Elizabeth Gordon Papers

The Elizabeth Gordon Papers measure 4.5 linear feet and span the years 1959-1987. The collection mainly documents Ms. Gordon's research for the August and September 1960 issues of House Beautiful regarding the Japanese aesthetic concept of "shibui", and the subsequent travelling "shibui exhibition" from 1961-1964. Included are correspondence, some photocopies, 1959-1963; research notes and materials; articles; lectures; printed material including magazine and newspaper clippings, 1959-1987; 2 books, and exhibition announcements; article materials; a photo album containing photos of exhibition installations; and photographs, slides, color transparencies, and lantern slides depicting people, sites, and objects reflecting the "shibui" aesthetic.

Born in Logansport, Indiana in 1906, Elizabeth Gordon served as editor of House Beautiful magazine 1941 to 1964. Ms. Gordon first became interested in Japanese aesthetics during the mid-1950s. As a result she began to read and study Japanese art, history and culture. In 1959, Gordon travelled to Japan with three staff people from, House Beautiful. In Kyoto she met Eiko Yuasa, a young woman then employed by the City of Kyoto to handle foreign V.I.P.s, who was assigned to assist Gordon during her stay there. It was Ms. Yuasa who, in the course of discussions of Japanese aesthetics, introduced the term "shibui." Around that term and its related concepts ("iki", "jimi", "hade") the theme for the issue began to crystallize. In August and September, 1960, House Beautiful, under the editorial control of Ms. Gordon, published two extremely popular issues devoted to the subject of "shibui". Due to the popularity of the issues, museum exhibits devoted to the concept of "shibui" travelled around the United States. Ms. Gordon died in Adamstown, Maryland in 2000.

Biographical Overview

1906 -- Born in Logansport, Indiana

1920s -- Attended the University of Chicago

1930s -- Moved to New York to work as a promotional copywriter for several newspapers

1930s -- Syndicated columnist on home maintenance for The New York Herald Tribune

1930s -- Editor at Good Housekeeping (here for 8 years)

1937 -- More House for your Money by Elizabeth Gordon and Dorothy Ducas published by W. Morrow and Company: New York.

1937 -- Married Carl Hafey Norcross

1939 -- Appointed editor of House Beautiful

1964 -- Left the magazine world

1972 -- Published a special issue on Scandinavian design and awarded the insignia of a knight, first class, in the Finnish Order of the Lion

1987 -- American Institute of Architects made her an honorary member

1988 -- Carl Hafey Norcross died

September 3, 2000 -- Died in Adamstown, MD

(The following biography of Elizabeth Gordon comes courtesy of curator Louise Cort. Written in consultation with Elizabeth Gordon, October 23, 1987)

The research papers, memoranda, magazines, books, photographs and color transparencies and other materials in this archives are related to the publication by Elizabeth Gordon (Mrs. Carl Norcross), editor of House Beautiful from 1941 to 1964 and creator of the August, 1960 issue of the magazine on the special theme of the Japanese aesthetic concept of "shibui". The "shibui issue" was followed by the September, 1960, issue of the same publication on the theme, "How to be shibui with American things." As a by-product of the issues, a "Shibui Exhibition" travelled to eleven museums in the United States during 1961-1964. Each exhibition was opened with a slide lecture by Elizabeth Gordon.

Miss Gordon first became curious about Japanese aesthetics in the mid-1950s when she began to see Japanese objects being displayed and used in the homes of Americans who had spent time in Japan during the Occupation and Japanese influence began to appear in wholesale showrooms of home furnishings manufacturers. It was clear that the time had come: she HAD to go to Japan!

She read for five years before going to Japan - history, social mores, art history. (Many of the books on Japan that she collected during this time have been presented to the library at the University of Maryland, College Park.)

An important bit of advice came from Alice Spaulding Bowen, owner of Pacifica, the highest quality shop of Asian antiquities in Honolulu, who told her, "Be sure to read, The Tale of Genji - then you'll understand everything."

