The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware  19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Martin, Mervin B., 1932-2009                                               

Title:               Mervin Martin papers

Dates:             circa 1969-circa 1990

Call No.:         Col. 917

Acc. No.:        13x71

Quantity:        15 boxes, 1 oversize folder

Location:        8 F 3-4, map case 3, drawer 3

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Mervin B. Martin was a furniture conservator and furniture maker.  He was born in 1932, the son of William E. and Barbara K. Brubacker Martin.  William E. Martin was a cabinetmaker and taught his son the art.  Martin then worked at the New Holland Architectural Mill doing fine woodworking.  After some years there, he was hired by Winterthur Museum as a cabinetmaker.  During his eleven years at Winterthur, he rose to the position of furniture conservator.  In 1979, Martin went into private practice as a furniture conservator, Furniture Conservation Associates, working in Downingtown, Coatesville, and Ephrata, Pennsylvania.  Among his clients were the White House, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Iolani Palace (Honolulu), and numerous private collectors. 

 

Martin was a fellow of the American Institute for Conservation and an associate of the International Institute for Conservation.  He gave lectures at various museums and universities and taught at the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation.   Mervin Martin died in 2009, survived by his wife Joy.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

A large part of the collection is comprised of photographs and slides of furniture conserved by Mervin Martin, chiefly in his private practice, although some of the photos are of furniture owned by Winterthur Museum.  Regretfully, there are very few treatment reports.  Also found are unlabeled photographs, probably of furniture treated by Martin, and photographs of him performing conservation treatments and working with the tools in the Dominy Shops in the Winterthur Museum gallery building.  As well, Martin took out two patents, and some of the papers document his efforts to find someone to manufacture and sell those inventions.  There is some correspondence, a few furniture templates, copies of a paper written by Martin, information about talks he gave, etc.

           

 

ORGANIZATION

 

The treatment papers are arranged alphabetically by name of client, but with Winterthur files at the end of the sequence.  Slides and unlabeled photographs are at the end of the collection.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

 

Gift of Joy Martin, widow of Mervin Martin.

           

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

Topics:

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum. 

Furniture – Repairing.

Patents – United States.

 

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 8 F 3-4, map case 3, drawer 3

 

 

Box 1:

 

Folder 1:          Black and Decker: correspondence, 1980

 

Folder 2:          Drawing ideas

 

Folder 3:          Fairbanks, Jonathan: sculpture by father

 

Folder 4:          Forman, Benno

 

Folder 5:          Furniture care

 

Folder 6:          Harvey, Andre: catalogs of scultpure

 

Folder 7:          Janvier tall case clock: photographs and drawings

 

Folder 8:          Martin, Mervin: articles

 

Folders 9-11:   Martin, Mervin: correspondence, 1969-1980s and undated

 

Folder 12:        Martin, Mervin: furniture and other pieces made by him

 

Folder 13:        Martin, Mervin: lecture in Oxford, England, 1978

 

 

Box 2:

 

Folder 1:          Martin, Mervin: obituary, newspaper clippings, AIC certificate, tributes

 

Folder 2:          Martin, Mervin: photographs

 

Folders 3-4:     Martin, Mervin: photos of him working in Dominy Shop

[these were transferred from Furniture Conservation Lab by Mark Anderson, July 2013; not part of original gift]

 

Folder 5:          Martin, Mervin: stationery

 

Folder 6:          Martin, Mervin: talks, workshops, classes

 

Folder 7:          Patent: Abrasive Sheet Measuring and Cutting Board

                        [see also box 4]

 

Folder 8:          Patent: Abrasive Sheet Measuring and Cutting Board: photos and negatives

 

Folder 9:          Patent: Cane weaver

 

 

Box 3:

 

Folder 1:          Patents: general information

 

Folder 2:          Petroll, Walter O.

 

Folder 3:          Reisman, Shelley: Fayum portraits

 

Folder 4:          University of Pennsylvania: University Museum: lyre

 

Folder 5:          Winterthur Museum and Mervin Martin

 

 

Box 4: (legal size files)

 

Folder 1:          Ford, Mrs. Edsel, II

 

Folder 2:          Patent: Abrasive Sheet Measuring and Cutting Board

 

Folder 3:          Patent: Abrasive Sheet Measuring and Cutting Board: sample sandpaper

 

Folder 4:          Templates

 

 

Box 5: Treatments: photographs, negatives, reports

 

Folder 1:          Alandt, Paul D.

 

Folder 2:          American Philosophical Society

 

Folder 3:          Barrett, Richard W.

 

Folder 4:          Bendiner, Mrs. Alfred

 

Folder 5:          Biggs, Sewell

 

Folder 6:          Bissell, Mrs.

 

Folder 7:          Brohard, M. L.

 

Folder 8:          Carnegie Institute

[see also slides]

 

Folder 9:          Carpenter, Mrs. Donald

 

Folder 10:        Christ Church (Wilmington, Del.)

[see also slides]

 

Folder 11:        Cigna Corporation

 

Folder 12:        Copeland, Mrs. Pamela

[see also slides]

 

Folder 13:        Croce, Carlo: panel paintings, Drexel University

 

Folder 14:        Croughan, Jack L.

 

Folders 15-17: Detroit Institute of Arts

                        [see also slides]          

 

Folder 18:        Dietrich Brothers Americana Corporation (Richard Dietrich)

 

Folder 19:        Drexel University: furniture survey

 

Folder 20:        Fisher, Mrs.

