Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Michael Cipriano Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1274
Creators:
Cipriano, Michael, 1960-1993
Dates:
1979-1993, undated
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.6 Cubic feet
4 boxes
Repository:
Collection documents the work of display and window designer Michael Cipriano for Connecticut and New York stores including sketches, business records, correspondence, and photographic materials.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection documents Cipriano's short professional career as a table setter and window designer for retailers in Connecticut and New York City. It consists of business records, correspondence, photographs, and colored pencil sketches for Barney's Christmas windows dating from 1988-1989. In addition, there are approximately five hundred color 35mm slides documenting window displays for Macy's Incorporated, Bloomingdale's Incorporated, Bergdorf Goodman Incorporated, and Barneys New York. The collection covers the full range of Cipriano's design career from 1983 to 1993.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series:
Series 1: Photographic Materials, 1979-1991, undated
Series 2: Client Files, 1982-1993, undated

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Michael Louis Cipriano (August 10, 1960-October 8, 1993) was born in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut to Michael Cipriano (1940-) and Evelyn M. Piperas (1941-2013). He studied fine art and art history at the University of Connecticut. His professional interests included costume, set, and theater design of the Art Deco, Art Moderne, and Art Nouveau styles. Prior to 1983, he did freelance displays for small shops in Connecticut. Cipriano began his professional career as a display trimmer for Macy's department store in New York in 1983. He designed for Bloomingdale's Incorporated from 1984-85, and for Bergdorf Goodman Incorporated Home Department from 1985 to 1986. Cipriano died of complications from AIDS in 1993 in New York City at the age of thirty-three.

Administration

Author
Vanessa Broussard-Simmons
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
This collection was donated in 1993 by D. Thomas Shoemaker.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, archivist, 2023. Finding aid encoded by Audrey Willius, intern, 2023.
Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in 2012.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on 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
Michael Cipriano Papers, 1979-1993, undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
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.

Related Materials
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Hills Bros. Coffee Company, Incorporated Records, NMAH.AC.0395
Estelle Ellis Papers, NMAH.AC.0423
Beverly Partridge Shopping Bag Collection, NMAH.AC.0493
Edward J. Orth Memorial Archives of the New York World's Fair, NMAH.AC.0560
Archives Center Shopping Bag Collection, NMAH.AC.0570
Dorothy Shaver Papers, NMAH.AC.0631
Landy R. Hales Papers, NMAH.AC.0906
Gene Moore, Tiffany & Company Photographs, NMAH.AC.1280
William L. Bird Holidays on Display Collection, NMAH.AC.1288

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Advertising cards Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bride's (Magazine) Title Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chelsea Passage Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color prints (photographs) -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color slides Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color xerographic copies Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Display of merchandise -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Invoices Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Obituaries Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Purchase orders Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Proposals Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Receipts Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Show windows Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Swatches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Table setting and decoration Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Window display designers Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bloomingdale's (Firm) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Etoile (Store) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kosta Boda (Firm) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bergdorf Goodman (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Puiforcat (Firm) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ercole (Store) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Macy, R.H., & Co., New York Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Barneys New York 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