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[Description and dates], Item number, MS 22.5, Darwin D. Martin Photographs, circa 1860s-1970s, University Archives, State University of New York at Buffalo.
See the Special Collections' preferred citations instructions for additional information.
Acquisition InformationOriginal photographs were received at various times from members of the Darwin D. Martin family and others.
Terms of AccessDarwin D. Martin Photographs, circa 1860s-1970s, are open for research but users are encouraged to consult the digital versions of this collection listed below.
CopyrightCopyright of photographs in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing from materials in the collection. Please see the Archives staff for information on copies of photographs.
Alternate FormDigital versions of the Darwin D. Martin Photographs are available here:
Photographs were compiled from several parts of the Darwin D. Martin-Frank Lloyd Wright Collection, MS 22.
Accruals and AdditionsNo further accruals are expected to this collection.
| 1865 | Darwin D. Martin born - Boucville, Madison Co., New York | |
| 1867 | Frank Lloyd Wright born - Richland Center, Wisconsin | |
| 1869 | Isabelle Reidpath, the future Mrs. Martin, born - Buffalo, New York | |
| 1878 | Brothers Darwin D. Martin and Louis Frank Martin selling soap for Larkin Company in New York City | |
| 1879 | Darwin D. Martin, aged thirteen, begins work at Larkin Company in Buffalo | |
| 1885 | Darwin D. Martin invents cardex | |
| 1887 | Frank Lloyd Wright begins studies at the University of Wisconsin | |
| 1888 | Darwin D. Martin begins building house on Summit Avenue in Buffalo | |
| 1889 | Darwin D. Martin marries Isabelle Reidpath | |
| Frank Lloyd Wright builds Home and Studio in Oak Park | ||
| 1890 | Frank Lloyd Wright joins Alder and Sullivan | |
| Darwin D. Martin replaces Elbert Hubbard as Secretary of Larkin Soap Company | ||
| 1893 | Frank Lloyd Wright starts his own practice | |
| 1902 | October 29 -- Darwin D. Martin meets Frank Lloyd Wright | |
| Darwin D. Martin purchases site for Martin House Complex, Jewett Parkway | ||
| 1903 | October 11 - Construction begins on Barton House | |
| 1904 | July 20 - Construction begins on Martin House | |
| October - Barton House occupied | ||
| 1905 | Martin House Complex completed | |
| 1910 | Frank Lloyd Wright designs Bar Beach Cottage (Bay Beach, Ontario, Canada) for Darwin D. Martin (unexecuted) | |
| 1923 | Darwin D. Martin commissions Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for James and Dorothy Martin Foster, daughter of Darwin D. Martin (unexecuted) | |
| 1925 | Martin retires from the Larkin Company | |
| 1926 | Construction begins on Graycliff | |
| 1928 | June 20 - Graycliff occupied | |
| Frank Lloyd Wright designs the Blue Sky Mausoleum for Darwin D. Martin's ploy in Buffalo's Forest Lawn Cemetery (unexecuted) | ||
| 1935 | Darwin D. Martin dies in Buffalo | |
| 1936 | Fallingwater (Bear Run, Pennsylvania), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmanns | |
| 1945 | Isabelle R. Martin dies in Buffalo | |
| 1959 | Frank Lloyd Wright dies |
| 1926 | April 5 - Darwin D. Martin writes to Frank Lloyd Wright requesting 1910 Bay Beach Cottage design; Darwin D. Martin is considering building on shores of Lake Erie | |
| April 18 - Darwin D. Martin looks at site in Derby, New York | ||
| April 19 - Darwin D. Martin purchases 250-foot front on Lake Erie, with 60-foot cliff | ||
| April 21 - Darwin D. Martin informs Frank Lloyd Wright that he's not interested in 1910 cottage design, but a two-story stone house designed by Frank E. Newman for E.W. Russell of Greenwich, Connecticut | ||
| May 3 - Frank Lloyd Wright sends Darwin D. Martin preliminary drawings | ||
| May 5 - Darwin D. Martin informs Frank Lloyd Wright that Isabelle R. Martin is Frank Lloyd Wright's client | ||
| August 19-20 - Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo to see site | ||
| August 27 - Isabelle R. Martin sees the site for first time | ||
| September - Construction on garage begun. | ||
| September - Due to marital problems, Frank Lloyd Wright asks his son John Lloyd Wright to take over the project; the Martins did not approve the change | ||
| November - Frank Lloyd Wright resumes his service to the Martins; construction continues on the site | ||
| 1927 | April 5-6 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site | |
| June 4 - Darwin D. Martin writes to Frank Lloyd Wright of the completion of the foundation of the main house | ||
| June 15-16 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site | ||
| August 31-September 2 - Chimney and masonry of main house completed | ||
| September - Frank Lloyd Wright finalizes designs for landscape, tennis court, circle, and guest house; the guest house was not executed | ||
| September - Furniture designs by Frank Lloyd Wright are executed | ||
| 1928 | March 10, 12 - Furniture bought for main house | |
| June 20 - Martins "open" house | ||
| September 20 - Paul A. Harsh, a house guest at Graycliff, suggests the name "Graycliff" | ||
| 1929 | April - Isabelle R. martin asks Frank Lloyd Wright to design a screened walk to cross the esplanade behind the stone bench for servants | |
| June 15 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site | ||
| July - Martins request Frank Lloyd Wright to design a "concrete tent house" for the Foster family (unexecuted) | ||
| July - Martins request Frank Lloyd Wright to design a third-floor to main house (unexecuted) | ||
| July 29 - Construction on evergreen garden, stone seat begun; Frank Lloyd Wright selects and ships furnishings for the main house from Marshall Fields in Chicago; Frank Lloyd Wright suggests wicker and overstuffed chairs fo the main house | ||
| 1935 | Darwin D. Martin passes away | |
| Isabelle R. Martin continues to summer at the site, and winters with the Foster family | ||
| 1938 | November - Engineering report on site compiled by G.E. Seitzmiller for insurance purposes | |
| 1941 | Isabelle R. Martin continues to summer at the site, but moves into garage apartment | |
| 1942 | Isabelle R. Martin spends her last summer at the site; she moves permanently to Buffalo to live with the Foster family | |
