstock, Helen.

Norman-Wilcox, Grace.

Topics:

Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Hugo Reid Adobe (Arcadia, Calif.)

Tryon Palace (New Bern, N.C.)

Decorative arts.

Antiques.

Museums - Acquisitions.

Art museums.

Museum curators - California - Los Angeles.

Silverware - Collectors and collecting.

Porcelain - Collectors and collecting.

Pottery - Collectors and collecting.

Antiques - Periodicals.

Drawings.

Black-and-white photographs.

Photoprints.

Notes.

Correspondence.

Drafts (preliminary versions).

Appraisals.

Curators.

Cloth bindings (Bookbinding)

Book covers.

Book ornamentation.

Hand-printed books.

Book design.

Illustrated books.

Textile fabrics.

Illustrations.

Authors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 18 J 1-2 and K 1-5

SERIES I: Correspondence, articles, and miscellaneous materials, mostly of Gregor Norman-Wilcox

Box 1:

Folders 1-3: Catalog of Marble Collection

Listing and appraisal of early American silver comprising the Mrs. John Emerson Marble collection, South Pasadena, Ca. October 1946. Listing and appraisal of the Old English silver in the Marble collection, September 1948.

Folders 4-6: Evaluation of James R. Page silver collection, 1947.

Folders 7-9: Catalog of Quinn collection

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Ca., 1950. Part I and II of the Chinese and European material.

Folders 10-11: Catalog of James R. Page silver collection

Itemized appraisal, 1947 and 1953 supplement to the 1947 catalog, and catalog and appraisal of old silverwork, English, Scottish and Irish silver. Photographs and negatives are included.

Folders 12-13: Catalog of C. Pardee Erdman

Catalog and appraisal of the C. Pardee Erdman collection of silverwork, San Marino, Ca., 1947, with additions to the catalog, 1956.

Folders 14-15: Listing and appraisal of old silverwork

From the collection of Dr. and Mrs. William B. Munro, Pasadena, Ca., September 1954, along with a listing and appraisal of English silver cups, September, 1954 and a collection of caddy-scoops.

Folder 16: The Antiques Journal, correspondence, 1951-1964

(Note: Folders 17-30 contain research notes, drafts, and photographs for short articles Norman-Wilcox submitted to Antiques and American Antiques Journal between 1949 and 1955.)

Folder 17: "Not Old, but Plate-Rail Blue"

Folder 18: "The Lore of Snuff"

Folder 19: "Venetian or 'Persian’ Blinds"

Folder 20: "Baltimore, but Why?"

Folder 21: “There Used to be Cows"

Folder 22: "A Basket for Everything"

Folder 23: "Lowbrow and Lovely"

Folder 24: "What Can You Use it For?"

Folder 25: "Copper Called 'OLD'"

Folder 26: "Worm'd Sticks"

Folder 27: "The Shaggy Dog"

Folder 28: "Made of Money"

Folder 29: "The Breathtaking Stay-Busk"

Folder 30: "For a Glad Pudding"

Box 2:

(Note: Folders 1-35 contain research notes, drafts, and photographs for short articles Norman-Wilcox submitted to Antiques and American Antiques Journal between 1949 and 1955.)

Folder 1: "Das Kuche Model"

Folder 2: "The Gainsborough"

Folder 3: "Sevres, and Almost"

Folder 4: "The Canterbury"

Folder 5: "What Not ?"

Folder 6: "Older than Vermont"

Folder 7: "The Months in Delft"

Folder 8: "The Mystery of Coopers"

Folder 9: "Paul et Virginie"

Folder 10: "Old-Tin--but Not Very"

Folders 11-12: "Perhaps Bennington"

Folders 13-14: "An Art for the Thrifty"

Folder 15: "Mary was a Dull Child"

Folder 16: "Wedgwood's 'Jasper'"

Folder 17: "Caddies and Caddy-Boxes"

Folder 18: "Just Britannia"

Folder 19: "Not Sterling, but 'Dollar' or Coin Silver"

Folder 20: "Victorian: The Second Rococo"

Folder 21: "Connecticut Dutch"

Folder 22: "Fine, or Just Good"

Folder 23: "Mr. Wedgwood's Majolica"

Folder 24: "Bottled Memories"

Folders 25-26: "The Paisley Shawl"

Folder 27: "Mandarin Porcelain"

Folder 28: "Belter's Modern Chair"

Folder 29: "Stool Pigeons"

Folder 30: "Two Good Chairs"

Folder 31: "Fireside Discomfort"

Folder 32: "American Stone Worker"

Folder 33: "A Borrowed Spoon"

Folder 34: "A Pratie Litelle Cage"

Folder 35: "Gilt Eagle"

Folder 36: "Gilt Edge"

Article published in Window Beautiful, October, 1949, with correspondence

Folders 37-38: "ABC, English Silver"

Published in Antiques, 1951.

Folders 39-40: "Ephraim Cobb : An Only Known in American Silver"

For Antiques, 1951 (2 copies).

