http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8m331b5 No online items Finding Aid for the Collection regarding Edgar Tafel and the Thomas Watson house 0000341 Finding aid prepared by ADC staff The processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” Project. Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum Arts Building Room 1434 University of California Santa Barbara, California, 93106-7130 805-893-2724 [email protected] 2015 Finding Aid for the Collection 0000341 1 regarding Edgar Tafel and the Thomas Watson house ... Title: Collection regarding Edgar Tafel and the Thomas Watson house Identifier/Call Number: 0000341 Contributing Institution: Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum Language of Material: English Physical Description: 3.25 Linear feet1 quarter hollinger box, 2 flat file folders Date (inclusive): 1948-2001 creator: Tafel, Edgar Conditions Governing Access note Uncatalogued collection; open for use by qualified researchers. Biographical/Historical note Edgar Tafel (1912-2011) was an architect, follower of Frank Lloyd Wright, and Wright's first apprentice at Taliesin. He went to Taliesin in 1932, and remained there for 9 years. When he left Taliesin in 1941, he worked briefly in Chicago, enlisted in the Army in 1943, and after the war, returned to New York City where he established his practice. Between 1941 and the 1990s, Tafel designed over 80 buildings. He was instrumental in promoting the memory and preservation of Frank Lloyd Wright's work. Custodial History note Gift of John Watson, whose parents commissioned Edgar Tafel to build their house, 1948-1949. Scope and Contents note Collection holds materials collected by the Thomas Watson family regarding Edgar Tafel and the addition he designed in 1948-1949 for their house in La Canada, California. Included are 25 letters from Tafel to Mr. and Mrs. Watson, other documents regarding the design and construction of the Watson house, manuscripts, clippings and other printed materials regarding Tafel and Frank Lloyd Wright, and 27 drawings, all reproductions, for the Watson house. Also included is Tafel's publication, Apprentice to Genius, which he inscribed to the Watsons. The material in the collection dates from 1948 to 2001. Related Archival Materials note Edgar Tafel architectural records and papaers, 1919-2005, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University, New York, New York Preferred Citation note Collection regarding Edgar Tafel and the Thomas Watson house, Architecture and Design Collection, Art Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara Subjects and Indexing Terms Tafel, Edgar Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959 Finding Aid for the Collection 0000341 2 regarding Edgar Tafel and the Thomas Watson house ....