She made her first trip to Japan in April, 1959, accompanied by three staff people from, House Beautiful. In Kyoto she met Eiko Yuasa, a young woman then employed by the City of Kyoto to handle foreign V.I.P.s, who was assigned to assist Miss Gordon during her stay there. It was Ms. Yuasa who, in the course of discussions of Japanese aesthetics, introduced the term "shibui." Around that term and its related concepts ("iki", "jimi", "hade") the theme for the issue began to crystallize.

Miss Gordon came home, planning to spend the summer researching "shibui" with the aid of the Japan Society. But she found virtually nothing written in English on the concept. So she returned to Japan in December, 1959 together with staff member Marion Gough, to dig deeper and to work out details and get better educated with Eiko Yuasa. One of their devices was to walk through department stores and discuss with sales personnel whether objects for sale were "shibui", or were "jimi" or "hade", and why. Between themselves, they did the same for the costumes of women they saw on the streets.

Lacking printed sources for information on "shibui", Miss Gordon sought out and interviewed experts, including Douglas Overton, head of the Japan Society in New York. In Japan in December, 1959, she met Yanagi Soetsu, founder of Japan's Folk Craft Movement and head of the Craft Museum in Tokyo (with an introduction from Tonomura Kichinosuke, head of the Craft Museum in Kurashiki). She met the chef Tsuji Kaichi, who was commissioned to write an article on "kaiseki" (that could not be used because of an inadequate English translation) and Frances Blakemore. She met several times with Bernard Leach and attended his lecture at Bonnier's while he was in New York in March, 1960. (He would later write a "fan letter" for the issue)

As the concept of "the shibui issue" began to take shape, a third trip in the spring of 1960 focused on photography - to produce the shooting script decided on the preceding December. This was executed by the noted photographer Ezra Stoller of Rye, New York, and John DeKoven Hill, House Beautiful's Editorial Director. (Mr. Hill worked with Frank Lloyd Wright except for the ten years that he was a member of the House Beautiful editorial staff)

Miss Gordon was back in Japan in Mid-August 1960 as the "shibui issue" was causing a sensation. Altogether she spent sixteen months in Japan.

As one of the experiences that influenced her strong interest in Japanese costumes and textiles, Miss Gordon remembers a spectacularly thorough exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno on, 1200 Years of Japanese Costume. She saw it on the last day of its exhibition (possibly 1964).

The August 1960 issue sold out quickly. Copies of the magazine, which sold for fifty cents, were sold on the "black market" for ten dollars.

The publication of the August 1960 issue was followed by an unprecedented avalanche of "fan mail". Many department heads in colleges and universities, including the Harvard-Yenching Institute and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (where Miss Gordon had worked as an undergraduate) wrote to comment on the issue. Many people in other fields of endeavor wrote: heads of firms concerned with interior design, landscape architecture, and related areas expressed their interest in the concept of "shibui" Other writers include Bernard Leach, Gertrude Natzler, Laura Gilpin, Mainbocher, the architect Yoshimura Junzo, the textile artist Marianne Strengell, Walter Kerr, Craig Claiborne, and Oliver Statler.

The "shibui issue" was followed immediately by the September issue dealing with the use of non-Japanese objects to express the concept of "shibui." (Miss Gordon convinced her advertisers, who had been skeptical about the potential success of the August issue, by promising the September issue dealing with American products.) Four American firms were involved in the production of an integrated line of paints, wallpaper, furniture and carpets expressive of the concept. Products were designed by the firms' designers following the clues offered by objects and fabrics purchased by Miss Gordon in Japan in December 1959 and spring 1960. Miss Gordon has expressed her dissatisfaction with the September issue, although public opinion was positive. She feels that some of the firms failed in the "shibui" project, though some "caught" the message: namely the paint company and the fabric/wallpaper company.