| 1945 | IRM passes away | |
| Stewardship of the site falls to a holding company belonging to Darwin R. Martin, son of Darwin D. Martin | ||
| 1950 | Piarist Fathers, a Hungarian order, purchases site from Darwin R. Martin | |
| Mid-1950s | Chapel addition constructed over south terrace of main house | |
| Garage addition and a storage building constructed | ||
| Circa 1956 | School building/dormitory constructed to house Hungarian refugees | |
| 1958 | August - Frank Lloyd Wright visits the site | |
| 1996 | Piarist Father's place property for sale | |
| Graycliff Conservancy is formed to acquire and restore the site | ||
| 1997 | October - Graycliff Conservancy signs a contract to purchase the site |
Photographs, primarily 1904-1937, kept by the Martin Family, depicting the Darwin D. Martin house in Buffalo, New York, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. These photographs illustrate the exterior, interior and grounds of the Martin House and the related structures, including the George Barton House. Included is an album showing the construction of the Martin House, July 23, 1904 to May 9, 1905; several views of the Martin House by Chicago photographer Henry Fuermann, some of which were used in an article about the house in the May 1908 Architectural Record; a series of portraits of Martin family members taken by Louise Mueller in 1912, which also show the interior of the house; and numerous family photographs. Also included are photographs of members of the Martin family and a few photographs showing the Martin family summer home "Graycliff" at Derby, New York. Later photographs show the house during the period of occupancy by Buffalo architect Sebastian Tauriello, circa 1954-1965.
Collection is arranged by box number. Photographs are numbered in the same sequence as their digital counterpart.
| Box | Contents | |
| 1 | Photographs numbered 1.2-8.12,
1904-1960,
undated 26 prints |
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Include views of the Martin House exterior, garden, conservatory, the Barton House, and the Martin house during the Tauriello years, circa 1954-1960. |
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| 2 | Photographs numbered 10.6, 11.1-11.16, 100-125
1910-1912,
1959,
undated 40 prints |
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Includes Frank Lloyd Wright's funeral in 1959, Martin family portraits taken by Louise Mueller in 1912, Martin family photographs and postcards. |
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| 3 | Photographs numbered 126-207
1860's-1930,
undated 82 prints |
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Includes Martin family photographs & postcards. |
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| 4 | Photographs numbered 208-249, 300-309
1898-1934,
undated 42 prints |
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Includes Martin family photographs. |
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| 5 | Photographs numbered 310-311, 314-407
1901-1938,
undated 36 prints |
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Includes Martin family photographs including Larkin Company Pavilion at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. |
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| 6 | Photographs numbered 408-532
1907-1939,
undated 120 prints |
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Includes Martin family photographs includes scrapbook pages and Graycliff; some photos in Oversize Box 1. |
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| 7-16 | Photographs 613-1136, 1291-1295
undated 525 prints |
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Includes photographs culled from various parts of MS 22, Darwin D. Martin-Frank Lloyd Wright Collection. Box 16 also includes one file containing seven photos of the Martins' first home on Summit Avenue (unnumbered and not included in the digitization project). |
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| 17-23 | Study Prints
undated 194 mounted prints7 encapsulated prints3 unmounted prints |
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Includes photographs 1-11, 231-339, 400-532, and the Fuermann photographs. Box 23 also includes original page from Architectural Record, March 208, page 210-202 |
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| 1+ | Oversize items from Boxes 1-6 | |
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Includes Martin family photographs, panoramic views of the Martin House circa 1905-1910, Larkin Company Glee Club (1920), and scrapbook pages. |
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| 2+ | Henry Fuermann Photographs of the Darwin D. Martin House, 1908 | |
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Also includes photographs reproduced from Architectural Record, March 1908. |
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| 3+ | Darwin D. Martin House Construction Scrapbook, Photographs
numbered 313.1-313.87,
July 31, 1904-May 9, 1905 87 photographs |
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Also includes Barton House construction. |
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| 4+ | Study Prints of Darwin D. Martin House Construction
Photographs numbered 313.1-313.87,
July 31, 1904-May 9, 1905 87 mounted photographs |
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Also includes Barton House construction. |
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| 24-25 | Photograph negatives & slides 4 x 5 inch negatives |
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Includes negatives from across the Darwin D. Martin-Frank Lloyd Wright collections MS 22.3, MS 22.5, and MS 22.6; also includes 13 slides of the Darwin D. Martin house taken by Ruth Tauriello McPherson in 1962. |
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| 26 | Studyprints, selected Martin House Construction
Photographs numbered 313.1 to 313.87 5 x 7 inches |
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Includes numbers 1-14; 17-28; 30-32; 34-40; 42-51; 54; 57-69; 71; 73-75; 77-80; 82-87. |
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog.
