Raymond Loewy Associates renderings 2349

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on September 14, 2021. Description is written in: English. Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Manuscripts and Archives PO Box 3630 Wilmington, Delaware 19807 [email protected] URL: http://www.hagley.org/library Raymond Loewy Associates Pennsylvania Railroad renderings 2349

Table of Contents

Summary Information ...... 3 Biographical Note ...... 3 Scope and Contents ...... 4 Administrative Information ...... 5 Related Materials ...... 5 Controlled Access Headings ...... 5 Collection Inventory ...... 6

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Summary Information

Repository: Manuscripts and Archives Creator: Loewy, Raymond, 1893-1986 Title: Raymond Loewy Associates Pennsylvania Railroad renderings ID: 2349 Date [inclusive]: 1936-1946 Physical Description: 12 item(s) Language of the English . Material: Abstract: Raymond Loewy (1893–1986) was one of the most well known industrial designers during the middle decades of the twentieth century. In 1934, he signed a contract with the Pennsylvania Railroad that launched a two-decade relationship with the "Standard Railroad of the World." Loewy's work for the Pennsy did much to establish his reputation as the leading figure in the century's most noteworthy American design style: streamlining. This collection consists of twelve presentation renderings executed in tempera on illustration board. The mats bear Loewy's signature, although the work was actually executed by others. The renderings generally conform, with slight variations, to photographs that show the work as actually built.

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Biographical Note

Raymond Loewy (1893–1986) was one of the most well known industrial designers during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Born in on November 5, 1893, he was the third son of Maximillian Loewy (1860-1919) and Marie Labalme Loewy (1867-1919). As a boy, he developed an interest in transportation and machines. At age seventeen, Loewy enrolled in a pre-engineering school, an experience that prepared him for the technical aspects of an career.

After distinguished service in , Loewy immigrated to the United States in 1919. He settled in New York City, and for the next decade had a varied career as a fashion illustrator, window dresser, and costume designer, but primarily as a commercial artist, specifically an advertising illustrator. In 1934, he signed a contract with the Pennsylvania Railroad that launched a two-decade relationship with the

- Page 3- Raymond Loewy Associates Pennsylvania Railroad renderings 2349 "Standard Railroad of the World." Loewy's work for the Pennsy did much to establish his reputation as the leading figure in the century's most noteworthy American design style: streamlining.

Loewy reached his peak during the post-war decades when his office focused on the American consumer and the suburbs. His company expanded to its greatest dimensions at mid-century. By this time the Loewy firm employed a large staff of designers, but it was the Raymond Loewy name that attracted clients.

Transportation, particularly automobiles, was always one of Loewy's passions. After his design of the Hupmobile in the early 1930s, Loewy began work for in 1936. His first project for Studebaker was the re-styling of the body of the 1938 President. A year later, the Champion was introduced, and both models boosted the company's image. The postwar , particularly the 1947 Champion Regal Deluxe and the 1953 Regal Starlight coupe, had a strong influence on . Loewy's innovative design of the Avanti in 1962 was widely acclaimed.

Loewy's firm worked on a number of projects for the public sector, including habitability studies for the Navy, and trademark and identity programs for the Coast Guard, the Post Office, and other federal agencies. In 1962, Loewy redesigned Air Force One for President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), changing the lettering and color scheme on the exterior, and redesigning the interior. Loewy believed that his most significant project for the government was his work with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). From 1967 to 1973, Loewy was retained by NASA as a habitability consultant for the Saturn-Apollo and projects. His recommendations for Skylab included the inclusion of a window through which the astronauts could view earth, as well as proposals for the comfort and privacy of crew members.

Financial difficulties had beset the firm in the early 1970s, and in 1975, Loewy attempted to stave off the monetary problems by merging all of his corporations into a firm called Raymond Loewy International. The following year, he and his wife, Viola Loewy (1922-1995), had sold their shares in that business, and by 1977 Raymond Loewy International declared bankruptcy. The Loewys moved to France and entered retirement. In 1979, his book Industrial Design: Raymond Loewy was published, and a portfolio of lithographs of some of his best known designs were released. Loewy died on July 14, 1986, in Monaco, at age 92.

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Scope and Contents

These are presentation renderings executed in tempera on illustration board. The mats bear Loewy's signature, although the work was actually executed by others. The renderings generally conform, with slight variations, to photographs that show the work as actually built. The two renderings for the 1938 "Broadway Limited" show Loewy at the top of his form, while the design for the post-war coach shows the more economical and utilitarian interiors demanded by companies who faced the obstacle of having to replace large numbers of worn-out older cars with reduced funds.

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Administrative Information

Publication Statement Manuscripts and Archives

PO Box 3630 Wilmington, Delaware 19807 [email protected] URL: http://www.hagley.org/library

Revision Description Laurie Sather 2020

Access Restrictions This collection is open for research.

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Related Materials

Related Materials Pennsylvania Railroad Motive Power Department records (Accession 1810), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library. Records of PRR Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society, Lewistow, Pa.

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Controlled Access Headings

• Industrial design • Railroads -- Rolling stock -- Design and construction - Page 5- Raymond Loewy Associates Pennsylvania Railroad renderings 2349 • Railroads. • Design drawings • Pennsylvania Railroad

Collection Inventory

Title/Description Instances Remodeling P70 coach, "scheme 3," car no. 1735, 1936 June 27 box 1 folder 1 Scope and Contents

With 1-2 seating for overnight service.

Mid-train bar-lounge cars "Harbor Springs" and "Harbor Point", box 1 folder 2 1937 Scope and Contents

For the 1938 "Broadway Limited."

Single-unit dining car, 1938 November 29 box 1 folder 3

Single-unit dining car, 1938 December 2 box 2 folder 1

Remodeling the rear of observation-buffet-lounge cars, 1939 box 2 folder 2 January 6 Scope and Contents

For the 1938 "Broadway Limited" and "Liberty Limited."

Burgess ceiling for P70 coach, 1939 May 24 box 2 folder 3

Advertising diorama to be placed over the doors leading to the box 3 folder 1 Concourse at Pennsylvania Station, New York, 1940

Lounge area of Pullman 6 bedroom-buffet lounge car in "Falls" box 3 folder 2 series, 1940

P70 coach, color scheme "3", 1940 November 22 box 3 folder 3

Remodeled P70 coach, "Scheme 4", 1941 April 18 box 4 folder 1

Overnight coach for postwar Blue Ribbon long-distance trains, 1944 box 4 folder 2 August 31

Long Island Rail Road commuter coach, new color scheme "5", box 4 folder 3 1946 November 12

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