THE GEIGER DATABASE
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Temporary page text - to be revised [May 8, 2019]
The contents of the Geiger database are accessible through both historical query formats devised by John Geiger and an implementation of search methods that extend beyond the original DataEase application in which Geiger with worked with the information he collected. Original query strategies devised by Geiger have been replicated for their usefulness; these provide insights into the different approaches to the data that evolved with time. The porting of the database from the original application to the Internet was an essential goal for Geiger, as he hoped the database would prove of lasting value to scholars. The work to migrate the data presented opportunities to develop additional active query mechanisms and allow new forms of search.
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Frank Lloyd Wright Commissions
Information related to 1,150 Frank Lloyd Wright commissions, encompassing both built and unbuilt architectural works, decorative designs, graphical designs, and publications, can be found in Geiger database. Searches may be executed on commission title, client name, geographical location, sobriquets or alternative placenames, chronological order, drawing authorship, Frank Lloyd Wright Archives commission numbers, type of occupancy (e.g., house, church, etc.), primary building materials, an evaluation of merit applied by John Geiger, and three kinds of floor plan and roof pattern geometries.
Details are available in varying extent for over 10,000 Wright architectural or decorative drawings. This information includes the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives drawing inventory number and title, and may also show type or purpose of drawing, medium (e.g., graphite pencil on tracing paper), size, authorship, dates, archival collection or other ownership, and cite biliographic sources where the drawing has been published.
The Geiger database records information for over 1,000 individuals who had professional relationships with Frank Lloyd Wright, were Taliesin Fellowship Apprentices, or had a place in the extended Taliesin community. This includes early associates prior to the founding of the Taliesin Fellowship in 1932 (such as Walter Burley Griffin or Herbert Fritz. Sr.), those who were considered members of the Fellowship between 1932 and 1959, and students or others who remained or came to the Fellowship after the death of Frank Lloyd Wright. Biographical information can include dates of residence, type of involvement, and participation in the production of specific Wright commissions, as well as citation of sources, references, and historical notes by John Geiger.
Scholarly literature concerning the work of Frank Lloyd Wright played an important role in the creation of the Geiger database. These sources may be searched for the names of Wright commissions and related drawings found in a given book or periodical, as well as sorted according to form of publication (e.g., The Frank Llloyd Wright Quarterly). In addition, the range of intellectual interests explored by John Geiger during his long lige can be seen in the inventory of his library.