THE JOHN W. GEIGER COLLECTION
FOR THE STUDY OF
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE
Organizations and associations
Series 2: Taliesin Fellows
The Taliesin Fellows as a term refers to men and women, generally former members of the Taliesin Fellowship, who retained a sense of group association with one another through their common experience at Taliesin and shared commitment to furthering organic architecture. Several chapters existed, essentially on a geographical basis, before being formed into a national framework during the 1980s. John Geiger was one of the original founding members of the organization, serving as first president and also publisher of a related periodical, Journal of the Taliesin Fellows.
The Taliesin Fellows series is arranged in five subseries:
Subseries 1: Membership and Events (1982-2011) includes event materials, correspondence, a directory of members, and a special printing of advice by Wright to young architects.
SubSeries 2: Taliesin Fellows Research Files (1980s-2005) holds biographical information related to 35 members of the Taliesin Fellows. These materials were accumulated over time by John Geiger, and most folders variously contain a few items of correspondence, manuscripts, ephemera, publications, newsclippings, and/or photographs.
Subseries 3: Biographical Questionnaires (1988, 1992, 1994) documents three distinct efforts to collect information about those who participated in the Taliesin Fellowship. The first was coordinated by Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer in 1988 on behalf of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives; the second as a function of contacts made during the first Taliesin Reunion held in 1992; and the third resulted from a short questionnaire sent out by the Taliesin Fellows in 1994 as an issue (#16) of the Journal of Taliesin Fellows.
Subseries 4: Journal of the Taliesin Fellows (1990-2011) contains a complete run of the periodical published by the Taliesin Fellows from Spring, 1990 (Issue #1) through Summer, 2011 (Issue #37). The publication was dormant between Summer, 2000 (Issue #26) and Autumn, 2006 (Issue #27). The Journal is a significant source of documentation for architectural work by Frank Lloyd Wright and members of the Taliesin Fellows, commentary on organic design principles and relationships to the work of other architects, historical recollections of life in the Taliesin Fellowship, biographical information on individuals, book reviews, Taliesin Fellows activities, and related subjects. Supplemental materials include an index to the publication prepared in 1993 by Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture librarian Elizabeth Dawsari, and a small amount of administrative correspondence (1993-1994).
Subseries 5: Taliesin Fellows Newsletters (1999-2006) contains two distinct nfgewsletters directed toward the Taliesin Fellows membership, largely reflecting views and activities of groups in southern and northern California. The files contain an incomplete run of 11 issues of the Taliesin Fellows Newsletter edited by Bill Patrick that appeared between 2000 and 2006. Three issues of an earlier, separately published Taliesin Fellows Newsletter, Northern California (1999-2000) are also present.
Subseries 1: membership and events
Folder: Taliesin Fellows Event Materials
Notices, registration materials, and invitations concerning board meetings and fundraising events for the Taliesin Fellows; and a registration package with program and planned activities for an annual meeting held in San Francisco, California (September 22-24, 1996). [Box 8]
Folder: Correspondence (1993, 1995, 2001)
Subscription requests for the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows, and letters from Lawrence Brink concerning resignation by John Geiger from the organization. [Box 8]
Folder: Directory of Members, 1932-1982 (1982), and Supplement
Publications by Elizabeth Kassler, giving dates of presence in Taliesin Fellowship, location and contact information, and pocket biographies of many members of the Taliesin Fellowship from 1932 to 1982. The cover graphic was designed by John Howe. Much of the information presented in this directory and supplement was correlated by Geiger with other entries into his database. [Box 8]
Folder: Advice to the Young Architect (1991)
Homily by Frank Lloyd Wright reprinted in a folded banner format by the Taliesin Fellows.
See also: Reference to the distribution of this printing in the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows in "Commentaries in Memoriam," Episode 1: My First Summer at the Taliesin Fellowship.
SubSeries 2: Taliesin Fellows research files
Information related to individual members of the Taliesin Fellows, collected by John Geiger over the course of his studies. Files may contain correspondence, ephemera, publications, and photographs.
Folder: BABCOCK, Deirdre Treacy
Letter to A. Louis Wiehle on oral history, with attached manuscript titled "One Year with Frank Lloyd Wright: A Synopsis of an Oral History (1993). [Box 8]
Folder: BARBER, Gordon
Correspondence regarding East Coast apprentices (1993). [Box 8]
Folder: BENTON, John
Note to Fellows with attached article by Brendan Gill from The New Yorker titled "Pure Wright." (7/27/1992). [Box 8]
Folder: BERNOUDY, William A.
