Archive of original photographs, print material, color transparencies, and ephemera documenting Saul Bass' work in advertising and film

N.p. N.p., 1960s. Substantial archive of vintage photographs, print material, color transparencies, and film reels, documenting the film and advertising work of legendary twentieth-century graphic designer Saul Bass. Largely dating from the 1960s, although the archive also includes some material from the late 1950s. An exhibition's worth of rare material.

The balance of the archive is housed in three oversize portfolios, each embossed with Bass' name and the company name "Lester Rossin Associates, Inc."—Bass' then-agent on the east coast. Film reels housed in a brown cardboard case with Rossin's address affixed to the front.

The first portfolio presents black-and-white photographs of a number of products and package designs for a number of prominent mid-century American companies, including Kimberly Clark, Wesson Oil, White Magic Soap, Lawry Foods, Parade Detergent, and others. Designs are frequently accompanied by mimeograph captions with details on the companies, products, and method of creation for each logo. The portfolio also includes an advertising booklet for Strathmore Paper Company, and a feature in "Print Magazine" on Bass' work with the Aluminum Company of America.

The second portfolio contains Bass' work for corporate logos, with his designs for the Committee of Aluminum Producers, Frank Holmes Laboratories, and the Oakbrook Terrace Shopping Center of Chicago showcased, as well as several more examples of his work with product designs and display. The portfolio also includes multiple scale models for unidentified buildings, and trade advertisement designs for the Otto Preminger films "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959), "Exodus" (1960), "Advise and Consent" (1962), and "Bunny Lake Is Missing" (1965). Lastly, the portfolio houses an informational booklet for the California Test Bureau, and a magazine editorial by Bass discussing his film work in "Design Forecast."

The third and last portfolio is devoted to Bass' film designs, with more iconic examples of his work for the aforementioned Preminger films, Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot" (1959) and "One, Two, Three" (1961), and John Sturges' "The Magnificent Seven" (1960). The portfolio also includes Bass' accompanying illustrations for several short stories published in magazines.

Also included are two reels depicting Bass' eye-catching film design work for both feature films and corporations. Films represented include "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955), "Walk on the Wild Side" (1962), "Nine Hours to Rama" (1963), "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963), and Bass' own short film "From Here to There" (1964).

The archive additionally includes captioned work for unrealized projects relating to the 1964 World's Fair in New York, including preliminary studies for the Eastman Kodak Pavilion, as well as the US Pavilion, for which Bass met on several occasions with then-President Kennedy for progress reviews. The archive also includes several oversized and standard size color transparencies of advertising design work, material relating to Bass' 1964 short film "The Searching Eye," and a brief biography and curriculum vitae of Bass' work.

With a career spanning four decades, Saul Bass rose to prominence as a graphic designer in the twentieth century, creating some of the most recognizable corporate designs and logos of the period. He also worked extensively in film as both a director and a designer, with a list of collaborators including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, and Martin Scorsese. Bass' moving image collection and papers are today held at the Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles.

Portfolios generally Very Good plus, with contents Near Fine to Very Good plus.

Reels Very Good plus, unplayed.

Material out of portfolios Near Fine to Very Good plus.

[Book #163528]