Folders 41-42: "Carpets and Rugs"

Published in Book of Knowledge, 1951, with illustrations, notes, correspondence, etc.

Folders 43-44: "Samuel Casey in a Surprise"

Article with correspondence, 1951-1952

Box 3:

Folder 1: Nicholas Geffroy

"Nicholas Geffroy of Newport," for Antiques, 1946 and "Nicholas Geffroy: Lost and Found," in Bulletin, Vol 6, No. 1, January 1954.

Folder 2: China Trade, 1955

Notes and clippings

Folders 3-4: Marble Collection

"American Silver at Los Angeles County Museum," published in The Connoisseur Year Book, 1956, with correspondence and photographs.

Folder 5: The English Silver Cream Jug, 1951

First writing/original draft.

Folder 6: The English Silver Cream Jug, January 1951

First typed draft.

Folder 7: The English Silver Cream Jug, December 1951

Final draft copy.

Folders 8-9: Cream Jug, December 1951

Re-write and letters re: catalog, June 1950.

Folder 10: Cream Jug photographs and negatives

Folders 11-18: "The American Silversmith in the Eighteenth Century"

Published in The Connoisseur, February 1955; includes correspondence, notes, and photographs. (continues into the next box)

Box 4:

Folders 1-4: "American Silversmiths of the 18th Century" (cont.)

Folders 5-7: "A Notable Private Collection"

English silver in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Francis E. Fowler, Jr., Los Angeles, Ca., for The Connoisseur, October-November 1953 issue, with notes, letters, and photographs.

Folders 8-10: Fowler Collection

For Antiques Annual.

Folder 11: Correspondence with Comstock about article on pottery and porcelain prepared for Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques

Folder 12-13: Correspondence with others about article on pottery and porcelain prepared for Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques

Box 5:

Folder 1: Outline and general notes for article on pottery and porcelain prepared for Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques

Folder 2: Wares, for article on pottery and porcelain prepared for Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques

Folder 3: Makers, for article on pottery and porcelain prepared for Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques

Folder 4-5: American Pottery and Porcelain

Article sent to Comstock, February 19, 1957.

Folder 6: Galley proof for article on pottery and porcelain prepared for Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques

Folder 7: Anglo American Pottery

Article sent to Comstock, March 9, 1957.

Folder 8: Bills for article on pottery and porcelain prepared for Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques

Folders 9-10: Photographs for Pottery and Porcelain

Folder 11: "American Silver in California Collections"

Published in Antiques, January 1954.

Box 6:

Folders 1-2: "American Silver in California Collections" (cont.)

Folders 3-4: Munro

Article for The Connoisseur, 1962, with correspondence and "From Elizabeth to Queen Anne - English Silver," in the California collection of Mrs. William Bennett Munro.

Folders 5-6: Munro photographs

Folders 7-8: Hugo Reid Adobe- General;

Includes personal information and history, furnishing plan, financial notes, and correspondence with the state of California, 1960-1965.

Folder 9: Hugo Reid Adobe- Inventory lists

Folder 10: "Hugo Reid Adobe"

Article for Antiques, August, 1963, with correspondence.

Folder 11: Hugo Reid Adobe, Spring 1961

Box 7:

Folders 1-2: Williamsburg

Correspondence, expenses, etc. relating to speech given at the second session of the 1951 Antiques Forum held at Williamsburg, Va.

Folder 3: Huntington Gallery

Survey and report, 1953-54, made as advisor on acquisitions of silver work for the museum.

Folder 4: Ewings Party

Telegrams, notes, November 1956.

Folder 5: 25th Anniversary, January 1957

Photographs, newspaper clippings, etc. of Gregor Norman- Wilcox's 25th anniversary party.

Folder 6: Elsie de Wolfe Foundation

Material from Norman-Wilcox's time as a juror for an art scholarship.

Box 8:

Installation drawings: Drawings done in pencil and pen and ink featuring gallery displays and room settings.

Oversized certificates of merit from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Plaque honoring Grace Norman-Wilcox presented by the Antiquarian Society of California

Box 9: Newspaper column:

Folder 1: Bennington, Perhaps

Folder 2: A High-Perched Eagle

Folder 3: "Old Tin--but Not Very"

Folder 4: "This Way to the 'Gold Rush'"

Folder 5: "An Easy Standish"

Folder 6: Yankee Chippendale

Folder 7 Almost Presidential China

Folder 8 Early Silver Toys

Folder 9 Grandmother's Majolica

Folder l0 Little Glassware

Folder 11 An Unhappy Marriage

Folder 12 A Present for a Dull Child

Folder 13 But Not Chelsea

Folder 14 An Early Improvement

Folder 15 Shaker Work

Folder 16 Caddies and Caddy-Boxes

Folder 17 A Borrowed Spoonful

Folder 18 Fine, or Just Good

Folder 19 The Famous "Jasper"

Folder 20 Those Small but United States

Folder 21 A Difference in Taste

Folder 22 Britannia Ware

Folder 23 The Unforgivable Lamp

Folder 24 Spoons in American Pewter

Folder 25 "Rustic" with a Flair

Folder 26 The Parson's Chair

Folder 27 "Kuche Model" for Thanksgiving

Folder 28 The Taste of l820

Folder 29 Coin, or "Dollar" Silver

Folder 30 English Lustre

Folder 31 An Exotic Cat

Folder 32 The True Chelsea

Folder 33 The "Second Rococo"

Folder 34 The Courting Mirror

Folder 35 What is a "Story" Worth?

