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Interview with John F. Staub available in UH Digital Library

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A 1980 interview with John F. Staub has been added to Building Houston, an oral history project organized by the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library and the Historic Resources Committee of the American Institute of Architects, Houston Chapter.  Mr. Staub established his Houston practice in 1923 and went on to become its best known residential designer.  Mr. Staub designed Ima Hogg’s house, Bayou Bend (now home of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s American decorative arts collection),  as well as many other houses in River Oaks, Shadyside and Broadacres.  In addition to Bayou Bend, houses designed by Mr. Staub in Beaumont, Dallas and Memphis Tennessee are now open to the public as house museums.  Mr. Staub’s non-residential work includes the parish house of Palmer Memorial Church, the Junior League Building, and the original River Oaks Country Club.  He is also responsible for the original library at the University of Houston, which is now the blue wing of the M.D. Anderson Library.  Click here to link to hear his entertaining and informative conversation with Robert Rick, who was then the AIA Houston Executive Director.

Rare portfolio on Château de Malmaison now in the UH Digital Library

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A portfolio from the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Book Room has been digitized and placed online in the UH Digital Library.  Le Château de la Malmaison, habité par Napoléon 1st: décorations intérieures, mobilier, bronzes, etc. contains an introductory text and architectural plates of the Château de Malmaison, once the residence of Napoleon I.  Architects Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine designed the estate.  Click here to view this work.

New rare books now on view

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The following recent acquisitions to the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room are on display in the upper mezzanine:

Hanging by Robert Delford Brown, American performance and conceptual artist who founded, in 1964, the “First National Church of the Exquisite Panic.”

Twelve Persons in Graphic Design Today, a three-volume set presenting 12 revolutionary Japanese designers working in the 1960’s.

H.J. de Beijer Romers Oeuvre-Catalogus, a catalogue raisonne of de Beijer’s 18th century architectural views of the Netherlands.

A 1939 trade catalogue offering thermo-insulating boards and an 1890 trade catalog offering stamped metal work for interior and exterior architecture.

A 1940 competition booklet for Insulux Glass Block, which includes the submission by former UH College of Architecture professor Donald Barthelme, FAIA.

Newly digitized rare books from the Franzheim Rare Books Room

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Selections from the Franzheim Rare Books Room, a growing online collection within the University of Houston Digital Library, presents examples of notable works housed in the University of Houston’s Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room.  The room contains approximately 1000 rare or unique books, journals, and pamphlets on fine art and design.  Highlights of the collection include portfolios of building types, architectural product catalogs, and first editions of some of the 20th century’s greatest books on art and architecture.   The books in the collection date from the mid-16th century to artists’ books published in the 21st century.  The Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room is located within the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library on the first floor of the College of Architecture.

12 new books have just been added to the Selections from the Franzheim Rare Books Room collection:

Le Temple et le Marais. Volume I : motifs de décorations intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/3595

Le Temple et le Marais. Volume II : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/4125

Le Faubourg Saint-Germain. Volume I : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/3700

Le Faubourg Saint-Germain. Volume II : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/4226

Le Faubourg Saint-Germain. Volume III : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/4852

Le Faubourg Saint-Germain. Volume IV : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/3801

Le Ministère de la marine : ancien garde-meuble de la couronne : construit par Gabriel de 1762 à 1772 : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/4375

Le Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Volume I : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/4739

Le Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Volume II : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/4631

L’Hôtel Lambert, construit par Le Vau en 1632 : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/4534

La Place Vendôme : dite aussi de Louis le Grand ou des Conquêtes : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/3494

Le Quartier Saint-Paul : décorations extérieures et intérieures

http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/frare/item/3924

Looking for course reserves?

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They are now in Blackboard under “Course Tools.”  Click here to access them directly.

Rare books currently on display

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The Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Collection boasts several recent acquisitions, which are currently on display in the Architecture & Art Library.  These include a number of architectural retail pamphlets, produced from 1880-1938, as well as recent works on Donald Judd and Austin’s built environment.  These new acquisitions will remain on view through the start of the Fall Semester.

Stayton and Ila Nunn interview now online

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The latest interview in the Building Houston collection of oral histories is actually the earliest.    In 1980 AIA Houston Executive Director Robert Rick interviewed architect Stayton Nunn and his wife Ila, who studied architecture at the Rice Institute sometime between 1918-1921 but was unable to complete her degree because women were not allowed on campus after 5 pm.  Mr. Nunn taught architecture at Rice from 1928-1945.  He worked for William Ward Watkin before starting his own practice, which he discusses in the interview.  You can link directly to their oral history here.  Building Houston is part of an ongoing joint project between the AIA Houston and the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library.

Student artwork on view this summer

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This summer the Jenkins Library’s A2 Alcove will feature “Veggies in Outer Space,” an unexpectedly whimsical series of acrylic paintings by UH art student Araceli Casas.  In these new paintings, Ms. Casas personifies vegetables battling on a journey through the final frontier.  Ms. Casas says she aims to prompt questions in the minds of her audience about the boundaries and limitations of the imagination with her spin on still life art.

 

Welcome to our new Library Specialist, Julia Kress

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For more than thirteen years Julia practiced law handling mainly corporate transactions, business litigation and environmental matters. However, seeking a more creative field of work, she received her MFA from Antioch University in Los Angeles and is currently finishing her master’s thesis for her MA in History from the University of California, Riverside. She is passionate about ancient Rome and in June 2014 she took part in the American Academy in Rome’s Summer Archaeology Program involving the documentation and analysis of ancient buildings. Her research interest focuses on rehabilitating the reputations of ancient Roman women by contextually analyzing evidence, including sculptures, inscriptions and coins. She is excited to be a Library Specialist at the Architecture and Art Library and is looking forward to assisting UH’s faculty and students with their research needs.

Arts professionals to speak at the Jenkins Library on 4/15/15

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The Architecture and Art Library is pleased to present a second installment of its Research in the Real World series with a panel discussion tailored especially for our School of Art students.

 

On Wednesday, April 15th, from 4-5 pm, please come to the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library to hear our panel:

Catherine Gonzalez, Communications + Outreach Coordinator, Houston Arts Alliance

Emily Link, Community Relations Coordinator, Lawndale Arts Center

Tracy E. Smith, Director of Development and Membership, Blaffer Art Museum

 

These communications and outreach professionals will discuss their on-the-job research activities and the information skills needed for a career in their field.

 

Refreshments and a casual reception will follow the panel discussion.

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