 

Folder 21:        Ford House (Edsel and Eleanor Ford House)

 

Folder 22:        frames (various owners)

 

Folder 23:        Fulton, A. A.

 

Folder 24:        Gilbride, Joanna

 

Folder 25:        Godfrey, Dudley

                        [see also slides]

 

 

Box 6: Treatments: photographs, negatives, reports

 

Folder 1:          Goldburg, Mrs.          

 

Folder 2:          Hargraves, Gordon

 

Folder 3:          Harris, Henry

 

Folder 4:          Herdeg, John Andrew

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 5:          Hild and Bell: portrait of Benjamin Lay

 

Folder 6:          Hill, Louis

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 7:          Historical Society of Pennsylvania

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 8:          Holden, Mr.

 

Folder 9:          Holden, Elaine

 

Folder 10:        Hope Lodge

 

Folder 11:        Hyde, Mary

 

Folder 12:        Iolani Palace

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 13:        Jenkins, Irwin [probably same person as Ervin - see slides]

 

Folder 14:        Johnson, Jane

 

Folder 15:        Johnson, Mrs. Victor

 

Folder 16:        Kamil, Neil

 

Folder 17:        King, Reuben

 

Folder 18:        Layton, Mrs. Rodney

 

Folder 19:        Lloyd, Mrs. H.

 

Folder 20:        Lloyd, John

 

Folder 21:        Mallinckrodt(?), Anne

 

Folder 22:        Mauna Kea Hotel

 

Folder 23:        McCallister, Larry

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 24:        McNeil, Colin

 

Folder 25:        McNeil, Henry

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 26:        McNeil, Mrs. Henry

 

Folder 27:        McNeil, Lois

 

 

Box 7: Treatments: photographs, negatives, reports

 

Folder 1:          McNeil, Louis

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 2:          McNeil, Nancy

 

Folder 3:          McNeil, Robert

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 4:          Morris, Mrs. Samuel

 

Folder 5:          Morrison, Ann

 

Folder 6:          Nelson Gallery of Art

 

Folder 7:          Newton

 

Folder 8:          Philadelphia Museum of Art

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 9:          Physick House (Cape May, N.J.)

 

Folder 10:        Porterfield, John

 

Folder 11:        Pulitzer, Joseph, Jr.

 

Folder 12:        Reading, Charles

 

Folder 13:        Roehrs, Mrs.

 

Folder 14:        Ross, Lynn

                        [see also slides]

 

Folders 15-16: St. Louis Art Museum [continues in next box]

                        [see also slides]

 

 

Box 8: Treatments: photographs, negatives, reports

 

Folders 1-2:     St. Louis Art Museum [continued from previous box]

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 3:          Schorsch, Irwin

                        [see also slides]

 

Folder 4:          Scott, Mrs. R. M.

 

Folder 5:          Schwartzbaum(?), Paul

 

Folder 6:          Seaks, Terry G.

 

Folder 7:          Shale, David

 

Folder 8:          Stolker, Leah

 

Folder 9:          Stone, Ed.

 

Folder 10:        Stone, Mrs. Stanley

 

Folder 11:        Storey, Frances

 

Folder 12:        Stuart, Robert

 

Folder 13:        student projects (Ruth Norton)

                        [see also slides, under name of Norton]

 

Folder 14:        Ulster County

 

 

Box 9: Treatments: photographs, negatives, reports

 

Folder 1:          Valley Forge State Park

 

Folder 2:          Walker, Mrs. James

 

Folder 3:          Weymouth, Ann

 

Folder 4:          White House, Washington, D.C.

 

Folder 5:          Williams

 

Folder 6:          Williams, Phil

 

Folder 7:          Wyck house

 

Folders 8-11:   Winterthur Museum, by accession number, 1952-1959

 

 

 

Box 10: Treatments and photographs

 

Folders 1-4:     Winterthur Museum, by accession number, 1960-1977 and unnumbered items

 

Folder 5:          Treatments: slides: Sheppard-Wyck

                        [note: see slide boxes for additional treatment slides]

 

Folder 6:          Photos and negatives: probably Winterthur objects

 

Folder 7:          Photographs: strips of contact prints 

 

Folder 8:          Negatives

 

 

Box 11: photographs: unlabeled

 

Box 12: photographs: mostly unlabeled

 

Box 13: slides:

            Mervin Martin,

            Unlabeled conservation,

            Winterthur table (acc. 1960.1055),

            Treatments, Brown, Carnegie Institute, Christ Church

 

Box 14: slides: treatments, Co-McC

            Copeland, Mrs. H. Damon, Detroit Institute of Art, Dudley, J.W. Henderson, Herdeg, Hill, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Iolani Palace, E. Jenkins, Leisenring, McCallister

 

Box 15: slides: treatments, H. McNeil-Schorsch [Note: treatment slides for Sh-W are found in Box 10]

            H. McNeil, L. McNeil, R. McNeil, Norton, Philadelphia Museum of Art, R. Raley, R. Realey [Raley and Realey are probably the same person], J. Reese, R. Rokers, L. Ross, St. Louis Art Museum, I. Schorsch

 

            [Note: the end of the treatment slides are found in Box 10]

 

 

Oversize folder:

 

Drawing: Connecticut tea table: outline of top

Two unlabeled drawings of details of furniture