In response to strong public interest, the House Beautiful staff prepared a travelling exhibition to introduce the concept of "shibui" through a series of vignettes, mixing fabrics and objects, colors and textures. The museum installation was designed by John Hill of House Beautiful. Japan Air Lines underwrote shipping costs.

The exhibition began in Philadelphia in late 1961. Ezra Stoller was sent to photograph the installation in considerable detail at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts in January, 1962, so that his photographs cold serve as guidelines for installations at the other museums, which included the San Francisco Museum of Art (April 1962), the Newark Pubic Library, and the Honolulu Academy of Art. Miss Gordon presented a lecture on "shibui" at each of the museum installations.

In appreciation of her work to introduce Americans to the concept of "shibui", the city of Kyoto presented a bolt of especially "shibui" kimono fabric executed by a Living National Treasure textile artist. Miss Gordon eventually tailored the fabric into a dress and jacket. She received the 1961 Trail Blazer Award from the New York Chapter of the National Home Fashions League, Inc. In June, 1987, Miss Gordon was named an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects, with her introduction of the concept of "shibui" and her promotion of an understanding of other culture cited as her major contributions to American architecture.

Gordon, Elizabeth, 1906-2000

Claiborne, Craig

Gordon, Elizabeth, 1906-2000

Leach, Bernard, 1887-1979

Index to cross-referenced correspondents in series 4 - correspondence - reader mail.

Baker Furniture, Inc. -- Baker, Hollis S.; Van Steenberg, Frank

Benjamin Moore & Co. Limited. -- Ketcheson, Phyllis

Bois, McCay & Associates Ltd. -- McCay, James T.

Bocher, Main -- Mainbocher Inc.

Bonniers -- Holmquist, Goran F.

Brooklyn Hospital -- High, E. Geoffrey

Brown Jordan Metal Furniture -- Nowell, Margaret

Caples Company -- Davidson, DeWitt S.; Tery, Joseph A.

Clarke, Grace Rickey, Studio -- Daniels, Jessie Clarke

Columbia University. East Asian Institute -- Wilbur, C. Martin

Corcoran Gallery of Art - Fine Arts Committee -- Mitchell, Eleanor

Cranbrook Art Academy -- Strengell, Marianne

Dallas, Texas, Aquarium -- Moore, Jeff W.

Daniels, Jessie Clarke -- Nierenbere(?), Ted 1960 January 15

Drexel Furniture Company -- Brown, Frank Penfold; Fisk, Betty

Dunbar Furniture Corporation of Indiana -- Sprunger, G. W

Embassy of Japan -- Shimanouchi, Toshiro

Fan Company -- Herz_ _ __er,(?), (?)

Ficks Reed Co. -- Ficks, R. L.

Fine Arts Committee -- Mitchell, Eleanor

Fong, Miho, Choy and Robinson -- Miho, Katsuro

Frigidaire -- Brechler, C. Carlton

Geijutsu-Shincho -- Yoshio

Good Housekeeping -- English, John

Graham, John, and Company Architects-Engineers -- Pries, Lionel H.

Greenwood Tree -- Newsom(?), Sarril(?)

Hap's Capitol Lake Nursery -- Schamehorn, F. H.

Harvard-Yenching Institute -- Baxter, Glen W.

Hearst Corporation -- Curran, Edward J.

Hearst Magazines -- Deems, Richard E.; Starger, Jerry

Home Furnishings Daily -- Schrader, Martin H.

Home Modernizing Guide -- Harmon, A. J.

House & Garden -- Bradley (?), _ _ _ _ _(?)

House & Home -- Prentice, P. I.

House Beautiful -- Schrader, Martin H.

Ikebana International (Georgia Chapter). -- Henser, Eula A.

Interiors -- Durrie, Charles H.

