Samuel Yellin Annotated Bibliography
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Samuel Yellin Annotated Bibliography Andrews, Jack. Samuel Yellin, Metalworker. Philadelphia: Samuel Yellin Foundation, 1982(?). This essay is a reprinting of “The Anvil’s Ring”, and a detailed account of Yellin’s life and work. The author notes that much of Yellin’s life is sparsely documented, except for Yellin’s record keeping at the Arch Street shop in Philadelphia, which contained business records, correspondence, drawings for each project, and photographs of the work (sometimes before and after it left the shop). Reproduced in the publication are letters of recommendation from Cass Gilbert and Philip Sawyer; quotes from Yellin, his associates, and metalworkers in his employ; correspondences; and a resume. The essay contains photographs of work pertaining to: the J. B. Van Sciver Company; the Edgar J. Kaufman residence in Pittsburgh; The Cloisters; the W. K. Vanderbilt residence in Northport, Long Island; the Union Central Annex Building in Cincinnati, Ohio; the B. G. Work residence in Oyster Bay, Long Island; the University of Pittsburgh; the Princeton Chapel in Princeton, New Jersey; the Baltimore Trust Company in Baltimore, Maryland; Saint Mary’s Church in Detroit; Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania; the J. P. Morgan residence; the Kenly Memorial; the Hardware Mutual Fire Insurance Building in Stevens Point, Wisconsin; the Jay F. Carlisle residence; the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; the Packard Building in Philadelphia; the Curtis Institute of Music; the Edsel Ford residence in Grosse Point, Michigan; the McKinlock Memorial at Northwestern University in Chicago; the Sterling Memorial Library in New Haven, Connecticut; the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California; the Seattle Art Museum; the Children’s Chapel at the Washington Cathedral; and others. Barquist, D.A. “Samuel Yellin.” The Magazine Antiques Vol. 180 (March 1, 2013) 100. This short article contains details of Samuel Yellin’s life and career. It is said in this piece that a commission from J.P. Morgan helped to launch Yellin’s career, and that by 1920, Yellin maintained a sizeable workforce of about 200 to assist in the production. Also of note, the article records that between 1920-1930, Yellin executed over 1200 commissions, one of them being the 200 tons of decorative ironwork for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which was the largest single commission for wrought iron by any American craftsman. Interestingly, Yellin maintained a collection of historical ironwork for his workmen to study, of which 51 pieces were purchased by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1931. Despite being known for revering adherence to tradition with his craft, Yellin also worked in modern materials such as aluminum and Monel metal. Delphia, Rachel. “Samuel Yellin: Pittsburgh Patronage for Pennsylvania’s Master Metalworker.” The Magazine Antiques Vol. 178, Issue 5 (September, 2011) 68-69. This article includes basic details of Yellin’s life and of particular interest, cites the locations of the three shops he operated during his career in Philadelphia between 1909 and his death in 1940. This author focuses on two recent acquisitions by the Carnegie Museum of Art: a wrought iron fire screen made for Pennsylvania-based steel manufacturer, George Matheson Jr., in 1925; and aluminum grille design drawings (with sample prototype) for the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in the early 1930s (formerly the Aluminum Company of America). Substantial details and images are given for both works. Magonigle, Harold Van Buren. “Harold Van Buren Magnonigle Architectural Drawings and Papers, circa 1894-1944,” Avery Drawings and Archives, Columbia University, New York. This archive includes: sketchbooks, 1895-1903; sketches, 1894-1896, made while Magonigle was travelling in Europe on Rotch Travelling Scholarship; graphic designs, 1902-1919; rendered competition drawings for government buildings, circa 1907-1920, and memorial structures, circa 1910-1930; photographs of Magonigle's architectural drawings, memorial structures, monuments, and other architectural work, much of it located in New York City, circa 1900s-1930s. Among projects represented in the collection are the Gates Avenue Courthouse, Brooklyn, N.Y.; the Firemen's Memorial, the Robert Fulller Memorial, and the National Watergate Memorial in New York City's Riverside Park; the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo.; the Isaac Guggenheim house in Port Washington, N.Y.; numerous additions and alterations for the Franklin Murphy mansion in Mendham, N.J.; and the United States Embassy compound in Tokyo, Japan. Also, drawings by other architects including Hugh Ferriss, Thomas Rogers Kimball, Hubert George Ripley, and I.W. Taber, that were presented to Magonigle. Also included are drawings, circa 1910s-1940s, by Magonigle's wife, painter and designer Edith Marion Day; photographs of Day and Magonigle; manuscripts of lectures, literary works, and other writings by Magonigle; and ephemera. Various projects with which Samuel Yellin was associated, including the alteration of the residence of Mr. Edward W. Bok at Mountain Lake, Florida, and the residence for Mr. Isaac Guggenheim, Port Washington, Long Island, bear reference to his contribution. Samuel Yellin Collection. Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. This massive archive has 1993 holdings in reference to Samuel Yellin. Spraker, Jean E. and Dennis Gimmestad. “Samuel Yellin, Metalworker.” Minnesota History Vol. 50, No. 3 (Fall, 1986) 118-126. This article is essentially a review of an exhibition entitled “Samuel Yellin, Metalworker,” which was on display at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul through December of 1986. The exhibition was circulated by the National Building Museum of Washington, D.C., and included wrought-iron work, shop drawings, and blacksmithing tools associated with the Samuel Yellin Philadelphia forge established in 1909. The article includes a broad inventory of the collection on display for the exhibition. In addition, the author details of some notable commissions for residential, ecclesiastical, and commercial Minnesota projects. The article contains photographs of: Yellin at work in 1920; smiths in Yellin’s workshop in the 1920s; a conservatory gate for the Pillsbury residence at Lake Minnetonka; shop drawings for fireplace tools ordered by Minneapolis residents Ella and George Dayton in 1923; a shop drawing of an acanthus bracket for the Quinlan home in Minneapolis; shutter pins from the Shepard family residence; the gate and hardware from the Watkins house in Winona; and the main reception gates at the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis. Tachau, Hanna. “An Awakening Appreciation of Wrought Iron in America: The Work of Mr. Samuel Yellin.” The Art World Vol. 3, No.5 (Feb., 1918) 440-442. The author writes of a trend for the appreciation of traditional skills and craftsmanship in ironwork against the desires for cheap production. The J. Pierpont Morgan Memorial Gates for the Museum at Hartford, Connecticut, and the work at the residence of Henry Clay Frick of New York are described in great detail. The then current constructions of Long Island summer homes for Mr. Otto H. Kahn and Mr. Isaac Guggenheim are noted in this article. In addition, in an effort to develop and educate generations about the arts and crafts movement and traditional skills, it is noted that the Detroit Museum of Art and the Chicago Institute of Art both bought collections of Mr. Yellin’s work. The article includes historic photographs of: the main entrance door at the Henry Clay Frick residence in New York; the interior J. P. Morgan Memorial Gates in Hartford, Connecticut; a candelabrum from Yellin’s office in Philadelphia; and a wrought-iron flower-basket ornament in the main entrance doors at the Wm. S. McNair residence in New York. Unknown Author. Baltimore Trust Company, Member Federal Reserve System. Baltimore: Baltimore Trust Company, 1929. This folio and brochure highlights one of Baltimore’s largest and most impressive structures at the time, the Baltimore Trust Company. The publication showcases the various rare and striking architectural details of the building, and highlights the contributions Samuel Yellin made to the gates, screens, and other ornamental details throughout the exterior and interior. Photographs include: the iron day-gates; the main banking room; the entrance to circular staircase; the wrought iron base of the customers’ desk; and the grille work along the banking counters. Wattenmaker, Richard J. Samuel Yellin in Context. Michigan: Flint Institute of Arts, 1985. This is an essay published on the occasion of the exhibition “Samuel Yellin: Metalworker,” organized by the Philadelphia College of Art Alumnae Association, circulated by the Gallery Association of New York State, and shown at the Flint Institute of Art in 1985. This work offers an insight into the trends of wrought ironwork in the 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe and the United States. Through this inquiry, the author offers how Viollet-le- Duc’s restoration work, the emergence of revival styles, ironwork of the art nouveau, and Beaux-Arts aesthetics developed and perhaps influenced Yellin’s success. Of potential interest in this essay, is the recognition of Yellin as not only a master craftsman, but also as an educator. He wrote and lectured for architectural societies, university classes, civic organizations, and museum audiences, and two films were created of Samuel Yellin at the anvil in 1927 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He acted as an advisor to the Philadelphia Museum of Art on metalwork, and had created plans with Edward W. Bok to put together a permanent installation in the museum, including a forge and gallery to house objects from Yellin’s antique iron collection. Unfortunately, this plan was never realized, but Mrs. Edward Bok made gifts to the museum of nearly 100 pieces from Yellin’s collection, and another 100 objects from Yellin’s collection were acquired after his death by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for the Medieval Department and The Cloisters. The essay includes various quotes from Yellin, and photographs comprising: Samuel Yellin at the anvil; Samuel Yellin with a coffer created for Edward W.