Smithsonian Libraries

Therese Bonney photographs, 1925-1937

Summary

Collection ID:
SIL-CH.2000-42-1
Creators:
Bonney, M. Thérèse (Mabel Thérèse), 1894-1978
Dates:
1925-1937
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
4,300 Photographs
black and white
Repository:
This collection contains4,300 black and white photographs that document architecture and design in Paris from 1925-1937.These silver-gelatin prints, mostly 8 x 10, depicting French industrial art objects, interior settings, and window displays were amassed by Bonney who lived most of her life in Paris. Many of the photographs were done by Bonney. She collected others from news agencies, photographers, and stock photograph vendors. Many of the photographs are accompanied by captions composed in a conversational manner by Bonney.

Arrangement note

Arrangement note
Photographs are arranged by subject. Each box is labeled as to contents.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Photojouralist. Born Syracuse, New York, 1897. She studied at the University of California at Berkeley and Radcliffe College in the 1910s. Bonney immigrated to France in 1919 where she became on of the first ten women to graduate from the Sorbonne. She founded the first American illustrated press service in Europe, the Bonney Service, in 1924.
By the late 1930s, Bonney became discouraged by the poor quality of the work of the photographers she employed, and decided to learn the art of photography herself. The subjects of her photographs ranged from individual objects to interior settings to window displays to major building complexes and focused on the impact of modernism on European design.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Bonney organized a number of exhibitions and collaborated with her sister, Louise Bonney, on a series of guide books, including "Buying Antique and Modern Furniture in Paris". With the coming of World War II, Bonney took to documenting civilian life in Europe. She published two photo-essay books, "War comes to the People" (1940) and "Europe's Children" (1943). Her concept for a film about children displaced by war, became an Academy Award winning movie, "The Search" (1948). The museum's collection of photographs was the subject of Cooper-Hewitt's 1985 exhibition, "Paris Recorded: The Therese Bonney Collection."

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition note
This collection was given to Cooper-Hewitt, then the Cooper Union Museum, in 1939 by the Bonney family.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Unrestricted research use onsite by appointment. Permission of staff required to photograph materials.

More Information

Location of Other Archival Materials Note

Location of Other Archival Materials Note
New York Public Library, Rare Books and Manuscripts Section. Photographs of views of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and New York. The bulk of the photographs are of French landscapes, architecture, costume, and everyday life.
Location of Other Archival Materials Note
University of California at Berkeley, The Bancroft Library. Scrapbooks, clippings, testimonials and other materials relating to Bonney's photographic work, circa 1919-1977.
Location of Other Archival Materials Note
Radcliffe College, Schlesinger Library. Biographical material, correspondence, photographs, and information about the Women's Land Army and the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, dating from 1931-1964.
Location of Other Archival Materials Note
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.Assorted photographs of Bonney, many documenting important events in her life.

Other Finding Aids note

Other Finding Aids note
Guide to collection available.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Black-and-white photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographers -- France -- Paris Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Architectural photography -- France -- Paris Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Furniture -- France -- Paris Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Furniture -- Pictorial works Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interior decoration -- France -- Paris Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interior decoration -- Pictorial works Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Show windows -- Pictorial works Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photography -- Archives Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photography -- France -- Paris Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bonney, M. Thérèse (Mabel Thérèse), 1894-1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bonney Service Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Smithsonian Libraries
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