Folder 36 New Names for Old Inlays

Folder 37 Connecticut Dutch

Folder 38 Pennsylvania "Fractur-Schriften"

Folder 39 Why Baltimore?

Folder 40 Vanished Vessels in American Silver

Folder 41 What is a "Good" Chair?

Folder 42 A "Bottled" Record

Folder 43 Whose Butterprint?

Folder 44 The Silly "Optique"

Folder 45 For Candlemakers

Box 10: Newspaper column:

Folder 46 The Paisley Shawl

Folder 47 Sevres, and Almost

Folder 48 The Lure of Snuff

Folder 49 New York "Jersey" Glass

Folder 50 "Stool Pigeons"

Folder 5l Some "Good" Dolls

Folder 52 Everybody's "Willow"

Folder 53 Scarcely Chippendale

Folder 54 Fakes--A Review

Folder 55 The Neglected "C.C."

Folder 56 Hitchcocks and Others

Folder 57 Stiegel's Lost Glass

Folder 58 Late and Laughable

Folder 59 Athens, U.S.A.

Folder 60 Acceptably Antique

Folder 6l The Spoon

Folder 62 A Clock that Tells When

Folder 63 The Months in Delft

Folder 64 An Antiques Anthology

Folder 65 A Documented Set

Folder 66 "Macaroni" in l775

Folder 67 Pianos and Earlier

Folder 68 Hester Bateman, Again

Folder 69 Not Yet Queen Anne

Folder 70 We Knew Better

Folder 71 Something Remembered - Including a note on the l950 Antiques & Decorators Show

Folder 72 How to Ruin Antiques

Folder 73 Pudding for the Festival

Folder 74 The Plastic Metal

Folder 75 "Persian" Blinds

Folder 76 Mr. Rogers' Art

Folder 77 The Antiques Forum

Folder 78 For "Husband"

Folder 79 Pewter in l830

Folder 80 A Shade of Edouart

Folder 8l A Famous Failure

Folder 82 The Marking of Letters

Folder 83 A Painless Picture

Folder 84 Somewhat Chinese

Folder 85 A Swedish Tulip

Folder 86 Belter's "Modern" Chair

Box 11: Newspaper column:

Folder 87 The Fairly Recent Fork

Folder 88 Who Said Battersea?

Folder 89 A Captain's Chair

Folder 90 "Copper, Tin and Brass"

Folder 9l The "Good" Red

Folder 92 Some Cups for Easter

Folder 93 Englishness in Virginia (Part I)

Folder 94 Englishness in Virginia (Part II)

Folder 95 On Being Plain

Folder 96 The Tools at Ayscough's

Folder 97 A "Prudential" Desk

Folder 98 A Colonial Printer

Folder 99 "Christall" Made of Glass

Folder l00 Old Children

Folder l0l Fireside Discomfort

Folder 102 Heaven and Earth in 1740

Folder l03 A Misplaced Windsor

Folder l04 Dyed in the Wool

Folder 105 The Floor Cloth

Folder 106 Going in Comfort

Folder 107 Not Old, but Plate-Rail Blue

Folder 108 "Work'd Cloth"

Folder 109 A Basket for Everything

Folder ll0 Birmingham Plate

Folder 111 The Look of the Indies

Folder 112 Those Hungry Years

Folder 113 Quality

Folder 114 A Good Glass with a Poor Name

Folder 115 "Japanned" Country Tin

Folder 116 Varying a Design

Folder 117 Outrageous Gadget

Folder 118 So-called "Chalk"

Folder 119 What Can You Use It For?

Folder 120 Collecting Silver Without Pain

Folder 121 Lowbrow and Lovely

Folder 122 Skimped in l8l6

Folder 123 A Big Enough Clock

Folder 124 Worcester's 200th

Folder 125 Made of Money

Folder 126 "All About a Wat"

Folder 127 Seymour's "Only Known"

Folder 128 What Not

Folder 129 Little Marvels

Folder 130 The First Teacup

Folder 131 A Lady in Wax

Box 12: Newspaper column:

Folder 132 A Pretty Artifice

Folder 133 Tribute to the Cow

Folder 134 A Lapel Ornament

Folder 135 The Ox-bow Chest

Folder 136 A Table Too Tall

Folder 137 A Garnyshed Nutte

Folder 138 The Flowing Blue

Folder 139 Pewter Church Tokens

Folder 140 Copper Called "Old"

Folder 141 Hoops and the Tournure

Folder 142 Toddy, Punch & Flip

Folder 143 Washington and Mr. Stokes

Folder 144 The Cutler's