Manuscript Division Koyl-Mathieson Collection

Koyl-Mathieson Collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS86351

Scope and Content Note

The Koyl-Mathieson Collection spans the years 1963-1969 and consists of research material for American Architectural Drawings: a Catalog of Original and Measured Drawings of Buildings of the United States of America to December 31, 1917 (1969), compiled and edited by George S. Koyl and Moira B. Mathieson and prepared and published through the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and for Addendum to American Architectural Drawings (1977) by James M. Goode.

The States and Countries File contains architectural drawings, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and surveys related to buildings and other structures, most of which date from the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. The Correspondence series primarily documents the publishing of the architectural catalog, and includes correspondence with museums, architectural archives and associations, the Kress Foundation and other organizations, and suppliers. The Subject File includes architectural surveys, printed matter, manuals, and reports. The Architects series has biographical material and other appropriate information on various architects compiled for the catalog.

Dates

Creation: 1963-1969

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

Access and Restrictions

The Koyl-Mathieson Collection is open to research. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting.

Copyright Status

Materials from the Koyl-Mathieson Collection are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.

Biographical Note

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George S. Koyl was born February 8, 1885, in Evanston, Wyoming. He studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and the American Academy in Rome. He worked as an architect in Colorado and New York, and later opened up his own independent firm. He then partnered with the firm Rich, Mathesius & Koyl in 1929. He left the firm in 1932 to work as the Dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. He retired in 1950 and worked as a professor of architecture until 1955. Koyl was the president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) chapter in Pennsylvania from 1943 to 1944 and served on its executive committee from 1943 to 1946.

Moira B. Mathieson was born around 1924. She became a freelance writer and editor after a career in architecture and art history. From 1963 to 1969, she was the Head of Architectural Drawings Project, Department of Civil History at the Smithsonian Institution. Together, Koyl and Mathieson compiled and edited American Architectural Drawings: a Catalog of Original and Measured Drawings of Buildings of the United States of America to December 31, 1917 (1969), which was funded by a Kress Foundation grant and prepared and published through the Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA.