Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1241865
One of the ADG's most versatile collections is the esearch ibrary files. My understanding is that the collection started life as the Republic Pictures research library, when Republic owned what is now known as Radford Studios. CBS took over the library when they moved on to the lot in the 1950s, and the Guild agreed to take the collection in when CBS was looking for a new home for it in the mid-2000s. This visual research collection of images, clippings, and ephemera is a treasure trove of material organized for use by members of the Art Department. Although it's not nearly as extensive as the comprehensive libraries that used to be maintained by the Hollywood studios, it functions in much the same way, with unique subject headings geared toward visual research and location files on every state and many countries around the world. When delving into the files, one finds an eclectic mix of magaine and trade publication clippings, advertisements, photographs, illustrations, yers, brochures, maps and postcards. The time period covered is primarily the 1930s to the 1970s, but there are plenty of items from earlier eras as well. Alongside the CBS collection, there are also research files and photos donated to us by individual Production Designers, including Robert Boyle, Gene Allen and, just last year, Marcia Hinds. Another excellent resource in the library is the printed ephemera collection, which includes everything from vintage travel brochures, menus, promotional booklets, souvenir items, and maps to theater programs, historical site booklets, and museum, auction and product catalogs. Both the ephemera and the research files are a gold mine of visual information about the world of the past, captured in items that, in many cases, were considered trivial or not worth saving when they were created. Currently in process is the cataloging of each of the pieces of ephemera individually in order to make them more findable, and in some cases they are being scanned to provide visual reference in the library catalog. Working with these collections over the last year has made me realize just how many gems are waiting to be discovered by our members. For instance, one day my colleague Leslie Diller Zollo and I came across a large scrapbook with a non- descript plain canvas cover. Inside is a remarkable collection of around seven hundred 1920s and 1930s postcards from Europe and North Africa, carefully attached to the pages with photo corners, and in many cases, annotated with brief remarks in white pencil. The book, assembled by an unknown traveler, not only documents one person's dream European trip, but also is a time capsule of Europe D. CLIPPING SHOWING A MODERN SUPERMARKET DESIGN IN MONTREAL, CIRCA 1970. E. PAGE FROM A POSTCARD SCRAPBOOK OF PRE-WWII EUROPE. E