THE JOHN W. GEIGER COLLECTION
FOR THE STUDY OF
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE
Organizations and associations
Series 3: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Documentation consists of publications, correspondence, manuscripts reports, studies, mailings, oral history transcripts, newsletters, catalogs, and ephemera. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation was founded by Wright in 1940 as a umbrella legal basis for all his activities and a support for the development of the Taliesin Fellowship. Over time, legitimized as a non-profit corporation, the Foundation established a variety of outreach, educational, preservation, and historical documentation programs. These include publications such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly, the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, oral history interviews, and a range of licensing activities. The Foundation also became involved with the longterm conservation of the Taliesin Estate in Spring Green, Wisconsin through coordination with the Taliesin Preservation Commission (now Taliesin Preservation, Inc.). John Geiger accumulated these materials as part of his research studies, deliberate communication with the Foundation, and being an incidental receipient through his activities as a Taliesin Fellow.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation series is arranged into five subseries:
Subseries 1: Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly (1990-2011) consists of a nearly complete run of a magazine published by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation every three months containing essays and other content about the life and work of Wright. Issues are often illustrated with drawings from the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives that John Geiger entered into his database.
Subseries 2: correspondence, reports, and mailings consists of a variety of documents concerning the management of the Foundation, particularly regarding the preservation of the Taliesin Estate in Spring Green, Wisconsin, through the auspices of the Taliesin Preservation Commission.
Subseries 3: Frank Lloyd Wright school of architecture, (1990-2005) contains an assortment of documentation concerning educational programming, management, and accreditation issues at the school. These consist of reports and memoranda, printings of Internet news articles, and an unsigned manuscript, likely authored by a Taliesin Fellow, reflecting on changes to the school experience that resulted from pursuing the academic accreditation for a degree needed to obtain professional architect licensure in most American states.
Subseries 4: Frank Lloyd Wright archives subseries (1992-2002) contains transripts of an extensive oral history conducted with John Geiger by Indira Berndtson and Greg Williams for the oral history program at the Archives. A file of correspondence includes an inventory of the oral history collection at the Archives and a list of drawings for Wright-designed Zimmerman house whose construction was supervised by Geiger.
Subseries 5: other materials subseries (1986-1994) contains a newsletter published the "Friends of Taliesin" to support preservation and events at the Wright estate in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and catalogs of Wright reproduction products.
Subseries 1: Frank Lloyd Wright quarterly
Largely complete run includes:
Folders (3): 1990
Issues for Spring (vol. 1 #1); Summer (vol. 1, #2); and Autumn (vol.1, #3). [Box 11]
Folders (3): 1991
Issues for Winter (vol. 2, #1); Spring (vol. 2, #2); and Autumn (vol. 2, #4). [Box 11]
Folders (4): 1992
Issues for Winter (vol. 3, #1); Spring (vol. 3, #2); Summer (vol. 3, #3); and Fall (vol. 3, #4). [Box 11]
Folders (4): 1993
Issues for Winter (vol. 4, #1); Spring (vol. 4, #2); Summer (vol. 4, #3); and Fall (vol. 4, #4). [Box 11]
Folders (3): 1994
Issues for Winter (vol. 5, #1); Spring (vol. 5, #2); and Summer (vol. 5, #3). [Box 11]
Folders (2): 1995
Issues for Spring (vol. 6, #2); and Fall (vol. 6, #4). [Box 11]
Folders (4): 1996
Issues for Winter (vol. 7, #1); Spring (vol. 7, #2); Summer (vol. 7, #3); and Fall (vol. 7, #4).[Box 11]
Folders (4): 1997
Issues for Winter (vol. 8, #1); Spring (vol. 8, #2); Summer (vol. 8, #3); and Fall (vol. 8, #4).[Box 11]
Folders (4): 1998
Issues for Winter (vol. 9, #1); Spring (vol. 9, #2); Summer (vol. 9, #3); and Fall (vol. 9, #4).[Box 11]
Folders (4): 1999
Issues for Winter (vol. 10, #1); Spring (vol. 10, #2); Summer (vol. 10, #3); and Fall (vol. 10, #4).[Box 11]
Folders (4): 2000
Issues for Winter (vol. 11, #1); Spring (vol. 11, #2); Summer (vol. 11, #3); and Fall (vol. 11, #4).[Box 11]
Folders (4): 2001
Issues for Winter (vol. 12, #1); Spring (vol. 12, #2); Summer (vol. 12, #3); and Fall (vol. 12, #4). [Box 11]
Folders (4): 2002
Issues for Winter (vol. 13, #1); Spring (vol. 13, #2); Summer (vol. 13, #3); and Fall (vol. 13, #4).
