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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:
-
1978-1984
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
0.5 Cubic feet1 box
- Repository:
Collection documents Robins' work as a graphic and industrial designer for the Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The collection documents Robins' work as a graphic and industrial designer and includes project catalogs for Mohawk Paper Mills and Neenah Paper, a division of Kimberly-Clark. The materials are arranged in chronological order.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Seymour (Rabinowitz) Robins, a graphic and industrial designer, was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on June 5, 1913, to David Rabinowitz (September 28, 1883 - June 27, 1950) and Dora Pellman (December 24,1885 - September 1976). He lived most of his life in New York City where he had a design practice. Although locking together slotted pieces of paper had been done for many years, in the two decades that Robins designed these shapes that became forms when opened, he developed them into a unique art form. He did successful design work for AT&T, Incorporated; Diamond International, Corporation; Genesco, Incorporated; Mohawk Paper Mills; Neenah Paper; Creative Playthings; and other major American companies. In addition, he did work for cultural institutions including the complex and precise Armillary Sphere for the Smithsonian Institution and paper sculptures for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 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 had forced graphic arts suppliers into innovative improvements that have raised the level of die-makers' and the die-cutters' crafts. Robins work appeared regularly in international design journals. He moved to Sheffield, Massachusetts where he converted a barn into a studio and home. Seymour (Rabinowitz) Robins died of natural causes on April 10, 2011, in Lenox, Berkshire County, Massachusetts at the age of ninety-seven.
Administration
Author
Vanessa Broussard Simmons and NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
All materials were donated by Mr. Robins in 1992 to the Cooper Hewitt Museum. and transferred to the Archives Center in 2012.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, 2024.
Custodial History
Collection transferred from the Cooper Hewitt Museum to the Archives Center in 2012.
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, 1978-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Related Materials
Related Materials
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Paper Products, NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01
Landor Design Collection, NMAH.AC.0500
Francis M. Mair Papers, NMAH.AC.0548
Freda Diamond Collection, NMAH.AC.0616
Procter & Gamble Company Product Packaging Collection, NMAH.AC.0836
Aladdin Industries, Incorporated Records, NMAH.AC.0844
Lockwood Greene Records, NMAH.AC.1113
Alfons Bach Papers, NMAH.AC.1272
Saul Nesbitt Papers, NMAH.AC.1275
Lester Beall Collection, NMAH.AC.1278
Benjamin H. Stansbury Papers, NMAH.AC.1350
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
William E. L. Bunn Papers, 1AAA.bunnwill
Richard E. Filipowski Papers, AAA.filirich
Antonin Heythum Papers, AAA.heytanto
Paul Hollister Papers, AAA.hollpaul
Dorothy Liebes Papers, AAA.liebdoro
Viktor Schreckengost Papers, AAA.schrvikt
Charles Sheeler Papers, AAA.sheechar
John Vassos Papers, 1898-1985, AAA.vassjohn
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Exhibitions, Exhibition Records, SIA.FA10-061
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Department of Applied Arts and Industrial Design, Records, SIA.FA95-170
Floyd Alonzo McClure Papers, Accession T90028
Smithsonian Libraries
Henry Dreyfuss Collection, SIL-CH.1972-88-332-4
Belle Kogan, SIL-CH.XXXX-0003
Keywords
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
