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: 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