Arthur J. Pulos papers, 1935-[ca. 1980s], (bulk 1947-1960)
Pulos, Arthur J.,
b. 1917
d. 1997
Educator, Industrial designer, Silversmith, Historian
Syracuse, N.Y.
Collection size: 61.3 linear feet
Collection Summary: Correspondence, notes, sketches and renderings, exhibition and subject files, teaching files, financial records and clippings document Pulos' career and involvement in industrial design and crafts organizations.
Included are: resumes; general correspondence with craftsmen, curators, and clients; typescripts of talks and lectures on industrial design, crafts, art education; notes on contemporary silversmiths and from reading and confrences; notebooks kept as a student, on color theory, clay content and glazes, and jewelry design; sketches and renderings of enamel designs, church decoration and ornaments, serving vessels, flatware, Christmas cards and custom made pieces such as lamps and tables; exhibition files containing correspondence and lists of works; and subject files containing correspondence, notes and printed materials concerning the American Craftsmen's Council, Creative Buildings (a firm for whom Pulos did commissioned work), Fulbright award applications, enamels and enameling, Konzo, Carroll and Bareither (regarding an invention by Pulos), Midwest Designer-Craftsmen Society, Syracuse University, and the University of Illinois (teaching materials and materials on the annual Contemporary American Craftsmen Exhibition, 1951-1955).
Other materials include ledgers and an account book listing commissions and related expenses; check stubs; a list of clients for Pulos Design Associates; clippings; exhibition catalogs; reference materials on other craftsmen; issues of the Cross Country Craftsmen, 1950-1963; records of the Syracuse University Industrial Design Department, 1955-1982, including teaching and administrative records, photographs, chiefly of students' work, and records of collaboration with various industries and other design departments; material relating to American Design Ethic, including card files, paste-ups, manuscript, typescript, bibliography, reference materials, photographs, prints and proofs; letters relating to the book, Opportunities in Industrial Design, and a copy of the 1976 revision; and 14 ft. of material pertaining to Pulos's The American Design Adventure, 1940-1975 (1988), consisting of research files and drafts. Also included oversize printed material and renderings for covered caudle cup.
ADDITION: Biographical information; correspondence; writings and notes done as a student; Pulos' M.A. Thesis, University of Oregon, 1942; teaching outlines and notes from the University of Illinois, ca. 1946-55; photographs, slides, correspondence and other material relating to Pulos' silver work; a measured drawing of a colonial American silver object; notes, drafts, and research material for lectures and writings, ca. 1950-1990s. The bulk of the addition pertains to his years as head of industrial design at Syracuse University and his professional writings and affiliations relating to industrial design.
Biographical/Historical Note: Silversmith, industrial designer, educator, author, Syracuse, N.Y. Born 1917. Died Jan. 15, 1997. Taught design for several years at the University of Illinois and at Syracuse University where he also chaired the Dept. of Industrial Design. Founded and managed Pulos Design Associates. Involved in many crafts and industrial design organizations and author of several books.
Donated by Arthur J. Pulos, 1983-1994 and in 1997 by Pulos' widow Elizabeth and their three children.
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Also in the Archives
- Oral history interview with Arthur J. Pulos, 1980 July 31-1982 Dec. 5
- Image Gallery items from other collections related to Pulos, Arthur J.