International Cooperation Administration -- Kunihiro, Masao

International Cooperation Administration -- Kunihiro, Masao

Jackson Furniture Company -- Jackson, Harry

Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd. -- Wakasugi, Akira

Japan, Consulate General -- Tanaka, Atsuko

Japan Food Corporation -- Oyama, Wesley

Japan Tourist Association -- Yokota, Iwao

Japan Trade Center -- Yamamoto, Masato

Kougakuin University -- Amano, Taro

L'Architettura -- Zevi, Bruno

Lifshey, Earl -- Schrader, Martin H.

Martin-Senour Paints -- Stuart, William M.

Maruzen Company, Limited -- Kusama, S.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- Millon, Henry

Mercorney's Decorative Supplies -- Priddle, D. F.

Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, Ltd. -- Maeda, Y

Moore, Benjamin, & Co. Limited -- Ketcheson, Phyllis

Neiman-Marcus -- Thomas, Michael H.

New Homes Guide -- Harmon, A. J.

New York Times -- Claiborne, Craig

News (Newspaper : N.Y.) -- Garrett, Harold G.

Northern Illinois University -- Parmer, J. Norman

Northwest Missouri State College -- Bensusan, Guy

NuTone -- Corbett, J. Ralph

Popular Science Publishing Co., Inc. -- Hammond, Godfrey

Public Relations Board, Inc. -- Alexander, Alice

Richmond Schools (Richmond, California) -- Burkett, Alyce

Scripps College -- Petterson, Rich

Shinchosha Company -- Sato, Yoshio

Sloane, W & J, Inc. -- Fox, Frederika

Southern Pine (?) Company -- Temple, T.L. Latané

Southern California School of Theology -- Hatfield, John

Stockwell, C. W., Co. -- Sisson, Charles F.

Stone & Schulte Inc. -- Kosieris, Andrew J.

Sunset Lane Magazine Company -- Mellquist, Proctor

Syracuse University -- Haring, Douglas G.

Tennessee Fabricating Company -- Sauer, Abe

Thaibok Fabrics Ltd. -- Dewar, Muriel

Times-Picayune Publishing Company -- Healy, George W., Jr.

Unitarian Church of Chico (Chico, California) -- Boeke, Richard F.

United States - Japan Centennial -- Hall, Nana Gaddis

University of Chicago - Oriental Institute -- Wilson, John A.

University of Nebraska -- Sakai, Robert K.

University of Pennsylvania -- Saunders, E. Dale

University of Washington -- Johnson, Pauline

University of Wisconsin -- Boardman, Eugene

University of Tokyo -- Yoshimura

Vaughan's Seed Company -- Carleton, R. Milton

Weston Nurseries, Inc. -- Mezitt, Edmund V.

Yale University - Eastern Asia Studies -- Yanaga,Chitoshi

Yamanaka & Co. (Kyoto, Japan) -- Yamanaka, Jiro

Japan

Interior decoration -- Periodicals

Landscape gardening

Art, Japanese

Aesthetics, Japanese

House funishings

Interior decoration

Museum exhibits

Interior decorators

Gardens -- Japan

Elizabeth Gordon donated her papers to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives in 1988.

Elizabeth Gordon donated her papers to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives in 1988.

Elizabeth Gordon Papers

Gift of Elizabeth Gordon, 1988

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Periodicals

Photographs

Correspondence

Personal papers

The Elizabeth Gordon Papers, FSA.A1988.03. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Elizabeth Gordon, 1988

This collection is organized into eight series. 1. Biographical data, 2. Shibui research, 3. Shibui issues of, House Beautiful, 4. Correspondence, 5. Shibui promotion, 6. Exhibition files, 7. Printed materials, and 8. Photographs.

The collection was processed by Colleen Hennessey with the assistance of Elizabeth Dedick, Suzuki Kiyoko, and curator Louise Cort. Additional processing by Linda Machado in 2002.

No restrictions on use.

Periodicals -- 1940-1970

Photographs

Correspondence

Personal papers -- 1950-2000

Electronic finding aid available

http://www.asia.si.edu/archives/finding_aids/gordon.html

Collection is open for research.