Scope and Content Note
The papers of Howard Best Dearstyne (1903-1979) span the years 1911-1988, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period from 1950 to 1975. The collection reflects Dearstyne's research interest in the Bauhaus, the influential German art and architecture school, and his career as a photographer, lecturer, and writer. Included are correspondence, exhibit material, and typescripts of articles, books, lectures, and reports. The collection is arranged in three series, a Subject File, Writings File, and an Addition.
The Subject File contains mostly secondary materials collected by Dearstyne in support of his lifelong interest in the Bauhaus and its two best-known masters, Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In this series are newspaper and magazine articles on the Bauhaus, its history, and especially its influence on the development of modern art and twentieth-century architecture. Dearstyne corresponded with many of the school's instructors and graduates, as well as with other architects, designers, and artists influenced by Bauhaus principles, and his papers include exhibit brochures and catalogs of their work, together with letters and some original artwork sent to him. Principal correspondents include Josef Albers, Hermann Blomeier, George Danforth, Werner Drewes, Henry Dubin, Wils Ebert, Helmut von Erffa, Werner Graeff, Ludwig Hilberseimer, Paul Klee, Kurt Kranz, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Museum of Modern Art, Eckhard Neumann, Karl Nierendorf, Pius E. Pahl, Walter A. Peterhans, Oskar Schlemmer, and Erdmann Schmocker. There is also material documenting Dearstyne's pursuit of photography as a serious art form, including magazine articles written by him and texts of his lectures. Some material in the Subject File is in German.
The Writings File contains Dearstynes's drafts of three reports written in 1953-1954 for Colonial Williamsburg on the King's Arms Tavern, the King's Arms Barber Shop, and the Alexander Purdie House and its outbuildings. Also included is an early draft of Inside the Bauhaus, a history of the design school and his experience there, along with correspondence requesting permission to publish copyrighted photographs and illustrations.
The Addition contains further correspondence with Albers, Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as letters exchanged with Morgan and Morgan Publishers relating to the publishing of Dearstyne's lecture "Elements of Pictorial Design." Exhibit material includes correspondence, brochures, and newspaper articles pertaining to his photographic exhibits. A writings section contains typescripts of articles and books, including Shadows in Silver by Alfred Lawrence Kocher (1954), a photographic history of Virginia. Also included are texts of lectures on art, architecture, photography, and Williamsburg, Virginia. Miscellaneous material contains notes, printed matter, and Dearstyne's Bauhaus diploma.