Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the John Nicholson Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1279
Creators:
Nicholson, John, 1916-
Dates:
1946 - 1947
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.3 Cubic feet
1 box
Repository:
Container:
1

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
These photographs document Nicholson's work for Lord & Taylor Company from 1946-1947. Nicholson created 100 window displays for the department store and only 25 are in this collection. The collection does not include any supporting documentation for these photographs.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection consists exclusively of 25 8 x 10 inch black-and-white photographs.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Window designer and restaurateur, John Nicholson, born in St. Louis, Mo. in 1916. The only son of Romanian immigrants, Johnny Bulica changed his name to John Nicholson in the 1920s to lose the Old World connection.
Mr. Nicholson received some practical design experience while working for the St. Louis department store, Stix, Baer & Fuller before coming to New York City in the early 1940s. Mr. Nicholson worked for two years with Lord & Taylor as a display and window designer before opening Cafe Nicholson--a restaurant that he has managed for nearly 50 years and which closed in 1999.

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Work and Industry in 2012.
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Photographs were donated to the museum by John Nicholson in 2000.
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.
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
John Nicholson Papers, 1946-1947, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Related Archival Materials
Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Gene Moore, Tiffany & Company Photographs (NMAH.AC.1280)
Michael Cipirano Papers (NMAH.AC.1274)
Materials at the Smithsonian Libraries
Donald Deskey collection (SIL-CH.1975-11-77)
Related Archival Materials
The Museum of Modern Art has an artist file on Mr. Nicholson containing miscellaneous uncatalogued materials.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Show-windows Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Show windows -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Window dressers -- United States Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cafe Nicholson (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lord & Taylor Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nicholson, John, 1916- Personal 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