The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
Henry Francis du Pont
5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur,
Delaware 19735
Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883
OVERVIEW OF
THE COLLECTION
Creator: Wright, Frank Lloyd,
1867-1959.
Title: Letters and receipts
Dates: 1907-1908
Call No.: Col. 431
Acc. No.: 66x59
Quantity: 17 items (1 folder)
Location: 34 J 2
BIOGRAPHICAL
STATEMENT
Frank Lloyd Wright was an internationally acclaimed
American architect whose career spanned 70 years. He is considered to be one of the fathers of
modern architecture.
Isabel Roberts (1871-1955) studied architecture in
the Masqueray-Chambers atelier (or studio) in New York City. When Frank Lloyd Wright set up his own studio,
Miss Roberts was one of his first employees.
She worked as a draftsman but was also the office manager/bookkeeper for
the studio. She designed her own home
while working for Wright, but around 1918, Miss Roberts and her ailing mother
moved to Florida, where Miss Roberts established an architectural firm in
partnership with Ida Annah Ryan.
Harry Franklin Robinson (1883-1959) studied
architecture at the University of Illinois, graduating in 1906. He was a draftsman in Wright’s studio from
1906-1908 and 1911-1916; during the gap, Robinson worked for Walter Burley
Griffin. From 1916-1923, he worked in
the office of Dean & Dean (brothers George and Arthur Dean), and then
established his own practice.
Frederick Day Nichols (whose name is consistently misspelled
as Frederic Nicholas in this collection) was born in Iowa in 1870, the son of
Sarah Robinson and Dr. Horace Nichols.
In 1897, Frederick graduated from the University of Chicago, where he
had played football and baseball under Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. In the 1910 census of Montana, he was listed
as manager of a sand company, but he was also in the publishing business. He married (and then divorced) Harriet
Campbell Rew. His second wife was Ida
Klein. Frederick Nichols died in Florida
in 1945.
Frederick D. Nichols was vice-president of the Como
Orchard Land Company and a promoter of the Bitter Root Valley Irrigation
Company in Montana. Walter I. Moody was
also involved with the irrigation company.
(Apparently, Moody was married Eda May Nichols, a sister of
Frederick.) Moody was the general
manager of a company whose offices were in the Rookery Building, which was
remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905.
Wright was later hired to design two communities for the Como Orchard
Land Co.
SCOPE AND
CONTENT
This collection of ten letters and seven receipts
from Frank Lloyd Wright to Frederic Nicholas [sic, the name should be Frederick
Nichols] dates from 1907-1908. Items
describe payments and problems concerning the construction of the Nichols house
in Flossmoor, Illinois, a four-square house, pre-dating Wright’s prairie
style. Difficulties primarily involved
basement flooding, leaking windows, and a shallow sewer, which were unattended
by the contractor Frank Baron. Several
requests and accounts were for payment of subcontractors. One itemized statement of accounts lists the
work performed by each of the subcontractors.
Items in the collection are signed by Frank Lloyd Wright, or by his
assistants Isabel Roberts and Harry F. Robinson.
ORGANIZATION
The items are in chronological order.
LANGUAGE OF
MATERIALS
The materials are in English.
RESTRICTIONS
ON ACCESS
Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.
PROVENANCE
Purchased from William B. Pennebaker.
ACCESS POINTS
People:
Nichols, Frederick Day,
1870-
Roberts,
Isabel, 1871-1955.
Robinson,
Harry Franklin, 1883-1959.
Topics:
Business records - Illinois
- 20th century.
Dwellings - Maintenance and repair.
Construction industry - Management.
Architecture - United States.
Construction contracts.
House construction – Illinois – Flossmoor.
Contractors – Illinois – Flossmoor.
Correspondence.
Letters.
Receipts.
Invoices.
Architects.
DETAILED
DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 34 J
2
All accession numbers begin with 66x59
Folder 1 of 1:
.1a short letter, Isabel Roberts, no date
[but after June 17, 1907], to “Dear Sir” [Nichols]: encloses report [see .1b]
of certificate issued to Mr. Baron; $50 is to be paid to the painter;
On stationery of FLW, with
address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square within
a box
.1b payments report 7: bill for work provided
by contractor Frank Baron, Morgan Park, Ill, for general work and for work done
by painter, includes debits and credits, Nov. 30, 1906-June 17, 1907
[printed form,
two-sided]
.2 letter, Harry F. Robinson, June 25,
1907, to Mr. Nicholas: Mr. Baron reports windows have not been leaking; he
plans to clean out basement when the work is done; Robinson will visit the job
site on the 26th.