[Box 11]
Folders (4): 2003
Issues for Winter (vol. 14, #1); Spring (vol. 14, #2); Summer (vol. 14, #3); and Fall (vol. 14, #4).[Box 12]
Folders (4): 2004
Issues for Winter (vol. 15, #1); Spring (vol. 15, #2); Summer (vol. 15, #3); and Fall (vol. 15, #4).[Box 12]
Folders (4): 2005
Issues for Winter (vol. 16, #1); Spring (vol. 16, #2); Summer (vol. 16, #3); and Fall (vol. 16, #4).[Box 12]
Folders (4): 2006
Issues for Winter (vol. 17, #1); Spring (vol. 17, #2); Summer (vol. 17, #3); and Fall (vol. 17, #4).[Box 12]
Folders (4): 2007
Issues for Winter (vol. 18, #1); Spring (vol. 18, #2); Summer (vol. 18, #3); and Fall (vol. 18, #4).[Box 12]
Folders (4): 2008
Issues for Winter (vol. 19, #1); Spring (vol. 19, #2); Summer (vol. 19, #3); and Fall (vol. 19, #4).[Box 12]
Folders (4): 2009
Issues for Winter (vol. 20, #1); Spring (vol. 20, #2); Summer (vol. 20, #3); and Fall (vol. 20, #4).
[Box 12]
Folders (4): 2010
Issues for Winter (vol. 21, #1); Spring (vol. 21, #2); Summer (vol. 21, #3); and Fall (vol. 21, #4).[Box 12]
Folder: 2011
Issue for Winter (vol. 22, #1). [Box 12]
Subseries 2: correspondence, reports, and mailings
Folder: Correspondence (1997-2007)
Letters from John Geiger concerning possible bequests and donations. [Box 13]
Folder: Annual reports (1996-2002)
Yearly reports by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation of programs and status. [Box 13]
Folder: Fundraising Mailings
Various solicitation mailings. [Box 13]
Folder: "Taliesin 2000"
Development program for restoration of historic properties and programming goals. [Box 13]
Folder: Taliesin Architects (ca. 1990s)
Contract and presentation remarks for Richard Nicolas Loope (undated). [Box 13]
Folder: Taliesin Preservation Commission Newsletter (1992)
February 1992 (vol. 1 #1); March, 1992 (vol. 1, #1 [same as previous February issue]);
July, 1992 (vol. 1, #2);
November, 1993 (vol. 1 #3). [Box 13]
Folder: Taliesin Preservation Commission, "Inside Taliesin" (2001)
Newsletter reporting the restoration of the office and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin, Spring Green (Winter, 2001). [Box 13]
Folder: Taliesin Preservation Commission, Report and Recommendations Governor's Commission on Taliesin (1989)
Information prepared by a special commission in the State of Wisconsin concerning the conditions of preservation at Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and recommendations for financing and execution of repair work. [Box 13]
Folder: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation: Mailing List (1996)
List used in conjunction with soliciting subscriptions to the Journal of the Taliesin Fellows.
[Box 13]
Subseries 3: Frank Lloyd Wright school of architecture
Folder: "An Overview, 1990-1991"
School program publication. [Box 14]
Folder: "Program of Learning: A Manual" (1992)
Draft (January, 1992); final version (February, 1992). [Box 14]
Folder: "Self Study Report for Continued Accreditation" (1992)
Prepared for the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, North Central Associations of Colleges and Schools. [Box 14]
Folder: "Crisis" (2005)
Internet articles concerning the accreditation troubles of the School of Architecture, and the related problems with other Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation programs. [Box 14]
Folder: Manuscript "Do Not Go Gently…"
Undated manuscript, probably authored by a Taliesin Fellow, regarding the changes made to the Taliesin apprentice experience because of the need for accreditation by national education authorities. [Box 14]
Subseries 4: Frank Lloyd Wright Archives
Folders (2): Oral History of John W. Geiger
Transcript (1992) of Part 1 of oral history interview conducted by Indira Berndtson and Greg Williams at the Geiger residence in Los Angeles (4/29/1992); and transcript of Part 2 of oral history interview conducted by Indira Berndtson and Greg Williams at the Geiger residence (4/30/1992). [Box 14]
Folder: Correspondence (1996, 2002)
Includes inventory of audio and video oral history collection at the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives (3/1/1995); and list of Zimmerman house drawings. [Box 14].
Folder: "Friends of Taliesin" (1986-1988)
Newsletter published for a membership group to support the preservation and events at Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin. Issues for April, 1986 (vol. 2, #1); February, 1988 (vol. 4 #1); May, 1988 (vol. 4, #2); October, 1988 (vol. 4, #3); February, 1989 (vol. 5, #1); October, 1989 (vol. 5, #3); membership brochure. [Box 14]
Folder: "Frank Lloyd Wright Decorative Designs Collections" (1988, 1990)
Catalogs showing reproduced or Wright design derived products. [Box 14]
Folder: "Frank Lloyd Wright Lighting Collection" Catalog (1994)
Presentation materials for the Taliesin Fellows Board of Directors from Yamagira Company regarding production of the Wright lighting fixtures licensed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. [Box 14]