Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Seymour Robins collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1270
Creators:
Robins, Seymour, 1913-2011
Dates:
1962 - 1992
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.5 Cubic feet
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Materials consist of project catalogs for Mohawk Paper Mills and Neenah Paper, a division of Kimberly-Clark. The collection documents Robins' work as a graphic and industrial designer.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Seymour Robins is a graphic and industrial designer. Born in Canada, he has lived most of his life in New York City and had his design practice there. Although locking together slotted pieces of paper has been done for many years, in the two decades that Robins has been designing these shapes that become forms when opened, he has developed them into a unique art form in itself. Robins' interlocking paper sculptures have been called "magic". He has had successful design assignments for AT&T, Diamond International Corporation, Genesco, Mohawk Paper Mills, Neenah Paper, Creative Playthings, and a host of other names in American industry. Robins designed the complex and precise Armillary Sphere for the Smithsonian, and has done paper sculptures for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Whitney Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Philadelphia Museum, and others. Over the years his demands and guidance for perfection in production have forced graphic arts suppliers into innovative improvements that have raised the level of die-makers' and the die-cutters' crafts. His work appears regularly in international design journals and is in the permanent collection at the Cooper-Hewitt Archives. He now lives and works in Sheffield, Massachusetts, in a barn he has converted into a studio and home.

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
All materials were donated by Mr. Robins in 1992. Transferred to the Archives Center in 2012.
Processing Information
Collection is unprocessed.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Preferred Citation
Seymour Robins Papers, 1962-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Industrial designers -- United States Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Design, Industrial -- Sources -- History -- 20th century -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Graphic arts -- Sources -- History -- 20th century -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Trade catalogs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Whitney Museum of American Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Institution Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kimberly-Clark Corporation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Genesco, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Creative playthings, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mohawk Paper Mills (Cohoes, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Neenah Paper (Firm) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
AT & T (Firm) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Diamond International Corporation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Philadelphia Museum of Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
archivescenter@si.edu