Obituary. [Box 8]
Folder: BRIERLY, Cornelia
Manuscript, "Tales of Taliesin"; note from Brierly to A. Louis Wiehle concerning editing. [Box 8]
Folder: CUSAK, Victor A.
Letter to A. Louis Wiehle about the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows (Issue #19) article by Mark Heyman, with note of additional archival resources for Robert Mosher. [Box 8]
Folder: ENDO, Raku
Correspondence from Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer regarding archival materials (1988). [Box 8]
Folder: FRITZ, Herbert, Jr.
"At Taliesin," publication by Fritz (undated), photocopied from book. [Box 8]
Folder: GRANT, Michael Alan
Correspondence with Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation about a name change (1988). [Box 8]
Folder: GREEN, Aaron
Article about house by Green for his wife built in 1976 that appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle (3/5/2005). [Box 8]
Folder: HOWE, John H.
Letters to/from Howe and
Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer concerning request for information about drawings for projects (6/2/1988); email from researcher
Jane Hession (6/18/2002), regarding Howe; newspaper clipping featuring Howe and hisBurnsville, Minnesota residence (11/29/1987); exhibit brochure,
"John Howe in Minnesota: The Prairie School Legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright," Minneapolis Institute of Art (2000-2001).
[Box 8]
Folder: KARFIK, Vladimir
Letters to/from Eric Jenkins and John Geiger about Karfik; "The Karfik Tapes," transcription of audio interview of Karfik by Richard Carney, Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer and John deKoven Hill (1991). [Box 8]
Folder: KAUFMANN, Edgar J., Jr.
Publication: "Frank Lloyd Wright at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," by Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. (1982); obituary. [Box 8]
Folder: LARAWAY, Frank
Manuscript, "Nari's Rock," and two poems, recollecting life at Taliesin. [Box 8]
Folder: LAUTNER, John
Memorial service card (10/27/1994). [Box 8]
Folder: LIEBHARDT, Frederick
Letter to A. Louis Wiehle about the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows Issue #15, and attached list of architectural projects. [Box 8]
Folder: LOCKHART, Ken
Letter from John Geiger about the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows and personal update (1990). Box 8]
Folder: MATTHEWS, Peter
Biographical notes by Matthews, including Frank Lloyd Wright commissions in which he participated. [Box 8]
Folder: MAY, Robert
Correspondence with Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, including reference to Iovanna Lloyd Wright (1988-1989).
[Box 8]
Folder: MOLNY, Robin
Clippings and magazine articles concerning his work [Box 8]; article on Nutting/Hansen House in Aspen, Colorado [Box 39].
Folder: PETERS, William Wesley
Letter from Peters to John Geiger (10/29/1986); obituary (1991). [Box 8]
Folder: PETERSON, Kenneth
Note from Peterson to John Geiger concerning a list of apprentices at Taliesin from May, 1947 through August, 1948. [Box 8]
Folder: PFEIFFER, Bruce Brooks
Correspondence related to the 1988 Biographical Questionnaire (1988-1989). [Box 8]
See also: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Biographical Questionnaire (1988).
Folder: SHENG, Shao Feng
Photocopy of memorial presentation from Taliesin Fellowship to Shao Feng and Sheng Pao, with annotation by Shao Feng; newspaper clipping (10/21/1991). [Box 8]
Folder: STEVENS, Dennis
Letter from Marshall Erdman to Stevens, regarding property development in Spring Green, Wisconsin (2/10/1995). [Box 8]
Folder: SWABACK, Vernon
"Frank Lloyd Wright: A Personal Perspective," by Swaback (11/1988). [Box 8]
Folder: TAFEL, Edgar
Letter from Tafel to John Geiger concerning John Klein (4/26/1993), with attached newspaper clippings; Article, "Apprentice to Genius: Frank Lloyd Wright Remembered," House Beautiful (8/1979). [Box 8]
Folder: VARENHORST, Roy
Obituary (5/3/1997). [Box 8]
Folder: WILLIAMSEN, Ralph N.
