Design Digitized: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library’s Rare Books, Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Rare books
Illustrated books--15th and 16th centuries
Illustrated books--17th century
Illustrated books--18th century
Illustrated books--19th century
Illustrated books--20th century
Decorative Arts
Pattern Books
Decoration and Ornament
Interior Decoration
Domestic Architecture
Architecture
Design
Trade Catalogs
Country Homes
Fashion
Costume
Children's Illustrated Books

Design Digitized includes highlights spanning five centuries from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum Library’s rare books collection. Over twenty-five of their largest, rarest, and most fragile titles covering architecture, design, and the decorative arts are now accessible in their entirety. Also included are examples from their World’s Fair, trade catalog, and children’s illustrated books special collections.

Cooper-Hewitt Museum

Smithsonian Institution Libraries

rare books

Shedding light on New York: Edward F. Caldwell & Co.

Cooper-Hewitt Museum

Caldwell, Edward F., 1851-1914

Edw. F. Caldwell & Co.

Electric lighting

Electric light fixtures

Interior decoration

Decorative arts

Art and design

Decoration and ornament

Edward F. Caldwell & Co., of New York City, was the premier designer and manufacturer of electric light fixtures and decorative metalwork from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. After a piece was produced, it was often photographed and added to the company’s massive photo archive. Today, these photographs, numbering more than 37,000 along with more than 13,000 presentation drawings, comprise the Edward F. Caldwell & Company collection at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Library.

Cooper-Hewitt Museum

Edw. F. Caldwell & Co.

Photographs

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Wallcoverings

Cooper-Hewitt Museum

Wall coverings

Decorative arts

Art and design

Decoration and ornament

View selected images from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum’s Wallcoverings department. It contains the largest and most varied collection of wallpaper in the United States, with more than 10,000 examples. Pieces date from the late 17th century through today and represent many countries of origin.

Cooper-Hewitt Museum

Wall coverings

Borders (ornament areas)

eng

Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design

Cooper-Hewitt Museum

Decorative arts -- Design

Art and design

Decoration and ornament

Drawing

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum’s Drue Heinz Study Center for Drawings and Prints houses more than 160,000 works of art dating from the Renaissance to the present related to the history of European and American art and design. Among the world’s foremost repositories of European and American works on paper, the collection includes designs for architecture, decorative arts, gardens, interiors, ornament, jewelry, theater, textiles, graphic and industrial design, as well as the fine arts. A selection of these works are available through the website.

Cooper-Hewitt Museum

Design drawings

Prints (visual works)

Drawings (visual works)

eng