Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973, bulk 1922-1970

The primary focus of this series is Liebes's corporate clients, but it also includes subject files on artists, art and craft organizations, individuals with whom Liebes worked, travel records, files on promotions and publicity, records of orders and other Liebes studio business, and topics of interest to Liebes such as weavers and weaving. Files may contain correspondence, memoranda, reports, notes, printed material, photographs, textile samples, and miscellaneous records in various combinations.

Eight folders of artist files consist of correspondence with various artists whose work interested Liebes and/or who worked with her in the 1940s. They include Maxine Albro, Julie Brix, Kathryn Uhl Ball, Hiler Hilaire, Jean Hogue, Bob Lee, Bernyce Polifka, Rosamund Stricker Day, Jean Swiggett, and others. Artists files were originally arranged loosely by geographical region, but as many artists appeared in more than one file, the files were consolidated and arranged alphabetically by artist name. Additionally, seven folders, primarily of correspondence, document Liebes's interest in the work of Finnish weaver Martta Taipale, whose work Liebes actively promoted to her clients and colleagues.

Records relating to the Arts and Skills workshops organized by the American Red Cross document Liebes's involvement in the inception of the Arts and Skills section and her tenure as the section's director. Also found are records documenting Liebes's involvement in arts associations such as the American Crafts Council.

Two files for Albert Azukas relate to the running of Liebes's studio by Azukas and include a 1952 certificate of incorporation for Dorothy Liebes Textiles, Inc. Further records related to Liebes's studio and studio personnel are filed under Studio Business.

This series provides a thorough record of Liebes's work for various manufacturing companies in the synthetic fiber and fabric industry. It documents the extent to which Liebes utilized her multiple industry contracts to influence the development of an extensive range of innovative artificial fibers, and use them in designs that had, by the 1950s, become known as "the Liebes Look." Substantially represented is Liebes's sixteen-year relationship with DuPont, her largest client. Circa two linear feet of records trace her growing influence at DuPont through correspondence, and records of the annual marketing events that Liebes attended while promoting and re-shaping DuPont's brand. Other manufacturing companies represented in this series include Dobeckmun Company (later Dow Chemical), the first company to make modern metallic threads and the metallic yarn Lurex, rug and carpet manufacturers Bigelow-Sanford and Edward Fields, blanket manufacturers Kenwood Mills, Goodall Fabrics, Jantzen Mills, Spring Mills, and others.

Eight folders document Liebes's work as Director of Decorative Arts for the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco, including correspondence, photographs, and floor plans. There is also a small amount of documentation of Liebes exhibitions of her work including a 1970 retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, and exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Modern Art.

Files on promotions and publicity were often marked "promotions," "publicity," or "press" and filed chronologically. They document a wide variety of promotional activities that Liebes was involved in, and which represented a significant amount of the work she conducted for companies like DuPont. Files include invitations to speak at or participate in events such as exhibitions, juries for contests, and design markets, and document related logistics including arrangements for exhibitions and plans for social events. They include records relating to the National Home Fashions League, Western Merchandise Mart, and the National Association of Furniture Manufacturers. Also found in these files are records relating to press about Liebes in newspapers, magazines, and company promotional material, such as request from magazines to do feature articles on Liebes, and her responses.

Subject files on Relman Morin include his correspondence with Liebes from before they were married, through the 1960s. Topics he wrote about to Liebes include his experiences covering the Adolf Eichmann trial and President Johnson's trip to Bangkok in 1961. Also found here are some of Morin's Associated Press dispatches and writings, and a 1948 "psycho-graphic analysis" of Morin.

Eight folders relating to weavers and weaving include mounted illustrations and photographs depicting the process of weaving in different countries and time periods. Most are accompanied by descriptive text and may have been used in lectures and/or publications.

Subject files are arranged alphabetically by folder title based on Liebes's original arrangement, and using some of Liebes's original folder titles. Some of the records related to promotions and publicity were originally arranged as chronological correspondence.

The bulk of this series has been digitized. Material not digitized includes duplicates, and some printed material for which only relevant pages have been digitized. Some of the fiber and fabric samples in DuPont January and June market files could not be digitized due to format and condition.