Responses to biographical questionnaire (1992). [Box 8]
Folder: WRIGHT, Eric Lloyd
Resume (undated). [Box 8]
Folder: WRIGHT, John Lloyd
Sales brochure for "Brickwood" estate designed by John Lloyd Wright. [Box 8]
Subseries 3: biographical questionnaires
Folders (46): Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Biographical Questionnaire (1988)
Brief format biographical survey and request for archival materials conducted by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in 1988, with correspondence by Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer and Indira Berndtson; folders may contain biographical sheets, correspondence, biographical notes or typescripts, clippings, or ephemera. [Box 21]
Respondents include:
| Aederi, Raja | Kaufman, Edgar, Jr. |
| Amarantides, John | Keding, Richard |
| Amal, Kamin | Lautner, John |
| Barrett, Bruce | Lee, Jack P. |
| Benjamin, Thomas L. | Manny, Carter, Jr. |
| Biddle, Warren | Miller, William LeRoy |
| Broward, Robert C. | Mosher, Robert Keeler |
| Buitenkant, Irene | Olds, Walter |
| Bush, Alfred | Olson, Thomas H. |
| Cronin, George Edward | Pfefferkorn, James |
| Dombar, Abrom | Rasmussen, Robert R. |
| Dombar, Benjamin | Schildroth, James |
| Etter, Peggy | Schipper, Quinn W. |
| Fritz, Herbert, Jr. | Schwarz, William J. |
| Gelbin, Allan J. | Sheng, Shao Feng |
| Gill, Grattan | Silder, Frac and Heidi |
| Gottlieb, Lois | Stopes, Arthur Charles |
| Guderian, Roy | Storrer, Bradley |
| Henken, David | Tsuchiura, Kameki |
| Heyman, Mark | Vardakoulias, Constantin |
| Hoffe, Andre | Wallfisch, Lory |
| Holliday, Philip | Zeitun, Samiha |
| Jackson, Foster |
Folders (2): Taliesin Fellowship Reunion Biographical Questionnaire (1992)
Detailed biographical questionnaire sent by the Taliesin Fellows to the Taliesin community, requesting personal and family details, work and teaching related to Frank Lloyd Wright projects and philosophy; attached materials may include resumes and biographical notes. [Box 8]
Respondents include:
| Book, Carl E. | Mauldin, Robert Lee |
| Brierly, Cornelia | May, Robert |
| Cunningham, Wallace | Morosco, Gerald Lee |
| Dombar, Abrom | Patrick, William |
| Fletcher, H. Patterson | Peterson, Kenneth Herbert |
| Gelbin, Allan Jacob | Pfefferkorn, James |
| George, David Webster | Stewart, Michael T. |
| Gottlieb, Lois Davidson | Stoddard, Jeff |
| Green, Robert | Storrer, Bradley Ray |
| Harkness, John C. | Stricker, Milton |
| Hoppen, Donald | Tenbrink, Howard J. |
| Keding, Richard A. | Wallfisch, Lory |
| Laraway, W. Frank | Wilver, David |
| Lee, Jack P. |
Folders (2): Journal of the Taliesin Fellows Biographical Questionnaire (1992)
Detailed biographical questionnaire sent by the Taliesin Fellows to the Taliesin community, requesting personal and family details, work and teaching related to Frank Lloyd Wright commissions and philosophy; attached materials may include resumes and biographical notes. [Box 8-9]
Respondents include:
| Adams, Charles P., III | Jones, Evine Fay |
| Amin, Kamal | Kardatzke, Paul James |
| Anderegg, Ernst E. | Kardatzke, Julia Nelson |
| Babcock, Deirdre Treacy | Keding, Richard A. |
| Banks, J. Aubrey | Kekuza, Masakiyo |
| Barrett, Bruce | Knowles, George T. |
| Benedict, Fritz [Fred] | Korman, Peter J. |
| Berndtson, Indira | Liebermann, Daniel B. |
| Besinger, Curtis | Lemmon, Lawrence C. [Larry] |
| Blair, Ruth T. | Lockhart, Susan Jacobs |
| Book, Carl E. | May, Robert Caroll |
| Brink, Lawrence R. | McPheeters, Keith |
| Broward, Robert C.. | Michael, Alan Grant |
| Buitenkant, Irene | Mistry, Firoz Rustom |
| Cameron, James | Mueller, Marilyn |