On stationery of FLW, with
address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square within
a box
.3 short letter, Harry F. Robinson, June
28, 1907, to Frederic Nicholas. Flossmoor: have given Mr. Baron three days “to
attend to all the things which are in bad shape”; please let the firm know if
Mr. Baron does not do this
On stationery of FLW,
with address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square
within a box
.4 letter, Frank Lloyd Wright, July 15,
1907, to Frederic Nicholas, Flossmoor: am trying to contact Baron; mill man and
mason are “incompetent scoundrel[s]”; other concerns about the work being done
on the house
On stationery of FLW,
with address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square
within a box; paper watermarked Fabriano (Italy)
.5a-b letter, Isabel Roberts for Mr. Wright, July
20, 1907, to Mr. Nicholas, Flossmoor: about payments due to various workers,
including mason, plumber, mill man, and roofer
On stationery of FLW,
with address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square
within a box
.5c short note, F.L. Wright, I.R. [in her
handwriting], July 20, 1907, to Mr. Nicholas: “please pay to … Louis Kelcher
for millwork….”
On stationery of FLW,
with address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square
within a box
.5d short note, F.L. Wright, I.R. [in her
handwriting], July 20, 1907, to Mr. Nicholas: “please pay to … R. Doeseckle
& Co. ….”
On stationery of FLW,
with address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square
within a box
.6 short letter, Frank Lloyd Wright, July
27, 1907, to Mr. Nicholas, Flossmore: “please pay … Mr. D. T. Curran … and
charge to the account of Mr. Frank Baron.”
D.T. Curran noted that
he received payment, July 27, 1907;
Some writing on back
(might not be related to the house);
On stationery of FLW,
with address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square
within a box
.7a letter, Harry F. Robinson, Aug. 10, 1907,
to Mr. Nicholas, Flossmoor: about payments due to Baron, Fred Domm, Horth [sic]
Shore Electric, and Wright
On stationery of FLW,
with address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square
within a box
.7b Statement of Account, Aug. 2, 1907, with
charges and payments;
Charges include change
in roof, lining flower box, extra door, and extra tinting;
Payments were made to
heating contractor, R. Doeseckle & Co. (apparently the painters), Curran
the plumber, Wm. Horan for patching, O.J. Bower for the terrace, Riverdale
Lumber Co., tin from Will Seyforth, Millen the mason, and the millman
[typed, on thin paper]
.8 letter, H. F. Robinson, I.R. [in her
handwriting], March 24, 1908, to Mr. Nicholas, Flossmoore: about dispute with
Baron over payment to Mr. Curran; water coming into basement will always be a
problem because of inadequate sewer system
On stationery of FLW,
with address on one side, and the other side decorated with an orange square
within a box
.9a payments certificate 2: payments for work
on excavation, masonry, carpentry, sheet metal, glass, painting, electric
wiring, plumbing, and heating, Nov. 30, 1906-Jan. 7, 1907; signed Frank Lloyd
Wright
With voucher on reverse,
signed Frank Baron;
Printed form, on
stationery of FLW
.9b-c payments certificate/report 3: same as
above, except includes debits through Jan. 19, 1907;
the form
includes two halves, one the certificate and the other the report; the
certificate is signed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and Baron signed both halves
[two accession numbers, but only one sheet of
paper]
.9d payments certificate/report 4: same as
above, except includes debits through Feb. 1, 1907;
the form
includes two halves, one the certificate and the other the report; the
certificate is signed for Frank Lloyd Wright per Isabel Roberts, and is also
signed by Baron
.9e-f payments certificate/report 5: same as
above, except includes debits through Feb. 27, 1907;
the form’s two
halves are detached from each other; the certificate is signed for Frank Lloyd
Wright per Isabel Roberts, with the signature of Frank Baron on the reverse; the report is not signed
.9g payments certificate 6: same as above,
except includes debits and credits through April 17, 1907;
the form is
signed by Wright and by Baron;
the reverse side
includes specific payments made for timber, plastering, the mason, and labor;
the form is
filled out by hand [the others were typed]
[photos of the Nichols house found on the internet
are also in the folder]