Guide to the Saul Nesbitt Papers

Scope and Contents

Collection primarily documents the design work of Nesbitt and his company, Nesbitt Associates, Ltd., for consumer and a small number of commercial products representing major American companies from 1951-1984. There are materials containing biographical and background information relating to both Nesbitt and Nesbitt Associates, Ltd. A substantial amount of the material was created by Nesbitt Associates, Ltd.'s office of public relations documenting its research and communications to the press. General office correspondence can also be found among the materials. In addition, photographic materials including prints, negatives, and transparencies of design work is included. Three dimensional objects consisting of sample presentation boxes and a prototype for a design award can be found among the paper materials. The collection is arranged in six series including: series 1, biographical and background information, 1951-1984; series 2, design files; series 3, correspondence, 1954-1963; series 4, records of the public relations office, 1955-1963; series 5, photographic materials, 1951-1981, undated; and series 6, samples, undated.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series:

Series 1: Biographical and Background Information, 1951-1961, undated

Series 2: Design Files, 1948-1976, undated

Series 3: Correspondence, 1954-1963

Series 4: Records of the Public Relations Office, 1955-1963, undated

Series 5: Photographic Materials, 1951-1981, undated

Series 6: Samples, undated

Biographical

Saul Murry [Nussbaum] Nesbitt (August 10, 1920 - August 11, 1993) a packaging, industrial, and graphic designer, was born to Max Nussbaum (May 24, 1895 - August 3, 1941) and Gussie Moskowitz (May 1, 1897 - January 1970) in New York City. He was a student of sculptor Chaim Gross and studied art at many New York institutions including Art Students League, New York University (NYU), Columbia University, Pratt Institute of Art, and the New School.

Nesbitt served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945 where he worked as a cartographer and as the head of the visual aid section in a military intelligence training center. In 1945, he joined the staff of Harper's Bazaar magazine where he was an illustrator assisting art director Alexey Brodovich. In 1946, Nesbitt was hired by the industrial design studio of Raymond Loewy as a hand letterer and packaging designer. Also, that year he married Esta Feuerman (November 18, 1918-November 26, 1975) and to the union three children were born.

Saul Nesbitt worked with Lippincott Industrial Design from 1948 to 1951. He opened his own design studio, Nesbitt Associates, Ltd. in 1951. The firm specialized in package design, trademarks, and corporate identities. Some of his most recognizable designs were for the label for Campbell's Soup and the Florists' Telegraph Delivery (F. T. D.) Winged Mercury 'Interflora' figure, still used today. Nesbitt's other clients included: Franco American; Revlon; Ballantine Beer; Borden; Champion spark plugs; Kodak; Phillip Morris cigarettes; Schick razors; and Archway cookies. In addition, Nesbitt developed the "Karry Kit" for Ballantine Beer which came to be widely used and known as the six pack.

Nesbitt was known for his revealing studies and surveys of the buying needs and preferences of the "average American housewife" and consumers in general. His opinions on what he referred to as "underpackaging" were widely publicized in professional magazines and journals. In 1984, Nesbitt retired from the design field and went to California to resume his career as a sculptor until his death in 1993 at the age of seventy-three.

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