| Cantalupo, Catherine | Nemtin, Frances [Polly] |
| Cortez, Hector Ramirez | Novak, Daniel J. |
| Davis, Anne Barbrey | Paterson, Charles |
| Dombar, Abrom | Pfefferkorn, James |
| Dombar, Benjamin [Bennie] | Posen, Simeon |
| Draper, Bruce | Rosenbaum, Alvin |
| Duncombe, Jane | Rtt, Peter |
| Erickson, Don E. | Rourke, Joseph Franklin [Dr. Joe] |
| Gegner, Stephen Hughes | Sarabhai, Gira |
| George, David W. | Sather, John E. |
| Glenn, Igor | Schildroth, James |
| Gottlieb, Lois Davidson | Spangenberg, Leonard Reese |
| Green, Aaron G. | Standish, J. Michael |
| Guyan, Samuel K. | Stempel, Calvin L. |
| Hamilton, Scott D. | Stewart, Michael T. |
| Hawes, Phil | Stricker, Milton |
| Haynes, Ron | Swaback, Vernon |
| Herold, Henry | Thompson, Arthur Kimball |
| Hill, Norman P. | Van Noy, LaDon D. |
| Hoffe, Andre | Vardakoulias, Constantin |
| Hofmeister, Richard G. | Watson, John Covert |
| Howe, John H. | Wiegerinck, Maria Carmen [Carmina] |
| Howe, Lu Sparks | Wilmoth, Stephen |
| Ingraham, Gordon |
Subseries 4: Journal of the Taliesin Fellows
John Geiger was founding publisher of the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows. Issues #1-26 were published under his hand. The publication was dormant from 2001 through 2005. The files contain a run of the publication complete until 2011. [Boxes 9-10]
Folders (3): 1990
Spring (Issue #1); Fall (Issue #2); and Winter (Issue #3).
Folders (2): 1991
Summer (Issue #4); and Winter (Issue #5)
Folders (4): 1992
Spring (Issue #6); Summer (Issue #7); Fall (Issue #8); and Winter (Issue #9).
Folders (3): 1993
Spring (Issue #10); Summer (Issue #11); and Winter (Issue #12).
Folders (3):1994
Spring-Summer (Issue #13-14); Fall (Issue #15); and Winter (Issue #16).
Folders (2): 1995
Spring (Issue #17); and Summer (Issue #18).
Folders (2): 1996
Spring (Issue #19); and Winter (Issue #20).
Folders (2): 1997
Spring (Issue #21); and Summer (Issue #22).
Folder: 1998
Summer 1998 (Issue #23)
Folders (2): 1999
Spring (Issue #24); and Fall (Issue #25).
Folder: 2000
Summer (Issue #26)
Folder: 2006
Autumn (Issue #27).
Folders (3): 2007
Spring (Issue #28); Summer (Issue #29); and Autumn (Issue #30).
Folders (2): 2008
Spring (Issue #31); and Fall (Issue #32).
Folders (2): 2009
Winter (Issue #33); and Summer (Issue #34).
Folders (2): 2010
Summer (Issue #35); and Winter (Issue #36).
Folders (2): 2011
Summer (Issue #37); and reprint of John Lautner issue [#18], published in 2011 by the John Lautner Foundation (additional text inserted with original version of issue).
See also: References to detailed financial analysis and production cost information for individual issues of the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows can be found in reports for Geiger Database JGDBFULL.
Folder: Index to the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows (1993)
Compiled by Elizabeth Dawsari, Librarian of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture (January, 1993). [Box 10]
Folder: Miscellaneous
General correspondence (1993-1994); and grant information. [Box 10]
Subseries 5: Taliesin Fellows Newsletters
Two distinct newsletters directed toward the Taliesin Fellows membership, largely reflecting views and activities of groups in southern and northern California.
Folder: Taliesin Fellows Newsletter (2000-2006)
Edited by Bill Patrick; incomplete run (Issues #1-6, 8-9, 12, 22-23). [Box 10]
Folder: Taliesin Fellows Newsletter, Northern California (1999-2000)
November 25, 1999 (Issue #12); March 20, 1999 (Issue #13); and June 7, 2000
(Issue #14). Separate
issue numbers from other Taliesin Fellows Newsletter, above. [Box 10]